Our Lady of Advent

Our Lady of Advent symbolizes the call of every Christian to bring forth the Living Word into the world. A faculty member translates this call in these words: "I think that Mary was someone who had "skillful means"--the ability to reach people where they were by whatever means necessary. To get to Jesus is the point, but to do it through Mary means to be met where we are on the way. So my job is to get at my students where they are, however I can on any given day." We could apply this to our dealings with family, co-workers, or whoever comes our way.
As time approaches for the Morning of Recollection for Parents and Alumni, let me again invite you all.

Advent Recollection. Central Catholic High School, Saturday, December 11, 9 am till noon. Chapel. Presenters: Fr. John Delaney, Ms. Betty Desjardins, Br. Rene. Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, quiet prayer, confessions and benediction.
Please RSVP to kpeters@centralcatholic.net by December 8. Thank you.
Bro. Rene

Advent Mission

Day two of Advent and a beautiful day. The purple vestments and ribbons at church need not be signs of gloom, though they are reminders of the penitential aspect of Advent. Penance that comes from waiting, patience, preparing, spending time in silence and prayer. But the sunshine reminds us that joy can and must underlie the season, for we are anticipating the arrival of the Savior, announced by the angels as "tidings of great joy" (Lk 2:10) as well as our personal encounter with God at the end of our lives, and finally, THE FINAL COMING of Jesus at the end of time. These latter two will be at times as yet unknown, but the former, of course, is December 25th, giving us almost four full weeks of joyful preparation. Joy does not always mean laughter and high energy, but a deep abiding sense of peace and contentment that outer circumstances cannot waiver or sway. Let us take the time we spend in the car, walking up the stairs, cooking supper, whatever, and in silence touch base with the joy within us, and when we speak, spread it to others. An easy Advent Mission.
Bro. Rene

Advent

The coldest night and morning so far this Autumn; the First Sunday of Advent arrives with St. Paul's admonition: "it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep." (Rm 13: 11). What do we expect from this season? What will be our priorities in a world (and our own personal world) of darkness, disbelief, ignorance, indifference and sin? Will a cold morning keep us in bed, or will we rise to embrace the season of Advent and address each of these challenges with vigor?
The famous WW II pilot, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, tells the story of a life-changing experience when he and his crew were flying a special mission, crashed into the Pacific and were lost as sea for 21 days, almost the same length of time as Advent. He wrote, "In the beginning many of the men were atheists or agnostics, but at the end of the terrible ordeal each, in his own way, had discovered God, prayer and a community of feeling developed which created a liveliness of human fellowship and worship, and a sense of gentle peace." Wouldn't it be worth the effort we've made in prioritizing our spiritual needs, our hopes, and our plan of action for Advent, if we could arrive with the same results as these men? Do we need to be shot down and float in a raft for these four weeks, or can we discipline ourselves out of love of God and a desire to draw closer to him, to arrive at these ends?
Bro. Rene

Vigi lance

On the eve of the first Sunday of Advent, let us take a moment to reflect on vigilance, a state of watchfulness, waiting, patience, and endurance. Jesus warns us, "Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap." (Lk 21: 34). "That day" is usually understood as the final day, the day of the coming of the Lord, but it can also be our final day. "You know not the day nor the hour." (Matt 24:36). Yes, we must be ready, and these four weeks of Advent call us to be alert and watchful of our behavior, our complacency, perhaps the drifting and slow shifting of values, the loosening up of self-discipline, the sliding into laxity in our prayer and liturgical lives, a neglect of charity in speech and action, a "drunkenness" in self-absortion and self-centeredness. No, we wouldn't want Jesus to show up suddenly and call us to account when we are off the track. Rather, let us keep vigil with Mary in her last month of pregnancy, so willing to step out of her comfort zone, so ready to accept the plan of God for her and her Son. Let us keep watch with Joseph, whose fidelity to his wife and the will of God called him to stretch beyond what he thought were his reasonable limits, into an unknown which demanded more strength and faith than he thought he possessed. Both Mary and Joseph were attentive to each other and to the overtures of God and in so doing enabled God himself to come into this world for the procurement of our salvation. May our hearts be vigilant and ready to respond to the calls we receive to be instruments of redemption in the lives of others. We may not be asked to trek on foot to register for the census in Jerusalem, but we are asked to take up the little, ordinary tasks of daily life as if we were doing them for the last time. Let us do so with attentiveness and vigilance.
Bro. Rene

