Day by Day with St. John Baptist de La Salle

November 1st

All Saints

The Prize of Victory

No matter what hope you can have to share in the glory of the saints, it will not have any effect unless you work to become a saint yourself by using the same means they used to achieve this.

They served as a spectacle to the world because of insults and ill-treatment; with joy they saw themselves despoiled of all their goods, knowing that they had more excellent goods that would never perish. Some were stoned, others sawed in two, some were put to death by the sword, others persecuted. All these saints were unwilling to rescue their present life, in order to find a better one in the resurrection.

Since, then, St. Paul adds, we are

“overwhelmed by a great cloud of witnesses who surround us,”

let us detach ourselves from everything that weighs us down, and prevents us from raising ourselves to heaven. Let us run with patience in this race which is open before us, and which is the only way we will reach the happiness of the saints.
(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

I keep striving to win the prize for which Jesus Christ has already won me to himself. (Phil 3:12)

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November 2nd

The Commemoration of the Souls in Purgatory

Remember Me

“It is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be delivered form their sins.” (2 Macc 12)

This is, indeed, one of the best and most holy instructions that can be given to us, because it leads us to do what is most advantageous for the souls in purgatory. Since they cannot help themselves, they need to be assisted by the

·prayers and

·good works

of the living.

The Church, our common Mother, overlooks nothing to inspire us with this zeal in favour of her suffering children for whom she is full of tenderness. We should unite with her to offer God our prayers and the holy sacrifice of the Mass to obtain from God the prompt deliverance of these suffering souls. They, in their turn, once they are in heaven, will be able to secure for us many graces by their prayers, so that we also may one day share their happiness.
(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other as different parts of one body. (Rom 12:5)

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November 3rd

St. Marcellinus(5th Century)

Support The Weak

When the bishop of Paris died, the holy life of St. Marcellinus caused him to be chosen to replace him. It was in this exalted responsibility that he showed how great was his zeal for the salvation of souls. He did not cease to pray and keep watch to help the ones who needed conversion, and to draw on others the graces needed for them to be strong in the practice of good and to advance in virtue.

In one sense it can be said that each of you is a bishop, that is, the vigilant guardian of the flock God has entrusted to you. The soul of each one of those you guide is infinitely dear to God.

You have two sorts of children to instruct;

·some are disorderly and inclined to evil;

·the others are good, or at least inclined to be good.

Pray continually for both, especially for those who have evil inclinations. Try to strengthen and preserve the good ones in the practice of virtue but let your chief efforts and most fervent prayers be directed to win over to God the hearts of those who are prone to evil.
(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

I have shown you in all things that by working hard in this way we must help the weak. (Acts 20:35)

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November 4th

St. Charles Borromeo(1538-1584)

Follow Through

St. Charles’ zeal for the salvation of souls was incomparable. Inconceivable as it may be, he wanted to be informed in writing every year about the conduct of every person in his diocese, so that he might exercise all the care possible to procure their salvation. He wanted the parish priests of his diocese

·to come to the assistance of the dying and

·to be present at their last hour,

the moment when a soul has the greatest need of help.

But the zeal of St. Charles stood out most surprisingly when the city of Milan was attacked by the plague. From the beginning he sacrificed himself to bring help to the victims of the epidemic. He administered the sacraments to them in spite of great fatigue and danger, constantly exposing himself to death.

Compare your zeal for the sanctification of your disciples with that of this great saint. Watch over them with as much attention as St. Charles kept watch over all the members of his diocese.
(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

How long is the lazy man going to lie in bed? When is he ever going to get up? (Prov 6:9)

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November 5th

Cursing and Swearing

There are some people who seem to glory in displaying their ireligious spirit in what they say

·by mingling the words of Holy Scripture with profane things,

·by mocking and making fun of sacred things and religious practices, or

·by bragging about their sins and infamous deeds.

These are the very people of whom the Wise Man says that their conversations are intolerable because they make a game and a joke of sin itself.

