Claire Smith

Scripture:

Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18
Matthew 25:31-46

Reflection:

This past January, four volunteers with the group No More Deaths were found guilty of illegally entering a national wildlife refuge along the Arizona-Mexico border to leave food and water for immigrants crossing the hot, pitiless desert illegally.  The area is called the “Trail of Death” because of the 155 who have died there since 2001.  Did these four violate federal laws?  Yes.  Nevertheless, many debated have debated the morality of the group’s actions.

In today’s gospel, however, Jesus makes no distinctions whether one should show compassion to the needy whatever their circumstances. The commandment is unequivocal, it is unambiguous, it is clear:

“I was hungry and you gave me food.  I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me…” (Mt 25:35).

Jesus expresses his identification with every human being who suffers and in need of compassion.  The principal sin of the wicked “goats” was not what they did, but what they didn’t do.  Theirs was a sin of omission, inaction.  The opportunities to help others were abundant.  But they chose to do nothing.  Perhaps, because it was illegal to do so.

We are challenged to express our “preferential option for the poor.”  That phrase is not to be domesticated, to be made safe, by adding qualifications and clauses.  Expressing our “preferential option for the poor” may even come at a cost.

The Church offers us this gospel during the Lenten season to remind us about almsgiving.  We are called, not to horde our goods and possessions, but to share them with those in need.  We will be judged, not so much by our right and proper beliefs, although they are important, but by our conduct, our actions — our incarnational preferential option for the poor in Jesus.

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

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 26:4-10
Romans 10:8-13
Luke 4:1-13

Reflection:

We are told repeatedly in scripture that the most important thing in life, even more important than having bread to eat, is the word of God. Thankfully, we don’t have to go anywhere to find this treasure. I remind myself of Romans: “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.” God’s word is already within. All we have to do is listen.

Unfortunately, we don’t do a very good job of listening. When things are going well, for instance, we tend to assume that everything we have, own, and accomplish is because of our own efforts and toil, and we can feel entitled to it – as if our lives and possessions are deservedly ours. We can feel less engaged and more distant from the suffering and pain of the world, even as we are grateful it is not happening to us. In those times, we may not even hear the words of temptation that are constantly playing out in our minds and hearts. After all, when we aren’t listening well to God, we don’t recognize voices that are not of God either, and the lures of wealth, power, control, and exclusion are strong.

When bad things happen, when we struggle, are tired, or feel weak, we turn to God and cry out in pain. Yet ironically, our suffering can also block our ability to hear God’s word. To use the analogy that C.S. Lewis wrote in “A Grief Observed”, we become like drowning persons who, when lifeguards arrive, are so frantic that our flailing and fear can drag our rescuers under with us. As Lewis says, “Even divine omnipotence can’t give if we are unable or unwilling to receive.” Then, because we are deaf to the help God offers, we not only hear temptation but are even more vulnerable to it, grasping at supposed “lifelines” that promise to offer relief.

The only antidote is constant attention to God’s word, no matter the circumstances of life. While most of us can ill afford to go on retreat for 40 days as Jesus did, we can create mini-retreats in daily life. In order to do so, we need to offer God something better than the leftover time of the day, when perhaps we’re too tired to do something else. We need to offer the “first fruits” – times of energy, concentration and focus. I try to start each day with prayer. I first humbly and gratefully recognize that all I have, all I own, and all I am is God living within me. Then I focus on the truth that my very breath is the breath of God, my prayer is God within me praying to God universal, and the deepest desires written in my heart are God’s will for me. My suffering and pain is one with the suffering and pain of all God’s children and of Godself, and my groans are the birth pangs of a greater “kingdom”, one that is not of this world. I allow God to see me and love me as I am, and I ask for ears that hear, eyes that see, and the courage to follow.

Without persistent, daily prayer time, I so easily lose sight of all this and get caught up in the world’s word instead of God’s. I become disconnected from myself, feeling strung out, worried, fearful, and reluctant to speak out or use my gifts. I am tempted to withdraw and just cocoon in my own safe world. I lose sight of what is truly important.