Stand Erect and Raise Your Heads

Over-stuffed with Thanksgiving turkey, too many deserts, disappointed or elated on the outcomes of football games, weary or wide-awake from early bargain shopping, and greeted by rain and gray skies, we need some reassurance from outside our little worlds. And it comes. The Alleluia verse before today's Gospel urges us to "Stand erect and raise [our] heads because [our] redemption is at hand." As we ease into Advent and for four weeks receive a hefty dose of this kind of assurance that indeed "God lives among his people." (cf. Rev 21: 3b), may we be fortified to stand with assurance and move confidently ahead. God dwells in our altar tabernacles and in the tabernacles of our hearts. We are God's holy temple, come rain, come shine, come weal or come woe. So too are our family members, our neighbors and our friends. Walking temples we are, most of the time unconcious of the privilege God has given us, to be his dwelling place. How sacred, how richly endowed so freely and abundantly! We have every reason to stand erect and hold our heads high with pride and dignity, for not only is our redemption at hand (initiated by the birth of Jesus and completed by his death and resurrection) but if we are living God's ways, we are experiencing a taste of the redemption that fully awaits us when through death we enter into eternal life. Let our fatigue and weariness give way to energy powered by God's love and God's presence.
Bro. Rene

Thanksgiving 2010

Life is a mixture. Today's Eagle-Tribune reflects the convergence of disparate elements, for all of which, yes, ALL, we pause to give thanks. It is ironic, it is paradoxical, that President Abraham Lincoln declared this a national holiday in the midst of our bitter Civil War. He saw beyond the bloody conflict to the many blessings we as a people had received and acknowleged the GIVER by a gesture that has endured the generations until now. Our troops today are scattered around the globe, yet pause to pray and greet families through the gift of technology.

How inspiring to see on the front page the story of Jacob Morales, proudly one of our Central Catholic students, and read of how, through continued pain and struggle, he has turned tragedy into positive service to others. The editorial reads like a meditation and poses several areas for which we can and should give thanks. Highlighted is the reality that we have the FREEDOM to give thanks to God; that families have the means to gather from all parts of the country and globe around the HOME table, where stories are told as the traditional turkey "and all the trimmin's" disappear. We have memories to share, family members to enjoy, deceased to remember in gratitude. Yes, we have football and shopping...newpapers are stuffed with advertisements; shoppers already queue up outside New Hampshire stores. We have the freedom to do all of this; we have the freedom to worship, thank, and offer God ourselves as gifts to him, the Giver of all these good gifts. Does it not become apparent that God knows what's best for us? Thank you God, through Christ Jesus, Our Lord.
Bro. Rene

Addiction

More than we would like to acknowledge, we are surrounded by people suffering from addiction, perhaps even we ourselves have one of its many forms that are not as blatant, at first, as alcoholism or drug abuse. Gambling is a powerful addiction, that at first seems harmless fun. "Oh yes, we go to Foxwoods, la-dee-dah. The visits become more frequent, the stakes higher, and on it goes to destruction of personal and family life, unless it is stopped.
Soldiers in Afghanistan, hooked on pornography, so readily available on the internet, so readily available that even here on the job, it's becoming a major problem. No one is immune to the temptation that a click of the mouse can bring up a gallery of sordid images. It can be kept secret, but as it grows in intensity, it divides a person who realizes he or she is living a double life, and eventually loses control of "the good life" as the "bad" takes over.
And, of course, alcohol. This morning I read an e-mail from the mother of one of my Godsons, who is in treatment for alcoholism...only 23, two tours in Iraq, smart, strong, good looking like his father, but hooked on alcohol like his father, who never broke his addiction, because he never really admitted he had a problem.
It takes courage and the support of patient, understanding, prayerful people to help the addict find the path to sobriety. Twelve Step Programs work, if followed with sincerity, honesty and love. Above all, a healthy relationship with a "higher power", ultimately GOD, is the real answer to becoming sober and living a full and productive life.
We all know addicts at various levels of addiction. Reaching out, confronting, intervening, praying for them can save their lives. It takes guts, conviction and commitment. Let us pray for wisdom and courage to become an instrument of healing.
Bro. Rene