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Scripture:

Jonah 3:1-5
1 Corinthians 7:29-31
Mark 1:14-20

Reflection:

John, the Baptist’ ministry seemed to be focused on inviting people to experience God’s forgiveness and mercy for them. No matter where they have been, they were still welcome. The Israelites had to cross Jordan to enter into the Promised Land. Inviting people into the waters of Jordan to be cleansed of their sins, John was offering them the Promised Land – New Life with God.

Jesus picks up from where John left. Like John, He too invites people to ‘Repent and believe’ – but in a different way.  He is offering his very own self. He is inviting people to share in his life…that they may have life! Embedded in this Call, of course, is the pre-requisite of a ‘metanoia‘ – a change of heart, a change of direction and priorities in life. It is not merely saying, "I am sorry," but also promising, "I will change my life." Simon, Andrew, James and John in the Gospel today respond to this call. However, it will take them and the rest of the Apostles a while to really understand and follow that call. Between now and then, they will go through various challenges in responding to the invitation that Jesus offers them.

The Book of Jonah was written around the 5^th century B.C. after the Babylonian exile. Some of the Jews were quite nationalistic, filled with a smug sense of their superiority over all other nations. Like Jonah, they wished God would destroy the nations they perceived as His enemies. For Jonah, the Ninevites were terrible people doing terrible things. He would literally flee when God calls him to go preach repentance to these people. He hesitantly obeyed after being delivered by sea mail back to Nineveh – and he was disappointed seeing the ready response of that evil city to God’s message of repentance and a change of life! Jonah had not even finished the first day of his preaching journey before the people had totally turned around- doing visible penance while asking and hoping for God’s love, reconciliation and forgiveness. Contrary to Jonah’s expectations, the pagan peoples of the city "believed in God" and "renounced their evil behavior". But perhaps the greater change, the more radical turnabout, happened in Jonah himself.  Jonah had been an arrogant, narrow-minded prophet.  But he finally realized that God’s love is not limited – God’s forgiveness is not to be contained – God’s offer of salvation is for all – and we’d best not thwart it.

In many ways, probably, the story of Jonah and the apostles is our story too. We struggle with our call, which we got through our Baptism, as we move along our journey of faith. There are times when we don’t understand. But God comes back to us in the most unexpected ways; He uses us for others in the most unexpected ways. What God needs is not our ability, but our availability. What Jesus teaches His disciples is not a course of study, but a way of life to follow. He doesn’t call the qualified; He calls and then qualifies.

 

Fr. Bruno D’Souza, CP, is on the staff at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

Hebrews 10:19-25
Mark 4:21-25

Reflection:

"Jesus said to his disciples, is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand?"

Today’s question from Jesus seems like a common sense approach on how to handle a lamp; sort of like a book called "Lamp Placement for Dummies".   Why would anyone put a lamp in a room and hide it under a bushel basket?  Yet in my life of faith I sometimes hide the light with a bushel basket of my own making!

I take the wondrous light, the inner knowledge that we are all one in God, each other and creation, and stuff it away out of sight under a bushel basket of self-serving rules, rituals and religious biases which divide rather than unite.  Jesus prayed that we all might be one.  Sometimes it seems we use everything possible to make sure that does not happen on our watch! We respond to the signs of our times by hiding our light, emphasizing division rather than unity.

It is easy to "exclude" rather than "include" in our world.  It certainly can make us feel safer if we dictate who can come to our table to eat and who cannot. 

It is a good day for me to reflect on what I am using as a "bushel basket" to hide the light of God in myself, others and creation.  What is my bushel basket and why am I using it to hide the light?

 

Terry McDevitt, Ph.D. is a member of our Passionist Family in Louisville, Kentucky.

Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas,
Priest and Doctor of the Church

Scripture:

Hebrews 10:11-18
Mark 4:1-20

Reflection:

Today we celebrate the memorial feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, revered among many as one of the churches’ greatest theologians and philosophers.  He joined the Order of Preachers much to the disappointment of his family who wanted him to follow the family tradition of becoming a Benedictine.  Thomas taught, wrote learned books, and contributed in an outstanding way to philosophy and theology.  His mentor and teacher was St. Albert the Great, also an accomplished member of the Dominican community.

