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Scripture:
Ezekiel 12:1-12
Matthew 18:21-19:1

Reflection:
Forgiveness is unglamorous courage. It doesn’t seem particularly heroic. It’s an interior shift which hardly anyone outside the forgiver notices. Yet William Shakespeare was precisely correct when he wrote:

The quality of mercy is not strain’d,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.

Mercy is twice blest, resulting in a double blessing. Obviously, forgiveness benefits the one who receives it. The offender is let off the hook. The revenge or the penalty which might rightly befall them is relinquished. But forgiveness also brings enormous benefits to the forgiver.

When someone offends or insults us, it hurts. They hurt us and made us miserable. However, that doesn’t seem to be enough. Often we continually replay and restage the injury on the platform of our minds, churning up the misery again and again. In so doing we perpetuate the hurt. No one else can be blamed for the misery which we inflict upon ourselves by holding onto the transgression.

Once we understand that most of the miseries in our life are self-inflicted (and this can be realized by simple observation of the mind and our mental processes) freedom is possible. Forgiveness makes immeasurable sense. It becomes a blessing for the offender as well as for us. Jesus offered practical wisdom and spiritual guidance to liberate us in this world from the bondage of our misguided ways.

 

Fr. Joe Mitchell, CP is the director of the Passionist Earth & Spirit Center in Louisville, KY.

See his website: http://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/  

Scripture:

Ezekiel 9:1-7; 10:18-22
Matthew 18:15-20

Reflection:

This is the day of the death of Blessed John Henry Newman, a day to celebrate the life of a man who revitalized Catholicism in England.  He was a 19^th century Anglican priest and intellectual, who became the leader of the Oxford Movement, an effort to restore the Church of England to its catholicity.

Newman began a study of the development of Christian doctrine to prove that the Anglican Church had maintained the faith in contrast to the doctrinal distortions of the Catholic Church.  Instead, in his classic text, "An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine," published in 1845, Newman concluded it was the Catholic Church that was faithful to its primitive origins.

Shortly thereafter, on October 9, 1845, Fr. Dominic Barberi, a Passionist, himself beatified a few years ago, received Newman into the Church.  In1879, at the age of seventy-nine, he was made a cardinal by Pope Leo XIII.

In his day, Newman was frequently misunderstood and misinterpreted.  In our day, however, he is seen as a man ahead of his time.  The issues he wrote about became the subjects of discussion of Vatican II, such as the question of ecumenism, the relationship between Christianity and the world, and the role of the laity in the Church.  His ideas so much anticipated those of our time that he has been called "The Father of Vatican II."

Pope John Paul II praised him saying: "John Henry Newman belongs to every time and place and people."  And Pope Benedict XVI honored him by traveling to the United Kingdom to beatify Cardinal Newman on September 19, 2010.

 

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

Scripture:

2 Corinthians 9:6-10
John 12:24-26

Reflection:

I grew up in Midwest farm country, where the farmer readily acknowledges there is only so much that can be controlled by human effort.  Despite this fact, I witnessed firsthand the sweat, energy, and hope poured into the fields, and the immense delight when they produce fruit.  Decades later, as I maintain a tiny strip of a garden next to my house, I am constantly reminded that producing a harvest is hard work, and no matter how much I put into it the end result is not entirely my doing.  Yet the rewards of biting into a juicy tomato or crunching on a sweet pea pod are indescribable.

We are told today that God is the ultimate gardener, sowing widely, playfully, and freely across the breadth of the universe and laughing with joy when a harvest is produced.  God invites us to be co-gardeners, anticipating a great harvest when we allow ourselves to be opened and grown while helping those around us to do the same.  Unfortunately, the obstacles are no less great in this invitation to the garden of life than they were in the fields of the Midwest, and producing a harvest is no easier nor is it more assured. 

In my own little garden, the obstacles include storms, insects, rabbits, and neighborhood children.  Though I don’t want to admit it, sometimes the greatest obstacles in the garden of my life come from within me.  In fact, as I struggle to continually be born from the seed God planted, and as I struggle to become seed for others, I am often my own worst enemy.  For instance:

1. I sometimes get caught in a mindset of scarcity, as if there is not enough to go around and I’d better make sure I get my share. Can I trust the God of abundance to shower me with whatever I need? Can I live more simply, letting go of material possessions that I cling to like a security blanket? Can I give love freely, without holding back pieces of my heart to protect myself from hurt?