But I’ve learned that the best time to deepen a practice of listening is today, right now, in these circumstances. Don’t wait for a better time or an optimal time. Do whatever is necessary to make it happen. Just as I never go out of the house in the morning without setting aside enough time to brush my teeth, get dressed, and be prepared for wherever I’m going, I try to not go into the day without setting aside time to sit in the presence of God and listen. Then I listen throughout the day. I try to stay connected to the God in whom we live and move and have our being. I look for the true rescuer who will never abandon me and will always give me everything I need. It’s hard! I fail way more often than I like to admit. Sometimes I am tempted to despair that I will ever be as faithful as I’d like to be. But I keep at it, sometimes starting over every day, every hour.

What about you? Can we join together to change, starting now? Can we better practice listening to the Word of God instead of the word of the world? If we can do that, perhaps we can also work together to bring that Word to life for the salvation of the world.

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/.

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Luke 9:22-25

Reflection:

Eating lunch with a few regulars last week at the senior lunch program sponsored by the Lakeview Presbyterian Church, one of my fellow diners asked me what I was going to give up for Lent. I responded that I hadn’t given it much thought at that point. Then another diner at the table, who knows me pretty well, said you already give up so much. There’s nothing left for you to give up. That caught me off guard: “What are you talking about?” I asked. She said: “Well, you don’t eat meat or sugar. You gave up your car and you really don’t watch much television. What else is there?” LOL!

Thinking about that encounter later, I realized that what she saw me as giving up, I saw as a choosing life. I don’t eat meat because I want to participate in a diet that can feed the whole world; I don’t eat sugar because I feel much healthier when I don’t… I have to admit though when I initially made these choices I really thought I’d be giving something up. Over time, I have learned differently.

I wonder if that is what Jesus means when he tells us in today’s gospel selection: “For whoever wishes to save his life, will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” (LK 9:24) It’s probably a stretch, but one that I can live with and feel good about. I don’t believe I can say I’m willing to lose my life as Jesus suggests. I believe that by being willing to try to give up habits that once looked to be life giving, I open the possibility to discovering that they truly aren’t. It’s only after giving them up that I learn they were not life giving.

So it’s Mardi Gras as I write this, better known as Fat Tuesday, and I still haven’t decided what I should give up this Lent. Whatever I do decide, I’m sure it will lead to following Moses’ exhortation to his Hebrew tribe: “…Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live…(DT 30:19)

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

Ash Wednesday

Scripture:

Joel 2:12-18
2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Reflection:

Ash Wednesday in our time in history is an opportunity for me to fast and pray for guidance in a very troubled world.

In Pope Francis’ great encyclical on climate change and inequality, Laudato Si, our church’s leader summons each of us to deep reflection on the crises of our time: the deadly inequality among our sisters and brothers and the destruction of our earthly home.

The pope rightly points out that the two crises are intertwined – our focus on consumerism and status, and the destruction of our planet that follows.  We must care for the suffering of others in our world today – and we must care for the suffering of the earth, “Our Common Home.”

As I stand before the altar of God on Ash Wednesday receiving ashes on my head, I want to heed the pope’s words and understand what I am doing to foster inequality and environmental degradation.

Do I make alms giving a top household budget priority? Do I make sacrifices (not just give from my surplus) to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked and heal the sick? Do I waste electricity? Can I live more simply?

This Lent is an opportunity for deep conversion…a turning of my heart. It is a chance for a thorough examination of my conscience so I live the Gospel as outlined in Laudato Si.

God will provide the grace for the conversion, if I am open to God’s movements within me.

Jim Wayne is a board member of the Passionists Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Office, state legislator, and author of The Unfinished Man. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

Sirach 35:1-12
Mark 10:28-31

Reflection:

But offer no bribes, these He does not accept!  –Sirach 35:14

Our readings today concern giving up things. When I was younger this was my whole picture of Lent: a (seemingly endless!) time to give up the things and activities I most treasured. Cartoons, chocolate, playtime, all were sacrificed for God. It was a transactional exchange. The more I valued the thing I gave up, the more God valued my sacrifice.

