When Feeling Betrayed

The Wednesday before Holy Thursday has been labeled "Spy Wednesday" because of the plotting and treachery of Judas with the Pharisees to betray Jesus. Not only was the physical suffering that Jesus endured extreme, but the venality of one of his own chosen Twelve no doubt added to the pain. How often are we "betrayed" by colleagues or "friends", who behind our backs tear us down or dismiss us as a nuisance? Yet, with Jesus we can say,"
"This I know, that God is on my side...
in God I trust; I shall not fear:
what can mortal ma do to me?" (Ps 56: 13)
And like him, we can forgive. "Father, forgive them. They know not what they do." (Lk 23: 14).
Bro. Rene

The Annunciation of the Lord

In a happy convergence of dates, we pause on this Thursday before Palm Sunday to celebrate the day on which the Word, who will be offering his flesh and blood as our food and drink and his bodily death on the cross for our salvation next week on Holy Thursday and Good Friday, became flesh, took on our human nature and human body so that we might be redeemed from our sinfulness and rise with him to eternal life. W0w! That sentence reads like one of St. Paul's, filled to the top and overflowing. This day represents so much, it cannot be given justice in one sentence nor one paragraph. The Son of God becomes human: "To do your will is my delight" (Ps 40:9). The divine becomes human so that the human might partake of the divine. And so we do in our life of grace, in the Eucharist, and finally in union with God in heaven. And Mary's "Fiat", "Let it be done to me", echoes the Fiat of Jesus, and serves as an example of what our stance with God should be: always at his disposal, ready and willing to do his will. Not always easy, if we look at Mary's life, and especially along the Via Dolorosa and at the foot of the cross.
"Oh all ye that pass by the way stop and consider if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow. Mine eyes have failed with weeping as I behold the cruel death of my son." (cf. Lam 1:12). How our woes and sorrows pale in comparison to those of Jesus and Mary. And yet, "by his bruises we are healed" (Is 53: 5). When we face overwhelming and apparently unresolvable situations, we are prone to say, "Well, somehow, it will all work out", and it does. We are implicitly expressing the faith and trust in God's providence that enabled Jesus and Mary to do God's will. I suggest a slow praying of the Angelus throughout this day...now, as you finish this, at noon, and this evening. It succintly expresses what I've just written, as well as the whole mystery of the Incarnation and Redemption. "that we to whom the mystery of the Incarnation was made known by the message of an angel, may by his passion and cross be brought to the glory of his resurection, through Christ, our Lord. Amen."
Bro. Rene
P.S. I will be on an Encounter (retreat) with students and then on an Prayer Workshop till next Wednesday. No new slices of daily bread until the 31st.

Fidelity

"He [God] will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus [Christ]. God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowshiop with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." (1Cor 1: 8-9). God has shown his faithfulness throughout the centuries; as often as the Israelites strayed or rebelled, for example, God reached out to them and took them back. Jesus showed enormous patience and compassion when dealing with sinners and betrayers: the woman taken in adultery, Peter himself. That same willingness to forgive, to give another chance is always there, even, offered to Judas, no doubt. Had he accepted it, we'd be referring to him today as St. Judas. Startling, yes, but possible. Where would we be if it were not for God's fidelity to us, who stray, who sin how many times a day? Just look back to yesterday, and see where God has shown his fidelity. As we begin today, how can we show our fidelity to him?
O God, faithful and true, make me more like you. Amen.
Bro. Rene

Mary and the Cross

One of St. Marcellin's favorite suggestions was that Marists should seek the first places at the crib, cross and altar. During these weeks of Passiontide, let us focus on the cross. Naturally, we see Jesus, a man "despised and rejected by others; /a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;/ and as one from whom others hide their faces,/ he was despised and we held him of no account," (Is 53: 3). At the foot of the cross we find Mary Magdalene, John, and Mary, our Good Mother. We could look upon them as the first Marists: staying with, accompanying their "least favored", "most rejected and neglected," Jesus. Powerful. Mary, especially felt her helplessness, and a deep desire to either take his place on the cross, or at least be set up on another next to him. She had complete and total empathy with the flesh of her flesh and bone of her bone. It struck me this morning that this is the attitude which prompted St. Marcellin to forge our mission to the "most neglected." If we see them as Jesus, and ourselves as Mary, then we will do all in our power to remain with them, help them, bear their frustrations and pain lovingly, willingly, sometimes seeing results, sometimes not, but never abandoning them.