2. I sometimes get caught in a mindset of competitiveness, wanting to be recognized as the best.
Can I nurture an abundant community instead of seeking to secure my own position? Can I look first for how I can help someone else grow instead of letting them fall by the wayside if they cannot help me?

3. I sometimes get caught in a mindset of self-denigration, as if I need to be perfect or else I’m not good enough. Can I believe that lack of perfection is not failure? Do I know in my heart that complementing the gifts of others is a higher calling than individual achievement, and that the communal sharing of imperfect gifts can create a better overall garden? Will I allow myself to trust that when I am lacking in something, God gives what or who I need to fill the gap?

4. I sometimes get caught in a mindset of unrealistic expectations. As a finite person in this finite world, I cannot possibly grow or tend everything. How can I gain wisdom to discern the garden God intends for me to grow? Can I also remain open and flexible enough to adapt as God calls me to different plantings?

5. I sometimes get caught in a mindset of pain avoidance. Can I allow myself to be broken open by God, trusting that the pain will result in a worthwhile harvest? Can I die to my comfortable little shell, shed the barriers that enclose me, let go of all I think I own and all I think I am, risking everything to break through to the light? Am I willing to face the pruning shears, storms, and attacks from places known and unknown? Can I accept that sometimes I will be blown over or lose parts of my very self in the process of becoming who God created me to be?

God does not want us to sow or reap sparingly.  I look over my list of self-imposed obstacles, and I realize I have a lot of work to do in order to produce the harvest God desires.  I am reassured by the knowledge that God makes every grace abundant for me, and is not only cheering me on but is actively providing what I need. Neither God nor I totally control this venture, but together perhaps we can create a beautiful and fruitful garden nonetheless.

 

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:

Ezekiel 1:2-5, 24-28c
Matthew 17:22-27

Reflection:

Edith Stein, brilliant philosopher and Jewish woman who would become a Carmelite Nun, is most familiar with the Cross. She echoes Passionist spirituality. Edith’s religious name is Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Her journey to religious life took her from a mother and family she deeply loved, through years of prominence as a foremost disciple to the philosopher Edmund Husserl, months of caring for the wounded during the First World War, and then becoming a Christian in 1922, a Carmelite in 1933.

Jumping ahead to 1942, Edith has moved to the Carmel of Echt in Holland where the sisters thought it safer because of her Jewish background and growing Nazi threats. The Dutch bishops had a pastoral letter read at all the Sunday Masses condemning Nazi practices. As a reprisal priests and religious of Jewish background were rounded up and sentenced to die in Auschwitz. No appeals would be permitted. With her Jewish brothers and sisters, this contemplative was put to death.

Matthew’s gospel today reverberates with Passion themes. To the 2^nd prediction of the Passion Matthew gives us the reaction of the disciples, simply, "they became very sad". To be very sad is the feeling that comes from reading of the meaningless deaths of Edith Stein and all innocent victims of the holocaust. But Edith might direct us to look for meaning in the Cross?

Edith knew the Cross. Her final writing, entitled, "The Science of the Cross" comments on St. John of the Cross, as he explores the marriage of God and the soul, the surrendering of each to the other. She writes "There is no other way to union than that which leads through the Cross and night, the death of the old self…. The bridal union of the soul with God is the goal for which she was created, purchased through the Cross, consummated on the Cross and sealed for all eternity with the Cross."  pp 217, 273  

Matthew then shows us Jesus as the Son of God. No need not pay the Temple tax, this is his father’s house! Our Lord speaks knowingly he is in charge, but to avoid scandal we will pay. There is a scene shortly before she dies that shows Edith in charge, Christ like in stature, and I believe drawing strength from what is so close to her, the Cross.

She is taken by train to the "east" on August 2^nd. The train stops in Westerbork on the 6^th. (Etty Hilesum, "An Interrupted Life", a Jew and mystic who helped in the camp of Westerbork in Holland until she would go to her death in Auschwitz herself, makes reference to what seems to be Edith’s passage through the camp). Then late one night in a railroad yard closer to Auschwitz, a man who seems pressed into service, perhaps some military duty, smells the awful odor coming from the cars of a stopped train. It is full of those heading to the death camp. He looks up and sees a woman standing in the open door of one of the cars… She asks if he would get water for those on the train. It seems this was the train of Edith Stein and that it was she who stood there seemingly in control of this hopeless situation, protectively standing between her suffering brothers and sisters and the dark night, and all that awaited them. We can imagine Edith drawing strength from the Cross even as she moved toward it.

