Sep 21, 2024 fr.jayLucas+

I work in an inner city school that is considered the least in the society but working among these educated individuals who impact these children day and night, I have encountered boys and girls with big hearts. There are always the black sheep but not as many as there are angels that I have encountered in that precious school. 

Last week I had an encounter with one of my little ones who was caught up fighting and after a long rough and loving lecture with the dean of discipline, he was sent to me for more spiritual talk. 

He was calm but I could tell he could be rude and very much angered but in my discussion about why he fought his fellow student, he told me it was the other student who started to trouble him and he chose to end it by boxing him on his face. 

In my talk with him, I gave him the story of Jesus in the temple when the people from his community angrily drove him out of the synagogue 

‘All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.” (Luke 4:28-30)

“No matter how much someone provokes you, you are responsible for your behaviour.

Disengage, refuse to discuss, back off, leave the room, ignore.

Do whatever it takes whenever someone is poking you with a stick. Remind yourself that it is their problem.

You’re too good to let their trivial babble get to you.

Talk yourself down. Leaving is always preferable to fighting.

Please don’t let them drag you down to their level.”