Yesterday, after writing Bro. Rene's Daily Bread, I read an e-mail from a former student at Bishop Donahue High School, where I was principal from 2000-2005. This young teenager was going through some tough times, academically and behaviorly, was always in detention and had several suspensions. The faculty would have been glad to see him expelled. By the grace of God I was able to see beyond this into the goodness in his heart, listened, gently prodded, and kept him in prayer. He graduated in 2005 and I came here to Central, but kept him in my daily prayers. After five years of silence, he wrote that he had "grown up", straightened out, and was now an Air Traffic Controller in the US Navy. He thanked me for the respect, care, "mentoring" and love that I had given him. It certainly was a "Marcellin Moment" for me, and a confirmation of our Marist Mission, NEVER to give up on the "despised and rejected." As Mary never "gave up" being with her "rejected" son, and followed him to the tomb, let us follow her example and exprience with here the joy of the resurrection of her sons and daughters whom we are being called to serve.
Bro. Rene

My Love Shall Never Leave You

As we focus on the intrigue, plottings and debates leading to the betrayal, "trial" and condemnation of Jesus in these final weeks of Lent, I've found that a prayerful viewing of the film that took the world by storm in 2004, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, is very helpful in seeing the suffering Jesus embraced to show his love for us. It is graphic, no question, but despite the criticism that the brutality is "overdone", it brings home the reality that scourging and crucifixion were not gentle nor bloodless. The corpus on our crucifixes, minimizes the wounds of the lashes and the crown of thorns, and only a doctor's report (See the book, A DOCTOR AT CALVARY) fully describes the pain that anyone crucified endured, much less one that had been so scourged and then nailed to a cross, rather than just tied with ropes, as was the usual custom. I make this suggestion today, so that in the next two weeks, you might plan a two-hour block, as I did last night, to watch the film, and use it for meditation as we approach Good Friday. I also recommend the production of ALL I HAVE DONE FOR YOU, which is a muscial passion play put on by students, and is also an excellent way to prepare for the holy days. It is being performed at Judson Hall at St. Augustine's on Tower Hill, March 27, at 7 pm and Good Friday, April 2, at 11:am.
Tied in with the message given by the Passion, are these thoughts from Isaiah: (54: 10, 14-15).
THOUGH THE MOUNTAINS LEAVE THEIR PLACE/ AND THE HILLS BE SHAKEN,/ MY LOVE SHALL NEVER LEAVE YOU/ NOR MY COVENANT OF PEACE BE SHAKEN,/ SAYS THE LORD, WHO HAS MERCY ON YOU.
IN JUSTICE, SHALL YOU BE ESTABLISHED, FROM FROM THE FEAR OF OPPRESSION, WHERE DESTRUCTION CANNOT COME NEAR YOU./ SHOULD THERE BE ANY ATTACK, IT SHALL NOT BE OF MY MAKING;/ WHOEVER ATTACKS YOU SHALL FALL BEFORE YOU."
Bro. Rene