The witness is startled to see her, he feels her helplessness, is aware of a horrible situation. One wonders if he might even have helped had she tried to escape? Edith Stein, Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, O.C.D., is a witness too. She shows us herself as one whom Jesus invites to stand before the Cross, even such a cross as the meaninglessness of the holocaust; and like her we are invited to draw strength from the Cross to help and protect our brothers and sisters.

 

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

Scripture:

Wisdom 18:6-9
Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19 or 11:1-2, 8-12
Luke 12:32-48 or 12:35-40

Reflection:

These readings present us with a taste of Advent in August. We are taught to live by faith with expectancy and vigilance.

I write this as I am flying back to Houston from Louisville and a diocesan-wide morning of recollection I preached at a parish there. I stayed at our monastery and enjoyed the hospitality of our men. While walking around the grounds I lingered at the cemetery. I discovered that I knew quite a few of the men who are buried there. For example, Fr. Michael Joseph was the provincial when I was ordained and he gave me my first assignment in Citrus Heights. I was surprised to see that it had been some four years since our Fr. Jim DeManuele had passed. Staring at his headstone that gave the significant dates of his life was sobering.

It is hard to get away from Jim’s influence in Louisville. I preached my heart out at the morning of recollection. Many were there who have a history with the Passionists and know us well. I heard comments about many of our men. One woman came up to me and said, "Did you know Fr. DeManuele? He was so animated with those long arms and a very good preacher!" Then after a moment, "Oh, by the way, you were good too." (Thanks!) I was even taken to the airport in Jim’s former car.

Staring at the graves of our men was sobering in that I was reminded of my own mortality yet again. "One day," I thought, "that will be me." We tend to forget. The readings remind us that this reality is not our true home. We are to be vigilant and live by faith in God and longing for what God has in store for believers. As good and as beautiful (and tragic) as life is now, we were made for more: a "better homeland." We are sojourners and this is not our true home, lest we forget. These are sobering summer readings. They give us pause to think and reflect. No one knows the day or the hour.

The first reading from Wisdom about Passover would have been near and dear to Jim’s heart. He loved liturgy and imbued a great appreciation for the paschal mystery in me. Like the Hebrews waiting in secret, we are a people with "inside knowledge." We worship God in the midst of a culture that is lost and confused. We know as we worship and live by faith that God has prepared a city for us.

 

Fr. Cedric Pisegna, C.P. is a missionary preacher, author of 14 books and creator of the TV program Live with Passion! airing in many cities. You can learn more about his ministry at: http://www.frcedric.org/

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

Scripture:

Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
2 Peter 1:16-19
Luke 9:28b-36

Reflection:

This Feast was celebrated in the East starting in the forth centuries but not commonly in the West until the tenth century. One wonders why such a significant event in the life of Jesus was not celebrated in the universal Church until 1456 when Pope Callixtus III established August 6 as the date of its celebration.

The Transfiguration is recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke, but not in John’s gospel. The first three gospel writers place the event in a similar context. We are in the middle of the Gospel accounts and following Jesus is taking on an accelerated pace. The context is important. Ten verses before, and eight days prior, Jesus asks the disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" Then he asks them, "Who do you say I am?" Peter responds, "You are the Messiah, the Christ." Peter was correct but, unfortunately, his notion of the Messiah was a universe away from how Jesus understood himself. For the first time Jesus tells his disciples that the Messiah would suffer greatly, be rejected by the religious leaders, be killed and on the third day rise again. The disciples could not accept or imagine a suffering Messiah. Their Messiah was to be triumphant, successful, powerful and protected from suffering and death. Therefore, the disciples would share in the Messiah’s glories and privileges. As they were trying to get their heads around the idea of a suffering Messiah, Jesus further confused them by saying that they would have to be ready to walk the same road.

