Day by Day with St. John Baptist de La Salle

February 1st

Everything Counts

Jesus declares that the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds and which however, when it has grown, becomes a tree such that the birds of the sky come to rest in its branches.

The same can be said of something done out of obedience, even though it may be quite insignificant in appearance. Eating, for instance, or

·gathering up the crumbs remaining on the table, or

·sweeping a room,

·washing dishes,

·attaching a pin;

all such tasks appear to be trifles in themselves, but when performed through obedience, they become highly significant actions since we obey God in performing them.

Even the birds of the sky, that is, the virtues which belong to the saints in heaven, rest on those who obey, for they experience a joy, consolation, and interior peace which cannot be adequately expressed.

Experience for yourself how good the Lord is and how true all this is.
(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts
-6th Sunday After the Feast of Epiphany)

Keep busy always in your work for the Lord, since you know that nothing you do in the Lord’s service is ever useless. (1 Cor 15:58)

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February 2nd

Presentation of the Lord

Give Yourself

While going through the ceremony of purification, the Blessed Virgin, in order to obey the Law to its fullest extent, offered her Son to God because he was her first born.

In appreciation for the offering that was made of Jesus Christ, and for the humility shown by the Blessed Virgin, God inspired the holy man, Simeon, to proclaim publicly the greatness of Jesus. He declared that Jesus had come to be the Light which would enlighten the Gentiles and be the glory of the people of Israel. He then invoked all blessings on his holy Mother.

How good it is to give oneself to God! The Lord rewards us even in this life and fills with tangible consolations the soul that consecrates itself to him.

You should

·renew this offering of yourself to God every day, and

·consecrate all your actions to him by doing them all for his sake.

The more you give to God, the more he will bless you.
(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

I will give you a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and offer my prayer to you. (Ps 116:17)

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February 3rd

During Lessons

Earning Respect

Teachers will be careful to maintain a very modest demeanor and to act with great seriousness. They will never allow themselves to descend to anything unbecoming or to act in a childish fashion.

The seriousness demanded of teachers does not consist
·in having a severe or austere aspect,
·in getting angry, or
·in saying harsh words.
It consists of great reserve in their gestures, in their actions, and in their words.

Teachers will above all be cautious not to become too familiar with the students, not to speak to them in an easy manner and not to allow the students to speak to them other than with great respect.
(Conduct of Schools)

We beg you, our brothers and sisters, to pay proper respect to those who work among you, who guide and instruct you in the Christian life. (1 Thess 5:12)

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February 4th

God Reigns (in Us)

What greater privilege could we enjoy in this world, than to have God dwelling in us and reigning there with the absolute power of a king in his kingdom.

With God thus reigning in the soul, it has the honour says St. Paul, of being the temple of God. You are, he says, the temple of the living God.

This is certainly true since the whole person, body and soul, belongs to God. Surely you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you.
(1 Cor 3:16)

We should then be very careful not to profane this temple, much less to destroy it, by driving God and His Holy Spirit from our hearts.

This thought must make us reflect seriously

·that we are obliged to live in great holiness and

·that we are not only to refrain from soiling our soul with any vice, but

·that we are bound to take particular care to adorn it with every kind of virtue.

(Mental Prayer)

I will make my home with my people and live among them;
I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
(Lev 26:12)

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February 5th

Vigilance and Zeal

It is not enough that children be kept in school for most of the day and be kept busy. Those who have dedicated themselves to instruct them must devote themselves especially to bring them up in the Christian spirit, which gives children the wisdom of God.

Let this be your first concern, then, and the first effect of your vigilance in your work, to be ever attentive to your students to forestall any action that is bad or even the least improper. Help them avoid anything that has the slightest appearance of sin. It is also of great importance that your vigilance over your students serve to make them be self-controlled and reserved in church and at the exercises of piety that are performed in school.

If you want the instructions you give those whom you have to instruct to be effective in drawing them to the practice of good,

·you must practise these truths yourselves, and

·you must be full of zeal,

so that your students may be able to receive a share in the grace which is in you for doing good.

Do you look upon the good that you are trying to achieve in them as the foundation of all the good that they will practise for the rest of their lives?
(Meditations for Time of Retreat)

Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be brave, be strong. Do all your work in love.
(2 Cor 16:13).

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February 6th

Conditional Obedience

There are many persons in religious communities who could be asked with more surprise and more justice than those in the Gospel who were standing idle in the market place: Why have you stayed here all the day doing nothing? These persons have consecrated themselves to God and profess to be striving toward the perfection proper to their state, yet they remain in it without making any progress in virtue, especially the virtue of obedience.