Selfishness into Self-giving

Formerly known as Passion Sunday, when statues were covered with purple, and our thoughts were centered on the events which led to the passion and crucifixion of Jesus, this Fifth Sunday of Lent looks at the compassion of Jesus, but the ensuing days still focus on his final weeks of confrontation with the Pharisees and his eventual arrest and "trial" before Pontius Pilate.
We see a Jesus focused on his mission to bring forgiveness to sinners, "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more." (Jn 8:11), he says to the woman caught in adultery. The raising of Lazarus, his friend, comes as a result of the entreaty of Martha and Mary, but also is symbolic of his own resurrection and the new life offered to us, our resurrection from sinfulness and our guarantee of eternal life in heaven. Jesus knows where his preaching and healing is leading, but he doesn't stop reaching out to others. When we find ourselves "stretched to the max", we might think of this and remember that he will always be there to help us take that next step, the one we think we have no further strength, nor desire, to take. Today's alternative opening prayer at Mass might become our prayer throughout the day:
"Father in heaven, the love of our Son led him to accept the suffering of the cross, that his brothers and sisters might glory in new life. Change our selfishness into self-giving. Help us to embrace the world you have given us, that we may transform the darkness of its pain into the life and joy of Easter. Grant this though Christ our Lord. Amen."
Bro. Rene

Spring: Season of Grace

Today at 1:32 pm the Vernal Equinox occurs and Spring officially enters the Northern Hemisphere. A perfect day: it is sunny and warm, it feels like Spring and it is a Saturday. Not by accident is this transition from Winter to Spring happening just two weeks before Easter. As the earth again promises to bud forth new life in the weeks ahead, we recall that those preparing for Baptism will "bud forth" new life: the life of God. We will celebrate our own "new life" when we renew our baptismal promises. It is truly a season of grace.
And being Saturday, we think of Mary, God-Bearer, the Mother of Jesus, the author of this new life, Our Lady of Grace, the amazing Grace that has brought salvation to us. The Oglala Lakota and other tribes out west, think of the earth as Grandmother Earth. As we might be taking advantage of this fine day to clean our yards, we might notice the maternal, nurturing qualities of the earth as crocuses and daffodils break through the soil, buds appear on pussy-willows and forsytheas, and see the corrolation between Mary's role as mother and nurturer of the grace she made possible by her YES. We might be led to make our yard work a prayer, a meditation, a preparation for Easter, and a pledge to live our grace-filled lives with deeper attention to and appreciation of this season of grace.
Bro. Rene

Not Your Average Joe

Not Your Average Joe's, the name of a popular restaurant, is a good lead into this reflection on St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, Patron of a Happy Death, and, according to popular belief, an effective partner in the real estate business. What we know of Joseph comes in chapter one of St. Matthew, where we see him struggling with Mary's pregnancy, the persecution of infant boys by King Herod, which occasioned the hasty departure to Egypt, and his return to Nazareth. St. Luke includes him in two scenes, the presentation in the temple, and the finding of Jesus among the priests in the temple twelve years later. From these briefly recorded incidents, we see that as Mary was prepared even before her conception to be the Mother of God, Joseph too, must have been well prepared by God to assume the role of husband and father in the Holy Family. As distressed as any man might be over the surprising pregnancy of his betrothed, we see him in an angonizing disernment, "what to do?" The answer to this and to the other challenges he faced came to him in dreams, a frequent biblical literary device to indicate God's intervention and the answer to prayer. Joseph's faith and trust, his willingness to take risks, suffer uprooting and resettleing several times in order to protect and give his family safety and security, stand out as a template for fathers today, when similar circumstances make demands on contemporary families. His physical strength was necessary to enable him to make these arduous trips, and to work as a successful carpenter, but without his obvious spiritual and inner strength, he would have buckled under the pressures he faced.
As protector par excellence of the Holy Family, it is easy to see him in the role of Patron and Guardian of the Family of the Church, the Body of Christ; we conjecture that Jesus and Mary were at his side when he died; hence he becomes Patron of a Happy Death; and having to relocate several times, he had to know how to find a good house, and, no doubt, a good deal on one, hence our propensity to include him in real-estate sales and purchases by planting his statue at the desired location. Joseph was a good and just man, for whom doing God's will was the primary goal of his life: certainly NOT your average Joe!
Br. Rene

