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Scripture:

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

Reflection:

"His heart was moved with pity for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd."
Mark 6:34

Many of our Catholic churches are like this today because priests are burned out and some are watering down the teaching of the church. We need to pray for them! They have so much to do, they can be tempted to neglect their own prayer time. The danger there is you can’t give what you don’t have. St. Bernard of Clairveaux said, "Before you can be a channel, you’ve got to be a reservoir." I’ve been to many Catholic churches, and I hear over and over how the parish priest doesn’t give good homilies, or isn’t very pastoral. If that’s the case in your parish, I encourage you to set aside time every day to pray for him.

Not only are some priests burned out, but some are letting their teaching reflect the values of our culture instead of our church. When Jim and I were helping with engaged couples at our parish in California, many were already living together. We encouraged them to move apart or at least quit sleeping together until their wedding. Then we found out that our pastor was telling them it was okay to live together before marriage. I was very upset and went to see him. During our visit, the scripture from the first reading today came to mind "Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture says the Lord." (Jer 23:1) I told him as much. I reminded him that teachers and shepherds will be held responsible for the sins of those they lead astray. (Just as an interesting note: more marriages fail when couples live together before marriage.)

And so, I repeat, please pray for our priests! Pray that God will provide for their needs and keep them close to His heart; pray that they will be faithful to their prayer time so that God can empower them to minister more effectively; and pray that more young men will respond to the call to priesthood. Thank you Lord for the many holy priests in our church, please bless them as well as the luke-warm, the tired and lonely priests, through our prayers. In Jesus Name we pray. Amen.

 

Janice Carleton and her husband Jim live in Portland, OR and partner with Passionist Fr. Cedric Pisegna in Fr. Cedric Ministries. Janice also leads women’s retreats. She is the mother of 4 grown children and grandmother of 6. Visit Janice’s website at http://www.jcarleton.com/ or email her at [email protected].

Scripture:

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

Reflection:

Probably all very large cities in the world have their "slum" areas.  I lived in India for three years and I saw the poor areas of Deli, Mumbai, Calcutta, etc.  It was explained to me that most of the people living in these areas are not just people who have been forever poor.  Most of them at one time lived in one of the small villages.  They may have owned a small piece of land where they grew some rice and raised some animals.  Maybe the rains did not fall or some medical need hit them hard as a family.  They were forced to go to one of the local money lenders and borrow what they needed.  Unable to pay back their loan they lost what little they had and were forced to come to one of the large urban slum areas in hopes of finding a way to earn a little money and just try to survive.  So often they are people humbled by life but still great persons of dignity and honor.

In today’s first reading the prophet Micah paints a similar picture of injustice.  Some conniving Israelites took advantage of their fellow Israelites in time of trouble, taking their land, houses and stripping them of their inheritance.  God tells these evil individuals that he will allow peoples from other nations to come and destroy them and take their lands.  "Our fields are portioned out among our Captors".

Quoting the prophet Isaiah, Matthew tells us in today’s gospel, "Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight; I shall place my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles."

With great gentleness but firmness, Jesus will bring justice to victory.  Jesus will re-establish the right relationships between people.  The "Shalom", the peace of God, will be brought back into the order of the universe.

The problems can seem so large and overwhelming in our modern world.  Where do I begin?  We begin by living a just life ourselves.  We must also "do justice", get involved in doing what we can to change unjust structures and attitudes.  We must reach out to those who are being treated unjustly. 

 

Fr. Blaise Czaja, C.P. gives parish missions and retreats.  He is a member of the Passionist Community in Detroit, Michigan.

 

                               

Scripture:
Isaiah 38: 1-6, 21-22, 7-8
Matthew 12: 1-8

Reflection:
In today’s first reading, when Hezekiah, the King of Judah, was told to put his house in order because he was dying, he prayed, "O Lord, remember how faithfully and wholeheartedly I conducted myself in your presence, doing what was pleasing to you!"

Now that’s a remarkable prayer!  I wonder if, when I am faced with my death, I will be able to offer a similar prayer with so much conviction.   I fear my awareness of my many faults and sins would cause me to choke on those words.  It’s true that Hezekiah is remembered as one of the truly great kings of Israel because of his religious reforms and his compassionate administration of justice, but I’m sure he was subject to many of the same failures as most of us.  Yet, when faced with his death, he prayed so confidently.  Does he know something many of us don’t? 

Pair Hezekiah’s confident attitude with the story in today’s Gospel.  The disciples of Jesus were travelling through a field of grain on the Sabbath and, being hungry, they picked the heads of the grain to eat.  At the time of Jesus it was against the law to travel or pick the heads of grain on the Sabbath.  They should have been in their homes keeping the Sabbath holy.  It’s surely no surprise that the Pharisees, guardians of religious practice, loudly criticized such irreligious behavior.  Do the disciples know something that the Pharisees don’t?

