Sandy's Aftermath

The huge storm known as Sandy, has had an impact that will be felt for months to come.  Some are still without power (as is the case in our residence, knocking out our internet connection for a time--hence no daily bread yesterday), some without homes, having lost everything, and many questioning a God who could allow such devastation to happen.  When our lives and our routines are disrupted so radically, we tire, we are disoriented, "lost", becoming forgetful of time, obligations and even our usualy courteous behavior. Our ugly side comes to the fore.  Yet God speaks to us despite the darkness and chaos:  "Christ is our Light",  or "For you who fear my name, there will arise/ the sun of justice with its healing rays." (Mal 3:20).  As I write the sun has begun pouring through my window.  The new and refreshing "tomorrow" always comes.  "At the end of a long night of sleeplessness or suffering, sunrise brings joy and hope for the day to come." (Magnificat p. 294). There couldn't have been a darker or more chaotic moment than when Jesus died on the cross, yet three days later as the sun rose, so did Jesus from the tomb.  It's a leap from a devastated home or crushed car to the empty tomb in Jerusalem, but the truth is, there is always a brighter side, a brighter day.  Sandy has taken away, but also has given us the opportunity to grow in our faith, hope,trust and, the  love we may be called  upon to give to those who suffer more than we do.Sun of Justice in all our dealings with loved ones or strangers, enlighten our hearts with faith and the light of your love. Amen.
Bro. Rene

Shelter From The Storm

How often does it happen that a Scripture passage just leaps out at the appropriate moment?  Time and time again,  the Living Word appears to assure us that God is very much in charge and we have nothing to fear.  Such was the case earlier this morning in the midst of the media bombardments about Sandy, the Superstorm, that this passage from Isaiah was the antiphon for Psalm 5 in Magnificat's Prayer for the Morning:  "Over all, his glory will be shelter and protection:/ shade from the parching heat of the day,/ refuge and cover from the storm and rain." (Is 4:6).   And again before the Canticle of Zechariah:  "You are a refuge to the poor,/ a refuge to the needy in distress;/ shelter from the rain,/ shade from the heat." (Is 25:4).  How blessed are we to have these reminders of God's loving care and protection, especially when a constant diet of predictions of rising tides, coastal floodings, power outages and anticipatory cancellations is bound to raise the anxiety level of even the most serene psyches.  Our true shelter is in the God who made heaven and earth and promises shelter and refuge even in the worst of situations.  We simply need to see storms from God's perspective, as with illness, as with other challenges that are part of our human condition.  "The eyes of the lord are upon those who love him;/ he is their mighty shield and strong support,/ a shelter from the heat, a shade from the noonday sun, a guard against stumbling, a help against falling." (Sirach 34: 16).
Bro. Rene

Jean-Baptiste Montagne Day

Today is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, so the memorial of Sts. Simon and Jude is supressed.  Unnoticed in the liturgical year is today's anniversary of St. Marcellin's visit to the dying sixteen-year old Jean-Baptiste Montagne, an event which has huge signficance in our Marist Spirituality, since it prompted the young priest to move quickly on the desire he had had to start an order or teaching brothers.  Young Montagne had no idea of God, the sacraments, the after-life, Mary, etc...a situation which St. Marcellin found intolerable and sought with all the energy of his remaining 13 years of life to rectify.   We, his disciples, continue this mission.

The blind Bartimeus in today's gospel recognized his need for healing and reached out to the "Son of David" for it, and received it.  So many of today's youth, like Jean-Baptiste, don't even know what they are missing, for their lives are full of material things and values that are decent enough, though in some cases, not, to satisfy them. When they do hear, about Jesus, then, like Bartimeus, they reach out and are ready to receive.  In our roles as disciples of Jesus and Champagnat, it is our obligation to bring the healing knowledge of the faith, above all, of Jesus himself, to these young people, who, we hope, like Bartimeus, will throw aside their "security blankets" and follow him along the road.
Bro. Rene

Mother Teresa on Faith

As we are called in this Year of Faith to reflect on our Faith and deepen it, this simple meditation from our "guest writer", Mother Teresa might be helpful.
Bro. Rene
THE FRUIT OF PRAYER IS FAITH
If we pray,/ then we will believe.
If we believe,/ the we will love--
because the fruit of Faith is love,
and the fruit of love is service.
Similarly, if we want to deepen our Faith, we must deepen our oneness with Christ.

