In 2002, the Christian Brothers took a radical new step in their self-understanding and their mission. They began to focus on what their hearts were telling them.

It led to a deeper sense of Brotherhood, and a much more inclusive circle of those with whom they were ‘Brother’. They expressed this as “The Heart of Being Brother”, and produced a booklet with this title for the whole Edmund Rice Network.

The booklet enshrined a sacred story and seven heart discoveries which captured their new vision and direction. Each heart discovery took Edmund Rice’s charism further and deeper into the modern world, seeking answering echoes in other hearts.

In their hearts, the Brothers discovered a passion for social justice. They boldly moved this to centre-stage in their vision for themselves. They recognized that Edmund’s charism included a Spirit-inspired move to change the very structures of his society. The reports flowing in from around the world had confirmed that this was, in fact, happening, in over 25 countries. Like Edmund, they knew this was their heart-response to Christ, “present and appealing in the poor”.

But the Spirit led them further. In their hearts, they heard the yearning of the Earth itself for healing and re-generation. This was tangibly present in the story of the Earth Charter, rising from the ashes of the United Nations conference on the environment in Rio (1983) and spreading into a world-wide movement. So the Brothers endorsed the Earth Charter and committed themselves to implementing its sixteen principles in their lives and work.

Yet even more unfolded from their hearts. They committed themselves to “radical relationships of equality with all of God’s creation”. With that pithy statement, their traditional spirituality expands, as their hearts open to embrace the Earth. They recognise their lifelong quest for God had brought them to eco-spirituality.

Eco-Justice is the work of the Brothers and the wider Edmund Rice Network to implement the Earth Charter in our communities, ministries and provinces, and to live out our eco-spirituality.