Jesus speaks up and defends the behavior of the disciples.  He reminds the Pharisees of some of the things David and his followers did in violation of Sabbath law.  Jesus concludes that the Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

Both the confident prayer of Hezekiah and the teaching of Jesus about the Sabbath remind us that God is always on our side and that religious practice is intended to deepen our experience of God’s love for us, not create fear and insecurity about God’s compassionate care for us.  Hezekiah surely knew his many faults but was convinced that God’s great love for him would focus on his efforts to be faithful to God.    The disciples knew they were not fulfilling Sabbath law but they were confident in Jesus’ teaching that their well-being was more important than merely fulfilling the law.

What about us?  Do we understand that God is more interested in the good things we do than in the bad?  Are we confident in our relationship with God and His great love for us.  Today we pray that God will help us trust in His love for us.

 

Fr. Michael Higgins, C.P. is the director the Development Office for Holy Cross Province  and is stationed at Immaculate Conception Community  in Chicago.

Scripture:

Isaiah 10:5-7, 13b-16
Matthew 11:25-27

Reflection:

As I share this brief reflection on our readings for the day, there are two simple thoughts that come to mind.  In our first reading from Isaiah it is clear how foolish we can be when we think that all the good we do comes from our own hand.  Assyria, an "impious nation", believed that its victories were due to its own shrewdness and wisdom.  How foolish of this great nation to take itself so seriously and how quickly the Lord would humble this nation and people.  We are tempted to do the same aren’t we?  How quick we are to believe that even our small successes are due to ourselves; how easily we forget that the Lord is at work within us in all ways and at all times!  Still, we forget and the Lord has his way of reminding us later on in life.

The beautiful Gospel reading is one only too familiar to priests who have the precious opportunity of anointing the sick with the Sacrament of the Anointing.  In the Gospel of Matthew, today and tomorrow, we read the beautiful meditation that begins with Jesus’ prayer of praise to the Father and then concludes with the soothing invitation, "Come to me all you who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest."  There is no priest who, when he reads these gentle words, does not remember countless moments of anointing a dear soul in need of comfort, encouragement, and consolation.  What a sacred moment it is; what a great privilege to enter into such a moment standing by the bedside of someone in the midst of their suffering and reminding them that they are not alone.

Two very simple points for us on this day: remember that it is all the work of the Lord and we simply serve; and what a joy to serve, especially when we are able to bring the very compassion and kindness of the Lord to someone in need.

 

Fr. Pat Brennan, CP is the director of Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

 

 

Scripture:

Isaiah 1:10-17
Matthew 10:34-11:1

 

 

 

Reflection:

Jesus, Our Life-Giving Experience of God’s Love

"If we do not have a profound experience of and conversion to God’s love, and if Jesus is not the center of our lives, then we are inadequate and unqualified for carrying out Jesus’ mission, that is the Church’s mission of making God’s kingdom of love, justice, and peace present among our brothers and sisters here on earth."  This was the first impacting message I heard on the last weekend’s archdiocesan, Spanish vocation retreat ("Vengan y Vean") here at Holy Name Retreat Center in Houston, Texas.  In fact, the preacher made the above statement in reference to John Paul II’s Encyclical Letter Redemptoris Missio to encourage his audience, especially the young men and women who attended the retreat with the expectation of deepening their vocation discernment, to evaluate our experience of God’s love in our lives, families, and faith communities.  

Today’s liturgical readings pose the same vocational question to us. For they want us to know that God’s life-giving love and covenanting relationship with us is not fulfilled in our sacrifices and rituals, but in the good and justice we do to our brothers and sisters, especially the needy and helpless ones of our society. God indeed wants us to "redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, [and] defend the widow" with the vital help of his grace, for God’s "saving power" will be shown to those who go "the right way" proclaiming and bearing witness to his loving mercy.

If we refer to Jesus as "Prince of Peace," then, how are we supposed to interpret today’s gospel?  In light of the aforementioned, we may want to say that, to be an authentic disciple of Jesus, we have to love him more than anything and/or anyone else.  For being with Jesus and spreading the Good News of his life-giving presence in our lives and faith communities means that we are to speak not only of and about him, but also with him.  However, we cannot avoid the reality that not everyone accepts God’s incarnate word in their lives, which causes division in our families, our society, and even in our faith communities, because a faithful commitment to Christian discipleship situates Jesus and his mission above everything else. 

Our faith in Jesus, therefore, invites us to reflect on the following questions: Does my love for Jesus surpass everything else, even my own will and life?  Do I take up my cross and follow after him?  Do I lose my life for the sake of God’s kingdom of love, justice, and peace?  Do I expend my life doing what Jesus commanded us to do as witnesses of his paschal mystery? Do I make God’s redemptive love meaningfully present to others?  Am I adequate and qualified for carrying out Jesus’ mission?

 

Fr. Alfredo Ocampo, C.P. preaches and is a member of the Passionist Community in Houston, Texas.

Scripture:

Amos 7:12-15
Ephesians 1:3-14
Mark 6:7-13

Reflection:

In 1979, Immaculate Conception Parish on Chicago’s northwest side celebrated the 75^th anniversary of its’ founding.  One of its’ several Jubilee projects involved the grade school children and invited them to help in the construction of a time capsule which would describe life in the 3^rd quarter of the 20^th Century at I.C. Parish.  Some of the items they collected were a baseball with the names of the Chicago Cubs, a Chicago Tribune, a parish bulletin and a school uniform.  The capsule remains buried under a headstone in front of the school waiting for just the right moment to be opened again.  