Without seeing him/ we pray to him,
we turn to him,/ we cling to him,
we love him/ without seeing him.

FAITH
is the most beautiful gift God can give to a human being--
to believe that he IS/ and that Christ IS...
God from God/ Love from Love,
true God from true God,/ begotten, not made;
one in substance with the Father,
by whom all things were made...

And yet he became so small,
he became a human being like us,
to make it possible for us to believe.
To increase our Faith
he made himself the Bread of Life--
even a child can break that Bread,
even a child can eat that Bread.
This is humility in the action of Faith,
and Faith in the action of humility...
                    --Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

Our Response to God's Revelation

Trying to explain FAITH to 14 year olds these days is not an easy task.  They come to us, for the most part, from a desert, where they have not been nourished by, nor even heard of so many things we take for granted:  e.g.  that the Gospels are about Jesus, or that "the Bible" is made up of the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament of Four Gospels, Acts, several letters, and Revelation.  It's all new.  How then explain FAITH when these and other basics are missing?  A lot of patience, a lot of creativity, and a strong community of faith are needed.
One helpful definition of Faith is that it is our response to God's revelation of himself: through creation, through Jesus, and the disciple/witnesses that have come after him.  This definition warrants a knowledge of God, of Jesus and the Holy Spirit...not just a book knowledge, but an experience of God through our example (more and more reason for the deepening of our own knowledge and experience of God), through simple prayer...such as a conversation with or a directed meditation, and through the lived faith of the community. 
Over and over again at the Marist Youth Encounter Christ in Esopus, I heard the refrain from the Marist Young Adults who are in college, "When I come to Esopus, it's so easy to feel God's presence and to believe".  Yes, we reinforce one another.  One wrote about trying to bring this experience back to her college; it was like trying to bring water to a vast wasteland.  Yet somehow, God is present there too, hidden though he may be, and our living response to what God has revealed to us will eventually uncover his presence so that others can see him, and realize how thirsty they are for him; at the same time, in helpling others, we deepen our commitment to the revelation we have received.
Bro. Rene

The New Evangelization

Evangelization, or spreading the Good News by word and deed, is not a new concept.  It springs from the very beginning, from the commission given by Jesus, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you." (Mt 28: 19). Paul, Boniface, Columba, Columbanus, Anthony Mary Claret, whose memorial we celebrate today, and certainly the followers of St. Marcellin Champagnat have taken this commision to heart.  The Year of Faith, proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI calls for a NEW evangelization, that is a renewed effort to understand, integrate and witness to the faith in a way that will reach the ears and hearts of people today whose knowledge and practice of the faith has become clouded by the bombadment of thoughts, values and practices which are out of step with, if not blatantly opposed to it.  Such a new evangelization demands zeal, determination, preparedness, creativity and action, but also an approach which is like the "method" used by Jesus:  a gentle acceptence, a touching of the hearts of his hearers, a healing of their inner selves thus winning their loyalty, and then a direction for them to follow:  "Go and sin no more" , or Come, follow me."  He activated faith in his followers by helping them to see themselves as God sees them, by his genuine warmth, by loving them.  Who could resist this approach?  Indeed he magnetically drew thousands to his side in his short term but powerful period of evangelization.  He left his example and the command to continue this work;the Pope has re-issued the command May we willingly and effectively join the band of those who have lived it before us.
Bro. Rene

Holy Ground 2

The new addition is a recreation of The Chapel in the Woods, the Esopus version (pretty accurate) to the improvised chapel under a tree  where the fledgling brothers prayed and St. Marcellin celebrated Holy Mass on a dresser while the construction of the Hermitage was taking place.  This grove in Esopus was cleared by volunteers from various Marist Schools, Marist Alumni and  Brothers...  Being there was like going back in time and space to the banks of the Gier and experiencing "God in the raw":  in the falling colored leaves, the wet smell of Fall, the sunlight penetrating the morning fog and branches with swords of light. It helped our Encounterites experience the simplicity which is one of our Marist characteristics, as well as the power of God present in nature.  No doubt, it was one of the factors that drew these young, seekers from their imagined "atheism" or "agnosticism" into the Encounter with one another and ultimately, with Christ, the goal of the retreat.  Friendships grew from Thursday till Sunday, giving students assurance that they are indeed loveable and capable of loving others and that God can be part of their "social lives" as these relationships blossom.  Indeed, our chapel in the woods is a new and effective piece of "holy ground" where the feet of generations of holy ones have walked and new generations find their way.
Bro. Rene

