Claire Smith

Scripture:

Ezekiel 2:2-5
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Mark 6:1-6a

 

Reflection:

When people assemble for a sporting event they yell, shout, and scream. They are not afraid to be vocal and let it all out.  We all know that enthusiastic fans can’t actually win the game on their own, but most teams know the fans will give the home team an advantage.  Does this have anything to do with the readings today?  I think it does.  Because we are talking about an energy here which flows through us as people and which we don’t control. Yet there are things we can do to encourage this energy and there are things we can do to stifle it.

Ezekiel mentions that the Spirit entered him as he was listening to the LORD.  This spirit set him on his feet.  He was empowered.  Why did the spirit choose him?  What did Ezekiel do that made the energy flow through him?   Note—Ezekiel doesn’t control the details of the spirit.    The Gospel slants toward the converse of the Ezekiel story.  Jesus is the man whom the Spirit is supposed to enter so he can do the divine things of God.  However, even though he is divine, he can’t seem to do anything in the midst of his home town because of their lack of faith.   Recall the last two Sundays with the calming of the storm and the raising of Jairus’ daughter, respectively.  Mark displays Jesus as having a tremendous amount of power and authority.  And this Sunday, Jesus is in his hometown, and people are minimalizing his divinity. He seems powerless to do the remarkable things he has done at other places.   Does this challenge your understanding of Jesus?

As one who presides over the Eucharistic assembly, I notice this energy all the time. I also notice the lack of divine energy.  In fact, several years ago, during a priest’s retreat a few of us were sitting around after dinner socializing.  One of the priests on retreat spoke about a liturgy which was just so difficult.  He actually stopped in the middle of the Eucharistic Prayer and said, “Come on folks, I can’t do this by myself”.  I was shocked he would be so bold but I completely understood where he was coming from.   Then, just a couple of weeks ago I had the opposite experience.  The assembly was so spirit filled, so participatory, they so wanted to be there, they made themselves present and attentive.   It was truly a great prayerful liturgy.  It was so powerful I found myself treasuring it all week.

These are somewhat the two extremes.  Most liturgies are somewhere in between them.   There certainly is an energetic dynamic which happens when people get together. We see that in sporting events.  Yet Eucharist is different.  When we gather to listen to God’s word and to celebrate the Eucharist we don’t claim any allegiance for a particular team like we would at a sporting event. It is actually Christ who claims an allegiance for us.  And we are not there to cheer on the stars of the team, we are there because Jesus has asked us to gather together so we may share and celebrate our faith. When we are actively doing this, we are like Ezekiel, we listen to God’s Word and the Spirit enters us.  If we end up minimalizing Jesus in the Eucharistic assembly, then just like today’s gospel, how can Jesus do miraculous things?

Sandwiched between these readings is Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, (2 Cor 12).  This is Paul at his most vulnerable, telling us about a great paradox.  He talks about this thorn in his flesh.  While we don’t know for certain what that thorn was, we do hear how Paul wants God to take this from him. He even begs the Lord.  Most of us can identify with this.   When was the last time you told God to fix the thing you don’t like about yourself?   Frequently we presume that since we don’t like these parts, God must not like them either.  Yet God’s answer to Paul is clever and wise.  God tells Paul to trust his weakness, and to even lean on his weakness.  Rather than hiding or running away from the thing you dislike within yourself, how can you do the paradoxical thing and embrace it?  Can you let God redeem it?  People in recovery programs do this all the time and continue to show me the grace behind the paradox.

So we sit today with the these sacred texts:  Ezekiel, a man which the spirit enters and he gets sent forth with a mission, Jesus who is amazed at their lack of faith,  and Paul who paradoxically learns to accept what he doesn’t like in himself.  And all of them challenge me to simply stand before God and be in awe. It is much like Mary does in the Lucan infancy narratives.  She held all the things that were revealed to her and pondered them in her heart.   When we do this, our faith grows.

 

Fr. David Colhour, C.P. is the pastor of St. Agnes Parish in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

Genesis 27:1-5,15-29
Matthew 9:14-17

 

Reflection:

God’s Plan:  Life, Freedom, Love!

There’s a special “twist” today in both readings.  In the Genesis reading, Jacob takes advantage of his father’s blindness to deceive his father Isaac and get the special blessing promised Esau; and in today’s Gospel Jesus challenges the disciples of John the Baptist who were a bit jealous of Jesus’ disciples.

In their deceptive practices, Jacob & Rebekah lied to Isaac, yet God took that evil act and used it for His own good purposes, for it was God’s will that the Messiah would be born from the descendants of Jacob.  Truly…“God writes straight with crooked lines”.

