Several years ago, the Education Division of the National Geographic Society produced a video for classroom instruction.  The video was called A Voyage of Discovery. The images and content were about the Earth as a place that is made up of very complicated physical and cultural features and how geography strives to understand the dynamic interface of the two.  It was an opportunity for students to see the complexity of the mosaic of our world and to create wonder in their mind’s eye.  The wonder would further their desire to learn more about the Earth as home to over 6 billion people and how they interacted with their physical environments in order to live. 

I have often thought that the title of that video also fit well for someone who was even slightly interested in learning more about a religious community.  All religious communities have features:  a founder or foundress, a time and place of origin (a history), and a purpose for their existence (a mission).  Often their members live in groups and are faithful to prayer, community and ministry. An image that comes to mind is one of a tripod.  This tripod brings together prayer, community, and service to others through ministry.  Along with the vowed life, these three comprise the core elements of our life in Holy Cross.

I spent a good portion of my life in Holy Cross as a social studies classroom teacher.  In those 28 years, I met thousands of students and had the opportunity to help them understand the world in a more in-depth way.  In order to do this, I received a formal education and degrees, but I also received an informal education at the same time.  That informal education came about as a result of living in community with other members of Holy Cross.  I learned from others through their experience, from their reading and travel, and from their experience of God in their lives.  I often think that I did receive at least a bachelor’s degree from the sharing that occurred at the common table over three decades.

Nearly forty years ago I had the opportunity to live with two members of Holy Cross who left an indelible impression on me.  One was my novice master, Fr. Thomas Barrosse, CSC and the other was Bro. Theo Flynn, CSC.  Fr. Barrosse was a polyglot intellectual and a gifted biblical scholar.  He lived a simple lifestyle and was a man of deep prayer.  Bro. Theo was very kind, had a temperament of equanimity, and he, too, was a man of prayer.  Both of these men were admired by many others in Holy Cross, and there was something about them that helped me live my life in a more efficacious way. I have never heard an unkind word about either of these men; that is a real testament to how they lived their vocation in service to God’s people.

For someone who might be considering life as a Brother, I would say that something within you is desiring to live.  The Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross express it well, “It was a call that came to us from without, but also one that rose up within us, as from his Spirit.” Perhaps you have a personal Voyage of Discovery to undertake, and it is the voyage to try to learn what it is that desires to live in you.  Will your voyage lead you to become a Brother?