Saint John Baptist de La Salle
Today we celebrate the feast day of St. John Baptist de La Salle. St. John Baptist was born on April 30, 1651 in Rheims, France. St. John Baptist was the oldest out of ten children in his noble family.
St. John Baptist was a 17th century Frenchmen who had a lot of things going well in his life: St. John Baptist was said to be very good looking man, he received a good education, he came from a noble family which meant that he had money and he had a good upbringing.
At the young age of 11, St. John Baptist got the tonsure and after that he had started his preparation for the priesthood. St. John was ordained at the age of 27. St. John planned his life as a priest to play out differently then it did, the important part was St. John listened to God’s plan and followed God's will for him even if it meant he had to give up all of his money.
God’s plan for St. John was slowly revealed to him after he was ordained. St. John felt the calling to create schools for poor boys who lived in Rheims, France where he was stationed.
St. John found this work to be extremely unpleasant and difficult at the beginning. However, he started to become more involved in his work with the deprived youths.
After, St. John decided that he had found his life’s mission which was to teach, St. John dedicated himself fully to the work. St. John left his home and family, gave up his position as canon in Rheims, France, and St. John gave up all of his fortune. St. John reduced himself to the same level as the poor and he served the poor for the rest of his life.
St. John spent the rest of his life dedicated to serving the community of religious men he founded, which was known as the Brothers of the Christian School also known as Christian Brothers or De La Salle Brothers. St. John’s community was able to grow quickly and was extremely successful in their ability of educating boys who belonged to poor families, and they used many education methods that were designed by St. John.
The community prepared teachers in the first training college dedicated to teachers and they also set up homes and schools for young delinquents of wealthy families. The thing that motivated all of this was the desire to create good Christians and be good Christians.
St. John may have been very successful however he still endured many different types of trials and issues. However through all of the issues he encountered, St. John continued to dedicate himself fully to God and continued to pray and listen to God’s guidance.
St. John had trouble with asthma and rheumatism during his last few years of his life. St. John died at the age of 68 on Good Friday and was canonized during the year 1900.
St. John is the patron saint of teachers. St. John would teach his students using his own personal methods and they were extremely successful. St. John was a teacher who all of his students liked a lot due to his kindness. St. John was able to bring many people to Christ through his service to the poor and his very kind and respectful teaching methods.
St. John’s feast day is celebrated on April 7th and he continues to remind people about the importance of trusting God’s will and guiding more people to God.
Prayer to St. John Baptist de La Salle
St. John help us to be able to teach others with more kindness, respect, love and patience. Help us to guide others to Christ through the love and charity we treat others with. St. John help us to gain the patience and understanding we need to be able to guide more people to Christ and help us to be able to strengthen our devotion to Christ so that we may do his will through all of the hard situations and moments we may encounter. St. John please protect all of the teachers in this world, keep them away from all evil and please comfort them through all the struggles and pain they may encounter.
We ask this through Christ Our Lord and Mary Our Mother in Heaven
Amen
St. John Baptist de La Salle pray for us
St. Joseph pray for us
May we continue to strengthen our journey to sainthood and keep others in our prayers.
Works cited:
Information (read from, not taken):
Catholic Online. “St. John Baptist de la Salle.” St. John Baptist de la Salle - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online. Accessed 7 April 2021.
Images:
St. John Baptist de la Salle. April 7, 2021.
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