A Justified Reaction

The woes against Chorazin and Bethdsaida  (Mt 11: 20-24) show and angry, exasperated Jesus, who had bent over backwards to teach and heal but the people did not repent nor accept him. His anger is understandable and justified in view of all he did for them.  We know the feeling when we do our best to help others and all we hear are negatives from them. Jesus's reproach might be considered mild in comparison to ours!  Yet, it is the human condition.  We are never satisfied, always looking for more. We can be so self-centered and act like "spoiled brats" and yet God keeps reaching out to us, and gives us opportunity after opportunity to hear him and change our behaviors.   What is one attitude, one behavior that we'd like to(need to) eliminate?  What is one positive attitude, behavior, virtue, we'd like to incorporate into our life?
Starting small, one step at a time, could  turn us around to become the person God has in mind for us.  Remember, nothing is impossible with God!
Bro .Rene

Division

A long standing proverb wisely states, "A house divided cannot stand."  Division is dynamite to any structure, yet Jesus seems to be advocating it in today's gospel passage (Mt 10:34-11:1). " Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.  I have come to bring not peace but the sword. (Mt 10: 34)  Jesus speaks in hyperbolic terms, a familiar literary device in Hebrew literature, to make his point: there will be division and unhappiness unless Jesus comes first, cross and all.  It is through love and service to him that true happiness comes.  And we certainly know world-wide now with the pandemic that most of our sources of meaning and happiness have been removed from our daily lives and we are down to a "bare bones" existence.  Are we wise enough to "get the message" that centering our lives around Jesus and his teachings is what is going to make us whole and help us get along better with each other?  A look at the daily news shows us that we are far from unity, but divided and dividing more and more from each other every day. Such a house is doomed to fall.  Is that what we want?
Bro. Rene

Growing In Faith

As we read the famous parable of the Sower and the seed (Mt 13: 1-23) we might see ourselves in all three categories at some time in our lives.  We'd like to be in the fertile soil, but might have to admit that we were in rocky soil, or crunched by weeds over the years.  God has been patient with us, as he lavishly sows the seed in the parable, so he lavishly gives us time to grow and develop.  There are countless stories of people who have discovered or rediscovered their faith, and have finally come to the point of producing much fruit.  As any farmer or gardener knows, it takes time to water, to weed, fertilize, and to cultivate the soil around plants before they really "take" and begin to grow strong and produce the fruit for which they were intended. May we pray for the patience and perseverance we need to reach that productive and abundant harvest period in our lives. God will happily answer such a prayer!
Bro. Rene

Weaving Prayer With Work

Today is the Memorial of St. Benedict whose legacy is his Rule for Monastic Life which has guided monks to sanctity for !,500 years. Fed up with the worldliness of his day, late 400's and early 500's, he left his student world and lived in a cave on Mt. Subiaco, Italy, for 3 years...His relationship with God grew and his reputation led others to seek his counsel.  He was asked to be the abbot of a monastery, but the monks could not take the asceticism he required of them.  They  tried to poison him twice.  Taking the hint, he left them and founded his own monasteries, the most notable being Monte Cassino, not too far from Rome.  His famous Rule emphasizes an inner relationship with God, supported by realistic and practical asceticism, with prayer, particularly the chanting of the Divine Office, as the foundation of a healthy relationship with God.
Not all of us are called to be monks, but living lives of simplicity strengthened by prayer, the Benedictine motto being "Orare et Laborare", prayer and work, is an option available to and doable by all. May we make this simple formula part of our daily lives.
Bro. Rene

Persecution

Even before his own death, Jesus warned his disciples that major challenges were in store for them: betrayal, rejection, persecution, death. (Mt 10: 16-23).  And so it has been in direct ways as in the 300 years of Roman Persecutions, to our present day, with subtle and not so subtle restrictions and obstacles thrown into the daily life of Christians, in all countries, it seems.  Jesus set the example, and although most of us will not be scourged and crucified, we will face opposition and rejection.  May we not be discouraged by the scorn of the "world", but take heart that we are in the company of millions who have preceded us and won the crown of martyrdom and victory. Jesus warned us vividly so, forewarned and thus forearmed, may we remain faithful to him, no matter what.
Bro Rene

Our Mission

Frankly and starkly, Jesus commissions his Twelve to proclaim that the kingdom of God is at hand. (Mt 10:7-15). The same mission is in our hands and "Without cost you have received, and without cost you are to give." (Mt 10:  8). We are not all gifted with the ability to cure people physically, but we can temper spirits caught in fear, doubt or overt or covert self-hatred through our gentle, kind, sincere and loving interaction with them.  Most people seem to have a poor image of themselves seeing themselves as unlovable and having nothing to contribute.  Not so. We are all blessed with some unique gift, but often it takes interaction with someone else to see it and accept it. There's where our role as "missionary" takes hold.  We can listen, give feed back an express our confidence in the one who has the poor self-image, and like the apostles who healed physically as well as spiritually, we can help others discover their gifts and above all come to know that God loves them in a way uniquely suited to them.
Bro. Rene

"Go To The Lost Sheep.."

"Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," Jesus tells the apostles after selecting the Twelve. (Mt 10: 7) We live in a world full of "lost sheep".  A look at the daily news confirms this.  Something (Someone) is missing:  God. Where to begin this mission?  With ourselves...devoting more time each day (or week) to the reading of Scripture; contemplating it and asking God for insight and courage to incorporate it into our lives is a  good start and can give us the conviction to approach a friend or family member about his or her relationship with or understanding of God.  We hesitate to "invade" this private territory, but our kind and gentle concern might open doors that have been locked for years. Living our faith with its joy and fearlessness can do even more than words...May we put what we believe deep in our hearts in front of all we meet and trust that God will work through us to reach those who are searching or "lost".
Bro Rene