And yet, as I have matured, so has my understanding of this great time of the year. Almsgiving, prayer, and fasting are the three calls of Lent. Today’s readings give us insight on how we are to meet these three calls.

Today’s first reading comes from the Old Testament wisdom literature, a series of book containing sayings and commentaries on how we are to live our lives in alignment with God’s plan. The author here equates giving to the poor and seeking justice with the finest offerings on the altar of sacrifice. Almsgiving is the sharing of our blessings with those who have less. While this is usually thought of as money or material goods, time and attention can be given as well. And we are urged to follow these suggestions with “a cheerful countenance,” and a “spirit of joy.” How different this is from the mournful repentance that is often presented as how we should comport ourselves for the next six weeks.

Prayer, at it simplest, is being open to God’s presence. In the responsorial psalm God says, “Hear, my people, and I will speak.” Notice that first we have to listen, to turn our ear to God, before we can hear His voice. Although God is constantly seeking to be in relationship with us, we need to turn to Him in prayer to complete the conversation. If we are turned towards our things, our affairs, our wants and desires, it is difficult if not impossible to hear God’s voice.

Finally in the gospel Peter says to the Lord, “We have given up everything and followed you.” This seems a little out of place without the preceding verses. A rich man has come to Jesus asking what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus tells the man that he already knows the way. But the man continues, ‘I have done all that from my youth and am still lost.’ Then Jesus invites him to stop letting his possessions possess him and, at that, the man goes away sad, “for he had many possessions.” This is what elicits Peter’s statement and Jesus’s response. In fasting, we are called to give up ur attachments, the most basic one being food. The call is not to starve ourselves to illness or leave those who depend on us alone to fend for themselves, but to pay close attention to when and what we desire. Can we restrain our desires and turn them to God?

These three calls of Lent can sometimes seem challenging. But as Jesus says, “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.”

My prayer for today is that I am able to enter this Lenten season open to God’s word, sharing the abundance with which He has blessed me, and release my attachments to all that is not of Him.

Talib Huff is a lay member of the retreat team at Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center in Citrus Heights, California. He can be reached at [email protected].

Scripture:

Sirach 17:20-24
Mark 10:17-27

Reflection:

Life and Love:  All Things Are Possible For God!

Today’s Gospel is another “human interest” story related by St. Mark in which Jesus witnesses to the depths of God’s love for each of us…no matter what!  The story:  Jesus is on a journey; a man runs up and excitedly pops a question about “inheriting eternal life”; Jesus reviews with him the commandments, then looks at the man with love; He then invites him to give away his resources to the poor and then come follow Him.  But, no…the man’s face fell:  he had many possessions, and was attached to them — he went away sad.  For Jesus…a teachable moment with His disciples…and us.

Jesus shares with His disciples that true detachment is key to sharing in God’s Kingdom — and part of promoting that Kingdom.  God’s gifts to us are true blessings, to be humbly received and shared.  The familiar (and challenging!) overstated image of a camel passing through the eye of a needle was Jesus’ attempt to hammer home to the disciples that all things are possible for God… even when we may be held back by “things”.  Jesus’ life witnesses true detachment as He offers salvation to us all…even to His death on the Cross.

As we embark on the great spiritual journey of Lent, this Gospel invites us to “let go” and see our Lenten programs as helps to our openness in both receiving and sharing God’s love.  Jesus invites us to be free / detached from those things that, though good in themselves, can turn us inward and limit our love:  things such as people, possessions, power, thoughts…to name a few blessings / challenges.  To follow Jesus is to share in His freedom to love unconditionally, to generously serve others and share God’s Life…especially with those in special need.

Challenging?  You bet!  Impossible?  No way!  Jesus looks at US with love, and invites us to follow Him and spread the Good News today.  “All things are possible for God.”  May we add our “Amen” by our lives.

Fr. John Schork, C.P. is a member of the Passionist community in Chicago, Illinois.

