Over the first three days, participants have taken part in sessions, prayer, service, and community life while continuing to explore the Lasallian mission and their personal call to serve.
The program began on Monday with registration, a welcome and overview, and an opening session on Lasallian vocation. Participants also gathered for liturgy, spent time in small groups, and ended the day with prayer and a community social.
On Tuesday, the focus turned to the story of the Institute. Br. Robert Schieler, FSC, and Alisa Macksey led a two-part session titled The Founding Story to Today. In the afternoon, Br. Ernest Miller, FSC, led a session titled What Makes You Come Alive: Formation in the Spirit, inviting participants to reflect on vocation and purpose. The day ended with dinner, small group time, evening prayer, and a social gathering.
Today, participants will focus on Catholic Social Teaching and service with the poor. The morning includes a session led by Regina Gauss-Kosiek, followed by off-campus service at two sites: Christ in the City (11:15 a.m.–1:15 p.m.) and the Blessed Sarnelli Community (11:45 a.m.–2:00 p.m.). In the evening, participants will return for a session on The Global Lasallian Mission featuring Br. James Martino, FSC, and Paulo Marques of the La Salle International Foundation.
Below is the VEGA 2025 Capsule created by Jon Hernández, which features highlights from his experience at the program:
VEGA 2025 Capsule
by Jon Hernández
Day 1:
Very exciting! The first day is full of emotions, of meeting amazing people, and experiencing the Lasallian zeal. If I had to describe the first day of VEGA with two words, they would be: very exciting.
Brother Paul would describe our first day with the word vocation. Vocation? More like Vacation. We learnt that vocation is when work feels like a vacation. Don’t get me wrong, we’re not saying vocation is easy, but when you’re passionate about what you do and you have God’s blessing, you could do anything you want, everything feels lighter, and you’re happier. We were invited to find God’s presence in our life story, but let us remember…
From silence to yapping.
From a great Mass to dinner
From Induction to Belonging
From followers to leaders
From Spanish to another language
From Music Room to Holroyd Hall
From Kahoot to is a hot dog a sandwich?
From our homes to La Salle.
Day 2:
Earnestly, we had a great time. From Brother Bob to Alisa, from Brother Ernest to Lasallian jeopardy, we learnt about the life of the founder and the women in the Institute. Brother Ernest taught us about formation, a whole education, a great presentation, and jeopardy was a full-on celebration.
We are open to follow God’s will for us, we feel empowered to continue doing our mission, and we feel moved to do it with passion. As we move through the week and continue learning about the founder, we’re making connections, just like a router.
We all came into the week with a lot of questions, and we’re already getting some answers. My great friend Ed Dee would say it better: “You came here with questions, but you leave as answers.”
Day 3:
Going out to serve others is part of our Lasallian mission. We head out to serve “the last, the least, and the lost” of Philadelphia, where we encountered God along the way. This moment gave us a chance to reflect on our own communities and places that could use our help.
From Regina we learnt about Catholic Social Teaching and Service with the poor, we had great conversations as we tried solving social injustices. Talking about things that matter to us like mental health, loneliness, women’s rights, health care, education, immigration, and purpose gives us a chance to express with passion the things we hold dearest to our hearts which affect our students, clients, and colleagues.
Going through the motions of feeling hopeless, helpless, and desperate, Br. Jim Martino made us feel hopeful, empowered, and inspired reminding us of the Lasallian Global Mission and the efforts that as a Global Lasallian Institute we make to help those in need, those which are called “the last, the least, and the lost.”
