Day by Day with St. John Baptist de La Salle

January 1st

Spirit of Faith Supreme

Faith is the way by which God wishes to lead you to himself and by following this way you will please him most. Is it not enough for you to know God alone? Surely this is of more value than all the other knowledge of the most learned men.
The Most Blessed Virgin lived her whole life by the spirit of faith, and it is this spirit that God wants you to have. This is why you would derive much benefit from asking her in prayer to lead you to Our Lord along this way.

Look on everything with the eyes of faith.
Viewing things with the eyes of faith
will earn for you in one day
more good, closer union with God,
than a month of those penances and austerities to which you are attracted.

Let me repeat, the more uncomplicated your view of faith, the more surely you will be disposed to simplicity of action and conduct.

(Letters)

Everyone talks about how loyal and faithful he is, but just try to find someone who really is! (Prov 20:6)

January 2nd

St. Gregory of Nazianzen(ca 329-390)

Bad Companions

St. Gregory had such great concern to avoid sin that he paid special attention to shun bad companions.

He felt sure that this is one of the occasions which contributes the most to make us sinners.

Bad companions are so dangerous,
especially in youth,
that there is nothing to which you should pay more attention than to prevent those you teach from keeping such company. Nor is there anything you should recommend more strongly to them than to become close friends with the best of their companions, the most pious, and the best behaved.

(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

Do not be fooled. “Bad companions ruin good character.” Come back to your right senses and stop your sinful ways. (1 Cor 15:33-34)

January 3rd

St. Genevieve(ca 420-512)

Continual Prayer

St. Genevieve devoted herself entirely to works of piety and especially to prayer, so that her entire life was almost one continual prayer. She prepared to celebrate Sunday well by spending the entire previous night in the exercise of prayer.

It is your duty to apply yourself assiduously and affectionately to prayer in order to draw down on yourself a great number of graces which you need in your state, both for your own sanctification and for the sanctification of others.

Be assured that

·the more you devote yourself to prayer,

·the more you will also do well in your work.

For, since you are not of yourself able to do anything well for the salvation of souls, you should often turn to God to obtain from him what your profession obliges you to give to others.

Earnestly beg of God this spirit of prayer. (Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

Listen to my words, O Lord, and hear my sighs. (Ps 5:1)

January 4th

Parental Substitutes

One of the main duties of fathers and mothers is to bring up their children in a Christian manner and to teach them their religion. But most parents are not sufficiently enlightened in these matters; some are taken up with their daily concerns and the care of their family; others, under the constant anxiety of earning the necessities of life for themselves and their children, cannot take the time to teach their children their duties as Christians.

It is characteristic of the providence of God and of his vigilance over human conduct to substitute for fathers and mothers persons who have enough knowledge and zeal to bring children to the knowledge of God and of his mysteries.

You, then, whom God has called to this ministry, work according to the grace that has been given to you

·to instruct by teaching and

·to exhort by encouraging

those who are entrusted to your care, guiding them with attention and vigilance, in order to fulfill toward them the principal duty of fathers and mothers toward their children.

(Meditations for Time of Retreat)

Parents, do not treat your children in such a way as to make them angry. Instead, bring them up with Christian discipline and instruction. (Eph 6:4)

January 5th

Of Noble Birth

In a person’s deportment there must always be something sedate and even majestic. You should take care, however, that there be nothing in this which suggests pride or arrogance of spirit, for such attitudes greatly displease everyone. What will produce this sedateness is the simple modesty and wisdom that as a Christian you display in all your conduct.

You are truly of noble birth since you belong to Jesus Christ and are a child of God. Hence in your exterior there should be nothing vulgar.

Everything in you should denote

·a certain air of nobility and greatness,

·a reflection of the power and majesty of God whom you serve.

This dignified appearance should not flow from arrogance or lead you to prefer yourself to others, for every Christian should show honour and respect to all others, considering them as children of God and brothers of Jesus Christ.

