Bro. Rene's Daily Bread: June 2022

Thursday, June 30, 2022

Jese Does Both

Matthew 9: 1-8

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic

9 So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. ²Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”

³And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!”

⁴But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? ⁵For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? ⁶But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” ⁷And he arose and departed to his house.

Healing of bodies, forgiveness of sins. Yes, Jesus does both. It is we who need to increase our faith, to pray and act with this belief. Our lives would be so much more tranquil and productive, so less full of worry and self-pity.if our faith were stronger. "Lord I do believe, help my unbelief!"

Bro. Rene

Wednesday, June 29, 2022

Two Pillars

MATTHEW 16:13-19 MONDAY REFLECTION - YouTube

Matthew 16: 13-19

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

¹³When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

¹⁴So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

¹⁶Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth ^[b]will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

We need to reflect at length on today's Solemnity which honors two great pillars of our Church, Saints Peter and Paul; without their deep faith, their indefatigable efforts, courage and inexhaustible love , we would not be here today. When Peter confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, he set the bar for us: clear, direct, firm, uncompromising. Paul, not yet on the scene, comes later after a 180 degree about face and joins Peter in spreading the Faith. Celebrating them and answering the call to continue their witness and preaching is imperative today in our fractured, unsure world. What is right? What is wrong? What is truth? Who is Jesus??? Saints Peter and Paul, strengthen us and help us be true followers of Jesus called to make him present to our world in our day."

Bro. Rene

Tuesday, June 28, 2022

Why Are We Fearful?

"'What Sort of Man Is This?'" — Heartlight®

Mathew 8: 23-27

Wind and Wave Obey Jesus

²³Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. ²⁴And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. ²⁵Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

²⁶But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. ²⁷So the men marveled, saying, Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Neither wind nor wave disturbed Jesus as he slept in the boat while the disciples were frantic with fear. Jesus knew he had power over the storm but the disciples had to learn to put their trust in him. This certainly was a dramatic illustration and reminds us that we too mist not fear, even when the "storm" seems to be raging out of control. Our imaginations create the worst scenarios, and exaggerate the paltry reality.to the point of paralysis. Jesus asks us the same question he posed to his disciples: "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Let that question be our mantra today and help us wake up to the reality that indeed, there is nothing to fear if Jesus is iin the boat with us.

Bro. Rene

Monday, June 27, 2022

Jesus Takes Top Priority

Matthew 8: 18-22

The Cost of Following Jesus

¹⁸When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. ¹⁹Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

²⁰Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

²¹Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

²²But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Following Jesus is demanding and requires a total gift of self and what we might consider essential to our happiness, but in these stark words, he indicates that HE is the top priority and we must leave ALL, even family, security, my own will, "My Way" to be a true disciple. Sounds impossible, "Mission Impossible", but it isn't. Grace makes all things possible in ways we never imagined, take it from one who made every mistake a fist year teacher can make, and ended up president of a huge high school, with many other "impossible missions" in between. Trusting in God's grace,. letting go and letting Jesus take charge, nothing is impossible.

Bro. Rene .

Sunday, June 26, 2022

Can I Follow Jesus?

Following Christ without Excuse (Luke 9:51-62)

Luke 9: 51-62

A Samaritan Village Rejects the Savior

⁵¹Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, ⁵²and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. ⁵³But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. ⁵⁴And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?”

⁵⁵But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. ⁵⁶^[c]For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.

The Cost of Discipleship

⁵⁷Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”

⁵⁸And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

⁵⁹Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”

But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”

⁶¹And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”

⁶²But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Being a disciple of Jesus, as totally fulfilling as it might seem, is not easy. It's not "Doin' what Comes Naturally" as the song from the musical, Annie Get Your Gun, goes. We find excuses, we actually refuse Without a deepening faith and a community of faith compassion, it's a very hard road to walk alone.. Hence we gather for Sunday worship, and if possible find other times during the week to gather together. We take time daily to pray and meditate, to do some spiritual reading and find encouragement from others who are walking the same path/ Can I follow Jesus? Yes! Others have done it and with their example and support, we can too. Let's JUST DO IT!

