Claire Smith

Feast of Saint James

Scripture:

2 Corinthians 4:7-15
Matthew 20:20-28

Reflection:

I grew up in the city, and long before recycling and composting were popular, my Dad had a “humus pile” in our back yard. Every time we cut the grass, the clippings went on top of the pile. When we raked leaves they, too, would cover that mound. So did potato peelings, coffee grounds and egg shells. And we would keep turning the dirt with the refuse. Dad had made a sifting screen out of chicken wire and boards; every so often we would sift the humus pile — producing the richest, blackest soil you can imagine! Nature teaches us that fertility comes from rubbish, life comes from death.

The word “humus” in Latin means earth or ground. The English word, humility, comes from this origin. The fruitfulness of the earth depends on the decomposition of organic matter. Today’s readings remind us that the only abundance or prosperity that is real must come from the lowly garbage! James and John send their mother (how pathetic!) to secure a top position in Jesus’ cabinet, and Jesus reminds them of the need to embrace the lowly, the humble… to drink the cup that he has drunk. To be one with Jesus means not sitting in glory and honor, but powerlessness and vulnerability. This is the fragile, earthen vessel of which St. Paul speaks.

In this time of conventions and selecting candidates, I have caught myself condemning politicians for their arrogance and smugness. Today I need to look at my own egotism, my own desire for power-prestige-privilege, asking that I might drink Jesus’ cup of humility, and be grounded.

 

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

Scripture:

Genesis 18:20-32
Colossians 2:12-14
Luke 11:1-12

 

Reflection:

Teach Us How to Pray

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” Lk 11:1 The apostles made a wonderful request of Jesus.  Is there any more important thing to know in our lives than to encounter God in prayer?

There are many words for prayer in scripture but the one used in today’s Gospel seems to go right to the heart of our communication with God.  The word is desire (pros-yoo-khay’) in the original  Greek New Testament.   The etymology of prayer is desire yoo-xay’.  Prayer is a mutual yearning between humans and God.  Prayer is more than just a desire by one alone but only happens when the yearning is both from God and from our self.  Prayer is in the middle tense which reflexes back to the subject.   God is the great initiator of prayer. He desires us.  He reveals Himself as alive and caring about us.   This happens, first of all, when He opens our eyes and hearts to the wonder of His caring presence!  God always must first kindly desire us, and only then, can we fondly long for God.

So Jesus tells us: “When you pray, say: ‘Father!”  What warmth and affection are in that word for Jesus!  Every prayer of Jesus begins with Father!  A 197 times in Gospels is the word Father on the lips of Jesus.  In Luke’s Gospel the first words of the young Jesus are: “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” Lk 2:49   The last recorded prayer of Christ in Luke is:  Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.” Lk 23:46

St Paul of the Cross was walking outside our retreat in Rome when two of our students saw him saying his rosary.   Two hours later when the two came back they saw the saint still saying his rosary.  One of the students said: “Father Paul how many rosaries have you said?”   Looking at his rosary he said: “I am still on my first Our Father!”  The saints could spend two hours in rapt awe at “father”!  In prayer the Holy Spirit guides us.  “God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”  Gal 4:6   Prayer is indeed a mutual longing with God.

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

Scripture:

Jeremiah 7:1-11
Matthew 13:24-30

Reflection:

When I looked at our first reading for today from Jeremiah, I was startled wasn’t all that familiar with the passage. God was intent on making a point! Jeremiah is sent to the gate to the Temple, and told to remind the people that God’s presence there is not dependent on the existence of a building, but on how the people live out their faith: “Put not your trust in the deceitful words: ‘This is the temple of the Lord! …‘ Only if … each of you deals justly with his neighbor; if you no longer oppress the resident alien, the orphan, and the widow; if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place, or follow strange gods to your own harm, will I remain with you in this place … But here you are, putting your trust in deceitful words to your own loss! Are you to steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury …, and yet come to stand before me in this house which bears my name, and say: ‘We are safe; we can commit these abominations again’?” God is calling us to humility, and in the light of recent events, humility before God is what we need.

