Living With Limitations

Sometimes the awareness of our limitations leaps out at us almost to the point of crushing us. We cringe when we realize that our limitations are part of who we are, and cannot be hidden. Sometimes they are as glaringly apparent in the eyes of others as their faults are to us, who have been criticizing them in our own minds. When they throw our faults back to us, we cannot but feel humbled, almost helpless, and perhaps even near depression. "After all these years, I'm still what I was years ago. Hasn't there been any progress?" We ask ourselves this question, we punish ourselves. we get lost in our poverty. As Pascal said, There is an "impatience with one's limitations", a desire to flee from them. But, we must learn from them, we must be humbled by them and bring them to God in prayer, for prayer helps us to become that person of integrity, that real person we hope to be, that we thought we were. Prayer cleanses us from our false image and helps us realize that only God can cleanse us and make us authentic. He sent his Son to free us from our delusions about ourselves, and make us real. Facing our limitations is a means toward growth, toward wholeness. As painful as it is, may we not shy away from our brokenness, but rather, welcome it as the invitation to Jesus to heal us.
Bro. Rene

I Have A Mission

As we begin this week which sees a brutal February end, the beginning of March with predicted blustery winds as it comes in like a lion, and "Spirit Week" at Central Catholic, it might be good on this snowy morning as part of our Sabbath Reflection before or after Mass, to remember that each one of us is here for a unique purpose, a "mission impossible" , as it might seem at times, but definitely a mission. St. John Henry Cardinal Newman, must have written the following prayer at such a time, and on such a day as this. It seems to fit perfectly, so I thought I would offer it to all of you today:
"God has created me to do him some definite service; he has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. I have my mission--I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next.
"I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good. I shall do his work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place while not intending it--if I but keep the commandments.
"Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve him; in perplexity, may perplexity may serve him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what he is about. He may take away my friends, he may throw me among strangers, he may make me feel desolate, make my spirit sink, hide my future from me--still he knows what he is about. Therefore I will trust him."
May his prayer be our prayer.
Bro. Rene

Expanding Our Love

"If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles." (Mt 5: 40-41). When we abide by the prescriptions of our job description, we are deemed "a good worker." When we go beyond that minimum, putting in extra hours, sacrificing our own time to accomplish more than what is required, we win admiration and the possibility of a raise, or a promotion. What Jesus is suggesting here is that we "go the extra mile" not only for our neighbor, or for those who cannot return the favor, but even for those who have wronged us. When we give beyond our natural inclinations, or in a sense, sacrifice the free use of our time and talent, and do so for the love of God, we are expanding our capacity to experience God's love and deal it out to others in a way that mirrors God's everlasting and unconditional kindness and compassion. It is the kind of love that forgives wrongs, and as with the martyrs, enables us to pray for those who persecute or deal unjustly with us. It is the kind of love that demands death to self-pity, self-centeredness, and fosters growth in our ability not only to endure the unfairness of others, but as with St. Francis, to find joy in these circumstances. It contradicts the mind-set of the world, and blends with the expansive love of Jesus which brought him to the cross and enables all who choose to follow him that far, to share in the redemption of humanity. "Lord Jesus, expand my heart to forget self and joy in whoever and whatever you send into my life, that my love may embrace them and be willing to "walk the extra mile with a smile." Amen.
Bro.Rene

A Revolution of the Heart

With revolts and revolutions dominating the headlines, it seems appropriate to refer to our former Superior General, Br. Sean Sammon's call for a Revolution of the Heart, if we are to meet the challenges that are becoming more and more acute every day. If we are not only to survive, but conquer, we need to remember that "In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ. (Eph 1: 11-12). The revolution is a major shift from anxiety, discouragement and pessimism to a healthy trust and reliance on God. St. Paul reminds us that "He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else along with him?" (Rom 8:32). And further, he writes, "I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rm 8:38-39). Again the focus is on Jesus, rather than on us; we need to revolt against our own self-centeredness to a total trust in and reliance on Jesus as the source of the strength we need to defend the Truth brought to us in him. Come, Lord Jesus, turn my heart to you, replace my timidity and hesitancy with boldness born of trust in and reliance on you. Amen.

Bro. Rene

End of the World?

