Claire Smith

Scripture:

Exodus 3:13-20
Matthew 11:28-30

Reflection:

“Come to me…you will find rest for your souls…my yoke is easy”

We are pilgrims on a journey, alone and together – pilgrims heading toward the kingdom.
While the journey can be joyful, it can also be weary, burdensome, even oppressive at times.
Uniquely, we are all searching for God – and life gets in the way…we may discover ourselves searching alone and in vain.

Sometimes because of choices we have made or decisions to carry what isn’t ours to carry – worries, perceived obligations, deeply rooted ‘shoulds’, fears and anxieties.  Other times we are faced with illness or troubles that we would not bring on ourselves.

Whatever it is, Jesus says, yoke yourself to me – learn from me – I have your back, trust me, you will find rest.

Can we put on that yoke?  Sometimes the yoke itself is oppressive looking, do we really want that around our neck?  How will that help relieve the burden and allow us to experience the peace that only Jesus can give?

Jesus says, ‘my yoke is easy’.  William Barclay reminds us that easy comes from the Greek Chrestos, which can mean well-fitting.  The Yoke that Jesus offers is custom made for each of us, adjusted to do exactly what it needs to do – no added weight, pulling or nagging.

If the burden is caused by our own decision or anxiety, Jesus can show us how to choose a new path, a new direction, a new way.  If it is caused by something beyond our control, Jesus can invite us to hope in the place where there is no more tears, sorrow, struggle or dis-ease.

Chaos can be all around us and it can also be within us – we may find ourselves in the garden wanting this cup removed – but yoked to Jesus we will find the strength, unity and peace of the Father.

The promise of Jesus is that when we can give up our own ways and learn from Him, even though we may still have burdens, we will be refreshed, we will receive new life.  Life that includes healing, and freedom that comes from seeing life through the prism of God’s love.

Jesus yoke is light because he helps to bear the burden – he has been there and done that – he has our back!  Sometimes the confusion and overwhelming weight are simply the result of us trying to do things alone.

Are we willing to yoke ourselves to Jesus and trust the path that opens up for us?

Faith Offman is the Associate Director of Ministry at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center in Detroit, Michigan.

Scripture:

Exodus 2:1-15a
Matthew 11:20-24

Reflection:

The disciples of Jesus have just returned from their missionary successes.  Jesus is disappointed that some of the villages did not accept the Gospel preached to them.  Jesus speaks to three cities in which he is especially disappointed because some of Jesus’ greatest miracles were performed in these cities, but the message was not accepted. The cities named are: Bethsaida, Capernaum, Chorazin, Sodom, and Tyre.

The reason Jesus is so disappointed is not that they would not believe but that they refused to have repentance for their lives.  The language Jesus uses here is harsh because these people do not see their need for repentance.  The miracles were a call to reformation.  What Jesus saw missing in these people’s lives was that they did not have any gratitude?

Jesus reminds these peoples it is not possessions that make one great but that their names are written in the Book of Life Jesus gave these people the knowledge of the Father. They should be grateful that Jesus has revealed the Father to them. Gratitude is the heart’s memory.  The Passionists take a fourth vow to be grateful to keep alive the memory of the Passion.  We can say it is everyone’s mission to keep alive the Revelation of the Father.  We are grateful.

Fr. Ken O’Malley, C.P., is the local superior at Holy Name Passionist Community in Houston, Texas.

Scripture:

Exodus 1:8-14, 22
Matthew 10:34-11:1

Reflection:

Today’s Gospel reading from the 10^th Chapter of Matthew can be very challenging to us as mere mortals. Looking through the lens of the world one may ask how can Jesus tell us “I have come to bring not peace but the sword.” “I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against mother, etc.” These are hard teachings, but before we jump to conclusions, let us read between the lines a bit. Jesus is not telling us that we should hate our family members; He is telling us that we will not find peace; we will not find the City of God, unless we put Him first and foremost in our lives, unless He is the peak of our affections. When we orient our lives to his teachings, when we place Him in His rightful place before father or mother, son or daughter, etc. we are aligning our free will with His will, we are aligning our world with His world, we are aligning the city of man with the City of God.

Today we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church who was born around the year 1218, in his work, Journey of the Mind to God, he teaches, “In order for the Passover to be perfect, we must suspend all the operations of the mind and we must transform the peak of our affections, directing them to God alone.” “We must suspend all the operations of the mind”, we do this by putting Jesus Christ before all earthly things including family.