Bringing Jesus to the Marketplace

In a time when the familiar "God bless you" in response to a sneeze has been reduced to "bless you," for fear of public expression of the "G" word, how do we bring Jesus to the marketplace without being preceived as a "holy roller" or "Jesus Freak"? The old proverb, "Actions speak louder than words", might be the answer. If we look at others with respect, suspending judgement based on outward appearances, and try to see the goodness within, for we all possess that inner gem, then it might be easier to treat all people with the kindness and compassion we would enjoy being shown to us. We then would be living the commandment, "Love your neighbor as yourself", and would not have to "preach" it. Jesus certainly saw the good in others, "he eats with sinners and drinks with them," the people observed. We can be living examples of Jesus, thus making him known and loved through us. A smile, a word of recognition and encouragement, taking time to listen to another's stories, patiently answering the questions of an inquisitive child or co-worker, subtley "changing the thermostat" when conversation becomes gossip or heats up into the vulgar or indecent, all these ways are simple, natural ways of inserting Jesus into our everyday contacts with others and of bringing him to our increasingly secular market place. If we think about this, we can find even more ways. Let's bring this proposition to our prayer and actions today.
Bro. Rene

St. Patrick

In the Archdiocese of Boston, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated as a Solemnity complete with white vestments and the Gloria at Mass. "Happy St. Patrick's Day" or Happy St. Patty's Day" is the common greeting; corned beef and cabbage, parties, parades and Irish mirth and laughter are in distinct contrast to the "rigors" Lenten season. Legends, stories, and some truth, proliferate conversation. The successful missionary efforts of St. Patrick in Ireland are certainly worthy of praise, but above all, his humility, and his recognition of his own sinfulness and weakness which God turned toward the good, are often overlooked. He begins his Confessions with the frank statement, "I am Patrick, a sinner, most unlearned, the least of all the faithful and utterly despised by many." He describes his ignorance of the faith, his desertion of God and observance of the commandments, and God's intervention that "opened the sense of my unbelief that I might at last remember my sins and be converted with all my heart to the Lord my God, who had regard for my abjection, and mercy on my youth and ignorance, and watched over me before I knew Him, and before I was able to distinguish between good and evil, and guarded me, and comfoted me as would a father his son." A profound experience of God changed this young sinner into one of the most dynamic missionaries in the history of the Church. God's grace, and Patrick's honest, humble assessment of himself moved him to channel all his energy, all his being toward loving and serving God as He directed him. "Thy will be done." In the "wearin' of the green" today, may we look deeper into our own sinfulness, the need for conversion and God's will for us. We'll be right on track with St. Patrick and with the purpose of Lent.
Bro. Rene

Water

Water, water, everywhere! Have we had enough? Water is also a highly prevelant theme in both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. Ezechiel is brought back to the Temple and sees water flowing from under the threshold and trickling from its east side. The initial little stream becomes a large river, so large that swimming was the only way to cross it. These waters flowing from the sanctuary become the source of life in and around them. They are a symbol of the waters of baptism, which gives us new life in God.
The pool of Bethesda in the time of Jesus brought healing to the first person lowered into it after an angel had stirred it up. We remember the story of the man who had been there for 38 years waiting for someone to lower him in.
Lent is a time for catechumens to prepare for the life-giving, healing waters of baptism at the Easter Vigil, but it is also a time for us, the baptized, to take another look at the great gift we have received. Where would we be without the life of God in us? Where would we be without faith, hope and love?
As we enjoy the sunshine today, after this long stretch of clouds and rain, may we take a few moments to relish our baptism, give thanks for it, and ask God to continue to help us appreciate it and live it, rejoicing in the freedom it gives in this life as well as the promise it gives of eternal life on the other side of the river.
Bro. Rene

Mourning into Dancing

Wind and rain persist, causing much suffering due to flooding, power outages, automobile accidents and felled trees. Again, our routines are interrupted, our stress increases as we feel the muscles of our necks tighten and our heads pound. St. Paul tells us to "Rejoice in the Lord always!" (Phil 4:4). Always, even now? Does he know what he's talking about? Fortunately for us, he does. He has absorbed a theme prevalent in the Psalms and in the Prophets, and in the history of Israel and passes it on succintly to us. The theme of rescue is a familiar one:
"I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me
and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.

O Lord, I cried to you for help
and you, my God have healed me.

