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Daily Scripture, September 25, 2015

Scripture:Cross Trio

Haggai 2:1-9
Luke 9:18-22

Reflection:

In our first reading from the prophet Haggai, the prophet exhorts the people to continue the work of rebuilding the Temple. Although what has been done seems like nothing compared to the temple that Solomon built, God promises through Haggai that “Greater will be the future glory of this house than the former.” God also promises “And in this house I will give you peace.” For me, perhaps because of all that is going on in our country and in our world, that promise of peace is the most striking piece of the prophecy.

In our Gospel reading from Luke, Jesus asks His disciples what the people are saying about Him. And then He asks, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter replies, “The Messiah of God.” Peter’s confession of faith presents several questions to us: “Who is Jesus for us? Can we find God’s promise of peace in Christ? Can we find peace in that Jesus died and rose from the dead so that we need neither be slaves to sin nor afraid of death? Can we find peace in following Jesus?”

Our faith tells us that following Jesus can bring us peace, even though we may encounter suffering and sorrow. To know that God loves us beyond our imagination because the Son of God sacrificed Himself for our salvation can bring us peace in the midst of any crisis we may be experiencing. No matter what may be going on, nothing or no one can take away what Jesus has done for us! If we can find peace in that, then the things that may be weighing us down need not do us in! Jesus is our Messiah. He is our peace.

 

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P. is on staff at St. Paul of the Cross Retreat and Conference Center, Detroit, Michigan. 

Daily Scripture, September 17, 2015

Scripture:Window light

1 Timothy 4:12-16
Luke 7:36-50

Reflection:

A certain Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him, and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. Luke 7:36

As the Evangelist Luke begins this account of a home visit that Jesus is making, in today’s Gospel, we are unaware of the drama that is about to unfold. With these simple words, Luke is letting us know that Jesus is again entering a home for yet another dinner, at the invitation of prominent dignitary by the name of Simon. There is no hint of what is truly happening as Jesus enters this home, and what was behind this “invitation” to Jesus. What takes place truly surprises us.

Many of us have been caught in social situations that we find “difficult.” I don’t know how many times people have asked me about going to social events, like weddings, after they have been invited, knowing that the welcoming will be missing and that those who invited you will probably be rude. We dread being put on the spot and we dread being put into a situation that may provoke us into reactions that may make us lose control. We would rather avoid them.

Jesus probably knew that this dinner invitation was not extended from the heart, but from a position of social advantage. Simon may have wanted to show his social circle that his money and position was prominent enough to bring Jesus into his home. But Simon was just about to find out that inviting Jesus into your home and having him recline at table with you is not enough. He needed to welcome Jesus as a loving friend worthy of all of the signs of welcome that are extended to even strangers. What Simon thought was going to be a social triumph, turned into a social disaster for him.

As the meal progressed, a woman who had no place at Simon’s table found a place in Jesus’ heart. Known as a public sinner, this woman may have had a prior encounter with Jesus that changed her life completely. Maybe she was present at the Sermon on the Plains, which took place a chapter before in Luke’s Gospel. Her conversion was total. Jesus’ words changed her life. She was no longer going to live a life of dependency on addiction and sin. She was turning over her life to God. She kissed Jesus’ feet, washed them with her tears and anointed him with precious perfume that she no longer needed.

What a contrast to Simon! He didn’t receive Jesus with a kiss of welcome, did not offer him water for his tired feet and did not anoint him with the common oil of welcome. And Luke, the master of irony, has Simon thinking: if only Jesus knew what kind of woman this sinner was who was making such a display of affection for him! Well, Jesus did know. She was a sinner who turned her life around and now she was completely devoted to Jesus, her Savior. But Jesus also knew what kind of person Simon was.

So, Jesus did not hesitate entering into difficult social situations. They became occasions of healing for those who needed his loving presence there. We may want to rethink about being invited to attend difficult social situations. They are not really about us, but about the Grace of God!

 

Fr. Clemente Barrón, C.P. is stationed in Citrus Heights, California.

Daily Scripture, September 15, 2015

Memorial of Our Lady of SorrowsOur Lady of Sorrows

Scripture:

1 Timothy 3:1-13
John 19:25-27

Reflection:

No mother should have to experience what Mary did as she watched her Son die. Is the actuality worse than a mother can imagine?  Think of the women of the disappeared in Argentina not knowing how their loved ones died, or the pain of the mothers and wives of the men and boys of Srebrenica as the mass graves are dug up. It is often women who must live with the horror of war and violence.

