Claire Smith

Feast of Saints Simon and Jude

Scripture:

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

Reflection:

Today the church commemorates Saint Simon and Saint Jude.  They were loyal followers of Jesus and spent their lives spreading the good news throughout the Middle East and were martyred together in Beirut, in the Roman province of Syria.  Neither Simon nor Jude are mentioned very often in the Scriptures.  We give thanks for them and their ministry as the priceless gift from God that both of them exemplified during their lifetime.

A question to ask ourselves this day as we reflect on how Saint Simon and Saint Jude lived out their call as followers of Christ might be;

HOW DO WE SHARE THE GIFTS GOD HAS GIVEN US?!

In the first reading from Ephesians we hear a clarion call in answer to this question.

Brothers and sisters:  you are no longer strangers and sojourners,
            But you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the
            Household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and
            Prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.

We don’t have to look far today to see the suffering that is being experienced by God’s people at our borders, on our city streets, in our families, at the door of our soup kitchens and inside and outside the doors of our churches, service agencies and government structures.

Jesus called the apostles to preach the good news and to share their gifts with others.  We, who have been blessed with so much have the responsibility to step up to the plate and do the same.  During the months of October and November we take time to reflect on the lives of the saints, those holy women and men who have gone before us in faith.  We may not be called to follow exactly the path that they trod but, we are called to lead lives of prayer and service in small ways that help others.

In the coming weeks, let us take time to prayerfully reflect on the issues that surround us and as faithful citizens exercise our right to vote so that our brothers and sisters may enjoy a better life.  May we make it a priority to volunteer at the local soup kitchen, collect food and clothing for the needy, attend the city council hearing in favor of providing adequate housing and care for the homeless.  Let us continue to be that voice for those who have no voice because of color, race, culture, religion.  Saint Mother Teresa reminds us “it is not necessary to do big things, rather do small things with great love.”

May we welcome the stranger and the sojourners among us, acknowledge them as fellow citizens and members of the household of God and follow the example of all the saints, especially Saint Simon and Saint Jude so that others may recognize and follow our example of being good and faithful followers of Jesus Christ.

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

Scripture:

Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
Luke 18:9-14

Reflection:

So many rich words from today’s readings… “though not unduly partial toward the weak, yet he years the cry of the oppressed”; “the Lord hears the cry of the poor – those crushed in spirit he saves”; “I have competed well, I have finished the race”; “whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted”.

Growing up in Houston, I remember my Grandmother telling me stories of her days working at St. Joseph’s hospital. I remember the hospital building from my childhood – as you drove into downtown Houston on IH45, St. Joseph’s Professional building was easy to spot – the tall brown building was adorned with a cross.

In my ignorance of youth, that cross didn’t mean much to me – now the building has been placed on the market and the cross has been removed, and today that makes me sad. That place is where one of the Sisters gave my Baptist Grandmother the beautiful rosary of one of the Sisters who had passed away, and at my confirmation in my 17^th year, my Grandmother gave that rosary to me.

My point here is that we serve this amazing God, this presence – who we only know through faith, feeling His presence, reading His word – who protects and loves and cherishes us, and yet we remove these symbols of him from our world – these reminders of his death on the cross. And yet, he remembers the least of us. Patients entering those doors, no matter what their financial status, were treated and cared for by the Sisters, who were being Christ to others. He is always closer to us than the air we breathe, and yet some will hesitate to mention His name to others, share the gospel, be Christ to others – the homeless on the street, the elderly, the forgotten.

HE hears us and loves us unconditionally – we cannot forget him. He will never turn His back on us when we feel deserted because He will stand by us and give us strength. He will never forsake us because we are poor or weak. He knows all, sees all, and is the final judge who judges justly and affirms the right – BUT, we must honor Him, revere Him, REMEMBER HIM, love and respect Him, and continually, and most importantly, pray to Him and never lose sight of his goodness and strength. Our faith in Him is what saves us, our love of Him is what sustains us, and His goodness and mercy are what carry us through our deepest hurts and our most joyous moments.

Patty Masson resides in Houston, Texas.

Scripture:

Romans 8:1-11
Luke 13:1-9

Reflection:

There’s always hope. We need to live in hope. We cannot give up hope.

Today’s story about the fruitless fig tree may seem…well, fruitless. Yet the gardener implores the owner to let him try to coax the tree into bearing fruit. The gardener sees beyond the dryness of the tree. He sees the potential. We don’t know whatever happened to the tree, but that’s not the point.

Living in hope is not the same as wishful thinking. We have hope when we sense that the fullness of life is not yet realized. Somehow, we know there is more, there is potential. Hope is the source of conversion and transformation. Hope points us to a better life for ourselves, for our families, for our world.

Today is the birthday of a dear friend. I value and honor his friendship. He embodies a life lived in hope. Day after day for more than a dozen years now he chooses to live sober. Through the help and encouragement of family and friends, he came to the brutal realization that he had so much potential that was being frustrated by alcohol. He lives every day in hope.

For me, there is nothing sadder than to hear that someone feels hopeless. Too many young people see no future for themselves. Returning from the ravages of war, soldiers feel overwhelmed. Chronic political gridlock causes many to become cynics.

Into our hearts and into our world comes Jesus with words of hope. “Get up and walk.” “Your sins are forgiven.” “Come and see.” “Do not be afraid.” And on and on. He knows our potential. Listen to him and you’ll never be without hope.

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:

Romans 6:19-23
Luke 12:49-53

Reflection:

Impact of Jesus

Fire on the Earth  -Luke 12:50.