Cursing and blasphemy are among the greatest faults you can commit against the laws of decorum. Take care not to have God’s name constantly on your lips. You must not pronounce the names of God and of his saints irreverently and without good reason.

You should limit yourself, as Jesus Christ advises you in the Gospel, to saying, “This is so.” or “This is not so.” If you wish to add some emphasis to your words, it is sufficient to say something like “I assure you that this is how it is.”
(Christian Politeness)

Do not get used to swearing, taking the name of the Holy One. (Eccl 23:9)

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November 6th

Healing Prayer

Prayer, says St. Chrysostom, is a divine medicine which

·drives out of our hearts all the malice it finds there and

·fills them with all justice.

This is why if we wish to deliver ourselves from sin completely, we cannot do anything better than to devote ourselves to prayer.

In fact, no matter how many sins a person who loves prayer commits, he still has, even in the midst of a very great disordered life, a quick and easy recourse, which is prayer, in order to obtain the grace of repentance and pardon.

Ask God, then, to grant you a pure heart that has an aversion not only for the most grievous sins, but also for whatever can stain your conscience.

(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

I wound and I heal,

And no one can oppose what I do. (Dent 32:39)

November 7th

Uprooting the Defects Found in New Teachers

1. Talking too Much

When new teachers talk uselessly, the Supervisor must call their attention to this defect, without delay, perhaps right at the end of the class, pointing out the uselessness of the words and explaining at the same time what ought to have been done.

New teachers must learn when it is really necessary to speak and when it is not. They must be corrected if they do anything in school which shows thoughtlessness. They must not laugh and they should not make the students laugh. They should not do anything
improper or
ridiculous, or
that can arouse the laughter of others.
(Conduct of Schools)

He sets the time for silence and the time for talk. (Eccl 3:7)

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November 8th

A Religious Community

Jesus Christ says that when the abomination of desolation will be in the holy place, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. No one can question that a community is a holy place, that the Lord is truly in this place and this place is the house of God and the gate of heaven.

This is true since God’s name is so often invoked there and since those who dwell there are together there only to save themselves through the sanctification of their souls.

This is the first purpose you should have had when you entered this community and what ought to keep you there. It is for this end that we live withdrawn from the world and why we commit ourselves to all kinds of exercises of piety. How little sense you would have had if you had come here with any other purpose.

·Have you come to this house as to the house of the Lord?

·Did you come here in order to sanctify yourself?

·Is the main effort you make in this house to take the means to become holy?

Pray God to preserve his Holy Spirit always in your community.
(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts
-24th Sunday After Pentecost)

Thy decrees are very sure; holiness befits thy house, O Lord, for evermore.
(Ps 93:5)

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November 9th

The Latest Fashions

Fashion is what people call the style in which clothes are made at a given time. Since the human spirit is prone to change, and the things that pleased us yesterday no longer do so today, there have been invented, and there are still being invented every day, all sorts of different ways of dressing to satisfy the changing spirit. Those who would want to dress as people did thirty years ago would make themselves look ridiculous and eccentric. It is, however, characteristic of the conduct of people of good judgement never to attract attention to themselves in any way.

The way to set limits on fashion in clothing is to submit and reduce style to a matter of modesty. This ought to be the rule of conduct for the Christian in everything that concerns external appearance. To be modestly dressed, you should not have any appearance of
luxury or
vanity.
You will show by the modesty of your clothing the wisdom and simplicity of your soul.
(Christian Politeness)

Your beauty should consist of your true inner self, the ageless beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of the greatest value in God’s sight. (1 Pet 3:4)

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November 10th

St. Leo Pope(died 461)

Gentleness and Wisdom

The gentleness and wisdom of St. Leo were admirable and won for him the esteem of even the most uncivilized.

Later, when he became Pope, the emperor begged him to meet and plead with Attila, King of the Goths, encamped before Rome and ready to besiege it, in order to get him to give up his plan. The saint acquitted himself of this mission with so much wisdom and eloquence that this barbarian prince was led to withdraw and leave Italy in peace.

