Announcing:
Saint Mary's Press winner for the week of October 25, 2010!
Congratulations to Barb Kuebler!

Barb will receive a copy of Great People of the Bible Student Book and Catechist Guide, a $28.90 value.

Bring Salvation History to Life! Parish leaders have been requesting a Catholic Bible study curriculum for middle school students, created specifically to fit their parish schedules. Saint Mary’s Press is pleased to respond to this need with the Great People of the Bible parish curriculum.

The Great People of the Bible curriculum offers:

- A student book that is found in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church as a supplemental curriculum resource, and the only Bible curriculum for middle school students with this approval

- Twenty-five, one hour sessions designed to fit a typical parish calendar

- A catechist guide that offers easy-to-follow session outlines for the volunteer catechist

- Flexible options for the Catechist to complete student activities in class or use as family learning assignments in the home

- One student book that covers both the Old and New Testament and that supports the ABC’s of biblical literacy

- Engaging student activities, now with expanded background content, based on the ever popular Student Activity Workbooks for Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics

Great People of the Bible
ISBN: 978-0-88489-690-6, paper, 56 pages

Spirituality from a Lasallian Perspective
In this week’s and next week’s issues of The Servant Leader, we are blessed to have a reflection from Kevin Regan on the spirituality of religious educators from a Lasallian perspective. Kevin is the grateful husband of Linda, the father of two children, and the grandfather of five. He works at La Salle Academy in Providence, RI, where he taught in the religion department for thirty-two years, and he is the counselor for the San Miguel School of Providence. Kevin has presented at many conferences, including the National Catholic Education Association, the Huether Conference, and the Lasallian Justice Institute. Kevin received his master’s degree in religious studies from Providence College and his master’s degree in counseling from Rhode Island College. He has written four books and numerous articles relating to spirituality.

For the "Make It Happen" resource this week, we have included a prayer service from the book Praying with John Baptist de La Salle (Saint Mary’s Press, 1990) on the theme of living in the presence of God. As always, I pray God will continue to bless you and your ministry.

Peace,
Steven McGlaun

Spirituality of the Educator from a Lasallian Perspective
By Kevin Regan

Called for the Mission
Spirituality is a challenging critter. It can fly with angelic wings to the transcendent God hovering at the horizon of daily life. It leads us to the extremes where human experience touches the divine. Poets, theologians, and monks, religious and lay, survey this border territory. Yet, as we know, spirituality is also concrete. God is right here and right now: in the gentle hand of the Alzheimer’s patient held with a tender love, in the smile on the face of your student who just shared insightful thoughts on your inquiry into love and the dating relationship.

John Baptist de La Salle unites these two energies of spirituality in a practical mysticism, a double contemplation. He lived a spirituality in which the everyday experience of the teacher-student relationship was seen through the eyes of faith in God, union with Christ, and trust in the Holy Spirit. "The spirit of this Institute is a spirit of faith which leads (us) to look upon everything with the eyes of faith, to do everything in view of God and to attribute all to God" (John Baptist de La Salle, Rule of 1718). Our ministries must be rooted in our awareness of God, and this awareness of God guides and unifies the work we accomplish. It helps us to see reality more clearly and to touch the deeper meanings hidden below the surface of life’s experiences. Lasallian spirituality grows out of our relationship to our students and the community in which we serve. We come to understand the words of John Baptist de La Salle, "Let this be your whole effort in the instruction you give them, looking upon yourselves as the ministers of God and the dispensers of his mysteries" (Meditations for the Time of Retreat [MTR], 193.1). This is our call.

God’s Holy Presence
The ground of our vocation is the knowledge that we are loved by God. "Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come!" Do we believe these words of the Song of Songs are directed to us? Do we experience ourselves as God’s beloved, God’s beautiful ones, sent to share with the young the awareness that each moment of life is immersed in the holy presence of God? We share the presence of God with young people by allowing Christ’s presence to shine through our humble humanity with all its strengths and foibles. "Since you are ambassadors and ministers of Jesus Christ in the work you do, you must act representing Jesus Christ himself" (MTR, 195.2). We must always strive to help our students and our peers catch a glimpse of God’s love in our human presence even as we look to discover God in their lives. We are called to follow the words of Pope John Paul II, "Put people not only in touch but in communion, intimacy, with Jesus Christ" (Catechesi Tradendae, 5).