I was taught by Dominicans in my early years and grew up to learn the importance of Thomas Aquinas especially as a learned teacher and preacher.  He is known as the patron of all Catholic educational establishments.  I was privileged to study, learn and pray with Dominicans during my years of formation in lay ministry.  Aquinas College and Dominican Center at Marywood in Grand Rapids, MI as well as Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology hold special memories for me as times of profound spiritual and academic growth all under the patronage of Thomas Aquinas.  Some of my first theology courses were taken at Aquinas College.  I completed an internship in spiritual direction at Marywood and I spent many hours in prayer and celebration in Thomas Aquinas Chapel at Saint Meinrad during my course work leading to completion of graduate studies.  The great St. Thomas Aquinas has inspired and challenged many in academia and spirituality over the years and continues to this day.

In reflecting on my past and present experiences of learning and growing in my faith, I am drawn to the words of scripture found in today’s first reading from the Book of Wisdom:

"I prayed, and prudence was given me:/I pleaded, and the spirit of Wisdom came to me."  Wisdom 7:70

I continue to pray for wisdom and guidance from the great spirit who inspired Thomas Aquinas and all who walk this journey of faith. As we reflect on the many gifts Aquinas has blessed our church with on this his memorial feast, may we recommit ourselves to higher learning and living a faith-filled life.

Saint Thomas Aquinas, continue to inspire us to be steadfast in our quest for ongoing knowledge and the pursuit of an ever-deepening faith life.  Amen.

 

Theresa Secord is a Pastoral Associate at St. Agnes Parish, Louisville, Kentucky.

 

Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus

Scripture:

2 Timothy 1:1-8 or Titus 1:1-5
Mark 3:22-30

Reflection:

I’m not sure how mail delivery worked in the first century A.D.  When he receives a letter from St. Paul that we hear in today’s reading, Timothy was serving as bishop in Ephesus.  He had to be thrilled! Paul had a deep and enduring friendship with Timothy, whose feast we celebrate today along with Titus. Paul and Timothy were partners in ministry in establishing the early churches. 

Getting a letter from his friend and mentor must have made Timothy’s day.  Those early years in the church were tough and contentious.  I am sure Timothy often felt overwhelmed and battered, pulled in too many directions.  Then at the end of a long day he opens a letter from a friend who has known his own troubles.  He must have felt wonderful in reading Paul’s words: "I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day."

My work as a fundraising consultant focuses on helping organizations establish and nurture important relationship with those women and men who want to make a difference in the world through their partnership with organizations that provide important services.  Nothing helps solidify and deepen a relationship like a sincere and heart-felt letter.  Not an email.  Not a tweet or Instagram.  Not a Facebook update, but a personal letter, even better if handwritten.

We hear of the woes of the U.S. Postal Service and how mail volume has decreased, especially for first-class letters.  But I still delight in the occasional personal letter.  I can spot my mother’s handwriting immediately.  I can sense by its size a personal thank you note.  It’s not really the words that matter, but the thoughtfulness.

I’m going to write a personal note to someone special today.  No particular reason; just to encourage and say thank you.  Maybe you can try it.  You’ll be in fine company…not with me, but with St. Paul.

 

Robert Hotz is a consultant with American City Bureau, Inc. and is the Director of The Passion of Christ: The Love That Compels Campaign for Holy Cross Province.

Memorial of St. Francis de Sales

Scripture:

Hebrews 9:2-3, 11-14
Mark 3:20-21

Reflection:

Twenty five years ago I had the opportunity to visit the tomb of Francis de Sales in the Visitation convent overlooking Lake Annecy in France. It was one of those unforgettable moments for me. Francis was that beautiful combination of tremendous holiness and a highly educated and cultured priest.  Many were touched by the inspiring words and example of this warm and approachable man including canonized saints like St Vincent de Paul and St Jeanne de Chantal.  St Paul of the Cross was deeply inspired by his teaching on prayer.

He was a gentle man with tremendous apostolic zeal. "Nothing is as strong as gentleness, nothing as gentle as real strength." One is still impressed by his prodigious efforts to bring back multitudes of fallen away Catholics.

He was a very good preacher.  Often he had trouble getting into the church where he was to preach. There were such great crowds he could not get to the pulpit. He was a great writer whose works are still widely read and cherished.  He is the patron of the printed word. He founded a religious order. He was among the best spiritual directors of the Church. By any reasonable standards he was among the busiest of God’s people.

All this activity did not stop him from being a wonderful man of prayer.  He was insistent on this key for spiritual life.  Here is one of his famous quips:  "Half an hour’s meditation each day is essential, except when you are busy. Then a full hour is needed."   He shares with us how to begin at prayer: "By turning your eyes on God in meditation, your whole soul will be filled with God. Begin all your prayers in the presence of God."

