Claire Smith

Scripture:

Genesis 22:1b-19
Matthew 9:1-8

Reflection:

“I’ll forgive, but I’ll never forget.” How many times do we hear this from people who are hurt, insulted, traumatized, victimized, or violently injured by another?

In today’s Gospel, something happened that had never occurred before: a man forgave all the wrong doings of a paralytic. The righteous scribes immediately gasped at the overstep by Jesus. “Who do you think you are, acting like God,” we might hear them shout in protest.

This story’s lesson is not so much that Jesus, the man-God, can forgive sins. The most important lesson is the last line: “When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to human beings.” The last word is plural, not singular. This presupposes the faith community, for whom the gospel of Matthew was written, forgave the sins of one another.

I find it so easy, especially at Mass, to gloss over the concept of sin. The word sin is woven throughout our liturgy, from the opening penitential rite to the Lamb of God plea, repeated three times prior to receiving Communion.

I have to shake my mind a bit to realize what we mean, for instance, by the Lamb of God taking away the “sins of the world.” That’s a powerful statement about an all-powerful God because the sins of our world are immense.

Violence rages in Ukraine, Syria, Sudan, and the streets, homes, schools, and stores in America where human beings, made in the image of God, are being slaughtered by other human beings.

The threat of total destruction of humanity by nuclear weapons is a daily reality, a reality we reflexively dismiss due to it being unthinkable.

Corruption, greed, and apathy have created a canyon between the few rich and masses of poor. Recently we spent millions to try to rescue five billionaire deep-sea tourists while over 500 impoverished refugees drowned off the coast of Greece from indifference.

A live-for-the-moment mentality reigns as we all ceaselessly spew greenhouse gases into our fragile atmosphere causing sea levels to rise, animal and plant species to become extinct, rivers to flood or dry up, hurricanes and tornadoes to kill and destroy whole communities. Our self-destroying way of living is scorching the planet, our common home.

And in every corner of this home people lack housing, healthcare, friendships, and love.

These are the sins of our time.

Can our God, the Lamb of God, really take away these sins?

Yes. Our God, not the gods mentioned in today’s psalm, forgives and wipes out sin in and through the faith community. When we forgive one another, we commit the greatest act of love possible, laying the foundation for unity and tenderness among us.

In your quiet moment of prayer today, when you shut out the noise of this sinful world and are alone and stilled in God, you might ask who you need to forgive.

It might be God.

It might be someone who still sticks in your craw.

It might be you need to forgive yourself.

Jim Wayne is a board member of the Passionist Solidarity Network (PSN), and author of The Unfinished Man. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

Genesis 21:5, 8-20a
Matthew 8:28-34

Reflection:

Don’t be afraid; God has heard the boy’s cry in this plight of his.   -Genesis 21:17

Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus,
and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.   -Matthew 8:34

Today’s readings got me reflecting about loose and twisting threads. We all like our stories tied up with neat endings; the hero wins, the victims are rescued, justice is served, all mysteries are revealed. But today’s readings aren’t so neat.

In the gospel Jesus cures two men plagued by demons by sending the evil spirits into a herd of swine. Then nothing more is said about these two. Did they go on to live productive lives? Did they follow Jesus? And what about the townspeople who beg Jesus to leave the area? Why didn’t they marvel at the miracle and ask Jesus to cure their other ills? We are left with so many unanswered questions.

In the first reading we hear a poignant tale of Hagar and Ishmael. They are sent out into the wilderness and are at the point of death. But the Lord comes to their aid and saves them. From then on “God was with the boy as he grew up.” Another loose end, perhaps? Further reading, however, reveals that Ishmael is back with Jacob when he is 13 years old! The threads of this story become more and more tangled the deeper we explore. It reads like a modern soap opera, with brother set against brother, Mother against stepson. In the end, Ishmael returns to the family for his father’s funeral.

In my own life I can see many threads. Some that can be followed for years, others that seem to lead nowhere. However, I’ve often found that what I thought was a “loose end” was God working in His own time, not mine. Friends and family members that I had thought were lost to me have been woven back into my life. God alone can see the whole skein of our lives.

