aadbdstarter

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 7:6-11
1 John 4:7-16
Matthew 11:25-30

Reflection:

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and all our Scripture readings speak of God’s love. In our first reading, Moses reminds the people that they are not the chosen ones because they were a numerous nation, or had status among nations, but because “the LORD loved you…” In our second reading, we are told: “In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him.”

In our Gospel reading, Jesus says these familiar words: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” Here Jesus is contrasting Himself with the religious leaders of the day, who did put burdens on the people with regards to living out the Law of Moses, but did nothing to help them. Jesus is there to help us.

If we think about Jesus’ command to love, especially when we’ve heard in recent days about turning the other cheek and loving our enemies, it seems that the yoke Jesus wants us to take is not all that easy. To love in the way of which Jesus speaks can often be challenging! And so it can seem easier to actually follow the Pharisees’ example and be only concerned with the letter of the law.

But Jesus’ yoke, the commandment to love, can be “easy” and “light,” when we accept Jesus’ great love for us into the depths of our hearts. The more we know deep down how much we are loved, the freer we are to respond by loving others, and the closer we get to God in Jesus Christ, which, in turn, enables us to respond more easily to Jesus commandment, and so on.

Jesus’ Sacred Heart is full of love for us. May His love fill our hearts and overflow into the world. “God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.”

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is the local superior of the Passionist Community in Birmingham, Alabama. 

Scripture:

2 Corinthians 1:1-7
Matthew 5:1-12

Reflection:

When pondering the Word, it is important to understand the context in which the Word is written in a given Gospel story. The Word is other-centered. Yes, in God’s goodwill, we are recipients of God’s blessings, but those blessings produce blessings for others, or otherwise, they are not blessings at all. With the “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus goes up a mountain, beyond the crowd which has gathered. He can see them all. The disciples join him. They leave the crowd with whom they were standing and go and position themselves in a “learning” position.

The first part of each Beatitude has to do with a particular Christ-like position we take in the face of obvious need, e.g. mourning. The second part of each of the beatitudes is focused on those who are the recipients of the particular approaches we take in the face of people’s needs, e.g. “they will be comforted.” Our particular behavioral approaches to people are the beatitudes, the blessings meant for others, not for ourselves. The Beatitudes are other-oriented.

So, too, consolation and patient endurance demand an energy beyond our human capability. “If we are being afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation; if we are being consoled, it is for your consolation, which you experience when you patiently endure the same suffering that we are also suffering.” (2 Cor. 1: 5)

Like Jesus, we have trust in the mercy and consolation from the Father towards us.

It is only in looking back, as Paul did Himself in writing these letters, do we realize where our consoling God has been with us.

Fr. Alex Steinmiller, C.P., is a member of the Passionist Community in Detroit, Michigan.

Scripture:

Acts 14:5-18
John 14:21-26

Reflection:

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus says: “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” I have to confess that I struggle with these words from Jesus. What I struggle with is the seeming implication that the Father’s love for us comes after the demonstration of our love for Jesus. Elsewhere in John’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us that it is God who loves us first. In our reading from Acts, where the people of Lystra mistake Paul and Barnabas for Greek gods because of the healing of a man lame from birth, Paul tries to explain to them that it is God who has bestowed blessings upon them, even though they did not believe in Him.

So I don’t believe that our love of Jesus affects whether God loves us or not. God loves us no matter what. What makes sense to me is that when we observe Jesus’ commandments, in loving God and loving our neighbor, Jesus reveals more and more of Himself to us. The more we strive to love as Jesus loves, the more Jesus reveals to us how much He loves us and how much He loves the world, which better enables us to follow Him. Instead of a vicious cycle spiraling downward, perhaps we could call it a virtuous cycle spiraling upward.

After Jesus has spoken the words mentioned above, Judas, not the Iscariot, asks Him, “Master, [then] what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” Judas is confused because Jesus seems to be speaking about a personal revelation rather than a universal one. Jesus responds by saying similar words to the ones He has just spoken. Perhaps the answer is that Jesus reveals Himself to the world through us. The more God is all in all for us, the more we reveal His love in Jesus Christ, and the more the world hears the Good News. May we follow Jesus’ commandments, so that His love is revealed to all.

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is the local superior of the Passionist Community in Birmingham, Alabama. 

Scripture:

Acts 11:1-18
John 10:11-18

Reflection:

While all Scripture is the living word of God carrying a message to us as individuals and as part of the Community of Faith there is something very special about the readings during the Easter season. The word that comes to mind upon reflecting on today’s readings is Unity. We are one.

We are made one by our common baptism. We have One Shepherd who has One Voice who is Jesus and he knows me by name.

Yet, in our oneness we are different, we have different life experiences, different reference points, all made uniquely as a piece of God’s own life. As such we are called to reflect that life of Christ to all we meet. There is unity in our diversity, and we must recognize and celebrate that blessing.

