Better Days BroDcast

In this episode, we're diving deeper into our previous topic on kindness. Let's reflect on how we are challenged to be kind in our world today. Cover art: AI-generated

Imagine a world where a simple act of kindness holds more value than money. (AI-generated cover art)

In this episode, we're going on a journey to explore the wonders of imagination. Episode cover photo by  Adam Nemeroff  on  Unsplash

Today, I celebrate the first anniversary of this podcast called Better Days BroDcast. My first podcast was entitled: When Prayerful Silence Sets the Day and it was published last July 16, 2020. I would like to thank you for your continued support and invite you to keep on listening to this podcast. I welcome you if you are new to this podcast. And yes, happy anniversary to us!  This podcast e...

Anthony of Padua was born of noble parents in Lisbon, Portugal, and entered the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine in that city at the age of 15. During the eight years that Anthony spent, in the more secluded monastery at Coimbra, which was a renowned center for biblical studies, he became a profound scholar. One biographer notes the irony in his popularity today, as a meek and sweet patron of pet...

Philip Neri was born in Florence, and from boyhood was noted for his combination of goodness and joy. At first, he led a quiet life of prayer, study, and penance. Philip is best known for founding the Congregation of the Oratory, which grew out of his use of a room for prayer, and for jovial entertainment of the young people of Rome. Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash

Bernardine was born of the noble Sienese family Albizeschi at Massa Marittima, where his father was governor. Orphaned at the age of six, he was raised by aunts. At school in Siena, he was outstanding for his intelligence, his goodness, and his popularity. At the age of 17, he began a life of service to the poor, and quiet spirituality. Four years later, he joined the Franciscans, and became activ...

De La Salle considers that the Apostle James, son of Alpheus, is the same James who was the first bishop of Jerusalem, martyred in 62 A.D., and the author of the Epistle. Some scholars however, hold that the Apostle bishop, and the author of the Epistle are two different people, but there is no confusion about Philip, as one of the first Apostles called by Jesus. The feast of these two Apostles wa...

Athanasius was born in Alexandria and received an excellent education in the classics and in the Scriptures.  He was very influential in opposing the heresy of Arius at the Council of Nicea. Later, as Patriarch of Alexandria, he continued his staunch defense of the true faith and endured exile three times. He wrote the Life of Saint Anthony , which had a great influence on the development and...

Catherine was born in Siena, the daughter of a wealthy wool dyer, Giacomo Benincasa. In adolescence, she was drawn to prayer and solitude, and became a problem for her mother, by resisting any suggestion either of marriage or of becoming a nun. A compromise was reached when she joined the Third Order of Saint Dominic at the age of 16. Catherine convinced Pope Gregory XI to leave Avignon in 1376, a...

Saint Anselm was born at Aosta in Piedmont. After a period of neglect of religion, he entered the Benedictine Order at the monastery of Bec, in Normandy, the center of the monastic revival in that part of France. He is a Doctor of the Church because of his writings in philosophy and theology, and because of his spirituality, which focuses on the sufferings of Christ. No doubt this orientation, whi...

The date of this feast was determined by the relation, between the feast of Christmas, and the visit of the Angel Gabriel to Mary, a period of nine months. From its inception, this feast was the celebration of the Incarnation of Christ, rather than the honor of the Most Blessed Virgin. This explains in part why Dela Salle focuses in his meditation more on the mystery of the Incarnation than on Mar...

De La Salle had a special love for Saint Joseph, developed undoubtedly as part of his training in the seminary of Saint Sulpice. Photo by Manuel Asturias on Unsplash

It is significant that De La Salle wrote this meditation, during the time when the Pope’s authority was being seriously challenged, over the issue of Jansenism, especially in France. The firm support of the Pope, illustrated by this meditation, is one of the chief characteristics of De La Salle’s teaching to the Brothers, and through them, to the students in the Christian Schools. (MTR) Photo by B...

Today this feast is referred to, as the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, which was the original focus of the celebration. As such, De La Salle’s meditation corresponds well in the second and third points. The day has also been called Candlemas Day from the time of the tenth century, because this was the day when candles were blessed and carried in procession, possibly a devotional practice b...

Thomas Aquinas was born in the castle of Rocca Secca, near Naples. He began his education at the nearby abbey of Monte Casino, and later attended the University of Naples. His Summa Theologica, published after his death, along with his other writings in 17 volumes, earned him the title of Doctor of the Church in 1567. Pope Leo XIII declared him the patron of all Catholic schools. He died on March...

A message for the Catholic Teachers Day / Lasallian Mentors Day: Who will be there for the students when they go online or go back to school?  Photo by Joel Fulgencio on Unsplash

Originally, this feast was a celebration of the transfer of the body of the Apostle Paul from the Appian Way, to the Ostian Way or, more likely, the transfer of a relic of the Apostle, to some church in Gaul around the tenth century, when the feast was first celebrated. Apparently the notion of the change from one place to another became the idea of Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. From...

Francis de Sales was born of a noble family at Annecy, in Savoy, France. While studying in Paris at the Jesuit College of Clermont, he made a vow of chastity. He studied law at the University of Padua from 1586 to 1591, earning a Doctor’s degree. Overcoming his father’s opposition, he became a priest in 1593, and six years later was appointed coadjutor to the bishop of Geneva. In due course, he be...

Saint Anthony is called the father of monasticism. The story of his life, written by his contemporary and friend, Saint Athanasius, is considered to be the first formal biography of a monk. (MTR) Photo by Connor Jalbert on Unsplash

This feast, now generally celebrated on the Sunday between January 2 and January 8, is known as the Epiphany because it originated in the Greek-speaking Near East, where the word means a showing or a manifestation. It is the feast of the manifestation to the world at large, in the person of the three Wise Men, of the majesty and the divinity of the newborn Savior. (MTR) Photo by Sergey Pesterev on...

Originally, this feast had a penitential character, as if in mourning for the massacre of the children. Perhaps this is why De La Salle stresses self-denial and mortification in his meditation. The feast dates back at least to the fifth century.  (MTR).  Photo by Fallon Michael on Unsplash

Although this meditation does not allude to the apostolic work of the Brothers, there is a relationship with the Brothers’ spirit of zeal in the meditation’s focus on love for Jesus. This meditation might be considered as a companion to the previous one on Saint Stephen, which focuses on the spirit of faith, for zeal is the second element of the spirit of the Institute. This feast is of very early...

De La Salle presents Saint Stephen to the Brothers as a model of the spirit of faith, which they had chosen under his guidance as the spirit of their Institute, not only for their own life but also as the purpose of their work with their students. This feast is of very early origin in the Church, at least as early as the fourth century.  Photo by Ismael Paramo on Unsplash

Just as the previous meditation reflects the basic Christological orientation of De La Salle’s spirituality, this meditation for Christmas, stresses the ascetical response to this Christology namely, the acceptance of poverty, and lowliness in imitation of the kenosis of Christ. However, De La Salle is careful to show the Brothers, how this spirit is wholly relevant to their educational work. Phot...