Go In Haste

The Second General Chapter of 1852 convened on this day, 160 years ago, and gave us a Constitution and  Common Rules which set the tone for the Marist Brothers of the Schools for almost 100 years.  The 21st General Chapter of 2009 was of a much more pastoral nature, it's theme being "New Hearts for a New World.  So much has changed over these past 160 years, that a new approach was deemed necessary.  The model and motto eminating from the Chapter and encased in its final document was the phrase:  "Go in haste to a new land."  It springs from the description of Mary's hasty journey to be with her cousin Elizabeth, whom the angel Gabriel had announced was in her six month, "for nothing is impossible with God." (Lk 1: 37)  Mary went to BE with Elizabeth and to bring the child within her, the Messiah, to her.  She came to bring her joy to her and to share in Elizabeth's joy whose stigma of being barren had been lifted.  She also came to be of whatever help she could be.  The power of her presence, coming from the child within her and service to those in need stand out as templates for Marist presence and mission:  It again comes down to bringing Jesus to others and the joy that entails, and of assisting those most in need, the most neglected, or "the least favored" in humble, joyful service.  Applying this model in our concrete work and interaction remains the goal and purpose of each Marist day.  May we follow Mary and find joy in God our Savior, and follow the cues in her Magnificat:  mercy to those who fear him, strength in his arm, a place with the lifted lowly, satisfaction to the hungry, not only with food, but with spiritual nourishment.  Thus will all generations call us blessed as well.  (cf Lk 1 46-55).
Bro. Rene

St. Joan of Arc: Inspiration for Youth

Still reflecting on our Marist Youth Gathering, I thought of how a seventeen year old teenager, Joan of Arc, followed a bold and daring path outlined for her during her prayer. The "voices" she had been hearing for several years advising her about her personal life, now urged her to step up and help the Dauphin, Charles, to be crowned king of France despite the opposition of the English and the Duke of Burgundy. What faith trust, and pure gumption did it take for a young woman to propose leading an army against these foes? Yet she did it, defeated the English at Orleans and witnessed the coronation of Charles.  Trapped by deceit after this victory she was convicted of heresy and adultery and was burned at the stake at age 19. All this before she was 20.  Later, she was exonorated and declared a saint in 1920.
Our teens face foes and challenges similar to those faced by Joan, in facing the attitudes of beligerence toward religion and morals, and the values of a society that is based on "ME".  The story of St. Joan needs to be presented as encouragement that impossible foes can be dispersed.  St. Joan, pray for all of us, especially our youth.
Bro. Rene

Take It Forward

At the conclusion of the Marist Youth Gathering, whose theme was "The Power of Presence", Br. Patrick McNamara, President of Marist High School, Chicago, IL, challeneged the 200 student participants and close to 100 adult leaders, to capsule the energy generated at Marist College over the weekend and infuse the local schools from which the students came, with this same energy and purpose by living out the following points:
1) Representing Mary's love for the people of God, we, like her, must be willing to go "with haste to a land we do not know", that is to break out into new territories within ourselves and in our families, schools and beyond.  Already some of the young women who were participants are planning to go as volunteers with the Marist Missionary Sisters to lands they do not know...perhaps even becoming Sisters as their jouney continues.
2) We are to serve others without personal benefit to ourselves, not looking for
prestige
control or power
personal gain.
3) We are go FIND the needy in OUR world and let our hearts by broken by the poor.
4)  Like Mary, we are to create and nourish family spirit by treating others with dignity, respect, acceptance.
5) We are to be Jesus for others by living in the Holy Spirit.
These challenges stand not only for our Marist Youth, but for all who subscribe to our Marist Spirituality.
Bro. Rene

The Vigil Of Pentecost

The Easter Season comes to an end tomorrow with the celebration of Pentecost:  Red, signifiying the tongues of fire which descened upon the gathered Apostles and Mary, adorns the sanctuary, from the vestements to pendants and banners, reminding us that it is with FIRE that we must live and proclaim the Good News, as did Peter and the others once this great POWER had been given.  Friday evening, some of that fire was evident at Central Catholic's 74th graduation, as joy, a sense of accomplishment, gratitude, and a desire to share all that has been learned with others tore through the gym like a hurricane.  This weekend, hundreds of Marist Youth have gathered at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY to "get fired up" (filled with the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of  St. Marcellin) to take up the challenge to "renew the face of the earth."  In the seventh century before Christ, Isaiah wrote:  "When the Spirit from on high is poured out on us,/ Then will the desert become an orchard/ and the orchard be regarded as a forest.
"Right will dwell in the desert/ and justice abide in the orchard./ Justice will bring about peace;/ right will produce calm and security./ My people will live in peaceful country,/ in secure dwellings and quiet resting places," ((Is 32: 15-18).  We need to believe that this prophecy will be fulfilled.  We need to WORK to make it happen.  Send forth our Spirit, O Lord!
Bro. Rene
I will be attending the Marist Youth Conference, so I will not be able to send any slices of daily bread until Tuesday. I will be praying that the Spirit find a welcome place in your hearts to help you enkindle the fire of his love everywher you go.

