God's Choices

As we celebrate the Solemnity  of Saints Peter and Paul, the amazing choices of these two to lead the infant Church and spread it's Good News are quite astounding. We know of Peter's "big impetuous mouth" as well  as his blatant denial of Jesus.  We know too of Paul's early career as a persecutor of "The Way".  Would you or I have chosen these two?  Yet God sees beyond the too obvious to something deeper, a spirit, when engaged fully for his work, can do marvels.  And so, he chose Peter, "The Rock" upon which to build the Church.  He chose the fiery Paul to preach around the Mediterranean Basin and establish communities of faith as well as to leave us a folio of letters which continue to guide us.  Yes, 2,000 years after these men lived, the Church, complete with its wrinkles, continues to be a vibrant body to continue the work of Jesus.  We pause and honor these two unlikely captains and pray that their example might help us to step up beyond our weaknesses to do "great things" for the spreading of the Good News.
Bro. Rene

Tender Love

Today's Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus focuses on the unlimited, burning and tender love of Jesus for all.  The image of a flaming heart within a crown of thorns and topped with a cross exposed on his breast sums up the purpose of this celebration: to make us aware God's love made visible in the sacrifice of Jesus for us through his passion and death.  It brings to mind Holy Week and the Easter Season we just concluded.  New life, a life of love, is available to us, is offered to us, awaits our loving response.  This is a day to reflect on how we see God's love at work in our lives and how we might return it and spread it to others.  May we experience the peace that comes from knowing that Jesus wants a personal relationship with us, knows us through and through, forgives us without condemnation or judgement and loves us with a lasting, passionate love.  No one on earth can offer us such a "package".  How blessed we are!  Thank you, Jesus. Draw us closer to your Sacred Heart.
Bro. Rene

A Solid Foundation

It's easy to throw words around.  Look at the newspapers or listen to reporters or politicians.  Ouch! Frightening.  Same with prayer, but Jesus warns:  "Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven."  (Matt 7:21)
No, these might protest that they even prophesied or drove out demons, but Jesus never knew them. (cf. Mt 7: 22-23)  It's where the heart is, and if it's centered on Jesus, the God-man, then there is substance; the foundation is solid.  The crowds, Matthew records, were "astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes." (Mt 7: 29).  After all, Jesus is the Son of God, and DOES have the authority to speak this way.  It's up to us to listen and integrate his words into our thinking and living: to base our lives on him and on no one else.
Bro. Rene

By Their Fruits

Today we find a warning and a clue. Jesus tells us "Beware of false prophets who come to us in sheep's clothing but underneath are ravenous wolves" (Mt 7:15).  Con men, scammers, the same in the time of Jesus, the same we deal with today.  How do we recognize them?  "By their fruits you will know them." (Mt 7:16).
The opposite is true, good fruits come from good trees,  How do we bear good fruit? St. Josemaria Escriva, founder of Opus Dei, reminds us that doing our smallest tasks with love enables even these daily, menial, routines to bear good fruit in the harmony and ease they produce in the home or workplace.  Loving what we do, loving the people who surround us, who cross our paths, bring joy to us and to others.  Mother Teresa said the same thing.  Love makes the difference, the fruits that fall from the tree of a loving heart nourish the hearts of others and encourage them to cultivate a love-based work ethic. May the fruits of a loving heart abound as we live today to the fullest.
Bro. Rene

The Golden Rule

Following his injunction "to do to other whatever you would have them do to you," Jesus tells his followers to "enter through the narrow gate"...which leads to life. (cf. Mt 7:12-14).  Keeping the Golden Rule is not easy, for putting "the other person" ahead of us, or at least treating him or her as we would want them to treat us, demands and fosters a sacrifice of my wants, my will, my way, a price that goes against our natural inclination to self-gratification and a sense of entitlement learned at an early age at home, and fostered by the affluence in which we live. We're not used to hearing "no" said to us, and least of all, do we say it to ourselves. In giving of ourselves to others, in treating them as we would like them to treat us, however, we find its reward more gratifying than we could have brought on by indulging ourselves.  The narrow gate is difficult and not everyone finds their way through it, but it is certainly THE way to go.
Bro. Rene