The Lord listened and had pity.
The Lord came to my help.
For me you have changed my mourning into dancing.

So my soul sings psalms to you unceasingly.
O Lord my God. I will thank you forever." (Ps 30: 1-2, 10-11).

May the rain be a reminder that God wipes away our tears when our faith in him remains strong during discomfort and frustration, and that indeed, he alone can turn "mourning into dancing." Let us face our day with confidence and rejoicing.
Bro. Rene

Laetare Sunday

Laetare, Jerusalem, "Rejoice Jerusalem! Be glad for her, you who love her; rejoice wih her, you who mourned for her, and you will find contentment at her consoling breasts" (cf Is 66:10-11). We are half-way through Lent, and are anticipating the joyful celebration of Easter and our complete reconciliation to God through Christ. So we recite in today's Entrance Antiphon. So did we sing in the Latin Introit, a beautiful chant announcing that Jerusalem's (our) struggles were nearly over and we could find contentment as would a child at his or her mother's breast. It's more than just a halway mark of our Lenten prayers, sacrifices and alsmgiving, indeed, it is a call for us to make a further push to be reconciled to God in all things. "Whoever is in Christ is a new ceation: the old things have passed away; behold new things have come. And all this is from God,..." (1 Cor. 5: 17-18). This is the new order we celebrate.
Those of us who have been following Cental Catholic's Boys Basketball team experienced a moment of tremendous elation last night as they capped the season with the State Championship by one point in a game that went beyond thrilling. Joy and celebration filled the DCU Arena. Our Easter joy should even exceed that high level, and will, if we pay attention in the next three weeks to what we are celebrating on that great day. The joy of Laetare Sunday anticipates it, and urges us to focus on it. May our participation at Mass today and our personal prayers be filled it.
Bro. Rene

Fridays and Fasting

Because Jesus died on a Friday, the Church has always looked upon this as the perfect day to do some form of penance. For centuries, we were obligated to abstain from meat, but after the Vatican Council, the individual was to determine what form of sacrifice or penance he or she would perform. During Lent, however, meatless Fridays are again the norm. As we follow this mandate, can we also find some other area where we can do some penance in view of the enormous outpouring of love-through-suffering that Jesus gave us on the cross, laying down his life for us? Perhaps attending Mass at noon or this evening; a more thoughtful praying of the Rosary, meditating on the Sorrowful Mysteries, or taking the time to pray the Stations of the Cross at church this evening or even just at home with a Stations prayer book, could be included in our prayer today. Could we forego a favorite TV program and use the time instead for meditation on the Passion, using the accounts in the Gospels to help us?
Could we do without our accustomed morning coffee? or desert? Could we do something extra special for someone in need? Whatever we choose, the idea would be to dig down and do something that "pinches", in order to feel to some extent the pain that Jesus endured as he embraced and kissed the cross he carried and on which he died. "Thank God it's Friday" has become a cultural catch-phrase, mainly because it is the last day of the work week, but truly, we can say Thank God it's Friday...the day that secured our redemption. Let's show Jesus that we are grateful.
Bro. Rene

Distractions

No matter who we are, we find ourselves plagued with distractions when we pray. No wonder; our world is full of noise, our lives are overpacked, powerpacked, with people, events, "things to do", so much so that we mercifully suffer from so much overload that we actually forget at least half of what we have to do each day. Naturally, when we try to pray, these things invade our time, minds, and hearts, and we find ourselves running through the "to do list" during the precious little time that we have for Mass and prayer. If it's not the "to do list," then it's the grossest fantasies that we think ever besieged anyone's imagination. What to do when our minds are in fast foward or the "combat zone?" First. panic not. Second, stop, take several deep breaths to calm our frustration. Third, pray for the people and events that are distracting us and ask for the grace to get back on track. Fourth, remember that we are not alone; everyone faces the same problem. Fifth, be consoled in knowing that if we are being blocked from prayer, it is a good sign that what we are doing is pleasing to God and not to the Devil. The image of high tide waves breaking on a rocky cliff for hours, then slowly receeding to low tide is a reminder that there is an ebb and flow to our prayer life. Sometimes we're in high tide and everything is strong, vibrant, and energizing. There are no distractions, we are in high consolation. God is very near. Other times, we find the tide of our prayer low, lacking vitality, and filled with distractions. But in both cases, the ocean is always there. It doesn't give up. So too must we remember that God is there in the low ebb of our prayer, even in the distractions.
Bro. Rene