With all the tumult, violence, and unravelling going on in the Mid-East and in our own country, the earthquake in New Zealand, and dire predictions of a huge global economic collapse if oil and gas prices continue to soar, peope are asking, "Is it the end of the world?" Perhaps it signifies the need to end our world as we have been living it: rampant immorality, dishonesty, self-seeking, self-centeredness, etc. These political and natural upheavals might be the occasion for us to re-evaluate our own moral and spiritual stance, and bend our knees in sincere prayer from the heart for forgiveness, mercy, and firm purpose of amendment. Lent will be here in less than two weeks, so we have time to plan how we will spend these 40 days of grace. Personal repentance will have an effect on others, our families, our communites, our country, the world. It begins with each one of us.
Bro. Rene

Preserving the Truth

Yesterday's Feast honoring the Chair of Peter emphasizes the ROCK upon which Jesus built the Church, and the promise that "the gates of hell will not prevail against it." Looking at the history of the Church, one discovers a mixture of every facet of human dignity and deprevation. From the ashes of her worst moments, new levels of glory have emerged, as from her mistakes, good was born. Our recent experiences of disappointing behavior and scandal shock us, but they are not new. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit and despite the human errors and failures over the centuries, the truth has been preserved. Our Marist Tradition is dedicated to bringing this truth to the young, and despite the financial struggles or encroachments of secular values we face,we remain faithful to the Truth found in Jesus Christ and preserved in the Magisterium of the Church. May the Holy Spirit stay with us and guide us through the fog that sometimes hides the firm promise of Jesus that the gates of hell will not prevail.
Bro. Rene

Presenting Our Needs

If we look at the way we petition God, we might not be surprised that the positive answers we seek are long in arriving, for they are prayed without the faith which Jesus always mentions as a prerequisite. "Go in peace, your faith has saved you." It wasn't the whining or the repetition, but the faith that got the answer. Evidently, Jesus doesn't want us to beg him for cures or whatever, but simply to lift up in trust the people or needs for which we are praying and remind him of what he already knows. I always loved Mary's, "they have no wine." She didn't say, "Please, Son, save them from embarrassment, produce some wine for them, please Son...please..." Oh, to be faith-filled enough to pray that way! A friend in the Marines in Afghanistan described digging a bulldozer out of the mud...quite an analogy to what our prayers are like, Praying, "get the bulldozer loose" didn't help, but shoveling, shoveling, shoveling, and did I say shoveling? in God's presence worked. In my own experience, I with several other friends looked for a young calf for hours in a cornfield, even to the point of "mooing"to attract it, but all to no avail. We left frustrated, only to see the next morning that the calf had found its mother without our intervention. May we at some point in our lives learn how to pray by simply "laying it gently before the Lord."
Bro. Rene

Wisdom and Holiness

The desire for wisdom and holiness stems from deep within, a human longing as much a part of us as the instinct for survival, and as elusive as they may seem at times, the quest for them never ceases. When God proposes the ultimate reason for holiness, "Be holy for I, the Lord, your God am holy," (Lev. 19:2), he outlines the basics for achieving it. "You shall not bear hatred for your brother or sister in your heart. Though you may have to reprove your fellow citizen, do not incur sin because of him. Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against any of your people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord." (Lev. 19: 17-18): two verses that challenge us to "go against the grain" but which will help us to "Be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect." (Mt 5: 48).
Wisdom comes with inviting the Holy Spirit to help us, for this is a roadmap that cannot be traveled alone. Pope Leo XIII wrote, "Whatever we are, that we are by the divine goodness; and this goodness is especially attributed to the Holy Spirit." God will fill any emptiness within us with the Spirit if we make room for him, if we empty our hearts of malice, if we "harden not our hearts." (Ps 95: 4). The gifts of the Spirit, "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self--control" (Gal 5: 22-24), will provide the wisdom we need to move step by step to the holiness described in Leviticus. Humility is one of the earmarks of Marist Spirituality that recognizes the need for wisdom and holiness. We therefore humbly pray, Come, Holy Spirit, fill what is lacking in us with your wisdom, with your gifts, with your holiness. Amen.