The Self-effacing John

Self-effacement, as in "he must increase, and I must decrease",  (Jn 3:30) is the signature statement of John the Baptist, cousin and forerunner of Jesus, born to "prepare the way" for him, and sharpen the consciences of people so that they might more easily receive his message. Yes, he had a powerful effect on his listeners who flocked to the Jordan River to hear this "voice of one calling in the desert"  (Jn 1:23) and to receive his baptism of repentance, but he stated clearly that "he was not the one."  There would be another, the straps of whose sandals he was unworthy to unfasten. (Jn 1:27) .He was feared by King Herod and hated by his "wife", Herodias, who cleverly maneuvered to have him executed, but he has been revered by believers for centuries, who have named countless children and churches after him and claimed him as the patron saint of Canada.
Now is the time for each of us and, particularly our hierarchy, to look closely at him and imitate his self-effacing view of his place in God's plan, and his focus on his "job" of preparing hearts to receive Jesus.  What would the Church look like if our Bishops and Pastors saw themselves as the Baptists for our time?
Bro. rene

The Bread of Life

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, the gift of himself to us under the appearances of Bread and Wine, major staples in the diet of his time.  Rather than return to the Father and "abandon" us, he left us this gift, a memorial of his Passion, Death and Resurrection and a means of staying in intimate contact with him, until we are united with him in heaven.  For, indeed it is the pledge of Eternal life:  "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. (Jn 6: 51) What love, what foresight, what joy and strength in this gift!  May we pay special attention to it today, not just at Mass, but throughout the day, thanking Jesus and reflecting on how our life is different because of it.
Bro. Rene

Entrusting Our Lives to God

Fourteen years before Paul wrote his Second Letter to the Corinthians, he had a mystical experience which brought him to the "third heaven", Paradise, where he heard "ineffable things, which no man can utter" (2 Cor 12: 4) Having experienced such bliss, you'd think his troubles were over, but earlier in the letter he listed a collection of trials and tests that make us shudder to read.  No doubt his "heavenly visit" helped to trust that somehow he'd make it alive through shipwrecks and stonings, but nevertheless he did not escape the ravages of opposition from all sides. 
We too try to put our trust in the Lord and live as the "birds of the air and lilies of the field" as we hear in today's passage from the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 6: 24-34), one of the most poetic, popular and assuring sayings of Jesus, but as  Paul experienced, we still face hardship and constant tests of that trust.  We too are made aware of our weakness, but can we embrace it and give thanks for it, as Paul did? May we someday be able to pray with him, "Therefore, I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and contrsaints, for the sake of Christ, for when I am weak, the I am strong. " (2 Cor 12:10).
Bro. Rene 

Where Your Heart Is

We all have some "favorite things," reminders of places we have been, people who've peppered our life with kindness and love, books we've read and kept, hoping for time to re-read them, family heirlooms. We treasure them and trust that no one will ever take them away from us, or that we will never have to give them up. However, as good as they are, they someday will "go away" "by hook or by crook."  We don't like to think about that.  Yet, as we grow older, we wonder what will happen to our "favorite things".  Who will want them?  What should I do with them?  To whom should I leave them or give them?
Jesus has an answer for us:  "Do not store up for yourselves, treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.  But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys nor thieves break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be." (Mt 6: 19-21).  And do we have to wait till heaven to have our treasure?  Can it not be in our hearts, here and now, in the hearts of the people we love and who love us?  In the heart of God himself?  Is not love the treasure that no one can take from us?
Bro. Rene

How Do We Pray?

Today's gospel presents us with the Lord's prayer, as recorded in Matthew (6: 9-13), 5 simple, yet power-pact verses. We have prayed it since childhood, and as adults need to "hit the brakes' because we can speed though it so fast, that we don't even realize we are saying it.  Not what Jesus intended, since he instructed them not to babble as did the pagans, but to be conscious of the precise words they were saying. When we see Paul's passion for the Corinthians (2 Cor 11:1-11), we get an idea of how we could pray these familiar words, with deep love, conviction and purpose.  Try for once to pray as if you were Paul.
Bro .Rene

Sowing Bountifully; Reaping Bountifully

Today's gospel is a repeat of the passage we heard on Ash Wednesday, pinpointing the three pillars of Lent and of a solid Christian life:  prayer penance and almsgiving. (Mt 6:1-6,  16-18). St. Paul in his Second Letter to the Corinthians, underscores his request for their financial aid by reminding them that "whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." (2 Cor 9: 6) While all this "giving" refers to money, it can also be taken as time, and talent.  We often can find some money to give to "the poor", but we tend to be "stingy" with our time, or some ability that can truly help others.  Seems like these, costing only our plans and a schedule adjustment, might be easier to do, but we hold back, choosing to reap sparingly.  When we do give abundantly, however, it always comes back to us in ways greater than the "cost".  God will not be outdone in generostiy.
Bro. Rene

