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Scripture:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11
Luke 9:18-22

Reflection:

Jesus was praying in solitude Luke 9:18.   Through thousands of years of human history no one ever prayed like Jesus.   The word for prayer means desire for God.   What human and divine yearning for His Father was in the heart and mind of Jesus.   Before Jesus picked his apostles, He spent the whole night in prayer.

We tend to think we are too busy and have too many more important things to do than to spend much time to pray.  An important part of the Passionist charism is a deep prayer life.    St Paul of the Cross would spend the whole night in prayer before he would preach in the morning liturgy.   St Vincent, like Paul, was totally dedicated to mental prayer.   Not to appreciate the craving for God in these Passionist saints is to totally miss their spirit.   We can never realistically talk about Passionist spirituality without emphasizing the massive importance of time with God.

“As a man of great prayer, Paul of the Cross inculcated its importance most forcefully by word and example.  He wished his followers to pray without ceasing and desired our communities to become real schools of prayer, leading to a deep experience of God.”  Chapter 111  Constitutions

In Paul’s original idea of Passionist life he had hoped we could spend at least half of the year in solitude and contemplation. In his famous painting, the Angelus, Millet pictures a man and his wife stopping their word of harvesting potatoes to pray even though their sack, and basket are not yet filled.   Prayer is more important than life itself.   As a boy, I used to look at this painting in my grandmother’s house; now, I have the same picture some 75 years later in my office.  It is faded and a little worse for wear, but a wonderful reminder of an age-old truth in our Catholic Church.   Prayer is one of the most important tasks in our life.  “Pray  without ceasing.” 1 Th 5:17

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

Scripture:

Ecclesiastes 1:2-11
Luke 9:7-9

Reflection:

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus first asks His disciples what the people think of Him; who were they saying he was. The disciples give their answers, and then Jesus asks them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter, who so ften gets it wrong, gets it right. He says to Jesus, “The Messiah of God.” And after Jesus warns them not to tell this to anyone, He then says, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

In acknowledging Peter’s confession of Him as the Messiah, Jesus then tells them how He will be the Messiah: neither by military conquest nor by getting rid of corrupt leaders, but by sacrifice, even to the point of death, followed by resurrection.

For me, the Gospel readings for the last few days have highlighted the difference between the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of the Gospel, and we see this once again in today’s reading. That, I think, is one of the reasons Jesus doesn’t want the apostles to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. The people were expecting a different kind of Messiah, and even the apostles had trouble understanding what was going to occur, so perhaps Jesus didn’t want to get the people’s hopes up for something that wasn’t going to happen.

Understanding Jesus’ death on the Cross as an act of redemption helps us understand that God does not promise to remove all our difficulties, but instead, God promises us that He will get us through to the other side. Jesus did not only predict His Passion and Death, but also His Resurrection!

Can we live in hope, and thereby tell the world who we say Jesus is?

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

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22b-27
Luke 6:39-42

Reflection:

I have served as a lector and taught lector training for decades.  I take proclamation of the word very seriously, with the aim of making it come alive so God can change people’s hearts.  I must admit, though, that I share one of Paul’s sentiments.  He fears he does not sufficiently live what he preaches.  Like him, I constantly have to ask myself how faithfully I live what I proclaim and how willingly I allow God to change my own heart.

Take the lessons of today’s readings.  Jesus tells us to take the beam out of our own eye before noticing the splinter in another’s.  I admit to too many times I have judged another person for a fault I myself carry.  In fact, psychologists tell us the characteristics that bother us the most in other people, if we look closely and honestly, are the same characteristics we fear in ourselves and which we struggle to overcome.  It’s just so much easier to criticize it in someone else, thereby deflecting attention from my own shortcomings.

Paul says that when he preaches, he is simply doing his job.  He expects no adulation or praise as a result, instead pointing to the gospel and to Christ.  How often have I wished to be like the grandstanding football players, who boldly act as if every tackle, pass, or touchdown were an impressive personal victory rather than a part of their job which could not have been achieved if it weren’t for the team?  (Imagine an Easter Vigil at which the neophytes emerge from the font dripping wet and scented with oil while the sponsors give a chest bump, pump their fists, point to themselves and yell “Yeah!!”) Can I let go of that all-too-human need for recognition and humbly join Paul in saying that when I proclaim scripture well, when I help people heal, when I teach a class or give a presentation, I am simply doing my job?