So, when it happens that they are given an order they do not expect, they cannot accept it; they say this is too much for them and they are not able to put up with such a trial. They are prepared to carry out orders

·only on certain conditions, or

·only when they are in good humour.

It is extremely important that those who profess to practise the virtue of obedience be given the chance to do so every day.
(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts
-Septuagesima Sunday )

They will enjoy rest from their hard work, because the results of their service go with them. (Rev 14:13)

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February 7th

Turn the Other Cheek

Take care never to let anything harsh be seen in your appearance; you should rather manifest
wisdom,
kindness, and
good will.

To slap a man’s cheek is to give him a grave insult. The Gospel urges us to endure this and suggests that Christians who seek to imitate Jesus Christ in his patience should be willing and even ready to turn the other cheek and receive another blow after having been struck. It forbids us to strike first; only some violent rage or a feeling of vengeance would lead us to do that.

As a person of good judgement, you should never raise your hand to strike another on the cheek; decorum and propriety never allow this, not even toward a servant.
(Christian Politeness)

If your hand makes you fall into sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life without a hand than with two hands to go to hell, to the fire that never goes out. (Mk 9:43-44)

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February 8th

Facial Expression

The Wise Man says that it is by the look on his face that you can tell a man of good judgment. People should try to show that they are agreeable by the expression on their face, and at the same time, their exterior appearance will edify their neighbour.

To be agreeable to others, you must not assume a stern or forbidding countenance, nor should you let anything unsociable or shocking appear, nor anything too giddy or resembling a schoolboy. The whole face should reflect an air of seriousness and wisdom. It is not according to decorum, either, to have a melancholy or peevish countenance, nor should your face ever reflect any passion or ill-regulated affection.

Your face should be happy without any signs of either dissolution or dissipation. It should be serene, but not too easy going. It should be gentle, without softness, and never suggest anything vulgar.

To all, your face should manifest
your respect,
or at least
your affection and good will.

(Christian Politeness)

A man’s wisdom lights up his expression - his stern look is changed. (Eccl 8:1)

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February 9th

Virtues

We must, first of all, begin by being convinced interiorly of the necessity of the virtue on which we are about to meditate.

Firstly, by bringing to mind a passage from Holy Scripture where this virtue is expressed.

For example, in order to penetrate ourselves with the necessity for humility, we can recall what is said in James, Chapter 4:

“God resists the proud and gives His grace to the humble.”

The second manner of convincing ourselves of the necessity for a virtue is by some reflections on it. It is necessary that the reflection be drawn from what is said of it in Holy Scripture.

We can for example, make this reflection on humility:

“Lord, how happy are the humble, since it is to them that you grant your graces.”
(Mental Prayer)

Learn of me for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Mt 11:29)

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February 10th

No Laughing Matter

The Wise Man says that there is a time for laughter.

You are never allowed to amuse yourself at the expense of others. The respect you should have for your neighbour requires that you never take pleasure in anything that might cause pain to anybody.

With regard to the defects of others, either they are natural or they result from bad habits. If they are natural, it is unworthy of a person with good sense and good judgement to laugh at them and make fun of them, since the person who suffers from these defects is not the cause of them. These same misfortunes could have happened to anyone.

If the defects are due to bad habits and you use them as topics for jokes, you are acting in a manner entirely

·against charity and

·contrary to the true Christian spirit,

which should lead you to have compassion on these persons and help them to correct themselves rather than take these shortcomings as something to laugh about.

(Christian Politeness)

He sets the time for sorrow and the time for joy, the time for mourning and the time for dancing. (Eccl 3:4)

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February 11th Daily

Prayers in School

Don’t Interrupt

Teachers will act during prayers as they wish the students to act. To effect this, during the prayers teachers will always
·remain standing,
·very restrained and
·thoroughly composed and
·maintaining great decorum.
In this way, teachers will give an example to the students of what they should do during this time.

Teachers will speak neither to any particular student nor to them all in general during prayers, either to reprimand them or for any other reason. Teachers will not correct any student during this time. If a teacher notices someone who is doing something reprehensible and who deserves chastisement, the teacher will defer it to another time. Teachers will likewise abstain from everything that could distract the attention which the students owe to the prayers, such as making a student move from one place to another, and the like.
(Conduct of Schools)

You must be self-controlled and alert, to be able to pray. (1 Pet 4:7)

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February 12th

Only When It Suits

In a community the superior’s word is like the seed in today’s Gospel.

