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Scripture:

Jonah 3:1-10
Luke 11:29-32

Reflection:

Seeking ‘signs’ seems to be a natural need in the average person. We all seek signs that we are going in the right direction (be in a journey or relationship) – signs to reassure us, to direct us, to convince us and to draw us on to further investment of self, trust or time and effort. We seek sings that give us a sense of ‘feedback’ – signs that tell us that what we are doing or what we are trying to convey to another is ‘working’, i.e. that it is being heard or being understood.

Sometimes it is not us looking for a sign, but giving them! We all give signs to another that we are thinking of them, that they mean a great deal to us, that we are supporting them.  Sometimes such signs are akin to sending ‘a messenger’ – we telegraph signs of our interest in another before we dare to approach them and convey this same message by word of mouth. Films love to portray this theme especially when it concerns developing relationships – think of the dilemmas and dynamics of adolescents contemplating asking a member of the opposite sex for a ‘date’. They signal their intentions by all sorts of means to the one they desire (and look in turn for signs that their own ‘signals’ are being received and reciprocated) – all before acting!

So we need not be surprised that in our gospel passage today we meet this dynamic in the crowds who were attracted to Jesus. They had not yet ‘let go’ of this same need for some kind of reassurance or even ‘proof’ that what Jesus was saying and offering, was indeed true and would justify them making any act of faith or belief in the vision he presented.

But Jesus was offering and still does offer us a new kind of relationship between God and humankind, a relationship that is based on a new dynamic – one that does not lend itself to signs and proofs.

Jesus presented a vision of God as a Father who wanted to enter into a new, deeply personal and everlasting way of being with us. The relationship with God that Jesus spoke of was a freely offered gift to us, something unmerited by our efforts.

Yes, such a vision and hope did ask of us a fundamental surrender and a leap into the unknown; it was a gift that required assent on our part, and yet was underpinned by the promise of God – a promise that God would be faithful to us eternally.

Jesus not only revealed God’s essential nature (love) and offered the relationship possibility to all, but he also modelled the human response to God in the face of such an offer. By his own life, example, fidelity and living out of the relationship itself he enabled those touched by his Spirit to see both God’s love offered and fully responded to.

So if there is to be any ‘sign’ of God’s desire to be with us, any ‘sign’ of God’s faithfulness to us and any ‘sign’ of God’s love for each of us, we only need to took to Jesus and especially to his passion, death and resurrection.

And if we wish to see any ‘sign’ of what it means to enter into such a relationship, again we only have to look to Jesus as our model and perfect example of our own capacity to fully give ourselves to God.

While the death of Jesus might seem a “Jonah-like sign of contradiction” (in that it turns human images of success on their head), when viewed through the lens of the resurrection it becomes the greatest sign of God’s love for us. Truly the only sign we will ever need!

 

Fr. Denis Travers, C.P., is a member of Holy Spirit Province, Australia.  He currently serves on the General Council and is stationed in Rome.

Scripture:

Isaiah 55:10-11
Matthew 6:7-15

Reflection:

I wonder if the apostles struggled with Jesus’ prayer, The Our Father, as much as I do. The first challenge I remember in this area came when I was seven or eight years old. I had been sweeping the floor at the local newspaper office after school earning $6.25 a week. That would have been about 1952 or ‘53. I had saved up enough money to order this coveted yellow rain coat and hat resembling the Gloucester fisherman’s, which I saw in the Montgomery Ward’s catalog. I don’t ever remember wearing those items, but I do remember my mother sitting me down after school one day to tell me that my younger brother Tim had warn them that day and had torn the coat. To this day, I remember my desire for revenge welling up in me, as well as my mother’s insistence that forgiving my brother and moving on was the right thing to do.

I’d like to report that I’ve become an expert at this forgiving business, but that would be a lie. Day in and day out, people trespass against me. They don’t leave enough room for me on the sidewalk as we pass. They jump in front of me at the supermarket checkout line and worst of all, they leave their clothes in the dryers I share with my fellow condominium dwellers.

Thanks Matthew for sharing the prayer Jesus taught you and your fellow apostles. I hope you did better with its recommendations than I do today, but I’ll keep trying.

Dan O’Donnell is a Passionist Partner and a longtime friend of the Passionists.  He lives in Chicago. 

Scripture:

Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18
Matthew 25:31-46

Reflection:

When I was in grade school, we were tested and re-tested on our ability to recite the Ten Commandments. Some people proclaim these ten laws to be the only things you need to know to follow God faithfully. It is interesting, though, that Jesus never quoted the Ten Commandments or held them up as central truths of our faith. Instead, he speaks of loving God and neighbor as being the highest commandments of all, and he tells the story about sheep, goats, and serving the least of God’s people as illustration of how to enact that love.

