Claire Smith

Feast of St. Charles Borromeo

Scripture:

Philippians 3:17-4:1
Luke 16:1-8

Reflection:

The Challenge of Stewardship

Today’s Gospel from Luke recounts Jesus’ parable regarding a “resourceful” steward who at first dishonestly squandered his master’s property, but then prudently tried to save face by dealing with his master’s debtors.  Though we might first be appalled at his dishonesty, in his moment of crisis he was decisive and acted quickly to prepare for his future.  Jesus highlights the steward’s “gifts” and limitations as a human person – and encourages us to be faith-filled and zealous in living out our faith in Him as “…children of the light…”

St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians encourages his followers to imitate his example as a convert-missionary, giving his life to help spread the Good News.  Paul’s many gifts, especially his ardent faith, were held up as a prime example to the many people he touched in his journeys; his last words of today’s scripture selection have encouraged many:  “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I Iove and long for, my joy and my crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, beloved.”  Stand firm in the Lord…

On this early November day, we also thank God for the person of St. Charles Borromeo.  He was a gifted and zealous steward of the 16^th Century, credited for helping reform and build up the Church in a variety of ways.

As Bishop and Cardinal, Charles Borromeo encouraged the intellectual and moral growth of clergy and religious, especially by forming new seminaries.  He helped author the catechism called for during the Council of Trent; he started the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) for children’s growth in their faith.  He held special meetings in his home diocese of Milan, seeking to incorporate the message of the Council of Trent.  He reached out to the poor and needy of his day, sacrificing wealth, honor, and influence to serve them – personally ministering to the sick, the hungry, and the dying.  Truly a gifted and zealous man who gave God his all during the 46 years of his life!

The Good News challenges us today:  zealously follow the words and deeds of Jesus; live as faith-filled, active stewards of God’s many gifts; learn from Sts. Paul and Charles Borromeo to share your gifts with the Church today, especially those most in need.  The “value” of such stewardship:  priceless…for ourselves and our world!!

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:

Philippians 3:3-8a
Luke 15:1-10

Reflection:

One of the frailties of human behaviour is our incapacity to see ourselves in the full light of day. So many tests – both simple exercises and the more deeply searching psychological tests – are designed precisely to help us see those parts of our own life that are hidden from us.

Jesus may not have had ‘tests’ through which to help people see themselves and their behaviour more clearly, but he certainly had a great gift for storytelling. In his stories and shorter parables, he not only revealed God’s love and mercy to us but helped his first audiences (and us today) to see themselves and our future safety in God’s loving embrace more clearly.

Today we see this dynamic once again. People were gathering to hear the Word that Jesus was revealing (notwithstanding of course, that apart from anything he said, Jesus was the Word of God).

The people divide neatly into two groups – those who would have seen themselves as outsiders on the one hand (the tax collectors and those labelled ‘sinners’) and on the other hand those who would have seen themselves as insiders (the Pharisees and Scribes).

Jesus gives two simple illustrations that do not favour the majority as one might have imagined but highlight the value of those who his society would have considered ‘lost’.

For our deeper consolation, and to strengthen our own trust and faith in God, we might notice two dynamics that Jesus highlights in the characters of the shepherd and woman.

The first is the great effort, energy, and commitment that they both bring to their search. The second is the joy the two protagonists exhibit upon finding the sheep or the coin. Jesus highlights God’s commitment to us and God’s delight that accompanies the return of the ‘lost’.

In faith, let us rest in the thought that every moment of conversion in our lives, every act of humility and reconciliation we enact is echoed in heaven by God’s delightful cry of ‘Rejoice with me for I have found that faithful part of my daughter/son’s life that had been lost for a time’

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

The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls)

Scripture:

Wisdom 3:1-9
Romans 6:3-9
John 6:37-40

Reflection:

How consoling and encouraging it is to hear a family member or good friend say, “I wish you the best,” or “I am rooting for you.”  When we know our loved ones desire the highest good for us, we are encouraged to do our best, and we rest in the love they give . And so it is in our relationship with God. God desires our highest good. At the most vulnerable times in our lives, and especially at the moment of our death, we can rest in God’s love, knowing the “Souls of the just are in the hand of God.,” as we hear in today’s first reading from the Book of Wisdom. And in today’s Gospel reading from John, Jesus confirms that God desires to share eternal life with us.

