Claire Smith

Scripture:

Hebrews 10:32-39
Mark 4:26-34

Reflection:

As a young child, I spent a lot of time in the country. One of my favorite memories is riding in my parent’s car, rolling down the windows, and smelling fields of fresh dill. It permeated the air; the fresh smell was so beautiful. I didn’t think of the weeds, or the efforts of those who sowed those crops. All I knew was how much I loved that scent, how it permeates my mind to this day. I always think of that day as one of the sunniest and brightest days of my life.

Our faith can be like that memory. Our thoughts, our traditions, the way we bring Christ to others can be like that scent of dill – gently flowing all around for everyone to enjoy and take a part of for their own, if they so choose. In a time when we battle so many vices in our lives, so many who find this faith a waste, something inconsequential. But if you know anything about this God who we love, if you have any inkling of his goodness and mercy, then you know that the weeds are the inconsequential part of the equation. Yes, they must be dealt with; yes, someone has to take the lead to tend, water, cultivate. But Praise God in Heaven for the rewards! 

Be Christ to others in all you say and do. Don’t let the weeds destroy the good that needs to be done. Take time to remember the gentle scent of a beautiful dill plant, or the small, inconsequential mustard seed, another amazing gift of God’s great bounty, that when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.

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

Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus

Scripture:

2 Timothy 1:1-8 or Titus 1:1-5
Mark 4:21-25

Reflection:

The gospel for today’s Feast of Saints Timothy and Titus is a familiar parable from the 4^th chapter of St. Mark, a chapter that has Jesus teaching the crowds through a series of parables. For today, it is the parable of the lamp that should not be hidden under a basket but atop a lampstand to light the world. For the early Christian community, being too visible was a dangerous proposition as they were often persecuted for their faith. The Christian community needed encouragement to live faithful lives openly and boldly.

We all have “lights” that need to shine, to brighten our world. Too often, though, we’ve been told not to brag, to be humble. That false humility is like putting a basket over the light. And like Jesus in the gospel story and St. Paul in his letters to Timothy and Titus, we need someone to call us to share our light with others. St. Paul—always on a mission to spread the Word of God—often circled back to those nascent faith communities that often struggled as all human communities do. Very often he had to encourage the local leaders, like Timothy and Titus, to lead by setting themselves as on a lampstand for their light to shine.

I can point to important moments in my life where another person challenged me to take my light from under the basket to let it shine. Sometimes someone saw some trait in me that I could not see for myself. Other times, a person challenged me to move beyond the safety of my small world and to take a leap of faith. Still others asked me to help with a project that I would not have on my own volunteered for. I am grateful for how others encouraged me to uncover the light within, those gifts that are mine to share.

As we reflect on and are grateful for those who encouraged us to live a life of faith fully and boldly, perhaps we can reflect on the times that we were that encouragement for others. How can we call others to take the lamp from under the basket so it can light up the world just a bit more?

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.

Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle

Scripture:

Acts 22:3-16 or Acts 9:1-22
Mark 16:15-18

Reflection:

Today is the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle.  And what a conversion we witness in the readings! Night and day. We all know the story of Paul’s conversion from persecutor, “breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord,” to a “chosen instrument” of the Lord.

The Spirit works in mysterious ways that we do not understand, using the most unlikely instruments to carry God’s name before “Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.”  Today, still, we see God making use of the unlikeliest of instruments, both those powerfully positioned, breathing death and destruction and those who the world discounts as poor, weak, unworthy of our attention. 

I am thinking of our current existential predicament in the face of climate change and our turn away from commitment to the common good and the principle of subsidiarity, which Pope Francis tells us “grants freedom to develop the capabilities present at every level of society, while also demanding a greater sense of responsibility for the common good from those who wield greater power” (Laudato Si’ 196). We are all familiar with the many consequences of our common actions: extreme weather events and the resulting devastation and death, loss of the world’s forests, loss of biodiversity, acidification of soil and water, rising ocean levels, drought, fires, crop failures—the list goes on. 

And in the midst of this disaster, the Spirit moves.  Those the more powerful have discounted—the poor, the indigenous, the oppressed—are witnessing to our Catholic principles of subsidiarity and common good.  In recent news, we see the mobilization of Black and Latinx communities against wells and drill sites in LA resulting in a ban on new oil and gas extraction and benefitting us all through decreased warming emissions and cleaner air. We see indigenous Earth and Water keepers holding the EPA accountable to address toxic PFAS in US waters, including the Great Lakes, on behalf of all of us who eat fresh water fish.

And how, you may now ask, do those powerful ones breathing death and destruction fit into this? Heirs to two American families that became fabulously wealthy from oil, have founded non-profit organizations focused on climate justice. Trevor Neilson, one of the founders of the Climate Emergency Fund put it this way in the New York Times: “The smartest place for philanthropists to invest is in this new generation of activists who refuse to accept the excuses of adults whose lazy approach to climate is leading us off a cliff,” adding, “The [California] fires had a way of waking us up.”  A divine Pauline conversion, indeed.

Lissa Romell is the Administrator at St. Vincent Strambi Community in Chicago, Illinois.

