Not By Purple Garments

Because the dye to make the color purple, taken from tiny sea creatures, is so rare and thus expensive, purple became the color of wealth and power.  In the story of The Rich Man and Lazarus, Jesus notes immediately that this wealthy man was dressed in purple garments.  Lazarus, on the other hand, was covered with sores and no mention of his clothing is made at all. In the end, it is Lazarus who receives the eternal reward, while Dives, as he was called, suffered unbearable torment for not heeding the cry of the poor and by being too absorbed in himself, his comfort and his wants.  He had paid no attention to the teaching of the prophets nor the Law of Moses, and thus suffered the consequences.  We can easily chide and contemn him for his blindness, but likewise can be blind to our own callousness to the poor or indifference to the teachings of the Scriptures.  How we would kick ourselves after it's too late for not taking advantage of all the helps available, especially during Lent, for growing in our love of God and neighbor!  Let us save ourselves from such frustration and let not the purple garments or any other false enticements keep us from the path to Godliness.
Bro. Rene

Enthusiasm

Most of us find ourselves enlivened in the presence of enthusiastic people, but some, feeling that the presence of such exuberance is phony, criticize and discourage such displays of enthusiasm.  The Greek origin of enthusiasm  is en thous --in or by God, or "possessed by God".  If enthusiasm is genuine, it is a gift of God, it is God's presence in us or in another person.  As we move into the second week of Lent, we might find our initial enthusiasm waning, but if we step back and reflect on the presence of God within is and within others, our energy level will rise and keep us on track. As a characteristic aspect of Marist spirituality, realizing that we are "possessed by God" enables us to overcome the "lows" that come from fatigue, mistakes in judgement, sins, disappointments or failure to live up to our own expectations of the expectations others place on us.  These can weigh us down, even flatten us out, unless we turn all of them over to God and allow that Spirit of his to revivify and reanimate us. It's a matter of "letting go" of these weights, and allowing the Spirit to buoy us up and exercise his/her rightful  possession of us again; in a word,  to restore our enthusiasm
Bro. Rene

Forgiveness

One of the recurrent themes of Lent is forgiveness. Every time we pray the Lord's Prayer, we ask for forgiveness simultaneous to the forgiveness we offer to "those who have offended us", yet those words, which slide so easily off our slippery lips, often do not come from the heart and remain just words. Lent provides the time to stop and take stock of what it means to forgive, to be forgiven by others, especially by God. We are encouraged to take the time to make a good examination of conscience and a good confession, realizing how consciously or inadvertently we have wounded others by rejection, judgment, manipulation or violation of one of the Ten Commandments. It is painful and humbling to accept the wrong and pain we have inflicted on others, or the wounds we have received from them. Sometimes long silences, which we hoped would cover the wounds hide them for a time, but do not remove them as well as a humble admission of guilt and plea for forgiveness.
We might think that some situations cannot be rectified or erased through forgiveness, being too far gone or "impossible". It is then we need to remember again that "nothing is impossible with God" and ask him to help us with the difficult task of forgiving or asking forgiveness. The simple prayer, often seen as a bumper sticker, "Jesus saves", might be expanded to "Jesus forgives," "Jesus heals," "Jesus saves from fear, or cowardliness, or shame" to eliminate the block that stands in the way of forgiveness. Try it and see what vanishes into thin air.
Bro. Rene

Call to Conversion

The Second Sunday of Lent presents us with the familiar story of the Transfiguration. It appears early in Lent because it is such a pivotal image: the face of Jesus transformed and his garments as bright as a flash of lightning, clearly a preview of the resurrection, the main reason for the presence of Jesus among us, and the focus of our Lenten prayers, fasting and almsgiving. The transformed face is set between two Old Testament Figures: Moses and Elijah...two men who prepared the way for Jesus. It is Jesus, however, upon whom we should set our eyes, just as it is that the four Gospels make up the heart of the New Testament, the other books being expansions and developments of the core message he presented, and deserve our primary attention. The voice from the cloud booms a clear direction to the confused disciples (and us): "This is my Son whom I have chosen; listen to him."
With five weeks of Lent remaining, there is ample time to turn to the Four Gospels and read them prayerfully, not even entirely but slowly and reflectively, asking ourselves: "Who is this Jesus who is speaking to me? What relevance do his words have for me? "Listen to him." Could there be a clearer call to transformation, to conversion?
Bro. Rene