For us who live in a frenetic world we can look to Francis de Sales as a modern guide who lived a long time ago.   "Retire at various times into the solitude of your own heart, even while outwardly engaged in discussions or transactions with others, and talk to God."

 

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

 

Memorial of St. Agnes

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 1:26-31
Matthew 13:44-46

Reflection:

The story connected to St. Agnes is a Christian update of the classical confrontation of David and Goliath, and it comes down to what each of them saw each of them saw as they approached one another in an epic confrontation.  Goliath, a giant of a man, saw a relatively puny opponent approaching him, and despised him as an inferior.  David, a ruddy youth, paid little attention to the size of the warrior in his line of vision, as he searched the desert floor trying to catch sight of just the right-sized stone for his slingshot.  Both found what they were looking for, but David’s eyesight paid off more handsomely.

St. Agnes had David’s kind of eyesight.  She saw an opportunity for God to stand at her side and not cower before the menacing Roman executioner in the line of her vision.  The soldier, for his part, pitied the frail girl he saw before her as he prepared to dispatch her quickly with his sword.  It could well be that Agnes and the soldier both enjoyed excellent eyesight, but they focused their vision on different objects: Agnes saw strength, the soldier saw weakness.  Agnes had better eyesight.

She was like the real estate mogul in Matthew’s gospel story today, who saw a piece of land that seemed promising to him.  So he explored the plot, and saw, to his delight, that his realty instincts were on target, for he found a treasure buried there, prodding him to sell all his assets to buy that field.  The property he saw fulfilled his professional hunch that his lucky day had come.  His property instincts served him in the same way as the merchant Jesus spoke about on this same occasion, who explored the bazaar and found what he saw and judged to be "a pearl of great price", motivating him to do the same thing as the other, selling all he had to purchase it.  Both of these men had great instincts, leading them to trust what they saw.

So, it’s a question of eyesight:  what does one see?  The policeman sitting in his squad car in Ferguson, Missouri, saw a hulking giant of a man approaching him, and he didn’t like what he saw.  The ensuing melee was the consequence of eyesight: was it faulty vision, or was it penetrating and accurate?  And the same question presents itself to all of us.  What do we see?  Is our vision impaired, or is it accurate?  What accounts for the vision enjoyed by David, or Agnes, or the land agent, or the merchant?  For the latter two (and the police officer??) it was likely instinct as well as vision.  For David and Agnes it was the counterpart of physical eyesight: faith.

Their faith in the presence of a loving and caring God, even in extreme circumstances, was like the medicinal drops the oculist places in our eyes, clarifying what had been shadowy or murky, enabling us to see quite clearly what had been blurred before.   David saw a promising stone for his slingshot rather than the size of his opponent, just as Agnes saw God present at her side rather than the weapon of the executioner.  Both had faith in God, crowding out other sights, no matter how fearful.

So it is on this memorial of St. Agnes that the pope presents bishops the vestment called the pallium to those becoming metropolitan bishops over their region, so named because the pallium is made of sheepskin, from the animal called "agnus" in Latin.  The name Agnus derives from that and is invoked at communion time, in the eucharist: "Behold the Lamb of God (Agnus Dei) Who takes away the sins of the world…").   Hopefully, the pallium bestows on the new metropolitan bishops the faith to see, in the discharge of their duties, as clearly as David and Agnes.

 

Fr. Sebastian MacDonald, C.P. is a member of the Passionist formation community at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago. 

Scripture:

Hebrews 6:10-20
Mark 2:23-28

Reflection:

"Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?"

No one of us would ever tolerate a baker who would cheat on the ingredients for his products.   There is a basic honesty that motivates each and all of us who have promised to do something for another.   Move this along and bring in promises that we make to one another.   Married couples make it very clear that their concern for each other is going to see them through "the better and the worse," the richer and the poorer" quality of life, and, finally, "in health and sickness."   A member of a family knows very well that being a family member asks for cooperation from all the members of the family.  A Religious Community needs the recognition and acceptance and lived out commitment of interdependence  to  make a Religious Community a living reality. 

Many people look at individuals, or couples, or family members or Religious Communities and ask, "Why in the world did you do that? "  And many times the response is, "Why in the world would you ask a question like that?   Why wouldn’t I have done that!"  –Something helpful or good was done.