In the Gospel “twist”, Jesus’ disciples broke the pattern established by the Pharisees and the disciples of John the Baptist:  they did not fast, but rather “feasted” with Jesus as people do in joy-filled wedding parties — or on the 4^th of July in the U.S.A.!  Jesus came to fulfill the Law, to set people free from their selfishness and sinfulness by his lived message of unconditional Love.  Truly…God has a Plan, a Divine Plan of Life, Freedom, and Love!

This July 4^th our nation celebrates Independence Day, an important national holiday.  We have the usual festivities of parades, speeches, lots of fireworks, family gatherings and food.  And yet this year the festivities are tempered by the continued presence of violence and war in our world (even close to home), the growing environmental challenges the world faces (and Pope Francis has addressed), smoldering racism, global economic woes, etc.!  We recall our blessings, and we’re invited to see that God does have a plan for our world to address our world situation — perhaps a bit different than we expect.  God-given wisdom & patience & deep faith will help form a nation that is truly free, truly life-affirming on all levels, truly generous in sharing its riches, truly aware of its position as a major player on the global scene.

Today in Jesus God gives a special “twist” to our lives:  in His loving Plan, Jesus comes to set us free from our sinfulness and selfishness, to share God’s Love and Life with our needy world.  May we Christians, especially we Americans this July 4^th, be living “fireworks celebrations” of the goodness and love of God.

 

Fr. John Schork, C.P. is the local leader of the Passionist community in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Scripture:

Ephesians 2:19-22
John 20:24-29

 

Reflection:

“In him you also are being built into this temple, to become a dwelling place for God in the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:22

I am reading a wonderfully edifying book called Thirsting for Prayer by Jacques Philippe. He tells us to “seize the times for separating ourselves from everything in order to seek God inside ourselves, in a simple movement toward silence, recollection and inward attention to the presence of him who dwells in us.” He also quotes John of the Cross who said, “You yourself are the place in which he dwells, you are his hiding-place. What joy, what consolation that brings you! Your treasure, the object of your hope, is so close to you that he is within you, or rather you cannot be without him.”

I’ve known for a long time that God said He would never leave us or forsake us (Dt 31:6) and that God lives within us as we see in today’s first reading, but I’m trying to be more mindful of this truth as I go through my day. I glance toward Him more often, stop for a minute and thank Him and praise Him and tell Him that I love Him. It’s really a very simple turning toward God living within me, but it lights up my heart and brings a smile to my face as I ponder this amazing reality. God, Himself, dwelling deep within me.

When you have a house guest, you check on them, spend time with them, and be sure they have everything they need. So too with God. I am checking in more often, and when I have longer periods of time, I sometimes imagine us sitting in my living room or my little prayer room, sharing a cup of tea (for you it could be a glass of wine, or whatever you like to drink!) We chat away about everything – sometimes the grandkids, sometimes His Word; or we don’t talk at all. It’s delightful just being with Him.

The author suggests that over time as we acquire the habit of doing this, “we will see that little by little, even in the heat of action, we remain united to God and can draw from his intimate presence all energy, all wisdom, and all peace. Then we no longer live in a superficial, agitated, disorderly, impulsive way, but truly centered on our heart, in which God is dwelling.” I pray that I can do just that and I encourage you to read the book! May God help each of us live more aware of His presence each day.

 

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 wrote her first book: God Speaks to Ordinary People – Like You and Me. Visit Janice’s website at http://www.janicecarleton.com/ or email her at [email protected].

Scripture:

Genesis 22:1b-19
Matthew 9:1-8

 

Reflection:

Today’s first reading takes me back in memory to Resurrection School, in East Los Angeles, the year, 1957. We were eighth graders in the spring of that year, soon to graduate and move on to high school. Our Franciscan Sisters who taught most of the grades in the school, occasionally had us produce biblical “tableaux”, brief biblical scenes, scripted and memorized, with costumes and sets, to be acted out for the rest of the school children.

Today’s reading from Genesis was the tableau we were going to perform, and I had been selected to play the part of Abraham. Our Bible History classes had already introduced us to the patriarchs, the judges, and kings of the Jewish scriptures. From my perspective, I was playing the part of an old man (I even had a glued-on beard) who was being tested by God to measure his obedience and his willingness to do what God was asking of him.

