Claire Smith

The Baptism of the Lord

Scripture:

Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7
Acts 10:34-38
Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

Reflection:

Today brings the Christmas season to a close. Like most of you, we celebrated Christmas with a bit too much food and drink and a sometimes mind-numbing schedule of visiting, gift-giving, shopping (and then returning).  For my family this is the day to strip trees of their ornaments and “un-deck” the halls, to put away Nativity figurines and the once-again tangled sets of lights.

As much as I tried to focus on the “reason for the season” through it all, it is tempting to linger at the crib as more of a spectator than a participant in the story. Not today. As we now leave the manger, we face the fact: Babies don’t stay babies for long (as my children and grandchildren constantly remind me). They and we must grow up. So today, we are focused not on mangers and cute babies, scruffy shepherds and kind kings, but on the waters of life and death, on adult choices and responsibilities, and on the real “reason for the season.” Jesus was born and so are we. The Spirit that rests on Jesus at his baptism is the same Spirit that comes to rest on each of us. Through our baptism, each of us is a child of God, made in the divine image, breathing divine breath and capable of achieving the impossible through God’s grace.

This is the culminating message of the season: Our faith is not merely about honoring Christ through remembering his birth, but accepting the challenge of discipleship, opening ourselves to being baptized not just with water but with the Holy Spirit and with fire. We are to be adult Christians with adult faith. Now more than ever, we need people living out the call of baptism.

I think I will get out my baptismal certificate and reflect on the dreams and hopes my parents had for me that day. Then I will expand my focus and reflect on the dreams and hopes that God has for me. I have been given so much. I pray that through the grace of this feast, rather than returning to my work exhausted from celebrating, I can return to my work renewed in awareness of my responsibility to manifest Christ and be an instrument of God’s loving and healing power. I hope I gain courage to challenge those who discriminate or promote violence based on another’s skin color, culture, religion or political beliefs. I hope that wherever I go I can stop hateful speech in its tracks and refuse to stoop to humanity’s lowest common denominator. I hope I can find ever-new ways to advocate for justice, to abandon gossip, to reach out in mercy and compassion, and to let God’s light shine through me to a dark and weary world.

Today, God says to me and to each one of us “You are my beloved child – in you I am well-pleased!” Our task is to speak those words to those whose ears have grown deaf, and continue the work of Christmas that John and Jesus began so long ago. There is so much to do. Can we start anew today?

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:

1 John 5:5-13
Luke 5:12-16

Reflection:

I can almost see John standing with outreached hands saying, “Don’t you get it?  What else can I say to you to make you understand?”  That is John’s message in today’s First Reading.  He tells us water, blood, the spirit and human understanding should make the point.  But beyond that, don’t you hear the Father?  If you believe, you will have eternal life, and if you believe, you will know that Jesus has brought us eternal life.  In this reading, John is speaking to a people who for the most part didn’t seem to have a very strong belief in eternal life.  But he is also speaking to us.  This may be a good time to think a bit about how strongly we actually do believe in eternal life.  The average life expectancy for humanity is 66.7 years.  If you compare that to eternity, it’s not much at all and yet our focus is definitely on this life.  We put so much of ourselves into celebrations—birthdays, Christmas, Halloween—but it seems like our preparation for eternal life is an afterthought.  If our Faith was stronger, wouldn’t we be spending most of our time preparing for eternal life and less time preparing for Halloween?  Wouldn’t we be overjoyed when someone enters the Kingdom?  And wouldn’t we live lives that show that we know that 66, 70, 80 or even a hundred years of this life are but nothing compared to eternal life?

As we begin this year of 2016, let’s ask ourselves, what will I do this year to get ready for eternal life?  But let’s also give ourselves a break; after all, we’re only human.  Hopefully this year of mercy will encourage us to be merciful to our neighbors but also to be merciful to ourselves and to remember that we can bathe in God’s mercy.

