A very challenging thought:

Pope Francis said this in a homily, speaking about the story of Cain and Abel.

“Where is your brother?” Who is responsible for this blood?... Even today this question comes with force: Who is responsible for the blood of these brothers and sisters? No one! We all respond this way: not me, it has nothing to do with me, there are others, certainly not me. But God asks each one of us: “Where is the blood of your brother that cries out to me?” Today no one in the world feels responsible for this; we have lost the sense of fraternal responsibility; we have fallen into the hypocritical attitude of the priest and of the servant of the altar that Jesus speaks about in the parable of the Good Samaritan: We look upon the brother half dead by the roadside, perhaps we think “poor guy,” and we continue on our way, it’s none of our business; and we feel fine with this. We feel at peace with this, we feel fine! The culture of well-being, that makes us think of ourselves, that makes us insensitive to the cries of others, that makes us live in soap bubbles, that are beautiful but are nothing, are illusions of futility, of the transient, that brings indifference to others, that brings even the globalization of indifference. In this world of globalization we have fallen into a globalization of indifference. We are accustomed to the suffering of others, it doesn’t concern us, it’s none of our business.

Pray for Honduras this weekend that someone will be elected who will uphold human dignity, even for the most poor and desperate.

Do you want to be a Saint?

Those were to words spoken to the students today at Mass. Do we want to be Saints? Maybe not big "s" Saints, but maybe the little "s" saints. All be need has been given to us. We just need to open our hearts.

Today at school we celebrated All Saints Day. It was a lot of fun for the kids. They got to dress up as their favorite Saints…adorable. I am very much enjoying my time in the school. I have gotten to know my students better and finally established a routine (kind of). I am really learning that at the end of the day, I will never have finished my to-do list. But that’s okay. God is the one in charge so if I do the best I can, He will fill in the rest. It is important not to get so caught up in how much has to be done that you miss the blessings of the present moment. Below are some highlights from my first month as a teacher.

• In science we were learning about how humans affect an ecosystem. I put the students into pairs and gave each a bowl of water in which I had mixed coffee grounds, oil, and food coloring. I provided a random assortment of supplies and the students had to try and clean up the water "pollution." Wow! What a mess! But not a single one of them was just playing. They were really into the activity.
• In my religion class I had them write down five questions about anything relating to religion, faith, etc. Their questions were super deep! I am glad we are finally getting beyond the rote memorization of Sunday school when they were ten. Now I have my work cut out for me trying to answer them. The Catechism may become my best friend.
• Dressing up as St. Joan of Arc and seeing my students extremely excited that their teacher actually dressed up.
• Praying as a school. After years of public school (which I don't regret at all) it is refreshing to pray together as a whole school.
• Seeing the light bulb turn on when students finally understand something.