Hildebrand

When the Benedictine monk, Hildebrand, was elected Pope in 1073 by popular acclamation, "Let Hildebrand be Pope!" while "the funeral baked meats" for the deceased Pope Alexander II were still warm, the Church was at one of its lowest points or corruption and digression from the commission of Jesus to the Apostles to "go baptize and preaches the gospel to all nations."  (Mt 28: 19).  Bishops were appointed by nobles, and sought not the spiritual welfare of their flocks, but personal gain; priests were uneducated and easily distracted from their roles as pastors, and ignorance among the faithful was rampant.  Hildebrand cringed at the call of the clergy and people for his leadership, but willingly accepted the challenge.  He fought fearlessly for reform and even had the obstinate Emperor, Henry IV, kneel and beg for absolution and reinstatement from his excommunication.  Despite this temporary victory, as it turned out, Henry eventually had Hildebrand exiled, where illness took its toll.  He is quoted as saying, "I have loved justice and hated iniquity, therefore I die in exile."
As graduates walk away with their diplomas and enter a world not unlike that of Hildebrand, may we encourage and support them to love and work for justice and all the other gospel values that single us out as followers of Jesus.  We need not see them end their days in exile, for so many want to make a difference in this world, one that will set it back on track.
Bro. Rene

St. Florentius/World Day of Prayer for China

Marist Brothers of the Province of the United States of America hail Brother Marie Florentius, founder of Mt. St. Michael Academy and Central Catholic High School, as one of the province heroes, or saints, but little is known of his namesake, St. Florentius.  Evidently he was a very holy man, left as a hermit when his fellow monk, St. Eutychius, left their small monastery in Norcia, Italy. Florentius asked God to send him something to console him and a BEAR appeared at his doorway indicating that he was ready to serve him.  Florentius put him in charge of the sheep, and the bear dutifully shepherded them  in the fields during the day and brought them home at night.  Other monks, envious of the bear, killed him.  St. Florentius, in an a-typical outburst of grief, loudly expressed his hope that God would punish the evildoers.  Soon thereafter, the monks involved and died of leprosy.  Florentius repented his prayer for the rest of his life and died peacfully in the year 547.
Brother Florentius might not have been familiar with this story of the power of prayer, but certainly relied on it in his founding of two of our major schools, and it is a reminder to us that God does hear our prayers and acts on them.
And so it is that Pope Benedict XVI in 2008 established a World Day of Prayer for the Church in China, which has struggled against unfriendly governmental regulation since 1949.  Let us join with the rest of the Church to pray that the "Bear" of a government relent its hostility and become neutral, if not supportive of the Church by praying to the patroness of China, Our Lady of Sheshan:
Our Lady of Sheshan,, sustain all those in China, who, amid their daily trials, continue to believe, to hope, to love.
May they never be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world and of the world to Jesus.
In the statue overlooking the Shrine you lift your Son on high, offerirng him to the world with open arms in a gesture of love.  Help Catholics always be be credible witnesses to this love, ever clinging to the rock of Peter on which the church is built.  Mother of China and all Asia, pray for us, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Bro.; Rene

Consecrate Them in Truth

Jesus prayed for his disciples at the Last Supper as he prepared to send them into the world as he himself had been sent by his Father. "I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth." (Jn 17: 19).  As schools graduate their students over these next weeks, how appropriate a prayer this is for them: to renew our decication to them and to set them off on the path of truth, that they may remain faithful to it and make it the pursuit of their lives.  "What is truth?" asked Pilate. (Jn 18:38).  There is so much murkiness and deception accepted as "truth" today, that the young, even the old can be led astray.  Happily, the young are searching for the real Truth, recognizing that all that they have been taught through the media and the entertainment world has not been truth.  Ultimately, through experience, study, reflection and the example of the guardians of truth, they will come to a deeper knowledge of it and discover that the Truth that makes them free (Jn 8: 32) is God himself.  May we all be earnest seekers of the Truth and conscecrate our lives to Truth.
Bro. Rene