The Chair of Peter

Friday was the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, which commemorates the teaching authority of St. Peter and his successors. At this moment in the history of the Church, when in a few more days that chair will be empty until a new Pope is elected, it is a good time to stop, reflect on the papacy and join together as a Church to pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the selection of the next Pope.
Until the Emperor Constantine gave the Church freedom to exist, almost all of papal reigns ended in martyrdom. In the centuries that ensued and the papacy became embroiled in politics and temporal power, there were fewer saints and more "sinners" sitting on the chair of Peter. Just from this prospect alone, the survival of the Church, its on-going renewal and re-invigoration, are evidence that the words of Jesus, "the gates of hell will not prevail against it" were not just an empty promise. We have been blessed in the past century to have had again a host of "good popes, saints and blesseds already noted among them. As always, the "spots and wrinkles" of the Church continue to be uncovered, reminding us that indeed it is composed of men in need of the saving power of Jesus. These wrinkles have been far worse in the past, but nevertheless, the need for conversion remains a priority. It is at this advantageous moment, in the early days of Lent, a time for renewal, that this opportunity is now available to the Church...to us. A moment of choice, a moment of growth, a moment of hope. A moment to remember that Peter, the choice of Jesus himself to be the ROCK upon which he would build his Church, denied him three times! We trust that his successor will also be the choice Jesus would make.
Bro. Rene

God's Munificence

Not to befuddle the reader with this 50 cent word, but rather to put the equation: God's abundance + God's magnificence = God's munificence, into one word. All our words pall when we try to describe God, but every weak attempt might help us understand and appreciate our Creator a bit more.
We have experienced time and time in our lives, the generosity of God, the Giver in super abundance, when we love God with all our hearts, minds and strength. This love we give freely with no strings attached opens the door to allow God to come closer and flood us with life and love in abundance.
At other times, when we are as far "down" as we think we can go, with the last glimmer of hope fast fading away, but in desperation remember to "cast our care upon the Lord" as the only one who can help us, the miracle comes and we praise God for his magnificence.
Lent is a time to develop this healthy sense of dependence on our Giving God by increasing our love for him by expressing it in words and showing it in our actions, our "alms" in particular. These alms might be donations and gifts to the poor, but they can also be the donation of time in calling a friend who may be dealing with illness, his own, or someone close to him; it may be listening to someone who has no one else to talk to; it may simply be asking someone about his or her day, and really listening to the answer. Not that we are looking for a return on our efforts, but the more totally and freely we give and take risks, the more of God's munificence will we receive.
Bro. Rene

Endurance

A week ago we received ashes to signify our commitment to a transformative period of 40 days during which, through prayer, fasting and almsgiving we attempt to prepare our hearts for the renewal of our baptismal promises at a deeper level. Each Lent provides a challenge, which over the course of a lifetime, helps us to become the best version of who we are, more like Christ, holy. How has this first week gone? Too early to see? Too early to give up. Not too early to recommit, relax and be more supple in the hands of God. There are many goals we can set for ourselves, but we cannot alway foresee the interventions that arise each day. As with our prayer, we enter not to receive, but to give. We ask God to "give us this day our daily bread", but we also offer praise, forgiveness and the promise to enter the kingdom of God. The important thing to remember is that the daily contact, the daily effort the conversation with God, the knowledge and love of him are what are transforming. If this is our attitude, then Lent becomes a process, not an endurance contest.
Bro. Rene

