He Straightened Up

"None of us is alone in this world; each of us is a vital piece of the great mosaic of humanity as a whole." Bl. Pope John Paul II My Dear Young Friends, St. Mary's Press (AmericanCatholic.org site down this morning for Minute Meditations) (AmericanCatholic.org site down this morning for Saint of The Day)                                                         St. John Baptist de la Salle EDUCATOR, FOUNDER, CONFESSOR Feast: April 7 Information: Feast Day: April 7 Born: 1651 at Rheims, France Died: 1719 at Rouen, France Canonized: 24 May 1900 by Pope Leo XIII Major Shrine: Sanctuary of John Baptist de La Salle, Casa Generalizia, Rome, Italy. Patron of: educators, school principals, teachers This saint is the patron of teachers, his great achievement having been to provide a system of education for the common people at a time when the poor were grossly neglected; not mercy by founding charity schools, a cling which had been attempted countless times before only to end in repeated failure, but by creating a body of trained teachers, and thus setting them on the only possible basis which guaranteed success. It was not by inclination, but solely by chance chat he was led to take up this work. Indeed his family background and early training seemed hardly to have prepared him for it. Born in Rheims on April 30th, 1651, the eldest son of an aristocratic family, he inherited the rank and fortune of his parents, which set a gulf between him and the teeming masses of the poor. At sixteen, while he was pursuing a course of classical studies at the College des Bons Enfants, he became a canon of Rheims, and seemed to be marked out for a successful career in the church. He subsequently studied at Saint Sulpice and the Sorbonne for the priesthood, and was ordained at the age of twenty-seven. Up to this point nothing denoted what his mission was to be, and he himself had no inkling of it. But it was shortly after this that he was asked to co-operate in establishing some charity schools in his native town, and this led him to take charge of the teachers, to bring them into his own home and to train them. Little by little he became further involved in the work until he began to realize that everything pointed to his being the chosen instrument of Providence for the creation of a system of Christian education for the poor, whose ignorance and depravity were the disgrace of this 'splendid century', so remarkable for its achievements in every other sphere. As he had made the will of God the guiding principle of his life, he decided to give himself up completely to this task, resigning his canonry and giving away his fortune in order to be on the same footing as the teachers with whom he lived. In so doing he aroused the anger of his relatives and incurred the derision of his class-minded compatriots, but this in no way made him alter his resolution. In 1684 he transformed his group of schoolmasters into a religious community, under the name of Brothers of the Christian Schools, and this was the origin of the order which continues to this day and is spread all over the world. So chat his order might confine itself solely to the work of teaching, he laid down that no brother might become a priest and that no priest might join the order. This rule is still observed. The first years were marked by poverty and hardship, but these were cheerfully endured, thanks to the example of self-abnegation and extraordinary power of leadership shown by de la Salle, who vowed chat he would live on bread alone, if necessary, rather than abandon the work he had begun. The religious and professional training of his brothers became his chief care, but he saw that he would never be able to satisfy all the requests he received for teachers unless he undertook the formation of secular schoolmasters as well, so he organized a training college for some forty youths in Rheims in 1687; the first instance of such an institution in the history of education. After opening schools in a number of neighboring towns, in addition to chose in Rheims itself, he went to Paris in 1683 to take over a school in the parish of St. Sulpice, and there he established his headquarters. In the capital his work spread rapidly, and before long the brothers were teaching over 1,100 pupils. In Paris, too, he founded another training college, with a charity school attached, and organized a Sunday academy, or continuation school for youths already employed. When the exiled monarch, James II, entrusted fifty Irish youths to his care, he arranged for special courses to be given them to suit their needs. The scope of his work was now such that it aroused the bitter antagonism of the writing masters and the teachers of the Little Schools, who saw their fee-paying pupils drifting into his free schools, and they brought law-suits against him. His schools were pillaged, and he found himself condemned and forbidden to open training colleges or charity schools anywhere in the Paris area. As a result he was excluded for a time from the capital, but by now his brothers were established in other localities, notably in Rouen, Avignon and Chartres, so that the decrees against him failed to ruin his work. Indeed from this time on, his communities multiplied all over France: in Marseilles, Calais, Boulogne, Mende, Grenoble, Troyes and other places. In Rouen he founded two important institutions: a fee-paying boarding school for the sons of bourgeois, who desired an education superior to that of the primary school but more practical than that of the 'classical' colleges; and a reformatory school for youthful delinquents and young men detained under <lettres de cachet.> Both proved very successful, and were significant forerunners of modern institutions of a similar kind. In 1709 he established a third training college, at St. Den, but this lasted only a couple of years, after which it had to be closed as a result of an unfortunate law-suit. De la Salle spent the last years of his life in Rouen, completing the organization of his institute, writing the Rule of the brothers in its definitive form, and composing <Meditations> and a <Method of Mental Prayer.