Claire Smith

Scripture:

Hosea 10:1-3,7-8,12
Matthew 10:1-7

Reflection:

The Kingdom of Heaven is the Law of Love

There is a spiritual battle in this world, and it is all about the law of love. It’s between the Lord’s way of life (poverty, humility, and service) and the world, with its laws and values of wealth, vanity (excessive pride in or admiration in one’s appearance and achievement) and pride (excessive concern for appearance). One leads to love, the other to death. What is your state of life? Will your heart become more a friend of Jesus and love? Will it be more poor, more humble, more dedicated to service? Allow the love of Jesus to take root in you.

In the first reading Hosea says to the people of Israel, “Sow for yourselves justice, reap the fruit of piety, break up for yourselves a new field, for it is time to seek the LORD, till he comes and rain down justice upon you.” It’s all about love. When compared to today’s Gospel it is the same message. Love of one another. Jesus has authority to call back the sinners, the repentant, to Himself and heal them too.

Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.” Reaching out to those who are hurt, and sick is what the disciples are doing. Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Those lost sheep today are our fallen away Catholics. We can reach out to those who have fallen away. Jesus said, “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.” We can offer gentle instruction to those who do not know how to start again to live their Faith. We can show them how to begin again and start receiving the sacraments, the gifts of grace which come to us through the apostles and their successors. This can be done by our Bishops and Priest, but often, it will be ordinary Christians who point those lost sheep in the right direction. It’s all about love.

The Lord sends us into spiritual combat. It is a fight to the death that he himself has undertaken, and one that we too are invited to identify as our own ultimate battleground, conscious that it is God’s war. For it is a war waged “against the enemy of human nature.” That is, in the language of Saint Ignatius, the Devil or Demon. It is also the war waged by  “the friend of human nature,” the Lord Jesus, who wants to win us for God and to recapitulate in himself all that is good in creation, in order to offer it to the Father, to the praise of his glory. The Law of love will always prevail.

What is at stake in this war? To me it is whether in my heart, as well as in the heart of the Church and of humanity itself, the Kingdom of heaven will be established, with its law of love and the Lord’s way of life: poverty, humility, and service. Or whether the kingdom of this world will triumph, with its laws and values of wealth, vanity, and pride.

It is very characteristic of St. Ignatius to have us contemplate the mysteries of the life of the Lord while at the same time inviting us, “to investigate and ask in what kind of life or in what kind of state his divine majesty wishes to make use of us. And if we have already chosen a state of life, we should reform it for the better.” This is not a question of fulfilling one’s responsibilities or positions of service but of something deeper and definitive: it is a matter of my state of life. And this should not be understood as an external form but as a vital principle of life. Again, I ask, will your heart become more a friend of Jesus? How can you become more like him, more poor, more humble, and more dedicated to service? In what state of life, or through what reform to your state of life, will the love of Jesus take definitive root in you? Does your heart have the law of love embedded in it? The Kingdom of Heaven is the Law of Love.

Deacon Peter Smith serves at St. Mary’s/Holy Family Parish in Alabama, is a religion teacher at Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School in Birmingham, and a member of our Passionist Family.

Scripture:

Hosea 8:4-7, 11-13
Matthew 9:32-38

Reflection:

Two events in the last week make me wonder what this life business really all about. The first I was working in the courtyard of the condo where I live here on the north side of Chicago, weeding. I have been doing this for the last two weeks—the courtyard is rather large and has lots of weeds, we have no grass, but only trees and shade-loving plants and weeds, weeds, weeds. This particular morning a young couple who I did not recognize got out of their car with their baby. The man came over to me and started thanking me profusely and telling me that I made him feel guilty. Evidently, he’d been watching me these past couple of weeks. Anyway, I assured him, that this is what old retired people must do. It makes us feel more part of the community. I am just happy to be able to contribute to our common good. This led to more sharing, he introduced me to his wife. We got to know each other and I proceeded to really enjoy what I had been doing.

The second event also involved a conversation. A friend called on the phone to ask how I was enjoying our prayer time together. I assured him that this COVID-19, which brought on our new way of praying together, for me has been a true blessing. I rediscovered “my” prayer community, one that I really haven’t been a meaningful part of since the 1980’s when I left the northwest side of the city and moved into the city.

Only upon reflecting on these two events did I realize how essential for me are community and prayer.

Somewhere in the family archives, I think my brother Dave has it, is a picture of my parents on their honeymoon with my father a whip in his hand and my mother sitting next to him. They are in a horse-drawn buggy for two in front of the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island in the year 1934, the middle of the Depression here in the U S. This picture points to an anomaly. While my parents both came from families familiar and comfortable with horses and the era before the invention of the automobile. My father was the first one to drive a motor-driven milk wagon for the local dairy where his father was the vet who took care of the horses. My father was an early adopter with new technology, and yet very comfortable with the old ways as well.