I was struck by Jesus’ words in the final verse of the Gospel: “A thief comes to steal and slaughter and destroy; I have come so that they might have life and have it more abundantly” v.10. I wonder if we miss the point of this verse when we see the thief as other than ourselves. Those are strong words: steal, slaughter, destroy. Taking these words and adding a line from our first reading, “..who was I to be able to hinder God?” v.17b, begs the question, have I ever hindered God?

Have I in my humanity ever stole or slaughtered or destroyed? Of course, I have! We all have in some form or other, it’s our broken humanity and even that unites us. In the final verse of our first reading as the circumcised believers listen to Peter’s experience they stopped objecting and glorified God, saying, “God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too.” v.18 These words sound very much like the abundant life Jesus came to bring to all.  Unity, trust, faith, humility, wisdom. All are included, all are equal when we remain open to humbly listening to the Spirit in our world.

We choose abundant life whenever we put ourselves in the proper place as a child of God among many.

May we all come to Taste and See the Goodness of the Lord in each other.

May we drink deeply from the abundance of the Good Shepherd who calls us all by name. Amen.

Jean Bowler is a retreatant at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center in Sierra Madre, California, and a member of the Office of Mission Effectiveness Board of Holy Cross Province.

Scripture:

1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
Ephesians 5:8-14
John 9:1-41

Reflection:

My parents had a dear friend who, late in life, began losing her eyesight. She was a tall, elegant woman with beautiful white hair. But what remains with me most is the elegance with which she accepted her loss of sight. I am not suggesting she gave into it. Bernice embraced the new reality by learning Braille, testing out the public transit system, and practicing using a white cane before she lost entirely her ability to see. In losing her ability to see, she taught be to see.

Today’s readings for the Fourth Sunday of Lent are all about seeing and not seeing. Those who are blind now see. Those who should be able to see are blind to what is right in front of them. Looking for what is not yet apparent and seeing past appearances and into the heart.

In the first reading from the Book of Samuel the Lord says, “Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart.” Samuel is sent to anoint a new king from among Jesse’s sons. But Samuel does not see whom he needs to see and asks Jesse if he has any other sons. It was the youngest, David, who was tending the sheep, who was being called to lead the People of Israel.

Lent is a time to see what we need to see. To see Christ in every person and not to only see a skin tone. To see Christ within us and not to only see our sins and failings. To see Christ in the other and not to only see a stranger from a strange land, speaking a strange language, or practicing a strange religion. To see what we usually do not see.

Bernice taught me that seeing is much more than having the sense of sight. I am praying this Lent for the gift to see with the eyes of Christ who sees into the hearts of others.

Robert Hotz is a consultant with American City Bureau, Inc. and was the Director of The Passion of Christ: The Love That Compels Campaign for Holy Cross Province.

Scripture:

Sirach 15:15-20
1 Corinthians 2:6-10
Matthew 5:17-37

Reflection:

To attempt to pull together the message of the Word today, we are seeing the contrast between a mentality that asks “What must I do?” and, “What can I do to follow God’s ways?” The first question is about minimal requirements, the second is about the maximal benefits involved with turning one’s life over to God.

Let’s reflect today on the daily task of “being” our personal best. Because that is where the word is taking us today. I say “being,” and not just doing, because the former way is inclusive of all that we are in a given day, and not just what we have accomplished based on the expectations of the day. The expectations of God can far outdistance human expectations.

And, what undergirds our living in this manner is the constant, graceful presence of wisdom. It is at our disposal if we deliberately, and habitually make that our intention, that is, to be open and cooperative with the grace of God. That is one way of describing the love for God – consciously, deliberately open and cooperative to where the Spirit of God is working. In 1Corinthians today Paul points out that God’s wisdom is mysterious, secret and hidden. As one author puts it, “this is a spirituality for the ‘mature.’ It is reached less by logic and reasoned discourse, but more by faith in a living, compassionate God and by a consistent obedience to one’s conscience, less by argumentation from the other and more by their good example.“

Yes, “being” our personal best is to trust in the Spirit of Jesus to lead us. Jesus asks for more. Not merely “do not kill,” but do not harbor what leads to killing in your hearts. Make amends, Reconcile with your opponent. Not merely “Do not commit adultery,“ but be faithful in your heart. Try to work things out, don’t just give up. Respect others.  Do not objectify anyone. The basics can be difficult enough to live, but the “more” that Jesus asks is a great challenge.

And, I believe that wisdom is most accessible when we go beyond the normal, the predictable, the safe and secure way of living. That is a trust, only found in the reality of love.That is, going beyond the law to the Spirit-led “being” our best self today. “What eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him, this God has revealed to us through the Spirit. (1 Cor. 2:10)

Fr. Alex Steinmiller, C.P., is a member of the Passionist Community in Detroit, Michigan.

