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Scripture:

James 1:1-11
Mark 8:11-13

Reflection:

During this past week, my family and I have been engrossed in the Olympic Games. Not only have the competitions, medal counts and uniforms caught our attention but also the stories of the athletes.  We hear that these athletes have been training since they were very young. Despite trials, hard times, broken bones, and homesickness, they persevered to attain their goal of becoming an Olympic athlete. The stories are truly inspiring.

In today’s first reading, we begin at the start of the Letter of James. Immediately after his greeting, he dives into the importance of trials and perseverance in our faith. “Consider it all joy my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” James 1:2

We need perseverance to continue to grow in our lives and faith. As everyone knows, we have or will encounter trials often. Whether it be the loss of a job, illness, death of a loved one, or spiritual dryness; all of these trials and more can test our faith.

During these trying times in my life, I have always referred back to the saying “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” Not particularly poetic, but there is some truth to it. Many of these trials do not kill us, but produce perseverance and endurance within us to run the race and fight the good fight. These trials remind us of the great grace, mercy and love that is bestowed on us by Christ.

From the example of the Olympic athletes, we know that this perseverance is not gained overnight. It is nurtured by a daily commitment to your passion. And in order to grow in our relationship with God, we must have passion for our faith. Making the daily effort to nurture this gift of faith will help to keep up our endurance and keep our eyes focused on Jesus.

So like these athletes, let us work hard towards our goals. “We will run and not grown weary, for our God will be our strength and we will fly like an eagle, we will rise again. We Will Rise Again.” David Haas

Kim Valdez is a former Pastoral Associate at Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center in Houston, Texas.

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Scripture:

Malachi 3:1-4
Hebrews 2:14-18
Luke 2:22-40

Reflection:

In our reading of the Scriptures, especially the Gospels, we probably associate some of the parables, or the infancy narratives, or the account of the events of Holy Week, with our own personal piety and devotion. Some biblical passages resonate in our experience and in our hearts more than others.

Who can read the infancy narratives of the gospel of Luke and not feel the wonder of the shepherds at the birth of a redeemer King? Or who can read the events surrounding the Sermon on the Mount, with its proclamation of the Beatitudes, and not feel challenged to be more loving, patient and forgiving of one’s neighbor? Or who can read the events of the Passion Narratives, and not feel the sorrow of a family experiencing the imminent death of one of them?

For me, the passage of the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple is the clearest and most compelling affirmation of the value of life (yes, you may substitute “pro-life” here) that the Scriptures offer us.

This passage profoundly and reverently gathers together the wisdom of age, the aspirations of a young family, and the religious traditions that give value to the life and days of each member of the scenario.

Jesus is helpless; he is carried in the arms of his father and mother to be presented in the Temple, along with the ritual offering which entitles the parents to bring him home and raise him, that he may “grow in wisdom and age.”

Helpless though he may be, totally dependent on his parents for his survival, he is, nevertheless, the promised and covenanted savior. It is he who, nestled in the womb of his mother, was carried to the house of Elizabeth, and introduced to her unborn child, who is John the Baptist, and who is said to have lept for joy at the pre-natal encounter with Jesus.

Now, in the gospel passage, forty days after his birth, he is brought to the Temple for a ritual that acknowledges that all life comes from God, and all beings belong to the Lord, more than to their parents. Hence, the ritual includes the symbolic “ransom” of the child through the prescribed offering, so that the parents may return with the child to their home.

Surely Mary is re-living all that has happened to her in the past year. The visit from the Angel Gabriel, the fear that Joseph might repudiate her; the validation of her “yes” to God’s in the eventual birth of her child. And Joseph, the stalwart, faith-filled man of honor, who takes Mary as his wife, with only a remembered dream upon which to base his life-long fidelity to his cherished fiancee.

But they are not alone in the temple. Simeon and Ana each have special roles to play in the narrative of the Presentation. Simeon is an old man, but the Holy Spirit was upon him; and he had been promised by God that he would not die until he had welcomed the Savior that all of Israel had anticipated. That moment had arrived, his life was fulfilled in its old age.