(Christian Politeness)

But you are a chosen race, God’s own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God. (1 Pet 2:9)

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January 6th

The Epiphany

Marks of a King

The magi proceeded to the poor village of Bethlehem to find there the King whom they were seeking. They entered the stable and found a little Child wrapped in poor swaddling clothes in the company of his mother, Mary.

At this sight how could the Magi not fear to have been deceived; are these the marks of a king? asks St. Bernard. Where is his palace, his throne, his court?

·The stable is his palace,

·the crib serves as his throne, and

·his court is the company of the Most Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph.

This stable does not appear to them deserving of disdain; these poor swaddling clothes are not shocking in their eyes; they feel no disappointment to see a poor child being nursed by his mother.

(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

You know the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ; rich as he was, he made himself poor for your sake, in order to make you rich by his poverty. (2 Cor 8:9)

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January 7th

Gently Does It

You should pay attention to your behaviour in what concerns not only yourself but others also. For it is impossible to please God if you do not live amicably with others. Nor will you have peace of soul unless you show consideration for those for whom you ought to set a good example.

Take care never to get into arguments with anybody, for in doing so you can offend against charity, which should be outstanding among you.

Be sure to be warmly affable toward everyone,

to speak and to answer everyone with a great gentleness and deference,

keeping in mind the way Our Lord spoke and replied to others,

even when he was most harshly treated.

So never rebuff anyone; that gives very bad example. On the contrary, speak politely, which is in keeping with the Spirit of God. Let humility and gentleness be always evident in what you say. “A soft answer,” says the wise man “breaks down the hardest nature.”

(Letters)

Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody. (Rom 12:18)

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January 8th

Gentle Children, Newcomers.

Take Your Time

One must abstain from punishing children who are just beginning school. It is necessary, first, to know
their minds,
their natures, and
their inclinations.
They should ordinarily be in school about two weeks before being punished, for punishing newcomers can only repel them and alienate them from school. It is no less important that a teacher who is new in a class refrain from administering any punishment until the students are understood.

There are also many little children who likewise must not be punished or only very rarely. They have not attained the use of reason and are not capable of profiting from punishment. Deal with them in much the same manner as with children of a gentle and timid disposition.

(Conduct of Schools)

Watch yourself and watch your teaching. (1 Tim 4:16)

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January 9th

Religious Studies Priority

You will do well to work hard at your lessons in religious instruction. To give them well, you must begin courageously, even giving them poorly, for no one does anything well the first time.

As long as you teach your students to the best of your ability, you can have a clear conscience in the matter.

Why are you not as keen about teaching religion well as you are about writing? Writing is necessary, but religious studies are surely more in keeping with your profession. It must be the first of your daily occupations, since your first care is to instill a Christian spirit into your students.

(Letters)

Take the teachings that you heard me proclaim in the presence of many witnesses, and entrust them to reliable people, who will be able to teach others also. (2 Tim 2:2)

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January 10th

Dealing With Temptations

I cannot understand why you did not tell me earlier of the temptation you experienced. Don’t you know that an illness is already half cured when you tell the doctor about it?

You must not be upset or anxious over the temptations you experience. When they come, place yourself in God’s hands as you would with a good father. Beg him to help you, being convinced that you cannot help yourself. Approach the sacraments eagerly; it is in them that you will find the strength to overcome your difficulties.

You are right in saying that the thoughts you indulge in from time to time about the difficulties of your vocation are nothing but a deception of the devil, who seeks only to discourage you from lovingly bearing the hardships that are part of it.

Firm courage and
a little generosity
will enable you to overcome all your difficulties. Take advantage of your times of favour to buoy yourself up.(Letters)

Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you will not fall into temptation.
(Lk 22:46)

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January 11th

Obey the Rules

When Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, his parents came back looking for him; when they found him in the midst of the teachers, they brought him back to Nazareth, where he was subject to them, as St. Luke tells us. An admirable lesson for all those responsible for teaching Christian truth to others!

Reason itself demonstrates the necessity of obedience in a religious society, obedience being the virtue which establishes
order,
union,
peace, and
tranquillity
among those who belong to it. Indeed, without obedience each one would act as he saw fit; trouble, disorder, and chaos could not fail to enter and thereby subvert the community from top to bottom. For, says St. James, every house where there is division will fall into ruin.