I would have to say that the situation was not beyond the experience of a thirteen year old eighth grader. It is one way that the vocational discernment process unfolds. The discernment of God’s will in one’s life always begins with recognition that my life is a sacred trust which God has called into existence from wisdom and a love which will unfold throughout my lifetime. I owe obedience to God not because of a servile relationship, but because of my conviction that God acted with purpose in offering me life, and in order to fulfill my life’s purpose, I will discern and follow God’s plan in giving me the gift of life.

Today’s first reading shows how difficult it may be in the concrete realities of life to be obedient to God’s will. In Genesis 12:1-3, God has already begun his covenant with Abraham, promising to make him the first of a great nation. How can God then ask Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac? Or, more broadly speaking, how can God ask something of me that seems to have no reasonable foundation?

God answers that question by casting the episode in the guise of a test, a test of Abraham’s obedience. Because Abraham chose obedience to God, the blessing first given in Genesis 12:1-3 is made more explicit and confirmed.

Each one of us has been, like Abraham, called into being and given a purpose. The fulfillment of that purpose brings us the fulfillment of our lives. Throughout our lives, we will meet moments that call for discernment. “What is God asking of me at this time?” “Why is God asking this of me now?”

The model that Abraham provides is that of a person so convinced that God is guiding his life, that he could be obedient even to what appeared to be the most impossible of commands.

 

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

Scripture:

Genesis 21:5, 8-20a
Matthew 8:28-34

Reflection:

The first reading today is from the 21^st chapter of Genesis, the curious story of Hagar and Ishmael.  As described earlier in Genesis 16, Hagar was an Egyptian slave woman who became the second wife of Abraham when his first wife, Sarah, proved to be infertile. In fact, Sarah gave Hagar, who served as her handmaiden, to Abraham once she realized that she herself might not be able to bear a child to continue Abraham’s offspring. (Later in Genesis, Sarah, even though elderly, will bear her own son Isaac after the three mysterious visitors come to the tent of Abraham and Sarah at Mamre—see Genesis 19).  When Hagar realizes she is pregnant her attitude to her former mistress changes and she views Sarah with contempt.  Sarah is angered by Hagar’s attitude and complains to her husband Abraham, who gives her free hand with Hagar.  Sarah drives her pregnant rival out in the desert where Hagar eventually languishes with grief and thirst.  An angel of God appears to comfort her and advises her to return the Abraham’s camp, despite Sarah’s cruelty.  There she gives birth to a son, Ishmael.  But the anger and revenge of Sarah are not satisfied.  When she discovers the boy Ishmael playing with her son Isaac, Sarah again banishes Hagar and her son to the desert.  Even though he is distressed about it, Abraham supports Sarah’s action, giving his second wife some bread and a skin of water and sending her and her young son away.

When Hagar and her son are at the point of dying from thirst, the story reaches its climax.  God hears the cries of the young boy and sends a messenger to rescue the child and his mother.  “Don’t be afraid,” the angel tells Hagar, “God has heard the boy’s cry in this plight of his.  Arise, lift up the boy and hold him by the hand; for I will make of him a great nation.”  At that moment, Hagar sees a well full of water—she and her son are saved!

What are we to make of this strange biblical story?  One thing is clear, Abraham and Sarah, our revered ancestors in faith, were flawed characters—capable of cruelty and intrigue.  Still God stays with them despite their failures—a sign of God’s compassion and understanding that is a hallmark of the Bible from the stories of the patriarchs to the accounts of Jesus’ own disciples who were also weak and capable of abject failure.

The fate of Hagar and Ishmael also illustrates God’s compassion and care for those on the margin, a motif also echoed in today’s Psalm response, “The Lord hears the cry of the poor.”  While Abraham and Sarah seem indifferent to the fate of the mother and her child they have abandoned, that is not the case with God.  God hears the boy’s cries and sends a messenger to comfort and rescue them, leading them to life-giving waters.  Later traditions would identify the “great nation” that God promises would come from Ishmael as the Arab and nomadic peoples.

Pope Francis has challenged the world not to succumb to the “globalization of indifference” and urged us to be aware of the people who suffer on the “existential peripheries”—the poor, the migrants, those despised and abandoned.  That is a message deeply rooted in the Bible as this story of our ancestors proclaimed in today’s Eucharist makes clear.

 

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:

Genesis 19:15-29
Matthew 8:23-27

Reflection:

Storms.  In recent times the Catholic Church has had its share of storms. Financial scandals, pedophilia cases, clergy shortage, low church attendance, controversy over Roman Missal III, the Muslim challenge in the Middle East, etc., etc. When the ship of the Church is tossed about by storms, we are made ever more conscious of our dependence on the Lord.

