Setting our Lenten Priorities

Today's "Mardi Gras" Gospel, has none of the frolic and revelry of the weeks long New Orleans celebration, but rather is a somber call to look carefully at our priorities...The following passage is not so much about wealth, but rather about anything that stands in the way of a deeper personal relationship with Jesus.  To whom, to what have we given our hearts that might put Jesus "last" when he should be "first"?  Read, ponder, decide what would be best to do during the rich season of Lent.

MK 10:28-31 Peter began to say to Jesus, “Look, we have left everything and followed you!” Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age: houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” Bro. Rene

Invitation To Give More

The Story of the Rich Young Man (Mk 10: 17-27) carries an invitation, a challenge, to GIVE MORE.
The rich young man proudly lists his achievements, (keeping all the commandments from his youth), but chokes when asked to step up (a big step) higher:  to sell  what he has and give the proceeds to the poor.  He can't do it...has too much, is too attached...he turns away sad.  Jesus too must have been disappointed and sad.
So often he asks US to step up higher and give more of ourselves, of out time, even of our cash, and we, not trusting that he will match a hundred fold what little (in reality) he is asking of us, refuse.  With Lent around the corner, we might listen to this invitation and pray for the courage...ask Mary...to help us take this next step.
Bro. Rene

What, Me Worry?

Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Newman had us rolling in laughter in the '60's and still does. His "What, me worry?" became a household catch phrase, probably because it hit home to so many who did worry.  As often as we are told not to, and as often as we say we won't, we keep slipping back to it.  Jesus tells us FOUR times in today's Gospel, Mt 6:24-34 not to worry.  We agree, but by the end of the day we'll find ourselves back in our "worry pot."  Even when we are told, "worrying is like making a down payment on problems that might never happen," we worry. In so doing, we cause ourselves needless stress, we blind ourselves to the NOW, to the beauty of "the lilies of the field", the song of the birds of the air, the goodness of others and above all, the providential care of God.  Worrying says to God, "I don't trust you." Is that how we want to treat God who time after time SHOWS us he will take care of us, of everything we need to do, or want to do?  No wonder Jesus cried out, "How long do I have to endure you?"   Best to STOP; this is the Sabbath. Take some time to recall all that God as done...were we ever left adrift without wind or rudder?  It all works out for the best in God's way and time.  Worry not, Fear not.
Bro. Rene

Keeping It Simple

Often people "intervene" to protect others from what they perceive to be harmful or dangerous as in the case of the Apostles in today's short passage from Mark 10: 13-16).  When people were bringing their children to Jesus so that he could touch them, they shooed them away, intending to save him from these (we surmise) noisy and squirming kids.  But Jesus rebuked the Apostles and encouraged the other adults to bring the children to him, "for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." (Mk 10: 14) and whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God as a child, will not enter it.  In tenderness, he embraced the children, blessed them and placed his hands upon them...All simple gestures of love and powerful reminders that living the Kingdom of God is not complicated science or math, but as simple as accepting and welcoming one another as children do, or opening a car door for an elderly person, or holding a door for someone. The simpler the better...we can easily muck up things by sticking our noses in where they do not belong.
Bro. Rene

A Kind Mouth

Ben Sirach offers more wise advice today, this time regarding speech and friendship.  "A kind mouth multiplies friends and appeases enemies,/ and gracious lips prompt friendly greetings." (Sir 5:5)  We read an echo of this in the letter of James:  "If a man offends not with his tongue, the same is a perfect man."  (Jas.3:2-)  One of the best things we might say about a person, and we often hear this in eulogies:  "So and So never said an unkind word."  An ideal a goal  for which to strive.  Our mouth, our tongue, can be an instrument of healing and compassion...a kind word, a smile...all based in that lower region of our face.  It can also be a source of venom, division, or violence.  The power of words, the power of the mouth...delightful, dangerous. May the Holy Spirit guide us to use this gift for good rather than for ill, to make friends, not enemies.
Bro. Rene
Note.  I had no internet connection yesterday, hence no slice of bread...I apologize.