Today Jesus is telling us that He wants to be the “peak of our affections”. He wants us to align our will with His will, He wants us to transform our lives to His life, then we can take care of Father and Mother, son and daughter, because when we receive Him we receive the one who sent Him. Saint Bonaventure says it best, “Christ is both the way and the door, Christ is the staircase and the vehicle, like the throne of mercy over the Ark of the Covenant, and the mystery hidden from the ages. A man should turn his full attention to the throne of mercy, and should gaze at him hanging on the cross, full of faith, hope and charity, devoted, full of wonder and joy, marked by gratitude and open to praise and jubilation.”

In the Sunday Liturgy yesterday, we heard from the Letter to the Colossians, “He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent.” So, let us keep Christ preeminent in our lives, trust in Him, then through this trust, take care of our loved ones, it is the proper alignment for us as Christians.

Deacon James Anderson is the Administrator at Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center in Houston, Texas.

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 30:10-14
Colossians 1:15-20
Luke 10:25-37

Reflection:

How much time have I, and we as a people, spent searching, questioning and debating God’s will? Why does it seem so complicated when all we are asked is to allow the life of the Spirit to break into our own planned versions for ourselves? To let love in, to let God in, and act from this place?

I spent the day in deep tears yesterday. Having reflected and prayed with the parable of the Good Samaritan. It opened to my amazement in a rush of fruitful, unforeseeable ways as if the story became a prism of God’s Love and Will and a hub linking in so many images, gospel stories and parables throughout the New Testament.

Just a day later I rose, caught between the inexplicable gifts of grace and miracles and the struggle of making sense in my own fallen world, rising with the thought.’        “It is hard to figure out our rightful space amid God’s creation.”

What trips us up? Not God’s world, or God’s Word, but the worlds we have created and the world we have complicated by materializing, politicizing, marginalizing, characterizing, separating with fear and a sense of self-possessed power. A world full of speed and of movement and gain. A world with multiple moving parts and a sense of purpose beyond the Spirit and all that lays open-in the heart and Word of God.

What is possible when we allow the life of the Spirit to break into our own planned versions for ourselves? When we act on the longing for connection placed in our hearts? During an interview C. S. Lewis’ stepson, Douglas Gresham spoke of his childhood perspective of Lewis’ ability to “accept interruptions every ten minutes if necessary while he was working very hard on a book without the slightest degree of irritation. ” “He was able to believe and to behave, as if he believed, which he did, that our own personal work is nowhere near as important as the interruptions to it. The interruptions are the real substance of God’s job for us.”

How do we access that part of our spirits to bring greater fruit and healing into our lives, into the world, to honor God’s will? There is a moment at St. John Paul II’s funeral where the pages of the book of Gospels that had been placed on his coffin began turning _in the wind. As if to say, “It is all right here.”

Years ago, after being introduced to the Chaplet of Divine Mercy by a religious sister at my mother’s bedside vigil I found the only answer that makes sense is in the ending words ”with great confidence submit ourselves to Your Holy Will which is Love and Mercy itself.” Love and Mercy itself. So intimately shown through the actual words and actions of our Savior and spoken through His parable of the Good Samaritan.

As Moses so beautifully proclaims in the first reading, “For this command I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote to you.” “you only have to carry it out.”

M. Walsh is a retreatant, and in profound gratitude for the gift of the charism and vocations of the Passionist Community. 

Scripture:

Genesis 49:29-32; 50:15-26a
Matthew 10:24-33

Reflection:

Earlier this week, our granddaughter, Cate, came back from a bike ride with her grandpa, in tears.  While on the ride she saw a notice about a lost cat. Being a lover of cats, this caused her great distress. Through her tears, she wondered about the cat being scared to be away from its family and what about the family, wouldn’t they be in great anxiety? This was too much pain for her to imagine in her almost nine-year-old world.  She asked me if I thought God would be present to the situation. I was immediately reminded of today’s Gospel and could assure her that “Not a sparrow falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge” (v. 29).  And I think that could be stretched even to a cat. Of course, we don’t know what happened to the lost cat, but it provided me with a wonderful opportunity to assure Cate that God was very definitely present to the situation and every situation.

We said a prayer of thanksgiving for a God who loves us so much that “the very hairs on our head are counted” (v. 30). While this may stretch the context of today’s Gospel where Jesus is preparing the disciples for the coming persecutions as a result of being his followers. It certainly brought consolation to Cate.

Suffering can be experienced on many levels from a lost pet to the death of a loved one to grave illness or simply scuffed knees.  We may not always be going out as sheep among wolves as we read earlier in this narrative. The important thing to remember is that at each level and situation God is there with us. Period. Nothing is too trivial for God to disregard.  Have you ever noticed sparrows at work?  Our Father is such a loving God that he has the hairs on our head counter—he is that intimate with us—that close to us.  And, we are never to forget that.