People who know me, know that I have been a proponent for online since the early 2000s, largely due to my experience of working with boys with special needs who seemed to thrive online in comparison to face-to-face settings. Now, that the rest of the world seems to have awakened to this rather new technology (actually, I first participated in an online video conference in the early 1980s) I find myself going back to the horse and buggy era and enjoying it. I’m baking bread, working in the garden, and yes, sheltering in place.

Dan O’Donnell is a Passionist Partner and a longtime friend of the Passionists.  He lives in Chicago.

Scripture:

Hosea 2:16, 17b-18, 21-22
Matthew 9:18-26

Reflection:

Today’s Gospel jars me from the temptation to accept a private, Jesus-and-Me spirituality.

At first reading, this section of Matthew’s Gospel appears to be to be two amazing miracles by a compassionate Jesus. But a deeper reading of the context and culture, however, reveal how prophetic the words and deeds are. And the challenge they present to me.

The Palestinian world of Jesus’ time was an honor culture. Men, to be accepted and have influence, focused on defending their status and entitlement. Women who stepped from their limited, powerless roles would be instantly shamed.

In this engrained patriarchal culture, women never asserted themselves socially, especially not in public life. They had no money or property, let alone influence.

For a woman who had been sick for 12 years to interrupt Jesus’ journey to cure the daughter of the male “official,” who enjoyed status and power in the town, was unthinkable.

Instead of publicly pleading with Jesus, she clandestinely came behind him and touched the tassel of his cloak, perhaps trying to avoid being shamed for asserting herself.

When Jesus realized what she had done, he slashed through the cultural mores and did the opposite of shaming her. He en-couraged her and raised her status with a simple wish: “Courage, daughter!” His strong words and the cure soundly condemned the unjust standards of his day. Simultaneously he put the powerless, ailing woman on the same level as the “official” and his daughter.

He recognized immediately the class-less, status-less, power-less essence of our relationship with him: faith.

He then moves on to visit the sick girl. Based on the faith of her father, not his position in the community, he dismisses the ridiculing crowd and raises the dead child.

Praying over these two stories I ask myself these questions:

*How strong is my faith in Jesus?

*Do I trust his wisdom over mine?

*Do I believe, by surrendering everything to Jesus, I will find fullness of life?

*What social expectations do I carry with me that keep me from freely giving all to Jesus?

*What social barriers to justice and equality do I work to dismantle?

This prayerful examination of conscience can shake my serene “Jesus-and Me” understanding of religion. As a result, I am free to be bold in every act of love and every effort to build a just world.

Jim Wayne is a board member of the Passionist Solidarity Network (PSN), and author of The Unfinished Man. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

Zechariah 9:9-10
Romans 8:9, 11-13
Matthew 11:25-30

Reflection:

See, your king shall come to you… riding on a donkey. –Zechariah 9:9

For my yoke is easy, and my burden light. –Matthew 11:30

I don’t know about you, but I definitely have a tendency to overthink things. Especially now in the time of Covid-19, when I have plenty of time to think, I find myself returning to events of the past day/year/lifetime where I feel like could have handled things much better.  It’s very easy to find my sins of the past. And I often find myself ruminating (chewing over and over again) on these perceived mistakes.

So why do I bring this up in light of today’s readings? Some scholars believe that at the time of Jesus there were 613 individual commandments that a good Jew needed to abide by in order to be in right relationship with God. Given the trouble I have with ten, I can’t imagine how hard this would be. But what does Jesus have to say about this?

First let’s look at the reading from Zachariah: “See, your king shall come to you; a just savior is he, meek, and riding on an ass.” As Christians, we see this as a prophecy, a foretelling of Jesus entering Jerusalem in a donkey. if you look up the symbolism of a donkey you’ll find in Wikipedia “Narrative turning points in the Bible (and other stories) are often marked through the use of donkeys — for instance, leading, saddling, or mounting/dismounting a donkey are used to show a change in focus or a decision having been made.” So, some change is indicated by Christ entering Jerusalem on a donkey.

Next, in the Gospel Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” Jesus is encouraging us to make a change. For we must take off our current yoke to take up His. So, what are these yokes? I think the old yoke is not so much the 613 laws of the Torah or the Ten Commandments but the self-doubt and recrimination that comes from doubting our relationship with God. That voice that is constantly whispering in our ears that we are not good enough, active enough, worthy enough, to be loved by God.

And what is the yoke of Jesus? Love. Love God. Love your neighbor. And love yourself.

