Claire Smith

Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus

Scripture:

1 John 4:7–16
Luke 10:38–42

Reflection:

   “God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.” 1Jn 4:16

Growing up in California I would spend some of my time in our, very large Mission fig tree, that was in our backyard. It was very old, and its branches were large enough to allow me to recline on them. I had one branch that was my favorite. I would climb up and lay back on the branch and watch the sunlight dance between the leaves. It was there that I would ask God many questions in my heart. The one most often asked was, “What is love?” Throughout my life I have continued to search for the answer and have found it in many ways. Through all the adventures and experiences of my life I have found that it has many forms and these all come back to its center which is God. Sometimes it is very easy to show love and other times it is difficult. For me, the difficult times are where I really learn about the blessings and graces that come from love.

The first reading from 1 John is a beautiful reflection on love. God loved us enough to send his Son to forgive our sins. Christ’s Passion was the greatest act of Love. Giving himself to allow us to be able to enter eternal life. When we make sacrifices for others or when we assist others without recognition, we perform small acts of love. These actions reflect God’s love and as God’s sons and daughters our acts of love help to bring the presence of God to others.

Martha and Mary are examples of the two types of Christian love. Love shown in the service to others and the love shown to God and both types of love are needed. Martha showed her love through preparing a place for Christ to stay and food for all of them to eat. Mary was taking time to be with Christ and to hear his words and take them into her heart. Active service and prayer or reflection are both ways in which we show and respond to God’s love. Neither one is better than the other, the key is balance. Putting God’s love into action and then finding time to reflect or just sit in your favorite spot and speak to God in your heart.

May you and your families enjoy this time of summer and may God’s peace and love continue to grow in your hearts.

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

Scripture:

2 Kings 4:42-44
Ephesians 4:1-6
John 6:1-15

Reflection:

Our readings today reflect the generosity of a loving, nurturing God.  Twenty barley loaves brought from a man from Baal-shalishah fed over a hundred people with some left over.  Five barley loaves and two fish were multiplied and fed over five thousand people with some left over as well.  God has planted a generous heart in each of us to share what we have with those who have so little.  As prisoners of the Lord, we are called to live in a manner worthy of this call.  A spirit of humility, gentleness, and patience must shine forth to those we serve in the name of Jesus Christ.  Our overall message must center around our call to profess one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all!  How do we do this, how do we answer this clarion call as mere human beings, sinful and in need of being fed ourselves?!

The responsorial psalm today gives us not only a reminder, but a blueprint as well on how we as prisoners of the Lord are called to serve.

            “The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.”

My call to serve began at my premature birth and subsequent emergency baptism 71 years ago.  I come from a family of eight, watched over and guided by parents who celebrate 85 years of marriage on this day as they happily rest in peace and joy in the kingdom of God!  We grew up surrounded by love and care, knowing that we were indeed blessed by a God who answers all our needs!  We learned early on to care for others who were not as fortunate as us and to be generous and happy to do this.  Life was not always easy and oftentimes we did not agree with God’s timeline!  Overall, we found great joy in helping those in need in our family, church and community.  Whether it was shoveling walks for elderly neighbors, baking cakes for the local soup kitchen, reading to younger brothers and sisters, working to advance better living conditions as part of the fair housing community or being present and patient with our oldest brother living with cerebral palsy to accomplish even the smallest task.

There are many needs in our families, neighborhoods, communities locally and nationally.  We can get caught up in the big picture and get overwhelmed quite easily.  It is important to take time to feed ourselves, to withdraw as Jesus did, to replenish the well.  Summertime offers us more of an opportunity to do this.  I encourage all of us to go away to the mountain, the lakeshore, the woods.  Take time during these fleeting summer days to enjoy family and friend time on the deck, at cookouts, church gatherings.  Make it a point to celebrate eucharist wherever you find yourself, listen to the scripture proclaimed and be nourished at the Table of the Lord.  Feed others as you are being fed.  Summer blessings!

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

Scripture:

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

Reflection:

In our Gospel reading for today, Jesus tells a parable about weeds and wheat. An enemy of a landowner has sowed weeds among the wheat of his field. When the owner’s servants ask him if they should pull up the weeds, he answers no, because they might pull up some of the wheat as well. He then says, “Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, ‘First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.”