Scripture:

Sirach 27:4-7
1 Corinthians 15:54-58
Luke 6:39-45

Reflection:

“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit.” Luke 6:43-44

I have a friend who started out her young adult life in the wrong lane. She did some drugs, moved in with her boyfriend and also suffered some abuse from other men. Two years later she married her boyfriend and the first 15 years of their marriage were very rocky and filled with threats of divorce. She was raising three children by this time, and was very unhappy. Their life certainly looked like a “rotten tree.”

At the time when they were ready to call it quits, they turned their lives over to Jesus and the transformation began. This year they are celebrating 30 years of marriage, still have four boys at home (the first three of their seven children are married and have children of their own.) They are a model family and their fruit testifies that even though they had a long, rough start, they are now “good trees bearing good fruit.” They are beloved members of their church who help other married couples who are struggling.

The point is, never give up on the “bad trees” in your family orchard. There is always hope! Keep praying for those kids and grandkids who may have gone astray. I know my friends’ grandmother never quit praying for her. There is good and bad in all of us, but it’s comforting to know that we can always come back to our Savior, and He will pick us up and help us start again.

Janice Carleton and her husband Jim live in Bainbridge Island, Washington,  and partner with Passionist Fr. Cedric Pisegna in Fr. Cedric Ministries. She is the mother of 4 grown children and grandmother of 6. Janice also leads women’s retreats and recently published her second book: God IS with Us. Visit Janice’s website at http://www.janicecarleton.com/ or email her at [email protected].

Scripture:

Sirach 17:1-15
Mark 10:13-16

Reflection:

So often at the time of birth, when a new born baby is placed into its mothers arms and with a father standing by, the parents often – by way of social media today – put not just a photo of the new baby, but also add a small saying or comment something like ‘welcome into our world little one’ or a similar phrase.

It is their way of welcoming the child who has grown quietly in the secrecy of the womb, but who now comes into a world which he or she is to experience through the loving touch of other people, through family and wider society in the long, slow growth to maturity. But just for now the little innocent baby is held safely in the arms of the two people who will be closest to it and who will introduce it into family and then wider society over the years to come.

The whole vocation of parenting and the dynamics of parents and children’s relationships might be summed up in this one moment – pure gratitude to God for the gift of this child, love pouring out spontaneously, dreams and hopes for the child being expressed from the beginning and a welcome into family as the vehicle through which the child will slowly encounter life in all its mysteries.

In the society and times of Jesus it was no different. Certainly parents, and often the mother at home, had a primary role in the care and education of each child. The parents introduced the child to the world of the family and village, but more so they also introduced the child to the mystery of God and especially of God’s revelation to them in the scriptures. Normally learning was restricted to the home, but as the children grew a little older they would then attend class conducted by the rabbi of the township.

It is said that the area where Jesus lived was unique in Israel in that the people were most devoted and very knowledgeable in the scriptures; so we get a good sense that education was important to the people.

Thus we see that Jesus came from an area that valued the education of children and that he too shared this experience personally and obviously still valued it highly. In this context we need not be surprised that a unique feature of his ministry was that he did welcome children into the company of those who surrounded him, listened to him and received his message.

But in today’s text we see that Jesus also used the presence of children to make another point too. The attitudes of openness, wonder and trust that he saw in them are the very attributes that he suggests are ‘keys’ which everyone else might use in order to unlock the mystery of God’s reign amongst them.

The kingdom of God, or Reign of God, was something real and present, but one needed to enter this realm and embrace it by one’s own choice – it was not to be forced upon anyone. In this sense God’s rule was something that surrounded people and supported them, but in ways that were not institutionalised, stylised or visible in terms of the traditions that people normally associated with rulers. One needed to seek or to search and indeed to look within – for so often the gift of God’s reign manifested itself in interior freedoms and joy.

Jesus rightly associates child-like enthusiasm for discovery, their playful searching for each other in games and their delight in finding their quarry, with the openness one must bring to this embrace of all that God has hidden before our very eyes. His parables are full of such imagery!

In this light it seems from today’s readings that there is a clear message for us. If one approaches the world and life with an open mind, an open heart and an open will then we will have the right kind of attitude – a child-like openness – that will lead us to discover the Reign of God in all its many manifestations.

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