The Transfiguration happened a week after Jesus talked about a suffering Messiah. Can you imagine how confused, disillusioned and depressed the disciples felt…and maybe even angry? We know they didn’t get over these feelings completely until after the Resurrection, Ascension and Pentecost. Perhaps the Transfiguration helped. Jesus is suddenly transformed, dazzlingly bright. Moses and Elijah appear in conversation with Jesus. A cloud comes down upon them (more than a change in weather conditions) and a voice speaks, "This is my Beloved Son; listen to him." Here is the supreme endorsement of Jesus as the Messiah. Yes, listen to him, even when he says what you don’t like to hear or don’t understand. God confirms his Son as the suffering Messiah.

We prefer success, applause, power and to be spared suffering. The way of Jesus embraces failure, rejection, weakness and suffering. Like Peter, James and John, we also need our moments with Jesus, hearing a voice speaking to us, "You are my beloved son/daughter no matter your experience of suffering or rejection or failure." We pray to hear in our hearts those words of support and to be encouraged to continue as faithful disciples of the suffering Messiah.

 

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

Feast of St. John Mary Vianney

Scripture:

Jeremiah 31:1-7
Matthew 15:21-28

Reflection:

With Age-Old Love I Have Loved You

In today’s Gospel, Jesus encounters a Canaanite woman who wanted help for her afflicted daughter.  Historically, the Canaanites were viewed as wicked and sinful by the Israelites — feelings dating back to the time of Israel’s entrance into the Promised Land.  This woman had enough faith to come and ask Jesus for help — and even Jesus’ disciples urged Him to get rid of the woman!  Jesus’ first words to the woman seemed to be a shocking put-down, yet they merely represented the feelings of then-contemporary Jews towards the Canaanites.  Jesus’ own response was one of love, as seen in the fact that He granted her request and cured her daughter.

The story isn’t specifically about Canaanites, for the woman stands for anyone who is disliked, hated, or despised.  Jesus constantly preached that love is not exclusively for those who are dear to us; He proclaimed that we must love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us…following His example of all-inclusive love.  We are to live lives of love, as does Jesus…a love that forgives, encourages, welcomes and gives life.

Today the example of the 19^th century saint, St. John Mary Vianney, is held up for us 21^st century disciples.  He was especially known for his gracious and generous ministry of the Sacrament of Reconciliation at his parish in Ars, France — regularly spending hours sharing God’s love through the Sacrament with thousands of penitents who traveled great distances for those few graced moments with him.  His loving ministry flowed from an intense spiritual life based on prayer and mortification.  St. John Mary Vianney truly witnessed the "age-old love of the Lord…the mercy" recalled by the Prophet Jeremiah in today’s 1^st reading.  In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI named him patron of all priests worldwide.

Jesus and St. John Mary Vianney pose us some questions:  How do we welcome the stranger?  Offer forgiveness?  Overcome prejudice?  Deal with our enemies?  Really listen to those who come our way?  Do we zealously and tirelessly give of ourselves in service to our sisters and brothers? 

Our responses – and our lives – hopefully celebrate the "age-old love of the Lord"!

Pray this day especially for priests — active, retired, deceased — and for those discerning a priestly or religious vocation:  for a deepening faith, and a greater love.

 

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

Scripture:

Jeremiah 30:1-2, 12-15, 18-22
Matthew 14:22-36 or 15:1-2, 10-14

Reflection:

With what attitude do I approach today? Do I even have the time to think of such a question? Is there a quality of character which I offer to be used by the Lord’s Spirit today? Do I just want to accept whatever comes, with the determination that I will respond? I am often curious as to what conspired when Jesus went up mountains, or wherever, by himself to pray. It was deliberately by himself that he went. With the God of the universe, he went apart from everyone. That, in itself, is plenty to think about, or pray about. Where, and when do I deliberately, take that walk? Like most folks reading this, I don’t have "chapel space," where I can go off by myself to pray. There is a quiet space where I do sit, and most of the time it is to absorb the quiet, with anticipation. It is an assumption that God does want to inspire, guide, challenge or just provide some peace. Jesus comes out of his prayer, in an amazing manner, to reassure his disciples who are facing an horrific storm, and, subsequently,  healing for those consigned to live in that out-of-the-way Gennesaret.  Whether you focus  upon Ps 102, or Jeremiah’s prophecy of hope amidst disaster, by putting yourself in the Lord’s presence, you can expect, through what you say and do today, you will contribute to situations that are ungodly with hurt that is incurable and wounds that are grievous. 

 

Fr. Alex Steinmiller, C.P. is president of Holy Family Cristo Rey High School, Birmingham, Alabama.