Ana, an old woman, a widow, and someone who had spent her widowhood waiting for the Savior of Israel to appear recognizes in the child Jesus the fulfillment of her life’s greatest hopes. …she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

Ana, an old woman, begins the Church’s perennial mission of evangelization; she goes about speaking “about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.”

There is no stage of life that is removed from the divine plan of salvation. God’s purpose is calling us into life is for the sake of the redemption of the world. No one is exempted from this finality.

The recently born child Jesus, the mother who bore him in her womb, the father who accepted the responsibility of fatherhood, the senior citizens of the Temple crowd who were able to see in the ordinariness of this one couple with their child, the fulfillment of God’s plan for the people—it all speaks of the importance of each life in the design of God’s plan for the human family.

The human family has always been able to justify the taking of human life. There is nothing godly about that. It is the willingness to accept all human life, whether unborn, born, prospering or dying as the medium of God’s presence among us, that sets us apart from those for whom a new life is an inconvenient incursion into my carefully laid plans for myself.

As long as the taking of any human life, whether unborn, just-born, young, middle-aged or old, bothers us, disturbs our tranquility and drives us to look for alternatives to such a decision, and for ways to heal those who have felt the compulsion to make such decisions, we are not far from the Kingdom of God.

Fr. Arthur Carrillo, C.P.  is the director of the Missions for Holy Cross Province.  He lives in Chicago, Illinois. 

Scripture:

1 Kings 2:1-4, 10-12
Mark 6:7-13

Reflection:

The gospel reading today is taken from the Gospel of Mark and portrays Jesus summoning his twelve apostles and sending them out on mission, two by two.  Throughout the preceding chapters of his Gospel, Mark has described the extraordinary healing ministry of Jesus himself. In the first chapter, Jesus begins by liberating a man stricken with “an evil spirit” that had caused him to convulse and be tormented with pain.  Jesus drives out the demon and liberates this human being, restoring him to health and dignity.  A string of healings follows in the village of Capernaum where Jesus would make his home base in the house of Peter and his family.  Peter’s mother-in-law is healed and raised up to renew her life of service.  The crowds come bringing their sick relatives and friends to be healed, blocking the door of the home where Jesus is teaching.  A leper, banned from mingling with the healthy, dares to come to Jesus and asks to be healed.  Jesus touches him and restores him to health and to his community.  Men come, carrying their paralyzed friend on a mat and letting him down through the roof so Jesus can touch him and heal him—and he does, while praising their faith.

Mark could not be more insistent that the mission of Jesus is to liberate people from the grip of pain and death and to restore them to life and dignity.  So it is no surprise that Jesus, who had called his disciples to “be with him” and to be “fishers of people” as he was, sends them out on a mission like his: “to anoint with oil many who were sick and cure them.”  “Healing” is the most profound and comprehensive way of describing the Christian mission to the world.

Anyone who has suffered a serious illness or fought the ravages of an addiction knows that such experiences are not simply physical but touch every level of our being: our bodies, our minds and our spirits, our family and social life, our work and profession.  To be “healed” cannot be confined to the physical level.  And in many instances, we may be physically healthy but suffer afflictions that are mental or spiritual: bouts of depression, lingering anger and resentment at past hurts, and so on.  Because of the depth and scope of the human experience of suffering like this, “healing” becomes a way of expressing what we are called to do as followers of Jesus, just as Jesus commissioned his first followers to go out and heal.

In a now famous metaphor, Pope Francis has described the church as a “field hospital,” set up to accept the wounded and to heal them.  In a recent article in The Chicago Catholic, the archdiocesan newspaper, Cardinal Cupich reflected on this image and noted that the “medicine” distributed in this field hospital is none other than God’s mercy.  Reaching out in word and deed to bring God’s mercy to those in need is at the heart of the Church’s mission to the world.  Such healing takes place in a wide variety of ways: professional healing through the medical arts and technology, wise counsel from a therapist or parent, efforts to bring justice and equity to the marketplace, striving to reconcile with those we may have offended, comforting those who mourn or feel lost.  In all these ways, we continue the healing ministry of Jesus, driving out evil and bringing healing and peace.

Fr. Donald Senior, C.P. is President Emeritus and Professor of New Testament at Catholic Theological Union.  He lives at the Passionist residence in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago.

