wpengine

Scripture:

Wisdom 18:6-9
Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19
Luke 12:32-48

Reflection:

Paul the Apostle was right.  We are fools for Christ.  How else can we make sense of the Gospel, the good news, where everything is upside down?

This is a world where the poor are blessed, where a Samaritan writes a blank check for a wounded Jew.  It’s a world where the shepherd leaves the 99 sheep to seek the one that is lost.

If that weren’t enough, in today’s gospel Jesus  says he’s like a master who returns unexpectedly late at night, then puts on an apron to serve his slaves at the dinner table. Jesus even says he like a thief who’ll break into our lives unexpectedly and the possessions we’ve been hording and protecting won’t matter.

Jesus has turned the expectations of the world — and ours — upside down.

The gospel makes sense only if we remember that out of sheer love, God created us to be with him in the kingdom, and that our lives should be directed to that end.  Sadly, we sometimes may forget this.  Instead, we may be tempted to let the world get such a grip on us that we have no time or thought for our true destination, the reason for our being.  The gospel warns us that our call to judgment will come on each of us of like a thief in the night, in a moment when we least expect it.

That Jesus is coming is certain; that we will one day die is also certain.  Only the moment is uncertain.  But we are not to be anxious about this.  Rather, we are to called to be ready.  How? By serving and caring for one other,  by walking in faith just like Abel, Abraham and Sarah, like Moses and all those giants of faith who came before us.  It’s a faith that guides our footsteps with the certainty of what we hope for: to be with God, a God who will put on his apron, wash our feet, and serve us at his messianic table.

This good news is so wild, so upside down, the only way we can finally prepare for the coming of the Lord is to behave like fools for Christ and to stand on our heads — with feet firmly planted in the kingdom.

 

Deacon Manuel Valencia is on the staff at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

Numbers 11:4b-15
Matthew 14:13-21

Reflection:

“There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.”

The theme of today’s readings seems pretty obvious: God provides the nourishment we need. And yet, tucked in there like a salad between courses at a fine meal, is this phrase, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.”

What is it that Jesus is asking of His disciples?  He seems to think that anyone can do this. Are they to bend natural laws and produce food out of thin air? What did He do when they didn’t seem to understand what He wanted? He took the provisions they had brought for themselves, blessed them and then gave them freely away.

Now, I’ve heard this miracle explained this way: in those times everyone usually traveled with a small bag of provisions (after all, the chances of finding a 7-11 on the way were slim). But there they were at the end of day and their bags were all running low. Some were most likely empty. People may have been thinking of how little they had or whether the person next to them would expect them to share or even demand the right of hospitality of them. Some people might have been thinking of plans on how to share it all fairly. Others might be proposing alternative methods, with complicated formulas based on age, number of children, health, etc.

What did Jesus do? He took what He had, blessed it, gave it all away, and sat down. Maybe there was a stunned silence. Maybe some of the disciples gasped, thinking, “Wait, what am I going to eat?” Then, slowly at first, then gaining momentum, people opened their own sacks and handed what they had to the people around them, keeping nothing back. Where there were suspicious glances before, smiles broke out. People started swapping recipes, praising each other’s cooking, laughing and sharing. And in the end, “They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over- twelve wicker baskets full.”

Imagine the miracle of a crowd of over five thousand going from “Do I have enough and is someone going to take what little I have?” to “No, I couldn’t eat another bite, you take it, I insist!” Now, there is a miracle! All because one person gave freely of what he had to those around him.

May I find today the grace to freely share the abundance that God has given me, not only from my ‘sack of provisions,’ but from what He has placed in my heart.

Talib Huff works and volunteers at Christ the King Retreat Center in Citrus Heights.

Feast of Saints Peter and Paul

Scripture:

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

Reflection:

Today we honor Saints Peter and Paul, two very human individuals who were open to the Spirit of God.   God came to Peter while Peter was fishing.  Peter was a man who worked with his hands in a sometimes uncertain profession.  God encountered Paul on the road.  Paul was a man riding around on a horse looking for people to persecute.  In both cases, God met these individuals in their own life experience, exactly where they were at the time.  God approaches us in the same manner.  Richard Rohr describes this encounter for us.

“Any way we receive the Spirit is just as real and just as good as any other. God meets us where we are and makes a healing and expanding presence known to us in the exact way we are most ready to experience it.  God fills our hearts in whatever measure we are open to the Spirit, just like any true Lover might desire to do.  And when grace does happen, we know that we did nothing to deserve it.”

Our own St. Paul of the Cross put it another way as he reflected on God meeting us in our everyday experiences.  “Don’t be afraid of difficulties which come up.  God, who is infinitely good, will be your strength, your comfort.  Cry out, cry out with the Apostle Paul, “I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me” (Phil 4:13).”

Terry McDevitt, Ph.D. is a member of our Passionist Family. 

Scripture:

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
Matthew 7:15-20

Reflection:

In our home growing up, my father asked us to apply the “smell test” to life’s situations we might find ourselves in.  “Take a whiff,” he’d tell us.  “If it stinks, it’s probably rotten.”  We all know when milk has soured or meat is rotting.  Our noses are pretty good at detecting something gone bad, and this is particularly true about human behavior and being in situations that just don’t seem right.

It does not take long to see the hurt, the suffering, the hunger or the violence that plagues our world.  We don’t have to look far to see ruined fruit fall from diseased trees around us.  Our noses can pick up pretty quickly the smell of rotten human behavior.  At times, as we all know, that rotten smell even comes from within when we say or do something hurtful or unkind or just plain wrong.