Paul also says to run the race well, constantly training and improving and keeping the goal in mind.  The “race” of which Paul speaks is not a sprint; it is an endurance event with multiple obstacles.  Yet I am sometimes woefully lacking in my commitment to the foundational training practices that allow me to stay on course.  How much time do I take out of my over-scheduled day for prayer?  What percentage of my stacks of required reading helps inform and challenge my faith?  When is the last time I went on a retreat, allowing God a more extended time to work within me?

And these are just a few lessons from one day of readings!  When I start listing all the ways I fall short of the scripture I proclaim, it gets discouraging.  I can feel like nothing more than the blind leading the blind, unsure whether I am even doing what God wants.

I believe Paul would counsel continuing to strive, yet concentrating on Christ rather than my own imperfections.  As today’s psalm says, God is the sun who sees and lights the path.  God is my shield and ever-faithful companion.  God withholds no good thing from one who acts with sincerity.  God is my ultimate home, my nest, my secure dwelling place.  Perhaps one day I will be able to stand before God and hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”  Hopefully I will also be able to reply, “You’re welcome; I was only doing my job.”

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.corgenius.com/.

Scripture:

Ezekiel 24:15-24
Matthew 19:16-22

Reflection:

Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

The encounter of Jesus with the rich young man has possibly inspired and motivated countless Christians across the centuries. It is indeed a powerful story and one that can speak deeply to all men and women who wish to live their lives as a more radical imitation of Jesus.

For the challenge of Jesus here is profound. Nothing less than a complete change of life and life style.

The young man is challenged to move from a lifelong devotion and steady adherence to the law to a seemingly reckless act of dispossession and to undertake the life of a follower of Jesus – the one who has nowhere to lay his head. In essence he is asked to substitute riches for poverty and to substitute  the security of land and wealth for a nomadic life of unknown destinations.

Perhaps most radically, the young man is challenged to substitute self possession and self reliance for a life lived in relationship to Jesus and given over to others.

Perhaps one can appreciate the depth of what Jesus asks and offers when one takes his commanding challenge and isolates the five verbs that fuel this challenge. “Go, sell, give, come and follow“. Perhaps it is here that we see how all embracing and deep is the challenge that Jesus offers the young man (and indeed us!).

Go – act, be committed. Sell – dispose of all that blocks your happiness and deepest desires. Give – be outgoing; be generous and prepared to make sacrifices. Come – enter into relationship with the one who can show you life. Follow – take up the mission of Jesus in our world and live it in all you do and say.

These five commands – these five verbs – can be a guide for us in life. Whether we seek a more radical following of Jesus in religious life or priesthood, or a life of committed love in marriage and parenthood or whether it is a dedicated single life serving others,  these same verbs apply.

For any meaningful and committed life – the necessity to be committed, to be ready to put aside things or attitudes that block you, to  be generous, to be able to enter deeply into relationship and to follow Jesus’ example and continue his mission – are all essential attitudes and capacities.

“Go, sell, give, come, and follow.” If we allow these words to echo and re-echo in our lives then we will be much more equipped to live out all that Jesus asks and offers to us.

Fr. Denis Travers, C.P., is the Provincial Superior of Holy Spirit Province, Australia. 

Scripture:

Proverbs 9:1-6
Ephesians 5:15-20
John 6:51-58

Reflection:

“The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
John 6:52

The readings for today’s Mass invite us to eat and drink nourishments that give us wisdom and life (the first reading and the Gospel proclamation) and to avoid drinking to excess (the second reading). These readings make it easy for us to reflect upon the gift and grace that the Sacrament of the Eucharist is for us. The Eucharist is the nourishment that gives us wisdom and understanding, communion with God and with one another and that reminds us that Jesus, Son of God and Son of Mary, will never abandon us. The Eucharist is one of God’s greatest signs of love for us. Without the Mass, without Eucharist, we do not have life within us nor do we have eternal life. Jesus’ message was quite clear.