Scripture:

2 Samuel 24:2, 9-17
Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 6, 7
Mark 6:1-6

Reflection:

Do you ever wonder what Jesus was like as a kid? I do.

I wonder if he walked around in flowing robes blessing people. If Mary and Joseph ever ran out of food, did Jesus just miracle up all the wine and fish and bread he wanted? When one of his buddies hurt himself in the playground, did Jesus touch and heal the sore? And in school, when asked a question, did he answer in eloquent and perfectly crafted parables?

Or, I wonder if he was the Class Clown, like me?

I imagine Jesus had to learn to walk, like the rest of us. He probably made mistakes growing up. Maybe he lost some friends, and even had to deal with human emotions and fears. I can hardly begin to understand what he must have had to process as he himself began to understand who he was, and what he could do, and what he was going to have to do.

He must have had a hard time accepting who he was, and his mission.

The Gospel has Jesus in his hometown, revealing himself to the people who know him best. They’ve seen him grow from that little guy learning to walk and making mistakes, and now he’s calling himself a prophet and teaching in the synagogue with great wisdom and might! The people in his city, his neighbors, know him as the kid down the block… just an ordinary carpenter, and yet he teaches in the synagogue as one with learning and power. He could not possibly, in their eyes, be a prophet. Their lack of faith, though, limits his ability to perform any “mighty deeds” that reveal the presence of God’s kingdom in their midst.

I’ll bet they had a hard time accepting who he said he was, and his mission.

The people in today’s Gospel were a lot like me. Here is the Son of God himself, standing right in front of them, talking to them. God comes to heal the sick, bring sight to the blind, shower peace and love to all people, share the message of Eternal Life, and these folk were just too closed to see him at work in their lives. In fact they were so angry, they refused to let him do any mighty deed there, tying the hands of God, refusing all the love and grace Jesus offers!

There’s quite a foreshadowing of Jesus’ end of life in today’s Gospel. It begins with people praising him and being amazed at his speaking and depth, but ends with them taking offense at him. First loved and accepted, but then pushed away. It’s like those who praised Jesus on Palm Sunday, and became the same people that would scream “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

And yet, even fully knowing what would happen, God still pursued us. He sent his Son as one of us to reach out, to call us home, even though he knew we would tie his hands and turn our backs on all the healing and love he has to offer.

Such love. Such amazing love… to hold out a hand of care and forgiveness, even though those very people would slam a spike through it.

Pursuit. Chase after. Hound. Dig for. Leave no stone unturned. Do whatever it takes.

How has God pursued you?
How have you turned your back on Jesus?
What was it that led you to finally accept God’s hand reaching out to you, waiting for you?
And, how have you been God’s hands, reaching out to others?

God waits for us. Jesus is right here, in our midst. The signs and messages are always there… if only we could be open enough to recognize him.

The refrain of a pop song, which was recorded by the artist Richard Marx, titled “Right Here Waiting,” says it pretty well.

Wherever you go, whatever you do,
I will be right here waiting for you.

What a perfect description of God. All we have to do look, listen, and be God’s beloved.

Dear God, thank you for the gift of your most amazing and ever available presence. Please grant us the grace to always open the door and let you in. Amen.

Paul Puccinelli is Director of Liturgy & Music at St. Rita Parish in Sierra Madre, CA, and a member of the Retreat-Team at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center.

Scripture:

2 Samuel 18:9-10, 14b, 24-25a, 30-19:3
Mark 5:21-43

Reflection:

From the poem, Concord Hymn, by Ralph Waldo Emerson, we have the words, “The shot heard ‘round the world.”  These words refer to the pivotal shot that occurred at the Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts, where the first British soldiers fell in the battles of Lexington and Concord.  It was the beginning of the Revolutionary War.  It warned all tyrants around the world that now begins the great battle against them for the cause of freedom.

In Sunday’s gospel we heard of the cure by Jesus of a man with an unclean spirit.  This cure could be called “the cure heard ‘round the world.”  It was Jesus’ initial cure in Mark’s gospel.  It warned all the demons that now begins the great battle against them for the cause of holiness.