Bro .Rene

Simple Prayers

Sometimes, when we feel "the well has run dry", the card is blank, or our burdens too heavy, it's time to turn to the simple prayers, such as, "Jesus, I love you." "My God, I love you." "Jesus, have mercy on me." Jesus, forgive me." "Thank you, Jesus." The purpose of prayer is to put us into peaceful contact with God, not necessarily to pray for the needs of everyone we can think of, or come hell or high water, to "put in" a certain amount of time each day in prayer. These reasons are not to be denied or eschewed, but if they are causing stress, or are not leaving us with a sense of belonging to God, then, they are defeating the purpose of prayer. Contact with God through prayer should leave us peaceful, stable, assured, trusting, and loving. So much so, that even without words, people see those qualities in us, and receive from us these gifts. Quiet time before the Lord, with the Lord, repetition of these simple prayers will give us the calm and serenity that comes as a grace. Let us not be anxious, but let us be filled with the love and power that only God can give.
Bro. Rene

Niall Murphy, RIP

The shocking news of the sudden death of Niall Murphy, Hall of Famer and exemplary student and alumnus, again brings us to our knees in gratitude and resignation. We are fragile; "we know not the day nor the hour"; we are NOT the captain of our own ship. May Niall rest in peace and may we not forget him.
Bro. Rene

Opening Our Hearts To All Humanity

Our daily mission brings us into contact with all kinds of people, different beliefs, different experiences, different morals, and different ways of accepting the gifts and challenges of life. In following in the footsteps of Jesus, we agree to embrace all of humanity as he did. He removed all barriers between himself and whoever came into his life, failing only with those whose hearts were not open to receive his embrace. The Pharisees opposed him, denied, him, feared him, and sought to destroy him. He reached out to them, he challenged them, and he scolded them, as he longed to embrace them. They refused. So it is with us. We will not touch or have a positive effect on everyone, but somehow, our peacefulness, our lived witness rather than our words, will make an impact that might reach fruition only years down the line. We are tempted to give up, wondering if our kindness will have any lasting effect on people. It is not ours to judge, it is ours to keep opening our hearts and allow God's grace to work through us. It is God's grace that will open hearts. Let our open hearts be the channels for that grace.
Bro. Rene

Short-sigthedness

It's amazing how the Big Picture overpowers our limited vision and both calms and humbles our urgent need to have things done immediately and in "our way." God's every present loving kindness, peace, and assurance of loyalty emerge as all that really matters. And our consternation over the slowness of his answers to our prayers, or the discouragement provoked by our daily shortcomings and repetitive failures, melt into a pool of confidence when we think of our past, sit quietly, and simply look at the beauty that surrounds us. These are the signs of God's long-sightedness; this is where we get the power to keep moving forward.
Bro. Rene

Brother Declan Claude, R.I.P.

Central Catholic Alumni from the early fifties might remember a young and hilarious Brother Declan Claude, who taught for a year or two at Central. His quick wit and engaging personality left a lasting impression on me when I first met him in 1957. He was then teaching at St. Helena's High School in the Bronx, and was moderator of the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary there. We met at the Summer School of Catholic Action at Fordham University, where thousands of Sodalists had gathered for a week of inpsiring talks and workshops.
After a long career in the classroom, mostly spent at Archbishop Molloy, High School in Queens, he retired to Champagnat Hall and after a short stint at St. Patrick's Nursing Home in the Bronx, went home to heaven on Tuesday. He will be buried on Friday.
Countless are the hearts he affected in his long life of living out the vision of St. Marcellin; his death brings to mind the other Marists who have so touched the lives, in one way or another, of those who chew on this Daily Bread. It is a time to pause, pray for the repose of his soul, as well as those of other Marists who have passed on to the Father, and to give thanks for the example, love, and legacy they have left us. May they rest in peace.
Bro. Rene

All God's Children

A delight for me to be able to offer a slice of Daily Bread from Florida. It's Sunday, just after noon and before the Miami Heat try to melt down the Boston Celtics. Only in the mid-sixties today, so perhaps the Heat wont' be successful. You will read this on Monday, and will have known the outcome well in advance. I tried writing Saturday for a Sunday reading, but could not for the life of me remember the code to get into this blog. After many experiments yesterday and more today, I finally hit on the right combination of user name and password. I think you can empathize with me from your own experience. I only use them while on the road. Otherwise, I just hit "Favorites" and there I am, with Bro. Rene's Daily Bread right in front of me.
The expanse of God's unconditional love and eternal patience is evident and humbling. As the words, "our" and "us" in "The Lord's Prayer", indicate, all of us form one family with God as our Father. We are all brothers and sisters, all God's children, no matter at what stage we find ourselves. Let this realization help make us more compassionate, patient, accepting and loving towards one another.
Bro. Rene