Next week we will look at the spirituality of the religious educator in relation to respect and reverence for our students, prayer and prophetic witness, and suffering and resurrection.

Click Here for More Information

Meditation #3: Living in God's Presence
From Praying with John Baptist de La Salle

Giving a Witness Talk

Theme: A principal help for growing in faith is to remind ourselves that God is always present with and in us. God’s presence is a source of consolation and hope.

Opening prayer: Holy God, you are ever present.

About De La Salle

In a letter to a member of a religious community of women, De La Salle showed how simply being present to God is prayer and hopeful consolation:

I realize, my dear Sister, that you are in great suffering and I deeply share in your difficulties; but you should not, it seems to me, grieve so much. Your feelings of abandonment touch only the exterior. The profound darkness which you experience is the means that God gives to draw you more surely to himself. You know quite well that the more darkness and doubt you experience
in your life, the more you will live by faith; and you know that it is faith alone which should motivate the lives and actions of those who belong to God. Often say to yourself from the depths of your desolation, "Even if I become a reprobate, I will do all that I can for God." And if out of 20 actions, there is only one that is good or even only partly good, still it will be so much done for love of God. . . . Once again I say, turn to God in prayer. Could doing this annoy him? Cast such a thought from your mind, dear Sister. I assure you that prayer always draws down some grace from God, even on the most hardened sinners. It is almost their only resort. And were you simply to remain in God’s presence, that would still be a great help to you, supporting you in your troubles and helping you to bear them patiently. . . .

. . . Be sure that God is more ready than ever to welcome you into his arms, and that as your distress increases so does his mercy towards you increase and abound. (Letters, pp. 225–226)

Pause: Reflect on De La Salle’s advice in this letter.

De La Salle’s Words
Your sole concern . . . Should be the establishment of God’s reign in your heart, in this life and in the next. In this life your study should be to bring about this reign of God in your heart by His grace and through the plenitude of His love. You should live for God alone, and the life of your soul should be the life of God Himself. You ought likewise to nourish yourself with God by thinking of His holy presence as often as you possibly can. That which constitutes the life of the saints is precisely their continual attention to God, and this also should form the life of those who . . . Seek only to accomplish His holy will, to love Him, and to make others love Him. (W. J. Battersby, ed., De La Salle: Meditations, p. 284)

We can consider God present in the place where we are because He is everywhere; and because, whenever two or three persons gather in Our Lord’s name, He is in their midst. (P. 4)

[One consequence of living in the presence of God is] that all our actions will be referred to Jesus Christ and will tend towards Him as towards their center. They will draw all their vigor from Him. . . .

[Another consequence is] that He will pour out His Spirit upon us. . . . This same Holy Spirit will enliven our actions, and will become a lifegiving spirit in them. (John Baptist de La Salle, Explanation of the Method of Mental Prayer, p. 8)

Reflection
Meditating on the Scriptures nourishes our faith, but De La Salle also emphasized the practice of remembering God’s presence. If God is with us, no one can overcome us. If we are acting in the presence of God, our actions will more likely reflect those of Jesus.

In his typically practical way, De La Salle mandated that in every classroom run by the Brothers, a bell should be rung every half hour and a student should say, "Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God." He told his Brothers to kneel by their desks when they entered their classrooms, recall God’s presence, and remind themselves that they stand on holy ground, just as Moses did at the burning bush. Using these and other practical measures, De La Salle hoped that the Brothers would teach with the wisdom and charity of Jesus.

On another level, paying simple attention to or resting alertly in God’s presence is praying in a profound way. Despite our sinfulness, despair, doubt, and fears, God’s love embraces us if we will only be present to the Creator and throw ourselves on God’s mercy. To De La Salle, the God who is present is a God of tender care and infinite forgiveness.