Today’s reading from Wisdom gives us two vivid descriptions of our souls, using the analogy of fire as a purifier. Fire is a symbol of the presence of God.

“As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
    and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.” (Wisdom 3:6)

The author of Wisdom shows how suffering can purify our souls of any selfishness and immaturity that would keep us from living in communion with God and others. Once a metal like gold is in its melted down state, the dross in the metal rises to the top and is then removed from the metal before it cools. And like our souls, what is left is pure gold that does not destruct.

“In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
    and shall dart about as sparks through stubble.” (Wisdom 3:7)

Using the analogy of purifying fire again, the author of Wisdom likens our souls to “sparks through stubble.” After the harvest of grain or corn, the farmers burn off the stems that are left, and the ashes become fertilizer for the next year. The farmers light the fire in the day and go back after dark to check the fire. Some embers might still be burning; and when the wind blows, those embers become bright sparks in the darkness, darting up from the burnt stubble in the ground. So too our souls, going towards God.

In the early days of Judaism, suffering was often seen as a sign of God’s displeasure; and material success and health were signs of God’s favor.  The author of Wisdom  sees our relationship with God differently: like our best friends, God is with us in joy and suffering. And if we trust God, God brings about the highest good in our lives in this world and in the next.

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.

Solemnity of All Saints

Scripture:

Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14
1 John 3:1-3
Matthew 5:1-12

Reflection:

In the Church’s liturgical calendar, each November begins with the great feast of “All Saints” and then turns to “All Souls.”  The exuberant Scripture readings include the gospel selection from the beatitudes, the beginning of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew’s Gospel, one of the New Testament’s most well-known passages. Jesus blesses those who are poor and downtrodden and lifts up those who exemplify the very values and commitments that mark his own ministry: the peacemakers, the merciful, the clean of heart, those who hunger and thirst for justice.  The first reading today is a portion from the Book of Revelation where the author, John, is treated to a vision of a “great multitude” from “every nation, race, people and tongue”—a vast procession of those who worship God and have followed Jesus, the Lamb of God.  Wedged between these readings is a beautiful selection from the First Letter of John, reminding his “beloved” Christians that God’s love for them is so intense that may be called “children of God.”

Who are the people addressed in these biblical readings?  Who is included in this feast’s “all Saints”?   Surely, as the reading from the Book of Revelation illustrates, it includes the saints from all ages past—from Augustine, the great theologian to Theresa, the Little Flower, from Agnes the early Roman martyr, to the Medieval mystic Hildegard of Bingen, from St. Monica, the mother of Augustine to Mother Theresa, the mother of the poor.  Not all the saints are formally declared such. When Pope Francis spoke to the Congress on his visit to the United States, he cited two such “unofficial” saints such as Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton.  And there are all the other “saints” in that great procession of the followers of the Lamb—family members and friends we have known and whose memory still inspires us.

But this feast of “All Saints” honors more than our beloved dead.  We the living should also be listed among the “saints.”  In his letters to his communities, Paul the Apostle repeatedly called his fellow Christians the “saints” or the “holy ones.”  For Paul, every baptized Christian was imbued with God’s grace and therefore was “holy.”  In Paul’s view it was not a matter of a follower of Jesus having to try to “become holy”—a Christian was already graced by God, already a “temple of the Holy Spirit,” even now, a member of the “Body of Christ.”  That is the same view expressed in John’s letter: “Beloved, we are God’s children now.” The challenge is to “be ourselves”—that is to live a life expressive of who we truly are.  “Become what you are” is one way of thinking about what we seek to do in living a life in accord with the gospel. 