Hard Sayings

Today's excerpt from the Sermon on the Mount asks what seems to be the impossible:  love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you, be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. (cf. Mt 5:43-48). Who can do these things? Have you ever tried even just one of them?  Seems beyond us. Love, however, is the answer, for love is of God and the most powerful tool, force we have...Dorothy Day says it in a palatable, convincing way:  "My prayer from day to day is that God will so enlarge my heart, that I will see you all, and live with you all, in his love." (Magnificat, June, p. 198)
Bro. Rene

Going The Extra Mile

All of us suffer from plan changes, interruptions, obstacles , unforeseen challenges, demands or requests requiring "our" precious time and we come to the point of giving up: "I'm done."  "Can't take it anymore." :"Done my part, now time for someone else." At that moment, it's time to look at what St. Paul went through, neatly summarized in a few compact but power-pact verses of 2 Corinthians 6:1-10. If that's not enough, today's gospel from Matt 5:38-42 reminds us to "go the extra mile",  resist natural tendencies to "back off", but rather,  push beyond our limits. That's what Jesus did.  A simple and effective way to stay on track with him is simply to repeat his holy name, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.  Strength come to push us to and through that extra mile.  Try it.
Bro. Rene

Loving Father, Holy Redeemer, Faithful Advocate

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, and in the United States, Father's Day. A perfect blend. We begin with the affirmation so forcefully presented in the First Letter of John, that God is love.(1 Jn 4:8). We try to fathom that love by thinking of the people we love most dearly but this is only a shadow of the God-Love.  So powerful is the love of the Father for the Son, that a Third Person, the Holy Spirit, exists.  It's beyond our understanding, and acceptable and accessible only through Faith. But what a model for Fathers, to imitate as best they can the immeasurable love of the Father for the Son! A love that binds the family together in an unbreakable bond, sustains life and abounds in loving guidance and protection.  Yes, :"the Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger and rich in steadfast love." (Ps 103:8), an inspiration and goal for Fathers.  All praise and thanks to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and all happiness and thanks to Fathers.
Bro. Rene

Causes for Joy

Blessings to 12 Marist Brothers who will be celebrating 60 years of Marist Brotherhood and one who will be celebrating 80!  A Mass and Banquet are being held in their honor in Douglaston, NY this morning.
Prayers also for the Driscoll family who will be burying their 16 year old son, Ryan, this morning.  May their sorrow be turned to joy as they give their son back to the God who created him.
Bro. Rene

Avoiding the Near Occasions of Sin

Jesus used hyperbole to stress the importance of maintaining order in our lives and avoiding sin, for he does not want us to water down the sin itself nor the subtle paths that lead to it  So, if the eye, what we look at, leads us to sin, "pluck out the eye" (Mt 5: 28). That is, take the eye off the enticement.  In our current world, a tap on a computer key, a click on a photo that comes up in You Tube, can lead us to a world of images that might easily transfer into our own behaviors.  No, best not to tap or click, and quickly move to something else....the song or movie we were originally looking for in You Tube.  If we flood our minds with inappropriate thoughts or images, it seems they never leave and pop up all the time. We have accumulate enough junk in the attic of our memories. let's not add more.
Bro. Rene

Surpassing the Scribes

As we read today's excerpt from the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:20-26) it seems that Jesus is asking the impossible from us.  No judging others, no anger? Well, we are called at the end of the Sermon "to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect."   The bar is set high, and we get the message that our virtue, our actions, behaviors and thoughts, must exceed those of even the most righteous of the day, the Scribes and Pharisees.  Not something we can do alone, but developing a mind-set based on the teachings and actions of Jesus, we can do more than we think.  Our life-long task is to develop that mindset...That's what today is for.
Bro. Rene

Obey and Teach

 (Note:  Please pray for the repose of the soul of Ryan Driscoll, a Central Catholic Junior who died an an auto accident on Saturday...His family needs lots of prayers, love and support... Please pray also for the success of Camp Champagnat, a leadership camp which begins today and runs to Friday...With prayer, all is possible.)

