Today's second reading: "My brothers and sisters, show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. For if a man with gold rings and fine clothes comes into your assembly, and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say, 'Sit here, please, ' while you say to the poor one, 'Stand there,' or 'Sit at my feet,' have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil designs? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Did not God choose those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?"
De La Salle, The Conduct of the Christian Schools: "The Supervisor must make new teachers realize how important their obligation is to love all of the children with equal charity. . . ."
We are privileged to be able to teach those who are economically poor, according to the Network guidelines, as well as those who are impacted by the "new poverties" that Brother Alvaro described and were shared last week. I believe that we truly do love them all. But even within this large group, do we distinguish between students? Do we draw preferences because some do homework and some do not? Because some contribute in class, and some do not? Do we subtly show preferences by our seating charts? By how we prepare for particular students or parents at parent-teacher conferences?
De La Salle, The Conduct of the Christian Schools: "[The Inspector should see] that teachers apply themselves with as much, or even more, affection to teaching the poor as to teaching the rich . . . ."
Live, Jesus, in our hearts!