Holy Ground

Most of us are familiar with the Gospel Favorite, "This is Holy Ground....we're standing on holy ground..."  We usually associate "holy ground" with a Church, or room where a prayer meeting is being held.  For American Marists, it does not stretch the imagination too much to apply this phrase to our Marist Center in Esopus, NY, where since the mid-forties, we have occupied this once grand and spacious tract of land.  Hundreds of vocations to the brotherhood were nurtured there when it was our "Juniorate" (Marist Preparatory) and later, our novitiate (which still exists on that hallowed ground).  Hundreds of Marist Brothers are buried there in our cemetery, and hundredes of kids and adults benefit from the summer camps which run from June through August.  It has been the location of the Marist Youth Encounter Christ retreat since 1968 and countless school and class retreats as well.  The prayers offered there, the grace that changes hearts, cannot be measured but give this place a special aura which to some is tangible and even magnetic. We speak about the "Esopus Bug"...once you "get it" you keep coming back for more. 
A new recent addition has already begun to add to the addiction.  (More tomorrow).
Bro. Rene

The Gospel of Healing

St. Luke was a gifted writer, loyal friend, artist and  "dear and glorious physician" whose Gospel highlights God's healing word to a range of sinners and those inflicted by pain from Zaccheus to the widow of Nain. He writes compassionately of Mary, the Mother of Jesus,  the women who followed, and the anonymous woman who washed Jesus' feet.  The tenderness of Jesus is more evident in his Gospel than in the others because of Luke's own sensitive, artistic soul, which see's Jesus as a healer.
We who read and relish Luke's Gospel can' help but be moved to compassion and tenderness, to a maternal nourishing approach to our faith- in- action as we follow the events in the life of Jesus.   In our families, workplaces, in our dealings with our peers or even those who briefly cross our paths, we too can be healers, by listening, by empathizing, by withholding judgment or a crass response, by giving of our time, by simply remembering that we are the healing Jesus for our circle.
Today, 22 of us from Central embark on a bus to Esopus, NY to attend a Marist Youth Encounter with students from our other Marist schools where the encounter with one another will lead to an encounter with this healing Jesus.  Please pray that he be present with us through the healing and loving presence of his Holy Spirit.  Thank you.
Bro. Rene
Because of my involvement in this "work of mercy and healing" I will not have access to a computer, so there will be no daily bread until Monday.

Those Who Have Blessed Us

Most days in the liturgical year bring to mind and honor a particular saint whose life is set before us as an example and inspiratuon to help us on our own journeys.  These holy ones have lived through the basic struggles of the human condition and by the grace of God and power of the Holy Spirit at work within them, they have reached the point of loving so fully that they are now united with God for all eternity.  Their presence in the course of their lives, now in the collective memory of the Church, and from their place in heaven were and are a source of blessing.  The story is told of the influence St. Ignatius had on the 10 soldiers who were assigned to bring him to Rome from Antioch for martydom.  As was the custom, he paid their expenses, arranged for their food and lodging along the way  and turned out to be such a blessing to them that they became Christians and also suffered martyfdom.
 If we think about it, we can call to mind people who have had a powerful influence on us along our journeys so far: parents, grandparents, relatives, friends, teachers or even people we talk to during a plane trip.  Perhaps their influence is taken for granted or only appreciated in hind-sight, and for that reason, some periodic reflection, recognition and expressed gratitude are in order.  Thus, Central Catholic has invited grandparents to school today, to pray for and with them, to thank them for the blessing they are, to share a meal with them, show them the school, and help them realize how their presence itself is a blessing.  All of us might take a moment here and there to call, visit, or write to those who bless us, certainly to pray for them and thank God for them daily.
Bro. Rene