St. Marcellin's Approach to Opposition

So much in our country seems to be the opposite of good sense, if not directly opposite to Catholic moral standards and beliefs, we sometimes don't know what to do or where to begin.  The University of Notre Dame is suing President Obama over the abortion section of the Health Care bill as a start, but the erosion of values begun long before this bill and extending far beyond it, remain a challenge that can lead to discouragement.
St. Marcellin's world in post-revolution France was even more distorted and he himself was the object of opposition from his fellow priests within and outside his circle.  How did he respond?  He wrote, "Until now i used to wonder if I was working according to God's designs; the attacks I have just received begin to give me hope."  This is not your average response to attacks.  HOPE?  He viewed opposition as a sign that he was doing God's work, because the devil was trying so hard to stop it.  A sort of back-door indication that he was on the right track.  We had the same experience on the Pine Ridge Reservation...when things went wrong, the people would tell us that we were doing such good work that the devil was working overtime to destroy it.  We took it as a sign and source of hope, a confimation and affirmation and worked harder at what we were doing.  Perhaps we need to look at our current situation and work harder at living out our beliefs and thus thwart the devil who uses discouragement as one of his key tools of demolition.
Bro. Rene

Marcellin's Baptism and Ours

Yesterday was St. Marcellin's 223rd birthday and today is the anniversary of his baptism.  Evidently his parents did not put off this second birth.  In those days, babies were born at home, and having gone through this many times before with Marcellin's older brothers and sisters, his mother made sure he was taken to the parish church the next day for this important sacrament of initiation.
Yes, Baptism initiates us into a new level of life, the God-life, and sets us on the path to holiness, that is, union with God in loving service to him and others in this world and eternal union with him in the next.  In Marcellin's case, as he matured, he realized this call and lived it with his whole strength and energy, dealing with and overcoming all kinds of personal limitations and external obstacles.  His persistence, his fidelity, his trust and humble recourse to his other Mother, Mary OUR Good Mother, enabled him to live out his baptism to the point where, although he did not seek it, he was given public recognition as a saint.  Most of us will not be canonized, but that does not negate our call to be saints, to live the Christian life to the max, with our whole energy and strength no matter where we find ourselves:  in our families, our work, the organizations to which we belong, etc...Like Marcellin, we simply need to do the ordinary things with extraordinary love and passion.
Bro. Rene

Not Orphans

We can imagine a certain sadness among the Apostles as well as a bit of confusion,  "what next?" after Jesus ascended to our Father and told them to wait.  Their good and constant friend was no longer with them daily or even occasionally, leaving them feeling empty and lonely.  How long would they have to wait?  How could they possibly "move on" without him?  Would the forces that put him to death trample them down and pound them into useless powder?
We ourselves have occasionally felt this "desolation," especially when we face transtitions:  the death of a family member or friend...a change of job or a major move to another city or part of the country, and more especially these days with high schools, colleges and universities sending forth their graduates into a world full of challenges after four relaively comfortable years.  Yet neither they nor we have been left orphans.  Jesus eventually sent the Holy Spirit to the group gathered in the upper room, and a volcanic thrust of divine energy was unleashed that has not ceased spreading to this day.
This was markedly apparent yesterday at the 119th Commencement Excercises at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire.  The class speaker, Liam Richard Concannon, with whom I had the honor to speak at length before his talk, spoke simply and directly of what he had digested from his college experience.  He spent time in South Africa and in one of the worst sections of Philadelphia as part of his service component, facing enormous odds as he witnessed poverty beyond his imagination.  He learned that no matter what the odds, he could make a difference to someone, and in that exchange, little by little could "renew the face of the earth", as the Disciples, a small band in a huge world, went forth under the power of the Holy Spirit and eventually spread the message of Jesus to the whole Roman Empire. Listening to Liam in our conversation and in his address to his classmates, I was again convinced that the Holy Spirit is as much alive today as he was on Pentecost.  Because of God's Spirit within us, we certainly are not orphans!
Bro. Rene

Novena To The Holy Spirit

This novena begins today and ends on Pentecost.  Praying it daily will help prepare us to celebrate and live Pentecost on a deeper level and thus complete the renewal we began in Lent and continued through the Easter Season.  Print it out and keep it handy.
Bro. Rene

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.


V. Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created;

R. And you shall renew the face of the earth.

Let Us Pray:

O God, who did teach the hearts of your faithful people by sending them the light of your Holy Spirit, grant us by the same Spirit to have right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in His holy comfort. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit, Spirit of Wisdom, grant that I may truly value and relish heavenly goods and show me the means by which I may attain them.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit, Spirit of Understanding, enlighten my mind concerning the mysteries of salvation, so that I may thoroughly understand and fervently embrace them.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit, Spirit of Counsel, incline my heart to do what is right and just, so that I may benefit myself and my neighbors.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit, Spirit of Fortitude, strengthen me by your grace against the enemy of my soul, so that the crown of victory may be given to him who overcomes.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit, Spirit of Knowledge, grant that I may so live in the midst of things temporal that I may not lose those which are eternal.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Come Holy Spirit, Spirit of Piety, incite me to live soberly, justly and piously in this world so that I may attain heaven in the next.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit, Spirit of Fear of the Lord, pierce my flesh with your fear so that I may work the salvation of my soul with fear and trembling.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

V. Send Forth Your Spirit, and they shall be created;

R. And you shall renew the face of the earth.

Let Us Pray:

O God, who has united the diversity of nations in the confession of your name, grant that they who have been born again by the waters of baptism may have the same faith in their hearts and the same piety in their actions.