…..”We are worth more than many sparrows” (v. 31)

In our first reading, we have the death and burial of Jacob and later of Joseph. Before Jacob died, Joseph forgave his brothers for selling him into slavery. That act, though evil in intent, saved them all and many more from famine in Egypt. Joseph was able to recognize the good that came from a bad situation and give God thanks. God’s plan for our lives can take many turns and we are often at a loss to understand what is happening. We may even feel God as absent. This is where our faith comes in to play. We remember Jesus words of encouragement whether it’s a lost cat, a scuffed knee or a lost job, regardless.  No matter what is going on in your life, believe that you are worth more than many sparrows and trust.  Believe that we are all worth many sparrows and celebrate his presence in your life.

Jean Bowler is a retreatant at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center in Sierra Madre, California, and a member of the Office of Mission Effectiveness Board of Holy Cross Province.

Scripture:
Genesis 44:18-21, 23b-29; 45:1-5
Matthew 10:7-10

Reflection:

“Without cost you have received; without cost you are give.” (Mt 10:8)

To understand today’s gospel, we must first place it in context.  Jesus has just authorized his disciples to go on mission just like his.  They were to proclaim that: “the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”  They were to look to the needs of the sick, the lepers, and those afflicted by demons.  They were to “raise the dead,” the spiritually dead (Mt 10:7-8).  This was not an easy mission for Matthew’s community.  After all, they were living in the calamitous times after the Roman destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in 70 A.D.  They were scoffed at, criticized, even persecuted for their faith in Jesus the Messiah.  Nevertheless, they were to proclaim the good news of the kingdom, not the Roman kingdom, but the Kingdom of God.  They were to share their faith through their witness, their preaching and healing.

The mission of the early Church is our mission as well.  The times in which we live are, in a real sense, like the times of the first disciples – hostile, and calamitous.  We live in post-modern, moral relativistic times in which God is no longer the center.  Sadly, for all too many, there is no center.  All is relative.  If there is a center, it is the autonomous individual.  In such times, there is little good news to proclaim.  On the contrary, there is open hostility toward anyone who even attempts to proclaim Christ’s message.

But another important similarity is that our faith, like the first Christians, is pure gift which we have received from Christ.  And although our times may not be ideally suited for sharing our faith, that is no excuse for avoiding our mission.  There’s a lot of uncertainty, confusion, and pain in the world.  All the more reason that Christ urgently calls us to share his good news, to bring about healing and shalom to a hurting and angry world.  And Jesus gives us a pointed reminder about our responsibility:  Without cost, we have received the gift of faith, and without cost – read that, despite the cost – we are to share our faith with all.

Deacon Manuel Valencia is on the staff at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

Genesis 41:55-57; 42:5-7a, 17-24a
Matthew 10:1-7

Reflection:

There are many in the Church today who feel that sinners should be banned from the Eucharistic table. Similarly, there are many who fight for the exclusion of immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. I hear a common thread in the language used by groups, and that common thread is “purity”. They say that we need to keep the Church “pure” by excluding any who don’t keep absolute fidelity to every word of Church teaching. They say that we need to keep our country “pure” by excluding any who don’t fit into the Christian majority that founded the nation.

The biggest problem I have with these positions is that they do not reflect the Gospel or the example set by Jesus. Even the brothers who sold Joseph into slavery were later welcomed back to the table of Egypt’s plenty by that very brother. Even tax collectors, public sinners, and the hated Samaritans were welcomed in Jesus’ ministry and at his table. Even the Gentiles were invited to become equal partners in The Way. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were themselves a family of refugees seeking asylum and fleeing from the very real threat of those who would take the young boy’s life. What if Egypt had denied them entry?

Jesus practiced, lived, and taught inclusivity. This compassion and inclusivity is also emphasized in the documents of the Congregation of the Passion (Constitutions #3), which proclaim that we must stand with the suffering and crucified people of this world who are one with us in our common humanity and divine calling, “…especially those who are poor and neglected… to offer them comfort and to relieve the burden of their sorrow. The power of the Cross…gives us strength to discern and remove the causes of human suffering.” I can’t reconcile Jesus and the Passionist charism with the strident positions I so frequently hear and read in our world. I only know that I cannot adopt those positions in conscience, and along with every Catholic, I have to obey my conscience.

So instead, I choose to humbly recognize my own sinfulness, though it is not often publicly viewable, and come to the table with all the other sinners gathered for Mass. I choose to reach out my hand to those who are different from me, and learn from their culture, faith, stories, and heritage. I choose to work for just admittance of refugees and asylum seekers no matter their nationality. They are all my brothers and sisters in Christ. They are bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. They are the crucified Christ in our midst. They are in need, and I believe Jesus commands me to serve them.

Amy Florian is a teacher and consultant working in Chicago.  For many years she has partnered with the Passionists.  Visit Amy’s website: http://www.corgenius.com/.