Is it in this way, by

·your gentleness and

·your wisdom,

that you lead those entrusted to your care to give up bad habits and disorderly conduct and to devote themselves to piety? These two means joined to prayer are often more effective on souls than any other method you could imagine.
(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

Kindly words are a honeycomb,
sweet to the taste,
wholesome to the body.
(Prov 16:24)

November 11th

St. Martin of Tours(ca 315-397)

Good - Hearted

While still quite young St. Martin became a soldier and was a soldier until he was 40. But he showed still greater enthusiasm to enrol in the army of Christ. Although his father was an unbeliever, Martin had his name entered in the Church on the list of catechumens when he was only eleven years old. Afterwards he devoted himself to piety and to the service of God.

He had, especially, great tenderness for the poor. Once, when still in the military, he cut his cloak in two and gave half to a naked beggar who had asked him for some clothes. The following night, Jesus Christ appeared to him wearing the same half cloak and said:

“See! Martin, though still but a catechumen, has clothed me with this mantle.”

You who are enrolled in the army of Christ, are in his service, and, as it were, on his payroll, do you have the service of God as much at heart as St. Martin did? Are you also as charitable toward the poor as he, even though he was still only a catechumen?
(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink, naked and you clothed me. (Mt 25:35-36)

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November 12th

Sing to the Lord

Singing can help you considerably to relax your mind in a very agreeable and a most innocent manner.

Decorum, however, as well as religion, requires that as a Christian you do not allow yourself to sing every sort of song and that you be especially on your guard not to sing indecent songs or those where the words are too explicit or contain double meanings. In a word, it is very unbecoming for a Christian to sing songs

·which might lead to impiety,

·which glorify loose living, or

·which suggest that it is a great pleasure to drink to excess.

Such words may strongly contribute to having someone else fall into such excesses. Songs can move you more strongly than do mere words.

St. Paul tells us precisely what Christians should sing: psalms, hymns, and spiritual canticles. You should sing these with all your heart and with great affection because they contain the praises of God.
(Christian Politeness)

Sing to the Lord, all the world! Worship the Lord with joy; come before him with happy songs! (Ps 100:1-2)

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November 13th

Before You Go To Mass

Consider that the fruit you will derive from holy Mass will depend very must on the dispositions with which you assist at it.

Purity of heart and of the affections is the best disposition we can bring to this action.

When you go to Mass, do you go as to Calvary to renew what happened there, since it is the same sacrifice and the same Jesus Christ who is about to do for you individually what he did on the cross for all mankind?

Here are things to think about before going to Mass. Never forget to form an intention. In the first place, Mass

·is a holocaust,
in acknowledgement of God’s sovereign dominion over us. The Mass
·is also the Eucharist,
by which we return thanks for all God’s gifts. Mass
·is likewise a propitiation
by which we ask pardon for our sins, and a petition for all necessary graces.

We may also have some special intention when assisting at Mass, and even change it every day or every week according to our needs.
(Collection)

The Son of Man will be handed over to those who will kill him. Three days later, however, he will rise to life. (Mk 9:31)

November 14th

Before Holy Communion

What are your dispositions and with what purity of heart and intention do you go to Holy Communion?

You can easily make the four following considerations before approaching the holy table, to place your heart in the condition in which it ought to be for so holy an action.

·The first is, “What am I about to do?”

·The second is, “Who am I compared with almighty God?”

·The third is, “Why do I wish to approach the altar to receive him?”

·The fourth is, “How, and for what reason, should I receive Holy Communion to day?”

Do you approach the holy table with the same dispositions you would wish to have on entering heaven? Surely we should not have less respect in receiving Jesus Christ than in being received by him.
(Collection)

You cannot eat at the Lord’s table and also at the table of demons. (1 Cor 10:21)

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November 15th

Self Willed

As for those who are bold and insolent, it would be a good thing to reprimand them sometimes in private for their faults. Such admonishment must always be administered with seriousness and in a manner which will keep them respectful.