Our Desire For God

Once in awhile, especially when we least expect it, God's grace explodes in us and the glimmer we have been experiencing in our relationship with him, becomes as bright as a shooting star, or to be au courant, a passing asteroid. Things we have taken for granted, or things we have seen as obstacles to a fruitful Lent become the very things that will help us draw closer to God during these sacred days. God helps us to see a beauty in the common that we've never noticed before, or see the good in people that has evaded our vision till now and stop judging the; or see our own past sins as steps to aligning us on the path toward God. Prayer becomes more honest conversation, more of a natural genuine exchange between the God whose main goal is our growth and well-being and our desire for him...as muddled and misdirected as it can sometimes be. This clarity brings us joy and consolation, and makes us more deeply appreciate Lent as time to spend in peace and confidence with God, rather than a time of disciplined deprivation, and nose-sharpening at the grindstone of penance. Sacrifices and "penances" cease to be ends in themselves, but gifts willingly offered as signs of our sincerity and genuine desire to be holy, to align our wills with God's, to let go of "our way" of approaching him, and simply open the doors to allow for his entrance. At the end of these forty days, a change of attitude and behavior should be evident if we shift into the gear that reaches deeply into our hearts, and lets our desire for him be receptive to his desire for us.
Bro. Rene

Be Someone

As we celebrate "Presidents' Day" with the original two, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, being lumped in with all the others, and with all the sales attached to this day, we can loose sight of the virtues these great men exemplify and miss the opportunity for the needed inspiration they can give.
The story is told that when nine year old Abraham Lincoln's mother was dying, she told him to remember two words: BE SOMEONE. Evidently this injunction chiseled itself into his soul, for through hardship, failure, opposition, poverty, mockery, the devastating loss of one of his sons, and the ordeal of the civil war his determination to BE SOMEONE held him to the course and left him the reputation of being one of our greatest presidents, and the legacy of one united nation where all are free. In a sense, he had to sacrifice his life for that end, but knowing that assassination was a likely possibility, he didn't let it deter him from pursuing what was right.
In the book of Leviticus, we read another compelling command: Be holy for I, The Lord, your God am holy." (Lev 19:2) A BIG challenge, for as we acknowledge our sinfulness, the call to turn away from it and become more God-like seems like a reach that we can never hope to achieve. The consoling part is, that yes, we can never reach it ourselves, but God reaches out toward us, if we allow him, and meets us more than half-way. With God, then anything is possible, even this. And if Abe could do what he did in spite of all those obstacles, then his determination stands as an inspiration to us.
Bro. Rene

Forgive Our Blindness

The early part of Lent devotes itself to a change of heart, a conversion of life.  We are called to cast aside self-rigtheousness, and humbly accept our own sinfulness.  It's so easy to fall into the trap of looking at others and the"mess" they have made of their lives, and like the Pharisee praying in the tenple, thank God for not making us like "these others."  As Satan used various ruses to tempt Jesus in the desert, so too he uses various lenses for us to see others, always it seems, revealing their weaknesses and failures and magnifying our "virtue".  His trick is to blind us to the truth, and to cover our offenses with a false picture of ourselves.  We can easily forget that God loves the "sinner" and is at work in all of us who are far from "finished."  So, before we fall in worship of ourselves and condemnation of others, we need to ask Jesus to help us see our own sinfulness and throw off the temptation to make light of our need for conversion and concentrate the need others have to "fix" their lives.   Lord, drive Satan and his tricks away and have mercy on me a sinner.
Bro. Rene

A Simple Fact

Since December 26th stores have been pushing Valentine's Day.  And here it is.  The red hearts, the flowers, candy, and even more expensive gifts--that perfect diamond for example--symbolize love.  One wonders what is understood by that word these days.  Is it the love described by St. Paul in chapter 13 of the first letter to the Corinthians:  love is kind love is patient, not boastful or jealous...etc.  See 1Cor 13: 1-13).   Jesus said it best:  Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. Jn 15:13. New Living Translation (©2007)  This really should be what we are celebrating and living.
Bro. Rene
I will be in Bal Harbour, FL till February 26.  Slices may be sparse during this time, but with my new ipad and with the Club's wi-fi...I hope to continue a daily entry.

