Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it will not bear fruit

A prayer by Saint Francis :


Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred . . . let me sow love
Where there is injury . . . pardon
Where there is doubt . . . faith
Where there is despair . . .hope
Where there is darkness . . . light
Where there is sadness . . .joy
Divine Master, grant that i may not so much seek to be consoled . . .as to console
To be understood . . .as to understand,
To be loved . . . as to love
For it is in giving . . .that we receive,
It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned,
It is in dying . . .that we are born to eternal life



"I have frequently been threatened with death. I must say that, as a Christian, I do not believe in death but in the resurrection. If they kill me, I shall rise again in the Salvadoran people."

- Oscar Romero, the martyred Archbishop of San Salvador.

The photo above shows Archbishop Romero on the day he was assasinated. This prophet for the Americas had laid down his life for his people. As Christians today, are we prepared to lay down our lives for God and neighbor? And not necessarily in the martyrdom of blood but in a dry martyrdom? Or are we absorbed with our own self-will? Are we preoccupied with gratifying our own needs and wants?

Are we prepared to bear fruit? Or will self-interest and self-preservation get in the way?

Paul