Jesus did not come to eliminate the Old Law, but to fulfill it. (cf. Mt 5:17).  He simplified the body of over 640 laws and even the 10 commandments to two:  Love God above all else, and neighbor as self.  Breaking even the least of commandments reduces a person to the position of "least" but obeying them and teaching others about them makes one great. (Mt 5:19).  Simple?  Then let's just do it!
Bro. Rene

Conflict

The Memorial of St. Barnabas, brings again to the fore the reality that at times conflicts arise between the best of friends, even between saints!  Barnabas was chosen to accompany Paul on the next phase of their evangelizing after both had had a successful "run" in Antioch, converting many.  However, a dispute arose between them over taking Mark with them, and they parted ways. 
How often do good people get tangled in some small issues where misplaced words and hurt feelings spoil something that had been very good.  We need to pray for open and forgiving hearts, as we learn to accept our human condition and the very real possibility that we many not be right all the time.
Bro. Rene

Mary, Mother of the Church

Pope Francis has instituted a new Memorial to honor the Mother of God,   "The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church." Fittingly, it is celebrated on the Monday after Pentecost, for Mary was among the Apostles on that day (cf. Acts 1:14).  As she was the mother of Jesus, she is also the mother of his "Mystical Body", the Church.  She continues to bring forth Jesus and nourish him as his Body grows throughout the world.  Jesus gave her to us as he was dying on the cross, and as she mothers us,we honor her by "doing whatever he tells us." (cf. Jn 2:5).  In a sense, this is the Church's "Mother's Day". We know how special this day is to our own mothers, so let it be for Mary, the Mother of the Church.
Bro Rene

The Power of the Spirit

Pentecost.  Strong wind, tongues of fire, multiple languages, 3,000 baptisms.  A spectacular birthday for a community of believers who would become the world-wide Church.  We might wonder why, especially in this age of disbelief in and disconnect, not only from the Church, but from one another, why there isn't another spectacular display of the Power of the Spirit.  Why aren't there spectacular conversions of thousand,  miracles of wind and fire to awaken a world of indifference and even antagonism?  Well, the answer is, there are.  There are individuals who cannot explain the change of course in their lives, from blatant and paralyzing drug addiction, for example, to a life of compassion, understanding and counseling of others seeking to recover from addiction.  From a life of total separation from God, to an active Christian life, even to the priesthood, brotherhood, sisterhood and ministry.  The Power of the Spirit never ceases; the Holy Spirit continues in our midst; we pray for increasing trust, faith, and commitment to the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. What a way to culminate the Lenten, Easter Seasons, on the wings of the Spirit!  Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of they faithful. Enkindle in them the fire-power of thy love.
Bro. Rene

Being Myself

Our gospel today presents two saints who evidently had an impact on Jesus, and certainly on the Church.  When we look at the few details we have of their lives, we see that each one simply was himself but mixed with grace, that was enough.  Peter's impulsive temperament  led him to extremes:  walking on water, cutting off the ear of Malchus, denying Jesus three times, repenting with bitter tears, declaring Jesus as the Messiah, and realizing that there was no other place to go, but to him. These flaws, these gifts, made Peter the chosen leader of the Twelve and later of the Church.
John, young, tender, deeply reflective, loving, loyal, obedient, trustworthy, became the caretaker of Mary and the author of the 4th Gospel which presents a loving Jesus whose message is love and welcome to all. John was close to Jesus, the beloved disciple, whose later years were devoted to contemplating Jesus, and sharing the fruits of his reflections and insights with us, as only he could do it.  Thank God John was John, and Peter, Peter.  Can we say that about ourselves?  How is God using ME to contribute to the building up of my family,  community, circle of friends, the Church?
Bro. Rene

Remaining Steadfast

With Pentecost fast approaching, we hear Peter's three-time confession of his love for Jesus in today's gospel.  We've heard the story many times, the "Do you Love Me, Feed my sheep story." It serves as a platform for us to receive the Holy Spirit again and again, with loving and dedicated hearts. If we are to be on fire with the Fire of the Spirit, our hearts must be like Peter's:  aware of blatant denials and shortcomings, as well as of God's choice to work through us to show his love to others.  With Peter, we need to renew our love for Jesus repeatedly, daily, hourly, continually. Challenges test our faith and our capacity to love at every turn.  Since we are called to love, be lovers of others, we cannot come to Jesus enough to receive his love and strengthen our love for him. "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." "Feed my sheep." (Jn 21: 17).
Bro. Rene