> On Good Friday, April 9th, 1718, he died. His brothers, already established in twenty-two towns of France and in Rome, now expanded their work rapidly. In 1725 they received a bull of approbation of their institute from the pope and letters patent from the king granting them legal recognition. The Revolution ruined their work in France, but they were by now established in Switzerland and Italy, so that they were able to survive this catastrophe and returned to France when more favorable conditions prevailed under Napoleon. Today they number over 15,000 and conduct educational institutions of every kind all over the world. In the United States alone there are some 2,000 brothers in five different Provinces. De la Salle's pedagogical system is outlined in <The Conduct of Schools>, which he composed in 1695, and which is now considered an educational classic. It shows clearly his practical turn of mind and his essentially religious approach to the education of children. He wrote also several school manuals, notably <The Rules of Good Behaviour> and <The Duties of a Christian>, which proved very popular and went through over a hundred editions. Read more: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/J/stjohnbaptistdelasalle.asp#ixzz2yCgL6XkC Presence Dear Jesus, I come to you today longing for your presence. I desire to love you as You love me. May nothing ever separate me from You. Freedom If God were trying to tell me something, would I know? If God were reassuring me or challenging me, would I notice? I ask for the grace to be free of my own preoccupations and open to what God may be saying to me. Consciousness At this moment Lord I turn my thoughts to You. I will leave aside my chores and preoccupations. I will take rest and refreshment in your presence Lord. The Word of God Reading 1DN 13:1-19, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 In Babylon there lived a man named Joakim, who married a very beautiful and God-fearing woman, Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah; her pious parents had trained their daughter according to the law of Moses. Joakim was very rich; he had a garden near his house, and the Jews had recourse to him often because he was the most respected of them all. That year, two elders of the people were appointed judges, of whom the Lord said, "Wickedness has come out of Babylon: from the elders who were to govern the people as judges." These men, to whom all brought their cases, frequented the house of Joakim. When the people left at noon, Susanna used to enter her husband's garden for a walk. When the old men saw her enter every day for her walk, they began to lust for her. They suppressed their consciences; they would not allow their eyes to look to heaven, and did not keep in mind just judgments. One day, while they were waiting for the right moment, she entered the garden as usual, with two maids only. She decided to bathe, for the weather was warm. Nobody else was there except the two elders, who had hidden themselves and were watching her. "Bring me oil and soap," she said to the maids, "and shut the garden doors while I bathe." As soon as the maids had left, the two old men got up and hurried to her. "Look," they said, "the garden doors are shut, and no one can see us; give in to our desire, and lie with us. If you refuse, we will testify against you that you dismissed your maids because a young man was here with you." "I am completely trapped," Susanna groaned. "If I yield, it will be my death; if I refuse, I cannot escape your power. Yet it is better for me to fall into your power without guilt than to sin before the Lord." Then Susanna shrieked, and the old men also shouted at her, as one of them ran to open the garden doors. When the people in the house heard the cries from the garden, they rushed in by the side gate to see what had happened to her. At the accusations by the old men, the servants felt very much ashamed, for never had any such thing been said about Susanna. When the people came to her husband Joakim the next day, the two wicked elders also came, fully determined to put Susanna to death. Before all the people they ordered: "Send for Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah, the wife of Joakim." When she was sent for, she came with her parents, children and all her relatives. All her relatives and the onlookers were weeping. In the midst of the people the two elders rose up and laid their hands on her head. Through tears she looked up to heaven, for she trusted in the Lord wholeheartedly. The elders made this accusation: "As we were walking in the garden alone, this woman entered with two girls and shut the doors of the garden, dismissing the girls. A young man, who was hidden there, came and lay with her. When we, in a corner of the garden, saw this crime, we ran toward them. We saw them lying together, but the man we could not hold, because he was stronger than we; he opened the doors and ran off. Then we seized her and asked who the young man was, but she refused to tell us. We testify to this." The assembly believed them, since they were elders and judges of the people, and they condemned her to death. But Susanna cried aloud: "O eternal God, you know what is hidden and are aware of all things before they come to be: you know that they have testified falsely against me.  Here I am about to die, though I have done none of the things with which these wicked men have charged me." The Lord heard her prayer. As she was being led to execution, God stirred up the holy spirit of a young boy named Daniel, and he cried aloud: "I will have no part in the death of this woman." All the people turned and asked him, "What is this you are saying?" He stood in their midst and continued, "Are you such fools, O children of Israel!  