This great feast—and the feast of All Souls that will follow—views the church as one innumerable assembly of people united and graced by God’s love.  A people that includes those of us who live now in this world, who, in the words of today’s responsorial psalm, “long to see God’s face,” and those who have gone before us and now see the ultimate source of all life and all joy “face to face.”  At a time of pandemic and much social distress and violence in our world, this feast reminds us of our dignity as daughters and sons of God, a cause for joy and hope.

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.

Scripture:

Philippians 2:1-4
Luke 14:12-14

Reflection:

Happy Monday in the 31st Week of Ordinary Time!

Call me eccentric (Ok, Paul, you’re eccentric), but I’ve always been one to leave little notes or flowers or gifts on people’s cars.  It’s almost like a secret mission!  I plot a course to wherever they’re working or living and go at a time I knew they wouldn’t be around.  Then I park around the corner, sneak up, and place a little envelope under their windshield wiper, slip a small bouquet in the door handle, or hang a little gift-bag on their side-view mirror, and then quietly slip away, hopefully unnoticed.  Often, I don’t even sign my name.

I suppose it’s silly, but for my heart, it’s joyful and uplifting.  It’s a strange type of happiness, knowing someone’s day might be made just a little bit brighter because of a small effort from my time and body, and boatload of love from my heart.  And when they don’t know it was me, well, that’s the most fun of all!  The surprise lets them feel loved with no rhyme nor reason.  I know I long for that, and I sure enjoy giving it when I can.

In today’s Gospel (Luke 14:12-14), Jesus is having dinner with one of the “leading Pharisees,” and said to the host, “When you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.”

We all know Jesus’ instruction to care for the people on the fringes of society.  But what are they?  “The poor, the Sick, the crippled, the lame, the blind.”  (Luke 14:13) What these people are is an important distinction.  But -who- are they?

Who are the invisible people in our life?  Whom do we pass by daily?

The poor could be our sister, struggling to pay her bills this month.  The sick could be our brother, in body or in mind.  The crippled or lame might be our mother, needing help with her walker or wheelchair.  How about the person with a different skin color or ethnic background.  The gay person, longing to be accepted.  The person reeling from a brutal separation or divorce.  The convict.  The adult just recently orphaned after their final parent dies.  The person trapped in the recesses of mental illness.

And the list goes on and on.

These are all beautiful souls, worthy of the little notes, flowers, and gifts of our heart.  And the sharing of that love only doubles as it floods not just one, but two.

So, who are the people that need to be invited to our table?

Who will be blessed with a little surprise from us today?

Dear God,
thank you for the invitation
to dine at your table.

Please,
grant us the grace
to carry that invitation
to those on the fringes.
Help us open the door of our hearts,
especially to that person
most in need of our acceptance and our love. Amen.

Peace, joy, and surprising love to you all today, and forever.

Paul Puccinelli is Director of Liturgy & Music at St. Rita Parish in Sierra Madre, California, and a member of the retreat team at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center.

Scripture:

Wisdom 11:22-12:2
2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2
Luke 19:1-10

Reflection:

I remember a story about St. Teresa of Avila. She said that the devil had appeared to her disguised as Christ. Because of her deep faith, St. Teresa knew immediately that this vision was not Jesus, so she dismissed him. Before he left, the devil asked her, “How did you know that I wasn’t Christ?” She responded, “You didn’t have any wounds – Jesus has wounds!” The moral of this story – know your source!

This reading reminds me how much I don’t like gossip, or that horrible telephone game where you start a phrase, and by the time it gets to the end, it is a perfectly senseless statement because people just can’t always seem to disseminate information clearly. 

In this second letter to the Thessalonians, St. Paul is telling the people to not jump to conclusions – verify your sources before you begin to talk about the “coming judgment”, especially if there is a misunderstanding or misinformation from false teachers who really didn’t know what they were talking about. It wasn’t yet time for the day of judgment! Paul wants them to understand that the time must be in the future for the day of judgment because certain events had not yet happened, and it could therefore not be fulfilled as yet.