For me, this shows the patience and mercy of God. We do not have to be stuck where we are but become the “wheat” God made us to be. The challenge sometimes is to be honest with ourselves as what kind of “wheat” or “weeds” we happen to be. In our first reading from Jeremiah, God confronts the people of Israel through the prophet: “Reform your ways and your deeds, so that I may remain with you in this place. Put not your trust in the deceitful words: ‘This is the temple of the Lord!’” People were taking God for granted because they figured they were exempt, so to speak, from any moral considerations because they worshiped in the Temple. We can’t presume we are “wheat,” simply because we belong to a certain group of people or a certain faith. Likewise, we can’t presume others are “weeds” simply because they don’t belong.

But if we are truly humble, knowing that we need God’s grace, and grateful that God loves us beyond anything we can deserve or imagine, then we will be open to God removing what leads us to be more like “weeds,” and letting God transform us into “wheat.” And even more, as in the parable the wheat grew up with the weeds, we can help others be healed and transformed by God’s love in Jesus Christ.

May the love of God prevail in our hearts and may no one be thrown away.

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is the local superior of the Passionist Community in Birmingham, Alabama. 

Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of Mary

Scripture:

Jeremiah 7:1-11
Matthew 13:18-23

Reflection:

I grew up in Nebraska, though I know almost nothing of farming or ranching. Our family would often enough drive through the countryside and see vast fields of corn or soybeans laid out in neat sections stretching to the horizon. Gigantic farm implements used to plant, cultivate, and harvest could be seen in the distance operated by a solitary farmer who knew the land and what it needed to bring in a robust harvest. It’s a very different industry today than the one described in the Parable of the Sower.

Today’s farmer is going to take as much of the mystery as possible out of how and when to plant the seed. Yet not every seed will take root and bear fruit. For all our efforts, some elements of mystery remain. The same can be said about parenting, since we are celebrating the Feast of Saints Anne and Joachim, the traditionally named parents of Mary, Mother of Jesus.

Like Mary’s parents, my parents tried their best, but they had to be okay with the mystery of raising nine children, of where our lives would take us and what decisions we would make. We certainly disappointed them at times. There were struggles and there were triumphs. There were joys and plenty of sorrow. But what we always knew was we were loved…even if at times they shook their heads in dismay at what poor decisions we made. They sowed the seed as best they could and, overall, it mostly took.

There is no perfect parent. There is no perfect planting of the seed. There is no perfect knowledge of what will unfold in life. We have to be okay with mystery. The adage, “perfect is the enemy of good,” opens for us the possibility of seeing the good that comes our way, the good that we may miss if waiting for the perfect. God is going to keep sowing the seeds of love, and we—to the best of our ability—can prepare a fertile place for that love to take root and grow.

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.

Feast of Saint James the Apostle

Scripture:

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

Reflection:

A Gospel for Today

Sometimes when directing a retreat or parish mission I’ll give a talk on the difficult passages in Sacred Scripture. In last Tuesday’s Gospel, for example, when folks tell Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are outside and they want to speak with you,” Jesus responds, “Who are my mother and my brothers? Pointing to his disciples, he says, “Here are my mother and my brothers and my sisters.” Jesus challenges his listeners to become his family and sets a new criterion for becoming the Family of God — viz., doing the will of God. Jesus is not denigrating his mother; rather, he is challenging us to extend that love, to stretch our boundaries of care and compassion.

And along with other passages like our Lord’s mandate to “love our enemies,” today’s Gospel offers yet another similarly difficult challenge: Jesus instructs his disciples, “Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be the servant of all.”

Recent news footage has me pondering. We older folks might remember when, in August of 1988, George H. W. Bush accepted his party’s nomination for President. He thundered, “But where is it written that we must act… as if we do not care, as if we are not moved? Well, I AM moved. I want a kinder and gentler nation.”

And reading several responses of world leaders to President Biden’s decision last Sunday to end his campaign for President, I was especially touched as I watched former President Bush’s granddaughter, Jenna Bush Hager speak eloquently on Monday. “President Biden reminds me a little bit of my grandfather, who, I’ll never forget when in 1992, he worked so hard and he wasn’t elected and he was crushed,” she recounted. But at the end of his term of office he hand-wrote on White House stationery a letter to President Clinton, seeped in wisdom and advice and encouragement, which went around on the Internet but basically the end of it was, ‘You are my president now, and today I’m rooting for you.’”

May I learn to serve and not be served, “to wash other’s feet,” to love enemies… for truly God’s Kingdom is kinder and gentler.

