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Feast of Saint Charles Borromeo

Scripture:

Philippians 2:5-11
Luke 14:15-24

 

 

 

Reflection:

An Invitation…

Today’s Gospel selection includes Jesus’ parable of a generous man giving a great dinner, inviting many – and yet "one by one, they all began to excuse themselves."  The excuses offered for not participating in the festive dinner were varied, and perhaps even ridiculous; those first invited were replaced by others from the streets at and alleys – the poor, the crippled, the blind, the lame, folks from the highways and hedgerows.  The message?  God freely offers us the gift of faith in Jesus and Life eternal; we are free to accept or reject that invitation…with far-reaching, long-term consequences!

Saint Paul writes the Philippians and summarizes the heart of our faith in Jesus:  He came in human likeness, served humanity and humbled himself even to his sacrificial death on the cross.  We believers are privileged to "bend our knee" at the name of Jesus, and confess aloud that Jesus Christ is Lord.  This dynamic faith calls for courage as we share in the Cross of Jesus – a courage nurtured in personally meditating upon the cross of Jesus as did St. Paul of the Cross, Founder of the Passionists.

The invitation to faith and a life of service was shared with St. Charles Borromeo — a zealous man of the 16^th Century Church, credited for helping reform the Church in a variety of ways.

As a bishop and Cardinal, Charles was one to encourage the intellectual and moral growth of clergy and religious, especially in forming new seminaries.  He also helped author the catechism that was called for during the Council of Trent and started the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) for children’s growth in their faith.  He held many special meetings in his home diocese of Milan, seeking to incorporate the message and teachings of the Council of Trent.  In all this, he reached out to the poor and needy of his day, sacrificing wealth, honor and influence to serve them – even in the challenges of the plagues and famines of his day, ministering to the sick, the hungry, and the dying.  Truly a zealous man during his relatively short 46 years of life!

We are personally invited by Jesus to the table of the Eucharist and lives of service.  It’s up to each of us to accept this invitation as women and men of faith – and to generously live our vocations as true disciples and faithful citizens of the world.  With God’s help, we can bypass excuses and respond with a lived, resounding "yes!" as did Charles Borromeo and countless others we recently celebrated in the feast of All Saints.  With St. Paul, we lovingly proclaim:  "Jesus is Lord!"

 

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

 

Scripture:

Philippians 2:1-4
Luke 14:12-14

Reflection:

"When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind" Luke 14: 11-13

In the first reading today we are invited to be one in spirit with our brothers and sisters and to humbly regard others as more important than ourselves. Here is one example of how we can do that.

We know a family who for years on Thanksgiving morning had a special breakfast. They didn’t invite their close friends, rather, they invited the people at church they had met who didn’t have family in the area or who didn’t have family at all. What a glorious mix of humanity they found at their table each year and how blessed they all were sharing that morning of food and fellowship together.

What a simple way to do as the scriptures tell us today and glorify God by cultivating generous, humble hearts open to the least of our brethren. Thank you God for inspirations such as these to help us walk more closely with You.

 

 Janice Carleton and her husband Jim live in Portland, OR and partner with Passionist Fr. Cedric Pisegna in Fr. Cedric Ministries. She is the mother of 4 grown children and grandmother of 6. Janice also leads women’s retreats and recently wrote her first book: God Speaks to Ordinary People – Like You and Me. Visit Janice’s website at http://www.janicecarleton.com/ or email her at [email protected].

 

All Souls Day

Scripture:

Wisdom 3:1-9
Romans 5:5-11 or 6:3-9
John 6:37-40

 

 

Reflection:

Once again our liturgical year brings us to the commemoration of all the saints, and the commemoration of the faithful departed.  In some way, it is the same cycle of life that we experience from year to year.  We rejoice in the birth of our children and grandchildren (and great-grandchildren), and we surrender to God the lives of our loved ones.  For most of our Catholic people, the birth of a child is an event that calls for celebration.  For many of our Catholic families, the death of a loved one can be the most profoundly felt loss in a person’s life, or it may be the great act of faith that accompanies our deliberate "letting go" of a person beloved in life, but no longer able to sustain the stress of biological life.

