Claire Smith

Scripture:

Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a
Matthew 21: 33-43,45-46

Reflection:

For so many years, Lent was a time for giving up things such as dessert, going to movies, etc.  The focus was on giving up something that I liked instead of doing something hard such as working on my faults. In today’s first reading, Joseph’s brothers were so spiritually dead that they could not even greet him or be kind to him. Considering the behavior of  Joseph’s brothers should enable us to examine the difficult things about ourselves. Lent is a time for us to take the pulse of our spiritual life.  If there are no daily efforts to foster a spiritual life, or we refuse to speak or be kind and loving to others then we must consider that our spiritual life could be dead (spiritual arrest) or non-existent.

How do I spiritually resuscitate myself?  To foster spiritual self-renewal, we should engage in spiritual life-giving practices like daily prayer, daily meditation, scripture study, and acts of service; seek forgiveness and cultivate gratitude; and find time for reflection, solitude, and connection with nature or others. (Adapted from Self-Renewal on Google). It is important to have time set aside for daily spiritual activities. It is advantageous to designate a specific area in one’s home that is quiet, free from noise, and conducive to silence, reflection, and prayer.  A healthy spiritual life requires daily attention through spiritual practices. 

Lord, may I have the strength to engage in daily spiritual renewal activities, allowing me to grow closer to you, my loved ones, and everyone I encounter.   

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

Scripture:

Jeremiah 17:5-10
Luke 16:19-31

Reflection:

Welcome: “Soft Hearts,” Sincerely Abraham

Not too long ago, at a school in the Detroit area, a faculty member proposed that the adults in the school community each select a student and write a personal letter telling what they appreciate as special about the student. There were 50 students who were singled out for such gifts as leadership, kindness, generosity, attention to other students. I heard praise both for the gifts of the students as well as how they shared their gifts. Before handing the letter to the student, we heard some of the letters being read. The letters were not finished before each child covered his or her face and cried, some sobbed. I cried too.

At the passing of our unnamed ‘rich man’ it seems not many people cried, ‘he was buried’. The parable doesn’t elicit tears. Sadly, there is no alternative ending. A petrified heart finds no place in Abraham’s bosom, and bad news continues for the five brothers.

Remember the children! The rich man had a lot of wealth with which he could have done good. The children have their children size gifts. We have ours. No matter, a small store of riches can be just as absorbing and blind us to the poor at our gate. The children were singled out because they shared what they had. Their gifts benefited others.

Why did they cry? Could it be those tears originated in the heart? In some way that none of us can explain their goodness was exposed; a goodness that reached out to many untold sufferings. Could their little gifts of kindness, help, or encouragement to a classmate alleviate some suffering. In their humble, small way sufferings were eased by their gift, but their gift brought them into contact with a bit of suffering. Maybe they do not understand this, nor could they articulate such a mystery. But what they did their hearts knew and their hearts overflowed with tears when it was named. These are the hearts that Abraham embraces in his bosom; hearts growing to the size of the love of God’s heart for us.

Would it have helped if someone wrote a letter to our rich man? Well, Moses and the prophets seem to have one this. But if we notice a friend or classmate whose heart needs some attention, it could well be that we also have a gift to speak a word to the weary. Sad, no one spoke to the rich man. Could he have been helped?

The Lenten days remind us that we are given a great gift, beyond our stored-up treasures. God gives us a sign in the resurrection from the dead that we are called t share a risen life. Life beyond this life is our destiny. We glimpsed this with the apostles Sunday. There are innumerable moments of resurrection – a peaceful death, a birth, an act of love, our boundless world of nature. These moments shout and can awaken in us, something that helps us know there is a resurrection of our humble mortal bodies. Let us celebrate them, look for them and share this gift with others.

Do not deny your gifts, use them. Affirm, awaken and encourage them in others. And in the Lenten days share the moments of resurrection that reveal the gift to come.

Fr. William Murphy, CP is a member of Immaculate Conception Community in Jamaica, New York.

Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Scripture:

2 Samuel 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16
Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22
Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a or Luke 2:41-51a

Reflection:

It was not through the law that the promise was made to Abraham and his descendants that he would inherit the world, but through the righteousness that comes through faith. Romans 4:13

On this Solemnity when we venerate St. Joseph, spouse of Mary and foster father of Jesus, in both the Old and New Testament readings the Church recalls the promise made to Abraham by God that he would be the father of many nations. While the reading from Second Samuel tells us how that promise was made, in his letter to the Romans, Paul tells us why. It was the faith of Abraham that was the firm foundation on which the Lord would establish a people uniquely His own. It was from these people that ultimately the Lord would send His own Son. 

When the time came for Jesus to enter the world, the Lord sought another man of faith, a righteous man, to be a father. St. Joseph did not sire Jesus, but he served as a father from the line of Abraham in the flesh and more importantly as his heir in faith. We clearly see Joseph’s faith when he believes what the angel tells him, and he takes Mary into his home. What Scripture does not describe, however, are all the many other realities that required Joseph’s faith. It doesn’t tell us how he had to trust that he would have the wisdom to be a father to God’s Son. It doesn’t tell us that he had to believe that God would give him the grace to live a celibate life. It doesn’t tell us how he had to have faith that he could be worthy of such a role. There are numerous things Scripture doesn’t tell us explicitly about St. Joseph. Rather, it tells us what need to know. He was a man of faith.

There are many times when Scripture does not describe and give answers to the exact circumstances of our lives. In those moments, we have a choice. Will we become disillusioned, anxious, or resentful? Or rather, will we be like St. Joseph and his father Abraham and allow our faith to be the answer and the foundation for God’s promise in our lives?

Megan Silas is a Lay Passionist at Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center in Houston, Texas.

Scripture:

Isaiah 1:10, 16-20
Matthew 23:1-12

Reflection:

We are in the second week of Lent and our readings for today immerse us even more deeply into the mystery of God’s mercy and compassionate love.  But gratefully, we are also shown a better way to make a difference where it can really count.  Let’s revisit the people’s plaintive plea from the book of Deuteronomy:

 “Lord, great and awesome God, you who keep your merciful covenant toward those who love you and observe your commandments!  We have sinned, been wicked and done evil; we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws.  We have not obeyed your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers, and all the people of the land. Justice, O Lord, is on your side; we are shamefaced even to this day…”

We are “shamefaced”, so painfully aware of our sins and transgressions against all that is good and holy.  And so, we cry out to God above and plead for God’s mercy and forgiveness.  This cry out to the Lord is so very appropriate for all of us today as we see the horrid and tyrannical transgressions against God’s love and justice so present in our own land and in the world itself!  Repeatedly, in the psalm response for today’s Eucharist, we hear ourselves chanting, “Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins!”

And how does the Lord respond?  The answer is so clear as we listen to the message proclaimed in the Gospel of Luke.  Be merciful as our Father in Heaven is merciful.  Don’t judge and condemn others.  Forgive and love one another.  How can we expect to receive God’s mercy and love when we refuse to offer the same thing to one another!

What I most appreciate about the readings from the Liturgy today is that what seems so overwhelming when we view all the evil around us can be transformed so simply if we only do what the Lord has asked of us from the very beginning.  Love one another; forgive and be merciful.  Then we will know mercy and love ourselves, and the world will not be the same!  It just has to start with each of us in our own way.  If we want the Lord to be kind and merciful to us, shouldn’t we all do the same for one another?  It has to begin somewhere.  It has to begin with us, right here and right now!

Fr. Pat Brennan, C.P. is the director of Saint Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center, Detroit, Michigan.