My prayer today is that I listen to my Lord and lay down the yoke of fear and sin and take up His yoke of Love.

Along with working as an independent teacher, Talib Huff volunteers and works at Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center in Citrus Heights, California. You may contact him at [email protected].

Scripture:

Amos 9:11-15
Matthew 9:14-17

Reflection:

Pandemics & Possibilities: Thinking Outside the Box

It’s July 4^th:  For citizens of the U.S.A., a time to both reflect on and celebrate the dynamics of our nation’s history.  And the liturgical Scripture selections for “ordinary time”, the Saturday of the 13^th week of the year, offer us reason to pause and reflect deeply on our faith as it impacts life today.

Our reading from the prophet Amos flows from his reputation as a prophet of both doom and hope!  Israel had been unfaithful to its covenant with God; they had been punished – thus Amos speaks of Israel’s restoration:  rebuilding the ruins, the “basics” of life restored, a sense of being “home”… a new age, a fertile earth – flowing from an abundance of God’s love.

Matthew’s Gospel pictures the disciples of John the Baptist questioning Jesus about the demands of fasting.  Jesus uses a variety of images – a wedding celebration, patching a piece of fabric, the care of new wine – to help them understand that, in Him, God is sharing a new image of God.  God’s love is fresh, new, abundant; God is forgiving, generous, loving.  Jesus challenges them to “think outside the box”.

Today we are invited to embrace the opportunities and challenges of life.  This time of the global “pandemic”, with catastrophic illness and death:  yes!  Social unrest and calls for a change of attitude and practice in the U.S.:  yes!  Contemporary “prophets” of doom and gloom, fanning fear with selfishness and mistrust:  yes.  Today, today:  Jesus invites us to have faith in Him,  to “think outside the box” and see the bigger / global picture, to accept and share God’s generous life and love, so powerfully revealed in His suffering and death on the Cross.

In keeping with July 4^th, Psalm 85 speaks of God’s gifts of peace, kindness, truth, justice, salvation – the needed message of hope and encouragement for the U.S. and our world this July 4^th.  Encouraged by the prophet Amos of old and one another’s example, may Jesus bring about new Life for our world!

Fr. John Schork, C.P. is the Vocation Director for Holy Cross Province. He lives at St. Vincent Strambi Community in Chicago, Illinois. 

Scripture:

Amos 7:10-17
Matthew 9:1-8

Reflection:

The themes of ‘crossing over’, coming to one’s ‘hometown’ and ‘paralysis and healing’ resonate throughout our gospel text. We might reflect a little more on each of them to enhance our own response to the word of God addressed to us today.

Crossing over was a constant theme in the life of Jesus. Of course, the reference is to the action of crossing over the Lake of Galilee as he so often did. This was a constant factor in the ministry of Jesus and a journey made possible by his calling of fishermen as part of the inner circle of disciples. Their boats enabled the work of Jesus to be amplified and ensured that Jesus could often go to places and situations of need without the longer journey around the lake on foot.

However, there can be a deeper meaning to the term ‘crossing over’. In a more symbolic understanding of this action and these words we might see that Jesus is always crossing boundaries and moving across various obstacles to reach out to and rescue those in need of him. He traverses such barriers to bring us healing and forgiveness. We can trust that the risen Lord is still doing this for us today.

Coming home is also a reality in the gospel reading today. Jesus returns to his hometown and to the people who have known him all their lives. But as we know too, his return was not always a time of welcome and joy – familiarity had bred a form of resistance in that people saw what they expected to see – a carpenter who had grown up in their midst. The fact that Jesus manifested the power of God, and used such power to heal and forgive, seems to escape their awareness. Alternately, perhaps they simply do not want to see this as it disturbs their preconceptions and world view.  Some in today’s reading even suggest the Jesus is blaspheming rather than stopping to look and listen and thus recognise the power of God at work!

We can take great comfort in the thought that Jesus wants to be with us, to be ‘at home’ in our own lives and to dwell with us amid all that is happening to us. We are now his dwelling place, we the community of the church, his disciples who now make up his home.

Finally, we might see the contrast between paralysis and the freedom the man experiences because of the ministry of, Jesus.  We note that the scene is one of physical healing, but the actions of Jesus also direct our attention to the deep spiritual healing that is also taking place. He heals the man of sin, but also sets him free to walk again.

Here we might reflect on the power of sin to hold us down, to paralyse us and to prevent us from reaching out to others or to act with selflessness. Sin turns us back on ourselves and not only seeks to seduce us away from the light, but to prevent us moving again towards the light! In this sense sin – selfishness unrestrained – gradually imprisons us and ironically restraints us! This is a kind of paralysis. The healing that Jesus brings about for this man is effective at both physical and spiritual levels; but it is a clear sign to us that we can have great confidence that healing and forgiveness await us at any and every point of our lives. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Jesus’ whole life bears witness to this truth.

