Claire Smith

Feast of All Saints

Scripture:

Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14
1 John 3:1-3
Matthew 5:1-12a

Reflection:

A remarkable feature of earliest Christianity is how the various communities of Christians spread throughout the Mediterranean world kept in touch with each other. Historians tell us that because of the network of Roman roads that developed in the first century, travel became much more widespread.  The roads were built mainly for military purposes, but ordinary people traveled on them because it made journeys easier and safer.

The early fathers of the Church considered the umbrella of the Roman Empire a stroke of Providence because it helped spread the gospel, even though the Empire would also become a source of persecution for Christians.  Thus, Paul and many other early Christian missionaries took to the road to proclaim the gospel and create new Christian communities.  And Paul and other leaders such as Peter and other anonymous authors would use that same network of roads to send letters of encouragement and instruction to far-flung communities of Christians.

But underlying—and inspiring—this amazing network of communication was something deeper—the reality we celebrate today on the feast of “All Saints.” The Christians believed that they shared a deep bond with each other, even though separated by distance and language and culture. Paul would urge his Christians in Corinth to think of themselves as “one Body in Christ” or as a harmony of many gifts but “united in One Spirit.”  A favorite designation Paul used in referring to his fellow Christians in the communities he wrote to was that of “the saints” or “the holy ones.”  Christians were “holy” not simply because they led exemplary lives but because they were united in faith and part of the Body of Christ.

That sense of being profoundly united as Christians is expressed in the eloquent words of Ephesians: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” (Eph 4:4-6). This the underlying motivation for this feast of “All Saints.”  So strong is the bond that ties us together is that it extends not only to Christians living now in various parts of the world but even to those who have gone before us in death.  They, too, are the “holy ones”—the “saints.”  Not just the famous saints like Augustine and Theresa and Paul of the Cross, but all the everyday saints who have been part of our lives—our parents, our siblings, our dearest friends whose deaths we mourn but not without hope.  These form the “great multitude which no one could count”” referred to in today’s reading from the Book of Revelation.

We trust that the bond of life that God has given to us—and enhanced by our baptism and Christian faith—will transcend death and enable us to hope in a future where we will be united with all those we love—with all the saints.

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:

Ephesians 5:21-33
Luke 13:18-21

Reflection:

This reflection is addressed to husbands.  A song of some years ago, sung by Garth Brooks, had this haunting refrain: “If tomorrow never comes, will she know how much I loved her?”  In our second reading today St. Paul says, “Husbands, love your wives.”  How will she know how much you love her?

She will know if you tell her.  So use these three words frequently, “I love you.”  And use other words, like, “You look marvelous.”  “That was a great meal.”  “I appreciate all you do.”  She will know how much you love her by your positive words.

Not a person of words?  Then service. Cut the lawn, wash her car, do the shopping, take out the garbage, etc., etc.  By making her life easier, she will know how much you love her.

Is she still not convinced?  Then try gifts.  Flowers, candy, jewelry, her favorite meal, a movie, etc.  She will know the message.

No money for material gifts?  Then give the gift of time, quality time.  Do fun stuff together.  Enjoy each other’s company.  Make her laugh.  And give the most difficult gift, the gift of listening.  Put aside the “I” word and say instead, “Tell me more.”  Listen until you fully understand.  The gift of attentive listening is a priceless gift.

And be sure to hold hands, embrace, kiss, and do all you can to make her know she is Number One, the only one in your heart.

With the frequent use of words, service, gifts, quality time and touch, you will nourish your wife and care for her as Christ cares for the church.  And your wife, in turn, will know how much you love her.  (Cf. The 5 Love Languages, by Gary Chapman.)

What does the reign of God resemble?  In the Roman Liturgy of Canada, we read, “Marriage… is the most powerful symbol of God’s love for the world.”  A little spark of love can grow into the beautiful flame of marriage that illumines the world with the truth of who God is.

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

Scripture:

Ephesians 4:32-5:8
Luke 13:10-17

Reflection:

Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love . . . Ephesians 5:1

In today’s Gospel Jesus heals a woman who is unable to stand up straight. The leader of the synagogue, where Jesus healed the woman, is upset about a healing taking place on the Sabbath. This was seen as work and no work was to be done on the Sabbath. The religious leaders of Jesus’ time were focused on the Law. The Law was what told them how they were to live their life. Jesus healed many people of many ailments and physical disabilities and he did this out of compassion and love for humanity. His teachings and parables also challenged the religious leaders to go beyond the Law. Jesus’ law, is the law of Love.

