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Scripture:

Acts 3:1-10
Luke 24:13-35

Reflection:

Who were the two travelers on the road to Emmaus – Cleopas and that other unidentified person?  Were they friends, or brothers, or husband and wife?  We don’t know.  I like to think the reason one of them remains unnamed is to allow us to insert our own name into the story.  It was Cleopas and Manuel, or Cleopas and you on the road to Emmaus.  And why not?  They were just like us.  They had the same concerns we do – in the midst of everyday life, keeping body and soul together, keeping out of trouble, trying but failing to stay strong in the face of shattered hopes and broken dreams.

Bible scholars tell us that this episode, this theological masterpiece, with its liturgical language – he took; he broke; he gave – is a description of the Eucharist.  It is in the Liturgy of the Word that the hearts of the two travelers were set on fire with understanding of Jesus; that in the breaking of the bread, they saw Jesus; that having been fed on the Word and the Bread they were sent on mission to proclaim the Good News of the Lord’s resurrection.

And yet, perhaps the Good News embraces another, more commonplace, truth.  The truth is that, like the two travelers, we often walk in the wrong direction.  We walk away from Jerusalem, away from Calvary.  We walk in the direction of Emmaus, wherever that mysterious city may be, seven miles distant and straight into darkness.  We are deliberately going the wrong way.  It’s a bad habit we inherited from our first parents who, in their sin of disobedience, went the wrong way, into the hiding place of darkness. 

Perhaps the Good News, the central truth of all Scripture, beginning with Moses and the prophets, as Jesus taught the two travelers, is that God always takes the initiative in seeking us out – even when we insist on walking in the wrong direction.  He walks with us, yet never forcing himself on us.  He simply waits patiently for Manuel or you to say the words: "It’s getting dark.  Stay with us."

 

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

Scripture:

Acts 2:36-41
John 20:11-18

Reflection:

My father is very ill as I write this reflection. He was in the hospital for a month, was out for three days, and back in again for over a week. This may well be a cycle that finally wears his body down until he goes home to God. I am grieving that soon my dad will no longer be physically present on this earth. I will not see the twinkle in his eye, nor partake of his marvelous "Grandpa malts" (the merits of which he proclaimed by saying "They may not be in first place, but they’re way ahead of whatever is in second!") When I visit Mom, the house will be achingly lonely, and she will struggle to let go of her husband of 63 years.

Many people will say, "You’re lucky he lived such a long life. You should be happy he is no longer suffering. He’s in a better place. Just think of all the memories and stories you can treasure. Now you have an angel in heaven to watch over you. " And on it will go, as well-meaning folks offer platitudes they believe are comforting. They aren’t.  Yes, I am glad he lived 84 years, but I wanted him to live 94 years – it’s always too soon when it’s someone you love.  Yes, I’m glad he’s no longer suffering and I am grateful he is with God, but I am sad that he is not with me or my siblings or my Mom. Gratitude and even faith do not erase the grief, nor should they (although they do allow us to keep it in perspective, to maintain hope while we heal).

We could learn lessons from the Gospel today. Notice that when the angels saw Mary Magdalene, they did not say "Stop crying. You should be glad that Jesus is going to the Father." Instead, they asked her to tell them of her grief: "Why are you weeping?"  Jesus did the same. He didn’t admonish her for her emotion or talk her out of what she was feeling. In fact, he didn’t even reveal his own identity until he first asked her to tell him about her tears and took the time to listen.  When I am grieving, I would rather have one person who asks good questions and deeply listens to what I need to say, than have 100 people tell me how positive and grateful and upbeat I "should" feel. Non-judgmental listening is the greatest gift we can give.

As Mary told the angels and Jesus of her grief, her eyes were so filled with tears she did not recognize Jesus. That, too, happens with me. Sometimes all I can see is my sadness and loss. I cannot see Jesus standing right in front of me. In the gospel, Jesus was able to literally speak to Mary and lift the veil. Jesus is no longer physically here to speak to me in a human voice, except through you. Can you listen to me, hear my cries, and be the embodiment of Christ so I don’t lose sight of God? Can you hold me in prayer when I am too bereaved and tired to pray myself?

