Today's Gospel (Mt 15: 21-28) gives us the story of the Canaanite woman who would not take "NO" for an answer and pressed Jesus until he agreed to give her what she wanted, the cure of her daughter. Do we pray with such passion and persistence? If we don't we ought to. How often Jesus chided the Apostles, those close to him, for their lack of faith. May we learn this difficult lesson from these short verses, confident that Jesus will acknowledge the power of our prayers He's the one who grants them, but we are the ones who pray them. The power lies in both corners.
Bro. Rene
Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Living Our Baptism
Note: We are victims of a lost password. I was not able to access the internet Tuesday Morning...no one knows the "hourse" password. Have an APB out for it. Hoping to have it tomorrow...In the meanwhile, two slices of bread today to make up for yesterday.
The Transfiguration astounds us with bright light, brilliant white garments, Moses and Elijah and the voice of the Father. Like the three apostles, we don't know if we should cower or bounce around like cheerleaders. This was a gift-moment, a prep for these three before they saw the opposite happen to Jesus in Gethsemane on Golgotha. The true light, the Transfigured Jesus in as much glory as the eyes of the Apostles could behold, came to them to assure them, especially after the Resurrection, when they reflected on what Jesus said and on these events, that he was indeed the Son of God.
At baptism, we became the sons and daughters of God, with the same mission to attest to the reality of Jesus and to carry out his mission despite obstacles and our own hesitancy. We need to spend more time on the ground with these three, gazing upon the Transfigured Jesus, and then descend fortified for our mission in the market placet.
Bro Rene
The Transfiguration astounds us with bright light, brilliant white garments, Moses and Elijah and the voice of the Father. Like the three apostles, we don't know if we should cower or bounce around like cheerleaders. This was a gift-moment, a prep for these three before they saw the opposite happen to Jesus in Gethsemane on Golgotha. The true light, the Transfigured Jesus in as much glory as the eyes of the Apostles could behold, came to them to assure them, especially after the Resurrection, when they reflected on what Jesus said and on these events, that he was indeed the Son of God.
At baptism, we became the sons and daughters of God, with the same mission to attest to the reality of Jesus and to carry out his mission despite obstacles and our own hesitancy. We need to spend more time on the ground with these three, gazing upon the Transfigured Jesus, and then descend fortified for our mission in the market placet.
Bro Rene
Monday, August 5, 2019
God Feeds Us
Our first reading today from the Book of Numbers 11: 4b-15, recounts a capsulized version of the complaints voiced to Moses by the people: their dissatisfaction with their "boring" diet of manna day after day, their desire for meat, fish, melons, onions and garlic, the heat, in short, a list of complaints that brought Moses to the point of asking God to take his life to escape the complaining people.
So much of this rings true in our day as we tire of a daily diet of mass shootings, political bickering, reports of floods, intense heat waves, opioid and Ebola epidemics, and on and on. We want to jump off the planet.
Yet, we see Jesus, who was trying to find some peace and quiet to mourn after learning of the unjust beheading of John the Baptist, besieged by a huge crowd who came for cures. By evening, it became apparent that they were hungry and, no doubt, complaining. Rather than jump off the planet to escape, Jesus fed them. So too with us. God knows our needs, hears our complaints even before we voice them, and "feeds" us, takes care of us in some satisfying way. No need to despair or "jump", but just turn to him and let him handle it. He certainly can do a better job than we.
Bro. Rene
So much of this rings true in our day as we tire of a daily diet of mass shootings, political bickering, reports of floods, intense heat waves, opioid and Ebola epidemics, and on and on. We want to jump off the planet.
Yet, we see Jesus, who was trying to find some peace and quiet to mourn after learning of the unjust beheading of John the Baptist, besieged by a huge crowd who came for cures. By evening, it became apparent that they were hungry and, no doubt, complaining. Rather than jump off the planet to escape, Jesus fed them. So too with us. God knows our needs, hears our complaints even before we voice them, and "feeds" us, takes care of us in some satisfying way. No need to despair or "jump", but just turn to him and let him handle it. He certainly can do a better job than we.