The command to love your neighbor as yourself comes from Leviticus. It is the ending statement of a section that begins much like the Ten Commandments, but the text then expands on the instruction. It dictates that we are not to show partiality to anyone because of their position in life. We are not to take revenge (in fact, we are not even to hold a grudge!) We are to harbor no hatred in our hearts, even against one who has done wrong and needs to be reproved. We are not to gossip. We are not to stand idly by when our neighbor’s life is at stake.

These seem in close parallel to what Jesus has in mind for us, which perhaps is why he quoted it. Yet when I let this expanded version of the Ten Commandments sink in, I am challenged to the depths of my soul. There are so many ways I fall short. I’ll choose just one: In many ways, I fail to live out the precept against standing idly by when my neighbor’s life is at stake. Examples:

– Millions of children in the U.S. go to bed hungry every night. I never do, and in fact I sometimes let food go bad in my fridge. How can I waste less, take more to food pantries, serve in or support soup kitchens, and donate more to hunger organizations like Second Harvest?

– People in many parts of the world have to carry heavy jugs of water for miles in order to stay alive. Yet I think nothing of taking long showers and barely consider ways to conserve water usage throughout the day. Can I change my ingrained habits, learning to act as if my own water supply was extremely limited? How can I also support organizations dedicated to providing clean, safe water worldwide?

– Congress keeps voting to cut back food stamps and “safety net” programs for the poorest people in our country. Have I done so much as write a letter in protest? Can I volunteer my time in one of those “safety net” programs?

– We have the highest rates of incarceration in the world, often inflicting harsh sentences for minor crimes. The death penalty, the ultimate form of retribution, is still enacted in 34 states. Can I become a pen-pal for someone in prison and bring respect and hope to someone without it? Can I volunteer as a driver to take children to visit incarcerated parents, or at least support those who do? In what ways can I oppose the death penalty and advocate for humane treatment of prisoners?

– Immigrants to this country often experience profound discrimination because of their clothing, religion, or accent. Indeed, I catch myself complaining when I can’t understand them, or being exasperated until I “finally reach someone who can speak English.” Can I instead reach out with patience, a smile and a kind word for immigrants on the phone or on the street, treating each one with the respect and care I’d want to be shown in a foreign country? Can I encourage the blending of cultures at my parish, attend ethnic celebrations, learn from those whose culture is different from mine, and welcome them fully?

I could go on and on. You may not agree with all of my examples. That isn’t the point. There are countless ways that my behavior puts another’s life at stake. Yet I sit more or less idly by because it isn’t in my face and doesn’t affect my day-to-day life.  As long as I am not hungry, thirsty, a stranger, in prison, or in danger, I let myself get complacent.

Perhaps we all need to take the challenge of these laws more seriously. Choose one, and ask God to soften your heart, open your arms, and show you ways that you can more faithfully live out the challenge of that precept. If we all do just that…just one command…the word of God can shine forth more brightly, spreading truth, justice, and light to the ends of the earth.

Amy Florian is a teacher and consultant working in Chicago.  For many years she has partnered with the Passionists.  Visit Amy’s website: http://www.corgenius.com/. 

Scripture:

Genesis 3:7
Romans 5:15

Reflection:

Then the eyes of both of them were opened….

Poor Adam and Eve. The whole weight of evil, pain, and suffering that we find in this world is laid at their feet. If only they had listened to God we would all still be living in Eden. Instead, they trusted that wily serpent who told them that if they ate of the fruit their eyes would be opened. God had told them that they would die if they as much as touched the fruit. But they did touch the fruit and eat of it and they were still alive but their eyes were opened. What are we to make of this turn of events? Did God lie? Was the serpent telling the truth?

When giving testimony in court we are asked if we swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  Yes, as the serpent said, their eyes were opened, but was that the whole truth? We are taught that through this act of eye opening death was brought into the world. Are these two things connected, and if so, what do they mean?

Have you ever had an instance where once you became aware of something, who you were before falls away? Many of us experience this as we grow up and our ‘eyes are opened’ to the reality that our parents aren’t the perfect people we thought they were. Or maybe there was a time when you learned something about yourself that led to your becoming someone new. The ‘you’ that was passes away. Your eyes are opened and ‘you’ die. In the first case, when seeing our parents (and the world) in a new light, it is as if it is thrust upon us. But as we mature and grow in Christ, another way of having ‘our eyes opened’ becomes available to us.

We are called during Lent to repent (metanoia in Greek, literally ‘to look again’). We are invited by Christ to look at the world with new eyes, but consciously in the light of love. This is the gift that we are given that is not like the transgression. Jesus gives us the gift of open eyes to see with compassion. We cannot remain who we were if we look at each other with compassion. We are changed by the very act of seeing with new eyes. And as Christian disciples we are called to follow that change with acts of charity and mercy.

