Be Strong in the Lord

June 1st, the beginning of the sixth the year, the half-way mark of the "new" year which seems began only minutes ago. Our high-speed pace seems to know no end, even with the prospect of some vacation time looming in the weeks ahead. Not disconcerted by what WE may be conceiving as overwhelming odds, the Church calendar begins this month dedicated to the Sacred Heart, and by customary preference, a month of weddings, by honoring one of the early Martyrs, a man called Justin, who was a philsopher at he time of emperor Marcus Aurelius, that is the mid-second century...a long way back. His relevance to us, almost 2,000 years later, is the confidence he had in God his rock, his strength, his fortress and his shield. The threat of death did not weaken his resoved to remain faithful to Jesus, whose suffering and cross served as bullwarks for his faith. Above all, it was his love of Jesus, and a life lived in conformity to his teachings that gave him the certainty of life with Jesus beyond death.
Our deaths are a certainty, but WHEN they will occur is unknown. However, two friends of this area are hovering on the brink of eternal life: Sr. Mary Shea, dying of cancer and "in her last hours", and Brother Rick Carey, former principal of Central Catholic, who is now in a medically induced comma after collapsing in Rome with a brain aneurysm. St. Mary is in her 80's, Br. Rick is only in his late 50's. Their situations point to the need to "be strong in the Lord" and like Justin, deepen our reslove to love and remain faithful to Jesus.
Bro. Rene