Scripture:

Isaiah 8:23-9:3
1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17
Matthew 4:12-23

Reflection:

Lord, this is one of the gospels that really puzzles and challenges me. You walked along the shore of Galilee, passing by fishing boats with crews of men working with their nets. “Come follow me”, you said, and they dropped everything and began their journeys as disciples/apostles. I can’t fathom how young men walked away from their families, friends, careers, because you simply asked them to do so.   Were you that charismatic? Did they immediately see something extraordinary in you that was so over-whelming, so commanding, that they changed their lives that very day?

I think of my life and wonder how I can follow you?  Family, work, life challenges such as health all can push to a secondary consideration my desire to see you more clearly, love you more dearly, follow you more nearly day by day.      

I don’t believe you are asking me to “cast away my nets” in order to serve you. My way of serving you is doing everything while walking with you each day. I can embrace every challenge, difficulty, problem, each day as a gift from you to better myself. To find all the joys of children, grandchildren, my wife, my parents in my life as extraordinary of your Love for me. I must begin and end each day knowing I am trying to follow you.  

Ray Alonzo is the father of three children, grandfather of two, and husband to Jan for 45 years. He is a USN Vietnam Veteran, and a 1969 graduate of Mother of Good Counsel Passionist Prep Seminary. Ray currently serves on the Passionist Alumni Council.

Feast of St. Agnes

Scripture:

Hebrews 9:2-3, 11-14
Mark 3:20-21

Reflection:

Have you ever said or heard someone else say: “He or she is out of his or her mind”.  In today’s gospel the crowd that had gathered to hear Jesus said that of him.  Yet, when people state something that doesn’t make sense to us we say or at least think:  “He or she is out of his/her mind.”  Today’s gospel on this the feast of St. Agnes affirms those, like St. Agnes, who are willing to stand up for what they believe. The gospel would suggest that we think positively and respond compassionately to those courageous people.

In the first reading from the Hebrews cites the construction of a tabernacle behind the second veil called the holy of holies. Their tabernacle was moveable so that the Holy One journeyed with them.  In our Catholic churches we have tabernacles but they are stationary.  We bow or genuflect to show reverence. Sr. Joyce Rupp, O.S.M. in a reflection on today’s Hebrews reading writes: “What I did not learn, until later in life, is that each of us is also a tabernacle, a sacred dwelling place…The Holy One moves along with us throughout our lives. The challenge is to remember this wondrous Presence daily.  (Living Faith, Sr. Joyce Rupp, O.S.M. “The Tabernacle of the heart,  Saturday, January 21, 2023, January, February, March 2023.)

Psalm 47:2  instructs us : “All you peoples, clap your hands, shout to God with cries of gladness…” The psalm is expressing wonder, awe and gratitude for the giftedness of life and its magnificent beauty. The psalm reminds me of  Simon and Garfunkel’s song: “Slow down you move too fast, you got to make the morning last…”.  59^th Street Bridge Song (Feeling Groovy) 1966 Album: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.

Today, Lord give me the grace to refrain from rash judgment of  others, the grace to experience myself as a sacred dwelling place for the Holy One and  stop to savor the wonders of life.

Carl Middleton is a theologian/ethicist and a member of the Passionist Family.

Scripture:

Hebrews 8: 6-13
Mark 3: 13-19

Reflection:

I will put my laws in their minds
and I will write them upon their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they shall be my people. –Hebrews 8:10

For I will forgive their evildoing
and remember their sins no more. -Hebrews 8:12

Here we are in only the second week of ordinary time and we are already receiving encouraging messages to persevere and remain faithful.  In this part of the Letter to the Hebrews we are reminded that God’s new covenant isn’t written on clay tablets or hidden in the religious traditions that need “special” people to interpret them for us.  No, God’s laws are written in our minds and hearts.  And, of course, those laws are written in our minds and hearts through the profound love leading to total self-gift of Jesus Christ.  As we welcome and experience that total love, we are transformed and called to incarnate it into our world.

This letter was written to the Jewish Christians of the first century in response to the great suffering that Israel was undergoing.  Their country was occupied and oppressed by the Romans, their social system was breaking down, the religious leaders had lost their way and demonized those who followed Jesus, their economy was more and more fragile and the Christians themselves were still struggling to fully understand the meaning of Christ’s life, death and resurrection.  And, of course, the Christian Jews were struggling to survive in the hostile Jewish culture.  They are encouraged to trust in the hope that Jesus brought them and persevere in their following of Him. 

Most of us can resonate with the struggle of the early Christians to persevere given all the tensions they were dealing with.  We can resonate because we can recognize some of our own feelings and thoughts when we are battered by the violence and injustice, failures and disappointments that are part of our world.  Many of us have raised the question, “Where is God in all this???” more than a few times.   So, the message in this Letter to the Hebrews, encouraging perseverance and trust in God, is surely an important message for us as well.  Perhaps our prayer today can be, “Lord, help us always to trust in you and keep faith in following Jesus.”

Fr. Michael Higgins, C.P. is the director of retreats at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.