So how does this all fit together and tie in with the quote from the gospel of today’s Mass?   David was concerned with his men.   They were hungry and the only thing evidently available was the bread in the temple.   But…that was set aside exclusively for the priests of the temple.   No one else was allowed to eat it.  Laws are laws.  They are to be kept.   Chaos brings confusion and, many times, danger.  

What has struck me by the story told by Jesus of the incident about David and his companions is that sometimes some of us get so glued to our own needs that we cannot see the needs in others.   The Pharisees got stuck to the law.   They are blinded by the law.  They can’t see their neighbor, let alone God.   The accent is on the externals that draw the attention of people to themselves. 

How many times I have heard people in the confessional say they didn’t attend Mass on a Sunday, only to find out that they had to rush a sick person to an emergency room.   Or another person had a very sick baby that needed mother’s care.   Dad made it to Mass and prayed for the family but Mom stayed home.   Or a couple were just about to get in their car to attend evening Mass on Sunday only to see an elderly neighbor fall while coming down her porch steps.   Racing to her aid gobbles up their time.   They didn’t loose contact with the Eucharistic Jesus. Their Mass…a press of a hand and a whispered thanks from a neighbor now resting in her bed with her grateful husband at her side.   …"… I had fallen.  And you did it for Me." 

From time to time we all find ourselves in situations that call for help.   Conflicts arise.   We can’t do two things.   I dare say that Jesus is right there at our side as we reach out to bring help or comfort to someone in need.   Can we even say that we have become Eucharist to others in a time of need.   Is this an instance of knowing what love is all about as friends and followers of Jesus.    From time to time that can happen. 

 

Fr. Peter Berendt, C.P. is a member of St. Paul of the Cross Community in Detroit, Michigan.

Scripture:

Hebrews 5:1-10
Mark 2:18-22

Reflection:

"Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine and skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins." Mark 2:22

In the late 80s, I read a book by Sister Sandra Schneiders, New Wineskins: Re-Imagining Religious Life. This book was welcomed by many who were looking for a message of hope in the midst of the dire predictions of the demise of religious life. Schneiders took the saying of Jesus found in today’s Gospel, "new wine is poured into fresh wineskins" and presented it as the reason for our hope. Her message was that the Church is not dead. Religious life is not dead. Our faith is not dead. It just needs "fresh wineskins."

We needed to renew ourselves as followers of Jesus and as disciples of our founders by pouring the new wine that we were producing into fresh wineskins. This insight became the inspiration to reimage the Church, our religious communities and ourselves. It was calling for a conversion of mind and heart, just as Jesus was in his day.

The image of putting new wine into fresh wineskins is a powerful one. It is life-giving. It is hopeful. It is sustaining and nourishing. The old wineskins contained good wines. This wine gladden the lives and hearts of many people. It served the needs of the people of its day, of its time. But new wine is being produced as a new generation of disciples said "yes" to Jesus’ call, as we see in the Gospel. Therefore, we needed new wineskins.

We know this from our own personal experience. We know when the wine that has brought us to this point in life has run out and thus we need new wine. We also know that we need new wineskins to put this new wine into. It is a new day, it is a new challenge and it is a new beginning. It is only fitting that we should have new wineskins to allow our new wine to mature.

Today, we also celebrate the accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King. When he was alive, he was the new wine that called for new wineskins. He knew that the new wine that was fermenting all over the United States needed new laws, new norms and above all, a conversion of heat that would create a better society, a society where all men and women, boys and girls, Catholics, Protestants, Muslins, Jews and atheists, could hold hands as brothers and sisters. This is what Jesus called "The Reign of God."

As we look back upon our own lives, we can reflect upon the many times we have ruined the new wine that our life is producing by putting it back into old wineskins. Not only do we ruin the new wine, we also ruin the old wineskins. When we reform our lives, realize what the good things of life are about, who really is important to us, then we know we cannot pour this new wine into old wineskins. A new mindset is needed. New attitudes are needed. New behaviors are needed. Then this new wine will be worth serving.

Once the old wine is gone, we begin anew. We discover that we need to love more, forgive more, respect more, serve more and be a public witness to God’s Goodness. And to do this, we need new wineskins.

Let us toast to the God who knows how to make good wine! May we be fresh wineskins to God’s new wine!

 

Fr. Clemente Barrón, C.P. is a member of Immaculate Conception Community in Chicago, Illinois.