People of Encouragement

Veteran's Day celebrations are occuring already to honor those who have served our country with valor and dedication. To shake these still strong hands, to hear of wounds, beatings in prison camps, to watch these valiant men who served in WW II or Korea, walking with canes and walkers, to see the gleam of pride in their eyes as they receive the gratitude of us who still benefit from their sacrifices, and to hear that the young men and women enlisting in our military have that same love of country and willingness to lay down their lives for us, cannot but give us inspiration, encouragement, even tears of joy and gratitude, and a renewed sense of patriotism.
St. Paul in writing to the Corinthians brings us to a deeper understanding of encouragement: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we oursevles are encouraged by God. For as Christ's sufferings overflow to us through Christ, so does our encouragment also overflow to others." (2 Cor. 1: 3-5). We see the love of God in others, and in the case of the veterans, we see the "affliction", the suffering, and the total gift of self, that Jesus underwent, that in turn becomes a source of encouragment to us. As we honor these heroes this week, let us take stock of their on-going gift to us, and ourselves become people of encouragement. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting encouragement and good hope through his grace, encourage your hearts and strengthen them in every good deed and word. " (2 Thes 2: 16-17).
Bro Rene

Time

Time. We never seem to have enough of it. Tonight, as we "fall back", the elation of gaining an hour while we sleep gives us somewhat of a boost, an encouraging hope of "catching up", at least on sleep. At any rate, we become conscious of the gift of time as we turn back our clocks, or change batteries in smoke alarms, noting that six months or so, have passed since the last time- change in the spring.
God, the Timeless, has willingly entered time, blessed it and made it part of the road to salvation. He has sanctified the present moment and offered it to us as a means of reaching the eternal moment, the great NOW, of which there is no end. In Psalm 90 we read, "For you, a thousand years are like yesterday!/They are like a few hours." Or in another translation, "a thousand ages in thy sight are like an evening gone. Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom." (Ps 90: 4,12). As we gain that "extra hour", let us look at how we use the time God has given us, see if we are using it wisely and really growing in wisdom, or see if we will have to account for the hours we have squandered on the trivial or the insignificant. We trust that there will be time to put our use of it in good order. Sanctifying, asking God to bless each new moment as we shift from one task to another, or deal with unexpected requests and interruptions, makes every moment a grace-filled one. May each one of us "have a good time" today.
Bro. Rene

Compassionate Presence

First Fridays are always associated with the Sacred Heart, whose loving compassion is symbolized by the flame burning from his exposed heart. The Entrance Antiphon for the Mass of the Sacred Heart recalls that "The thoughts of his heart last through every generation, that he will rescue them from death and feed them in time of famine" Ps 32: 11, 19). It is the goal of every Marist to exemplify that love as best we can, but, as we so woefully experience, we often fall short of that goal.
Sr. Joyce Rupp, O.S.M., noted spiritual writer, has some words of consolation for us. "My own basic goal is to give myself as fully as possible to being a compassionate presence in our world. I've discovered I cannot push, hurry or control this goal. I do what I can and try not to be discouraged when I am anything but a compassionate presence. I entrust my goal into God's hands and pray to be open to God's grace. I keep returning to my fundamental objective, day after day. Each time my steps take me ever so faintly toward he gates of my focus." I might add, that the burning love of Jesus will eventually melt away the dross which prevents us from radiating his love. Daily presence with him, will lead to a fully compassionate presence to, ourselves and others.
Bro. Rene

Zeal

Zeal is not a word that is part of our contemporary vocabulary. When is the last time you heard someone, even a priest during a homily, use it? Even when we hear a reference to the apostle, Simon the Zealot, it sounds like "republican" or "demorcrat" more than a description of his personality, although it was a faction at the time to which he belonged: Jews who zealously wanted to live the Scriptures and work for the restoration of the kingdom of Israel.
St. Charles Borromeo, whose Memorial is observed today, was a short man, 5'4", but a dynamo on fire with love of Jesus, and love of the Church. When he became Archbishop and later Cardinal of Milan, he set the diocese abalze with reform with his infectious and unyielding zeal. He understood the Church's mission and untied it from the bonds of corruption and indifference that had stagnated the growth of the faithful. He lived at the time of the Reformation and labored tirelessly to correct the abuses that had led up to it. Like the tiny mustard seed, this man, small of stature, cultivated a community of faith that became a strong and vigorous tree.
Speaking with pastors, campus ministers, and teachers, I find that, for the most part, the "faithful" in their hands have little or no knowledge of their faith or of God, much like Jean Baptiste Montagne, the young lad St. Marcellin encountered on his death bed. "We're starting from scratch" sums up the situation. It can be discouraging, but the example of these zealous saints urges us on to find our own zeal, determination, persistence, patience, and, above all, LOVE, for these young people who don't ever realize their spiritual poverty. May we take to heart St. Paul's admonition: "Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord" (Romans 12:11).
Bro. Rene