Like the crowds let us respond to the Lord with genuine gratitude for such a gift,  and glorify God who has given us such a saviour.

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

Scripture:

Amos 5:14-15, 21-24
Matthew 8:28-34

Reflection:

The temple in Jerusalem was considered the most sacred place in the world by the people of Israel.  Jesus himself frequented the temple and called it “my father’s house.”  Luke’s Gospel begins its story of Jesus’ life in the temple with the account of the temple priest Zachariah and his wife Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist.  Later, Mary and Joseph bring their infant son to the temple to be blessed.  And later still, at the time of Jesus’ bar-mitzvah, Luke tells the account of the young boy Jesus staying behind in the temple while his parents unaware leave with the caravan to return to Nazareth.  When they return to search for him anxiously and at last find him, Jesus replies, “Did you not know I must be in my father’s house?”  And in Luke’s Acts of the Apostles, the first Christians in Jerusalem go each day to pray in the temple.

All of this is to emphasize how important the temple was both to Jews and Jewish Christians.  While for us in modern times, the sacrifice of animals and birds as an act of worship might seem repugnant, that was not so for ancient Israel.  As an agrarian people, they knew well the value of the animals that provided them with food and clothing and shelter.  The sacrifice of such animals was intended to give back to God the gift first given to them.  The external sacrifice of something precious was to be an expression of their interior attitude of praise and thanksgiving to God and a pledge to be attentive to God’s will.

This sets the scene for the powerful reading from Amos that we hear in today’s first reading.  Amos describes himself as “no prophet but a herdsman and a trimmer of sycamore trees,” but, nevertheless, God called him to bring a blistering message of justice to Israel.  And that is what Amos did.  We get a taste of it in our reading for today: “Hate evil and do good,” Amos bluntly proclaims.  And even more powerfully, in view of Israel’s reverence for the temple and its worship, the prophet proclaims God’s message that those elaborate liturgies and sacrifices are rejected when not coupled with a life of justice.  “I hate, I spurn your feasts, says the Lord, I take no pleasure in your solemnities…Away with your noisy songs!”

Worship must be an expression of one’s heart.  And thus, God exclaims: “If you would offer me burnt offerings, then let justice surge like water and goodness like an unfailing stream.”  Jesus, too, called for justice and healing (as in the healing of the Gadarene in today’s gospel account from Matthew).  In one of the most dramatic scenes in all four gospels, Jesus disrupts the temple liturgy in calling for repentance and renewal.

I think of all this in the light of the crisis facing our country, not only the threat of the pandemic but also the anguish of coming to grips with racism and a lack of justice for the most vulnerable in our society.  A constant refrain of the Scriptures and a motif at the heart of our Christian faith, is the call to justice, to treating others with respect and care, to being attentive to the poor.  The integrity of our worship, too, depends on the renewal of our hearts.  The words of Amos, the reluctant prophet of Tekoa, are an invitation to us today as well: “Let justice surge like water, and goodness like an unfailing stream.”

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:

Amos 3:1-8; 4:11-12
Matthew 8:23-27

Reflection:

In today’s gospel, the apostles were in a boat when a storm kicked up on the lake.   They were terrified.  They woke up Jesus and he calmed the storm.  The apostles were at peace.

Actually, Jesus calmed two storms.  There was the outer storm in nature, and the inner storm of fear and anxiety in the apostles.

There is no doubt that we are living in stormy times. One of those storms is the outer storm of brutality against others because of the color of their skin.  Another storm is the inner storm of anxiety of those who fear they will be the next victim.  And there is a third storm, the inner storm that is the raging prejudice in some human hearts.

As for the first storm, we feel helpless. It has been raging since the beginning of time.  It will take a major miracle to put it to rest.  Maybe the Last Judgment.

As for the second storm we can do something.  We can make laws and enforce laws that call for equality and justice.  Some progress has been made here.  This will help calm the storm of anxiety in those who fear for their lives.

As for the third storm, we need to make sure there is no prejudice in our hearts.

Prejudice is the result of ignorance.  Ignorance is dispelled by listening, listening that involves walking a mile in another’s shoes.  Listening leads to understanding.  Understanding leads to compassion.  And compassion leads to peace.

Inner peace comes to us when Christ is the center of our lives.  When our boat starts rocking, let us cling to him, trust him and love him.

Fr. Alan Phillip, C.P. is a member of the Passionist Community at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.   http://www.alanphillipcp.com/