But what happens when the Church causes the storm?!  The new encyclical, Laudato Si, has certainly caused a storm.  The issue of the care of the Earth is put forth by Pope Francis as a life and death issue challenging every person living on the planet.

It is urgent that we look at the status quo and see that much of what we are doing is wrong.  And much of what we are not doing needs to be initiated.

One example:  It has been estimated that 30 billion dollars are needed to feed the world’s most hungry people, over 860 million people, for a year (FAO Director General Jacques Diouf, 2008).  The U.S. Defense Budget runs over 900 billion a year. (www.pogo.org)  That means we could feed the world’s starving with the money the military spends in just eleven days.

War begets war. And nothing pollutes like war.  It pollutes the planet.  It pollutes minds and hearts.  It destroys lives.  So we plea, “Lord save us, we are lost.” I believe the Lord is speaking through the pope and telling us that we need to conserve the planet and all who live on it.  We need renewed, creative and bold efforts for justice and peace. With faith in Jesus, we can take the winds and sea of violence to task.  Imagine the calm…and the joy!

 

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

Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

Scripture:

Acts 12:1-11
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18
Matthew 16:13-19

Reflection:

Here in Kentucky, engineers are building a bridge across the Ohio River from Louisville to Indiana.  As a first step workers had to place pylons deep in the rock below the river.  The foundation for the bridge was built on rock.

Today as we celebrate the feast of Saints Peter and Paul the scripture readings remind us of the importance of building on rock!  “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.”  Peter and Paul were clearly “rocks” of faith and preached with strength and single-mindedness.  Today I’m thinking about other current rocks of faith.

Pope Francis is preaching with strength about the poor, marginalized and the environment.  Malala Yousafzai is an activist for female education and describes herself as an “ordinary girl” while displaying courage, conviction and a willingness to die for women in our world.  The people of Charleston are forgiving the slaughter of innocents at Mother Emmanuel A.M.E. Church, witnessing to the power and strength of forgiveness in the face of evil.  These folks, and Peter and Paul, have a few things in common as “rocks of faith.”

They are inclusive.  They invite everyone to have a seat at the table of justice.

They believe in compassion.  Compassion is the strength at the heart of their convictions.

None of them need a gun, a drone, or a battle flag to accomplish their mission.

So today I reflect on the foundations.  Where do I, where do we as members of the Passionist family, look to place our foundation?  What do we have in common with Peter, Paul, Francis, Malala, the people of Charleston and Jesus?

 

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

Scripture:

Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24
2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15
Mark 5:21-43

Reflection:

As I prepare to write this reflection, our world has once again been rocked with a senseless act of violence.  Nine people were shot and killed a few days ago at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC.  A 21 year old young man, obviously misguided, entered the church proper, sat with his intended victims for almost an hour, and then proceeded to open fire and kill innocent people attending a bible study. The residents of Charleston and indeed the nation are once again asking the question, ‘Why”?  President Obama joins other leaders across the country in expressing sympathy for the victims and outrage at the never-ending violence.

In the meantime we hope and pray for all who mourn and grieve for their loved ones who have died and hope they find comfort in their faith and trust in a God who takes care of us all.  It is this same faith that we hear about in the scriptures today.  The faith of the young woman who suffered for 12 years gave her the courage to ask for healing.  The father of the young girl who lay dying was also a person of deep faith who trusted Jesus to heal his daughter.

We all know people of faith, great and small alike.  We ourselves rely on this gift to see us through the many trials and challenges of life.  It is faith that gives us the courage to try and right the wrongs and to challenge unfair systems. Jesus walked in faith as he ministered to the woman with the hemorrhage and the young girl who lay dying.  This was going against the norms of society, against the law of the land.  In associating with those who were ritually impure, he took the risk of becoming impure himself.  He was a man of faith who trusted in a God who broke down barriers instead of building them up.

Sometimes we are called to step out in faith, against injustice, racism, sexism, and all the other ‘isms’ that take away other peoples’ dignity and self-worth.  Faith gives us the ability to see the glass half full when others see it half empty or bone dry.  Leading a faith-filled life has helped me to enjoy the wonder and awe of God’s blessings and share that spirit with all those I have the opportunity to minister with.  Faith buoys me up on the rainy days and wraps me in a bear hug of sunshine and happiness when blue skies surround my world and that of those I love and care about.  It’s a precious gift that I thank God over and over again for.

May we all give thanks for this gift of faith and always be willing to share it with others.

God bless the people of Charleston and all places where violence runs rampant.

 

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