About 50.000 years ago a 300,000 ton meteor stuck Arizona at about  30,000 MPH and left a 1000 ft square crater!  It is believed that about half of the impactor’s bulk was vaporized during its descent through the atmosphere.[13] Impact energy has been estimated at about 10 megatons ( equivalent to ten million tons of TNT}. The meteorite was mostly vaporized upon impact, leaving few remains in the crater.

When God so loved the world that He sent His Only Begotten Son on the earth it was an impact far greater than any meteor!  When God sent His Incarnate word to Mary Jesus was no bigger than a tomato seed. Yet it was the greatest act of creation. Greater by far than all the galaxies!  The impact of Christ is the wonder of the universe!

This explosive act of creation in Christ was the “fire” that Jesus referred to in today’s Gospel.

Jesus complained “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Lk 18:8  The fact that the Father has given us the most precious gift He could possibly give in His Only Begotten Son is the ultimate expression of His care for us!  To accept this “fiery” explosion of Divine Love is the definitive and critical challenge of our lives!  This is the fire of Christ which He wishes to impact us.

Scripture has many words to express the astonishment of God’s care for us. Words like wonder (Hebrew pālāʾ) and awesome ((yārēʾ) “Awesome (yārēʾ) in glorious deeds, doing wonders!” pālāʾ Ex 15:11 Job is given this wonderful advice: “stop and consider (bin) the wondrous  (pala) works of God. Job 37:14

Throughout the New Testament again many words are used.  A very frequent word for wonder in the Greek NT is thaumatzo   “And the men marveled (thaumatzo) saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” (Mt 8:27)  Another word often used is (ek-place’-so).  It literally means a knockout! “they were astonished (ek-place’-so) at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.” Lk 4:32

Still another word is (existaemi).  It is translated very well in English by our word ecstasy i.e. to stand outside of one’s self. “And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all startled (existaemi) and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”  Mk 2:12

Without this startled ecstasy we will not really understand the impact of the fire God’s overwhelming love for us in Christ Who is the First and the Last, the Alpha and Omega of our lives!

Fr. Bob Weiss, C.P. preaches Parish Missions and is a member of the Passionist Community in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

Romans 4:20-25
Luke 12:13-25

Reflection:

“Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life  does not consist of possessions” (Luke 12:15)

What Matters Most to God—A Villanelle by Rita A. Simmons

Though our lives are undone by greed and fraud,
yet we grapple with some deep, unfulfilled need,
warned only to be rich in what matters to God.

But what is true gain in this place where we plod,
disgraced as we are from the time where we seed?
What is earth but plot after plot of greed and fraud
where a castle is craved for its glittering façade,
where payments are squeezed and invested with speed?
And yet we know that such riches don’t matter to God.

Let His Spirit then strike like a lightening rod,
re-claiming the lives that His dying had freed.
We were not meant to be servants of greed and fraud

but His children, together; there’s a path we must trod
though our footsteps can stagger, stray or stampede;
we walk in the  riches that matter to God

Who emptied Himself for His creatures, poor and flawed,
fulfilling our lives with Communion and Creed.
Oh happy the faults of greed and fraud!
Redemption is rich in what matters to God.

(Meditation of the Day,  Monday, October 21, 2019; Magnificat, October 2019, Vol. 21 No. 8, pp 337-338.  Rita A. Simmons is an award-winning poet, and author of three books of poetry:  Souls and the City, Bitterness and Sweet Love, and Greeting the Seasons.)

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

Scripture:

Exodus 17:8-13
2 Timothy 3:14-4:2
Luke 12:35-38

Reflection:

In the movie “Aladdin” (The animated one), there is a scene when the genie tries to advise Aladdin how to relate to the princess. The genie turns into a bee and says, in a buzzing kind of voice, “Beeee yourself.” Even though the word “persistent” is only used in our second reading for Sunday, all three Scripture readings tell us to “Be persistent.”

In our Gospel reading (Luke 18:1-8), Jesus tells a parable about a persistent widow and a dishonest judge. The widow is persistent in getting justice in her case, and although the judge neither fears God nor respects anyone, he finally gives in to her demands. And so Jesus says: “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Jesus is calling us to be persistent in prayer, but it’s not about having to nag God to give us what we want. I came across this quote about prayer that speaks to this. It’s from the book Amazing Grace by Kathleen Norris: “Prayer is not asking for what you think you want, but asking to be changed in ways you can’t imagine.” God knows what we need. Prayer is opening ourselves more and more to God’s love and God’s will. Sometimes, though, we may still feel that we need to nag God, because it seems to us that God is slow to answer our prayers, and justice for us is not being done for us “speedily.”

But even in those cases, we are called to put our trust in God; to trust that God will answer our prayers in God’s time and in God’s way. We need to be open so that we can recognize when God answers our prayers. We are also called to be open to do what God wants us to do. As St. Paul tells Timothy in our second reading from 2 Timothy (3:14 – 4:2): “I charge you, … to proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient …” We are to share the Good News not only by our words, but by what we do and how we relate to others. We may be called to be like Aaron and Hur, in our first reading from Exodus (17:8-13), who had to help Moses keep his hands up so that the Israelites could be victorious in battle against the Amalekites. We know how wearying it can be when it seems we have to keep fighting for what is right, or just to keep going in times of adversity. Don’t we appreciate it when God answers our prayers by sending someone to help us? What if God wants to send us to someone else?

When we persist in prayer and opening ourselves up to God, we find we can have the persistence of the widow in working for justice, not only for ourselves but for others. We find we can have the strength to help others persevere I hope and love. And we find that we have the faith to hear God speak to us through the events and people in our lives. We find that we have the faith to recognize when God answers our prayers.

May we be persistent.

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is a member of the Passionist Community in Birmingham, Alabama.