Today my prayer is that I too listen to God as Hagar did when He speaks and says, “Don’t be afraid.”

Talib Huff is a retired educator and a member of the retreat team at Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center in Citrus Heights, California. You can contact him at [email protected].

Scripture:

Genesis 19: 15-29
Matthew 8:23-27

Reflection:

Called to Courage and Peace

As the United States celebrates its July 4^th Independence Day, the daily Scriptures present stories of faith that led to new and renewed life for many people facing hardships. 

Today’s readings speak of God’s directives to Lot and his family to run away from the forthcoming punishment and destruction of the evil people of Sodom and Gomorrah – and Jesus’ dealings with his fearful disciples during a violent storm as they sailed with Him upon the sea.  The simple message:  God is both loving and just, powerful in dealing with the forces of evil in the world; God knows us well and provides for us even when we are doubtful and afraid.  Yes!

As Americans, we today ponder the gift of our freedom and independence, gained by serious struggles of both mind and body.  Like the disciples in the storm-tossed boat, we realize that it is God who always journeys with us and challenges us to confidently face the ups and downs of life; we are invited to be faithful citizens of our country and of our world.  No small task!

Jesus invites us to follow His example and be people of peace.  Our encounters with the destructive power of evil and human weakness are supported by our faith in God which calls us to a sense of peace, perspective and courage.  Today we have reason to renew our commitment and celebrate … the spiritual side to July 4^th!

Throughout the Scriptures, Jesus assures us of his love and gifts us with His peace – not a simple tranquility or absence of suffering or uncertainty.  Jesus offers His peace that comes from the experience of God with us here and now, in everything and in everyone – God’s unconditional love.  As contemporary disciples we find meaning in the Cross of Jesus, seeking peace and freedom in the hectic pace of life today:  in our uncertainties and our suffering — even in the violence and fear which overshadow life today.  With Jesus’ unconditional love and encouragement, we are free to peacefully embrace the challenges of daily life as blessings.

May our celebration of the United States’ “independence” help us be grateful and courageous Christians who foster lasting personal and global peace!  May Jesus’ love amaze us…more than today’s fireworks and festivities!

Fr. John Schork, C.P. serves as the Province Vocation Director and also as Local Superior of the Passionist Community of Holy Name in Houston, Texas.  

Scripture:

Ephesians 2:19-22
John 20:24-29

Reflection:

Today we read of two forces that hold back not only the first Christians, but which can still be active in our own lives from time to time.

Our attention today can be focused on both fear (with its accompanying desire for safety symbolized for us in the locked doors) and doubt (with its accompanying desire for proof and physical evidence). The disciples model the first attitude of fear, and Thomas personifies the doubt and the desire for proof.

The response of Jesus is revealing. His first encouragement is to offer peace – an elusive reality in the wider world, but one that he encourages and offers to each disciple amid everything around them. It is worth taking a moment to savour this moment. Jesus recognises that faithful discipleship does not insulate one from either fear or doubt, but he also shows a way to move forward towards the trust that grows from experience of his presence.

Seek inner calm, stop, rest in the experience of his presence and look beyond mere reactions and over-thinking. Faith is a relationship, one profoundly centred on being with Jesus and trusting him. A peaceful inner disposition enables one to be still enough and focused enough to touch such presence.

Further, Jesus reveals to them the wounds of the Passion. Showing these wounds is more about revealing love than an offer of proof. Like all relationships, love draws people into intimacy of all kinds, and faith is no different. Jesus reveals the depth of his love, symbolized by the wounds and suffering he endured, and this same love invites relationship. Faith is our relationship with Jesus in action.

There is one other lesson from today’s reading. While faith is an individual gift, our Christian lives are meant to be lived in a community context. Thus, when Thomas is alone, he follows his own instincts and logic and forms an opinion – he does not believe. He echoes the world around us, seeking empirical evidence always and demanding proofs for things that are more mysterious and intuitive. When alone he cannot find faith. However, when he is with the community his doubts cease and he finds faith and trust are the keys to his life (not logic).

