Claire Smith

Scripture:

Isaiah 29:17-24
Matthew 9:27-31

Reflection:

“And out of gloom and darkness,
the eyes of the blind shall see.” Is 29:18

In both of today’s readings, we hear about God healing physical blindness. In the New Testament, Jesus frequently made a comparison between those who were physically blind and those that were spiritually blind. The Scriptures also frequently use the analogy of being blind to being spiritually lost. One of our most beloved hymns, “Amazing Grace” also expresses this experience of being spiritually lost as a form of blindness:

Amazing grace how sweet the sound/
That saved a wretch like me/
I once was lost, but now I’m found/
Was blind but now I see.

The author of “Amazing Grace,” John Newton, was born in 1725 in England. Following in his father’s footsteps, Newton began his life searching throughout the African coast for slaves to capture and sell for profit. On one journey, Newton and his crew encountered a storm that swept some of his men overboard and left others with the likelihood of drowning. With hands fastened onto the wheel of the boat, Newton cried out to God saying, “Lord, have mercy on us.” After eleven hours of steering, the remainder of the crew found safety with the calming of the storm. This experience was the beginning of Newton’s conversion. Eventually Newton quit the slave trade, studied for the ministry, and became active in the abolitionist movement. Newton’s literary work against the slave trade encouraged abolitionist William Wilberforce to continue his legal fight against slavery. And in 1807, British Parliament voted to abolish the Atlantic slave trade.

Like John Newton, we too can free people from slavery. For those near to us enslaved by loneliness, we can give our presence and care. For those enslaved by pollution and poverty, we can care for Earth and the poor. We can use our power as consumers to purchase sustainably, and our power as citizens to promote policies that protect vulnerable lands and people. Each Advent is another opportunity to “take the blinders off” in our lives, pull out of the gloom and darkness, and turn to the light, to the amazing grace that is offered us in Jesus.

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:

Romans 10:9-18
Matthew 4:18-22

Reflection:

Imagine being a fisherman – your livelihood, your family’s future, everything depends on the catch of the day, and without that you have no income, no way of feeding and supporting your family.

But that is exactly what they did – the fisherman gave up everything to follow the call of this man, this Messiah, and it would change the course of their entire lives.

Jesus knows what we are capable of – our specific gifts and talents are to be shared with everyone, to show them the power and the many graces we receive from our loving God.Those gifts and talents are shared, and by the grace of God, those who receive your gifts will also share their gifts. We pray that, in the end, everyone will bring people to the loving arms of Jesus.

Your gifts are valuable and precious. Don’t hold them to yourself, but share them with those who are hurting, in need, lonely, frightened. There is so much opportunity in this world to make a difference, to share the love of God with others. You won’t have to look very hard to find someone who needs love. Be a fisher of all people, throw out your nets and marvel at the gifts you will receive in return!

Patty Masson supports the Passionists from Spring, Texas.

Scripture:

Isaiah 11:1-10
Luke 10:21-24

Reflection:

Radical Hope:  The Advent Challenge

As we move into the spirit of Advent, today’s Scripture passages invite us to enter this special season with radical hope:  God’s Love is greater than we can imagine, even in our wildest dreams!  The challenges, the limitations of daily life are transformed by God’s activity in ways both big and small.

Our first reading from Isaiah is “classic” in the prophetic tradition so fully witnessed by Isaiah himself.  A budding shoot from a dead stump; the Spirit of God transforming life; God’s involvement with the least / the last / the lost – all life is a gift from God to be both treasured and freely shared.  With God, all things are possible…Life rises from the least likely sources…and we have reason to hope!

The Gospel passage from St. Luke invites us to be “the fly on the wall” as Jesus prays to His Father His heartfelt words of praise, gratitude, openness, service, Jesus then turns to his disciples and encouraged them to be generous and diligent in their discipleship…they were privileged to witness first-hand the Love and Life enfleshed in Jesus’ every word and deed.  They – and we – have reason to hope!

Today our world is challenged by repeated graphic experiences of violence, mistrust, bullying, poverty, prejudice, etc. – challenging our belief in God who is greater than we can imagine and who lovingly reaches out to us in daily life.  This season of Advent serves to spark renewed hope in our lives that love triumphs over evil, that Jesus comes to share transforming love for all of creation.  In Jesus, we have reason to hope…in our homes, our parishes, our cities, in our world.

The Advent season is young; society calls us to feverishly embrace the Christmas event “right now”…and skip the Advent opportunities for deepening our faith, bolstering our hope, and renewing our discipleship.  May we join the Prophet Isaiah and those early disciples of Jesus in opening our eyes and our hearts to the Hope and Life shared in the person of Jesus.  We pray that in Jesus justice shall flourish…and fullness of peace…forever!  Come, Jesus.

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:

Isaiah 4:2-6
Matthew 8:5-11

Reflection:

Happy Advent 2022!  The word Advent comes from the Latin word ‘adventus’ meaning coming.  Christians around the world celebrate this time of preparation for the coming of the child Jesus into our lives and most importantly into our hearts at Christmastime and forward.  In our parish our theme for Advent is ‘Birthing Emmanuel in Our World’!  A banner containing this theme and a beautiful artistic rendition of a pregnant Mary surrounded by the world will greet parishioners as they enter church for liturgy.  As we move through advent, we are called to reflect on the ways we may be called to birth our savior Jesus Christ in our World.

In our reflection we also take time to notice the four candles on the advent wreath.  These candles represent the four weeks of Advent symbolizing Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.  The first candle represents Hope. We hear the clarion call to stay awake and to awaken others to the miracle of Bethlehem and how life-giving and hope-filled our lives and world is because of this great event.  During the second week we are given the challenge to work for Peace and justice as we continue to bring forth God’s kingdom here on earth.