O God, who gave the Holy Spirit to your Apostles, hear the prayers of your people, that they may enjoy a happy peace, who by your grace have received the gift of the true faith.

Let your Holy Spirit, O Lord, we beseech you, kindle in our hearts that fire which our Lord Jesus Christ brought on earth and earnestly desired that it should be enkindled.

Inflame, O Lord, our reins and hearts with the fire of the Holy Spirit, that we may serve you with a chaste body and please you with a clean heart.

Enrich, O Lord, our hearts by a plentiful pouring out of your Holy Spirit, by whose wisdom we are created and by whose providence we are governed.

Grant, we beseech you, O Almighty and most merciful God, that your Holy Spirit may defend and dwell in our souls, and so thoroughly purify us that we may at length become the temples of His glory, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Cursillo Follow-Up

Last weekend 33 prisoners and 21 team leaders participated in a Cursillo at Norfolk State Prison, as I mentioned last Saturday.  The results were "incredible" as team members shared their experiences amazingly similar to the incarcerates who at one time thought they were the only ones who had feelings of inadequacy or who felt distant from God because of their behavior.  By Sunday a strong community had been formed and the new "Cursillistas" had a chance to describe what had happened to them during the weekend. Major insights, inner purifcations and transitions were reported, salted with a great hope in a future with a much deeper relationship with God. They "got it", and will be sustained by a strong Cursillo Community within the prison of men who had already made a Cursillo.  When we think of prison, do we think Cursillo?  I doubt it, but it is refreshing and encouraging to know that these men, separated from society because they broke the law, have now found a new freedom that comes from the law of love:  "Love God and Love your neighbor as yourself".  Our prayers helped this "miracle" happen, and I was asked to convey the gratitude of the team and the Cursillistas to all who prayed for them.  Another lesson in the power of prayer.
I ask prayers now for two young boys, 9 and 11, one of whom is in serious condition with a collapsed lung, and the other near death because of cancer.  Lord, may they be healed, if it be your will. Amen.
Bro. Rene

The Ascension

Forty days after the resurrection, Jesus was taken from the Eleven to take his permanent seat at the right had of his Father.  Mission partly accomplished.  The unfinished business was left to them (and to us) to "Go into the whole world nd proclaim the gospel to every creature." (Mk 16: 15).  Two thousand years later, how is this commission to be carried out?  It is evident that there is some disconnect as Mass attendance around this country is below 20% of baptized Catholics, and worse in Europe.  People claim to be "spiritual" but not "religious", meaning, I think (never quite sure about what "being spiritual means), believing in some sort of "Force" or "Higher Power" that directs this complex universe, contact with whom is made through nature or through other good people.  Evidently our churches, our rituals, our values and "rules" are no longer making this connection to God accessible to large numbers of people.  Materialism, relativism (anything goes),  hedonism (seeking pleasure above all else) and individualism contribute to this alienation.  So how do we put life and meaning into this command?  We have the assurance that miraculous signs will accompany future disciples (driving out demons, speaking new languages, picking up serpents, suriving poison, and healing the sick.  (Mk 16: 19-20).  These were surely present in the early Church as we read in Acts, and should encourage us today.  But in this age of skepticism and cynicism, perhaps the best witness is our loving, kind, patient, compassionate presence which can soothe, lead, and hopefully convince, rather than elaborate programs of evangelization, although there is no doubt that ignorance of the truth must be addressed.  Living what we believe is our best tool of evangelization, remembering that Jesus is with us till the end of time. (cf Mt 28: 20).
Bro. Rene

Undeserved Traffic Ticket

No one likes to get a traffic ticket, but when it's given for no reason and the conduct of the officer is unprofessional and even rude, it can really set the day on the wrong course.  This morning a student came into my office very upset as he related such a scenario.  It took some calming, humor and a suggestion of time in the chapel to settle the waters and put the day on course.
Of course, it could have been worse, as often what seems to be "the end of the world" to us, is minor in comparison to what others go through.  It takes perspective and distancing to accept, discard, and move ahead.  May we be able to support one another, be present to one another to see things more clearly and regain their equilibrium.
Bro. Rene