And this gift is given to us within the Community of the Church. It is not a personal gift, even though each one of us benefit personally from this beautiful gift. It is a gift given to us in community. We receive this Sacrament only when we are members of the Catholic Church.

While the Sacrament of the Eucharist challenges us to a faith that goes beyond the appearances of bread and wine, the Sacrament also challenges us to believe that a sinful People can also be the holy People of God. It is this last challenge to our faith in the Eucharist that often becomes the stumbling block for many. So many of us stop coming to the Eucharist when we are angry at the Church. And most often we get angry at the Church when we are trying to justify a lifestyle that is outside the norms that the Church as established as being in full communion with God and with our brothers and sisters. We want to be both sinful and saved at the same time. We want God to discount our sinful behavior: our addictions, our sexual misconduct, our dishonesty, our blindness to social justice, our commitment to war and violence as the resolution of our problems, our prejudices and racism, our commitment to life, from the womb to the tomb. We want to pick and choose. We want to be vocal about how wrong abortion is, but choose to be silent about how wrong it is for people to live in poverty, condemn people to a life without education and health care or deny the dignity of human life because they are not citizens of a country. Eucharist forces us to choose the right path in life.

Sometimes we stop coming to Mass because we are angry at the Church and Church people. We think we will punish the Church by not coming to Church, not receiving the sacraments. We end up by punishing ourselves, by depriving ourselves of the very graces that we need to overcome the faults and failings of our Church.

As Jesus said in today’s Gospel, the Eucharist is necessary for us to gain eternal life. Without Eucharist, we continue the path of destruction. The Eucharist challenges us to be good people and good disciples of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and brothers and sisters to one another. What a gift Jesus has given us!

Fr. Clemente Barrón, C.P. is a member of Mater Dolorosa Community in Sierra Madre, California. 

Scripture:

Ezekiel 2:8-3:4
Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14

Reflection:

Ezekiel was a priest of the Temple in Jerusalem when he was called by God to warn the people of immanent destruction. If the people did not return to fidelity to God, the people would be exiled and their country destroyed. The people relied on their own wisdom, implemented political alliances for self-preservation and accepted idolatrous practices. Eventually Babylon did capture Jerusalem, and Ezekiel was exiled with the leaders. Now in exile the prophet became a voice of hope, encouraging the people to turn to the Lord and offering them images of hope that one day they would return to Jerusalem, and the glory of God would return to the Temple (the vision of the dry bones returning to life).

In the reading for today, Ezekiel is commanded to eat the scroll, covered with writings, front and back, of lamentations, wailings and woes. When he ate it, the scroll was as sweet as honey. Like Ezekiel, each one of us carries a scroll with writings: our disappointments, our discouragements and our despairs. They create a fear within us that our life will never get better, or we are tempted to flee from them by ignoring or denying them. God shows Ezekiel that we must accept the negative side of life as part of our humanity. It is only in accepting our lamentations and woes that God can act in our life. “Ezekiel” means “God strengthens,” and when Ezekiel ate the scroll in obedience to God’s command, the prophet was admitting his own sins and failures as well as those of his fellow citizens. He was turning to God like the child in the gospel reading today, totally dependent upon the parents for help. What was bitter became sweet as honey.

God continues to perform miracles in our lives if we turn to God with childlike faith and trust. God brings light into our darkness, forgiveness for our sins, strength where we are weak. Let us be humble like a child and enter into the Kingdom of God, relying on the strength that only God can give us.

Fr. Don Webber, C.P. is the director of the Office of Mission Effectiveness. He resides in Chicago, Illinois.

Scripture:

Jeremiah 31:31-34
Matthew 16:13-23

Reflection:

Listening and reflecting again today on Matthew’s gospel, we ponder how Peter boldly and filled with faith proclaims Jesus as Messiah, and after Jesus affirms Peters’ response, Jesus generously gives Peter more inside information which Peter just finds too difficult to hear. We’ve probably heard this gospel numerous times. 