The challenge continues in our Gospel reading from Matthew, where Jesus tells the parable of the weeds among the wheat. As challenging as this parable is to not become like weeds, I think it also offers us hope. Unlike weeds and wheat, we are not fixed in the way we are. By the grace of God in Jesus Christ, we can be changed! We can let Jesus in to heal us of whatever gets in the way of following Him. We can be freed from the worship of false gods such as greed and selfishness and bigotry and complacency! We can be freed from fear of the resident alien! We can be healed from indifference toward the widows and orphans and the shedding of innocent blood!

Whatever characteristics of being weeds we may have, may Jesus enter our hearts and our lives and change us into wheat.

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

Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene

Scripture:

Song of Songs 3:1-4b
John 20:1-2, 11-18

Reflection:

Do you remember the 1950’s game show “To Tell the Truth” ?  After a series of questions and answers addressed to the three contestants all claiming to be the same person, the panelists had to make a choice as to which contestant is actually the person in question.  At the end, the TV host would say, “Would the real Jane Doe or John Smith please stand up.”  The truth would then be revealed.

On the feast of Saint Mary Magdalene, we might want to begin our reflection with the request , “Would the real Mary Magdalene please stand up !”  I think back on all of the various stories I heard of Mary while I was growing up.  She was a great sinner.  She was a repentant prostitute.  She was possessed by seven devils.  She was a follower of Jesus in His ministry.  She was a disciple.  She was totally loyal, even to the Cross and burial of the Lord.  She was the first to receive the revelation of the resurrection.  All of these and more were said of Mary Magdalene.  Will the real Mary please stand up ?

We actually know very little of Mary from the scriptures.  She is often confused with Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus or with the woman who washed the feet of Jesus with her tears and dried them with her hair.  Medieval Popes began the tradition that Mary was a great sinner who repented but the scriptures do not substantiate this interpretation of her.  The scriptures for her feast day help to clarify just who Mary was.  The beautiful selection from the Song of Songs speaks of the strong universal search by  the human heart motivated by a deep longing to find “the one whom I love” .  The search goes on until the beloved is found and the bond of mutual love is created .  We are able to see this very same search in the gospel references to Mary.  She comes to know the Lord and His preaching and discovers her love of God becomes focused in the life giving words of Jesus.  She accompanies Him in his preaching tours to listen, to deepen her love for Him and the Father, to influence others in a positive way, and to help care for Him along the way.  Having found her beloved, Mary remains the faithful disciple through His arrest, torture, crucifixion, death and burial.  She stands with Him under His cross.  She helps to prepare His body for burial.  She mourns with the Blessed Mother the death of “one whom she loved”.

Today’s gospel brings us to the next moment in her life – the moment when her beloved is restored to her.  It is the Easter account of John’s gospel.  Mary is the FIRST to receive the revelation “He is Risen.”  She is overjoyed and rushes to embrace His feet.  Jesus stops her not because she was “a sinful woman”  with a past, but because she had followed Jesus in life and now Jesus was preparing her to follow Him in faith.  At that moment, Mary’s faith becomes firm and she becomes the Apostle to the Apostles, the first to hear the Good News and the FIRST sent by the Lord to announce the Good News to the other apostles.

Today’s scriptures invite us to understand Mary Magdalene as a woman of great love, intense desire to stand by the Lord, and a disciple of unwavering loyalty, dedication and faith..

I believe the real Mary Magdalene just stood up!!!

Fr. Richard Burke, CP, is a member of St. Paul of the Cross Province.  He lives at St. Ann’s Monastery in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Scripture:

Micah 6:1-4, 6-8
Matthew 12:38-42

Reflection:

I vividly remember walking along a country track one fine afternoon. I had left the Monastery earlier in the day and was now several hours into my walk, I had been going along with a fair degree of confidence that I’d taken all the right turns and was now indeed on the return portion of my journey. But the scenes before me were not confirming that reality, I was in unfamiliar territory and was beginning to doubt. I started looking for ‘signs’ to reassure me – any mileage indicators, town names etc., but none were forthcoming!

I muse that my experience is not an uncommon one. Indeed possibly my walk serves as a metaphor for one’s spiritual journey in this life. I think they are similar in some ways. Certainly one of the most tempting moments in any faith journey is to seek some kind of certainty or at least some proof that we are on the right track and that our continued trust in the way we are going is warranted.