Opening the Doors for Christ

One of my favorite stories from the Acts of the Apostles takes place in Philippi, where Paul and Silas, after being stripped and beaten were thrown into prison.  At midnight as they were praying and singing hymns, an earthquake shook the prison, opening the doors and loosening their chains.  The jailor, thinking that his prisoners had escaped was readying to fall on his sword, rather than face disgrace, when Paul shouted to him that he and Silas were still there.  Immediately, sensing that something supernatual had occurred, he asked what he needed to do to be saved. Paul gave him a brief catechism lesson. Finding new purpose in life, he enthusiastically ushered his former prisoners into his home, treated their wounds, was baptized with his whole family and invited Paul and Silas to eat with them, rejoicing in their new found faith in God. 
What a description of rebirth in Jesus: enthusiasm, compassion, table-fellowship!  The family welcomed their faith with vigor, joy and action.  As we begin each day, do we find such a passionate, invigorating appreciation and determination to live our faith as if we were just baptized?  Don't we wish we could?  It's hard to sustain such a level of enthusiasm, but just reading about how others received their faith, can help us open the doors of our routine-bound "prisons", allow Christ to enter as if for the first time, and spring us to life as re-born Christians.
Bro. Rene

God's Choice

When it came time to find Judas' replacement, the Apostles had two candidates from which to choose.  The decided to let God make the choice and by lot Matthias emerged as his choice. In making important decisions in our own lives, how often do we let God have any input, let alone actually make the choice?  We tend to play CEO and Board of Directors, and do the choosing ourselves.  Would it hurt to take a moment to ask God for help? To listen to or watch for some indication from outside of ourselves, from God himself, as to what our decision should be?  We tend to forget that God is present and active in our lives, even to the "little things."  We need to leave a chair in our boardroom open for him.  We call on him when someone is sick, or in some dire situation, but God is there all the time, for anything.  St. Marcellin stressed the practice of the "presence of God" so that we would get used to the idea that any circumstance, any need might be addressed in light of his all-inclusive and inexhaustible love.  Not to include him is somewhat of an insult or affront to his desire to be All in all for us.  May we humbly begin today to welcome him into our big choices as well as into our world of little things.  His delight is to be with us and DO for us.  Let us not deny him..
Bro. Rene

Mothers' Day

Across the nation the red carpet is being rolled out in one way or another to honor and thank our mothers for their tireless, unending, unconditional  and nurturing love.  Not only is the fourth commandment thus being observed, but also the commandment of Jesus, "love one another as I have loved you." (Jn 15: 11)  We trust that such was the love within the Holy Family.  No doubt Mary, whose great faith in accepting to be the Mother of God, of Love, showed it,  lived it, and that it is from her that Jesus experienced the depth of human love.
Looking at Mary's love, we see that it was founded on obedience to God's will, not just on feeling or sentiment.  Her love knew pain and sorrow as well as unbounded joy. It became universal when Jesus gave her to John, (to us) from his cross.  She again accepted this wider role and through the centuries has appeard to remind us to listen to and follow her Son as well as to bring healing to the sick and the lame.
Mother's Day can be looked upon as Mary's Day, and our day, for we see in a mother's love the tangible dimensions of love, both divine and human.
Bro. Rene

Finding Christ In Prison

Since last Thursday evening, a group of valiant men, including Fr. Martin Hyatt and Fr. Bill Waters, have been conducting a Cursillo (little course in Christianity), a powerful tool for renewal in Christ, at Norfolk State Prison in Norfolk Massachusetts.  Cursillos began on the island of Majorca in 1948 and quickly spread through Spain, other European countries and the United States.  Four days of talks, sharing, prayer and an experience of ideal Christian community life give the participants such an injection of God's love, that the hardest of hearts soften and come alive, are reborn. Just thinking of being enclosed in a prison for four days is formidable enough, but then to imagine working with men who are there for a whole range of crimes could add further trepidation to the mix, but the team is confident that the power of the Holy Spirit working through them and the time-proven dynamic of the Cursillo give them nothing to fear and everything for which to be joyful, even before the Cursillo is over on Sunday evening.  Today is a BIG day in the program, so I ask for prayers and sacrifices to be offered for the fruitful completion of this mission. In prison or not, all human beings are thirsting for God, are restless till they rest in him.  This weekend could see 40 men finding that thirst satisfied in discovering how much God loves them and how blessed they are to have Jesus so present to them in their community.  May our love and prayers act as a lever to make this happen.
Bro. Rene

Bearing Fruit That Will Remain

St. Marcellin had a vision of his Little Brothers of Mary being active in every diocese of the globe and thus making Jesus known and loved to the ends of the earth.  It is evident from the ferment in other provinces of the Marist World, that this vision is coming to pass.  Brothers and lay people continue to gather momentum, seeking out the "least favored", those on the margins of economic sufficiency and academic preparation, and giving them the foundations to develop their talents and go forward to make an impact on the world.  It is amazing at how over and over again, the story of "the kid who thought he could not make it in high school" is given the tools to move ahead in high school, blossom further in college, and then go on to accomplish some huge contribution to society. 
Last night, at the Central Catholic Champagnat Awards and Hall of Fame dinner, several such men and women were honored for their accomplishments ranging from 50 years of teaching, to modeling for young athletes as assistant coaches just a relatively few years after graduation.  It was inspiring to hear of their accomplishments and be in their presence.  Constant reference was made to how these graduates have been living out the legacy of St. Marcellin.  It was extremely uplifting to see how relevant this man's gift to the Church still is today. This morning I could say to students that they too have such potential for the greatness that Marcellin envisioned:  as "good Christians and citizens."
Bro. Rene. 