(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts

-Sunday After the Feast of Epiphany)

If a family divides itself into groups which fight each other, that family will fall apart. (Mk 3:25)

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January 12th

The Presence of God

We may consider God present in three different ways:
firstly, in the place where we are ;
secondly, in ourselves;
thirdly, in the church.

We can consider God present in the place where we are: firstly, because he is everywhere; secondly, because “where two or three meet in my name, I shall be in the midst of them” (Mt 18:20)

We can consider God present within ourselves in two ways: firstly, as being in us since it is in Him that we live, and move, and exist; secondly, as being in us by His grace and by His Spirit.

Finally, we may consider God present in the church: firstly, because it is the house of God; secondly, because Jesus Christ Our Lord is present there in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the altar.

(Mental Prayer)

You will show me the path that leads to life;
your presence fills me with joy and brings me pleasure forever.
(Ps 16:11)

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January 13th

God is Where we Are

We can easily consider God present in the place where we are by becoming interiorly penetrated with this sentiment expressed by David in Ps 139:

“Where could I go to escape your spirit? Where could I flee from your presence? If I climb the heavens, you are there, there too, if I lie in Sheol.”

From this it is easy to conclude that in whatever place we go, however distant, and however hidden from the eyes of others it may be, we always find God there and one cannot escape his presence.

It is of this we must think particularly when we are tempted to offend God, paying attention to what Susanna said when she was tempted by the elders:

“I prefer to fall innocent into your power without offending God, than to sin in the eyes of the Lord.” (Dn 13:23)

(Mental Prayer)

You are all round me on every side;
You protect me with your power.
(Ps 139:5)

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January 14th

Cultivate Young Plants

God is so good that, having created us, he wills that all of us come to the knowledge of the truth. This truth is God himself and what he has desired to reveal to us through Jesus Christ, through the apostles, and through his Church. Just as he commanded light to shine out of darkness, so he himself kindles a light in the hearts of those destined to announce his word to children by unveiling for them the glory of God.

Since, then, God in his mercy has given you such a ministry, do not falsify his word but gain glory before him by unveiling his truth to those whom you are charged to instruct. You have been destined to cultivate these young plants by announcing to them the truths of the Gospel.

Teach them these truths not with learned words, lest the cross of Christ become void of meaning, and all you say to them would produce no fruit in their minds or heart. Those who help them to save themselves must do this in so simple a manner that
every word will be clear
and easy for them to understand.

(Meditations for Time of Retreat)

May our sons be like plants growing strong from their earliest years. (Ps 144:12)

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January 15th

Whatever You Say

Jesus changed water into wine at the plea of the Blessed Virgin Mary, his mother, who told the table servants to do all that her Son would command them. She knew that the best attitude they could display in order to induce Jesus Christ to perform this miracle, was an entire submission to his orders. This is likewise the most appropriate means we can use to obtain for ourselves marvels and even miracles in ourselves.

For obedience to have this result, it must first of all be exact with regard to the thing commanded, so that the one who obeys

·is prepared to do everything prescribed and

·should not show greater preference for one thing than for another.

This requires a strenuous effort to die to yourself, for, it is difficult not to appear more willing to do one thing rather than another.

(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts

-2nd Sunday After the Feast of Epiphany)

Do whatever he tells you. (Jn 2:5)

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January 16th

No Excuses

But, you say, you are not prepared to receive Communion because your spirit is in turmoil or because you are experiencing severe temptation. Do you not know that turmoil and temptations, far from making you unfit to receive Communion do nothing of the sort? On the contrary,

·the more anxiety and temptation you experience,

·the more you should have recourse to Communion,

which is a sure remedy to ease your anxiety and weaken your temptations.

Perhaps you may say at other times that you do not receive Communion because you cannot occupy yourself with God. You feel completely dry; your mind is filled with evil or useless thoughts.

Beg Jesus Christ living in you to make up for your powerlessness, and to make thanksgiving in you and for you. Do not, then, listen any further to what your spirit may suggest to dispense you from receiving Communion.