One might be tempted to think that this might be the sense of the question put to Jesus in today’ gospel reading, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”

However, let’s note that the question is put by those who are sceptical of, if not suspicious of Jesus and who doubt his ‘credentials’. Thus their question is not so much one that seeks to confirm a faith choice already made, but rather is a question that seeks of some kind of ‘proof’ that would allow them to fit Jesus into a mould that they imagine for him.

And in turn Jesus’ reply seems to expose not only their intentions – ‘an evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign’- but,  in fact goes on to point out that some things cannot be proven in ways we’d like. For some of the more precious things in life,  one has to look with a deeper sense, to seek evidence that is heart-based rather than that which merely satisfies a desire for knowledge and logic.

On my walk above, my ‘sign’ came not from anything written or the miraculous appearance of a district map along the side of the road, but from a fellow walker who passed by. I enquired as to where my road led and was thus assured of the route I had chosen.

Jesus seems to offer a similar ‘sign’ when asked. We must look beyond the obvious – to deeper experiences we have, or to foundational memories or to our community for the kinds of signs that guide one’s faith journey.

In this encounter with the Scribes and Pharisees Jesus recommends the example of Jonah to his listeners, and more importantly for us he foreshadows his own resurrection witness. It is to such a ‘sign’ that we too must look for reassurance and confidence as we journey along the road of life and faith. The resurrection is our ultimate sign and guiding light in life.

Of course, there wasn’t much ‘evidence’ left at the scene of the resurrection!  An empty tomb and clothes lying around might not inspire faith. No, the sign of the resurrection was to be found in the witness and life of the disciples – those who felt the presence of the Lord with them who knew him in the community, in the Eucharist, in their meetings and in journeying together. Their lives had been completely turned around by this experience of the risen Jesus and now they were to become signs for others – by their witness, words, preaching and life example.

We inherit their witness and we too have benefitted by the witness of those who have gone before us, those who have imparted wisdom to us and those who have taught us by their lives of faith.

We can be like them, we too can be ‘signs’ of Jesus alive to all we meet.

Fr. Denis Travers, C.P., is a member of Holy Spirit Province, Australia.  He currently serves on the General Council and is stationed in Rome.

Scripture:

Genesis 18:1-10
Colossians 1:24-28
Luke 10:38-42

Reflection:

Here’s a gospel story for which we love to take sides! Those of us who feel we are always doing more than our share of what needs to be done, whether in our families, communities, or on our jobs, rally around a miffed Martha when she complains to Jesus that her dreamy sister needs to get up and lend a hand. But those of us who think that the way too industrious Marthas of this world need to chill a little before they drive everybody crazy, loyally align ourselves with Mary.

And yet, rather than seeing Mary and Martha as irreconcilable opposites, maybe we should see them as two essential dimensions of the Christian life that must be kept in balance. When Jesus tells Martha, “Mary has chosen the better part,” he reminds us that God must be the absolute center of our lives. No matter how much good we may do, if it leaves us so busy that we seldom have time for the prayer, solitude, and contemplative listening that is necessary to nurture our relationship with God, it is spiritually detrimental. That is why we need to be Mary, sitting “beside the Lord at his feet, listening to him speak.” But we also need to be Martha because the friendship with God that prayer cultivates should always open up in love and service of others.

Mary and Martha. When we strive to emulate what is best in both of them, we realize that Jesus speaks to us not only in prayer, but also in every neighbor who comes our way.

Paul Wadell is Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, and a member of the extended Passionist family.

Scripture:

Micah 2:1-5
Matthew 12:14-21

Reflection:

This periscope in Matthew happens the first time Jesus is in the Temple on the Sabbath. The disciples have also created a stir by harvesting the grain in the palm of their hands.  Jesus has also just healed the man with the withered hand. This upsets the Pharisees so they began to plot on how to get rid of Jesus. This is unique to Matthew because Matthew squarely places the responsibility of Jesus’ death on the Pharisees.  From this statement it is clear the Pharisees are also the enemy of Matthew’s community.