One of the readings offered for today’s celebration of the Eucharist, is the passage from Paul’s letter to the Romans, Chapter 6, verses 3 and 4: Or are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.

This passage is followed shortly afterwards by verse 8: If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.

I was struck by the contrast in these two passages which speak of our being "baptized into Christ Jesus" and being "baptized into his death". While in verse 8, a different relationship with Christ is named, "we have died with Christ" that we may "live with him."

In the first verses "baptized into", we are given a sense of motion, direction, action.  The Greek preposition is "eis", into.  Our lives are given a pattern of living which is to draw more closely into the mystery of Jesus’ life, which begins with and is made possible by our baptism.  We "seek the Lord", into whose life we have been joined, and into whose experience of death we, too, shall journey.

Once we have given ourselves to the seeking of the Lord in our lives, the respite we shall enjoy is that which verse 8 calls being "with" Christ.

Today’s celebration of the liturgy is a "Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed."  It’s the feast day of each one of our beloved family members and friends who have died.  It includes those who left the mortality of time generations ago, but who live on in my genes, in my culture, in my memory.  It includes my uncle Louis Arevalo, who died last month, and it includes our Fr. Bernie Weber, who died in September of this year. Today celebrates their being "with Christ", no longer journeying, no longer struggling against the obstacles encountered on the way, no longer in doubt, no longer in sorrow.  Having been baptized into the death of Christ, they now live with him.

 

Fr. Arthur Carrillo, C.P.  is the director of the Missions for Holy Cross Province.  He lives in Chicago, Illinois. 

Feast of All Saints

Scripture:

Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14
1 John 3:1-3
Matthew 5:1-12a

Reflection:

Catholic tradition has always embraced a view of the Church that stretches from earth to heaven.  Medieval theology spoke of three levels of the Church: the Church "triumphant"-those who are already in heaven; the Church "penitent"-the dead who are still under purification in purgatory on their way to heaven; and the Church "militant"-those of us still on earth struggling to overcome evil and awaiting the triumph of God’s grace in us.  On this feast of "All Saints" we honor in a special way the church "triumphant" but also celebrate the bond that ties the entire church together in the "communion of saints"!

There is something very beautiful and comforting in the church’s strong and long-lasting faith.  Despite so many indications to the contrary, we believe that our loved ones are gone but not absent.  Yes, our loved ones-our spouse, our parents, our child, our friends–are "gone" into the mystery of death and we miss them whenever their memory crosses our mind and heart.  But we also believe that they are not "absent"-but still mysteriously but genuinely present to us because death is not the last word about human destiny. 

The Song of Songs declares that "love is stronger than death" (8:6) and that, in fact, summarizes the fundamental message of the gospel.  The love we are speaking of is first of all God’s love for us.  Paul the Apostle declares to the Christian community is Rome, God first loved us while we still sinners. We don’t earn God’s love; it is freely and lavishly given through Jesus Christ (see Romans 5:1-11).  And it is because of that unbounded love of God for us that leads us to dare believe that our destiny is life unending.

And then there is our love for each other, and on this feast, our love for those who have died before us.  This love, too, is stronger than death.  Death has taken our dear ones from us but our love for them does not stop with death-our love endures, just as God’s love endures.  And so we are in communion with them-part of the great communion of saints we celebrate this day.

The Scripture readings for the Feast of All Saints have this same exuberant quality.  The Book of Revelation was written to Christian communities in western Asia Minor (present day Turkey) that were under the duress of Roman imperial rule.  The author, John the Seer, writes to them to challenge them to remain strong in their faith and to not lose hope.  In the first reading today we get a glimpse of the vision that John had of the multitudes of the saints in heaven, triumphant and joyful, praising and thanking God for the fullness of life they now enjoy.