Prayer need not be talk. As De La Salle advised the troubled woman, resting in God’s presence is often enough. Spend some time now resting in God’s presence, listening rather than speaking. To help this process, sit comfortably. Perhaps play some quiet, meditative music. If you need to stretch stiff muscles, take some time and do so. Then plant your feet on the floor, rest your hands in your lap, close your eyes, and concentrate on deep, slow breathing. For a while, simply focus on your breathing. Then, for a while, pray one or two words that remind you that God is present with and in you (for example, "Jesus friend," "loving Spirit," "holy God"); as you breathe in, you might pray, "Jesus," and as you exhale slowly, pray, "friend." Do not feel compelled to keep praying the words. Just remain in God’s healing presence until you feel refreshed.

De La Salle suggested that we reflect on passages from the Bible:

An easy means for making us more deeply aware of the presence of God, in an interior manner, is to recall some passage of Holy Scripture which will remind us of this presence, for example this one in Psalm 15:8. "I set the Lord ever in my sight.". . .
. . . Through attention to some passage of faith joined with some simple reflections we can little by little acquire a certain facility for making ourselves aware of the presence of God by simple attention. (Method of Mental Prayer, pp. 24–25)

Spend some time praying with the scriptural passage in "God’s Word" near the end of this meditation. Memorize one line that you may use to remind yourself of God’s presence. Other useful passages to incorporate into your practice of perceiving God’s presence are Genesis 17:1, Isaiah 6:3, Numbers 6:25, Matthew 28:20, and Acts 17:28.

Another way of remembering God’s presence is to recall that Jesus said, "Where two or three meet in my name, I am there among them" (Matthew 18:20). Reflect on this passage. Recall a meeting of friends or family in which you were conscious of God’s presence. Then recall a time when a meeting with family and friends would have gone more smoothly and with more mutual caring if you had remembered God’s presence in your midst.

The Gospel of Luke says, "Look, the kingdom of God is among you" (17:21). Meditate on this passage. How can you celebrate the Kingdom of God among you?

De La Salle knew that he had to build into his day definite ways of recalling God’s presence. What practices can you establish to help you remember God’s presence?

God’s Word
Yahweh, you search me and know me.
You know if I am standing or sitting.
You perceive my thoughts from far away. . . .
Close behind and close in front you hem me in,
shielding me with your hand. . . .
If I flew to the point of sunrise—
or far across the sea—
your hand would still be guiding me. . . .
You created my inmost being
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
For all these mysteries—
for the wonder of myself,
for the wonder of your works—
I thank you. . . .
(Psalm 139)

Closing prayer: "I believe, O my God, that this place, whatever it may be, is a dwelling place for you. . . . You are in heaven; you are likewise on earth, which you permeate entirely. It contains you, but you rather contain it within yourself. This I believe, O my God, that wherever I go I shall find you, and that there is no spot not honored by your presence." (Adapted from De La Salle, Method of Mental Prayer, p. 32)

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 31, 2010
Luke 19:1-10

Opening Prayer
Jesus, give us the desire to see you in the everyday circumstances of our lives. Give us eyes that recognize you among the many things that catch our attention each day. Give us a heart that welcomes you, as well as our brothers and sisters in need, to be a part of our lives. Amen.

Context Connection
The main character in Sunday's Gospel is Zacchaeus. Most of us are familiar with this particular story in Luke's Gospel. We know that Zacchaeus is the chief tax collector in and around the area of Jericho. Because of his profession, Zacchaeus is a rich man. As a tax collector, Zacchaeus is perceived by the Jewish leadership to be a sinner. One might even say that Zacchaeus, as the chief tax collector, represents the chief sinner. Jesus is passing through Jericho, and Zacchaeus wants to see him but can't because he is short in stature and a large crowd blocks his view. To see Jesus, Zacchaeus runs ahead of the crowd and climbs a sycamore tree on the path Jesus is taking. When Jesus reaches the tree, he addresses Zacchaeus by name and invites himself to the tax collector's house. In response, Zacchaeus hurries down from the tree to lead Jesus to his house.