Scripture:

Genesis 2:4b-9, 15-17
Mark 7:14-23

Reflection:

In the time of Jesus, one of the preoccupations amongst the doctors of the law was that of ‘cleanliness’ or more so ‘uncleanliness’. There seemed morbid fascination with how many ways one could be (or be made to be)” unclean”. Often the most natural and of bodily functions could render a person unclean, or living with an illness or diseases could have the same effect.  Indeed there were many ritual ways to be unclean – and uncleanliness meant a person could not participate in many aspects of social or religious life.

Jesus sees beyond and through all such teachings. He redefines ‘uncleanliness’ and moves the discussion away from mere external or accidental causes and instead focuses on the inner life of a person. As always, Jesus looks to the heart, to the inner motivation of a person and does not make judgements based on appearances or external factors in isolation.

Today’s teaching is much like a similar one where Jesus alerts his followers to the fact that one can judge the intentions or aims of a person, not by what they claim but ‘by their fruits’.

In this text today however, Jesus speaks of the opposite dimension of this same reality. That is, it is not what a person eats, hears or is influenced by that makes he or she ‘unclean’. He stresses quite clearly that while we all are affected by what happens to us, by the information we take in, by the experiences we endure – the real factor in determining whether what we do or say is good or not good is to be found in our inner disposition or intentions.

Goodness emerges from a person – from within. It is not a product of what is absorbed in the sense that external forces and concerns do not make a person ‘unclean’ or necessarily good. We choose between these poles and this is a constant throughout life.

And notice too, Jesus does not concern himself (nor does he allow people to be distracted by or satisfied by any suggestion that sin or evil arises from minor or petty issues e.g. like the failure to wash one’s hands before eating). No, Jesus speaks of sin having its origins in deeper realities – those attitudes and tendencies  that we choose to follow – that reside in our hearts and that can do great harm to others or to ourselves.

In some ways Jesus could not be more clear, “From within the man, from his heart, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.”

To act in such ways is so foreign to God’s plan for us, and runs in the face of God’s vision for us. Jesus sees people much as they were created – as the image and likeness of God and as God’s precious creation. ” the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.”

God’s plan for us is a life lived in the midst of a ‘delightful’ creation; a life lived in an open and trustful relationship to God.  This is life; this is our original gift – our default position. Jesus encourages his audience and us today to keep returning to this stance before God.

Our way home each and every day is to open our hearts to God’s healing and soothing love, to respond wholeheartedly to those moments of conversion offered to us.

Fr. Denis Travers, C.P., is a member of Holy Spirit Province, Australia. 

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Scripture:

Zechariah 2:14-17 or
Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab
Luke 1:26-38 or 1:39-47

Reflection:

I believe in the Word of God bringing us to the fulfillment of God’s Plan, the harmonization of all God’s creation, and the ultimate reunification with with our Creator, that “all be one again.” I believe in the Word, which we hold aloft, bless, incense, proclaim and, habitually, put into effect with a courageous trust. It is the Word that proclaims a non-violent response to the power of evil. It is the Word that teaches love of enemies and those who persecute us. It is the Word that asks us to submit to God’s loving Will in total surrender. It is the Word that attracts, in the most mysterious ways, that which is broken, abused, addicted, disrespected and scattered. This Word has uncanny way of gathering into that Body, which it inspires, the Church. The Word informs those who strive to fulfill it like the birthing of a child, birthpangs and all. Birthpangs continuing in the fight for justice for all . (Did you know that there is a new, national movement afoot to bring back a poor peoples’ fight for justice?)

This Word became flesh in a most dramatic fashion through the apparition of our Blessed Mother to a man named Juan Diego in December of 1531 on a hill called Tepeyac in Mexico. It could be considered the most provoking appearance of our Lady in history.

The Spaniards had entered into what was then the territory of Mexico to abscond gold from the land, in the cheapest way possible, through slavery of the native population.This master/slave relationship evolved into genocide of these tribes as the Spaniards gained a more commanding foothold. These horrific actions on the part of the Spaniards and this sudden appearance of our Blessed Mother reflect the imagery of the Book of Revelation and that of verses in the Gospel of Luke whereby our Blessed Mother stands, pregnant with Child face to face with the great red dragon who wanted to devour the newborn. Her strength would be revealed in her declaration that her “soul magnifies the Lord,” and her “spirit rejoices in God” her Savior. The 30,000,000 Hispanic people in our midst continue to remind all of us of our vigilant and strong “Virgencita” and her love for the oppressed and downtrodden.

Be mindful of the opening prayer on this feast, where we pray to seek with ever more lively faith the progress of peoples in the ways of justice and peace.

Let us celebrate this festival of our Lady of Guadalupe, as a reminder that the Word continues to become enfleshed through our activity to establish the reign of God.

Fr. Alex Steinmiller, C.P., is a member of the Passionist Community in Detroit, Michigan.