In yesterday’s gospel we heard of the cure of another man possessed by a demon.  In today’s gospel we hear of the cure of a sick woman and the raising of a little girl thought to be dead.  Mark’s gospel continues on at a fast pace reporting battle after battle. On the one hand there are diseases, demons and death.  On the other hand there is Jesus healing, driving out demons, and giving life.

That same battle between good and evil continues to this day.  “Demons.”  That’s a good word to describe the power of evil in our world today.  There are the demons of abortion and doctor-assisted suicide.  There are the demons of racism and immigration phobia.  There is the demon of terrorism.

There are demons like greed that has plagued our world since the beginning.  The desire for power and riches, for land and oil, has nations obsessed with the demons of war and violence.  Building weapons has replaced feeding the hungry.

Where are the cures?  Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”   If we want to drive out demons from ourselves, our family and friends, and from our world, where do we start?

First we need to light of humility, knowing that without God we can do nothing.  From humility follows the light of forgiveness, seventy-time seven times.

Secondly we need the love that is unconditional hospitality, welcoming all into our hearts.  We need a love that is self-sacrificing, always looking for ways to bring joy to others.

What is the message of the gospels that is “heard ‘round the world?”   In the end, God wins.  Evil loses.  Come, let us join in the victory celebration that is the Mass.

Fr. Alan Phillip, C.P. is a member of the Passionist Community at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.   http://www.alanphillipcp.com/

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 18:15-20
1 Corinthians 7:32-35
Mark 1:21-28

Reflection:

God promised to send a prophet like Moses to lead his people.  He made it clear to those listening that when this prophet speaks God’s message, he will be blessed.  But if the prophet goes away from the word of God and presumes to speak as a false prophet, he will have to answer for it.  The prophets of the Old Testament paved the way for the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.  The New Testament is filled with the accounts of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.  Many people followed the messages told by the prophets and allowed the message to lead and guide them in becoming the good and holy people God created them to be.

Today we honor those men and women who act as prophets in our own time.  Some have reached the status of notoriety and fame for their good works.  Others work side by side with us each day and ask for nothing in return.  I am thinking of colleagues who give of themselves daily so that the good news of Jesus becomes known by those who need to hear it.  I am thinking of the many religious and ordained whom I call friend, who have challenged, affirmed and supported me over these past several decades in ministry.  I am thinking of my parents and other family members and friends who worked and sacrificed so that I could experience a loving and generous God through each of them.

Take a moment this day to remember and thank God for those prophets that have crossed your path and have helped you to become the person you are today.  If they are still in your life in some way, you may want to drop them a line, call or text them and say thanks for having the courage to accept the call of the prophet.  Remember prophets are never without honor in their own time and space.  Your gesture of gratitude may be that thread of hope that makes their day!

Theresa Secord is a Pastoral Associate at St. Agnes Parish, Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

2 Samuel 12:1-7a, 10-17
Mark 4:35-41

Reflection:

We all have times in our lives when the sea seems to be washing over the sides of our boats!  In today’s scripture reading Jesus is awakened by his disciples, awash in fear of their boat capsizing into an angry sea.  Jesus tells the sea to quiet and calms the fear and distress of his companions.  His calming of the sea seems to leave the disciples more afraid of what Jesus did than of the storm He calmed!

Lately I have been overwhelmed, like many of you at times, by the seas around me.  The requests for prayers from family, friends and acquaintances have been rolling over me.  I’m sure we all have been in the same situation, when illnesses, untimely deaths, divisive words and events around us have left our own boats rolling in the seas!  I’m reminded of the lyrics from “All is Well” by Horatio G. Spafford.

“When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well, with my soul.”

The challenge is to let the Lord of Peace calm my soul when the seas get rough.  But it isn’t easy to let go of control in my life; never has been, never will be.  To let go is to recognize my own limits of power.  To let go is to give up my own efforts to build walls.  To let go is to open my heart to new understanding.  To let go is to sit quietly with only questions God can answer.  To let go is to watch as Jesus calms the sea and marvel in awe at the peace only God can give.

I find myself today wanting to sing along with Spafford’s old hymn.

“Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And has shed His own blood for my soul

It is well (it is well)
With my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul”

Terry McDevitt, Ph.D. is a member of our Passionist Family in Louisville, Kentucky.