Claire Smith

Scripture:

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
Matthew 25:1-13

Reflection:

Today we read the parable of the talents. A talent is a very large sum of money and a heavy piece that we could compare it to a gold brick. These talents are doled out to three servants. The first multiplies his investment of five talents, pleasing the rich man. The second had three talents and doubled his investment as well. But the third had only one and buried his, thinking that holding on to it would please his master. It did not.

Think of these talents given by our master, our God, as the sum of the gifts He has given you. He shares his love and his mercy with us, to use and share in the mission He has given each of us…to proclaim His gospel, to be a living gospel in the unique way He is leading you. Your personal talents were a gift from God to use to bring honor and glory to God and to lead as many to heaven as we can.  If you tightly hold your treasures and talents in your own hand, there is no open hand in which God can add more.  The proper and faithful use of those talents give life to others, give honor and glory to God, and joy in our own earthly life. God, in turn, will increase those gifts. And, in the end, we can look forward to receiving the fullness of the kingdom.

Don’t squander your gifts. If we properly utilize these gifts in the time we are given, and if we are bold and fearless in their utilization, we will see the glory of God, and will dwell in the house of the Lord forever! Hallelujah!!

Patty and Ed Masson support the Passionists from Spring, Texas.

Scripture:

1 Thessalonians 3:7-13
Matthew 24:42-51

Reflection:

In today’s gospel, we get two drastically different pictures of servants put in charge of the owner’s estate while he is away. One is careful, generous, and watchful. The other mistreats the other servants, is self-indulgent, and unprepared for the owner’s return. While this parable certainly is meant to help us think about the end times when the Lord returns, it provides us today an opportunity to reflect on our relationship to the Earth.

All Creation has been entrusted to us. So, what are we doing with it? Destroying it or caring for it? Using it all up so nothing remains for the next generations? Sharing its bounty generously or hoarding the riches for ourselves? How shall we respond when the Lord of all Creation returns and asks us, “What have you done to the Earth that I entrusted to you?”

The 2015 encyclical, “Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home” is an exquisite reflection on connecting our love of God to our love of neighbor and to our love of Creation. Just as we cannot say we love God yet turn a blind eye to those in need, we cannot say we love God and turn a blind eye to the denigration of the Earth.

We might imagine the wicked servant offering an excuse, “But I didn’t know when you were returning.” We know we are being hard on this Earth. Our actions do have an impact on Creation, which includes how we care for the poor, the sick, and the stranger. The call to “repent and believe in the Good News” includes, as Pope John Paul II said, an ecological conversion.

“Disregard for the duty to cultivate and maintain a proper relationship with my neighbor, for whose care and custody I am responsible, ruins my relationship with my own self, with others, with God and with the earth. When all these relationships are neglected, when justice no longer dwells in the land, the Bible tells us that life itself is endangered.” (Laudato Si’, no. 70) It is for us to decide which of the two servants we shall model ourselves after.

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:

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13
Matthew 23:27-32

Reflection:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside,
But inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth.”  -Matthew 23:27

Harsh words.  They conclude the litany of denunciation Jesus addresses to the scribes and Pharisees in chapter 23 of Matthew. It’s tempting to read these words and think of all those we consider to be hypocritical “scribes and Pharisees” today.  Given the extreme polarization we’re experiencing as a country right now, I imagine each of us is likely considered part of this category by someone! 

So that got me thinking… “How am I like a whitewashed tomb?  What kind of dead bones am I carrying inside myself?”  I thought of a recent conversation.

The Passionists of Holy Cross Province are currently crafting a statement on cultural and racial diversity to offer guidance and development to Province ministries. Naturally, diverse members of the Passionist family are being consulted in this process. My sense, along with most of my white colleagues, was that this statement will help move us toward an inclusive multi-cultural and racially diverse Passionist family.  And then, it was gently pointed out by a Passionist of color that we already are a multi-cultural and racially diverse Province.  When we genuinely affirm this, he observed, the question becomes “How does this reality call us to conversion and change as a Province?”

In a moment, I was aware—once again—of the narrow focus I have, simply from being a member of the dominant culture.  It was like a light went on in the tomb, illuminating the dead bones.  And God’s words in Ezekiel 37 echoed in my ears: “Prophesy over these bones, say to them ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!’ Thus says the Lord, ‘I will put my Spirit into you so that you may come to life.’”

Today’s psalm assures us that there is nowhere we can flee from the Lord, even in the darkness of our inner tomb, amidst the dead bones. God’s hand is always guiding us, holding us fast, night shining as day (Ps 139). My work is to say “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!”  And to open to the movement of God’s word within me, to allow my narrow focus to be stretched wide by the Spirit.  

When we do, we can surely trust in the words of 1 Thessalonians: “the Word of God is now at work in [us] who believe.”

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

Scripture:

1 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 8b-10
Matthew 23:13-22

Reflection:

In our Gospel reading for today, Jesus calls out the scribes and the Pharisees for being hypocrites and leading the people in the wrong way.

Of all the critiques that Jesus makes, I was struck by the ones Jesus makes about oaths: “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If one swears by the temple, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated … If one swears by the altar, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.’” Jesus points out how the Pharisees and the scribes put more importance on the material value of the gold and the gift than on the spiritual significance of the temple and the altar.

I see this as a great challenge for us today. We need to make sure that we don’t fall into the same trap that the Pharisees and the scribes did. At times we say that the church is to be “a leaven in the world,” but when we get caught up with material wealth, or when our political divisions seem to create divisions within the church, there is a danger of the world becoming a “leaven” in the church.

