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Feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle

Scripture:

Ephesians 2:19-22
John 20:24-29

Reflection:

The Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle – Some questions to take to prayer. Does God actively pursue me? Do I ever sense that God is “drawing” me into a situation, where I can be of service? Is there a grace or gift which God reminds me of that is for others? Do I ever feel “zeal” about carrying out a task?

I wonder about how God pursues us. We are created in God’s image as we were reminded last Sunday. In what way is God pursuing me? Let that be the meditation today. Our feast is about a zealous man, who happened to be not impressed with his fellow disciples when they were still locked in the upper room after Jesus had appeared to them. Apparently that was not enough to get them out into the world proclaiming the good news of the resurrection and hope.

God pursued Thomas, the apostle, inspiring him to take to heart the command to go out into the world with the message (however that may be proclaimed). Even to the shores of Malabar, India, where he planted the Word, and his own blood would nourish the seed. That same spirit is within us. Listen and pay attention to your surroundings. Therein lies the “wonder.”

Fr. Alex Steinmiller, C.P., is a member of the Passionist Community in Detroit, Michigan.

Scripture:

2 Kings 17:5-8, 13-15a, 18
Matthew 7:1-5

Reflection:

“Stop judging, that you may not be judged.”

I remember hearing similar words so many times as I was growing up. My grandmother and great-grandmother used to encourage me to consider things from the other person’s perspective. To treat others as I would want to be treated.  I, of course, did not fully understand this until I was a little older.  I have tried, though at times it has been difficult, to do just that – to listen and learn to understand any given situation from another person’s point of view.

I have said these words to my children as well when they were growing up. It was, and sometimes still is, the phrase, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Now that they are older I can see that somehow, some way they were listening!  I tried my best to instill in them to be considerate men, and think of how they would feel if they were on the receiving end of being mocked; and to imagine then, how another person would feel if my children were mocking them.  They get it!

We as humans are not perfect.  Everyone has flaws. It is when we understand our own imperfections that we can come to understand others.  We are all children of a God who loves us despite our shortcomings.

Claire Smith is the Director of Communications for Holy Cross Province.

Scripture:

1 Kings 19:9a, 11-16
Matthew 5:27-32

Reflection:

During my teenage years, my best friend from middle School left the Roman Catholic Church and became a Pentecostal.  The nature of his new found Church and faith was more militant than mine. Due to each other’s immaturity this became a source of friction. Very quickly our conversations of his new faith turned into debates about my faith and even faster into heated arguments. He was always more prepared than I was.  The ignorance of my own Catholic faith moved me to read and listen to Catholic apologetics in order to “defend” my faith. This new knowledge of historic facts and biblical passages and my own pride became an arsenal of arguments that I used against my friend. Though our conversations lasted longer and longer, our mutual love and friendship began to crumble.  Soon enough we began to avoid and even to ignore one another.  Just like Elijah and the prophets of Baal, we had prepared our own altars and where waiting to see which one would be set on fire first as a sign of God’s predilection. It was our so-called faith in Jesus Christ that we both used to separate one another, to distance ourselves. We forsook God’s commandments by turning our traditions into a god.

In the Gospel, Jesus reminds us that the fulfillment of God’s Law will be through the Reigning of God. Jesus’ preaching, teachings and life make the Reign visible and orients us toward it. The values of God’s Reign, as we identify them are Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation. These are the values with which the prophets’ proclaimed God’s presence and the need of conversion by those called to live in the Covenant. We continue to abide in God’s Law proclaimed by the prophets and by Jesus. This consists not of an exclusive privilege but rather of divine covenant to living and promoting the values of God’s Reign. This is what will make of us the greatest in God’s Reign.

My friend and I certainly missed the point of our faith and we became blinded by our pride. We limited our faith to defending it by belittling the other’s rather than by seeking justice and peace and by honoring the love and charity we owed one another. Certainly, God’s Reign was not visible through either of us or through the triumphalism with which we understood and presented our traditions. Good thing for my friend and I that God’s Law is also rooted in the conversion of our hearts and minds and in forgiveness.

Fr. Hugo Esparza, C.P. is a Passionist of Holy Cross Province now working in Mexico with the Province of Cristo Rey.