Confidence in the Holy Spirit

We sometimes think the the Church has the sole franchise on the Holy Spirit and forget that long before its establishment the Holy Spirit was at work outside this visible body.  Indeed, in Genesis 1: 2, we read: "The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God (the breath of God, Ruah Yahweh) was moving over the surface of the waters."  It is assuring to acknowledge that presence in our own times of "formless void", one of whose victims seems to be the Catholic School system which has dwindled dramatically in the United States over the past generation.  Yet, that Spirit is there, hovering and breathing LIFE into the remnants and the pulse keeps beating.
Encountering 70 facullty and staff at Catholic Central High School in Springfield, OH gave me a glimpse of the Spirit at work.  Springfield is a city like so many others, whose enconomic base has withered and evidences of the struggle for survival abound.  Catholic Central School is now the ONLY Catholic center of education in the city, where at one time there were six (or seven) grammar schools and one high school.  It provides education from kindergarten to high school and is staffed by veteran laity committed to keeping Catholic education alive.  Being there was like hovering over the waters on the wings of the Holy Spirit.  I could feel the power and the action of their faith, determination and hope.  CCS must survive, it must grow to pass on the legacy of our faith to the upcoming generations.  And it will, like so many others across the nation in this same situation.  Like the wind, the Spirit blows where it will, and cannot be ignored.  It begs us, to move ahead with confidence, not only with regard to Catholic education, but in all other areas of our lives and society which seem to have melted into a formless void.  Come Holy Spirit.  Fill us with the FIRE of your power and love.  Let us never lose heart.  AMEN!
Bro. Rene

Groping For Something More

"Groping" has come to have a bad connotation these days, but the dictionary defines it as "feeling about blindly or uncertainly in search"--ie for the light switch, the doorknob...especially in the dark...  It seems the the rich young man in today's gospel, (Mk 10: 17-30) in asking Jesus for the key to eternal life, was groping for something more.  He had been keeping the commandments, the roadmap given to Moses for a happy life, but that was not enough. There was something missing and he was searching, groping, for something MORE.  Was it wisdom? was it a different way of life?  Was it a deeper relationship with God?  Jesus gave him the answer, one that he, however could not accept, for it entailed giving away his wealth to the poor and following Jesus.  A marvelous invitation, yet beyond his willingness to accept. 
Don't we all grope for something more?  "There must be something better than this" we say as we struggle daily with our surcharged routines that have us barely floating above water.  Yet, when the solution becomes evident, like the young man, we walk away sad, because we are wedded to the way of life we have chosen...for indeed, it is we who choose to  take on more than we can carry, or get ourselves into things that nearly bury us.  Our "wealth" to which we cling, is our own will, our own independence, or own, ego-centric drive to be all and do all, and we refuse to give it up, despite our longing for the perfectly balance life-style...which in the end is what Jesus offers if we follow him.  Lord, give me the wisdom and courage to accept your invitation to give up my "wealth" and follow you into the way of peace."
Bro. Rene
There will be no slice of bread on Monday, and maybe even Tuesday, as I will be giving a faculty retreat at Catholic Central School in Springfield, Ohio.  Please pray for us. Thank you.

Nurturing Jesus

Today's brief Gospel from Luke mentions the outcry of the woman who praised the one who nurtured and mothered Jesus:  "Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed."  Jesus answered, "Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it."  (Lk 11:27-28).  Yes, he turns the nurturing task to us.  Just how do we nurture Christ in ourselves, in others?  How do we teach others to pray, for example?  How do we pray ourselves?  Parents are the first prayer teachers, for sure...and can work marvels in the lives of their innocent, receptive children.  Simplicity is the key...directness, conversational tone...all nurturing trust and confidence and the approachability of God.  Somewhow, as adults we lose this childlike approach and add endless words upon endless words.  Or, we simply mouth words from rote, rather than speak from the heart.  We all do this.  It might help if we truly STOP before we rush into "saying our prayers" and recall WHO we are speaking to, and make an effort to lay aside pretention and simply pray from the heart. Our own way of praying is what we model for others, how we teach them what prayer is, and how to pray.  Jesus my brother, teach me to be a nurturer of you in myself  and in others. Amen.
Bro. Rene

Computer Memory

There was no slice of bread yesterday because my computer needed additional memory.