Compassion

Compassion is an extension of the commandment, "Love your neighbor as yourself." It is a putting ourselves in the shoes of another, a"suffering with", yes, but also a "rejoicing with". It is seeing the good in the other, loving it, loving the person, loving the Giver of that goodness; it is, in a sense, becoming one with that person, whose accomplishments, successes, joys, failures, sorrows, whatever, become ours. St. Paul urges us, "Love on another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. Have the same regard for one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly; do not be wise in your own estimation" (Romans 12: 16). Has not God loved us so? Has not God had this compassion for us? When Jesus saw the hungry crowds and fed them, was he not bonded to them even in hunger? Did his multiplication of the loaves and fishes not symbolize the magnanimity of his Father? In the ultimate gift, the Eucharist, not only the Bread of Life, but his Body broken for us on the Cross, we experience the height and depth of God's compassion. We bend before it in unworthiness, only to be lifted by the invitation to partake of it daily, "This is my body given for you." If we feel that we lack compassion, we can simply ask for the grace to be compassionate, remembering that "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9).
Bro. Rene

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is a two way street. "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against. us." When Jesus taught us this prayer, which we say daily, he was echoing the wisdom of the Hebrew Scriptures. "Forgive you neighbor's injustice;/then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.
"Should a man nourish anger against his fellow/ and expect healing from the Lord?/ Should a man refuse mercy to his fellows,/ yet seek pardon for his own sins?" (Sirach 28: 2-4). If forgiveness is to be genuine there must be reconciliation, that is and agreement on BOTH sides to pardon, pick up, and move on in harmony. It is just not an intellectual forgiveness, but one that comes from the heart and can often result in a stronger bond between the two and a deep, abiding joy.
When we ask forgiveness of God, we need to be ready to forgive our neighbor, a small price to pay for the grace of divine mercy and forgiveness. O Lord, have mercy on me a sinner, and grant me the grace to forgive those who have offended me.
Bro. Rene

Looking for the Spectacular

The first reading at Mass tells us the story of Naaman the Syrian who was seeking a cure for leprosy. When he was told that all he had to do was wash in the river Jordan, he scoffed, saying that he could just as well wash in one of the rivers in his native Damascus rather than travel all the way to Israel. He wanted something spectacular, something thrilling and "different." The simple was not good enough for him, yet in the end, that's what worked. Are we not the same? And our current "culture" fosters this appetite for the grandiose, the extraordinary, so we are easily caught up in this mentality, literally trapped by it. It is similar to the prophet Elijah, who sought God in the hurricane, or thunder and lightning, but found him in the gentle breeze. Humility and simplicity are the characteristics of a good Marist who looks not for the limelight for his or her own deeds, nor seeks miracles with every prayer. No, by steadfastly and quietly carrying out the day's tasks, the day's prayer and good works, he or she finds God in the ordinary. A catch phrase in AA is "Keep it simple, stupid." Keeping it simple is keeping it Marist.
Bro. Rene

Wake Up!

The Third Sunday of Lent. Candidates for Baptism or Full Communion with the Roman Catholic Church receive their first Scrutiny, and we are reminded of God's loving kindness, and the need to wake up, recognize it, and be converted. This Lenten season of grace is slipping by fast, "March Madness" refers not only to the scramble for basketball championships, but to the incessant, helter-skelter scurried-ness of our lives. Today is a sabbath day, one that should allow us a break from this pattern so that we might devote more time to prayer from the heart, and the goals we have set for ourselves during Lent. We are in a purifying period, a cleansing, emptying mode in order that the fullness of grace, a deeper relationship with Christ might fill the chinks and crevices of our heart and become visible in our actions. A prayerful, slow, repetition of Psalm 103, with stops and ponderings over words or phrases that leap out to us and seem directed especially to us might provide the peace that we need to allow Lent to "do its thing" with us.