Finally, Jesus tells Mary not to hold onto him. When my dad dies, I have to learn to let go of a person I once thought I could not live without, and learn to live without him. Like all the people I love, my dad is a transient and precious gift that I only have for a little while. It is time to let go, to free him to go to God. Yet like Jesus, the letting go is not complete. Mary and the other disciples built the early Church by keeping the memory, stories, and lessons of Jesus alive, even as they grieved his physical absence. Because of the paschal mystery, I know and believe that all of us – the living and the dead – are deeply connected in ways we do not understand.  Though the physical bond is broken, our spirits are entwined forever.

I will not forget, nor "put this behind me and get on with life." Rather, I will remember and carry Dad in my heart for as long as I live. I am a different person because he loved me, however imperfect that love may have been. I keep the lessons, the spirit, the stories, and the love, and rather than leaving them behind, I take them with me into a future enriched by Dad’s memory. 

May God grant Dad peace as he prepares to leave this world behind and, hand in hand with Jesus, journey into paradise.

 

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.amyflorian.com/.

Scripture:

Acts 2:14, 22-33
Matthew 28:8-15

Reflection:

Fifty Days of Conversation with the Word

In the past four days we have drawn so close to Our Lord and Mary. We felt their pain and perhaps wept. We searched the motives, looked into the hearts of the apostles and the women of Galilee. After the intense days of the Passion, a quiet Saturday, a small number gather for a Vigil. In the darkness the Redeemer, the Risen One symbolized by the lighted Easter Candle, enables us to proclaim, "O happy fault and sin of Adam". In that hour of darkness we see the Scriptures of the Old Testament in the light of the New. The vigilers witness to Jesus, the First Born from among the dead. That quiet, joyful celebration that welcomes new believers to the font, sends the first joyous ‘alleluias’ that build to louder celebrations on Sunday as our belief that the Lord has Risen is affirmed by renewing the vows of Baptisms.

All of that happened in the past four days! Now it is Monday and we are celebrating the fifty days of Easter. What is left for us to do? Have we exhausted all of our feelings?

It is the Scriptures that fuel our celebration. Set before us these days is the Risen one and the community that grows around Him. Blended with the practical life situations and people of Acts we hear the mystic John: the Good Shepherd, The Vine, Jesus Bread of Life and reflections of Jesus at the Last Supper.

Although we have our daily work, schedules to fulfill, families to love and tend to, for Our Risen Lord these are no more obstacles to his presence being with us than were the barred doors of the upper room when he wanted to be with his disciples. Indeed our ears may be more anxious to hear the words of Jesus than the disciples who would soon doze and then scatter. If we are grieving like the disciples walking to Emmaus or if we are as agitated as Peter who gathers his companions to go fishing in the darkness, Jesus comes in His Word to enkindle fire in our hearts, to be with us and our friends in confusing times.

It is interesting to see the reactions of the people who meet the Risen Lord and those who receive the message that we hear Peter proclaim today. Their reactions are not hysterical or shocked; at times they are profound, deliberate. Matthew tells us Mary Magdalene and the other Mary are afraid but joyful, and even take hold of Jesus feet to do him homage.

In our Easter days we are given the gift of God’s Word. Jesus is present to us in that Word. May we then continue the intimacy we have experienced during the days of the Passion and continue to share our hearts with the Risen One who approaches His friends eagerly. Paul will share his missionary desires with Jesus. Peter must have asked for help in his confusion of gathering Jew and Gentile at one table. We will hear the words of Stephen, words probably like those of many others who will follow his example, so great is their love for Jesus. Let us welcome the Risen Jesus in his Word these fifty days. As the Word he will talk with us, invite our sharing, and be present with us.  

 

Fr. William Murphy, CP is pastor of St. Joseph’s Monastery parish in Baltimore, Maryland.

Easter Sunday of the
Resurrection of the Lord

Scripture:

Acts 10:34a, 37-43
Colossians 3:1-4 or 1 Corinthians 5:6b-8
John 20:1-9 or Mark 16:1-7

 

 

Reflection:

A blessed Easter to all of you who read our Passionist homilies and who are celebrating the Passionist Easter novena. Jesus is Risen!

In the Gospel reading, I was struck by the fact that Peter and John didn’t see the resurrection, but what they did see stirred faith in them. All they saw was an empty tomb and the rolled up burial cloths. The evidence of the resurrection was enough to evoke belief, which is the goal of John’s Gospel.

The evidence of the resurrection also abounds in our life. The sights, sounds, and smells of spring are in the air. Butterflies and seeds drift through the air. Azaleas and other new blossoms are breaking forth. The warmth and rains are making everything lush. Nature itself is a parable that speaks of the new life we long for. The evidence is everywhere.