To me, this only highlights how important your faith is to all those around you.  We all make up that tapestry that Thomas needed (and so do we) – for when he is amid a believing community, he does not need proofs, he finds all he needs to believe, within.

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

Scripture:

2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a
Romans 6:3-4, 8-11
Matthew 10:37-42

Reflection:

and whoever does not take up his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.  -Matthew 10:38

The Cross is a universal Christian symbol. When I was young, I saw crucifixes on the walls at home, in school, and at church. I was comforted to hear that the cross told us of God’s love for the world. Later I learned that the “crosses” in our lives meant the sufferings we endure, or those crosses we choose to carry with others.

It was quite different for the disciples when they heard about the Cross of Jesus, as recounted in today’s Gospel reading from Matthew. They were struck with fear and even terror when Jesus told them they had to “take up their cross.” For these disciples had witnessed many criminals and slaves take up their crosses, to which they would be tied, and then lifted up to die an agonizing and public death. It was the worst kind of physical and mental suffering. Jesus is telling the disciples that life with and in Him requires sacrifice and the willingness to endure the worst kind of suffering.

But that is not all there is….

In our second reading for today, St. Paul tells the Romans that life in Jesus is death AND resurrection to new life:

….just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
we too might live in newness of life.  -Romans 6:4

The first disciples were the first of many saints who lived the mystery of the death and resurrection in and with Jesus. The founder of the Passionists, St. Paul of the Cross expresses it this way: “Our most adorable savior has told us in the Gospel that whoever does not deny himself and carry his cross cannot be his disciple. Saints are His disciples who have put this into practice.”

We Passionists put this into practice by “standing at the foot of the cross” with those who suffer. At the Holy Cross Provincial Chapter last month in Sierra Madre California, we studied, prayed, and organized, so that we could respond to the suffering in our times:

–Earth community: people, animals and plants burdened with air and water pollution;

–migrants who have left their homes because of droughts, floods, fires, or political instability;

And

–people who carry the psychological, spiritual, and economic burdens that come with discrimination based on their culture or race.

As we take up our crosses and stand with others at the foot of their crosses, “May the passion of Jesus Christ be always in our hearts.”

Patty Gillis is a retired Pastoral Minister. She served on the Board of Directors at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center in Detroit. She is currently a member of the Laudato Si Vision Fulfillment Team and the Passionist Solidarity Network.

Scripture:

Genesis 17:1, 9-10, 15-22
Matthew 8:1-4

Reflection:

The leper’s humility… “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.” Such a simple prayer, and how often do we say, “Lord, not my will but yours be done?” In this world today, we need miracles. We are weak humans, sometimes, and sometimes we are allowed a miracle to confirm our faith, or just to wake us up to the proof of the possibilities of God’s endless love and compassion for us.

The leper was despised, shunned, ignored, segregated, and feared. He was nothing to those who walked past him. And he was breaking the law by being on the street because of the vile disease he carried. But what does Jesus say? “I do choose. Be made clean!” Place yourself on that street with the leper and Jesus. Can you feel the joy in the leper’s entire being as Jesus affirms that he will heal him? And the leper knowing that Jesus should have been tending the crowds, and not tending to the leper! Jesus went to him, answered him, and healed him. And now the leper can return to being a member of his community. Can you imagine the feeling of love and joy in the loving embraces he received from a community who may have forgotten him, written him off because everyone knew there was no coming back from leprosy?

We all want that experience of divine healing – if not for us, maybe for a family member or friend. We pray for it, we ask God for that special miracle. And we wait. Sometimes patiently, sometimes not. At Jesus’ table, there are no outcasts – all are welcome, all are loved, all are special and valuable. Is this the way you treat people you meet, the homeless on the street?

Lord, if you choose… Not my will but yours be done.  

Patty Masson is the Director of Adult Formation and Evangelization at St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Church in Spring, Texas.