Peter's Chair

February 22 is the date assumed to be day when Jesus commissioned Peter as the Rock upon which he would build his Church and gave him the "Power of the Keys," the authority to bind and loose on earth what would be bound and loosed in heaven. (cf. Mt 16:18-19).  Peter's chair, upon which he sat leading the community in prayer and receiving the newly baptized, was a symbol of his authority, even when empty while Peter was preaching elsewhere. The original chair disappeared over the centuries in one of the various pillages of Rome.  However, the feast is kept to commemorate the teaching authority of the Vicar of Christ, and supports the Pope's mission to guide the entire People of God, a huge task, no doubt often causing a sleepless, sweaty nights.  Let us, then, today and every day, offer prayers for Pope Francis, that he might have the courage and strength to push the Church ahead in its mission to be the bark that carries the God's people through the storms of unbelief, doubt, violence, untruth and fear to eternal life.  Jesus, our Good Shepherd, continue to inspire Pope Francis to be a good Shepherd and leader who will keep us on the path of truth and fidelity to you and your teachings.
Bro. Rene

Commit Your Life to the Lord

This morning the first reading for today's liturgy from Sirach and supported by the Psalm Response encourages us to turn everything over to God, and he will help us:  "Commit your life to the Lord and he will help you." (Ps 37 5).  Another translation reads: "Commit your way to the Lord and he will act." Ben Sirach writes:  "Trust God and God will help you;/ trust in him and he will direct your way;/ keep his fear (respect) and grow old therein." (Sir 2:6)
Further advice:
You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy,
turn not away lest you fall.
You who fear the Lord, trust him,
and your reward will not be lost.
You who fear the Lord, hope for good things, for lasting joy and mercy.
You who fear the Lord, love him,
and your hearts will be enlightened. (Sir 2: 7-9)
May we all find nourishment in these wise suggestions and live our day in peace, knowing that God cares for us more than we care for ourselves.
Bro. Rene

Help My Unbelief

Hearing of the spate of cures wrought by Jesus, it's no doubt that the father of the mute, devil possessed boy sought help directly from him, especially when his disciples failed to drive the demon out. Exasperated, Jesus replied. "O faithless generation, how long will I be with  you?" (Mk 9:19). As the boy went into further convulsions, Jesus told the father, "Everything is possible to one who has faith." (Mk 9:23). The father replied: "I do believe, help my unbelief." (Mk 9:24) Jesus commanded the spirit to leave the boy, and the ordeal was over. (Mk 9:26-27).
The power of faith is also exemplified in the lives of Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto, the two younger children who witnessed the apparitions at Fatima a hundred years ago.  They believed, tand took Mary's instructions to heart, fasting, praying and doing penance for the conversion of sinners.  When struck down by the Spanish flu in 1918, they suffered to the point of death, (Francisco in 1919, at the age of 11 and Jacinta in 1920 at the age of 10). .Even while ill, they went to the place of the apparitions, prayed and offered up their sufferings.  Jacinta  underwent surgery without anesthesia, and offered her pain for sinners.
Reading this, I am humbled and compelled to join the muted boy's father in praying, I do believe, help my unbelief.  How about you?
Bro. Rene

The Strength Of Our Desire

St. Augustine wisely wrote, "The strength of our desires forms the strength of our labors and pains; no one ever freely undertakes what is laborious and painful except to obtain the object of his love."
From our days as students when we "killed ourselves" for that "A" in our toughest class, to the desire to give our children or our students the best preparation for life that we know, we work hard, spend long days, and short nights, willing to sacrifice and do whatever it takes to achieve the BEST.
Jesus gives us the ultimate challenge in today's selection from Matthew's Sermon on the Mount:
"So be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Mt 5:48).  Seems like an impossible call.  Who can be perfect?  An old adage goes; "Perfection is not of this world," but this is no excuse not to  try with all our might, as Tennyson said in ULYSSES: "to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
A noble ideal, :laborious and painful" but possible if done out of love for our God who is LOVE.
With Ash Wednesday around the corner, it's time to set our desire in the direction of this elusive, but possible "perfection".  What do we need to do to strengthen our relationship with God? What stands in the way?  What must go? What must we add? What will make our love grow?
Bro. Rene