The seed that fell on the road is the word of a superior received by those who have only a weak desire to obey. They cannot bring themselves to practise obedience, and, in fact they don’t.

The seed that fell on stony ground is like the word of a superior received by those who do what they are told only when they experience no disturbance or trouble in obeying. At the slightest temptation they cannot make up their minds to do what has been ordered.

The seed which fell among thorns is like the superior’s word received by those who obey in everything they like and in which they find nothing difficult. But if they feel any repugnance toward what they are told, they cannot bring themselves to do it. To bring them to obey, the superior has to ask them to do only what they find agreeable; before venturing to give them an order, he needs to study their temperament and their inclinations.

This sort of obedience has

·nothing religious about it,

·nothing meritorious before God.

(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts
-Sexagesima Sunday )

Yes, obedience is better than sacrifice, submissiveness better than the fat of rams. (Sam 15:22)

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February 13th

Ministers of God

Those who teach are only God’s voice. The word which makes God known to those whom they instruct must come from him. It is he who speaks in teachers when they explain him and what is related to him. This is why St. Peter says, if any speak, let it always be clear that God is speaking by their mouth.

It is also by the movement of the Spirit of God that all those who to day proclaim his kingdom continue to speak. But if God makes use of persons to announce the truths of Christianity to others, it is God alone who must guide their steps and impart to their hearts the docility they need in order to welcome these holy truths.

Do not be content, therefore, to read and to learn from others what you must teach your pupils. Pray God to impress all these truths so firmly on yourselves that you will not have any occasion to be anything but
the ministers of God and
the dispensers of his mysteries.
(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

You should think of us as Christ’s servants, who have been put in charge of God’s secret truths. (1 Cor 4:1)

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February 14th

Foresight and Forethought

At the beginning of morning prayer, are you careful to give some forethought to what you will do during the day especially to whatever is likely to cause you some difficulty, or to those occasions in which your human nature will have to suffer, in order to prepare for them? Do you foresee
·the good actions you could perform and
·the faults you should avoid,
·the virtues you could practice,
·your duties of state,
or similar subjects?

It is far better to foresee in the morning the faults you might commit, in order to avoid them, than to have to deplore them at night because you had not foreseen them.
(Collection)

The discreet man sees danger and takes shelter, the ignorant go forward and pay for it. (Prov 22:3)

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February 15th

Be Patient

Be careful not to give way to impatience in school. It is a fault that we often have the occasion to commit. We have to keep careful watch over ourselves so that we do not lose control of ourselves.

Impatience in class, far from bringing order to the class, prevents you from achieving it. When you feel yourself giving way to impatience, remain still and silent for a short time until the feeling has passed.

For the love of God, do not slap your students.
It is not by dint of blows
that people are drawn
to good or to God.
Striking the students is a serious fault and you can’t be too much on your guard against it.

It is really disgraceful to call your pupils by insulting names, and it also gives them bad example.

Make sure, then, that you keep an even disposition in class, and don’t give way to impatience.

(Letters)

But you must keep control of yourself in all circumstances and perform your duty as a servant of God. (2 Tim 4:5)

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February 16th

I Am the Temple of God

How happy I should be, O my God, when I consider that I am your temple and that it is yourself who tells me that I have this advantage. It is, therefore, not necessary that I go very far in order to adore you and fulfill my duty to you. To do that, I have only
to enter into myself and
offer you in my soul the homage which I owe you.

This temple is very different from those which are built by human hands. This one is yours and worthy of receiving you and containing you only because you are the one who fashioned it.

Adorn it by your dwelling in it with all that can cause you pleasure and draw you to it. Since you are holiness itself, communicate this holiness to my soul in such a way that you may take delight in it, so that the words of St. Paul will apply to me:

“The temple of God is holy, and you are that temple.”
(Mental Prayer)

How happy are those who live in your Temple, always singing praise to you. (Ps 84:4)

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February 17th

Teaching Religion

Questions and Answers

Teachers will plan that the questions, subquestions, and the answers to the subquestions fulfill the following four conditions:

(1) They must be short;

(2) they must make complete sense;

(3) they must be accurate; and

(4) the answers must be suited to the capacity of the average and not of the most able and most intelligent students, so that the majority may be able to answer the questions that are asked of them.