Proclaiming God's Marvelous Deeds

The Church remembers Father Damien of Molokai, now Saint Damien, whose quiet, heroic life among the lepers of Molokai, a fascinating story in itself, serves as an example of proclaiming God's marvelous deeds without giving talks to large crowds or publishing books.  His was a life of patient endurance, compassion, and complete emptying of self.  As a volunteer to the dreaded leper colony, he at first made little impact on the people until he himself contracted leprosy and won their hearts as he could now share totally in their experience.  His deeds proclaimed God's marvelous wonders more loudly than than his words.
This evening, other such "models" of quiet, persistent, patient witness will be honored at a dinner tonight.  Among them, Bishop William McNaughton, M.M. '44, consecrated bishop at the age of 34, who served in Seoul, Korea for over 40 years, adding diocese after diocese and building a huge major seminary depite the turmoil of the "Korean Conflict." 
Bridget Shaheen, whose faith-based and faith-built work as the Director of Lazarous House, continues to grow, serving and astounding thousands, as the question most frequently asked, is:  "How does she do it? and is answered, "Don't ask.  It's Bridget," meaning, it's Bridget with God on her side working through her unbounded faith and trust.
Brother Ernest Beland, completing 50 years of teaching...again, persistent, hard-working, giving all of his time and talent to the education of his students whose gratitude cannot be measured...
Bill Cowie, another quiet, professional Marist Educator, faithful to the mission of Champagnat as he makes Jesus known and loved in his English classes but has also served in the demanding role of Dean of Discipline for 18 years.
These, to name a few, have by "ordinary lives" done extraordinary things by doing them all extraordinarily well and have proclaimed God's marvelous deeds loudly and clearly.
Bro. Rene

Watchmen

A day after this anniversary, the following is worth several slices of bread.  Br. Henri and Sister Paul Helene provided a safe place for children to study; it was there that they were shot in cold blood.
Bro. Rene

On Friday 8 May 1994, at the beginning of the afternoon, our Brother Henri Vergès and Sister Paul-Hélène were killed in their work place, the library of rue Ben Cheneb, the Casbah quarter, in Algiers.


On 22 May that year, Christian de Chergé, prior of the Trappist monastery of Notre-Dame de l’Atlas at Tibhirine, a friend of Henri, concluded his Pentecost homily, entitled: « The “Martyr” of the Holy Spirit » with the following two paragraphs:

“If we think of our brother Henri and our sister Paul-Hélène – and how not to think of them? –, we know that their witness cannot go without what all those who were long beneficiaries of their lives so truly given have to say about it. They came, both of them, with the hearts of the poor, ready to receive, and they confessed to have received much from this crowd of poor people who are mourning them with us, testifying that they owe them much. The Spirit thus made the « bond of peace », and it is He who helps us live their sacrifice as a Pentecost by proclaiming on them and with them « the wonderful works of God ».

I share with you the last word of Henri, during a meeting of ourribât, a year ago: « We are all inhabited by the Spirit… God walks with this people, with this religion, [Islam] but I do not understand (I am like Mary). I am in search of this plan. I let myself be questioned and I question. I unsettle the other a bit and the other unsettles me. It is always necessary to try to find what is positive in each one, and encourage it. To be watchmen is to help people live according to the Spirit.”

On this day, the anniversary of the witness (martyr) of our Brother Henri, we give thanks for his life given and, for his example, “in our daily relations, let us openly take the part of love, pardon, communion, against hate, vengeance, violence” (Letter of 4 February 1994, to Fr Christian de Chergé).

N.B. Father Christian was himself kidnapped and killed on 21 May 1996, with six of his brothers. In 2010, the film « Of Men and Gods », which retraced the spiritual journey of the community of monks, knew a great success.
--From http://www.champagnat.org/

Captain America

Thousands of people flocked to the theaters this weekend to see the Marvel Avengers, which took in a record-breaking $200,000.00.  I was one of those viewers who was more than satisfied and entertained, not only by the action, but by the clear message that good triumphs over evil, even over the individual ego that each one of us has to battle in the course of our lives.  It is the "weakest" of the four Avengers who emerges as the "savior" and leader of the team.  He can never forget his "90 lb. weakling" origin, which allowa him to lead with his heart, to put others before himself and to have unwavering compassion for the weakest victims of the evil forces.  He brings the other Avengers out of their ego-centric worlds and convinces them that it is only by working as a team,  in community, that they will triumph over the Evil One. His purity of heart sees the goodness in them and wins their respect.  They follow his commands, and he himself "takes the stairs", that is, the lowest of the tasks...so totally self-effacing is he. But when he confronts the Evil Loki face to face and is told, "I am a god, you cannot destroy me," he instantly retorts, "There is only one God and he doesn't dress like you."  
What a wonderful teaching moment this film is for the millions who will see it, especially our students.  There are students who are pure of heart like Captain America, and they need to be told so. I dare say, St. Marcellin was a Captain America, and the ultimate achetype of the totally self-effacing, other centered, self-sacrificing leader is Jesus himself!
Thanks to Marvel and Disney for giving us this contemporary catechism lesson and a hero with whom we can all identitfy.
Bro. Rene