Faith, Love and Schools)

It has been said, "Love me first and then I will believe." Words might be able to excite the mind, but action stirs the heart. When St. Damien contracted leprosy and could speak from the heart on common ground with the other lepers, they flocked to his hut and to the Church on Sundays to be with him. St. Martin de Porres, whom we remember today, was not a preacher, but put his medical knowledge to work to care for the health needs of the poor in Lima, Peru and won the hearts of thousands for the faith. Adults taught us as children that "Actions speak louder than words." As our daily experiences teach us, the truth of that adage is verified over and over again. St. Marcellin's basic premise in education was to "love the children, all of them, and equally." A teacher said to me this morning, as he looked at a somewhat lethargic homeroom, "We've gotta keep loving them."
Sometimes it is shocking to hear teens express their doubts or disbelief, or rejection of Catholic teaching, as they go through their "rebellion period", but that is no reason to stop loving them, but the very reason to love them more. They appreciate genuine love, and in the end that is what will bring them back.
Love is first exprienced in the family; friendships help develop love; school, which occupies a huge chunk of the day, plays a major role in helping love mature. A Catholic school has the mission and added advantage of teaching the faith in the context of love. Thus, our schools are essential to the future of the Church, as Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan has pointed out in an excellent article in America, the Jesuit weekly magazine. (September 18, 2010). May the love for our children and our schools foster our own faith as well as the faith of the young.
Bro. Rene

Blessed Are They

The commemoration of all the souls of the faithful departed today, sets the tone for the month of November. As the grays of autumn gradually take over, a certain somberness about the cycle of life emerges. Yes, the growing season is over, frost is around the corner, and many trees are totally bare already. Stark realities, once hidden by leaves and colorful flowers, are apparent. So is the shorness of life. Yet, our faith assures us that death is not the end. It is a stage in the cycle of life; we move from this temporary phase to the eternal where our current mortality is transformed to immortality. "The souls of the just are in the hands of God, and no torment will ever touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their deparure was thought to be a disaster, and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace....their hope is full of immortality." (Wisdom 3: 1-4).
Today, as we pay special attention to our departed loved ones, we are assured that they are alive, more than ever, and are in the hands of God. We miss them, especially those whose lives in our estimation were too short, but in praying for and with them this month, we will come to the conclusion that they are truly blessed, and so are we, for we believe that we shall see them again after a brief period of separation. We read the Beatitudes at yesterday's Mass, and echoing today is the second one: "Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted." (Matt 5: 4). May we grow in faith and wisdom as we ponder our loved ones and our own place in the cycle of life.
Bro. Rene

In Communion With The Saints

All Saints Day. A time to celebrate our union with those who have gone before us, and those of us who are on our way, including the souls in purgatory. We refer to this union of peoples as "The Communion of Saints". We are reminded that "in unity there is strength", for we have the help of the saints and souls in purgatory, as well as our efforts to support each other, "to know, love and serve God in this life, and be happy with him in the next" (Baltimore Catechism, remember?).
While on the Marist Youth Encounter Christ retreat in Esopus, I had a preview of that happiness and a real experience of the communion of saints, as young adult Marists gave talks and led small group discussions. I saw the "Encounterites" move from doubt to faith, shyness to all-embracing love. The joy on these faces, the embraces, the desire to stay connected (we had to pull students from other busses to their own busses, so close had they become to their new friends from our other Marist Schools. I saw the effects of grace, and the power of pulling together, which is what the communion of saints is all about...we pray to the saints and they help us, and we in turn, help one another. This is a day to pray to our patron saints and to ask them for the light, strength and guidance to bring joy to our own hearts and to those in darkness, or doubt. We will celebrate our All-School Mass this morning at 8:15 am. and will pray for you all and thus be in communion with you.
Bro. Rene