Miracles at Lourdes

As we celebrate the Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, crutches, wheelchairs, Lourdes water, candle light processions with thousands of people, and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament come to mind. The first apperition was far from this and the basilicas above and underground that have since been built. The simplicity of Bernadette's reaction, fear, and then calm and the quiet words of Mary, "I am the Immaculate Conception" carry power even now as they did then in 1858. Millions have gone to Lourdes for healing of physical ailments, and although over sixty have been officially accepted, the miracles of change of heart or restoration to faith cannot be counted. I met a Little Brother of Jesus in Assisi who had been a professional thief in France, went to Lourdes and received the grace to turn his life completely around and follow Jesus as a member of the congregation begun by Charles de Foucauld. He taught me a song that I have never forgotten: "I want to praise you on my way, O Lord. I wish that my path be your path. I want to serve you on my way." Our prayers to Jesus through Mary can be that simple and in our own homes and hearts, we can experience the miracle of Lourdes.
I will be spending the next week and a half with an elderly friend in Florida, as I have done the past two years. I will have occasional access to e-mail, so during that time Bro. Rene's Daily Bread may not always be daily. Will keep you all in prayer.
Bro. Rene

"Whatever"

During last evening's Faculty Faith Formation session, called "Gathered Around The Same Table", a story was told about a person whose simple prayer to begin the day is, "Whatever", and the prayer to end the day, "Enough." We related those words to Mary's stance in her response to the proposal delivered by the Angel Gabriel: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word." (Lk 1:38). Summed up in Latin as "fiat", and in Hebrew, the equivalent of the English, "whatever." The following passage details what is implied in "whatever."
"It is the easiest and also the one right thing: wherever the Lord has allotted us our place, we should live wholeheartedly and accept reality, just as it is. If, then, we find ourselves in a situation that overwhelms us, we will have the goodwill to learn gladly and not flinch at the difficulties or the burden. For we know that this makes us able to serve better...
"Everything is simple in Christ, our friend and brother. Yet, how inclined we are to make the simplest things difficult and complicated. 'If you do not become like children, you cannot enter the kingom of heaven' (Mt 18: 31). This kingdom is simplicity, peace, and joy from the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit...
"Let us have confidence! What seemed to be impossible yesterday can with God's grace become possible tomorrow...
"God is good. Let us surrender ourselves to him in the plights of our times, fully, quietly, and without counting the costs.
"The Lord is always with us in his all-wise Providence as our strength and our stay."
--Mother Julia Verhaeghe, foundress of The Spiritual Family, The Work.
This could easily have been written by St. Marcellin: exactly his thinking and hope for all Marists.
Bro. Rene

Putting Our Best Foot Forward

We begin our day with sunshine, smiles, good memories, challenges, opportunities to extend kindnesses on the road, with our colleagues, in our families, and opportunities to receive kindnesses from others. If we all put our best foot forward today, what a different we can make in our own outlook and in the lives of others.
At Central today, students and faculty are donating blood, a wonderful concrete manifestation of a desire to "give life" to others. In the faculty lounge, the Parent's Guild is serving an appreciation breakfast to the teachers in recognition of their selfless hours of instruction and good example to our students. Parents who attended the Accepted Night event on Monday are expressing their delight at the welcome they received and for the enthusiasm that the evening generated in their children. It was a night when we put our best foot forward and it paid off. Let's take every step with our best foot forward!
Bro. Rene

Family Spirit

One of the major aspects of Marist Spirituality is our Marist Family Spirit. Our Marist constitutions remind us: "Thanks to Father Champagnat, the first community of Marist Brothers was a real family. He shared their life at La Valla and at the Hermitage, and gave everything he had for them. He told them: 'You know that I live and breathe only for you. I ask God everyday to give you everything that is good, and I am ready to make any sacrifice to see that you get it.'
"This is why the Brothers loved him like a father. From contact with him, and gathered around their Good Mother, they gradually deepened their understanding of the brotherhood, dedication and self-sacrifice in the service of others.
"To be faithful to this heritage which has come down to us through generations of brothers, we try to live in community with a strong family spirit. By doing so, we fulfill our founder's great desire: 'Love one another as Jesus Christ has loved you. May you be totally united in heart and mind.'"
St. Marcellin's deep passion for the brothers, his love, solicitude and willingness to expend himself, are qualities that are applicable to our extended Marist Family, all who in some way come into contact with us through our schools or this daily slice of bread. These qualities can be gradually absorbed by families as a template for enriching family life as the brothers gradually and daily try to apply them to our community life and the way we conduct our schools.
Bro. Rene