And the second reading from the First Letter of John breaks out in praise of God’s love for us: "See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called children of God."  John speaks directly about love triumphing over death.  Even though our future destiny is a mystery for us, we do know that we will "see God as he is."   Here John evokes a very fundamental conviction of our Scriptures-that we, though human, have been created in the "image and likeness of God" (Genesis 1:26).  We have the spark of the divine within us and that spark will never die.  It is that share in the God’s own Spirit that enables us to respond to God with love and to share in God’s own life.

And finally in the gospel reading we hear the beatitudes that serve as the keynote for Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Jesus, the Son of God who himself would triumph over the power of death, declares "blessed" those who are poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who are meek-the very people that society often tramples on or ignores.  And Jesus also lifts up those qualities and virtues that lead to fullness of life: those who hunger and thirst for justice; the merciful; the peacemakers; those who are persecuted because of their faith.  To all of these Jesus gives consolation and hope-God will not abandon them.

The feast of All Saints is a day of joy and of hope.  Every human-including Jesus himself-has to wrestle with the mystery of death.  But for the Christian, because we believe in a God who is a God of love and the source of all life, we live in hope.

 

Fr. Donald Senior, C.P. is President Emeritus and Professor of New Testament at Catholic Theological Union.  He lives at the Passionist residence in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago.

 

Scripture:

Philippians 1: 1-11
Luke 14: 1-6

Reflection:

"Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath or not?"

Today’s Gospel is one of the many Sabbath miracles in Luke.  You would think Jesus’ miracles on the Sabbath would draw admiration and gratitude from all. Unfortunately, each incident seemed to incite increasing hostility from the religious leaders.  They are trying to trap Him, and He knows it. But, since the law of love supersedes the law of rest, Jesus decides to heal the man with dropsy anyway.

I love this story and the way that Jesus, once again, renders the Pharisees speechless. It is awesome the way He always has a quick "Win-Win" response to a "Lose-Lose" encounter with the Scribes and Pharisees !

The "Sabbath " was meant to be a time to remember and celebrate God’s goodness and the goodness of his works, both in creation and redemption.  It was intended to bring everyday work to a halt and to provide needed rest and refreshment. It was not, however, intended to put a stop to love of God and love of neighbor.

We are never exempt from loving and helping our neighbors. Sometimes it’s easy to come up with lots of reasons why we can’t help out and sometimes it may be hard to love someone who has done wrong to us.  But Jesus didn’t tell us, "help others unless you’re too busy" or "only help the people who have been kind to you". We are called to always make a positive difference in the lives of our brothers and sisters. 

We honor the Sabbath by doing what Jesus asked us to do…BY LOVING GOD AND BY LOVING GOD’S PEOPLE…in all our thoughts, in all our words and especially in all of our actions.

 

Deacon Brian Clements is a retired member of the retreat team at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center in Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:
Ephesians 6:10-20
Luke 13:31-35

Reflection:
Paul was not a violent man. So when he says, "put on the armor of God," he was not referring to a physical battle against some king and his army.  Instead, he tells us to battle against the "tactics of the devil," "the rulers…of darkness" and "evil spirits in regions above."

At first this may sound like we need to call for an exorcist or at least say prayers for deliverance.  But the tactics of the devil are often not dramatic.  They are subtle in order to lull us into dropping our guard.

First of all, there is the battle within.  There are lustful passions and the passion of greed. There are desires to dominate others and put ourselves as the center of the world. And there are fears of failure and fears of what others may think, say or do which can lead us into inaction. Like Jesus in the desert we are tempted to be untrue to ourselves and untrue God.

 "He who reigns within himself and rules his passions, desires and fears is more than a king.   — John Milton

Paul says that "faith," trust in God, and loyalty to Christ, will "extinguish the fiery darts of the evil one."  Then, once we reign within, we are ready to go forth and preach the gospel just as Paul was doing — even while in chains!