I just finished a busy Lenten season of missions. The huge crowds struck me during my missions. The sheer numbers were evidence of God’s movement in people. One man came and shook my hand. "Father, I hadn’t been to confession in over 40 years. I went to one of the priests last night. Thank you!" A junior in high school student approached me. He is struggling with multiple addictions. He is now willing to do what it takes to come into recovery. In addition, I have been seeing a number of young people attending the parish missions. God is moving and calling all people to growth and faith.

1 Peter 1:18 tells us, "Even though you do not see him now, you believe in him." We may not "see" the actual resurrection either. But the signs are everywhere: in nature, in people’s willingness to change, in the wonderful hunger of those young and old. The evidence abounds and can evoke deeper faith and consoling hope in you and me! I pray that you will encounter plentiful evidence today and during this fifty-day Easter Season.

 

Fr. Cedric Pisegna, C.P. is a missionary preacher, author of 16 books and creator of television and radio programs airing in many cities. You can learn more about his ministry at: http://www.frcedric.org/

Scripture:
Genesis 1:1-2:2 or 1:1, 26-31a
Genesis 22:1-18 or 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18
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
Mark 16:1-7

Reflection:

As a grammar school kid, I joined the Boy Scouts to go camping. While I never made it past Tenderfoot, I never missed a chance to go camping. Camping was fun. It was a chance to spend time with nature and my friends away from the ordinary everyday life at home. What I liked most about camping was the evening campfire where everyone would gather. We’d sit around and tell stories, usually scary ones, and sing songs until our leaders forced us to go to our tents where we were suppose to sleep. When I got older, long after I’d left the Boy Scouts, I continued to go camping with friends where we’d again, sit around the campfire to tell stories and sing songs until the wee hours of the morning.

Tonight is my favorite night of the year. I will once again join my local community to gather around a campfire and hear the greatest of all stories, the story of God’s working in our world as told in our sacred scriptures. Some of the stories seem so ordinary and others seem totally unbelievable, but as one theologian from Loyola of Chicago (I don’t remember who he was) put it: "It’s all true and some of it actually happened." I’ll hear how God created the world and said it was good. Wow! Our world really is good. I’ll hear how Moses led my forebears out of slavery into the Promised Land. Then I’ll hear that greatest of all songs, the Exultet or Easter Song.

Come and join me and the thousands, maybe millions who will gather at their local Parishes to hear and celebrate the Good News of our salvation at the Easter Vigil. Some parishes still go to the wee hours starting at 11:00 pm and going to 1:00 or 2:00 am. Many will start earlier near dusk and only go for a couple of hours.  Hope yours, like mine will go on and on and on…

 

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

 

Good Friday of the Passion of the Lord 

Scripture:

Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9
John 18:1-19:42

Reflection:

The Good Friday Liturgy is rich in images. Nevertheless, the liturgy is carried out in a very stark environment. There is no Eucharist, decorations are removed, the altar is stripped, the celebrant and servers enter in silence, and the prayers are simple. The Cross is to be the center of our attention today; everything else is a distraction and therefore located out-of-the-sight.

Paul the Apostle tells us that Jesus emptied himself. He emptied himself of all self-centeredness, of all resentment, fear, fretfulness, and the desire for respect in the sight of others (First Reading). In letting go of everything, Jesus would be filled with the gift of fidelity and love from his heavenly Father. Ron Rolheiser, OMI, says, "Jesus took away the sin of the community by taking in hatred and giving back love; by taking in anger and giving out graciousness; by taking in envy and giving back blessing; by taking in bitterness and giving out warmth; by taking in pettiness and giving back compassion; by taking in chaos and giving back peace; and by taking in sin and giving back forgiveness." In order to be this conduit of the Father’s love and forgiveness, Jesus had to continually empty himself of the natural tendency to give back in kind: hatred for hatred, revenge for hurt, and coldness when ignored or neglected.

St. Paul of the Cross, founder of the Passionist Community, began many of his letters by writing: "May the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ be always in our hearts." Both the Good Friday Liturgy and Paul of the Cross want us to remember the passion and death of Christ as the greatest act of God’s love for us. God can be trusted and Christ can be confidently approached in our own moment of darkness and temptation. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin" (Second Reading)

Now we are asked to do as Jesus did to help take away the sin of the world. We are asked to let go, to empty ourselves of darkness, so that we can receive and give back divine compassion, unmerited forgiveness, holy love, ceaseless blessing and a spirit of everlasting hope.