Jesus does not confuse recklessness with courage. First, Jesus withdraws from the crowds and Pharisees. Second, the present moment is not the appropriate time for Jesus to have a confrontation. Jesus has work to do before he takes up his cross. Third, he eschews any publicity and tells the by-standers to remain silent about his miracles.  Matthew emphasizes this by quoting the prophet Isaiah. This is the lengthiest passage of the Old Testament in the New Testament. It is taken from the prophet Second Isaiah who spoke these words during the Babylonian Captivity.

Jesus will preach his Gospel of Justice, which will conquer with Love, not strife. Like Isaiah Jesus includes the Gentiles along with Israel as Isaiah did. Jesus’ preaching will strengthen Israel. He will encourage and give hope to the Gentiles. Like Isaiah his message is for the poor and the oppressed – “the smallest of all nations.” Jesus ministers with love, kindliness, compassion, caring and humility. Jesus is fortified for his mission by immersing his disciple and himself in prayer.

Just as Isaiah and Jesus give us examples of how to deal with conflict, Others have learned how this is done. Peter Trucker, the father of modern management, would say in dealing with conflict, “Be fair, Be firm, and Be friendly. The Mennonites Peace Center in Lombard, Illinois have encouraged when dealing with conflict: Don’t deny, Don’t withdraw, and Don’t Argue. Military Officers when it came to disagreeing on strategies offer this advice: #1. Keep focused on the issue, and #2. Don’t get personal. The scriptures are an end list source of encouragement and hope. The example of Jesus in the Scripture is an endless model for our daily life.

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

Scripture:

Isaiah 26:7-9, 12, 16-19
Matthew 11:28-30

Reflection:

Come to me… for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.

I am one day home from the gift of a very unexpected trip to Rome in this year of Mercy.  As I approached the designated door of St. Peter’s basilica I stepped aside for a moment before entering, wondering if there had been a necessary preparation I might have missed.   And then thankfully I came across the sign that stood by the door that gifted a simple, direct invitation.   “As you pass through the holy door remember that Jesus is the door who introduces you to the embrace of God’s mercy.”

Once inside, the basilica was abuzz with as one passing person said “a sea of humanity.”    Wall to wall people in such a number that much effort was required to stay attuned to the flow so as not to bump into people gathered with a multitude of intentions – cameras, selfie sticks, tourist group leader flags, candles.  It was a buzz of voices.  On a certain level it felt like a bustling museum.

That is until I stepped behind the heavy dark grey curtains in the quiet of a hidden side chapel to find Jesus  waiting in the Blessed Sacrament.  Instantly I found the space transformed by the gift of quiet stillness and a sacred silence.  In this space of complete and real Presence with the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament I was gifted with a deep sense of coming home with the chance to find rest in the love and mercy of God.  No matter how frazzled the journey was to get here or how much we will be swept back into the whirlwind of a life after, in this moment of meeting Christ, the Bread of Life, we always have this opportunity to be steeped in the Peace of His humble, always welcoming Presence.

Another day I headed to the church of San Pietro in Vincoli at someone’s suggestion.  It is known for Michelangelo’s sculpture commissioned for Pope Julius II’s tomb.  A giant Moses holding the tablets of the Law..  As the doors opened I entered along with a flood of tourists & pilgrims who had gathered in anticipation.  Looking for the flicker of a  candle in a red holder I headed towards the left side of the church; the only area with chairs and kneelers to pray in front of the tabernacle.   From the silence of this spot I turned to see the fullness of the crowd heading towards the statue of Moses.  Guidebooks and cameras in hand.  A buzz of sounds.  Deep rows of people pushing close just as they had in front of the Pieta at St. Peter’s vying for spots to see and adequately capture and experience this unique work of art.

With so much attention concentrated at the other side of the church I realized in a way I never experienced before how quietly humble Christ’s invitation and His Presence truly is.   This treasure of His presence, unmatched by any other, waits with a patience and love beyond any human comprehension. From behind a closed hidden spot in a tabernacle where only the keys of faith supply the map, it asks nothing but our own focused return of presence and surrendered love.  I write this knowing that I can find myself as both/and.  Consumed with a camera trying to capture some version of “must do or see” and as in this moment,  arriving with an open heart content to be filled with whatever it is God wants to teach or show me, desiring and tasting the relief and sweetness of His invitation.

M. Walsh, is a retreatant and friend of the Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center and the Passionist community.