Bless the Lord O my soul;
and all my being bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.

He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.

The Lord secures justice
and the rights of all the oppressed.
He has made known his ways to Moses,
and his deeds to the children of Israel.

Merciful and gracious is the Lord,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
Bro. Rene

Medjugorje Is Calling

This being a First Saturday, it is fitting that we not only attend Mass, if possible and offer our Rosary for "the conversion of sinners", as Mary requested at Fatima, but also heed her most recent messages at Medjugorje. Since June 14, 1981, Mary has appeared each day to ask, to encourage, and to support all of us in our efforts to live a good, Catholic Christian life, devoting time each day to prayer "from the heart", especially the rosary, to the reading of Scripture and attendance at Mass as often as possible, to fasting, and to letting peace take over our hearts, which will eventually enable the whole world to find peace. "I am your mother, and the Queen of Peace," she often repeats. Over 40 million pilgrims have come to Medjugorje to experience the faith, the healing and the peace that one finds there. Many have gone several times, and each time, have been given something to further the growth of their spiritual lives. I recommend such a pilgirmage, and by the grace of God will be going for the third time this summer to attend the Youth Festival from July 29-August 6. Mary has asked that we bring our youth to her, but adults are certainly welcome. The cost is $2,400, and includes travel, lodging and meals. Here are two other options:
July 12-21, from New York's JFK for only $1,750. There would be an added cost for flights to NY from Boston, naturally. Brother David Cooney, F.M.S. will be leading this trip. He has been there many, many times.
The third option is September 18-26 for $2,200 from Boston. Claude Langlois from St. Monica Parish will be leading this trip. All three have "room for more." Please contact me if you would like to join the pilgrims on any one of these pilgrimages. If you can't, make a pilgrimage in your heart, beginning, today, by following Mary's requests.
Bro. Rene

Spiritual Almsgiving

We spoke yesterday of financial or material almsgiving, but there is another dimension that doesn't cost a penny: "spiritual almsgiving". This we have been doing all along, but perhaps never looked upon it as "almsgiving." We pray for others, giving of our time, and surplanting a desire to do something at a particular time, such as watching the news, and using those moments to offer a decade of the rosary, a whole rosary, or even just a Hail Mary, for the needs of someone else. We might visit someone who is ill, lonely, elderly, depressed, anxious, or mourning. Even attending the wake of a neighbor, colleague's relative, or family friend, "means a lot" to people; it just takes some of our time, but like giving food to the hungry, or a few dollars to the needy, it is an expression of love and brings hope and a sense that "someone cares."
Today is a First Friday, traditionally a day to honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus, whose heart burns with inexhaustible love for us. What a good day for "spiritual almsgiving", for bringing God's love in a tangible way to someone who feels distant from God, or unloved and unlovable.
Experiencing care and concern can make a difference in such a person. "The poor are all those who stand in need of our love, our time, our interest, our concern." (Magnificat, March 2010, p. 66)
Can we turn our backs on our brothers and sisters?
Bro. Rene

Almsgiving

Almsgiving is the third leg of the three-pronged program for Lenten practices suggested on Ash Wednesday, prayer and fasting being the other two. With the devastating earth quakes in Haiti and Chile, and most recently, in Taiwan, the call for financial help has reached an all-time high. "Donor fatigue", especially when things are tight in our own lives, might lead us to stop, saying that we've done our part and cannot do any more. When the "pinch" is felt, then the need to look deeper becomes necessary, and can be helpful. In the book of Deuteronomy we read, "If one of your kinsmen in any community is in need in the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor close your hand to him in his need." (Dt 15:7). Are we not all brothers and sisters, kinsmen all? Jesus reminds us, "As you have given, so shall you receive." (cf. Lk 6:38). Growth in trust becomes possible, necessary even, when we give beyond what we thought we could afford. As one friend said to me, "It always comes back to me in ways greater than I ever could have guessed." Fear and absorption in our own ineterests block generosity and the opportunity for God to show his largesse and loving care. God is aware of all that we do, and looks for ways to fill our needs. Holding back hampers his loving kindness. Truly, "as we have given, so shall we receive." Lent is a good time to try this.
Bro. Rene