In the Gospel, Jesus performs a great act of mercy when he cures the leper.  And he goes one step further, when he tells the leper to show himself to the priest and present the offering so they will know he is clean.  Jesus knew that if the leper tried to resume a normal life without having this seal of approval, he would continue to be shunned by family and friends.  Jesus didn’t just cure the leper, he cared about the leper.

Do we do acts of mercy, truly caring about the recipient, and do we remember to love ourselves as we love others?  May 2016 be a year of strengthening our beliefs, living our Faith, and practicing mercy as we follow the path Jesus laid for us.

 

Mary Lou Butler is a long-time friend and partner in ministry to the Passionists in California.

Scripture:

1 John 4:19-5:4
Luke 4:14-22

Reflection:

The other morning I confirmed a “friend request” on Facebook before beginning my morning prayer. That diversion led to looking at the pictures and reading the latest news feeds of my friends and family. Fifteen or twenty minutes later I finally got down to my morning meditation, this time however, bringing my friends and family with me making that session a rich and I think fruitful experience of prayer.

This is quite a change from my former morning pattern of reading some online newspapers, and wondering what was happening in “the” world and what am I doing there.  Reading Facebook put me more in “my” world and I must say that made me much happier and gave me a sense of “God with me” Emanuel. I wonder if that insight isn’t too different from the people of Nazareth’s response to Jesus’s visit with them in the temple that we read in today’s gospel selection: “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” (LK 4:22) Help me God to see You in my life, in the real people and events You bless me with each day.

Think I’ll try spending time on Facebook tomorrow before sitting down to prayer.

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

Scripture:

1 John 3:22 – 4:6
Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25

 

Reflection:

Epiphany:  The Manifestation…Continued

Yesterday we joyfully celebrated the Solemnity of the Epiphany, the “manifestation” of Jesus to the world in the welcoming of the Magi by the humble Holy Family of Bethlehem.  From our vantage point, centuries later, we too proclaim:  “Jesus is the loving Savior of all people, without exception!”

Today’s Gospel selection from Matthew helps us appreciate the entire life of Jesus as a “manifestation” or revelation of God’s power, God’s mercy, God’s love.  Jesus preaches, teaches and calls for personal repentance; He cures every disease and illness, even the possessed, the paralyzed, the leprous, those wracked with pain, the outcasts.  His love reaches out and grants new life for everyone!

The Gospel selection goes on to say that great crowds from many parts of the area followed Jesus, no doubt looking for additional “manifestations” via the miracles and powerful teachings.  Their motivation?  Perhaps, like so many of us, they were a tad bit selfish…

Throughout the ensuing centuries, countless women and men have “met” Jesus, then selflessly left everything and followed Jesus — not just to view another miracle or two, but to freely give their lives in promoting the Good News of Jesus.  One such rather contemporary disciple is St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the 19^th Century foundress of the first women’s religious congregation in the United States — and the first native-born U.S. citizen to be canonized.  Her special disciple’s love included families, children, the poor of her day:  each person prompted Mother Seton to be generous in loving service of their needs, with her life rooted in the person of Jesus.

You and I have received that same Jesus-manifestation in our day.  We have our 21^st century sicknesses, our lack of direction, our selfishness; likewise, our world suffers from violence and lack of respect for all of creation.  Today Jesus continues to speak to our hearts as this Christmas season continues to inspire us, and He challenges us with great human examples such as St. Elizabeth Ann.  The question of the day:  Can we say “yes” to Jesus, have a true change of heart, and lovingly follow and serve Him in our day?  With the Magi of old, with St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, we have seen the Lord…and this Good News needs to be shared!

May God help us to say “yes” by our lives, in both our words and deeds — and may the world be ever-blessed by the person of Jesus!