On this Good Friday, let us set aside the distractions in our hearts (fears, desires, ambitions, worries, deadlines, dreams) so that the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Cross) will be at the center of our hearts. This is the way that leads us to joy, new life and resurrection. "I live, no not I, but Christ lives in me."

 

Fr. Don Webber, C.P., is Provincial Superior of Holy Cross Province and resides in Chicago.

Scripture:
Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-15

Reflection:
"Do you realize what I’ve done for you? "If I have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet.  I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do."

There is an old saying "familiarity breeds contempt." But I think that often when it comes to scripture, a better way to phrase this would be "familiarity breeds complacency."

We have all heard many times the story told in today’s Gospel. As a young man serving Mass I even had one of my feet washed by the bishop. And so sometimes when I hear this story I find myself tempted to say inwardly "Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard it before. I have to humble myself. Let’s go on to the next lesson."

But pause with me here for a moment, and let’s consider what’s really happening in this story. The disciples still believe that the Messiah is the one who is going to restore their nation’s former glory. The Christ will be the warrior king who drives out the Romans, unites the Hebrew people and establishes Israel as a beacon for all nations. And yet they find themselves in an upper room with the man they believe to be that Messiah and he strips himself naked, wraps a towel around his waist, kneels down before them and begins to wash their feet like a slave. And what’s more, from our perspective 2000 years later, we see that Jesus already knows that among these people whose feet he is washing is the one who will betray him, the one who will deny him, men who have bickered about who is greater and who will sit his left hand and his right hand. He has repeatedly asked them, "Don’t you get it yet? After all the time I’ve been with you?"

And he still kneels before them and washes their feet.

It is easy for us to look back and chuckle at the disciples who didn’t get it. And yet don’t we still find ourselves looking for that "messiah" who will establish our version of the kingdom of heaven on earth? Don’t we look for that pastor who will save us by truly honoring the spirit of Vatican II or faithfully upholding the Orthodox tradition as presented by the Magisterium? Don’t we campaign for that candidate who will restore our nation to its former greatness by promoting social justice or preserving religious freedom or maintaining 2nd amendment rights while fixing the  economy with just the right mix (in our minds) of taxation and spending?

Jesus said, "You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am." He acknowledges that He is our master, and still, He kneels before us.

This Triduum I pray that I let the words of Jesus deeply affect me, that instead of looking for a "savior" out there, I follow the model of the  Savior I carry in my heart and kneel before and wash the feet of those I encounter every day.

 

Talib Huff is a volunteer at Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center in Citrus Heights, California.

 

Scripture:

Isaiah 50:4-9a
Matthew 26:14-25

Reflection:

The Challenge of Faith in Jesus

Today’s Gospel selection tells us how Judas finalized his plot to betray Jesus; in some places this day is referred to as "spy Wednesday".  Only God knows what was really in the heart of Judas; from our vantage point after the fact, we can easily wonder why he turned traitor.  Was it Power?  Avarice?  Greed?  Judas is often called a thief and reportedly stole from the common purse which he held for Jesus and the others…but we ask…if he had had faith in Jesus, surely his faith would have overcome his greed…right?  Well…

Nonetheless, Jesus knew that the time for his sacrificial death was drawing near.  He knew that one of the twelve was to betray him.  AND, he willingly accepted that death in loving obedience to the Father’s Will, and in fulfillment of the Scriptures.  The words of Jesus at the Last Supper as recorded in St. John’s Gospel (Jn. 15:13) give great supporting testimony to Jesus’ motivation in his sacrificial death:  "There is no greater love than this:  to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."  And indeed he freely and lovingly laid down his life as he died upon the cross!

Whenever we look upon a crucifix, let us realize that Jesus died because he wanted to – a perfect expression of his free, unconditional and personal love for the Father and each of us.  As we prepare to celebrate tomorrow the institution of the Eucharist – Jesus’ Real Presence to people of all times – let us renew our humble profession of faith in Jesus.  May that profession of faith guide and strengthen us as we confidently face the challenges and temptations that come our way in following Jesus Crucified on our life’s journey.  And may God lovingly help the "Judases" who still struggle with their faith in Jesus.

 

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