Lord, Make Me An Instrument Of Peace

Good Morning La Salle and De La Salle.

Let us remember that we are in the Holy Presence of a Loving God. 

Each year, Women’s History Month offers an important opportunity for us to shine a light on the extraordinary legacy of American women and girls who have built, shaped, and improved our Nation. 7 Ways to Celebrate Women's History Month - SheHeroes

Throughout American history, women and girls have made vital contributions, often in the face of discrimination and undue hardship.  Courageous women marched for and won the right to vote, campaigned against injustice, shattered countless barriers, and expanded the possibilities of American life.  Our history is also replete with examples of the unfailing bravery and grit of women in America, particularly in times of crisis and emergency.  Women served our Nation during World War II, led organizing and litigation efforts during the Civil Rights movement, and represented the United States on the global stage in the fight for human rights, peace, and security.  Far too often, their heroic efforts and their stories have gone untold — especially the millions of Black women, immigrant women, and others from diverse communities who have strengthened America across every generation.

839 Frontline Workers Illustrations & Clip Art - iStockIn our current moment of crisis, women continue to lead.  From vaccine researchers to public health officials to the countless heroines on the frontlines, women are working around the clock to defeat COVID-19.  Women, and particularly women of color, also make up the majority of America’s essential workers, including educators and child care providers, grocery store workers, farmworkers, and others who are keeping our families, our communities, and our country afloat.  This year has also marked a historic milestone of women’s leadership 232 years in the making, with the inauguration of America’s first woman Vice President.

As Women’s History Month comes to an end, let us honor, and continue to honor the accomplished and visionary women who have helped build our country, including those whose contributions have not been adequately recognized and celebrated.  And let us pay tribute to the trailblazers from the recent and distant past for daring to envision a future for which no past precedent existed, and for building a Nation of endless possibilities for all of its women and girls.

Let Us Pray,

Lord, make me an instrument of peace:

Bless all women who daily strive to bring peace to their communities, their homes and their hearts. Give them strength to continue to turn swords into plowshares.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love:

We pray for all women who face prejudice, inequality and gender disparities. Help us see and to face the discrimination against women in all the many forms it may take.

Where there is injury, pardon:

Comfort all women who suffer from the pain of war, violence, and abuse. Help them to become instruments of their own reconciliation and peace.

Where there is darkness, light:

Comfort all women who struggle in the darkness of poverty, and loneliness. May we stand with them in light to acknowledge their suffering and strive to remove the burdens of shame or embarrassment.

Where there is doubt,  faith:Faith Doubt Stock Illustrations – 132 Faith Doubt Stock Illustrations, Vectors & Clipart - Dreamstime

We pray for all women who live in fear of forces that control their lives. Help them to be empowered to be their true selves through your everlasting love and faith.

Where there is despair, hope:

We pray for all women who live in the despair of poverty, violence, trafficking, slavery, and abuse. May the light of your love bring them hope.

Where there is sadness, joy:

Help us to see the strength and goodness in all women and men.

Transform our hearts to celebrate the love and grace of all people.

And may we be blessed with the courage to follow our own path of love for you and all our sisters and brothers. 

Amen. St. John Baptist de La Salle….Pray for us. Live Jesus in our hearts…Forever

Morning Prayer:  Ms. Rebecca Burgess, Campus Minister

We Have So Much To Learn From Our Elders!

MORNING PRAYER:

Good Morning… Let us remember that we are in the Holy Presence of God…

This past Sunday, my grandfather turned 95-years-old. I called him and told him how I wish we could all spend the day together celebrating, but that we would see each other soon to mark this incredible milestone. 

When I think of our elders during this time, I think about all they have lived through, all they have seen and how sad it must be for them to be distanced from the things and people they love. My grandfather was born during the Great Depression. He witnessed recessions, booms, busts, growth, and prosperity. He’s been alive for 17 Presidents (and counting). He’s also witnessed loss, felt disappointment, sadness, and hurt. He didn’t just witness a World War, he fought in one, serving in the Navy on the USS Missouri during WWII. For those who are unfamiliar with the history of the USS Missouri, or the “Mighty Mo” as it’s nicknamed, it was the battleship that hosted the surrender of the Empire of Japan in 1945, thereby ending WWII. My grandfather was on the boat that day, all of 19-years-old, and is forever part of history. He has 5 children, 11 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-grandchild.

uss missouri emblem clipart USS Missouri (BB-63) Battleship clipart - Font, Product, Badge, transparent clip art

Though he has lived a great life, my grandfather is not big on legacy. Well maybe he is, but he never speaks in those terms. Some advice he has given me includes: “Don’t get married”, though he shared a wonderful marriage with my grandmother before she died in 2005. He loves telling a good story, (even if he’s already told it), yet always ends by shrugging and saying, “what’s it all about?”. And if you ask him how he is, he’ll usually respond sarcastically with “I’ll let you know.” Free What Cliparts, Download Free Clip Art, Free Clip Art on Clipart Library

I bear some commonalities with him, besides our familial resemblance. His name is John DeLeo, my dad and I are both Joe DeLeo, so we share the same initials. My grandfather got a license plate right after he came home from WWII with his initials on them: JD-767. When my dad went to college, he gave him the car that had this plate on it, and my dad drove with that plate for 40 years. When I bought my first car in college, my dad gifted me that plate. It is one of my most prized possessions, not because it bears my initials, but because it represents the love of a father to a son, and that son’s love to his son.