Jesus First

Prior to Super Bowl XLV, over 120 relgious gathered in Tewksbury, Massachusetts to hear Sr. Barbara Metz whittle down the Consecrated Life to its bare essentials: putting Jesus First and anwering his call to "be with him." It was a simple yet powerful affirmation of the Consecrated Life. In a similar vain, I found a series of interviews at http://www.spiritdaily.com/, "Super Bowl Players" talk about God, with many of the players we watched embattled in the Super Bowl game say the same thing. One would not expect to hear these professional football players describe how they have come to learn that putting Jesus First is what to them really matters. Both Greg Jennings and Mike Tomlin affirmed that who they are comes from faith, but what they do is play football. Even "Big Ben," whose recent behaviors have not been exemplary, said that in returning to the roots of the faith in which he was raised, he hopes that he will continue to turn his life in the right direction and someday become a happy, husband, father and grandfather. If you want an early uplift, go to this site. Have your children watch it. They need to hear such testimony as they strive to find out what it means to lead a good life, and so do we, for that matter. In your families, you are striving to teach these values, and so are we at Central, but sometimes hearing it from professional athletes helps reinforce our lessons, or might even have more impact.
Bro. Rene

World Day for Consecrated Life

Throughout the Church Univesal, time and prayer are being set aside to reflect on the value of the Consecrated Life (formerly known, and in most places, still known as Religious Life), and to thank and encourage those who have answered the Call. It is refreshing to read that the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity in Manitowoc, Wisconsin have four young postulants in their first phase of formation for the Sisterhood. A small number compared to "the old days," but nevertheless, a ray of hope after years of no candidates. Is it a trend? A bit early to say, but the climate does seem to be changing. There is an openness to listen to, consider, and even move toward serious discernment regarding the Consecrated Life by young people ranging from high school freshmen to adults in their 30's. These are people who are growing more and more disatisfied with the empty promises of happiness that materialism offers, and who want to cut to the essentials of living simply and serving those in need, the handicapped, the orphaned, those struggling with addictions or lack of direction, those having no families, or broken families. Many of this new generation of healers have walked a long path of discovery themselves and have "seen the light." They want to dedicate their lives to enlightening others still in darkness. They want no fancy trappings, but bare-bones, gutsy service nourished by prayer and community. They are willing to leave their homeland to travel to the Third World to help pick up the pieces of war, oppression and genocide. In years past, they would have been the ones to joing missionary orders. Perhaps they will be the ones to start new orders or help existing orders return to their primitive roots and charism and cast off the "fat" that has accumulated over the years. This is worth praying for, as the majority of members of the consecrated life are well over the "retirement" age. There is not much time left to find "replacements." Prayer, sacrifice, encouragement and example can go a long way in planting the seeds that grace will bring to maturity. Join us religious today as we take a good look at ourselves, our past, the present and our future. Pray that we might live the calling we answered and serve as magnets for the young.
Bro. Rene

Reliance on God

We like to think we are independent and can take care of ourselves. But when it comes to living our faith, first and foremost we need a healthy reliance on God and a community of believers, even one other person. Our faith demands that we be counter-cultural, but it is very hard to stand alone against the flow of values and mores that oppose our own. Jesus asks us to walk with him and allow his power to lead us to victory. When someone comes into our life who knows Jesus and has committed himself or herself to him, the power of Jesus is felt. Being alone is scarry, even as we remember our childhood fear of the dark...nothing worse than entering a darkened room and hearing an unfamiliar creak. For sure, someone is in there ready to pounce on us. Remember? But with someone at our side, we took on a new bravery. So too with the living of our faith. A companion is a stand-in to help us find our strength in God.
Bro. Rene