A teacher will not permit any student to laugh when another has not answered properly, nor any one of them to prompt another who is unable to answer.
(Conduct of Schools)

What right have you to do these things? Who gave you this right?
(Mk 11:28)

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February 18th

Looking for Loopholes

The blind man in today’s Gospel is a figure of those persons whose superiors are forced to ask what is agreeable to them before showing that they are disposed to do it. There are three sorts of such self-willed religious.

Some examine the order given; before obeying they must know if the command is acceptable to them, if it will be too much trouble for them, or if they have some conditions to propose.

The second type of religious are those who give reasons to their superior,

·either to dispense themselves from carrying out what is asked,

·or to do the thing in some way other than asked,

·or to make the superior see that something else would be better than what he desires.

The third type of religious are those who presume on their own lights to such a degree that they try to prove to their superiors that they are wrong to command such a thing, that what they have been told to do is contrary to good sense.

Is this not really, in a certain way, placing yourself above your superiors and laying down the law to them? (Meditations for Sundays and Feasts
-Quinquagesima Sunday )

Obey your leaders and follow their orders. They watch over your souls without resting since they must give God an account of their service. (Heb 13:17)

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February 19th

Opportunities to Serve

I have failed a great number of times to practise humility, although I have had such wonderful occasions for doing so.

What! The Lord of Heaven and earth humbles himself to the point of washing the feet of poor and miserable human beings. Yet I, a person of no consequence, find it hard to render a service to my neighbour, because this offends my pride.

It was to teach me, Lord, that you humbled yourself. It was to persuade me

·to humble myself and

·to feel no shame in serving others,

even giving what is considered the most demeaning and lowest service.

You join to your example the promise that I shall be happy if I care to avail myself of your promise.

To day, I shall pray that people will make me do the most humbling tasks.

(Mental Prayer)

If, therefore, I who am your master and Lord have washed your feet, you must also wash one another’s feet. (Jn 13:14)

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February 20th

Real Fasting

To encourage us to the spirit of fasting the church tells us to remember that, being human, we are only ashes and will return to ashes. External fasting is of little value; it must also humble your spirit while mortifying your flesh.

The effect that the reception of the ashes should produce in you is to make penance a part of all your behaviour, to make you fast with

·your eyes, your tongue, and your heart:

·your eyes, by great recollection;

·your tongue, by an exact silence,

·your heart, by renouncing all thoughts which might draw you away from communing with God.

We will die and we will die only once. Do we wish to die a holy death? Let us live as true penitents.
(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts
-Ash Wednesday)

For dust you are and to dust you shall return. (Gen 3:19)

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February 21st

Effective Silence

You say that often you don’t know how to keep from speaking. You must try to learn this. It is great wisdom to know how to keep silence when the occasion requires it. Get into the habit of always speaking in a low voice. You know very well that silence and recollection are two means of becoming interior.

You will find silence a very useful, even a very necessary virtue, if you are
·to adore God,
·serve him in spirit and in truth,
·resist temptations, and
·save yourself from falling into sin.

Always remain silent when others annoy you, and let God alone be the witness of your innocence.

You must learn how to be silent and to speak only when necessary, so that you may not fall into the habit of excessive talking. If you cannot speak without justifying yourself, remain completely silent.
(Letters)

Causing trouble is all they ever think about; every time they open their mouth someone is going to be hurt. (Prov 24:2)

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February 22nd

The Chair of St. Peter, Apostle

Symbol of Christian Unity

The Pope is

·the Vicar of Jesus Christ and

·the visible head of the Church as well as

·the successor of St. Peter.

He has wide authority over the entire Church, and all the faithful should look upon him as their father and as the voice of God. He possesses the universal power of binding and loosing, that Jesus gave to St. Peter, and to him Jesus has committed the responsibility of feeding his flock.

Your role, then, is to work in order to increase and take care of this sheepfold. You should, therefore, honour our Holy Father the Pope as the holy shepherd of this flock.

We should, moreover, welcome everything the Church proposes to us. The Church is our mother; to her we must be united in every way. It is Jesus Christ himself who has given the Church his power and authority over us. This caused St. Augustine to say that he would not believe the Gospel if he were not bound to do so by the authority of the Church.
(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and what you unbind on earth shall be unbound in Heaven. (Mt 16:19)

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February 23rd

Silence is Golden

Hold silence in great esteem and observe it willingly, for it is

·the guardian of all the virtues,

·an obstacle to all vices,

·prevents detraction and

·all language contrary to truth, charity and modesty.

We must use language only for necessary things and not distract ourselves with useless words.