It amazes me to see how fast Peter can go from such a proclamation, “You are the Messiah” to a Peter who takes Jesus aside and begins to rebuke him. Why? Part of it is that Peter feels threatened. This revelation which Jesus speaks to Peter simply doesn’t fit into Peter’s plans. And Peter has just proclaimed this man to be the Messiah! What is it like when the messiah doesn’t fit into your plans? What is it like for you when you feel like you are being led down a path which you certainly don’t want to go?

I suspect that many of us who read these daily reflections have had similar experiences in our faith journey. We have had those experiences where we come to know Jesus in a profound and intimate way. Soon after this experience, however, there is a request or even a challenge which is put before us. Somewhere in our mind we question, “Certainly Jesus you didn’t mean for this to happen? Or you couldn’t possibly be asking me….?” 

Ultimately, I call this purification. It’s the stripping away of the expectations of who we want Jesus to be so we may be attentive to whom Jesus actually is. It frequently can be a painful reality. But in all of scripture, God never conforms to our personal desires. The divine always emphatically insists, “I am God”, sometimes with a silent implication back to the human who is wrestling with the relationship, “and you are who?” A perfect example of this is the conclusion of the Job story, and we see it again here with Peter. It is difficult to go through this purification. The gift in all of this is that as we do, we understand the divine much better! 

Paradoxically, today’s gospel reflection needs to end with the beginning of today’s gospel. It is only after going through this process of purification that we can most authentically answer Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I am?” 

On this journey of faith, Jesus you are the one who keeps purifying us, challenging us to re-examine the questions of who you are to us. In doing so we continue to discover our selves and our lives anew in your divine light.

 Fr. David Colhour, C.P., is the Provincial Superior of Holy Cross Province. He resides in Chicago, Illinois.

Scripture:

2 Chronicles 24:17-25
Matthew 6:24-34

Reflection:

“Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.” -Matthew 6:34

Most of us live anxious lives. We seem to thrive on anxiety. We worry about the past, the things we have said to others and how we treated others. We worry about the present. We worry if we are doing the right thing, or if we are offending someone we love, or whether we are coming across too strong or too weak, too upfront or too timid, or any countless number of things that we have to deal with each day of our life. Most of all, we tend to worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow has so many possibilities, so many promises, and so many expectations. We worry because we are afraid that we will make the wrong choices or we will be humiliated before our friends and neighbors. In the United States, some studies show that anxiety is the number one stressor in our lives!

When Jesus is telling us not to worry about our life, or what we are to eat or drink or what we are to wear, he realizes that we are going to have a tremendous difficulty following his advice. But he also gives us the cause for our anxiety and the path to live a life free of all these worries that we so easily take on day after day. We can live a life of faith that relies on God and God’s Providence or we can pretend that we are in charge of life and all of its overwhelming demands that come our way.

Because God has gifted us with the freedom to make choices, we sometimes jump to the conclusion that this is an absolute gift. We sometimes do not recognize that this gift of making choices is to be used within the context of our own lives and human limitations. When God made us responsible for our own lives, God made us responsible for our own decisions and actions, for the choices to grow in the grace of God. God did not put us in charge of the Universe and of other human beings. When we over-reach our sense of power and control, we soon find ourselves in situations that cause us anxiety and worry. So, from the very beginning, we have a choice. We can choose God and God’s Providence or we can choose our pretense that we are in charge of God, the World and everything that happens in the World.

Today’s Gospel also helps us recognize that the greatest remedy to anxiety is faith in God and God’s Providence. This does not mean that we are to abandon the gift of the freedom to choose what is right and to do what is good. This freedom to choose is what will lead us to Everlasting Life, with the Grace of God. So, what does God require of us? The prophet Micah (6:8) sums up in this way: “You have been told what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.”

When all things are said and done, there is no reason for us to be anxious about tomorrow!

Fr. Clemente Barron, C.P., is the local superior of Mater Dolorosa Community in Sierra Madre, California.