(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

Every time you eat this bread and drink from this cup you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Cor 11:26)

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January 17th

St. Anthony, Abbot(ca 251-356)

Leaving All

When St. Anthony heard the following words of the Gospel read in church:

“If you wish to be perfect, go, sell all you have, and give it to the poor,”

he immediately began to carry out this invitation as though it had been addressed to him personally.

Let us admire this saint’s fidelity to the first suggestion of grace and his promptness in following the inspiration God gave him.

After he gave away all his possessions in favour of the poor, St. Anthony withdrew to the desert where he laboured manually to earn a livelihood and to help the poor. To his labour he joined constant prayer.

Are we as faithful to God’s inspirations as St. Anthony?
Are we as quick to do what grace asks of us?
Are we no longer attached to anything?
We know this if we are glad to be poor and if we do not want to have comfortable things for ourselves.

(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have put to death their human nature with all its passions and desires. (Gal 5:24)

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January 18th

Quiet Preparation

Having been warned by an angel to bring the child Jesus to Egypt because Herod was searching for him to put him to death, Joseph without delay left with the most Blessed Virgin Mary.

St. Joseph, the Blessed Virgin, and the Child Jesus remained so unknown in Egypt that there is nothing to prove that anyone ever heard of them there. The Gospel tells us nothing about them nor about what they did during their entire sojourn in that country. This humble and secret life was most highly prized by the Holy Family; it was also what the Eternal Father had decreed for Jesus Christ until the time came for him to give himself to the preaching of the Gospel and to the conversion of souls, the primary purpose of his coming. His long hidden life was a preparation for his apostolic life.

Following the example of the Holy Family,
·you will not make people talk about you;
·you will be mere passers-by,
solely concerned with doing God’s work and causing Jesus to live in the souls of those who do not recognise him.

(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

I wish I had wings, like a dove.
I would fly away and find rest.
(Ps 55:6)

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January 19th

Say But The Word

Jesus admiring the faith of the centurion, said that he had not found such great faith in all Israel.

This centurion makes known to us how excellent obedience is when it is inspired and sustained by faith. This is how the centurion acted, when seeing in Jesus Christ only the external appearances of an ordinary man, he was nevertheless deeply convinced that in order to perform a miracle such as the cure of the sick servant, he possessed the authority of God himself and was consequently truly God.

The centurion was entirely right. As soon as he believed that Jesus could heal his servant with a single word, his servant was in fact cured. This grace was granted, thanks to
the excellence and
the vigour
of his faith.

Do you obey with like dispositions and with this pure and simple view of faith?

(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts

- 3rd Sunday After the Feast of Epiphany)

I tell you, I have never found anyone in Israel with faith like this. (Mt 8:10)

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January 20th

Trees and Branches

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. As the branch of the vine cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it remains attached to the stem, so neither can you bear fruit, if you do not remain in me, says the Lord.

What Jesus Christ says to his apostles he also says to you. It is the same for you as it is for the branch of the vine, which can bear fruit only if it remains attached to the stem and draws its sap and strength from the vine.

Jesus Christ wants you to understand from this comparison that the more your work for the good of your disciples is given life by him and draws its power from him, the more it will produce good in them. He is also the one who enlightens the minds of your students and leads them to love and to practise the good that you teach them.

(Meditations for Time of Retreat)

This was the real light - the light that comes into the world and shines on everyone. (Jn 1:9)

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January 21st

Profitable Reading

Never read through curiosity, and do not read hurriedly to get through a book quickly. Stop from time to time to relish your reading. Reflect on and examine yourself about what prevents you from practicing what you read.

Read your spiritual book as if it were a letter sent by Jesus Christ himself to make known to you his holy will.

As it is
neither the books we read
nor the reasons we hear
which of themselves touch our conscience, but rather God who uses these means, we must pray for the grace to draw from them the fruit which God desires to communicate to us.

Have you done so?

(Collection)

Do you understand what you are reading? (Acts 8:30)

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January 22nd

Fruits of His Presence

The first is to hold us in recollection and in attention to the presence of God, whether we are walking or remaining in some place, even in the most distracting surroundings.