My prayer for this Lenten season it that I continue to open my eyes to see with compassion, and perform the works of mercy that I am called to.

May you have a thoughtful Lent!

Talib Huff works and volunteers at Christ the King Retreat Center in Citrus Heights. He may be reached at [email protected]

 

Scripture:

Isaiah 58:9-14
Luke 5:27-32

Reflection:

 Jesus’ Health Care Program

Health care has been and continues to be a “hot topic” in many parts of the world…along with other major issues of compassion, justice, and care for the global community and our earth.  Today’s Gospel selection from Luke tells the story of the Call of Levi / Matthew from his “customs post,” and the subsequent complaints of scribes and Pharisees about Jesus’ outreach to “tax collectors and sinners”.  Jesus’ response highlights a common human need:  health care…especially for sinners and their “heart disease”.

Most likely many of us (including yours truly) have required special health care in recent weeks.  Perhaps it has been the flu-bug, or arthritis, or heart issues, or dental issues which have prompted us to seek out the help of medical professionals.  We in the United States are blessed with good health care resources (though not ideal, as various politicians have asserted) and our quality of life and life expectancy continues to improve.

The same holds true for our spiritual health.  Jesus comes to encourage repentance for us sinners…people who suffer with the sins of selfishness and pride and laziness and prejudice and hopelessness – which thus includes all of us.  Jesus calls Levi from the lucrative position of tax collector to the humble and prophetic vocation of disciple…following the great example of Jesus himself…the spiritual healer and Divine Physician.

This Lent we’re encouraged to special experiences of prayer, penance, and sacrificial giving.  As people in need of spiritual healing, we come to Jesus and seek his gracious and generous help in our healing and growth.  And, as cooperative “patients”, we’re asked to follow the physician’s orders to follow His example and embrace renewed lifestyles and spiritual “exercises”, based on our Lenten prayer, penance, and sacrifices.

It’s early in the Lenten season, and Jesus reaches out to us with the healing touch of his Word in the Scriptures and his Life in the Sacraments — especially the Sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and Reconciliation as enriched by our prayer, penance, and sacrificial giving.  We are called, as was Matthew to move beyond our old ways of being and doing, to embrace new lives of selflessness, generosity, and discipleship with Jesus and one another.  As Psalm 86 states, God is good and forgiving, abounding in kindness.  Healthy Christian life in the 21^st Century is possible – and encouraged!  As did Matthew, may we say “yes” to Jesus the Divine Physician, and come to live renewed, healthy, Christ-like lives.

Fr. John Schork, C.P. is a member of the Passionist community in Chicago, Illinois. 

Scripture:

Isaiah 58:1-9a
Matthew 9:14-15

Reflection:

“The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” Matthew 9:15b

The Bible doesn’t say we might fast, but that we will fast. Most of us do fast during Lent as fasting is one of the three pillars of our Lenten practice. We usually “give up” our favorite food or drink but we can also give up other things.

Fr. Mike Schmitz, in a recent post on Facebook, suggested that we ask ourselves what things keep us from being present to Jesus and being present to others, and that those are the things we need to fast from. Obviously there are too many to mention, but a few would be: Facebook, checking your phone (especially when you are with others), watching TV, playing video games, keeping your head stuck in a book, or being a workaholic. Too much of any activity takes us away from the Lord and from others. I even have a hard time walking away from a puzzle once I start it! A time of fasting helps us find balance with these things and helps us grow in self-control.

When we fast it helps to fast for a specific intention. At least for me it makes it easier to stick with it. Popcorn is my all-time favorite snack food which I eat nearly every day. It has even been my dinner on occasion! I rarely give it up, but I gave it up for our daughter Sr. Cecilia Rose on her 30 day retreat this year. I’ve been tempted nearly every day, but my love for her and the desire to offer up even a small sacrifice that will help her wins out every time and helps me deny myself.

Along with the other two pillars of Lent – prayer and almsgiving – our Lent can be rich indeed as we draw closer to God and closer to others. Plus we can consider fasting even when Lent is over. Many people still fast from meat every Friday and some religious communities fast from TV, email, snacks and rich foods. Some even fast from hot water and beds! Let God guide you to fast in the way that will best help you grow in your faith all year round.

“Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting…” Joel 2:12

Janice Carleton and her husband Jim live in Portland, OR and partner with Passionist Fr. Cedric Pisegna in Fr. Cedric Ministries. She is the mother of 4 grown children and grandmother of 6. Janice also leads women’s retreats and recently published her second book: God IS with Us. Visit Janice’s website at http://www.janicecarleton.com/ or email her at [email protected].