Firming Up Our Faith

Today officially begins The Year of Faith.  Pope Benedict XVI has asked that it be a time to "make our relationship with Christ the Lord increasingly firm" and arouse in every believer the aspiration to profess the faith in fullness and with renewed conviction."  He commissions us to develop a stronger relationship with Jesus which can be done by spending more time with him in prayer, by reflection on the Gospels...perhaps a chapter a day...or even a few verses, mulled over and digested with the question in mind, "what does this tell me about HIM?"  Jose Pagola's book, Jesus, an Historial Approximation, which I have mentioned before, is an excellent resource for meeting Jesus, as I found, for the first time.  Asking Mary to "show us her Son", to give us her Son could be part of this prayer.  Seeing him in the lives of other people, a place sometimes overlooked, but by taking time to see what is GOOD in another person, will help us meet him in them..
As our relationship with Jesus grows, it then behooves us to share it with others: "to PROFESS" it by our lives and words.  If people see us acting like Jesus, it has to make an impact on them, for the actions of Jesus were so unconventional, so "on the other side" of current practice in his day, that they drew the crowds to him by the thousands.  Reflection on his conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well is an excellent example of his defiance of accepted custom for the sake of the person in front of him: talking with a woman, and a "despised" Samartian at that, along with  his loving outreach to her heart without condemnation.  No wonder she ran for joy to tell the townspeople that she had met the Messiah.  May we someday (soon) be able to have such an effect on those we deal with every day.
Bro. Rene

The New Evangelization

As we approach the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Second Vatican Council, there is a lot of talk and hope for a revitalization of the faith, the personal faith of individuals and the faith-in-practice of the community of the People of God, the Church.  A lot has been said and written about these fifty years but a little known story about Pope Paul VI might shed some light on the goal of The Year Of Faith proposed by Pope Benedict XVI, which begins tomorrow.
 After the closing of the Council in 1965, Pope Paul VI was relaxing one evening with a group of Cardinals who were entuhsiastically reviewing the accomplishments of the council and the work that was ahead to implement its documents and decisions.  They asked the Holy Father what he thought the priorities should be:  the liturgy, ecumenism, collegiality, the "opening of windows" to a new spring?  Without hesitation he replied, "Prayer."  A simple answer, but not one expected by the cardinals.  And perhaps not one expected by us.  Yet, when we think for a moment, it becomes obvious that without prayer, the year ahead might simply be 12 months of words with no roots.  If the Church is to be reborn, then the rebirth must occur in the hearts of its members.  How do we pray...is it  just words, or from the heart;  does it us really transform us into another Jesus?  If we find shorfalls in our own prayer lives, then we can begin a personal renewal, or re-evangelization of ourselves.  From us, the renewal moves to the parish, the diocese, the Church.  Pope Paul's answer applies today as much as it did nearly 50 years ago.
Bro. Rene

The Blues to the Rescue

For ten weeks, the people of Aleppo, Syria have been suffering from the ravages of the civil war.  People have fled their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs.  The government ordered schools to become shelters for these refugees, and our Marist school in a safe neighborhood in Aleppo. has opened its doors to 1,200 of these displaced men, women, and children.  A group of 50 volunteers of brothers and laymen and women, mostly in their 20's, calling themselves "The Marist Blues" (they wear blue t-shirts in honor of Mary), have been providing food, clothing, sanitation facilities, recreation and education in the spirit of Marist hospitality and care of the "least favored."  It is again a testimony to the vision of St. Marcellin, to step up to the needs of the times to take care of physical and spiritual needs of all, especially youth.   More information and pictures can be found on facebook at Maristesalep.  This beautiful poem captures the faith and trust of the Marist Blues and might serve as a healthy slice of Daily Bread for us:

In the hollow of your lives,
The Lord lays hope.
In the hollow of you rhands,
The Lord lays his love.
In the depth of your eyes,
The Lord lays his light.
In the depth of you hearts,
The Lord lays his peace.

Let us keep the Marist Blues and their charges (and all who are victims of the atrocities in Syria) in our prayers.
Bro. Rene