The second is to prevent us from offending God when we are tempted or when we meet an occasion of falling into sin. For

·if we are ashamed to act or speak in an unseemly manner before someone whose good opinion we prize,

·how much more should we fear to offend God in his presence,

·particularly when we consider his kindness and love for us.

The third fruit is to give us confidence in God having in view that his presence will strengthen us in the hour of temptation and will deliver us from them.

(Mental Prayer)

I keep Yahweh before me always,
for with him at my right hand nothing can shake me.
(Ps 16:8)

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January 23rd

Follow the Leader

“Who is this man whom winds and seas obey?”

To live in a community that is faithful to the Rule is to live in the boat with Jesus and his disciples. There they are protected from the waves of the stormy sea of this world. Still, they are not entirely safe from all difficulties and temptations. Of these, the most dangerous and most hurtful are those which lead us to fail in obedience, or to obey in a faulty manner.

It is, therefore very appropriate for you, who are exposed to such temptations every day, to have remedies to keep you from their evil consequences. What you should, therefore, beg most often of God is that he teach you how
to obey and
to obey well,
in spite of the obstacles and difficulties which the demon will stir up in you to give you a dislike for obedience.

Never use your personal grievances as a pretext to dispense you from obeying your superiors, for this would direct your ill feeling against God himself. (Meditations for Sundays and Feasts

- 4th Sunday After the Feast of Epiphany)

What kind of man is this? they said. Even the winds and the waves obey him!
(Mt 8:27)

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January 24th

St. Francis De Sales(1567-1622)

Patiently Gentle

This saint had such gentleness and tenderness toward his neighbour and tried so earnestly to suppress in himself even the slightest movements of anger that after his death no bile was found in his body. When someone once urged him to yield to impatience, he asked if she wished him to lose in a moment what he had spent his whole life acquiring.

It was this gentleness and tenderness for his neighbour that made it possible for Saint Francis to convert so many souls to God.

In fact, this virtue won the hearts of all those with whom he dealt, and the affection they felt for him was a means he used to bring them to God.

Do you have these feelings of charity and tenderness toward the children whom you have to educate?

If you have for them the firmness of a father

to restrain them from misbehaviour,

you must also have for them the tenderness of a mother

to draw them to you.

Learn from this saint to overcome your passions.

(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

For the Lord is full of mercy and compassion. (Jas 5:11)

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January 25th

The Conversion of St. Paul, Apostle

The Call - The Response

How fortunate this saint was to be forestalled by grace and in an instant be changed from a persecutor to an apostle and preacher of the Gospel.

From the moment that grace came to St. Paul he was faithful to it. Jesus made known to him by a voice from heaven that it was he himself whom Paul was persecuting in the Christians. Heeding this voice, he humbly asked Jesus Christ what orders he wished to give him, and what he wanted him to do for him.

Jesus Christ has called you to fulfill his ministry.

·Are you as faithful to God’s voice as was St. Paul?

·Do you correspond as promptly as he did to all the movements of grace?

·Are you as zealous as he was to fulfill the duties of your work?

·Do you say with St. Paul, Lord, what do you want me to do?

(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

Who are you, Lord? he asked. I am Jesus, whom you persecute, the voice said.
(Acts 9:5)

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January 26th

Judge Not

You are well aware that we must have great love for one another and for that purpose we must bear with one another in the mistakes into which we often fall through human weakness. It is in this way especially that we carry out the command to love, which we should hold in great honour.

However unreasonable the opinions and wishes of others may seem, if you cannot yield to them and at the same time keep your rules, try to satisfy them which words spoken with gentleness and humility.

Adapt yourself with gracious and charitable compliance to all your neighbour’s weaknesses. Give up all bitterness toward your neighbour, no matter what, and be convinced that your neighbour is better than you are.

In short, take as your rule never to speak of the failings of others nor to reprimand them. Whenever you see someone fall into some fault, call to mind what is said in the Gospel,

“You can see the splinter in your brother’s eye, but you cannot see the beam in your own.”