Captain America

Thousands of people filled theaters across the nation (and word) to see the Marvel Comics' Avengers, which over the weekend broke the record by earnning $200.000.00.  I too was one of those viewers, and was not only entertained "to the max" as the saying goes, and dazzeled by he special effects, but was pleasantly surprised and edified by what unfolded on the screen. The message was clear that good will triumph over evil, but sometime the evil is our own ego which prevents us from connecting with others as a team, as a community in order to crush the evil outside of us.  It's the pure of heart, self-effacing, self-sacrificing Captain America who pulls the team together, urging them to forget their agendas and work as a unit against the evil force that is threatening the world.  Captain America remembers who he is, how he was once a 90 pound weakling, but with a heart and determination that helped him face any obstacle that he encountered.  His appeal to the other super-heroes comes from his heart and wins their respect.  He gives orders, they obey, and himself "takes the stairs", that is, seeks the simple, humble lowest place of duty.  Yet, during his face to fact confrontation with Loki, the villain, who declares he's a god and cannot be harmed, Captain America instantly retorts, "There is only one God and he doesn't dress the way you do."
What a wonderful, entertaining and painless catechesis for our young:  it's the pure of heart, those who lead with the heart, those who are compassionate to the weak, those who know their own weaknesses, who can unite and overcome evil.  There are teens who are already Captain Americas...the Church has pages of them in its martyrology; St. Marcellin among them, and ultimately Jesus himself as the epitome of the selfless, self effacing, self-sacrificing hero who conquers evil once and for all.  Thank you, Marvel Comics and Disney Studios for spreading this good news to so many.
Bro. Rene
P.S.  When I attempted to post this slice of bread this morning, I couldn't. 

Grafting On The Vine

"I am the true vine, you are the branches (Jn 15: 5).  We've heard this a few times, in our lives, no doubt; if not a few, yes, many.  Each time we hear it we are in a different "space", mood, or phase of spiritual development, and thus hear it in a different way; hopefully, a deeper way. Gardeners know that pulling up a vine from the root automatically kills it, and if we merely trim it, the section cut from the root soon withers.  Its source of nourishment and life-giving juices are removed and it cannot sustain itself.  So too with our union with our Root and Source, Jesus.  We might be able to limp along on reserve human energy and nourishment for awhile, but eventually we find as someone put it simply to me recently, "something was missing"  in his life. He had dropped attending Sunday Mass for awhile, and only attended as funerals or weddings obligated him.  But his reconnection to the vine of weekly Sunday Eucharist has brought him joy, peace and a new sense of LIFE!  The "Jesus juices" are now flowing in his spiritual veins and the spiritual fogginess and grogginess he was experiencing have disappeared.  The smile on is face was a sure sign of this.  We might take some time today to reflect on how connected to the Vine we are.  Perhaps like this man, Sunday Mass has fallen off, or our prayer time keeps getting cut as our busyness encroaches on these precious moments needed daily to remain vibrantly attached to the Vine. What is happening with our spiritual reading, our Rosary, our service to others? The consoling thing is, that the vine and the branches can be grated together at any time.  Jesus is simply waiting for us to make the move.
Bro. Rene

Gray Days

Seeking to maintain spiritual vitality and enthusiasm is not always easy on gray days, especially a week of them!  These are the days that find us too tired to pray, read the Gospels or even run the beads through our fingers.  Yet a look outside reveals that the flowers still bloom, the grass gets greener, and the leaves swell on the trees.  Something is happening even in the grayness and drizzle.  So too with us; even in these low moments of fatigue and minor depression, something is happening, something is blooming, greening or swelling within us.  We need not further our spiritual fatigue by thinking that we are in a deepening sink hole.  Without the pause provided by spiritual grayness, we could run amuck on the false notion that our upward spiral will never end. May we find refreshment in these moments when our ties to Jesus are strengthened and when we are purged of false security. Despite the grayness, may we see the birthdays that are being celebrated, the healings that are taking place, and the prayers that are being answered. Tomorrow's brighter day can happen today, if by faith we see grayness as a gift.
Bro. Rene

How Can We Know The Way?