Today’s Gospel is a kind of "time capsule" that captures an important moment in the history of the Church-when Jesus first entrusted his mission and healing powers to others.  No telephone.  No TV.  No radio.  No books.  No internet.  The only way the Gospel could get around was on foot, and this is what it looked like.  Twelve men sent out in pairs, each with one stick, one tunic, one pair of sandals.  No food.  No money.  No travelling bag. 

Marshal McLuhan, the communication guru of the 6o’s coined the phrase, "The medium is the message" or, "What you see is what you get."  But we don’t need Marshal McLuhan to tell us not to trust someone who arrives in a limousine wearing a Rolex watch and a diamond ring who tells us to live simply and poorly. 

What does the message of God look like when you meet it on the road?  Like Jesus, of course.  But also like the followers of Jesus. The mission of Jesus is not locked in a time capsule.  We too are invited to carry the message, and proclaim it powerfully by who we are and what we do.  May we be faithful to The One who sends us!

 

Fr. Jim Strommer, C.P. is a member of the Provincial Council and lives in Chicago, Illinois. 

 

Scripture:

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

Reflection:

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest, says the Lord."
Matthew 11:28

 

These words have always brought us comfort and consolation. As a priest and a priest who is not actively serving in a parish, I find no shortage of suffering and pain. No matter where I have traveled this year, Vietnam, China, India, Italy or if I’m back in the States, I have come across people who are suffering or families who have loved ones who are facing painful situations. When we are in pain or undergoing great suffering, we want relief and we want to know what we did that was so wrong that caused us to have this terrible burden we carry. There is so many layers to our pain and suffering.

For many of us, there will be no relief to the pains and sufferings we are experiencing and there will be no explanation for the burdens we carry. We will cry, lash out in anger or frustration or maybe fall into a dark depression, shutting everyone out that comes close to us. This is not the kind of pain that a smile, a hug or even a sincere: "I love you" will take care of. And this is the kind of experience that will ultimately define us as a human being and as a follower of Jesus. No one can live this moment for us.

I have just come back from visiting a woman, wife and mother, in her sixties. Yesterday, she was placed in a hospice facility because the burden of caring for her at home had become too great. There is nothing more that medicine can do for her. I had anointed her about three weeks ago. She talked about the unbearable pain she suffers every once in a while. Yet, her smile, her banter and her stories about home life all say that she has found Someone who can help her carry her burden. The Eucharist and the Sacraments are helping her to deepen her faith in a God of Life who loves her unconditionally so she can carry those burdens and suffer those pains united to the Crucified Lord.

There is so much pain in the world today. There is personal pain, family pain, social pain, pain that we are responsible for because of bad decision and hateful attitudes and pain that we are powerless to prevent. No one escapes pain and suffering in this world. Sometimes our head aches and sometimes it’s our body and so many times it’s our heart. We cannot carry this pain by ourselves.

Jesus invites us to go beyond the physical, emotional and social pain and suffering that we are experiencing this very moment. There is no question that this requires a super-human effort, yes, a divine effort. God grants us this grace.

Our Entrance Antiphon says: "Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice; turn to the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face." (Ps. 105, v. 3-4)

No matter at what point of our pain and suffering we turn to our God, the Jesus who takes up our burden will be there waiting for us. May it be sooner rather than later!

 

Fr. Clemente Barron, C.P. is a member of the General Council of the Passionist Congregation and is stationed in Rome.  

Memorial of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

Scripture:

Isaiah 6:1-8
Matthew 10:24-33

Reflection:

There is a certain theme in the reading from Isaiah for the Mass today that I have always loved.  In fact, in some ways, this theme has become a part of my vocation as a Passionist and as a priest.  Forty-seven years ago today in a steaming hot prairie Church in St. Paul, Kansas, twenty-one young men, myself included, knelt on the old Church floor and professed our vows as Passionists.  For me it was an incredibly emotional moment in my life and, while I may have been terribly naïve, I did feel a certain determination that nothing would ever cause me to change my mind and that I would seek to live as fully as possible the four vows that we Passionists profess.  I know I have failed many, many times and have lived these vows imperfectly; yet, they have also been the source of strength and fidelity in living the life of a Passionist religious.

Accompanying this ceremony of vows there was in my heart a recurring prayer that we hear in the reading from Isaiah: Here I am Lord, send me!  That is precisely how I felt at that very moment and, while there have been many challenges, large and small over these forty-seven years, I carry that same aspiration in my heart: Here I am Lord, send me!  In fact, the words of Isaiah are fitting for each and every one of us today.  In the depths of our hearts I believe this should be one of our deepest longings, to seek to know and to fulfill the will of God for each of us day by day.  With Isaiah we can all cry out: Here I am Lord. Send me!

 

Fr. Pat Brennan, C.P. is the director of Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.