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Luke 9:22-25

Reflection:

Lent is begun. Following the liturgy of Ash Wednesday, with its reminders to prayer and penance, today’s Gospel reading speaks to us of the choice we must make if we are to follow Jesus.

The scriptures, as we all know, are speaking to us out of a history which we are well aware of; and we know how the life of Jesus is vindicated in the Resurrection event. In other words, we know how the life of Jesus came to bear fruit in the Resurrection—and that culminating event of his life on earth gives meaning to all of the struggles that we undergo in wishing to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

Knowing how a story ends is often the key to understanding many of the parts of the story that may have left us wondering why the story progressed a certain way. What did the people standing around Jesus think when he predicted his death at the hands of their religious leaders? Even more, what did they think when Jesus said that he would be raised on the third day?

We can’t impute too much blame on them if they thought that perhaps Jesus was not thinking and speaking rationally. What would they have going through their minds when Jesus asked them, or rather, made a condition of following him, that they would have to pick up a cross daily in order to be able to follow him.

This was no allegorical cross, the Greek stauros was an instrument of execution, not a figurative term for a toothache. For Jesus to recommend that his followers should carry the cross was to literally identify them with that Roman form of execution because the horizontal beam that would form the cross against the vertical stake was carried to the place of crucifixion by the one condemned to death.

We advance into Lent as those who choose to follow Jesus to the self-giving of the Cross. We rightly look for ways to put our personal advantage aside for a while; to choose a daily form of the Cross to identify with Jesus, whom we follow.

Since we know how the story ends, we can take heart in the words from Hebrews: For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross…

May our daily, Lenten cross bring us closer to the “joy that lay before him.”

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

Ash Wednesday

Scripture:

Joel 2:12-18
2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Reflection:

The first reading today from the prophet Joel proclaims what we all know—it is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent and of our preparation for the feast of Easter.  “Blow a trumpet in Zion! Proclaim a fast, call an assembly; Gather the people, notify the congregation…”.

What is it that makes Ash Wednesday so memorable and, in fact, a day where so many people stand in line to receive the mark of ashes on their foreheads—even people who seldom darken a church door for the rest of the year?  Perhaps it is the raw truth of this ritual.  The traditional formula that is still an option says it bluntly: “Remember.  You are dust and unto dust you shall return.”  This is, in fact, a quotation for the book of Genesis (3:19) when God, disappointed in the sin of Adam and Eve, warns them that the threat of death looms before them.  The account of creation in Genesis 2 portrayed God’s creative act as taking “dust” or “clay”, forming it into a human shape, and then breathing into the human’s nostrils the “breath of life.”  So, yes, we are “dust” but we also carry the divine life within us.  Because of this, Genesis notes, “the man became a living being” (Gen 2:7).

So we are, in the poetic image of Genesis, a bag of clay with the breath of God inside—human, prone to failure and sin, but also carrying within us a divine life-breath, made “in the image and likeness of God.”

We need to recall both dimensions during this Lent.  A passage from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel is the traditional gospel reading for this day.  “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them,” Jesus tells his disciples.  When they would perform the traditional acts of Jewish piety— “righteous deeds” such as prayer, fasting, and almsgiving—these should be done to glorify and praise God, not to win human favor.  Jesus speaks here of motivation; throughout the gospel he challenges those who are “hypocritical”—seeming to be religious but having hearts without compassion or integrity.

At the same time, Jesus also calls his disciples to be “the light of the world,” “the salt of the earth”—not putting their light under a bushel basket but letting the good example of their lives be a witness and an inspiration for others.  Authentic signs of goodness are needed for the sake of the world.

In his powerful encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si’ (“Praise you, Lord”), Pope Francis reminds us of the cumulative public impact of what he calls “small gestures of love”.  He recalls the wisdom of St. Therese of Lisieux who “invites us to practice the little way of love, not to miss out on a kind word, a smile or any small gesture which sows peace and friendship…simple daily gestures which break with the logic of violence, exploitation and selfishness.”   He goes on to say, “Love, overflowing with small gestures of mutual care…makes itself felt in every action that seeks to build a better world.”  The Church’s mission, the Pope declares, is to “set before the world the ideal of a ‘civilization of love.”

For whatever reasons, our world, including our own beloved country, seems deeply divided these days, with coarse political discourse filling the airwaves, so much violence, and steps being taken that threaten the poor, the vulnerable and the stranger.  Perhaps this Lent we, as Catholics and followers of Jesus, are called to live a life of greater integrity and to give a public witness that counters a culture of death with the ideal of a “civilization of love.”  Perhaps we should wear our ashes without embarrassment in every public place we go this Ash Wednesday, reminding ourselves and our fellow citizens that we are God’s handiwork, a bag of clay, yes, but also carrying the divine life breath within us.

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.