Those who are heedless and frivolous must be punished a little. Ordinarily, they do not reflect much, and a short time after having been corrected they sometimes fall again into the same fault. Their faults do not come from pure malice but from thoughtlessness. They must be treated in a way which may prevent them from misbehaving. They should be placed between two students of a sedate disposition. They should also be given some rewards from time to time to make them assiduous and fond of school.

(Conduct of Schools)

My brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in any kind of wrongdoing, those of you who are spiritual should set him right; but you must do it in a gentle way.
(Gal 6:1)

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November 16th

St. Margaret, Queen of Scotland(ca 1046-1093)

Children of God

St. Margaret’s principal care was to govern her household properly and to make sure that all who belonged to it revered and loved God. She even became the teacher of her children, teaching them to read. She devoted herself to their education as her supreme duty, regarding it as the most pleasing thing she could do for God. For the same reason this was likewise the first object of her prayers.

This saint is a great example of what you should do for the children God has entrusted to you. Consider this an honour for you and
look upon the children
as the children of God himself.
Have much more care for their education and instruction than you would have for the children of a king.

·Do you love them?

·Do you honour Jesus Christ in their persons?

(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

Pay attention to what your father and mother tell you, my son. Their teaching will improve your character. (Prov 1:8-9)

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November 17th

St. Elizabeth of Hungary(1207-1231)

Discomforts

The piety of St. Elizabeth was so great that from the age of five she took no pleasure except to be in church or in her room in order to pray there to God.

The saint was also very mortified. Every day she took the discipline. When the king, her husband, was away she wore a hair shirt continually; when she went to church she knelt with both her bare knees on the ground. It was also in a spirit of mortification that she took great pleasure serving lepers. In a spirit of penance she also wore very simple clothing made of very ordinary material.

There are many people who would like to have piety,
and they often pray to God even with affection and fervour,
but they have to have all their comforts.
If they have something to suffer, right away they complain, and everybody must commiserate with them. How can such people desire so much to suffer nothing, seeing a queen love so firmly to mortify herself?

Let mortification serve as a seasoning for all that you do for God. Be assured that to live without the spirit of penance and of mortification is not to live as a true Christian.
(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

Happy are those who mourn; God will comfort them! (Mt 5:4)

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November 18th

New Teachers

7. Teacher’s Pets

The Supervisor must make teachers realise that particular friendships give rise to many serious problems, both for those who are thus cajoled and caressed and for those who are not. The former try to take advantage of this preference in order to do wrong; they later

·become insolent,

·lose all respect and

·no longer pay any attention to the teacher.

The others often grow jealous and conceive sentiments of hatred and aversion for their teacher and for the students who they think are favoured more than themselves.
(Conduct of Schools)

He will rule the peoples of the world with justice and fairness. (Ps 98:9)

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November 19th

Fruits of His Birth

The first fruit which must be produced in us is a great horror of sin, in view of the fact that the Son of God abased and humiliated himself and made himself a child in order to destroy sin by His sufferings.

The second, a great confidence that we shall obtain from God the pardon for our sins, provided we have a real regret for them with the resolution not to commit them willingly any more.

The third, a great love for Our Lord and a tender devotion toward Him considered as Infant God, born through love for us.

The fourth, a great detachment from riches and honours, when we consider the Son of God being born in this world so poor and in such humility.

(Mental Prayer)

Let us praise God for his glorious grace, for the free gift he gave us in his dear Son! (Eph 1:6)

November 20th

Last Will And Testament

I commend to God first of all my soul, and next all the Brothers of the Society of the Christian Schools to whom he has united me. I recommend them above all things to have always an entire submission to the Church, especially in these distressing times, and in order to give proof of this, never to be at variance with Our Holy Father the Pope and the Church of Rome.

I also recommend them to have

·a great devotion to Our Lord,

·a great love for Holy Communion and the exercise of prayer, and

·a special devotion to the Most Blessed Virgin and to St. Joseph, the patron and protector of their Society;

·to acquit themselves of their work with zeal and unselfish generosity;

·to maintain an intimate union among themselves and unquestioning obedience to their superiors,

which is the foundation and support of all perfection in a community.
(Letters)

And now, my brothers and sisters, goodbye! Strive for perfection; listen to my appeals; agree with one another; live in peace. And the God of love and peace be with you. (2 Cor 13:11)

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November 21st

Decisiveness, Authority and Firmness

New teachers must learn to walk into the classroom with a deliberate and serious air, head held high, looking over all the students with a self-assured manner, as though they had been teaching for thirty years. A new teacher must not show any timidity.