Good To Be Here

In his enthusiasm for the vision before them, Peter speaks for James and John as well as himself when he utters:"Rabbi, it is good that we are here!" (Mk 9:5).  Yes, there stood Jesus resplendent in light as bright as the sun with Moses and Elijah standing beside him.  Who would not think they had died and gone to heaven?
Last night at St. Rita's Church in Lowell where over 100 young adults and some "senior" guests partook of the second ACross the Border evening of Adoration, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Holy Mass, and pizza fueled fellowship. One of the young women exclaimed in similar words how good it was to be there and see so many people her age who live their faith and simply by their presence offer support and encouragement to one another.  This same young women said briefly that living a good Christian life these days is not easy and to see so many others living the same way, gave her the encouragement to continue.
Looking in from the outside, we might take the same encouragement knowing that not only the gray-haired live their faith and take their baptismal commitment seriously.  One young man said that he had been living his faith all his life and saw "no big deal" in coming to a Prayer Night even on a Friday. Pretty exceptional.  May we pray that these young people attract more of their peers back into active practice of their faith.  Next gathering: St. Patrick's Church, Lowell Mass on March 17th..St. Patrick's Day.
Bro. Rene

A Call From Mary

When he was a young man, Alexis Falconieri received a vision from Our Blessed Mother, inviting him to serve her in a special way.  She even gave him a black habit, which would remind him of her sufferings.  Six other men received a similar vision and bonded together to form a community, later known as the Servants of Mary, or Servites, who were  (and are) dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows.
Although it might seem the ideal way to receive a vocation, so clearly and tangibly, but even these first Servites underwent suffering, truly carrying their cross after Jesus,  and walking as well in the footsteps of Mary and her sorrows.  St. Marcellin's dedication to Mary and the establishment of the Little Brothers of Mary also brought ridicule, rejection and suffering, for it is not possible to avoid the cross in our efforts to do good.  Yet, through the cross and fidelity to Jesus and Mary amazing graces have come to the world through these congregations which promote love of Jesus through Mary and service to the most neglected and forgotten.  Our own daily call, though perhaps not as dramatic, entails some pain, ridicule and rejection, but if we pray daily that we might remain steadfast and faithful as these founders, we too can  be instruments of amazing grace.
Bro. Rene

A Testy Scene

This morning we find Jesus questioning his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" (Mk 8: 27).  This leads eventually to Peter's confession of faith: "You are the Christ." (Mk 8:29). A good answer, the right answer, and no doubt, a swell of pride as we all feel when we give "the right answer".  But then the tone changes, Jesus warns about his suffering, death and resurrection (this last, most likely not understood at the time), and a verbal skirmish ensues:  Peter rebukes Jesus, in his usual impetuous way, and Jesus returns the rebuke with an even stronger one:  'Get behind me Satan;  You are thinking not as God does, but as humans beings do." (Mk 8: 33).  Whew!  A little steam rose in the already warm climate of Caesarea  Philippi.
But when we have our own opinions and find them challenged by others, or when we have our plan laid out and God's evident plan leads us in a different direction, isn't our first reaction one of anger or confrontation?  The rebuke, "You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." applies aptly to us as well  Make us humble, Lord, to accept your thinking.
Bro .Rene

Our Own Blindness

It took two attempts for Jesus to cure the blind man of Bethsaida.  This causes us to pause and ask why, since in other cases, cures were instantaneous responses to the his touch or word. This cure is "a work in progress."  After the first application of spittle, the man sees "people looking like trees walking." (Mk 8:24).  After Jesus laid hands on his eyes a second time, the man saw clearly. (Mk 8:25).
Our own blindness often prevents us from seeing others as they are, they seem to us to be like "trees walking"  We form opinions of them from things they say or do, the clothes they wear, the books they read or the movies they see. Although these things give us clues, do they allow us to know them really as they are?  It takes a "second effort" and time for us to know them and  see them clearly and distinctly. May God give us the patience he showed us with this cure, and encourage us to allow time for our eyes to be fully opened.
Bro Rene

Valentine's Day

From what little we know about St. Valentine, he was a priest in third century Rome who worked especially with young people.  Legend has it that he signed a letter to the daughter of the jailer whom he converted, "From your Valentine."  He was martyred in 269 A.D. in Rome, where a church was built in his honor.  He was tied in with the tradition  of Courtly Love during the Middle Ages in England, and although he is no longer on the Universal Liturgical calendar, his feast day is still celebrated in Rome.  In the United States, his memory is greatly enhanced by the tradition of honoring loved ones with candy, cards and flowers.  He is the patron of  happy marriage, those in love and youth.
Here is a prayer, courtesy of the University of Notre Dame, in his honor:

Prayer for Valentine's Day

God of love, 
Your gratuitous love is the source of all goodness. As we give thanks for your loving fidelity, help us to remember the many ways we encounter your love in our relationships with others. May we show appreciation to our spouses, soulmates, and companions with whom we journey life’s path. May our love for one another deepen in generosity and wisdom. 
Grant us the humility to ask for forgiveness in times of hurt, and the generosity to offer pardon in return. Strengthen our bonds of fidelity to one another, and to those in need of our love. May the joy and hope that love provides transform and redeem us.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, and through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Bro. Rene

The Curse of Cain

Today's passage from the Book of Genesis relates Cain's murder of his brother Abel and the subsequent "curse" imposed on him: "Therefore, you shall be banned from the soil that opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.  If you till the soil, it shall no longer give you its produce. You shall become a restless wanderer on the earth." (Gen 4: 11-12)  What worse punishment for a farmer?
On our spiritual journey, there are times when we feel that our prayer is yielding nothing, as the barren soil under Cain's plow, or that our minds wander endlessly and all we see is the whiteness of a heavy snowfall, a "spiritual white out."  We feel like we've inherited Cain's Curse, which he found "too great to bear." (Gen 4:13). But God did not intend to kill Cain nor allow others to do so.  So too, in our dryness, in our blank, bland, apparently fruitless prayer, God stands by, with us, not allowing us to wither, but inviting us to call out to him in humility for a sense of direction, for help to accept our helplessness. It becomes the occasion to remember God's faithfulness, to trust that even this "white out" has its purpose. It's a time to focus not on ourselves nor our feelings, nor on our being "cursed", but on God.
Bro. Rene

What Gifts?

In one of the most challenging passages of the Sermon on the Mount, read as today's Gospel, Jesus tells us to hold off on presenting our gifts to the altar and be first reconciled with our brother. (cf. Mt 5: 23-24).  What are these gifts that we bring?  Yes, the bread and wine, but also our joy, pain, sorrow, our desire to give ourselves totally  to our families, community, our gratitude, our hope  to be transformed and to transform the world around us.  These are great gifts. ones we would not want to be muddled in the mire of a dispute or feeling of uncomfortableness because of differences of opinion or political stance.  Life is too short to hold on to grudges or to let politics, of all things, stand between us and our "brother".  May we clear the deck as soon as we can, so we can freely and purely bring our beautiful gifts to God.
Bro Rene

The Reversal of Ill Fortune

The sin of our first parents, the Fall of Adam and Eve, has left the human race with dire consequences: we're separated from God, we've lost our integrity, our ability to trust ourselves, others and God. we suffer illness and pain, we toil and attempt to survive by the sweat of our brows, we die. Not a happy picture, not the way it was before the Fall. Yet, God's infinite mercy and compassion has given us a Way out of this:  Jesus. His life and expiation for the Great Sin, has made reunion with God a reality and the reversal of these "punishments" possible. Besides his salvific death and resurrection, during his life, moved with compassion,  he worked countless miracles of healing, both physical and spiritual, and even took care of feeding the multitudes who came to hear him. Compassion and Mercy are gifts shared by his mother, who, in her numerous visits to our world over the centuries, has been the instrument for on-going healing.

Today we honor her as Our Lady of Lourdes, a well-known place of pilgrimage and physical as well as spiritual cures. As the first woman, Eve, chose to break away from God, so Mary, the new Eve by her choice to allow God to take flesh in her womb so that the human race might be reunited with its Creator.  She, like Jesus, continues to look with pity upon us, and to intercede with Jesus to heal the sick. Lourdes has become synonymous with healing;  may we not hesitate to approach Mary for the healing we or others need.