The third week we rejoice and celebrate the Joy in the promise of the Christ Child and be patient and trust in that God’s kingdom surrounds all of us.  In the fourth week we witness to the faith and courage of the Virgin Mary as she consents to bring Love to birth.  We are called to be open and receptive to that love as modeled by Mary and Joseph.

Isaiah gives us that sense of hope in the first reading today as he reminds us of God’s protective care for us as our refuge and strength.  Psalm 122 speaks of peace and rejoicing as we journey to the house of the Lord, which is what this season is all about.  In the gospel message from Matthew, we witness the faith and love of the centurion which led to Jesus healing his servant.

During this season of Advent may we make time to reflect on how we will birth Emmanuel within ourselves, our family, community, and world.  May we come rejoicing to the house of the Lord on Christmas morning ever more hopeful, peaceful, joyful, and loving as we celebrate and live out the glorious message of the Incarnation!  Have a blessed Advent!

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

First Sunday of Advent

Scripture:

Isaiah 2:1-5
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 24:37-44

Reflection:

The day Noah entered the ark… At that point, everything changed. Before the flood, many people were living their lives in their own way, but not always in God’s way. Had those wayward folks paid heed to how they were living their lives, how different their world would have been! But, just as in today’s reading, the coming of the Son of Man will be a repeat of the great flood and the people will be caught unaware. 

We truly do not know the day or the hour of Christ’s coming, but we have this amazing opportunity to live our lives as Christ would have us. We should take this time to be compassionate to one another; loving everyone, whether they need love or not; accepting everyone with no judgment of politics or religion or preference. Christ is a lover of all, and he wants us to follow in his footsteps – to be a disciple for him! 

Don’t be passive about what you do in this life. Jesus wants us to live for now – not for five years ago, and he doesn’t want us trying to decide for ourselves what our future will hold. We can work toward what we feel called to, but in the end only He can give you what he knows you need.

Patty Masson supports the Passionists from Spring, Texas.

Scripture:

Revelation 22:1-7
Luke 21:34-36

Reflection:

It’s the last day of the year…of the liturgical year, that is. Tomorrow is the First Sunday of Advent, the start of a new cycle in the Church year.

The psalm response for today leans into Advent with its refrain, “Come, Lord Jesus.” It is hard to hear the exact intonation of these words. Are they pleading, a tone of imploring? Or are they intoned with confidence, a readiness to meet the Lord?

I choose to believe that on this cusp of Advent we can stand tall and confident. We stand in hope and not despair. Certainly, each of us can point to all the things that can drag us down and wear us out. The senseless murders of guiltless people who are just living their lives. The explosion of those experiencing homelessness because they can’t afford rent or because of addiction. The degradation of the Earth. Political paralysis and religious extremism.

The Gospel for today has Jesus encouraging us to not be weighed down by the anxieties of life but to “have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.” To live our faith is to live with joy. Why then do so many who profess their faith in God have so much anger and use so many vulgarities? Where is the joy that should be the outward sign of their Christian faith?

Amid the tribulations that are very real, I choose—even if imperfectly—to be joyful, confident in praying, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

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:

Revelation 20:1-4, 11—21:2
Luke 21:29-33

Reflection:

As I pondered over and prayed with today’s readings, the image of the book of life was slowly weaving its way through my mind and heart. Faced with apocalyptic pools of fire, it’s hard not to wonder “just how does one get written into the book of life?” My sense is, all is grace, even our ability to walk together as a community of faith in the light of Christ.  And yet, what each of us does matters, so it’s also hard not to look for those breadcrumbs guiding the way…

The first line of today’s psalm resonates compellingly.  “My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.” Here seems a promising path of life: to become deeply aware of the longing within us for what alone will sustain, for what alone endures; “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Lk 21:33).

And then, further on, like a keyhole suddenly appearing, a gap in the lines of today’s psalm becomes apparent.  I have always loved the image of finding refuge in God, that shelter of love which alone can respond to the longing of heart and flesh. So I was curious about the lines which follow, those not included in today’s reading. The complete lines 6-7 (translation from the Catholic Biblical Association of America) read:

⁶Happy are those who find refuge in you, whose heart are set on pilgrim roads.
⁷As they pass through the Baca valley, they find spring water to drink.
Also from pools the Lord provides water for those who lose their way.”

What a beautiful invitation:  to have our hearts set, not on security or stability, but on “pilgrim roads” where we must rely on our companions and on God–even as the road takes us where we would rather not go. The word baca has its roots in the Hebrew verb “bakah”, meaning to weep, mourn, lament.  To have your heart set on pilgrim roads means to pass through valleys of profound grief and lament, to have our hearts broken open in ways from which we cannot even imagine what healing would look like. In these times, companioning each other in shared grief is sometimes all we can do. Together, pilgrim companions, both strangers and friends, we trust in the promise of God’s “[living] water for those who lose their way”—which no doubt means all of us as we walk our life’s pilgrimage.

Scholars tell us that Revelation was composed as resistance literature to meet a crisis, most likely horrific persecution of the early church by Roman authorities.  In our own time we too are facing cataclysmic crises: a quick scan of headlines shows mass shootings, catastrophic earthquakes, mudslides, fires and hurricanes, war, species extinctions, political and climate refugees… What better time to walk together, companioning each other—both stranger and friend–through the valleys of grief, nourished by living water? Perhaps this is how we might write each other into the book of life.  Perhaps this is how we keep alive the memory of the Passion in our hearts.

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