This reading is also a reassurance to us of God’s endless supply of grace to us through his Holy Spirit, and that in order to retain and continue to receive these gifts we must remain holy. He is so kind to us, and we give him the great pleasure of receiving and retaining his salvation. His son died for us to save us, and when we remain faithful to his grace and mercy, he will manifest his great love in us.

In Christ’s dying for us, through his passion and death, we must remember that we honor his sacrifice in the way we live our lives with joy and service, and we offer our sufferings to him.

Patty Masson supports the Passionists from Spring, Texas.

Scripture:

Philippians 1:18b-26
Luke 14:1, 7-11

Reflection:

                      “For to me life is Christ . . .”

In Saint Paul’s letter to the Philippians, Saint Paul seems to be wrestling with remaining on earth and continuing the work that Christ commissioned him to do; spread the Gospel to the Gentiles or moving on to eternal life. It’s the wrestling that is most interesting. His reasoning for staying and going and then finally realizing that it is God’s will that he continue his own journey.

We wrestle with decisions every day. When making a decision we look at the pros and the cons and decide what is in our best interest. We think of our family, career opportunities, living situation and other factors. Saint Paul was doing this as well and he included Christ in the process. Christ, being the center of this process is Saint Paul’s way of giving his life over to Christ and the will of God. This is a process called discernment, where we take time to look at all the factors and then take it to prayer and ask for the grace to be open to where God is taking us. A way of letting go of what we want and looking to what God wants. Saint Paul was open to whatever God asked of him. He was ready to continue working for God on earth and at the same time ready to let go of his earthly life and embrace eternal life. 

In the Gospel of Luke another decision is given to a group dining with Jesus at a Pharisees house. Jesus tells a parable about choosing a place at the dinner table. Again, Jesus challenges the Pharisees with his ending, telling all, that those who think themselves better than others and take the highest place will be humbled and those who have chosen the lowest may in turn be asked to move to a higher place. The goal is to make choices that lead us to the heavenly feast. The feast of eternal life comes through our choices to become the person that God created us to be. Through our choices we may also participate in the building of the Kingdom of God now. Through our own suffering we share in the Kingdom and the eternal feast that awaits us.

Saint Paul’s wrestling and Christ’s parable calls each of us to take time to reflect on how we invite Christ into our lives and the choices we make. Do I invite Christ into all aspects of my life? Do I take time in prayer to listen with my heart to where Christ is leading me? 

Linda Schork is a theology teacher at Saint Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky.

Feast of Saints Simon and Jude

Scripture:

Ephesians 2:19-22
Luke 6:12-16

Reflection:

I find a lot of hope and promise in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.  He is speaking not only to the people of Ephesus, but to all of us who call ourselves Christian as well!  It is comforting to be reminded that we are sisters and brothers in Christ, members of the household of God and part of something bigger than we can even imagine! Today we celebrate the feast of Saints Simon and Jude.  They were faithful apostles of Jesus who preached the Good News throughout the Middle East and gave their lives in service to the Gospel.

In a few short days we will celebrate the great feast of All Saints!  We give thanks for all those holy men and women who like Simon and Jude have gone before us in faith and call us to follow in their footsteps as we seek to live out our call to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ.

Luke shares the gospel message wherein Jesus, after prayer and discernment, gathers the disciples and appoints the twelve to be his apostles.  We all have a ‘call’ story or many stories of how God calls us time and again to serve as members of his household.  This call to serve takes us down many paths in our lifetime. We are confronted daily with the joys and struggles that surround us as we try to live out that clarion call to be disciples of Jesus in a world that often seems to turn a deaf ear to the good news!

May we continue to answer the call to live the Gospel message, to work towards a more peaceful and just world, to spend time in prayerful discernment and above all, give thanks that we are, fellow citizens and members of the household of God, blessed to have a place at the table of the Lord.  Amen!

Theresa Secord recently is a retired Pastoral Associate from St. Agnes Parish, Louisville, Kentucky.