(Letters)

God is the only law-giver and judge. Who do your think you are to judge someone else? (Jas 4:12)

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January 27th

Two Faced

Since obedience is a source of grace for a religious, it can be compared to the good seed sown in a field, which produces a rich harvest for its owner.

Those who live under obedience should take care that it not be said of them what was stated of the scribes and Pharisees, whitened sepulchers, attractive enough externally and beautiful to behold as long as one looked at them from the outside, but who were filled with dead men’s bones and corruption within.

For the same thing could be affirmed of religious whose actions are not all performed under the control of obedience. These persons seem to be virtuous in appearance, but in fact they are fundamentally bad and entirely displeasing to God because they are not animated by the virtue which should sustain them, the virtue of obedience. Without obedience, their work,
which seems good in the eyes of people,
is only a body without a soul
and cannot be considered the work of a true religious. (Meditations for Sundays and Feasts
-5th Sunday After the Feast of Epiphany)

On the outside you appear good to everybody, but, inside you are full of hypocrisy and sins. (Mt 23:28)

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January 28th

St. Thomas Aquinas(1226-1274)

Truly Wise

St. Thomas was one of the greatest Doctors of the Church, and he enlightened it by the quite extraordinary and almost miraculous learning God gave him. In all the difficulties he met while studying or writing, he had recourse to prayer, and when this did not suffice to give him an understanding of what he wanted to know he added fasting. It was by these means that he acquired such great knowledge and became a miracle of learning.

The admirable thing is that, although so learned, he had no desire to be esteemed by others. Ah! how rare it is to find a man who excels in anything, who does not on that account have a higher opinion of himself.

It is by these three means - I mean
books,
prayer,
mortification -
that God wishes you to instruct yourselves in your state about what you need to know and teach others.(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

Do not be proud, but accept humble duties. Do not think of yourselves as wise.
(Rom 12:6)

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January 29th

St. Sulpice(died ca 592)

Radiate Christ’s Fragrance

This saint’s piety brought him a great reputation so that the king wished to have him in his company. Although it is difficult to preserve the spirit of religion in the midst of a court, this saint nevertheless behaved there in such a prudent manner that he radiated about him an atmosphere of piety which made him honoured by everyone.

Take care never to be among others without giving edification; be
well-mannered,
reserved and
self-controlled
that you may be looked upon as spreading the fragrance of Jesus Christ. So act that all your exterior appearance, all your words, and all your actions may inspire virtue.(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

Blessed is the one you choose and take to dwell in your courts.
(Ps 65:4)

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January 30th

God in Us

If we have esteem for worldly things, it should only be in so far as they relate to God, because we are rightly convinced that God is present in all things and that all things are nothing except in so far as God dwells in them.

From this it follows that we insult God dwelling in us when we do something which displeases him, and when we use our senses wrongly, seeking to please ourselves and not to please God who is the only one in whom we are to find all our pleasure and all our satisfaction.

In fact, we have
being,
movement, and
life
only because God is in us, and communicates them to us. So that if God were to cease for one moment to be within us or failed to give us being, we would instantly fall into nothingness.

(Mental Prayer)

“God is not far from any of us,
since we do not have life or movement or being
except in God.”
(Acts 17:28)

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January 31st

A Tranquil Countenance

In your own concerns, as a person of good judgment, you should always try to be even-tempered and display a serene countenance. Just as adversity should not cast you into dejection, prosperity should not make you unduly elated. You should maintain a tranquil countenance, which does not readily change its disposition or expression no matter what happens, agreeable or disagreeable.

People whose countenance change at every occasion that comes along are very disagreeable, and it is hard to put up with them.

·Sometimes they appear with a happy look on their faces,

·sometimes with a melancholy air.

·Sometimes they show plainly that they are upset;

·sometimes, that they are in a great hurry.

All this serves to reveal persons who have little virtue and who do not strive to keep their passions in check. This is a way of acting which shows little of the spirit of Christianity.

(Christian Politeness)

May the Lord let his face shine on you, and be gracious to you;
May the Lord look kindly on you and give you his peace.
(Num 6:25-26)