Bro. Rene

Saturday, June 25, 2022

Mary Kept These things In Her Heart

Luke [2:41-51] The Boy Jesus in the Temple - YouTube

Luke 2: 41-51

The Boy Jesus at the Temple

⁴¹Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. ⁴²When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. ⁴³After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. ⁴⁴Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. ⁴⁵When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. ⁴⁶After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

⁴⁹“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”^[a] ⁵⁰But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

⁵¹Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.

We celebrate the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a sinless heart in view of bearing and bringing the Son of God into our world. Theologians tell us that because of this pure heart, she felt not only the joys of this world but also its sorrows more keenly in her heart because it was unimpeded with selfishness and totally open to God's grace. So, the pain of losing Jesus for three days was keener than it would have been for any other mother. She questioned Jesus and accepted his response, treasuring it and all the other words and incidents of his life in her Immaculate Heart.

As Marists, we have a special place with and love of Mary in our spirituality, and, no doubt she has a special place for us in hear heart, treasuring us, our journey and our efforts to grow in love of and fidelity to her Son. This is indeed, a special day for Marists to celebrate with Mary, our Good Mother, and find strength and comfort and strength in her Immaculate Heart.

Bro. Rene

Friday, June 24, 2022

Finding the Lost Sheep

Image result for Luke 15: 3-7. Size: 201 x 160. Source: www.haikudeck.com

Luke 15: 3-7

³Then Jesus told them this parable: ⁴“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? ⁵And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

How consoling to know that our Shepherd has such love for each one of us that he would leave the rest of the flock to find the one who was lost. What a fitting image and Gospel for the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, the symbol of Jesus infinite and tender love for us.

Years ago on the Pine Ridge Reservation , we had three sheep, all of whom found their way out of their pen and "disappeared." Three days later, we received a call from a neighbor that he had seen one of the sheep on his land. I had just come back from my morning run, but this news took precedence, so off I was again running to the place where the sheep had been sighted, And there he was, the lost sheep found. But not so easy to catch him and put him on my shoulders as in the parable. No, he ran away from me and managed to keep a few steps ahead of me for an hour (at least); finally he was exhausted and just stopped. Then, the Parable Moment, but not all joy, since I too was exhausted. I had him in my arms and wondered how I would have the energy to run him back home, but luckily, one of the brothers was returning home for lunch and picked us up. Then it was pure joy and a taste of this parable. I certainly learned what effort a true shepherd would go through as well as how dumb we sheep can be with such a loving shepherd looking out for our good, while we continue to run away. May we keep this parable in mind when we think we don't have the stamina to keep pursuing the lost sheep, or as the sheep, keep running away from the Shepherd!

Bro. Rene

Thursday, June 23, 2022

Fear Not The Impossible

Image result for Luke 1; 57-66, 80

Luke 1: 57-66, 80

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

⁵⁹On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, ⁶⁰but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”

⁶¹They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

⁶²Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. ⁶³He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” ⁶⁴Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. ⁶⁵All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. ⁶⁶Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

⁸⁰And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.

As we often struggle with "the impossible," as in the rising cost of living, more and more people straying from the practice of religion, or from God himself,' scandal after scandal in and out of the Church, and then look at the faith of Zechariah, strengthened by his 9 month period of muteness, we can take heart. Yes if an Elizabeth in her old age could bear a son, a prophet, and the last prophet at that, then I can muddle through my "mess" and find the purpose and meaning I thought I had lost forever. John the Baptist set the stage for Jesus, and even today, his birth and his preaching can move us, as they did to his listeners, to recognize and accept Jesus as the Messiah and God 'plan for us. "I know the plans I have for you" says the Lord., "plans of fullness, not of harm, to give you a future, and a hope." (Jer 29: 11). .Let us not waste time in fear, for indeed, "nothing is impossible with God."

Bro. Rene

Wednesday, June 22, 2022

By Our Fruits

1000+ images about Beware of False Prophets on Pinterest | Satan, Sheep ...

Matthew 7: 15-20

True and False Prophets

¹⁵“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

We all want to improve so that we can be the best disciple of Jesus that is possible. We want our actions to mirror our desire; we want to live what we believe and preach. Jesus wants this for us too and has given us models, from family members, and friends to the saints whose lives inspire us. We see in them that our desire to bear good fruit is possible; These are our models. Let us, then, be wary of false prophets who can easily lead us astray, but continue to act in the belief that we can and will grow holy through God's grace.

Bro.. Rene

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