"All who saw it began to grumble and said, 'He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner'" (19:7). Zacchaeus, hearing those remarks, confronts the accusers with a public declaration of his customary and repeated practice of giving alms to the poor. This translation seems to suggest that Zacchaeus planned to give to the poor in the future. However, Scripture scholars tell us that in the original Greek translation, Zacchaeus actually defends his normal practice of giving alms to the poor, which was required by Jewish Law. In Luke, almsgiving is a sign of righteousness. Zacchaeus goes on to say that if he has cheated anyone--even unintentionally--he will apply the harshest penalty to himself. Zacchaeus's offer to repay the amount fourfold, or 400 percent, is the reparation required by Roman law. Jewish Law only requires a person to pay full restitution plus 20 percent (see Leviticus 6:5 and Numbers 5:6-7). Zacchaeus corrects the misperceptions of the crowd by setting the record straight. Jesus announces, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham" (19:9). In this statement Jesus recognizes Zacchaeus's worth as a "son of Abraham." Jesus implies that Zacchaeus is as much a son of Abraham as are the scribes and the Pharisees. Jesus's love for Zacchaeus awakens the potential to love and serve others.

Tradition Connection
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says this about almsgiving, or as it is called here "fraternal charity":

"The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities.1 Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead.2 Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God.3" (Paragraph 2447)

Our faith asks us to position ourselves in life so we can see the needs of others and, in seeing, act in fraternal charity because it is the just thing to do and is pleasing to God. Each day, when we read the newspaper or watch the news on television, we learn about people who are in need because of natural disaster, war, famine, or severe poverty--whether in the United States or in another part of the world. What is our response to the conditions of our brothers and sisters? Luke says, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise" (3:11). Catholic Relief Services is an organization, an extension of the Catholic Church, that attempts to help needy people throughout the world. You may want to check out this Web site to learn more about CRS, http://www.catholicrelief.org.

The challenge of fraternal charity is that once we are aware of the needs of the poor and disenfranchised, we can never go back to our former state of unawareness. Sunday's Gospel gives us the example of Zacchaeus, a person who practiced almsgiving by caring for the poor, in hope that we will do the same.

Wisdom Connection
Zacchaeus's need to see Jesus leads him to take unusual measures for a man of his social distinction, such as climbing a tree to guarantee he would get a chance to see Jesus as he passed by. As the people gather around Jesus under the sycamore tree, they do not seem to notice Zacchaeus perched in the tree. Jesus, however, notices Zacchaeus immediately. Zacchaeus goes to great lengths to see Jesus, but Jesus is the one who sees Zacchaeus. It is not a random glance, but an invitation for Zacchaeus to welcome Jesus into his home as a guest. Zacchaeus's encounter with Jesus, amid the daily happenings in Jericho, makes all the difference in the life of Zacchaeus. Do we make an effort each day to position ourselves to see Jesus in the happenings of our day? If we do, then we too will encounter Jesus among the ordinary events of our life. In welcoming Jesus to come and stay in our home, we are asking Jesus to become a part of our daily lives.

Acknowledgments
The scriptural quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition. Copyright © 1993 and 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

The quotations labeled Catechism are from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America. Copyright © 1994 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc.--Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.

The Lord's Prayer is taken from Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers. Copyright © 1988 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Inc., Washington, DC. All rights reserved.

Endnotes cited in quotations from the Catechism of the Catholic Church
1. Cf. Isaiah 58:6-7; Hebrews 13:3.
2. Cf. Matthew 25:31-46.
3. Cf. Tobit 4:5-11; Sirach 17:22; Matthew 6:2-4.

Saint Jude Thaddeus

October 28 is the feast day for Saint Jude of Thaddeus.

Saint Jude was the nephew of Mary and Joseph. Saint Jude is most commonly known as the patron of lost causes because early Christians often confused him with Judas Iscariot, so praying for Saint Jude’s assistance was seen as a lost cause.

For more information on Saint Jude, go to http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-jude-thaddeus/