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

Scripture:

Isaiah 60:1-6
Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6
Matthew 2:1-12

Reflection:

See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the LORD shines, and over you appears his glory. Isaiah 60:2

Sounds like the world today, doesn’t it? There is so much darkness in our world – wars, hunger, homelessness, sex-trafficking, divorce, suicide, child and elder abuse . . .  the list goes on and on. The news doesn’t help. Rather than show inspirational stories, they seem to dig up the worst to show us – in living color no less. I rarely watch the news anymore because it’s so depressing.

A song comes to mind that we used to sing with the high school youth group years ago: “Jesus is the answer for the world today.” It’s the profound, simple truth. Our world needs Jesus!!! We all need Jesus! As the wise men went to pay homage to the babe in Bethlehem, so we too can go to the stable and worship Him. At church we can kneel at the nativity scene and reflect with wonder how God became one of us so long ago to bring us near to Him. And when the Christmas decorations have been put away for the year, we can bow before Him in the stable of our hearts and acknowledge our great need of a Savior, of our need for truth and goodness and light. And as we bow low, He will lift us up.

He will give us the hope and courage we need to help change the darkness about us. We are His hands and feet today. We can share the good news. We can let the light shine through us to make a difference. As 2016 begins, let’s open our hearts once again to the Lord’s will for our lives. Let us say “Yes!” to spending time with Jesus each day so that He can direct our steps and we can all help usher in the Kingdom here and now.

 

Janice Carleton and her husband Jim live in Portland, OR 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:

1 John 2:22-28
John 1:19-28

Reflection:

I couldn’t help but notice that today’s Gospel begins with the statement: “This is the testimony of John.” It set me to thinking about the kind of testimony that John offers. The testimony is given in response to a challenge. Perhaps there is an intrinsic link that exists between a challenge, and the response to that challenge, which is a “testimony” in its most personal sense. In other words, a challenge elicits a testimony.

His first questioners challenge his identity; they run through a list of possible identities, but John denies each identity which they offer him. Finally, out of frustration, and because they have to answer to those who sent them, they say, “Who are you…what do you have to say for yourself.” His response is not a named identity, it is an action: “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, Make straight the way of the Lord.”

The point is underscored, repeated, when the second group of questioners come to him and challenge him: “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, or Elijah or the Prophet?”

John responds by asserting what he does, “I baptize with water….” Then, pointing out that “there is one among you whom you do not recognize…,” he gives testimony to that other person by testifying to his own unworthiness, “…whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”

Testimony is not given in words, the testimony which is most honest, is the testimony of actions/deeds. We have come to the start of a new year, one which is laden with challenge. During this coming year the United States will give testimony of its care for human life by how it responds to natural tragedies, many of them weather-related; the citizens of this country will try to assess the testimony of candidates for political office, and the testimony of heart-broken families will challenge the policies and practices of law enforcement communities.

Since 1963, the official motto of the Los Angeles police department has been “to protect and to serve”; John the Baptist might have been comfortable answering his challengers with that phrase; are you?

Fr. Arthur Carrillo, C.P.  is the director of the Missions for Holy Cross Province.  He lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God

Scripture:

Numbers 6:22-27
Galatians 4:4-7
Luke 2:16-21

Reflection:

Today is my birthday…the first baby born in Philadelphia in 1940!  I treasure a photo of my father standing in a line with a group of other fathers of New Year’s babies that day—each of them holding a cigar and most of them (my father included) with slightly startled looks on their faces. If any of us take the time to be a bit philosophical on our birthday—especially as the numbers keep adding up! —surely one deep feeling is that of gratitude for simply being alive!

That sense of exuberant blessing rolls through all of the Scripture readings for this feast day, the octave of Christmas and a special day honoring Mary as the Mother of God.  In the first reading from Nehemiah 6:22-27 we have one of the Bible’s most popular blessings: “The Lord bless you and keep you!  The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!  The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!”  One can only say “amen” to that!  The psalm response has the same spirit and takes its cue from the beautiful Psalm 67— “May God bless us in his mercy.”  The whole psalm praises God for the blessings he has lavished on his people and prays: “May all the nations be glad and exult…may all the peoples praise you!”