Humble Service

The model for all of us who are called to serve others in one way or another, is Jesus. "The Son of Man did not come to be seved but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matt 20:28). The Baltimore Catechism's question, "Why did God make us?" was answered by, "God made us to know, love and serve him in this life and be happy with him in the next." How do we "serve him"? Well, keeping our eyes and ears open to needs around us gives us a pretty direct invitation. St. Marcellin responded to Jean Baptiste Montagne's ignorance of our faith by catechizing him on the spot, and then founding an Order of catechizers who would continue this work in perpetuity: The Marist Brothers. Today we remember St. Katherine Drexel, a wealthy Philadelphia heiress who used her fortune to build schools, staffed by the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, the congregation she founded, to educate African and Native Americans. Xavier University in New Orleans is one of these. She pitched in with her sisters, as humbly and devotedly as St. Marcellin, thinking only of others, not herself. She died in 1955 and was canonized in 1975, a relatively short time after her death. Yesterday, I was telling a man about a friend of mine who has nearly lost everything and is in very bad health. He immediately reached into his wallet and gave me a large sum of money and his offer of prayers for her. He insisted that the gift be made anonymously. When I called to tell her, she began to cry, saying that she had no money, her gas had been turned off, and wanted me to convey her deepest gratitude. Needs, responses, done quietly, without limelight or fanfare. All of us can do something like this in the footsteps of our Master.
Bro. Rene

Praise

"Blessed be God forever." We say this at least twice at the Offertory each time we attend Mass, and during Lent, we are substituting, "Praise to you, O Lord Jesus Christ" for the Alleluia.
We are not foreigners to praise and that is good, for praise is a very important part of prayer, but certainly seems to take a back seat to our frequent "request prayers", or prayers of petition. Let's just take a look at the prayer of praise for a moment so that we might raise it to a higher level of priority in our daily prayer.
When we praise others, we show our recognition for them in themselves, their beauty, their goodness, their uniqueness. We also express admiration for their accomplishments, usually surpassing by far what we can do. The focus is on THEM, not us. It is a selfless act, one that lifts us out of our little worlds and puts us for a moment into another world, one that radiates perfection, at least in our perception. So, when we praise God, the focus is totally on God, we are absorbed into God's beauty, goodness and being. We forget our needs, our problems, and find joy and peace in dwelling on this Perfect Other. It is a moment of heaven, even here on earth. A visit to a monastery where the Psalms are chanted throughout the course of the day, helps us understand why men and women would dedicate themselves to such a life of praise. We can do it in our own homes or churches, simply by picking up the Book of Psalms in the Bible and using it to guide us in our prayer of praise: honey and butter on our slice of daily bread!
Bro. Rene

The Light Is On

Cardinal Sean has come up with a very pastoral and practical opportunity for Catholics in our Archdiocese this Lent: "The Light Is On For You" is the name given to the availability of the Sacrament of Reconciliation EVERY WEDNESDAY evening during Lent in EVERY parish. What a wonderful gift! This all-important sacrament for helping us achieve the "transfiguration" spoken of in Sunday's Gospel couldn't be more accessible. Despite playoff games and the new TV shows replacing the mezmerizing Olympic Games, it would really be hard to find an excuse NOT to take advantage of this golden opportunity. If we looked upon this as a chance to sit with Jesus, have a heart-to-heart conversation, rid our souls of the dust and debris of months, perhaps even years, and come to Easter with a clean heart and a fresh approach to the practice of our faith, wouldn't we run to our churches? I know that St. Monica's doors are open from 6:30 to 8:30 pm each Lenten Wednesday. Check with your own parish and mark your calendar. The light is on for us you, for us!
Bro. Rene