Claire Smith

Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 2:1-5
Mark 6:17-29

Reflection:

“ .  .  . so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.”

With the reemergence of comic superheroes, a new phrase or question has developed, “What is your super power?” A question that helps us to think about the special gift or talent we possess that might assist others. The Church calls these charisms. They are the graces/gifts and talents given to us by God, intended to build up the Body of Christ.

Saint John the Baptist knew that his charism was to preach and proclaim the coming of the messiah. He held fast to his gift of preaching and teaching and put his life on the line to speak the truth when it came to confronting Herod Antipas about his marriage to his brother’s wife when his brother was still living. While Herod Antipas, a “king” with “power” could not stand up to the truth when his wife asked for the “head of John the Baptist”. He could not humble himself and say no to the request. It would have been “humbling” for him to do so. He might have seem weak. What would people think of a king not keeping a promise?

When given power we need to know what to do with it. In the scriptures today we have two great examples of the choices we have in using our “power” or charism. We can use it for a greater good and it may cost us friends, job or opportunities. Or we may use it to make us “king of the hill”. Walking over others and ignoring the truth as we climb up to what we think is our goal. Not an easy choice when “human wisdom”/society tells us that it is okay to climb our way up and if someone next to me is falling down well, too bad for them. On the other hand, our faith says that we can all climb together helping each other to achieve our goals. In doing so we build up the “Body of Christ”

What are your gifts and talents? How are you using these to build up the “Body of Christ”?

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

Scripture:

Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29
Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a
Luke 14:1, 7-14

Reflection:

Once again, our scriptures speak to us of hope, but also offer us a challenge which calls forth a response from each of us.  The virtue of humility is mentioned several times:

In Sirach we hear:

My child, conduct your affairs with humility,
            And you will be loved more than a giver of gifts.
            Humble yourself the more, the greater you are,
            And you will find favor with God.  

These words from the Gospel of Luke further exhort us:

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled.
            But the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

We find a comforting message in these words in the Gospel acclamation:

Take my yoke upon you, says the Lord,
            And learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.

The challenge that calls forth a response from us is found in the responsorial psalm and the gospel:

God, in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor.
            Rather, when you hold a banquet,
            Invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;
            Blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.
            For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.

So, as we journey onward to the kingdom, how do we practice the virtue of humility, how do we focus on those less fortunate than ourselves, how do we walk together with all peoples on this journey?!

Well, for the last six months or more, members of our parish community have accepted the challenge by forming a Refugee Resettlement Ministry.  At this writing we have over 150 people of all ages and sizes who have been working together to resettle our first family of Syrian refugees this coming Fall.  The outpouring of faith and faithfulness, hard work, creativity and gospel action has been and continues to be overwhelming.  From the start it was our intention to invite people to be a part of this ongoing ministry and have many people doing a few things rather than a few people doing many things.  Following the example of Pope Francis during this Year of Mercy, these ministers are on fire with zeal and determination to live out the gospel message.

We give thanks to God for the many blessings we enjoy and look forward with eagerness to continue to minister to those less fortunate than ourselves.  Onward to the Kingdom we go!!!

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

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 1:26-31
Matthew 25:14-30

Reflection:

“Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground.  Here it is back.”  His master said to him in reply, “You wicked, lazy servant!”

These words from the parable of the talents in today’s gospel leave me reflecting on how many times have I let fear dictate my actions in life.  Fear is not “Kingdom of God friendly.” If I am to truly build the Kingdom of God around me I cannot bury my good instincts in the ground out of fear that something might go awry.

How many times have I thought to say a good word of kindness or do a simple act of compassion and then held back because I thought it might not be received the way I hoped?  How many times have I not challenged injustice out of fear for my own well-being or fear of being misinterpreted?  How many times has fear stifled the Holy Spirit moving within me?

I think we often “bury our talents” out of fear.  This parable is not an easy one to sit and ponder.  Yet today Jesus asks us to reflect on what we do with what we are given.  This parable leaves me thinking, “I wish I had a talent for every talent I had been given.  I wish I had said or done something with kindness for every time I had thought to do so.”

God’s love is freely given, like the talents.  We must use the freely given love to build the Kingdom of God!

Terry McDevitt, Ph.D. is a member of the Passionist Family in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 1:17-25
Matthew 25:1-13

Reflection:

Crossing the 50 year threshold is a milestone many of us dread but often mark with a trip or party. Half a century of life sounds like a long time. Not all that long ago, and still in parts of the world today getting to 50 was no small feat.

I write these reflections for the 26^th of each month, and once a year I am given the opportunity to think about my brother who never made it to 50. Not by a longshot. Killed when he was just 22, today he would have turned 50 years old. We have no idea what he might look like at 50, what his career might have been or what family he might have had.

And for us, his family and friends, we have no idea what our lives might look like if he had not died. What decisions about living did his dying force us to make? How does the kindness shown us then, especially our parents, help us be kind to others today? Lots of things were set in motion that July night in 1989.