In Saint Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we are called to imitate God and to live in love by being kind, compassionate and forgiving. The Scripture message today is very poignant for all that has been occurring in our cities, states, country and throughout the world. The message of Saint Paul and Jesus’ Law of Love is needed to refocus us on what is truly important. Kindness, compassion and forgiveness are tools we can use to diminish hatred. The Scriptures call us to be that instrument of the law of Love, to be “imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love”.

How can we be instruments of God’s love to others?

Linda Schork is a theology teacher at Saint Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

Jeremiah 31:7-9
Hebrews 5:1-6
Mark 10:46-52

Reflection:

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha lost her Christian Algonquin mother and Mohawk father to smallpox, which also weakened her sight.  Her uncle, a Mohawk chief, took her into his longhouse and called her Tekakwitha, One Who Walks Groping Her Way.  Even though Tekakwitha was not able to physically see as well as others, she developed a keen insight which led her to become a Christian and live a life of faith and service to others.

If we were to take on the persona of Saint Kateri as One Who Walks Groping Her Way through life, how would we deal the hand that has been dealt us?  I think we all experience times in our life when we seem to ‘have eyes but do not see’ or turn a blind eye to something or someone we would rather not deal with.  Where do we go to find the insight or direction to make the right decision or act appropriately?

Do we sit at the side of the road with Bartimaeus waiting for Jesus to come and heal us?

A life well-lived can be marked by the times our eyes have been opened to see as Jesus sees, to respond in the manner he would respond and to serve with the eyes of love for all.  in the beautiful song we often sing at liturgy, OPEN MY EYES, LORD, we ask for help as One Who Walks Groping Our Way with these lyrics,

Open my eyes, Lord. Help me to see your face.
Open my eyes, Lord. Help me to see.

We give thanks this day for the gift of faith that allows us to see the face of Jesus in our sisters and brothers, regardless of color, race, religion, political affiliation or state in life.  As we grope our way in faith, may our eyes be opened to the many needs of those around us especially in the poor, abused, lonely, sick and suffering.  Lastly, may we appreciate the beauty around us in sunsets, starry nights, the smile of a child and most of all in those we love and who love us.

Amen.

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

Scripture:

Ephesians 3:14-21
Luke 12:49-53

Reflection:

The Love of Christ

Several phrases from today’s two readings could each serve as a theme — not merely for a homily — but for an entire retreat!  For example, “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith,” or “I have come to set the earth on fire!”  We might take one line, however, from the Letter to the Ephesians: “to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge” and ponder upon it for today’s reflection.

A current spiritual writer says that we live in a time and in a culture with an obsession for clarity; we limit reality to what WE can understand, what is clear to us. What, then, does it mean that “Christ’s love surpasses knowledge”? This is different from the time of the Enlightenment (Europe, eighteenth century) when many felt that reason alone would solve all problems.  For some today, reality is limited to what is perceived by our human senses, what can be entered into a computer, or measured and monitored in a test tube.  It was St. Paul, however, who wrote, “…we see dimly (or indistinctly) now, as in a mirror, but then, face to face. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

It’s ironic that science now tells us NOT to limit reality to our perceptions. It was back in the 1920’s that Werner Heisenberg articulated his “uncertainty principle,” stating there is a fuzziness in nature, a fundamental limit to what we can know about the behavior of quantum particles, and that the best we can hope for is to calculate probabilities for where things are and how they will behave. And it was in the 1990’s that the Hubble telescope (named after the “pioneer of the stars,” Edward Hubble) helped us realize that the universe is expanding! The cosmos, our biggest frame of reference, is still unfolding, at a greater and greater pace!

Of course, this is a simplistic analysis, but it tells us that science is not the enemy of religion, that the thirteenth century “Cloud of Unknowing” is truly relevant today, to know that the love of Christ surpasses our knowledge. How sad that we barricade ourselves in our own little worlds, circling the wagons of our myopic vision. We listen to talk radio (thug radio!) and watch our cable news networks that support only our preconceptions and nurture our particular bias. This is low-level religion, when we entrench ourselves deeper and deeper into our toxic polarization with no room for the Spirit… and all the while the goal is not TRUTH-seeking, but victory and dominance.

Today, may we instead know the love of Christ that surpasses our knowledge!