Fasting

It is here; it has begun:  Ash Wednesday with its clear sign of penitence boldly imprinted on our foreheads.  A day of fasting and abstinence, that is, one full meatless meal (with two smaller "meals" to tide us over).  Is this just a spiritual endurance test, or can it be something deeper?  Heather King, convert and spiritual writer, sheds some light on the meaning of fasting:  Fasting has always been hard.  Fasting is a reflection of the fact that the more desperate we are, the more open we are to change.  Fasting reminds us that the more keenly aware we are of our empty hands and our empty stomach, the more likely we are to realize we need help.  Fasting helps us to remember that we are all poor, and how very much we do not want to be poor. --Magnificat, February 2013, p. 171.
 Taking today's fasting and abstinence seriously will make us hungry, and that pang, we trust, will make us hunger for the things that really matter; it will help us to clear the clutter that blocks us from a fuller relationship with Jesus and our neighbor; it will give us a sense of our own "poverty" and our need for God to fill up what is lacking.  Truly, no one likes to be poor, nor wants to be poor.  Seeing so much material poverty in Rwanda convinced me that being poor is not desirable...the poor certainly do everything possible to lift themselves out of poverty.  Yet, the awareness of our dependence on God is a healthy offshoot of being emptied, of being deprived.  Our Lenten fasting is a door to a healthier understanding of who we are and who God is, and leads to a more humble and compassionate relationship with our neighbor. In this light, as contradictory as it may sound, we can say, Happy Ash Wednesday, happy fasting!
Bro. Rene

Mardi Gras

The day before Ash Wednesday has come to be known as "Fat Tuesday" (Mardi Gras) or Carnival (Farewell to meat..."Carne Vale"..).  It is celebrated with great gusto around the world, and notably in New Orleans where a million people are expected to join in the revelry...a last fling before the austerities of Lent.  If Lent is taken seriously, it doesn't hurt to let festivity have its day, for forty days in the "desert" can be taxing, although, if taken in the right spirit, invigorating and life-giving as well.  As we go about our day, taking time to thank God for its blessings, even those in the form of surprises yet to unfold; thank God for the opportunity to hunker down to a serious effort to draw closer to him via prayer, penance (the "giving up" aspect of Lent) and alms giving; and finally, to decide, even write down our goals for Lent...as if we were "doing Lent" for the first time. We don't want to overload our plates, but take on things we can do, and things that will sharpen our relationship with God and our neighbor.  How to put the Great Commandment of Love of God and Love of Neighbor to work in our lives as never before, might lead us to a series of concrete actions that will help us take up our cross and follow Jesus. There are many resources available to help us, one very good one, for example, at this link:  http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Lent/index.html  
The network of daily readers of these humble pieces of bread is so broad, I cannot measure it, but we might keep each other in mind and prayer as we "mardi gras" today and during the entire season of Lent.
Bro. Rene

Our Lady of Lourdes

February 11th marks the first of 18 apparitions of Mary to Bernadette Soubirous, a young peasant girl who was collecting wood for the evening fire at a local dumping ground known as the rock of Massabielle. Later, at the bequest of the local pastor, Mary identified herself as "The Immaculate Conception",  a title which had become a dogma of the Church just four years before.  Cures from the spring uncovered by Bernadette helped the unbelievers come to accept that apparitions as valid, and since then, hundreds of miracles have been officially accepted.
 Because of these many healings, Lourdes has become a mecca for the sick, "les malades," who stream there around the year.  And fittingly, February 11th has been designated as the World Day of the Sick.  Whether at Lourdes or not, the myriads of sick people deserve our prayers today.
And interestingly enough, Pope Benedict has chose this day to announce his retirement.  Startling news that makes us wonder if he is not among these sick who need our prayers.  Age, he claims is the reason,  but perhaps there is more than meets the headlines.  Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for him and for all who suffer from illness.
Bro. Rene