Encountering Christ

Last evening the Marist Youth Encounter Christ retreat began in Esopus, NY with 75 students from Marist schools participating in this intense experience of discovery of Jesus and experience of him through the sacraments of Penance and Eucharist, the Scriptures and one another. Three students from Central Catholic will be making in Encounter, while one student will be a group leader, and the other, working in the kitchen. One of our teaches will be an adult group leader. It's a four hour drive to Esopus, and a considerable commitment of time, for it runs until Sunday at noon, and each day closes at midnight. Yet the results, a sense of a community of love, new friendships, and a desire for a deeper relationship with Jesus, are worth the effort. The support of our prayers is very important in this process, so may I ask for yours this weekend, and next Wednesday till Friday when 40 or more of our students will make an Encounter in Whitinsville, Massachusetts, an Encounter which has been potponed twice because of snow.
These Encounters are part of our mission "to make Jesus known and loved" and are thus a very important factor in the religious education and formation of our students. We have seen the power of grace at work in these Encounters since we began them in 1968. The difference in the students between the first day to the last is like night and day, and always provokes the comment, "It works." Let us lift up those making the Encounter and those leading it to Jesus and Mary.
Bro. Rene

Saint Blaise (Blase)

Again the roads prohibited many from attending weekday Mass and receiving the annual blessing of the throats on this traditional day, February 3rd, the Memorial of St. Blaise. Legends have arisen over the centuries since his martyrdom in 316, under Constantine's co-Emperor, Licinius (who at first supporting Constantines' sanction of Christianity, turned against it and persecuted Christians until Constantine defeated him in battle). What we do know about St. Blaise is that he was a physician who later became a priest and then, by popular acclaim, as was the custom then, bishop of Sebaste in Armenia. One story has him saving a poor woman's pig who was under attack by a wolf; this woman later brought food to him when he was imprisoned. However, the most popular story is his curing of a young boy who was choking on a fishbone; hence the blessing of throats, a custtom and sacramental popular in the East and West.
Although the blessing is invoked for physical illnesses of the throat, by extension is can also be a prayer for control of the tongue. As St. James reminds us, "If you claim to be religious but don't control your tongue, you are just fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless." (Jas 1:26). Further on, he elaborates on this and provides us for a healthy slice of daily bread on which to ruminate today: "People can tame all kinds of animals and birds and reptiles and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is an uncontrollable evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it breaks out into curses against those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing a cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!" (Jas 3: 7-10). As parents used to wash the mouths of their children who swore and used vulgarity, so we might ask St. Blaise today to help us hold back or modify those familiar vulgarities which slip so easily from our mouths as excitement or anger mount. We might also invoke him to help us hold back that juicy bit of gossip, or that story which might hurt a person's reputation or esteem in the eyes of others. I'm sure we can keep St. Blaise busy today!
Bro. Rene

Candlemas Day

Not only is February second "Groundhog Day", but more importantly in the Liturgical Year, it is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, that is, when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple to fulfill the Law of Moses which prescribed that a first-born male should be presented to God in thanksgiving for the sparing of the first-born children during the 10th plague. It was also the occasion for the mother to offer a sacrifice of purification for her legal stain. Hence, being poor, Mary and Joseph offered two turtle doves. The significance is the Presentation lies in the symbolic union of Jesus with his father, and with us, as a human being subject to the same laws as other Jews. Later, he equates the Temple with himself. "Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up."
The observance of the Feast includes the blessing of the new candles to be used at Church and at home. Often a procession with the newly blessed lighted candles takes place as part of the liturgy. The candle, made of beewax represents the humanity of Jesus, and the light, his divinity, as "the light of the world." Because of the weather, not many people will be able participate in the liturgy, however our friend GOOGLE (under Candlemas Day) offers brief and informative articles and prayers that can be said at home. In dealing with our "snow frustrations", we are reminded of just how human we are, so let us look to Christ to be our LIGHT.
Bro. Rene

Protect Us Lord

With perhaps the worst of the winter storms practially on top of us, and amidst cancellations and re-schedulings, we might take a few moments now to ask God to protect us from physical harm as well as the internal harm that anxiety, worry and haste, might do to us. Rushing to get this and that done "before it hits" can cause us to forget to be sensitive to our colleagues, family members, and neighbors, all of whom are feeling the same pressures as we. Picture a boat on the Sea of Gallilee being tossed about while Jesus was standing on the shore. When he saw predicament pf his disciples he knew that they were on the brink of panic, so he walked out onto the water towards them, adding to their fears for a moment, for they thought it was a ghost. Yes, when we are overly anxious and scared, how the imagination goes to work to blurr a clear vision of reality! We always imagine the worst. Jesus knows this, for he knows human nature better than we. He says to us as he said to the apostles, "Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid." (Mark 6: 50). He joined them in the boat and the winds died down. In our prayer, we need to allow Jesus to enter our "boat", and protect us, as only he can, from our inner turmoil.
Bro. Rene