Two Sacred Things

 Mark 10: 2-16

 The Sacredness of Marriage

² Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

³ “What did Moses command you?” he replied.

⁴ They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”

⁵ “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. ⁶ “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ⁷ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, ⁸ and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

¹⁰ When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. ¹¹ He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. ¹² And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

The Little Children and Jesus

¹³ People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them.¹⁴ When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom theof God like a little child will never enter it.” ¹⁶ And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

The sacredness of marriage and loving respect for children are themes that strike home to this generation of ours where both suffer from neglect, to put it mildly, but there is hope.  Evidently, Pandemic-delayed weddings are predicted to take place in great numbers in the years ahead; Perhaps the absence of the sacrament has left a void that has developed a thirst for an act which signifies permanency and commitment.Fr. Robert Barron hits the nail on the head: When I was doing parish work, I would invariably ask young couples, "Why do you want to get married in church?" Most would say something like, "We love each other." But I said, "Well, that’s no reason to get married in church ." Usually, they looked stunned. But I meant it.
You come to church to be married before God and his people when you are convinced that your marriage is not, finally, about you; that it is about God and about serving God’s purposes; that it is, as much as the priesthood of a priest, a vocation, a sacred calling.

And in these days of so much child-abuse world-wide, the dignity of children shines forth in the tender care of Jesus and his strong words in their defense.

May we take heed of  these messages in today;s Gospel, live them and share them with others. Our weary world needs to hear this Good News!

Bro. Rene 

Guardian Angels

 Matthew 18: 1-5, 10

 The Greatest in the Kingdom

1 At that time the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 He called a child over, placed it in their midst, 3 and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father." 

How blessed are we to have an angel assigned to us but in addition, to be reminded each year to celebrate God's loving care shown us by the presence of our Guardian Angel.  One startling example of this angelic care stands out forever in my memory... Just before leaving for Rwanda, I was driving to  Mt. St. Michael Academy in the Bronx and did not see a stop sign hidden behind tree branches,  As I sailed through the intersection, I saw (and heard) a car on my right slam on the breaks.  My heart leapt to my mouth as we avoided a broadside collision.  Had we collided, all the good that came from being in Rwanda never would have happened. Thank you, Leo, my Guardian for life.

Bro Rene

The Little Way

 We break from our usual format to reflect on the life of St Therese, patroness of Central Catholic High School, whose Memorial is today.  Her :"Little Way", being faithful to God in "little things", presents us with a spirituality that is possible for everyone to follow. Through her intercession may we learn to "uncomplicate" our lives and become "little children." I've borrowed this passage from Bishop Robert Barron.

Bro. Rene

Friends, today is the Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus. The best introduction to Thérèse’s spirituality is a text that she wrote at the behest of Sr. Marie of the Sacred Heart, a sort of memoir of the retreat that she made in September 1896, just a year before her death. What she offers is a "science of love," a way of knowing and acting that is utterly conditioned by the love that Jesus has placed in her heart: "Jesus deigned to show me the road that leads to this Divine Furnace, and this road is the surrender of the little child who sleeps without fear in its Father’s arms." God, Thérèse concluded, is pleased to work with those who have become utterly docile to his direction, who have acknowledged their total dependence upon him, their readiness to receive gifts. Any sense that God’s love must be earned or that a relationship with him is a product of economic calculation is repugnant to a healthy spirituality: "Jesus does not demand great actions from us but simply surrender and gratitude." When this attitude is in place, anything and everything is possible. Following Thérèse, we can be pleasing to God and valuable to the Church in the humblest places and through the simplest acts. All we need to do is surrender, like a little child asleep in its Father’s arms.