A Marist Celebration

On this day in 1840. St. Marcellin Champagnat breathed his last in the presence of the Brothers he loved so dearly.  After a life of faith, enormous struggle, and complete confidence in Mary, our Good Mother, he left a legacy of simple faith, trust and love to be carried to generation after generation through education of and service to those most in need. While directly focused on the education of youth, Marcellin also included the formation of young men, as consecrated religious brothers.  Now that formation is open to all men and women who desire to and do carry out the mission "to make Jesus known and loved" with passion and zeal. Now in 81 countries with thousands of students and teachers, the whole Marist World and all connected to it are celebrating with prayers of thanksgiving  for the man, who in cooperating with the power of God's grace, was able to have such a huge and lasting impact on the world. May God keep us faithful to the Marist Mission and add many more to the Marist Fold.
Bro. Rene

Protection From The Evil One

As Jesus was pursued by the Evil One, so are we.  His 40 day desert fast was punctuated by at least three temptations as recorded by Matthew, Mark and Luke. It would seem unlikely at first thought that while on a holy quest, that temptations would occur, but even our own experience reminds us that most often our worst fantasies and temptations attack us in the midst of our prayer, or before Holy Communion. "Holy Moments" become battle playgrounds for the Devil and battle grounds for us as we try to ward him off.  Knowing the ways of the Tempter, Jesus prayed for us, "keep them from the Evil One," (Jn 17: 15); rather than be dismayed by the presence of these temptations, we might rather turn immediately to Jesus and ask that his prayer be answered...or even better, pray with him, "keep me from the Evil One."
Bro. Rene

Jesus Prays For Us

 

 

Jesus prayed for us at the conclusion of the Last Supper that we might know him and the Father intimately and, strengthened by that knowledge and love, teach others about it, even amidst persecution rejection... His prayer continues to this day. Noted Catholic author, Mike Pacer,

gives us a succinct lesson on our mission and provides us with today's slice of bread: 

We are called to imitate the mission of Jesus. We must extend mercy to everyone, including ourselves. We must reach out to the poor, not only with money, but also with our time and our love. We must treat them with respect. We must give sight to those blind to the truth by lovingly sharing the fullness of faith found in Christ. We must forgive those held in bondage to us by past wrongs by forgiving them. We must also reach out to accept the freedom Jesus offers us from our own bondage, whether we are bound by sin, despair, addiction, egotism, materialism, or something else. (from Mercy and Hope by Mike Pacer)

Bro. Rene

 

"I Have Conquered the World."

As Jesus prepared his disciples for his departure, he warned them that :"hard times" awaited them, but told them to have courage, for he had overcome the world. "In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world." (Jn 16: 33). This assurance is like a shot of Vitamin B-12. something to restore our spiritual pep, for indeed, as we hear of shootings, corruption in all corners, opinions, ideologies totally contrary to the truth, and millions of people wandering in search of peace in all the wrong places, we can become discouraged and lose our own peace.
We're coming to the end of the Easter Season, but let's not forget the joy and power of  Easter morning seven weeks ago, when we shouted,"Alleluia, Christ has Risen."  By his rising, he has conquered sin, evil, death, despair, discouragement and depression.  Next Sunday, we will celebrate Pentecost, the unleashing of the Holy Spirit through whom the effects and power of the resurrection continue to flow into our hearts, into our world.  Jesus has conquered "the world" and given us the Spirit to uphold that conquest till the end of time.
Bro. Rene

Unity

The Gospel for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, the last before Pentecost, is taken from John, Chapter 17, Christ's "Priestly Prayer"  for his chosen band. He prays for unity of these men and not only for them, but "for all those who will believe in my through their word." (Jn 17:20), that they be one with him and with one another.  Pope John XXIII loved prayed earnestly, the Latin phrase, UT UNUM SINT, (That they may be one), distressed by the divisions that have split Christianity for 500 years.  He begged us to listen to Jesus, and strive fot the bond that unites him to the Father and can unite us with one another.  How else can "the world" know God, unless the believers reflect th unity within the Trinity and within themselves.  Division is a scandal, yet it will continue until we swallow whatever theological and ideological differences keep us separated, and humbly accept our unity in Christ.
Bro .Rene

A Tangled Hose

Have you ever tried to untangle a tangled hose?  It has a mind of its own, as noose after noose refuses to budge, no matter what you pull. It even bops you on the head.  Frustration, and challenge ultimately lead to success:  an un-kinked hose neatly on its rack.  Life can be a tangle hose...job loss, illness, loss of appetite, depression, all kinds of unwanted kinks in our lives.  When our determination wavers, we might call upon Mary, Un-doer of Knots, or go directly to Jesus:  "Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you>" (Jn 16:23). The tangled hoses come and go; there's always another time, even after unravelling it, it's never "for good."  No, it tangles again.  And Jesus is always there to untangle it with us.
Bro. Rene