To condemn a woman of Israel without examination and without clear evidence? Return to court, for they have testified falsely against her." Then all the people returned in haste. To Daniel the elders said, "Come, sit with us and inform us, since God has given you the prestige of old age." But he replied, "Separate these two far from each other that I may examine them." After they were separated one from the other, he called one of them and said: "How you have grown evil with age! Now have your past sins come to term: passing unjust sentences, condemning the innocent, and freeing the guilty, although the Lord says, 'The innocent and the just you shall not put to death.' Now, then, if you were a witness, tell me under what tree you saw them together." "Under a mastic tree," he answered. Daniel replied, "Your fine lie has cost you your head, for the angel of God shall receive the sentence from him and split you in two." Putting him to one side, he ordered the other one to be brought. Daniel said to him, "Offspring of Canaan, not of Judah, beauty has seduced you, lust has subverted your conscience. This is how you acted with the daughters of Israel, and in their fear they yielded to you; but a daughter of Judah did not tolerate your wickedness. Now, then, tell me under what tree you surprised them together." "Under an oak," he said. Daniel replied, "Your fine lie has cost you also your head, for the angel of God waits with a sword to cut you in two so as to make an end of you both." The whole assembly cried aloud, blessing God who saves those who hope in him. They rose up against the two elders, for by their own words Daniel had convicted them of perjury. According to the law of Moses, they inflicted on them the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbor: they put them to death. Thus was innocent blood spared that day. Or DN 13:41C-62 The assembly condemned Susanna to death. But Susanna cried aloud: "O eternal God, you know what is hidden and are aware of all things before they come to be: you know that they have testified falsely against me. Here I am about to die, though I have done none of the things with which these wicked men have charged me." The Lord heard her prayer. As she was being led to execution, God stirred up the holy spirit of a young boy named Daniel, and he cried aloud: "I will have no part in the death of this woman." All the people turned and asked him, "What is this you are saying?" He stood in their midst and continued, "Are you such fools, O children of Israel! To condemn a woman of Israel without examination and without clear evidence? Return to court, for they have testified falsely against her." Then all the people returned in haste. To Daniel the elders said, "Come, sit with us and inform us, since God has given you the prestige of old age." But he replied, "Separate these two far from each other that I may examine them." After they were separated one from the other, he called one of them and said: "How you have grown evil with age! Now have your past sins come to term: passing unjust sentences, condemning the innocent, and freeing the guilty, although the Lord says, 'The innocent and the just you shall not put to death.'  Now, then, if you were a witness, tell me under what tree you saw them together." "Under a mastic tree," he answered. Daniel replied, "Your fine lie has cost you your head, for the angel of God shall receive the sentence from him and split you in two." Putting him to one side, he ordered the other one to be brought.  Daniel said to him, "Offspring of Canaan, not of Judah, beauty has seduced you, lust has subverted your conscience. This is how you acted with the daughters of Israel, and in their fear they yielded to you; but a daughter of Judah did not tolerate your wickedness. Now, then, tell me under what tree you surprised them together." "Under an oak," he said. Daniel replied, "Your fine lie has cost you also your head," for the angel of God waits with a sword to cut you in two so as to make an end of you both." The whole assembly cried aloud, blessing God who saves those who hope in him. They rose up against the two elders, for by their own words Daniel had convicted them of perjury. According to the law of Moses, they inflicted on them the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbor: they put them to death. Thus was innocent blood spared that day. Responsorial Psalm PS 23:1-3A, 3B-4, 5, 6 R. (4ab) Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; Beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul. R. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side. He guides me in right paths for his name's sake. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side With your rod and your staff that give me courage. R. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side. You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. R. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side. Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come. R. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side. Gospel JN 8:1-11 Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area,  and all the people started coming to him,  and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman  who had been caught in adultery  and made her stand in the middle. They said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught  in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let the one among you who is without sin  be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She replied, "No one, sir." Then Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more." Conversation Remembering that I am still in God's presence, I imagine Jesus himself standing or sitting beside me, and say whatever is on my mind, whatever is in my heart, speaking as one friend to another. Conclusion Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Meditation: John 8:1-11 View NAB Reading at USCCB.org |  Email this article Saint John Baptist de la Salle, Priest Neither do I condemn you. (John 8:11) In Victor Hugo's classic novel Les Miserables, the main character, Jean Valjean, is imprisoned several years for stealing a loaf of bread. When he is finally released, he is so desperate for money