Putting Out Into the Deep

St. Luke gives us a story that has fascinated spiritual writers and artists for centuries:  Jesus teaching from Peter's fishing boat, and then commanding the tired fishermen, who had labored in vain all night, to "put out into deep waters and lower their nets," (Lk 5:4) this time loading them to the breaking point.  Blessed Pope John Paul 'II wrote, "The first condition for 'putting out the the deep' is to cultivate a deep spirit of prayer nourished by a daily listening to the Word of God.  The authenticity of the Christian life is measured by the depth of one's prayer.... Whoever opens his heart to Christ will...understand the mystery of his own existence...he will bear the abundant fruit of grace." (Magnificat, February, pp. 131-132). Peter and companions had Jesus right there with them, but protesting with human logic, they initially, as we all would, hesitated, but somehow overcame their doubt and did as he said, reaping a bountiful catch.  We could say that at least once a day, we are asked to "put out into the deep"...step into some unknown, unfamiliar place, take on something we've never done before, go beyond our comfort zone, or confront a threatening situation.  Several times during our lives we might be asked to do something really big, or really demanding.  We cannot do this without Jesus, without the deep relationship that comes with the prayer of being with Jesus and listening to him on a regular basis, as Blessed John Paul suggests.  Today, again limited as we are because of the blizzard and its after-effects, and in the upcoming days of Lent, we might make a major effort to deepen our prayer and be ready to "put out into the deep."
Bro. Rene

Come Away By Yourselves

St. Mark, whose portrait of Jesus is succinct and action-packed...seems that Jesus and his friends didn't even have time to eat! (Mk 6:31) makes it a point to note that from time to time, Jesus and the Twelve would separate from the ubiquitous, demanding, draining crowds, go to a deserted place and rest awhile.  If Jesus and the Twelve needed this time apart, how much more do we!  As we began yesterday with that beautiful Universal Prayer, and the blizzard continues today, we have the perfect opportunity to step aside, even in our own homes, since we are forbidden to drive on the streets and roads, to rest, and to pray more than we do on a usually busy day.  Using that Universal Prayer earlier today, I could not get beyond the first two lines...so full are they...leaving lots of the prayer for the days ahead.  And with Lent coming, we might want to consider how we might "Get Away" from our busyness by recalling God's presence as we walk from place to place at work or at home.  Or, before beginning a task, ask Jesus to be with us and help us do it well, to make it fruitful, and to unite it with his offering of himself to the Father.  If possible, in some corner of our homes or workplaces, we might be able to sit for ten minutes or so...just quiet, even with no thoughts, and be with Jesus and his friends in solitude.
Bro. Rene

Universal Prayer

For those of us in the Northeast who are preparing for a huge blizzard and might have more time for prayer over the next two days, as well as for those in warm climates who never suffer from the threat of snow, this prayer of Pope Clement XI "fits all." Pray slowly, pausing and repeating when something really strikes you.
Lord, I believe in you; increase my faith.
I trust in you: strengthen my trust.
I love you: let me love you more and more.
I am sorry for my sins: deepen my sorrow.
I worship you as my first beginning, 
I long for you as my last end,
I praise you as my constant helper,
And call upon you as my loving protector.
Guide me in by your wisdom,
Correct me with your power.
I offer you, Lord, my thoughts:
to be fixed on you;
My words: to have your for their theme;
My actions: to reflect my love for you:
My sufferings: to be endured for your greater glory,.
I want to do what you ask of me:
In the way you ask,
For as long as you ask,
Because you ask it.
Lord, enlighten my understanding,
Strengthen my will,
Purify my heart,
and make me holy.
Help me to repent of my past sins,
And to resist temptation in the future.
Help me to rise above my human weaknesses
And to grow stronger as a Christian.
Let me love you, my Lord and my God,
And see myself as I really am:
A pilgrim in this world,
A Christian called to respect and love
All whose lives I touch
Those under my authority, 
My friends and my enemies.
 --Magnificat Year of Faith Companion, p. 134
Bro. Rene