Other gospel writers mention the presence of the women at Golgotha, but it is John who explicitly tells us that Mary and the beloved disciple stood by the cross and who gives us Jesus’ words: “Woman. behold, your son” and to the disciple whom Jesus loved: “Behold, your mother.”

Mary stood, “Stabat Mater” Her eyes must have been riveted on his face, her heart torn by sorrow. Then their eyes meet and Jesus spoke and gave Mary the beloved disciple as her son. Then, addressing the disciple: “Behold, your mother”.

Mary, may I appreciate you as my mother. May I go to you with my doubts and fears. May I confidently trust in your loving care for me. Help me to have a compassionate heart as I see Jesus suffering in the crucified of today.

Be with me always and at the hour of my death. Amen.

 

Fr. Michael Hoolahan, C.P. is on the staff of Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

 

 

Daily Scripture, September 12, 2015

Scripture:Fifth Sunday of Lent - menu

1 Timothy 1:15-17
Luke 6:43-49

Reflection:

From the time we were young, we were always taught to act toward others how we would want them to act toward us.  Even if those actions toward us are evil, we are taught to forgive as Jesus did.  As Timothy stated in today’s reading, “Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life.”  Even the person with hatred in his heart can, in time, open his heart to accept the grace and goodness of the love Jesus has for us.

In the gospel, Jesus speaks of the goodness or evil in our hearts,  “every tree is known by its own fruit.”  In the goodness of our hearts, we can be the source of goodness toward others.  But, if a person has only evil and hatred in their hearts, they are the source of evil and hatred toward others.   We see the goodness of the actions of others; we want to get to know them because of their goodness.  When we seek out the goodness in others is it our way of seeking Christ?

How is the foundation of our faith?  Is it strong enough to withstand any crisis or storm that seeks to shatter that faith, or will it be completely destroyed?  Can we allow ourselves to be enveloped in God’s grace knowing that his love for us will ultimately save us?  Who in our lives do we need to forgive?

 

Claire Smith is the director of communications at Holy Cross Province Development Office in Park Ridge, Illinois.

Daily Scripture, September 6, 2015

Scripture:Sunrise Praying

Isaiah 35:4-7a
James 2:1-5
Mark 7:31-37

Reflection:

The miracle that Jesus performs for the man who was deaf and had a speech impediment is more than a miracle story. There is a teaching that Mark is imparting. Though the man was cured of these physical hindrances, Mark is offering a deeper message.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises. Our ever faithful God, as Isaiah records, will open the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf; the lame will leap like a stag and the tongue of the mute will sing. Jesus is God acting in our midst.

We can take this further by associating this story to the Sacrament of Baptism. In the old Rite of Baptism the priest would touch the ears of the one being baptized, as Mark describes Jesus doing. In Baptism we receive the gift of the Spirit and are incorporated into the Body of Christ, the Church. Is Mark telling us that as followers of Christ we are to keep our ears open to hear the Word of God and our tongue loosened to speak about Christ to others? In baptism we are committed to the way of Christ. This commitment entails a growing openness to hear what Jesus says to us and a growing ability to share our faith with others.

Like the people in the Gospel story and the disciples at Pentecost, if our being a Christian is truly a deep experience of listening to God’s presence in our midst, noticing all that God does in the world around us, we too could not keep ourselves from letting other people know. Do we recognize the voice of God calling to us in the many changing situations, both good and bad, that happen to us, to our family, to our society?

Did we hear the message from today’s second reading? Do we judge people by externals? Do we treat some people as important and ignore others who are lower on the social ladder? Do we discriminate in other areas, like religion, race, sex, occupation? What is our attitude to wealth and poverty and how do my actions compare with the way Christ acted?

We pray that our ears remain open to hearing the voice of God calling to us in everything that happens to us. We pray for the gift of speech that we simply cannot refrain from sharing the Good News with those around us.

 

Fr. Don Webber, C.P., resides in Chicago.

Daily Scripture, August 25, 2015

Scripture:Window light

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Matthew 23:23-26

Reflection:

Today the Church celebrates the lives St. Louis, King of France, a crusader, a defender of justice, and patron of the needy; and St. Joseph Calasanz, a theologian and canonist, who was devoted to the education of the poor.  Many of St. Joseph Calasanz’s contemporaries were disturbed because learning would make the poor restless with their plight.

Matthew was writing about an argument in his community.  There was a dispute between the Rabbis of the school of Hillel and the school of Shammai.  One school of thought proposed that one-tenth of the produce of the land was to be tithed.  This would be any increase in livestock, fruit trees, oil, and wine.  The other school of thought said that not only was the above to be tithed, but also “mint, dill, and cumin.”  Matthew’s comment was they “filtered out the gnat while swallowing a camel whole!”