We have so much to learn from our elders. No, they do  not know about TikTok, but they know about other things and other technologies. No, they may not listen to Cardi B, but they appreciate music and good times. No, they may not move fast, but they appreciate the ability to move, to walk, to give someone a big hug, and to cook you your favorite meal. I bet you that during COVID lockdown, your grandparents handled the solitude the best! I know mine did, and again not because they had nowhere to go or nothing to do, but because they have seen struggles and strife and know that it is all going to be okay. I also value the fact that my grandparents are still safe, when many others were not.Grandparent Clipart {Creative Clips Clipart} by Krista Wallden - Creative Clips

We value and praise youth in society and what’s “new” but really, it is much more interesting to hear what our elders have to say. They were young once, and they had dreams and ambitions, in fact… they still might have dreams and ambitions! They remind us to never stop growing and learning. I am so fortunate to have 3 grandparents still alive. In fact, I’ll be taking my other two grandparents to CVS tonight so they can receive their second dose of the COVID vaccine. I hope you all have someone older in your lives that you can turn to for advice and for comfort. Listen to what they have to say, and cherish every moment that you get to spend with them. 

Let us pray… 

Dear God, thank you for our elders and for the gifts that they continue to give us. Please bless our grandparents for the life they gave to us, and for the ways they have helped us and made us stronger. Let us remember that they are some of our first teachers, and they continue to inspire us everyday. 

Saint John Baptist De La Salle… Pray for us…

Live Jesus in our Hearts… Forever!

March 16, 2021 Mr. Joseph DeLeo, Dance Instructor

Founder’s Day Prayer

Let us remember that we are in the Holy Presence of God

Recently a special friend of mine cued me in on some little known information on the origins of Lasallian education. It involves a man named Adrian Nyel, who was a layman providing education for the poor. His first call was at the convent of the teaching Sisters in Reims, France. And one day, an unnamed wealthy widow asked Nyel to see about founding a charity school for boys. I find it to be a beautiful coincidence that we celebrate our Founder’s Day the same time as Women’s History Month, because it was a woman who proposed that this school for poor boys be established.

St John Baptist De La Salle White Background, HD Png Download - kindpng Around the same time, born in 1651, our founder St. John Baptist DLS, a native of Reims, France, felt a call to serve God. DLS was named a canon of Reims Cathedral when he was 16, and was ordained a priest and became a doctor of theology by the time he was 29 years old. So, For the first 29 years of this man’s life, DLS thought that his mission was to – climb the church hierarchy.

That is until one day by pure chance DLS met with Adrian Nyel, and agreed to help Nyel establish the proposed school for poor boys. And they succeeded in hiring teachers and opening these schools, but shortly thereafter Nyel continued his own path and left Reims to open more schools elsewhere. SO then DLS was left as the lone leader of all these teachers. He set up a network of schools throughout France and, well the rest of the story is history — but also, the rest of the story is sitting right next to you. 

Artwork by Various Brothers - Black and White & Color – Lasallian Resource Center

I had said that Adrian Nyel met DLS by pure chance, but actually it was God’s hand that placed Nyel in DLS’s path. These may seem like coincidences only to us, because we can’t comprehend or predict the path that God, the greatest storyteller, has already written for us. It took 30 years for DLS to enter the world of education, and now 300 years later, here we are, honoring him everyday for something that he didn’t even know that he could do until God placed someone in his life like a train track that suddenly changes course no need to question no need to think — just do just follow, the shepherd and trust that he knows the way.

Let us pray,

Dear God, May we become more aware of the ways in which we can serve as your instruments in order to open possibilities for others that they had previously not thought possible. Dear God, I thank you for the people in this very building that you have placed on my journey in this life, that have set me on a path that I never would have known.

Dear God may we trust only your plan, and remain open everyday to the possibility of changing course. May we commit to our faith and our service to others and may we not worry about trying hard to find our purpose because God already has it in place – we need only submit and trust as our founder did. 

St. John Baptist de La Salle – Pray for us.

Live Jesus in our hearts – Forever.

Mr. Armondo Monge, Spanish Teacher, La Salle Academy, Providence, RI