Bro. Rene
Sunday, August 4, 2019
Storing Up Treasures
The selection from Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth) Ecc 1:2; 2: 21013 and the Gospel, Lk 12:13-21, speak candidly about the folly of storing up material goods. The stress, anxiety, sleepless nights and hard work associated with these temporary treasures are "vanity", empty bubbles, that float for a moment and burst, leaving not a trace. Look at our world today, people working long hours to make more money to buy more things, to spend fortunes on health and beauty aids, clothes, cars and nights out, while unknowingly abusing body and soul. The day will come for all when sickness and death pierce the bubble they have spent a lifetime working to create and preserve.
Jesus admonishes us to become rich in "what matters to God." (Lk 12:21). The Cure of Ars, whose memorial is usually celebrated this day, expended his life in helping people return to God. He lived poorly and simply, exhausting himself, but indeed through self-sacrifice and laying down his life for others stored up those treasures about which Jesus was speaking, and is a saintly model for us of living out what really matters to God.
Bro Rene
Jesus admonishes us to become rich in "what matters to God." (Lk 12:21). The Cure of Ars, whose memorial is usually celebrated this day, expended his life in helping people return to God. He lived poorly and simply, exhausting himself, but indeed through self-sacrifice and laying down his life for others stored up those treasures about which Jesus was speaking, and is a saintly model for us of living out what really matters to God.
Bro Rene
Saturday, August 3, 2019
John's Boldness/ Herod's Fear
The story of John's beheading greets us today as a reminder that boldly speaking the truth can have dire consequences, especially when directed at an insecure person who holds the power of life and death. John confronted Herod on his unlawful marriage and Herod wished to eliminate him but feared the crowd who held John in high esteem. When the request came for the head of John the Baptist, Herod again feared "losing face" in the sight of his guests after making the extravagant promise of anything, even "half my kingdom" to Salome for her memorizing dance. ( Mt 14: 1-12).
Our world is full of such conflicts of truth challenged by fear of public opinion, the fear of losing friends, of peer pressure, or the pressure of increasing secularism. Do we keep silent or do we speak boldly as John did? Pray that the spirit of John may continue in us.
Bro. Rene..
Our world is full of such conflicts of truth challenged by fear of public opinion, the fear of losing friends, of peer pressure, or the pressure of increasing secularism. Do we keep silent or do we speak boldly as John did? Pray that the spirit of John may continue in us.
Bro. Rene..
Friday, August 2, 2019
Increase My Faith
Jesus was met with skepticism and rejection in his own home town, despite his mighty deeds. "Is he not the carpenter's son?" (Mt 13:55). 2000 years later, this same skepticism and hard-heartedness persist...Believers, take heart, however, for there is always hope. There are families who cling to the faith and serve as a beacon of hope, a fire that can melt the hardest of hearts. Let us pray for the spreading of that fire and an increase of faith, especially in our own hearts.
Bro. Rene
Bro. Rene
Thursday, August 1, 2019
Thank God for the Net
Jesus likens the Kingdom of heaven to a net thrown into the sea and bringing up fish of every kind. (Mt 13:47). Yet, there comes a moment of reckoning when the "good" are sorted from the undesirable, which are thrown away. When I stray, or when I'm spiritually attacked by an obvious demon who wants "like hell" to discourage or trick me with all kinds of gimmicks, interruptions, or monkey wrenches of every sort, I thank God for the net...his loving care, compassion and mercy as experienced in the sacrament of Reconciliation, which lifts me to safety before the final sorting on the beach. I am thrown into the bucket with the other good fish and given a chance to keep going in the rights direction or to start again. Knowing well, "what is in us" Jesus created this safety net which never seems to break or wear out. We will wear out before it does. Smile, and let the net pull you free.
Bro. Rene
Bro. Rene
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