A 

Preparing for Lent

Before we know it, Ash Wednesday will be here (a week from today, it will already be history!)  How best can we use this precious time, or even more fundamentally, DO we want to use it at all?  Will every day be like every other day of the year, or will we be able to crank up the steam and the discipline to take advantage of the atmosphere, the readings, and the encouragement offered to us to"repent and believe the good news"?
One advantage is that "everybody is doing it."  In the Eastern Church, meatless days have already begun, so families who have been abstaining from meat over the years have accumulated enough recipes to see them through six weeks of meatless meals without much difficulty.  Even with this "routine" in place, it's still a demand and sacrifice to remain faithful to this regimen.  And sacrifice in union with the sacrifice of Jesus is really the point of this strict abstinence.  The Roman Rite demands abstinence from meat only on Ash Wednesdays and the Fridays of Lent.  Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of Fast and Abstinence:  (one complete meatless meal each day)...to "feel the pinch"  to say to the natural urges to satisfy every tickle of the tongue, "You are not in charge, I am.". 
Moreover, in addition to the "giving up" aspect of Lent...what positively and actively can we do to make these upcoming six weeks different and spiritually productive?  This is the time to start thinking ahead so that on Ash Wednesday, we'll have a plan in place and be ready to roll as soon as the ashes on our foreheads proclaim our resolve to spend a fruitful Lent, come closer to Jesus, and become a better Christian.
Bro. Rene

Experience of Church

We read in our school guide, In the Footsteps of Marcellin Champagnat, that "we are to provide our Christian youth with an experience of Church and foster their love for it."  This morning a speaker, Carl Wilkens, who remained in Rwanda during the Genocide, told us that he saw the role of Church as two-fold:  to help us build our relationship with God and with our neighbor.  During the Genocide, the churches basically ignored this second goal and for the most part stood mute while a million of their church members were slaughtered by other church members solely because of fear and hatred: it was a we against they situation.  In come instances, the churches even aided in the killings.  When an institution thinks only about its survival and not about the well-being of its members, it is doomed to destruction.  We hope and pray that the experience of Church we give our students in our Marist World is the one that embodies its total purpose.
Bro. Rene

Short Bread

Today will be a very thin slice of "short bread" as time for posting fast approaches.  Our Parent Guild showed its appreciation for the faculty by putting on a spectacular breakfast...following a spectacular evening for our accepted students last night.  The energy and spirit of the school nearly raised the roof off the gym, and prospective students and new parents were fairly sold on Central.  The next question is the financing, always the biggest obstacle.  We're asking people who can to make an annual donation over and above the regular tuition so that the children of struggling middle-class families, who don't qualify for the largest aid packages might be able to receive a little bit more and thus send their deserving children to us.  Please join us in gratitude for all that we have been given and wish to share with ALL who apply.  St. Marcellin, pray for us!
Bro. Rene

Catholics in America

It's no secret that Catholicism has been taking subtle and often not-so-subtle hits from the media for the past several years, a trend exacerbated by the clergy child abuse scandal, which seemingly is always in the news. The troubles in Los Angeles, being the latest target.  The stories of people leaving the Church, the decline in vocations, the closing of schools and merging of parishes, always in the headlines, tend to add to the image of a Church bleeding to death. Sr. Mary Johnson, SND, a sociologist, spoke about a different view of the current situation based on actual facts and demographics.  She informed us that yes, there is a decline in the Catholic population in the Northeast, for example, but there is a counterbalancing growth in the south and west, to the point that the numbers of Catholics in the United States grows by 1% each year, a figure that has been constant since heads have been counted.  There are 72 million Catholics in the United States today, about one fourth on the population, a percentage that has been constant since the '50's.  True there are large numbers of aging religious, but there are also large numbers between 20 and 40.  And surprisingly enough, there are more men in formation for religious life than women, a first in the history of the Catholic Church in America.  So let not the headlines dampen our spirits.  There is movement going on that does not make the headlines!  See America (Jesuit weekly magazine) October 15, 2012:  "Reality Check" by Sr. Mary Johnson and Sister Patricia Wittenberg.
Bro. Rene