Bro. Rene

Following A Higher Rule

As we honor St. Scholastica, twin sister of St. Benedict of Nursia, and patroness of nuns, we are reminded that "rules are good (for order), but there are times when a "higher rule" displaces them.
So it was when Scholastica asked Benedict, who came to her monastery from nearby Monte Cassino for their annual visit, to stay the night so that they might talk more, sensing that this might be their last visit. When he refused, she prayed and a great thunderstorm descended from the heavens, making it impossible for him to leave.  "What have you done?" Benedict is reported to have asked.  She replied, "I asked you to stay and you did not listen.  I asked God, and he listened."  The law of love overshadowed Benedict's rule forbidding monks to spend the night outside the monastery. God who is Love,it would seem, prefers an act of love over a rule, as Benedict learned.  Scholastica died three days after the visit  No doubt, Benedict was happy to have had the extra time with her.
Lesson well taken: Love is the Rule that rules the rule.
Bro. Rene

Time and Persistence

In this morning's Gospel passage (Mk 7:24-30), we are presented with the story of the Syrophoenician woman whose daughter was possessed by a demon.  Being a woman and a Gentile, she already had two strikes against her, but nevertheless, she approached Jesus to ask for a cure. Even when apparently rejected, she persisted and gave Jesus a reply he could not refuse.
Often in our relationship with Jesus, in our petitions, we expect an immediate response, and sometimes turn to doubting and pouting when it doesn't come.  It is at that point when we need to stop and reflect on WHO we are asking:  our loving God, the Creator of the Universe, who made us,who has sent his Son to become one of us to save us and open the door to eternal life.  Would he want nothing but the best for us?  We need to learn patience and trust in this God and to place our anxiety and impatience into his hands and allow him to work in his good time.  Sometimes it's right away, other times, it's over a long period of time, but in the end we come to see that HIS time was the best time.
Bro. Rene

The Breath of Life

In today's excerpt from the Book of Genesis we read: "the Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became  a living being." (Gen 2: 7).  Having watched my oldest living brother Robert struggling to breathe since last Sunday when his battle with cancer took a turn for the worst, it is fitting that this morning at 2:30 am he took has last breath on this earth, but became a partaker of eternal life.  How we take our breathing for granted, barely conscious of its automatic rhythm.  What a gift it is. Death makes us aware of it as never before and moves us to gratitude.  May we, as the Cure of Ars prayed, make every breath an act of love and gratitude to God for the gift of life.
Bro. Rene

Holding On To Traditions

In this age (like all ages) of flux and change, holding on to traditions can be both a help and a hindrance.  The measure is, "are they helping me to remain close to God and neighbor, or are they standing in the way?" Family traditions are handed down from generation to generation and can supply stability, and assurance.  The hanging of stockings, what's in the stockings, at Christmas, for example, becomes a familiar ritual that carries memories of parents and grandparents well into the adult lives of children and even their children. Try to break such a custom, and it's as if the world has come to an end.  In more serious areas, such a family attendance at Mass, observing a days of "rest" on the Sabbath, monthly reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, although harder and harder to maintain as family activities increase, certainly deserve the effort to preserve them, for indeed, they are the basis for growth in our relationship to God. While in some cases, the argument, "we've always done it this way" can be a hindrance, if we can explain the WHY of certain traditions, we at least have a framework on which to build.
Bro. Rene

St. Paul Miki and Companiions

The Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, the first of the Japanese martyrs who gave their lives for their faith in the 16th and 17th century as Japanese authorities attempted to eliminate Christianity, which had take root from the days of St. Francis Xavier, comes this year when Martin Scorcese's telling film, SILENCE is still playing in theaters. The film,// depicts the physical as well as the emotional brutality that apparently succeeded in eliminating Christianity entirely from Japan, whose doors remained closed to the world for nearly 200 years.  When Commodore Perry arrived and Japan gingerly accepted contact with the West and allowed a priest to enter the country, hundreds of Catholics who had kept the faith in secret for these two centuries emerged and formed the nucleus of a new Christian community, mainly centered in Nagasaki.  Half this Catholic population was eliminated by the Atom Bomb in August of 1945,  but even that could not wipe out the faith that was so deeply rooted in the hearts of simple people from the beginning.  May we remember the courage and tenacity of these Japanese Faithful when find ourselves wavering.
Bro. Rene

Let Us Be Light

It's almost like Ash Wednesday!  Yes, buried under the hype of Super Bowl Sunday, which the media has played up and, perhaps, over played up this week, is the stark but consoling challenge if Isaiah and the command, as it were, of Jesus to be light and salt for the world.  Isaiah's message bears repetition:  "Thus says the Lord: share your bread with the hungry,/ shelter the oppressed and the homeless;/ clothe the naked when you see them,/ and do not turn your back on your own,/ /Then your light shall break fort like the dawn,/ and your wound shall quickly be healed;/ your vindication shall go before you,/ and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard./ ...If you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted;/ then light shall rise for you in the darkness,/ and the gloom shall become for you like midday."  (Is 58: 7-10) Jesus tells us flatly: "Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father." (Mat 5:16)  Let us enjoy our Super Bowl Sunday with family and friends, yet at the same time, remembering that there is "life beyond football", let us work on being light through our good deeds.
Bro. Rene