Thomas, the apostle, asked this question for all of us. Despite all that we have heard about our faith, the fog of routine activities or unexpected demands, doubts placed in our minds by conversations or what he see on TV or read in the papers, sometime blur the way.  As Jesus tried to prepare the Eleven for his permanent departure and for their eventual "taking charge" of his mission, he spoke of leaving to ready a place for them, and come back to them to take them to himself.  "so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way." (Jn 14: 3-4)  In response to Thomas' protest about not knowing where he was going, and thus, not knowing the way, Jesus replies:  "I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me." (Jn 14: 6)  A direct answer that lifts the fog and enables us to move forward with confidence on the track which satisfies our quandries and leads us to peace.  We need learn more about Jesus through our reading of the Scripture and through the mirror of others' reflections on him (such as Pope Benedict's Jesus of Nazareth, or Jose Pagola's Jesus, An Historical Approximation), and by simply sitting quietly in his presence (at home or before the Blessed Sacrament in church). How is Jesus our way, our truth and our life?  The clearer this becomes, the more sure we can be of "the way"... of not only surviving, but thriving in a world that does not know him or simply ignores him.
Bro. Rene

Proclaimers of the Gospel

Today, the Church honors the Apostles, Philip and James the Less as well as two little known saints of the third centruy, Timothy and Maura, his wife.  At one time Philip and James were among the disciples who abandonded Jesus to the troops in the Garden of Gethsemane and who were not present at Calvary.  From scared and cowering candidates for eventual sainthood, under the power of the Holy Spirit, they went on to be great witnesses and martyrs for the sake of Jesus and the Good News. The only things we know about this James is that he is the son of Alpheus, and was chosen by Jesus to be an apostle.  He is not to be confused with James "The Greater", son of Zebedee, always linked to Peter and John, and later Bishop of Jerusalem and traditionally considered the author of the Letter of James.  Philip appears several times in the Gospel and is credited with bringing the faith to Greece and Phrygia, where he suffered martyrdom. 
Sts. Timothy and Maura were a young couple, married only 20 days, when they were called before the courts for being Christians.  They remained steadfast in their faith, and for this, red hot pokers were plunged into their ears and afterwards, they were nailed to a wall where they suffered a slow and excruciating death, hangning there for nine days.
These proclaimers remind us that no matter how weak or imperfect we might think ourselves, we too have the power to proclaim the Good News and our faith in Jesus by remaining faithful to him.
Bro. Rene

Appreciation

We all like to hear a word of appreciation now and then, and God, it seems, is no exception.  Our Easter Season continues with the recognition that God has rescued us from the power of darkness, and for this we can never praise and thank him enough.  Even before the awesome victory of Jesus over death, the Psalmist composed a beautiful hymn of gratitude and appreciation:
Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just;
for praise is fitting from loyal hearts.
Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp,
with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs.
O sing him a song that is new,
play loudly, with all your skill.
For the word of the Lord is faithful
and all his works to be trusted.
The Lord loves justice and right and fill the earth with hhs love.
Let all the earth fear the Lord,
all who live in the world revere him.
He spoke; and it came to be.
He commanded, it sprang into being.
Our souls is waiting for the Lord.
The Lord is our help and our sheild.
In him do our hearts find joy.
We trust in hs holy name.  Ps 33: 1-5, 8-9, 20-21.
Now that we have even more access to God through Jesus, through baptism, Eucharist and the other sacraments, how much more appreciation should we be voicing.  Today, our CCHS students have taken time to write each of us a beautfiul letter of apprecation and the Parent Guild is going over the top to provide an appreciation luncheon for us.  We love it.  And so does God when we go out of our way to show our appreciation to him.
Bro. Rene

The Dignity of Labor

May Day was a huge celebration of the Communist Way of Life in Post-Romanov Russia, where a day long display of Russian military might was meant to warn the world of the power of the U.S.S. R. and bolster the egos and productivity of the "proletariat"...the workers.  Pope Pius XII counter-balanced this wordly worship of labor by introducing the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, whose quiet fidelity to the will of God, his conscientious care of the Holy Family and daily attention to his carpentry trade highlight the dignity of work and the execution of the ordinary little tasks that are our lot in life. Our imaginations conjure up the happiness and pride he brought to his family and work, and might motiviate us to approach our work in the same way.  I can't imagine a gloomy Joseph, despite the many challenges he faced under Roman rule and an economy that was never robust.  His love for Mary and Joseph colored his working hours, and having them close by (Jesus at his side learning his trade as a good son) kept him from being bored or lost in routine.  No doubt there was laughter when mismeasurements or mistakes were made, as they worked not at a frenetic pace, but taking time to rest from the heat of the day, and certainly observing the Sabbath.
It's early in our work day today, so we can still ask Joseph to guide us in what we are doing, and keep the image of this working family before our eyes as we carry out our work.
Bro. Rene