Being A Prophet

The Church is celebrating the Word Day for Consecrated Life today to heighten our awareness of this special calling in the Church to the sisterhood, brotherhood and religious community priesthood (as opposed to diocesan).  By publicly professing the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, consecrated religious make a prophetic statement that they will imitate Jesus, follow in his footsteps, and like him, be witnesses or prophets to truths that can often get lost and need to be reaffirmed.  They stand out as guideposts, challengers, comforters, leaders, and often as reformers, when even within the Church, things get off course.
In post-revolutionary France, several such prophets arose to rebuild the church on the blood of the thousands of martyrs who were executed during the Reign of Terror, St. Marcellin being one of them. However, the current surge in the numbers of Lay Marists is an indication that being a prophet does not necessarily lie with consecrated religious only..
A friend of mine called the other night on the way home from a short, prayerful vigil in front of an abortion clinic where he quietly and solitarily prayed the rosary for the mothers and unborn children who would pass through those doors.  He invited me to do the same locally once a month.  I agreed. No fanfare, no organizing, just a prophetic presence and trust in the power of prayer.  I invite those who partake of this daily bread to see if you can find the time to do this yourselves on your own time once a month.
One final example:  I attended the funeral of a classmate yesterday, whose life of quiet witness drew a large number of family and friends to the Mass.  I remember him as being a quiet,, unassuming boy in high school, and  he evidently remained that way throughout his life. But what power was in that life!
So, we can be prophets by loving, even our enemies, forgiving, and living according to Jesus, who does not forget those who love. Living a life of love is being a prophet.
Bro. Rene

The Presentation of the Lord

This magnificent Solemnity, formerly known as the Purification of Mary, and sometimes called "Candlemass Day", used to mark the end of the Christmas Season, for it commemorates the 40th day after the birth of Jesus when Mary and Joseph presented him in the Temple, according to the Law of Moses, and offered a sacrifice of two turtle doves in his behalf.  It is sometimes marked by a procession and the blessing of the candles to be used in the course of the next year.  Some parishes would give a pair of blessed candles to each family for use in their homes.So much has changed now, with oil candles becoming more popular, and the cost of beeswax candles increasing , that many parishes no longer can afford to do all of this anymore.  Yet, in our hearts, we can proclaim with the aged Simeon that we have seen this child who is a "light of revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of the people Israel." (Lk 2: 32). As Christians, we now ARE the temple, and as Marists, our mission is to proclaim the Light by our lives, and, "if necessry, by our words," according to St. Francis.
If we are not able to be at Mass today, we can pay special attention to our deeds, actions and words, and tomorrow when we receive the Eucharist, recommit ourselves to the service of the Light.  Perhaps lighting a candle at home today, or in church tomorrow, might be a sign and a reminder to us of the significance of this day and our call to live in the Light, to BE the Light of Christ.
Bro. Rene

New Month, New Challenges

As we turn the calendar today, a short month comes up, but one full of challenges.  Hopes fall on Punxsutawney Phil not to see his shadow so that spring will come sooner than if he sees his it.  How accurate?  Not clear, but a light distraction from the usual February Blues that can emerge from gray days, cold, Lent, and illness. Despite our daily prayers, often "done" too fast and not from the heart, we slide away from our relationship with Jesus and Mary, and travel on "automatic pilot."  A Marist Young Adult, Danny Chomat, from Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, and now at Notre Dame, wrote a telling blog about this very thing. When he found his encounter cross in his bag and not around his neck, it symbolized for him the disconnect he was experiencing with his relationship with Mary and the spirituality that flows from her and gives life to us.  Putting on the cross, and taking time to make a short retreat helped him to get back on course.  It's funny how even externals, such as the weather, can "get us down", or how a reminder of a deep spiritual experience, such as an Encounter cross, can pick us up.  We all have such token reminders of past experiences or people that helped us experience a closeness to God.  Perhaps "dusting them off" or paying attention to them during this month will help us meet February's challenges with strength and confidence.  Thanks, Danny, for reminding us of the simple things we have at our fingertips that can help us grow in our faith and relationship with Jesus and Mary.
Bro. Rene