that he steals a pair of silver candlesticks from a kindly bishop—only to be arrested again. Knowing he is guilty, Valjean fears a return to prison. But the bishop surprises him by telling the police that Valjean didn't steal the candlesticks; the bishop had given them to him as a gift. Speechless in the face of such mercy, Valjean turns his life around completely. From that day on, he leads a life of generosity and charity, treating other people with the same compassion that he had received. In today's Gospel reading, we find a woman who, having been caught committing adultery, is also well aware of her sin and trembling in fear of the punishment that she surely deserved. But like Valjean, she too was stunned to find that rather than condemnation, she received mercy. Instead of being met with stones, she felt the healing touch of Jesus' words. And her heart was so softened by them that she was prepared to respond in love when he told her, "Go, and from now on do not sin any more" (John 8:11). Both stories show us what conversion looks like. Someone who is headed in one direction—toward selfishness and sin—has an encounter with God's deep love and mercy and begins to move in a completely different direction. Touched by love and moved by grace, he or she becomes a new creation. Lent is a time of conversion for all of us—even those of us who have been following the Lord for years. Is there an area of your life where you are heading in the wrong direction? Bring it to the Lord. Let him show you his mercy so that you can turn it around. Take it to Confession so that you can hear the stunning, surprising, life-giving words that have saved so many other people: "Neither do I condemn you. Go and do not sin any more." "Oh, the love and mercy of God—where would we be without it! Lord, thank you, thank you! Your mercy endures forever!" Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62; Psalm 23:1-6 my2cents: I have been wearing this ring as a small mortification reminder for lent; it is not real comfortable, and leaves a greenish stain on my finger by the end of the day, it was pretty cool when new, but I am wearing it out, it spins around with two words and two crosses, Trust God.  In today's first Holy Scripture, we read of a woman who was accused of adultery.  In the most Holy Gospel, we read of a woman accused of adultery. The Psalm prays "Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side."  The story of trusting God remains forever engraved in History and remains to this day that we live for the Lord. Do you trust Him with everything?  With your whole life?  Do you trust in His mercy and love?  Do you trust His mercy is greater than your sin?  And if you trust in His mercy, how great should are gratefulness be?  There is nothing we can do or give greater than what God gave to us, the Love of His life, to free us from sin and death, for there is no greater love. In the Gospel of John 15:13, we read "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." the very words of Jesus our Lord and Master.   And He would lay His life, save a life like Daniel but even more, coming between life and death as a Savior forever.    As noble and awesome as this is, we have to keep in mind though, the words that followed this sentence of our Lord, because immediately after, if you keep on reading the Holy Gospel it says "You are my friends if you do what I command you."  And so now we have something to keep in mind.  He calls us friends (He lays His life for us) but are we His friends (will we lay our lives for Him)?  In other words, am I doing what He has commanded me?  Many so called "friends" of Jesus fled the scene when it got down to the nitty gritty.  We come out with full force "Yes Lord, I'll do whatever you want and say" and then you get back to life and realize the real sacrifice it takes to do what you just said and begin to flee the scene, first one step back, and then another, and soon you are gone, away from the church, away from His side, away from this "friend".  But "Oh Susanna, Oh don't you cry for me!" goes the old song, LOL, Susanna was faithful, she was a friend of God and God heard her cries.  We don't have a name for the adulterer in the Holy Gospel, but we do know that Jesus saved her, simply by forgiving her.  Why don't we go to be saved?  Why don't we partake of His mercy?  Why don't we trust this "Friend"?   Most often parishioners say they are embarrassed of going to their priest for confession, I mean, can you imagine saying this is your friend and then telling him how you really are?  Wait...is this a two sided friend?  Uh oh.  I have seen though, a parishioner go to a priest and tell him his darkest secrets in confession, only to see them as good real friends.  Isn't that how a true friendship is?  You confide and trust in one another?  What we have here is Susanna was God's friend, and Jesus was the adulterer's friend, one in need of the other, a circle of life with a circle of friends, and in the middle of all is Jesus.  How soon do we sin and feel I am not worthy of God?  How soon and how often does it happen?  Probably more than we care to admit, but I will tell you what has helped my ongoing conversion, talking to my "Friend", and His love is overpowering, sin and death having nothing on Jesus, not any more until forever.  This makes me know I am alive.  Lent has been extraordinary so far as we approach Holy Week, the entire reason for being Christians, the Easter to come.  I want you to know, that you have a friend.  I want you to know, that this is a trust relationship, where we do what He says and trust that Friend.   In the cursillo, we have a motto, "Make A friend, Be A Friend, Bring A Friend to Christ"  And this could only mean one thing...being a friend of Christ brings friends to Christ.  And when this happens we realize we are more than friends but brothers and sisters, and even more than that...that Christ is in every soul adrian Food For The Poor Subscribe to the Going4th mailing list.

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