The lyrics of British pop singers Pet Shop Boys strike me as wise: It is not easy, but don’t give up now. It is not easy.  Happiness is an option. That’s the name of the song, Happiness is an Option.  Unlike the diseased tree in today’s gospel, we can choose to bear good fruit.  We can choose to make choices that improve the lives of those around us.  Being happy and bringing happiness to others is indeed an option.

Perhaps we can better apply the smell test to the circumstances of our lives.  We often think we cannot make a difference in the world, that all we can do is plug our noses and put up with the stench.  That resignation is certainly the work of the evil spirit.  We can make a difference with our words and actions. We can distance ourselves from those who tear others down or whisper vicious gossip.  We can name the injustice of domestic violence or unbridled greed.  We can feed the hungry and clothe the naked and visit the sick – maybe not every single person who is hungry, naked or sick, but one or two certainly.  And simply exercising our option to be a happy person can much improve the air quality for those around us.

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:

Acts 9:31-42
John 6:60-69

Reflection:

Problem of Grumbling

On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”  Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?”   Jesus was not pleased with grumbling.   God never was.   There is a long Biblical tradition about the evil of grumbling.   There is something of a menacing note about murmuring or Lun in Hebrew.  The word can mean growling.  It reminds me of an old bird dog we had as kids named  “Spotty”.  It was the most peaceful dog I ever met except at dinner time.   When his food was there and one got too close to it, he would growl a most ominous sound.

Grumbling is complaining against God and his plans for us.  It is an insult against the Lord accusing Him of not knowing what He is doing.   Even worse it is a petulant denial of His loving intentions towards us.    Complaining is an unmistakable sign that my will and interests are wiser and more important than God’s plans.   Grumbling stops our spiritual journey to God.  In Scripture, Jewish complaints blocked the Israelites from entering the promised land.   “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites.  So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very things I heard you say:  In this desert, your bodies will fall-every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me.” Num 14:27

In the New Testament, they grumbled at the love and mercy Jesus showed to  Zacchaeus Luke 19.  In today’s reading, they complained against the Eucharist.   How could Jesus give his body to eat?  They know more than the Lord.   They reject the Eucharist because in their arrogance they reject the way of the Lord.

We in our grumbling are like the little girl who prayed:  “O God, thank you for my new baby brother, but I prayed for a new puppy”.

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

Holy Saturday

Scripture:

Genesis 1:1-2:2
Genesis 22:1-18
Exodus 14:15-15:1
Isaiah 54:5-14
Isaiah 55:1-11
Baruch 3:9-15, 32-4:4
Ezekiel 36:16-17a, 18-28
Romans 6:3-11
Luke 24:1-12

Reflection:

The Saturday after Good Friday must have been a very long day for the apostles.  Were they hiding?  Did they hang together?  Were they with their families?  Was Mary with them?

The apostles’ emotions must have been all over the place.  Guilt, confusion, fear, disillusion, remorse, hope, — and lots of questions.

Then came Easter Sunday morning.  Could it be true what others are saying?  Did Jesus truly rise from the dead?

I don’t think the apostles were too surprised to hear that he had risen.  Jesus did many remarkable things during his three years with them, including raising Lazarus from the dead.  They had seen Jesus’ power.

What they worried about was whether he would forgive them.  Peter denied him.  The rest failed him, abandoning him in his hour of need.  Only John stood by him on Calvary.

The apostles could imagine the risen Christ going back to Galilee and starting all over.  They could picture him saying to them, “Hey, you guys blew it.  I’m going to gather a new group of twelve to carry on my work.”

When the risen Jesus appeared to Peter and the rest of the apostles, what were his first words?  “Peace be with you.”  Alleluia!  They were forgiven!  He didn’t give up on them.  They were still in his plans. They were still in his heart.

The good news of Easter is both the power of Jesus over death and the willingness of Jesus to forgive.  The apostles experienced first hand his mercy.  They rejoiced in reconciliation.  They could now be sent forth to proclaim with faith and conviction God’s loving forgiveness.  “Look what God has done for us.”

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

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9
Matthew 5:17-19

Reflection:

In this wonderful reading from Deuteronomy we find Moses handing something down to the people that will make all the difference in the world.  In fact, the wisdom he is imparting will last for untold generations and will guide the people well beyond the Promised Land.  He promises them that if they obey all that he is handing on to them that they will not only prosper but that the nations surrounding them will give testimony to their wisdom and intelligence.  Moses warns all of these men and women never to forget what they have seen, not to let the message “slip from your memory as long as you live.”  In fact, they must pass these statutes and decrees of the Lord on to their children and even to their children’s children.

Wisdom, the very decrees and statutes of the Lord, will last forever and nothing can overcome it.  Sometimes in our own lives we experience these Moses moments I believe.  There are times when we learn something and we just know that it is going to be something that must be passed on and should never be forgotten.  One such moment in my own life happened many years ago and I learned this piece of wisdom from a wonderful Passionist priest by the name of Fr. Joel Gromowski.  He was the Director of Retreats at Mater Dolorosa when I was newly-ordained and sent to that wonderful retreat center to begin preaching retreats on the weekends.  I had been at Mater Dolorosa for just about a year when Fr. Joel and I were sharing a meal together.  During that meal he told me something I would never, ever forget.  He said, “Pat, one day you will probably be a retreat director yourself.  If you want to be a really good retreat director there is only one thing you must do: make sure that the retreatants know that you love them.”  That was it!  That was all he said and I will never forget those words.  A bit of wisdom handed on that has made – in my own life – all the difference in the world.  For me, Fr. Joel was a bit like Moses sharing something that he knew to be true, as if it were God’s own truth, and, like Moses and the people, Fr. Joel handed that wisdom on to me, something to be remembered forever.

Fr. Pat Brennan, C.P. is the director of Saint Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center, Detroit, Michigan.