Scripture:

2 Timothy 1:1-3, 6-12
Mark 12:18-27

Reflection:

Most of us have heard the G K Chesterton quote, “Christianity has not failed; it has not even been tried.” Is this what Paul is saying to Timothy? Paul, after announcing that he was an apostle of Christ, wrote Timothy to “stir into flame” the gift of the Spirit which had been given to him when Paul laid his hands on him.  Perhaps Timothy, hearing that Paul was imprisoned because of his preaching, hesitated to be a public witness and wanted to withdrawn from ministry because he didn’t want to be ridiculed or end up in prison because of his faith in Christ. Timothy, young in the faith, needed Paul’s encouragement to be bold rather than allowing fears to control his life. Avoiding ridicule is a strong temptation we all face. Who wants to be embarrassed or humiliated in front of others? Paul tells Timothy to overcome this fear by reminding him of the gifts of power, love and self-control that the Holy Spirit has implanted in his heart. The gifts of the Spirit can lie dormant unless we exercise them regularly and make them an active element in our lives. Timothy can be an effective witness to the Resurrection of Christ if he would move through his fears. Notice, Paul does not tell Timothy to deny his fears but to move courageously through them.

Courage isn’t about having no fear. It’s about being afraid and doing what needs to be done anyway. Like Timothy we have our fears. We can fear loss or failure. We can fear death. We can fear rejection or criticism. We can fear uncertainty. We can fear heights. We can fear many things about life. Paul reminds us that our task is to acknowledge the fears, and then to run past them with the courage of the Holy Spirit and do what needs to be done. Maya Angelou likens the process of developing courage to exercising and strengthening a muscle: “I don’t believe anyone is born with courage. You develop it in small ways.” The gifts of the Spirit can lie dormant unless we exercise them regularly and make them an active dynamic in our lives.

Fr. Don Webber, C.P., is the Director of the Office of Mission Effectiveness and resides in Chicago.

Scripture:

Acts 15:22-31
John 15:12-17

Reflection:

Both Scripture readings for today speak about relationships. In our Gospel reading, Jesus gives a commandment to His disciples: “love one another as I love you.” And then He tells them what kind of love that is: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” I think it is important to note that Jesus’ love for us does not depend on whether we obey His commandments. There is no way we can earn God’s love! But Jesus does tell us is that if we want to develop our relationship with Him, we will follow His commandment to love.

The more we love others as Jesus loves us, the deeper our relationship with Him will be. Are we willing to have that kind of relationship with Jesus? To answer “Yes” carries certain implications. It carries implications about how we are to pray. Jesus also says, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.” When we have a close relationship to Jesus, we will find ourselves praying not for things we want, but for what we need to “bear fruit.”

To have a deeper relationship with Christ carries implications about how we relate to each other. In our first reading from Acts, the leaders of the Church in Jerusalem send two messengers along with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch with a decision about whether Christians had to first be circumcised according to the covenant with Abraham. In the letter they sent, the leaders wrote: “It is the decision of the holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities…” A good criterion indicating our love for others may be whether we are trying to place burdens on them that are not necessary. Too often we see people burdened by poverty and discrimination and oppression.

Jesus’ commandment to love cannot be taken lightly. But the more we strive to follow His commandment, the deeper and richer our relationships will be with God, each other, and all of creation.

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

Scripture:

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

Reflection:

“Woman, why are you weeping?”  She said to them, “They have taken my Lord,
and I don’t know where they laid him.”  When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus.  Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?  Whom are you looking for?”  She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!”

I have always enjoyed Easter Week and, for as long as I can remember, I have always loved this wonderful Gospel passage from the 20^th chapter of John’s Gospel.  Quite simply, these few verses evoke a sense of powerful loss followed by a compelling awareness of discovery and new life.  I hear in Mary Magdalene’s voice a plaintive cry from one who is still in such shock at the loss of her Lord that she is on the verge of panic and despair.  Yet, with only a word spoken from the mouth of Jesus, “Mary”, her eyes are opened and a whole new awareness begins in her life.  A simple calling out of her name by one who loved her so very much and her life is changed forever!  For me, this is almost like a second resurrection except that this time it is profoundly personal and intimate, almost as if Mary Magdalene was singled out to be another special bearer of the unbelievable news of the resurrection.

We are all invited to listen for that calling of our name by the Risen Lord and we must listen carefully or we may miss it.  But one thing I know, if we do hear the Lord call us by name, like Mary Magdalene, we will never be the same again!

Continued blessings for you all during this wonderful Easter Season and may the joy of the Resurrection fill your hearts with great peace.

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