To establish authority, teachers should not tolerate that any student speak to them out loud, without permission, or in a disrespectful manner. Teachers should not show much favouritism or partiality in general. They should speak little, and do so only with
poise,
assurance and
firmness,
and insist that their orders be carried out. Firmness consists in making the students do what is wanted immediately and with no delay. A student who does not do right away what the teacher requires must be corrected until what is required is done, and done correctly.

The Supervisor shall let the teachers exercise full authority in their duties, giving them to understand that they should act in all things as though the Supervisor was not present.
(Conduct of Schools)

Do not lose your courage, then, because it brings with it a great reward.
(Heb 10:35)

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November 22nd

Where Your Treasure Is

The manner in which Jesus Christ says we should love God requires of us a great courage.

To love God with all your heart and with all your soul is truly to sacrifice your life for God, to spend it only for him. This is what you can do in your profession and your work, not being concerned whether you die in a few years, provided you save yourself and win souls for God.

They will help you to rise to heaven because you

·have helped them procure admittance there,

·have taught them how to enter, and

·have helped them take all possible means of doing so.

God has put us in this world only for himself; he thinks constantly of us and has given us a mind that can think of him. Jesus Christ, then has reason to say that we must love God with all our minds.

Nothing shows better that we love another person than when we cannot help thinking about that person. How happy you would be if all your thoughts tended only to God. Then you would really have found your paradise in this world.
(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

This is what love is: it is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven. (1 Jn 4:10)

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November 23rd

Eyes of Flesh and Nature

We may see things with the eyes of the flesh. This is to look upon them only according to their external appearance, and because of the pleasure felt in their enjoyment. For example, we look upon eating as a very good thing because
it is agreeable to the taste, and
we take pleasure in it.

We may see things with the eyes of nature. This is to look upon them according to our natural likes or dislikes. Thus, for instance, we might eat something not for the sensual pleasure it might give, but
because we feel inclined to eat it;
or we might abstain from eating something
because we feel a distaste for it.
(Collection)

The eyes are like a lamp for the body. If your eyes are sound, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eyes are no good, your body will be in darkness.
(Mt 6:22-23)

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November 24th

Rewards on Earth

It is indeed a great glory for you to instruct your disciples about the truths of the Gospel solely for the love of God. It was this thought that made the Teacher of the Nations always find consolation and filled him with overflowing joy in the midst of all his afflictions.

You, too, must consider it a great reward for yourselves, the consolation you will feel at the bottom of your hearts, that the children whom you instruct are well-behaved, know their religion well, and live a life of piety.

You can expect yet another reward which God will give you in advance in this life if you devote yourselves generously to your duty and if through zeal you have known well how to give your disciples a foundation in the Christian spirit. This is the very special satisfaction you will have when they grow up and you see them

·living with justice and piety,

·keeping free from evil associations, and

·performing good deeds.

Thank God with all your heart for all these kinds of rewards that he gives you in advance in this life.
(Meditations for Time of Retreat)

But you must be strong and not be discouraged. The work that you do will be rewarded. (2 Chron 15:7)

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November 25th

St. Catherine, Virgin & Martyr (4th Century)

The Word of God is Alive and Active

Converted to the faith in her early youth, St. Catherine found a solid way to preserve her faith in the reading of the holy books and she mastered them perfectly. As a result when some persons wanted to dissuade her from practicing the religion she had embraced, none of them ever succeeded. She was even so strong in her faith that, after she was arrested by order of the emperor, and he saw how she spoke with such energy concerning her religion, he assembled the philosophers and most learned people in Alexandria to refute her. But all they got out of the arguments they had with her was the embarrassment of being overcome by a young woman.