Our challenge, as always, has been to be in the world, but not of it. Wealth and resources are meant to be tools to help those in need and share the Good News, not as ends in themselves. And although we may differ on various issues, our differences need not separate us.

Perhaps it’s simply a matter of remembering Jesus’ commandment to love and to follow Him. That will always keep us in the proper perspective when it comes to the things and attitudes of the world. May we hold fast to Jesus’ words and follow Him in love.

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is the local superior of the Passionist Community in Birmingham, Alabama. 

Scripture:

Joshua 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b
Ephesians 5:2a, 25-32
John 6:60-69

Reflection:

This really is the whole ball of wax, isn’t it Lord? Even your disciples said it was a tough nut to crack ~ so very hard to accept.  Transubstantiation ~ the change of something elemental into something completely different.  

We know the transubstantiation at consecration is real, is truly You.  It’s not a simple symbolism of your presence, but your true body and blood.  It’s the reason that unconsecrated hosts are not called “The Body”. Only after consecration do we speak of “The Body of Christ”.  The Church Fathers believed, and the early martyrs died for believing that the Eucharist is truly your body and blood.

You lost many of your followers that day on the shoreline in Israel, as you spoke of giving us your body and blood to sustain us. It was too hard for many to accept. If those who walked with you, supported you, believed in You, still walked away unable to accept or understand Your words, how much harder it is these 2000 years later to believe. But then I think of the Communion of Saints, especially those early martyrs who knelt in the colosseums and died for believing that the Eucharist is Your body and blood.  I stand with Peter and say, “Where else would I go?”  Only in You do I find the way to, the truth of, and the light of eternal life.  

Still, at times, I cry out, like the father of the sick child; “Lord I believe, help my disbelief” (Mark 9 20-22).  Only because I believe in you can I reach out for help and understanding. 

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.

Scripture:

Ruth 2:1-3, 8-11; 4:13-17,
Matthew 23:1-12

Reflection:

You have but one Teacher and you are all brothers. -Matthew 23:8

There are several times in the gospels that people believed that Jesus spoke with authority.  (Matthew 7:29) Usually a person is viewed as having authority when they live what they say and do. The Pharisees surpassed other Jews in their knowledge of the Torah.  “Jesus’ problem with the Pharisees and scribes is not with their intentions in relation to God per se. “We see from this passage that the two significant critiques Jesus provides have to do with (1) their lack of obedience to the Torah as they teach it to the people (23:2-4); and (2) the motivation in doing the Law as a way to gain human favor and honor (23:5-7).” (Jeannine K. Brown, Working Preacher, November 2, 2008,
https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-31/commentary-on-matthew-231-12-3

When one speaks with authority it usually denotes a consistency of values being demonstrated through behaviors and actions.  In this sense, we are all teachers and learners. (Sr. Macrina Wiederkehr, O.S.B. Living with Christ, August 21, 2021, p.157)Jesus is trying to teach his disciples that most important is faithful obedience to God and our relationship with God. Psalm 128 is a song sung by Jewish pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem.  Blessed are those who obey and respect our Creator. 

Living in union with God is what gives us the authority to teach.  We all teach especially if we are parents or grandparents. By what authority do we teach?  Are we consistent “in walking the talk”. Call to mind the teachers in your life that you most admired and respected.  What did you admire most about them?  If they are still living send them a note expressing your gratitude.  If they are deceased say a prayer of gratitude for them.

Blessed are you who fear the Lord and who teach and walk in God’s ways.

“What the teacher is, is more important than what he/she teaches”
-Karl Meninger  (www.englishdotcom.net)

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

Feast of St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church

Scripture:

Ruth 1: 1, 3-6, 14b-16, 22
Matthew 22: 34-40

Reflection:

Some people are just worth remembering.  They live their lives in such a way that their peers, both friends and foes, respect them.  As a result, they have a profound influence on the very best that emerges in their time.  We celebrate the feast of such a remarkable man today, St. Bernard of Clairvaux.  He lived in the 12^th century (born in 1090 and died in 1153), a time of great turmoil in the Church and in society. 

He was born into one of the noble families in Burgundy, France.  He had a great future before him in the society of his day but chose instead to give his life to God.  Against his family’s wishes, he rejected the ambitious plans they had for him and, instead, followed his heart and at age 23 entered one of the most austere religious orders in the Church, the Cistercians.  He was already so influential among his peers, he brought a total of 30 young nobles (among whom were several of his brothers) with him into religious life.  Even at the early age of 23, he was a man of prayer and his prayer life deepened quickly under the guidance of the Abbot of Citeaux, St. Stephen Harding.  Though the Cistercians lived a very austere life, they were growing so rapidly at that time that just two years after he entered, he and fifteen other companions were sent out to found another abbey.  Bernard was elected the first abbot of this new abbey located in the Clair Valley.  He remained Abbot of Clairvaux until his death in 1153

As abbot, Bernard emphasized three important spiritual disciplines:  an austere and simple form of life, lectio divina and personal prayer, and finally, a deep personal devotion to Our Blessed Mother.  His Abbey flourished and Bernard founded three additional abbeys with the monks from Clairvaux.

But it wasn’t just within the confines of the Cistercians that Bernard exerted enormous influence.  He participated in several Church Councils, brought unity to the Papacy (persuaded most of the secular rulers to accept Innocent II over Anacletus II), and overcame several heresies that were rampant during his time.   In short, Bernard became one of the most significant religious figures of 12th century. 

As you remember St. Bernard today, I hope you have a chance to read more about his life.  He is a true example of a faithful disciple of Jesus who uses all his considerable gifts to build up the Kingdom of God.  We thank God for this remarkable man and ask for the grace to live our lives in a way that builds the Kingdom of God.

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