Enfleshing the Faith

Christopher Columbus set sail with three small ships into the vast body of water of the coast of Spain, thinking, believing that the world, being round, contrary to the popular opinion that it was flat, he could arrive in China.  When he landed in the Carribean islands, he still didn't know exactly where he was.  Yet today, we honor him as a man of bold daring and of a faith strong enough to carry him half-way around the world, or even less, as we now know the world.
Faith leads us to do, or to attempt the impossible.  Forty-four brothers were martyred for their faith on this day in Barcelona in 1936.  Their faith journey as Little Brothers of Mary ended abruptly "in mid-stream" we might say, yet they held fast to their faith and their vocation.
These days new generations of the Little Brothers and youth are taking on the challenge to revitalize their faith.  Br. Emili Turu, our Superior General is an observer at the Synod on the New Evanglization taking place in Rome; brothers in Africa have met to work on becoming Evangelizers in the mids of Youth, and others are preparing for the Marist Youth Gathering in Rio de Janiero before the World Youth Day next summer.  Their theme is Change:  Make a Difference, which is a good segue to the WYD theme:  "Go, Make Disciples of All Nations."   And daily we seek the means to put flesh on the bones of our own faith by our fidelity to prayer and our striving to be and act like Jesus.  May we willingly accept God's call to an active, living  faith as so many others have done and are doing.
Bro. Rene

Respecting Life and Faith

October is Respect Life Month and today is Respect Life Sunday.  In Rome, the Synod on the New Evangelization is under way and on Thursday, October 11, the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, and the 20th anniversary of the publication of the  Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Year of Faith will begin.  There is no doubt that with the rampant secularism that has gripped Europe for a long time, and which is making frighteningly fast inroads into America it is time for action.  A deeper understanding, and for many even just a basic understanding of our faith coupled with, as Ralph Martin, President of Renewal Ministries in Ann Arbor, Michigan and leader in the charismatic movement since the '70's, puts it, "a new Pentecost" is needed to reverse the trend, put people back on the right track and take care of the offshoots of faithlessness, abortion, mercy killing, violence and a total disrespect for life.  Despite the weakness of our wounded nature, we can move ahead to a period when our faith informs and influences our actions and restores respect for one another and for life itself. .  Today's readings (Gen 12: 18-24, Mk 10: 2-16), talk about the purpose of marriage, marital fidelity and Jesus' love for children and the vulnerable.  He chides the apostles from trying to block his contact with them. When we "love one another, God remains in us and his love is brought to perfection in us." (1Jn 4: 12).  In this next year, we are to remove the blocks that have crept up between us and our loving Jesus
Bro. Rene

Praying the Rosary

October is the month of the Rosary, tomorrow, is usually  the Feast of the Holy Rosary, but because it falls on a Sunday, it will not be observed this year.  Nevertheless, there has lately, especially in Massachusetts, a campaign to have a novena of rosaries prayed before October 11th, the opening the The Year of Faith, as a kind of Lepanto Crusade, when in that famous battle,  Don Juan of Austria defeated the Turks in 1571 and saved Europe from their domination, a victory attributed to the praying of the rosary.  The goal is a million rosaries to be offered for the defeat of the proposed doctor assisted suicide referendum to appear on the Massachusetts ballot on November 6th.
Praying the rosary has had powerful effects throughout history, another being the sudden and mysterious withdrawl of the Soviets from Austria as a result of 700,000 rosaries prayed for 7 years after WWII.
If the rosary can have such effect on the course of human events, how much more in our personal lives? For it gives us time to medidtate on the Gospel and review over and over again the life of Jesus, which eventually enables us to assimilate the steps and values that lead to holiness, and above, all, helps us develope a deep friendship with Jesus.  No wonder, Mary, whose mission is to bring forth Jesus into the world, constantly promotes this prayer.
Bro. Rene

Empowered Witnesses

One of the marks Marist educators strive to imprint on their students is that they be "empowered witnesses of the love of God."  This characteristic mark, in order to be imparted and received, must be present in the lives of their teachers, and when we think of it, in the lives of all Marists, all Christians.  When Jesus said,
"Whoever listens to you, listens to me.  Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me, rejects the one who sent me."(Lk 16: 15-16), he was placing all of us in the position of delegate, ambassador, witness,  "stand-in" for him.  A huge commission and resonsibility, and again a reminder that we are to be Christ in our time, in our circles.  Our words and actions should ressemble his.  Not only do we often fail at this, but we hardly even think of it, except when reminded from time to time in a homily or in something we read. One way to keep our consciousness alert to this role is to make it part of our morning prayer, our morning offering, and our "little prayers" throughout the day as we recall God's presence in our lives.  "Lord, I am your sales rep. Guide my words and actions so that they might make you present to all I meet today." Or even more simply:  "I am your sales-rep.  Make me a good one."
Bro Rene