See how important it is for you to know Holy Scripture well. Holy Scripture enlightens the mind with that divine light which St. John says enlightens everyone who comes into this world.

Often meditate on the words of Holy Scripture to encourage yourself to do what is right.
(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It judges the desires and thoughts of man’s heart. (Heb 4:12)

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November 26th

Sayings Of the Gospel

It is not enough to procure for children the Christian spirit and teach them the mysteries and doctrines of our religion. You must also teach them the practical maxims of the Gospel. But since their minds are not yet sufficiently able to understand and practise these maxims by themselves, you must serve as visible angels for them in two things.

First, you must help them understand the maxims as they are set forth in the Gospel.

Secondly, you must guide their steps along the way that leads them to put these maxims into practice.

For this they need visible angels who by their instructions and by their good example, will encourage them to appreciate and practise these maxims. You must win them to practise the maxims and to do this you must give them means which are
easy and
accommodated to their age.
(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

For if the gospel we preach is hidden, it is hidden only from those who are being lost. (2 Cor 4:3)

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November 27th

The Just Judge

The main reason why the just themselves will fear while awaiting the Last Judgement is that we will have to give an account
·not only of the idle words we have spoken,
·but even of the good works we have performed.
God will probe them to see if they were truly good, and whether anything defective can be found in them.

Who of us, then, will not fear God’s Judgement? Let us constantly strive to free ourselves of our defects, for we cannot know either the day or the hour when we shall die. Those whose life span is so uncertain should not delay to take the steps needed to insure their salvation.
(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts
-1st Sunday of Advent )

There is nothing that can be hidden from God, everything in all creation is exposed and lies open before his eyes. And it is to him that we must all give an account of ourselves. (Heb 4:13)

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November 28th

Learning the Alphabet and Reading

Back to Basics

It must be noted that it is of very great importance that students should study the alphabet until it is known perfectly. Otherwise, they will never be able to read well and the teachers who will later be in charge of them will have great difficulty.

Care must be taken that the students when reading pronounce all the letters well especially those that are at times difficult to pronounce well. Teachers should apply themselves particularly to the correction of bad accents that are peculiar to the locality.

Teachers will take care that readers open their mouths well and not pronounce the letters between the teeth. They should not read

·too rapidly,

·too slowly, or

·with any tone or manner that savours of affectation, but should speak with a very natural tone.

(Conduct of Schools)

Pay attention to your teacher and learn all you can. (Prov 23:12)

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November 29th

Preparing Hearts

Why, do you think, did Jesus Christ praise St. John the Baptist so highly? It was

·to lead the people to accept his teaching, and

·to make them understand that what John had said about himself was true;

that St. John had been sent to prepare their hearts to receive Jesus Christ himself and to profit by his teachings. This saint began by living a life of seclusion, prayer, and penance, to practise what he wanted to teach others, and thus to dispose his own heart to receive the fullness of the Spirit of God.

Because you have to prepare the hearts of others for the coming of Jesus Christ, you must first of all dispose your own hearts to be entirely filled with zeal, in order to render your words effective in those whom you instruct.
(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

I do not judge as people judge. They look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart. (1 Sam 16:7)

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November 30th

St. Andrew, Apostle

The First Call

St. Andrew, who was for a while a disciple of St. John the Baptist, became a follower of Jesus Christ when Our Lord called him. As soon as he knew Jesus, he brought his brother, Peter, to Our Lord. This new disciple, not satisfied with taking care of his own salvation, was already trying to bring others to become disciples of Jesus Christ, who always showed him a special affection and often had him for his companion.

You have been called just as the apostles were to make God known, and you need great zeal for this. Ask God for a share in the zeal of St. Andrew,

·look upon him as your model, and

·proclaim Jesus Christ and his holy truths without growing weary.

For this purpose you need to have learned these truths from Jesus Christ by being often in his company through your assiduity in prayer.

(Meditations for Sundays and Feasts)

At once he found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah.” Then he took Simon to Jesus. (Jn 1:41-42)