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