Fr. Jack Conley, CP, is the local superior of St. Vincent Strambi Community in Chicago, Illinois.

Scripture:

Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10
Matthew 13:1-9

Reflection:

The Word Came to Us

The beautiful phrase in today’s liturgy “the word of God came to me” Jer 1:4 appears many times in Old Testament.  At its best a word comes from our heart and mind, the deepest and most intimate function of our nature! God’s word comes right from His heart!  It comes to us with unimaginable power.  “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made^” Ps 33:6 

I was looking at the spectacular photos from NASA Webb of the spiral galaxy NGC 5468 which is 130 million light years from earth.  Since light travels at 186.000 miles per second it is quite overwhelming to try to conceive of the immensity and magnificence of God!  God’s word is extremely creative and powerful!  “Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Ps33:8  Our prayer might be weak because God’s word is not part of our conversation with Him!

The thought that He speaks to us in the Scriptures is utterly awe-inspiring!  We encounter God’s creative and unspeakable power when we listen to His word!  How often Jesus tells us to listen!  “He who has ears to hear let him hear!” Mt 11:15 This exhortation appears 15 times in NT.  Jesus also said: “My sheep hear my voice.” In Revelation 3:20, He says: “Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.”

Not only are we exposed to the incredible power of God’s word, but even more importantly by it we are privileged to an intimate relationship with Jesus!  On this earth communication is a very deep way to be intimate with God!  St Gregory the Great puts it beautifully: ““To know the Heart of God through the Word of God”  Jesus puts it this way: “If a man loves me, he will keep (tereo-treasure) my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. John 14:23  

If prayer is intimacy with Christ His word to us in Scripture is vitally important!  The ancient description of this is the Latin word: Lectio Divina (Divine Reading) i,e, holy reading of Scripture.  We must be very sensitive to Christ’s word to us, if we ever hope to be close to Him!  Otherwise, we might find ourself talking to ourself rather than to Jesus!  Christ is the ultimate Word the Father speaks to us! “The Word was make flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1:14

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

Scripture:

Micah 7:14-15, 18-20
Matthew 12:46-50

Reflection:

In our Gospel reading for today, when Jesus is speaking to the crowds, He is told that His mother and brothers are waiting to speak to him. Instead of stopping what He’s doing to go to them, He says, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” It is not what you’d expect. Then He goes even further. Indicating the crowds, He says, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

I go on Facebook every day. I see a lot of the division often mentioned in the U.S. And Jesus’ words, I think, continue to challenge us to go beyond even blood relations, or “tribal” affiliations, and see others as Jesus sees us, as beloved.

To be able to see each other that way requires the grace of God. We might very well echo the prayer we hear in our first reading from the prophet Micah: “Shepherd your people with your staff…As in the days when you came from the land of Egypt, show us wonderful signs…Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt…Who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency…You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins…You will show faithfulness to Jacob, and grace to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from days of old.”

As God has shown us mercy and clemency and love, may we show the same to one another.

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is the local superior of the Passionist Community in Birmingham, Alabama. 

Scripture:

Jeremiah 23:1-6
Ephesians 2:13-18
Mark 6:30-34

Reflection:

The Lord is my Shepherd there is nothing I shall want…

This verse from Psalm 23 and the entire Psalm 23 will forever be with me. This is the Psalm prayer that my father had us as a family recite together as he died of lung cancer. This psalm was hopeful and soothing. It is understandable why Psalm 23 is prayed often by many people.

Today’s readings focus on the meaning of Jesus as Shepherd. “His heart was moved with pity for them, they were like sheep without a shepherd”.(6:34)  The Greek used here is “splagchnizomai”, a great word denoting sympathy, mercy, and loving concern. (Working Preacher, Mark G. Vitalis Hoffman, ¹Eva  ngelical Lutheran Worship, (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2006), #612.

What gives us peace, joy, and rest to our hearts? Have we been too busy, like the apostles, to take time to  rest and eat. Some of us sprint from one task to the next with no time to catch our breath and relax our tense muscles. What does it mean to have Jesus as our Shepherd? For me it means to slow down, take moments to savor the compassion and love that Jesus as our shepherd has for each of us. (Joe Egan, Living with Christ, July 21,  2024, Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, p. 150).

Please call time out in your busy life today and pray slowly and meaningfully Psalm 23. “The Lord is my Shepherd and there is nothing I shall want.”

Carl Middleton is a theologian/ethicist and a member of the Passionist Family.