Often reflect that one who is not reserved in speech cannot become spiritual and that a sure means of attaining perfection rapidly is to avoid sins of the tongue.

When there is a superfluity of words, God’s grace and inspirations are like a liquor that has gone flat.
(Collection)

All of us often make mistakes. But if a person never makes a mistake in what he says, he is perfect and is also able to control his whole being. (Jas 3:2)

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February 24th

Control Yourself

Serious self-control is one of the most useful virtues for those who are responsible for instructing youth. St. Paul recommends this to the faithful above all things. Let your self-control, he says, be known to everyone. Do not be self-controlled

·only when you are alone and in private,

·but also act in the same way before everyone.

Act in such a way that all may recognise and be edified by your self-control. This is necessary because you work for the salvation of others, and you must begin by giving them good example in order to win them back to God.

Do not overlook the account you will have to give of your patience and the control of your passions. This is a very important point to which you must be very attentive, especially when the children in your care do something out of order, and you are required to reprove or correct them. There is nothing you must be more on your guard against them allowing your passions to run away with you.
(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

Avoid the passions of youth, and strive for righteousness, faith, love, and peace. (2 Tim 2:22)

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February 25th

Teaching Religion: Teachers' Role

To The Point

One of the principal tasks of the teacher during religion class is to conduct the lessons in such a manner that all the students will be very attentive and very easily retain all that is said to them.

Teachers will speak only on the subject assigned for the day and will guard against departing from it. Teachers will always speak in a serious manner, which will inspire the students with respect and restraint. They will never say

·anything vulgar or

·anything that might cause laughter,

and will be careful not to speak in a dull way which could produce weariness.

Care must be taken not to disturb the religion lesson by untimely reprimands and corrections. If it happens that some students deserve punishment, it should ordinarily be postponed until the next day, without letting them notice it.
(Conduct of Schools)

Do your best to win full approval in God’s sight, as a worker who is not ashamed of his work, one who correctly teaches the message of God’s truth. (2 Tim 2:15)

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February 26th

Welcome Temptation?

The angel who accompanied young Tobias said to his father: Because you were pleasing to God, it was necessary for you to be tested by temptation.

This should fully convince you of the necessity of trials of this sort, since it is temptation that will procure for you an abundance of grace. So, do not believe that God has abandoned you when you are tempted. On the contrary, this is one of the greatest signs you can have that God is particularly concerned about your salvation, since he gives you the opportunity to fight and exercise yourself in the practice of virtue. For little by little we acquire sublime virtue when we remain
constant,
unshaken, and
inflexible
in its practice despite the violent temptations that attack us.

So consider it a great misfortune when you are not tempted. In the future be ready to meet temptation at any time, for God exercises those he loves.
(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts
-1st Sunday of Lent)

I reprimand and correct all those I love (Rev 3:19)

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February 27th

Christ’s Ambassadors

Since you are ambassadors and ministers of Jesus Christ in the work that you do, you must act as representing Jesus Christ himself. He wants your disciples to see him in you and receive your instructions as if he were giving them to them. They must be convinced that your instructions are the truth of Jesus Christ who speaks with your mouth, that it is only in his name that you teach, and that it is he who has given you authority over them.

They must also be convinced that they themselves are a letter which Jesus Christ dictates to you, which you write each day in their hearts, not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God, who acts in you and by you through the power of Jesus Christ. He helps you to triumph over all the obstacles that oppose the salvation of these children.

All your care for the children entrusted to you would be useless if Jesus Christ himself did not give
the quality,
the power, and
the efficacy
that is needed to make your care useful. All the good you are able to do in your work will be true and effective only insofar as Jesus Christ gives it his blessing and as you remain united with him. (Meditations for Time of Retreat)

So we are ambassadors for Christ God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (2 Cor 5:20)

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February 28th

Behaviour in Church

Three principal fruits flow from considering God present in church.

The first is not to enter it except with great external and internal purity. We should try to purify ourselves in body and soul before entering the church, at least by
·using holy water,
·making the sign of the cross and by
·making an act of contrition.
It is for this purpose that the practice is followed of having holy water at the doors of our churches.

The second is to remain there only in deep respect and in great exterior and interior reserve.

The third is, while there, always to be engaged in prayer when one is not listening to the word of God, since it is a house of prayer and we receive special graces and blessings from God by prayers said there.
(Mental Prayer)

How awe-inspiring this place is! This is nothing less than a House of God; this is the gate to Heaven! (Gen 28:17)