Fr. Jack Conley, C.P. is a member of the Passionist formation community at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

Scripture:

Ephesians 2:1-10
Luke 12:13-21

Reflection:

“But God said to him,
‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself
but is not rich in what matters to God.” Luke 12:13

Today’s Gospel is very dear to me. You see my husband who passed away 4 years ago, used this as a guide for his entire life. Don’t get me wrong, he had plenty of ‘treasure’ or junk as I would often call it, but he tried to have a focus of Christ in his life that was extraordinaire.

Once a year we would talk through our ‘things,’ and see if they were used for God. If they were, we kept them. His caution cone orange helicopter, that he purchased in order to take, “angel flights’ those who needed flights to the hospital for free from far away was one example of what some people would consider an extravagance, he used for God. He didn’t always live this way, but as he grew older and was ordained a deacon in the church, his love for the Lord became more important than his love for things.

It is a challenge in this day and age to use the things we have for God. Mike’s truck had a bible verse on the back. We shared our home with missionaries. We wear crosses on our necks.

It’s not about oh, look at me I am holier than thou, it’s about, “yeah, God can use, even little ole me, to be his hands and feet”. As I look back at Mike’s life, I am so very thankful for this bible verse and all the ways that he embraced it.

Mike died in that caution cone orange helicopter. “That night, his life was demanded of him”

He was rich in what mattered to God, and that my friends is a gift, for those that are left behind.

That is the challenge this day, to evaluate what is it that you have and what needs to be given away? What are you using for Gods work and what are you holding onto for your own sake?

Let go, take my word for it.  You do not know when your life will be ‘demanded of you’ and the things that you own, will not matter in the least. Blessings on your week

Kate Mims is the Retreat Center Director at Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center in Houston, Texas.

Scripture:

Isaiah 53:10-11
Hebrews 4:14-16
Mark 10:35-45

Reflection:

One of the advantages that an infant enjoys over an adult is that an infant has few accolades or a reputation to live up to, while an adult dreads the day when the young ones in a family gradually begins to realize that  mom or dad have unexpected faults and weaknesses.  The parents dread the day when the little ones in the family who have come to idolize mom and dad gradually come to see that they’re really not all that the child had come to admire about them.  The parents also have their feet of clay.  So while the child is expected to have bowel problems, the parents are not expected to have drinking problems.  Every boy likes to boast: “my dad can beat up your dad”.

This carries over into the spiritual or religious realm too.  For instance, we hear Isaiah the prophet coming to terms with the long-awaited messiah who has been a dominant figure in the history of the Jewish people.  The messiah was to be the champion of the Jewish people, who could do no wrong and who would stand head and shoulders above everyone else.  And yet today we hear Isaiah prophesying that this messiah was going to be crushed by the Lord because of the weakness afflicting him.  And he is going to have to lose his life in carrying out his mission, and suffer much.  This was not the message the Jews wanted to hear about their long-awaited promised one.

And along the same lines, we hear the apostle Paul speaking about this long-awaited person to come in terms of priesthood.  He is going to be a priest, but then, remembering the sordid history of so many priests in the history of the Jewish people, Paul goes on to clarify that the priest he has in mind is not an unsympathetic, cold-hearted individual who has no appeal to the expectant Jew, but one who indeed is going to be tested with some hard times, but who will win over Jewish hearts in the long run.

And then we’re updated to the time of Jesus, and hear Him trying to straighten out some ideas that His disciples have about him, as for instance when two of them, James and John, ask Him to arrange seats of honor for them when they all arrive in heaven.  And so Jesus has to straighten them out on their expectations of what lies ahead of them.  It’s not going to be all peaches and cream, but there are going to be some tough times ahead that will test their expectations of what Jesus is going to do for them, like the boy or girl dreaming of the good times ahead when mom and dad do all kinds of favors for them.

So it’s a matter of living up to expectations.  We all want to achieve this, but we also have to be realistic and admit that some of these ambitions are off-target.  We have had expectations of others, which were unrealistic, and others have had hopes for us, which are simply not going to happen.  And today we are asked to recognize this, not to sour ourselves on life, but to prevent ourselves from being misled by false expectations, while still believing in the goodness and promise latent in others.  Like the Detroit Lions quarterback of years ago, Bobby Lane, a native of Texas where he picked up some unfortunate drinking problems, but whose teammates kept their faith in him, so that, when he huddled with them about the next play, they turned him around facing the right direction, and most of the time their faith in him to throw it to the right player paid off.  It’s a matter of putting up with another’s foibles in order to succeed beyond one’s expectations.  That’s Jesus’ message to us today.