In the second reading, the apostle Paul joins in the chorus, too, reminding us in a segment from his letter to the Galatians, that we are truly children of God and therefore able to cry out with the same affectionate term Jesus himself used in his prayer: “Abba, Father!”  Whenever I am in Israel and I hear little children calling to their father in Hebrew, “Abba!”—I think of this beautiful passage from Paul’s letter.  An astounding assertion of our Christian faith is that through the gift of the Spirit we are able to share in Jesus’ own intimate relationship with his Father.

The Gospel selection from Luke brings us back to the Christmas story whose octave we celebrate today.  We recall the visit of the shepherds to Bethlehem and their amazing discovery of Mary and her child.  Poor and often despised as shepherds were in those days (they crossed boundaries with their flocks and had a reputation of being thieves…), Luke’s Gospel makes them the first witnesses to Jesus’ birth (a care for the marginal that extends throughout Jesus’ ministry in this Gospel).  The dazzled shepherds return to their flocks, Luke notes, “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.”

All around us today, it seems, there are reports of violence and expressions of fear.  Yet, for people of faith, fear is definitely not the spirit of this sacred day, January 1, 2016.  This is a day to count our blessings and to give thanks: for the gift of life, for the gift of our faith, for our family and friends, for God’s unconditional and unquenchable love that comes to us through Jesus, the Son of Mary.

 

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:

1 John 2:18-21
John 1:1-18

Reflection:

And the Word became flesh, and made his dwelling among us. John 1:14                         

 “Children, it is the final hour.” (1 John 2:18a)  The Church, in her wisdom, begins our scripture today with this stark reminder.  Here we are, sitting on the last moments of 2015.  Tomorrow is New Year’s Day.  Aren’t I supposed to make some resolutions?  

I suppose I’d begin by reflecting a bit on these 365 days – the good and the bad – the moments we savor, but also those moments we just don’t want to taste anymore.  The more I think, the more I’m reminded of all the insanity of these last months – murder, hate, disaster, and also the “Holiday Season” which is chock full of Black Friday fighting, and “I didn’t get what I want for Christmas,” and what seems like a sorrowful loathing and even anger at just anticipating family gatherings.

It really amazes and saddens me how cluttered our lives, as a society, have become with things like selfishness, consumerism, inconsiderate behavior, lack of understanding of other people, rejection, hate – the list goes on and on.  And no matter who we are, we’re all guilty of these things from time to time.  I try hard, but, friends, I can be forgetful of my calling and so often fail to live like the man God wants me to be.  There’s so much cluttering our hearts that we are just overflowing.  There’s no room for anything else.

Again, the Church, in her wisdom, reminds us also that Jesus wants to live with us… with-in us. In reading John’s words in today’s Gospel: And the Word became flesh, and made his dwelling among us. John 1:14 To me, it’s like a slap in the face.  “Paul, do you have room?” Is there space in the inn of my heart?  Is Jesus able to make his dwelling in me?

Thinking about that, I realize I sure have a lot of cleaning to do.

OK, so, Happy almost New Year!  Here are my resolutions:

• Lose Weight: I’m going to drop the weight of hurt and hate, and live the lightness of Joy.
• Clean the House: I’m going to sweep the junk from my mind and soul and make room.
• Stop Smoking: I’m going to stop burning myself up, and allow time to rest and pray.
• Eat Healthier: I’m going to feed my spirit with the healthy words of life.
• Be A Better Person: I’m going to treat every person I meet like they are Jesus; with love and mercy.

How are you going to ready your house for God?

Dear God of new years, thank you for the gift of fresh beginnings.  Grant us the grace of a broom with which we can sweep away all that keeps us from recognizing and welcoming you into our hearts and lives.  And please, help us all never break our resolution to be closer to you.

Amen.

Paul Puccinelli is Director of Liturgy & Music at St. Rita Parish in Sierra Madre, CA, and a member of the Retreat-Team at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center.