Today’s selection from Saint Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians could not be more Passionist. “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Paul continues to argue that our own understanding of wisdom is set aside by Jesus, the Wisdom of God. How can life come from death, healing through brokenness?

When my brother died, many asked “why.” It is a natural question, for sure. But it leads nowhere. The question seeks a rational answer where there is none. It was an irrational act by those who killed him. No, the question that I ask today – as a way to celebrate his 50 birthday – is “what now?” What wisdom does Christ offer me today that will help me know that life really can come through death?

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:

1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Matthew 24:42-51

Reflection:

If someone were to ask you to name a couple of the books that have had a major impact on your life, what would the titles be?  My list would have to include Gerard Broccolo’s, Vital Spiritualties: Naming the Holy in Your Life. Early on, the author makes a distinction between the ideal and real schools of spirituality.

The ideal school has the spotlight on me, and seems to continually ask, “How am I doing?” With the focus being the perfection of the Gospel, my task is to always try to live up to that ideal. So, in this school, I expend a good bit of energy giving myself a report card on performance or behavior, and repeatedly taking my moral temperature.

The real school, on the other hand, is focused not on me — and how am I doing? It is focused on God. And what is God doing?  My task is not to perpetually be evaluating my performance, taking my moral temperature or giving myself a report card. In fact, the focus isn’t even on me. The task is simply to pay attention. As we hear in today’s Gospel, our task is to “stay awake,” …so we don’t miss God.

In an allusion to the story in Exodus 3 (of Moses hearing God speaking to him out of a burning bush), British poet, Elizabeth Barret Browning, pens these words, (Book Seven of Aurora Leigh):

Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes,
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries…

Sometimes we get so strung out with overwork, so anxious with the nitty-gritty, or so bloated with comfort and convenience, we seem to miss God. We miss the grandeur of creation, the beauty of nature. Maybe the task isn’t always to do more… more effort, more prayers, more discipline. May we are simply being called to “stay awake.” To smell the roses.

I will praise your name for ever, Lord!

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

Scripture:

Revelation 21:9b-14
John 1:45-51

 

Reflection:

Finding Jesus

Today’s Gospel relates the excitement of the Apostle Philip who found Jesus and shares the good news with Nathanael; “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” John 1:45      Nathanael is skeptical at such an incredible find: “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”

The biggest and most critical search of our lives is the search for Christ.   “Our relationship with Jesus is the primary thing of our lives, all else is secondary.” Pope Francis. Until our lives are grounded in Christ they are built on hazardous foundations.  We cling to someone, Jesus and not just something.

The good news is that our seeking of Jesus is superseded by His seeking of us.  Christ is a million times more interested seeking us than we are in seeking Him!   Even in Hebrew SS about 600 years before Christ we find this beautiful seeking of God for His people.  “He found him in a desert land, And in the howling waste of a wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye.”   Deuteronomy 32:10

We find many instances in New Testament of Jesus’ unrelenting search for us.  “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10 He said these words about a man thrown out of the temple and excluded from witnessing in court.   He was a tax collector rejected by the people.  Jesus is the “good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep”.^. John 10:11  “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?^. Luke 15:4

Jesus has a passionate desire to seek us out.   We should never underestimate the force of Christ’s zeal for others when we are in ministry. There is a strong fellowship with Jesus who is behind us as we try to touch the lives of others with the Gospel!   Luke reminds us how Jesus was criticized: “Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Luke 15:2  The Greek word for welcome (prosdechomai) is a high energy word.  It means an open armed reception for sinners with an attitude!

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

 

Scripture:

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3a, 14-17
Matthew 23:23-26

Reflection:

In our Gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus has some harsh words for the scribes and Pharisees who are supposed to be leading the people in their relationship with God. Jesus calls them “frauds” because they were so consumed by the minutiae of the Mosaic Law that they neglected the “weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and good faith.” In other words, they neglected the things that could really help people in their relationship with God and with each other.

There are a few things that come to mind as we reflect on Jesus’ admonishment to the scribes and the Pharisees. One is the reminder to resist the temptation to focus on the shortcomings of the scribes and the Pharisees. Jesus’ words are meant as a caution to us! So often we can be tempted to focus on the small stuff as a way to demonstrate our superiority over others, or as a way to avoid the real issues with which we need to grapple. There are so many challenges facing people today, and we need to explore ways to help them live their lives with integrity as we strive to do the same.

Another thing is to reflect on what Jesus means by being “frauds.” Jesus is not saying “Woe” to them because they fell short of perfection. We all do. If I am judged as being a fraud or a hypocrite because I haven’t perfectly followed Jesus, then, yes, I admit to being a fraud. But I don’t think falling short constitutes being a fraud. Jesus says “Woe” to the scribes and the Pharisees because they were so quick to condemn others for falling short.

Recognizing our own weaknesses and sins, we can’t condemn others for not being perfect. Instead, may we turn to God, who, in the words of our first reading from 2 Thessalonians, “loved us and in his mercy gave us eternal consolation and hope.” And may God console our “hearts and strengthen them for every good work and word.”

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is the local superior at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Community in Detroit, Michigan.