Fr. Sebastian MacDonald, C.P. is a member of the Passionist Community in Louisville, Kentucky.

Feast of St. Paul of the Cross

Scripture:

Ephesians 1:15-23
Luke 12:8-12

Reflection:

Today is a very important day for all the Passionists throughout the world.  It’s the feast day of our Holy Founder, St. Paul of the Cross.  Perhaps you’ve wondered what inspires the various Passionist priests and brothers you have known?  What vision do they carry in their hearts that forms them into the people they become?  Jesus Crucified is, of course, the most important inspiration for all of us.  But a man of the 18^th century, who allowed himself to be transformed by the love he saw in Jesus Crucified, is certainly a major inspiration as well.  So, I want to tell you a bit about St. Paul of the Cross because some people are just worth knowing.

Paul Daneo, St. Paul of the Cross, Founder of the Passionists, was born in 1694 in a small town called Ovada, in Northern Italy.  He was one of sixteen children, only five of whom survived infancy.  His father, Luke Daneo, owned a small clothing and tobacco shop that barely supported his large family.  His mother, Anna Maria, was a faith-filled woman, whose devotion to the Passion of Jesus was the source of her courage and strength as she endured the grief and loss of so many of her children.

From his earliest years Paul, by the example of his Mother, had a deep devotion to the Passion of Jesus and at the age of 19 had a vivid experience of the depth of God’s love.  As a result of this experience Paul became determined to give himself totally to God.  Due to family need, however, he stayed at home, helping to support the family by working in his father’s shop.  At 22 he joined the crusade against the Turks though it took only two months for him to realize that the army was not for him.  Returning home, he once again worked in the family business.

When he was 26, the circumstances of the family became a bit better and Paul finally felt free to pursue his own personal dreams. Bidding good-bye to his family, he went to Alessandria, where Bishop Gattinara, Paul’s spiritual director and confessor, clothed Paul in a black tunic on the day of his arrival and then sent him to the parish of St. Charles in Castellazzo for retreat.  In the small sacristy of the parish church Paul made a 40 day retreat.  It was during those 40 days that Paul had the most extraordinary experiences of union with God and wrote the Rule of Life for the congregation he hoped to found.

After his retreat Bishop Gattinara sent him back to his home town where Paul lived in various hermitages for several years.  In 1721 Paul made his way to Rome in hopes that he could get his Rule of Life approved by the Pope.  He was turned away by a Vatican guard so Paul returned home, discouraged but determined.  On his return, his brother, John Baptist, joined with him to try living according to Paul’s Rule of Life.  Paul and John Baptist became well-known catechists and Paul was even invited to give spiritual talks by various groups.

In 1725, the brothers returned to Rome and this time Paul was given verbal permission to gather companions to live according to his Rule of Life.  Cardinal Corrandini asked the brothers to work in a newly established hospital there in Rome.  The president of the hospital was so impressed by Paul and John Baptist that he arranged for them to be ordained to the priesthood.

As more men joined with Paul and John Baptist, they moved the whole community to Monte Argentario, a promontory about 150 kms northwest of Rome, where they established the first Passionist monastery in 1737.

While contemplation and prayer were at the very heart of Paul’s life and the life of his new institute, Paul himself soon became a very famous popular preacher, spiritual guide, writer and mystic.  For Paul the Passion of Christ was the most                                                                                    vivid witness to God’s love for us and he constantly called upon his followers to remember the sufferings of Jesus.

During his lifetime Paul founded thirteen monasteries of Priests and Brothers throughout Italy as well as a monastery of Passionist Nuns.  Today the Passionists live and serve in 62 countries of the world and are enhanced by other religious and lay groups who find inspiration in the Charism of St. Paul of the Cross.

This bare outline of the life of Paul Daneo only describes some of the important moments of his life.  But it was his interior transformation brought about by his total openness to God’s love and his commitment to love God with his whole heart that made Paul into one of the most significant mystics and spiritual guides of the 18^th century.  May his example lead you into a deep and passionate love for Christ who gave himself so generously for us all.

May the Passion of Jesus Christ be always in our hearts.

Fr. Michael Higgins, C.P. is the director of Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.