A Matter of Perspective

St. Francis of Assisi's popularity knows not the boundaries of denominations or faiths.  His is a universal appeal due to his simplicity and closeness to all of creation.  His love of nature, of animals, and people resonates with all.  It's amazing how the once "worldly" young man, aspiring to be a great knight, a man who embraced heartily good food, clothing, wine and women would come to channel these passionate pursuits with a great passionate love of God, humanity and all creation.  How his perspective changed once he saw the shallowness of his earlier pusuits, and how he has touched the hearts of generations who have had similar longings for over 800 years.  Yes, there are many THINGS in  our lives about which we can say with Francis, "What good will they do? They won't save your souls.  Throw them all out!"  Rather, in his words, "Let us refer all good to the Lord, God almighty and Most High, acknowledge that every good is his, and thank him from 'from whom all good comes fo everyting.' May he, the Almighty and Most High, the only God, have, be given, and receive all honor and respect,  all praise and blessing, all thanks and glory, to whom all good belongs, he who alone is good."
Bro. Rene

No Trial Too Great

Every now and then we hear of a tragic situation that would seem absolutely unbearable, and we wonder how those involved can go on. Two tragic instances came to my attention just yesterday that tore my heart:  A father of three discovered his brakes had failed as he was coming into his driveway and he ran over his three children who were there to welcome him home.  All three were pronounced dead.  Another father blacked out and fell on his infant son who died at the hospital of  fractured skull.  After a year of counseling, spiritual direction and prayer, the disconsolate father of three has returned to as "normal" as possible, and he and his wife are expecting their fourth child.  It is too soon for a report on the parents of the second case, but with prayer and help, they too will "make it."  St. Paul tells us comfortingly, "No trial has come to you but what is human.  God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it."  (1Cor : 10-13).  Every day some little bump seems to pop up, thank God, nothing of the proportion of the two above, (which, by the way, certainly give perspective to what we might consider bad), but enough to ruffle us.  Remembering that we cannot be tried beyond our strength and the strength that God gives us to bear it, helps us carry on and also brings us closer to him.
Bro. Rene

Angel of God

Most likely the old prayer to the Guardian Angels is familiar to a great number of readers:  "Angel of God, my guardian dear,/ to whom God's love commits me here./Be ever at my side/ to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen " Today we give honor to these faithful "non-corporeal" beings who so willingly do God's bidding, who have been assingned to us from birth, and who not only protect us from disasters, but who also help us to fight temptation and enlighten us along the path that leads to God.  The Israelites experienced their protection when fleeing the Egyptians, and just last week, TWICE I should have been broadsided because I didn't see the vehicle that was in my "blind side" when I was pulling out of an intersection.  One was so close, I thought I'd definitely be hit, but the truck stopped just inches from my door; the other incident incurred endless beeping and a look of utter disbelief that I had pulled out when he was so close.  Yet, it was as if my angel, Leo, was literally there with his shield to save me.  There have been many times like this in the past.  I thank him every night that I can crawl into bed in one piece after the day's near misses of varying magnitude.  He's got his handsful with me, but faithful and  true to his mission, so far so good.  We'll have quite a meeting on the other side of the Pearly Gates someday.  If our angels are so careful in preserving us from physical harm, how much more from spiritual harm?
Amen.

St. Therese On Prayer

We are not alone in the difficulties and distractions we might be finding in our prayer.  Not to mention just the TIME for prayer, but also the rolling list of things to do which seem to flood us when we attempt to sit or kneel to pray, or the fatigue that swamps us like the Great Kahuna, or the dryness of routine, or the doubt that our prayers are doing anything, all of these are not new.  St. Therese would get headaches trying to choose between the beautiful prayers she found in prayer books, or would actually fall asleep from time to time saying the rosary, or would feel "so spiritually barren" that she could not "summon up a worthwhile thought."  Her description of prayer in her simple but poetic language might help us:  "For me, prayer is an upward leap of the heart, an untroubled glance towards heaven, a cry of gratitude and love, which I utter form the depths of sorrow as well as the heights of joy.  It has a supernatural grandeur which expands the soul and unites it with God."  When nothing worked, she would pray the Our Father or Hail Mary slowly, and find the nourishment and satisfaction she needed.  In this month of October, the month of the Holy Rosary, we might make an effort to say the rosary daily, especially when there are so many needs around the world and in our own country, or at least, pray the Our Father or Hail Mary reverently.
Bro. Rene