Choosing To Be Merciful

When the apostles returned to Jesus to report all they had done and taught, Jesus rightly invited them to come with him to a deserted place where they might all rest; it was time, and they deserved it after constantly being "on the go." The got into their boat and headed for the opposite shore.  However, the throngs of people saw where they were headed and walked on foot to meet them there.  "No rest for the weary." Jesus, moved with pity, chose to teach them instead of taking his needed rest. (Cf. Mk 6: 39-34),  It was his call, his choice to be merciful, trusting that the time for rest would come eventually.
We get so tied up in our work, the demands of family, friends, and "things to do" that we often find ourselves facing the same choice:  to push ahead and respond to these demands, or to take our needed rest.  There's no denying the real need for this rest, and we do "owe it to ourselves" to take it, but we can also choose, as Jesus did, to put it off and let mercy override our justified need.  May the example of Jesus be our guide
Bro. Rene
NB.  Today we registered 100, 500 page views since these slices first appeared in 2009.  Praise be to God.

Healing Through St. Blaise

Today we honor St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, who is remembered for healing a young boy who was choking to death on a fishbone.  St. Blaise prayed over the boy, and he was cured.  Another story tells of a woman who came crying about a wolf having dragged away her only pig and source of income.  Blaise prayed and the wolf released the pig, much to the woman's relief.  In gratitude, this woman brought candles to Blaise while he was in prison.  The blessing of the throats we receive today (and on the weekend) is based on these two events.  We pray: "Through the intercession of St. Blaise,
Bishop and Martyr may we be delivered from  every ailment of the throat and all diseases, through Christ our Lord. Amen." Very appropriate in the height of the flu season.
Bro. Rene

"A Light For Revelation"

Today's Feast of the Presentation of the Lord unfortunately does not receive the recognition it is due, being buried in the course of a weekday Mass.  In monasteries and some parishes, it is given its rightful place as the day to bless the candles to be used during the year and to feature a candelight procession to underscore the prophetic words of the Old Simeon who was promised  to see "the salvation of Israel" before his death. "He took the child into his arms and blessed God, saying, 'Now, Master, you may let you servant go in peace, according to your word,/ for my eyes have seen your salvation,/ which you have prepared in the sight of all the peoples,/ a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory for your people Israel.'" (Lk 2: 29-32).  How blessed Simeon was that after years of patient and prayerful waiting, the promise was fulfilled.  His words ring through the centuries to this day as every evening in the Church's official final prayer of the day, the "Nunc Dimittis" is said or chanted at Compline. May God so bless us that we may see in the people and events of each day the "light of revelation", the face of Jesus and the wonders of your hand.
Bro. Rene
Note:  This was the slice of bread intended for yesterday, but due to a "whaco" glitch in my laptop, (solved by a CCHS Junior, Josh Thomas)  I could not complete it or post it.  It comes today as a bonus.   

Disparaging Others

Taking offense at others, disparaging them happens when we do not understand who they are, see their gifts or their inner goodness.  Even Jesus was subject to such ill-informed scrutiny.  When he preached in the synagogue in his native place, he was looked down upon as a carpenter, an ordinary villager, and the people "took offense at him." (Mk 6:3)  Ouch...  Little did they know they were turning their noses up at the Son of God!
St. Brigid of Kildare, whose parents were baptized by St. Patrick, yet because her mother was the slave of her father, she was looked down upon, despite her loving, generous heart.  At one point, her father was about to beat her, but a nobleman interceded for us.  When her father freed her, she went on to found several monasteries. become one of Ireland's greatest leaders and evangelizers,  and is considered the co-patron of Ireland long with St. Patrick.
Who are we to look down upon minorities, or people with "special needs", handicaps, or different beliefs?  They too bear the spark of God within and could be, if given a welcoming chance, an outstanding leader or saint!
Bro. Rene