Matthew pronounces a number of “woes.”  He says the Scribes and Pharisees were concerned about “the outside of the cup and the plate.”  They were more concerned with “external cleanliness than with interior cleanliness.”  He goes on to say, they were like “whitewashed sepulchers” nice to look at from the outside, but they were contaminated on the inside.  Tombs were whitewashed so that people could see them even in the night and would avoid them.  To get close to a tomb made one ritually unclean.  Whereas, they should be concerned with the larger realities of Justice, Mercy, and Faithfulness.  He continues to say that “purity” and “integrity” are a matter of the heart.

Paul in his message to the Thessalonians has a similar message to Matthew’s.  The Thessalonians were caught up in -uttering prophecies, divine oracles, forging letters, and concocting rumors of the “second coming.”  Paul encouraged them to be people of courage, in the face of opposition, please God rather than other humans, avoid flattering and greed, be gentle and minister with those you have been called to share your life after the examples of Saints Louis and Joseph Calasanz.  Amen.

 

Father Ken O’Malley, C.P., is the local superior at Holy Name Passionist Community in Houston, Texas.

Daily Scripture, August 20, 2015

MDRC Sunset StationScripture:
Judges 11:29-39a
Matthew 22:1-14

 

Reflection:

The images that are evoked in our imaginations by the scripture readings today are not for the faint of heart!  The story from Judges about Jephthah and his daughter is dark and frightening.  It is reminiscent of the story of Abraham and his son in Genesis…but without the happy ending!  It’s hard to imagine a loving father who would be willing to sacrifice the life of his young daughter as a “burnt offering” to the Lord.  But, we are told, that’s exactly what Jephthah did to fulfill a vow he had made to God.

In the Gospel, we recall one of the parables of Jesus.  Not one of his gentle parables but one of his most violent ones.  A King destroys those who violently refuse to accept his invitation to his son’s wedding.  Then, he has his servants go out and invite to the wedding feast whoever they find.  The wedding hall is filled with guests, the “bad and good alike.”  However, the King has his servants evict a guest who has not come to the feast appropriately dressed.  They are to “bind his hands and his feet, and cast him into the darkness outside.”

Taken together these very different but violent stories caution us about taking our commitments to God too casually.  The tragedy of Jephthah shows what can happen when we make commitments to God without sufficient thought.  The fate of the Kings’ reluctant wedding guests illustrates what can happen when we refuse to honor our relationship with God.  Both attitudes lead to darkness, heartbreak and tragedy.

There is more than an echo of the cost of God’s commitment to us in the story from Judges.  God gives his only Son so that we can have eternal life.  As we ponder the various consequences of commitment, both God’s and our own, we pray that we can have the courage and perseverance to live out faithfully the commitments we’ve made to God and to one another.

 

Father Michael Higgins, C.P. is the director of Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Daily Scripture, August 17, 2015

Scripture:desert
Judges 2:11-19
Matthew 19:16-22

Reflection:

The Israelites are living in the Promised Land.  They are mixed in with many other peoples with different customs, religions, practices, etc.  They have no central government.  Rather, each tribe lives on its piece of territory.  They come together if one or more tribes get in trouble.  God raises up spiritual and military leaders, called the Judges, in time of crises.

The days of purity of faith, fashioned in their desert journey, are gone.  The Israelites are attracted and enticed by the cultures around them.  They are so diluting their faith that they are becoming an abomination to their Covenant God.   God allows their enemies to overpower them and harm them.  If they can make the association of this punishment to their sinfulness, then they can repent and God will bring good back into their lives.

Even though the stories of God mighty acts are told to them and handed down from generation to generation and remembered and re-enacted in their feast-day liturgies, the stimuli of the present, quickly blur and distance them from a sense of God’s presence.  They drift into the oblivion and faithlessness of the present moment.

Doesn’t this sound a lot like what is happening in our Western culture today.  We are absolutely being buried under this, that and another, often needless gadget.  Images, sounds, numbing and shallow philosophies of life, identity denying theories, political parties imprisoned in their ideologies, relativism running rampant and on and on we can go.  Even though the faith we grew up with years ago was not “desert pure”, it was certainly more “God orientating” than what so many people have today.

Jesus has us left with his Church, WORD AND SACRAMENT.  The Word seems to mean something to some but Sacrament struggles to breath and survive.  The intensity and simplicity of Sacrament, no longer has a strong attraction.  Maybe God will have to wipe the slate of our society clean through punishment before we can see again the etches of God’s law that has become buried underneath.

Jesus also left us with his Church, the Holy Spirit.  Come Holy Spirit, renew the face of the earth!

 

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

 

 

 

 

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