If we "draw our strength for the Lord and his mighty power," we will win both the battles within and the battles without where threats to justice, peace and the respect for human life demand all our strength and all our love.

 

Fr. Alan Phillip, C.P. is a member of the Passionist Community at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.   http://www.alanphillipcp.com/

 

Scripture:

Ephesians 4:7-16
Luke 13:1-9

Reflection:

A month ago, one of the pine trees on our property had become victim of the drought, had dried up and on the verge of being cut down. When Charles Carter, our Security and Hospitality person at the Retreat Center, came to know about it, he offered to take care of the tree and bring it to life again! To start with, he went and hugged the pine tree, spoke to the tree (strange, huh?) and then started watering the tree three times a week. Three weeks into watering with gentle care, the tree began showing signs of green! Janet, our Facilities Manager, promptly approached Charles and informed him about the ‘other two Pine trees’ that were beginning to turn brown.

The world expects a lot from us. We ought to perform, bring in results…else you are fired! At times our hard work does not pay off as it should. And so when chips are down in our personal or professional life, a little nudge here, a word of encouragement there, a pat on the back, can work wonders. There are times when we find ourselves drifting away in our spiritual life too. Our souls tend to ‘dry up’ and become ‘unproductive’. We become like "children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming." (Eph. 4: 14)

However, St. Paul reminds us that Grace abounds and supersedes everything. God never gives up on us and provides ample opportunities to bounce back. He is patient and treats his children with utmost care and compassion. We need to keep our eyes and ears open to the opportunities God continuously offers us to come back to him. He is always there with open arms to welcome and embrace us.

 

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

 

 

Scripture:

Ephesians 4:32- 5:8
Luke 13:10-17

 

 

 

Reflection:

Be kind to one another

Some years ago Hollywood gave us a movie entitled, Patch Adams. It is the story of a troubled man who voluntarily commits himself into a mental hospital.  There he finds that helping his fellow patients gives him a purpose in life, and he realizes that he is healed more by his interaction with the other patients than the professionals. Thus inspired, he is determined to become a medical doctor, but the philosophy at the medical school he attends is similar to the asylum…advocating an arms-length attitude to the patients that does not address their emotional needs or the quality of their lives.

Several recent liturgical readings mirror this contrast, and the invitation to clothe ourselves with compassion. Today’s first reading from Ephesians, for example, is similar to that provocative reassurance from Colossians 3, "…clothe yourselves in heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." Or, remember the conclusion to Jesus’ parable in Matthew 22 that we prayed last week about the banquet guest who wasn’t attired in a wedding garment? Jesus keeps reminding his disciples that they will never experience the Kingdom of God unless they clothe themselves in the garment of the Kingdom banquet: non-violence, gentleness, empathy.

Once again in today’s Gospel Jesus is leveling the playing field. In the same way that he pulls down the rich and haughty Zacchaeus from the tree (Luke 19), Jesus lifts up the poor and bent-over crippled woman. I think of the commentator who said that Jesus’ Beatitudes (Sermon on the Mount) are far more subversive that Marx’s Communist Manifesto! Or think of our Blessed Mother’s Magnificat, in which she praises our God who

"…has shown might with his arm,
dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.
He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones
but lifted up the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things;
the rich he has sent away empty."  (Luke 1:52-53)

Perhaps that is why Pope Francis warned the Synod participants (closing address) to beware of the temptations of "a hostile inflexibility" or "to come down off the cross" or to "neglect the depositum fidei"… Our Holy Father keeps inviting all of us to clothe ourselves in compassion, or, as today’s Psalmody states, "Behave like God as his very dear children."

At the emotional epicenter of Patch Adams, our protagonist addresses a court determined to dismiss him, You treat a disease, you win, or you lose. You treat a person, I guarantee you, you will win, no matter what the outcome…
…What’s wrong with death sir? What are we so mortally afraid of? Why can’t we treat death with a certain amount of humanity and dignity, and decency, and God forbid, maybe even humor? Death is not the enemy, gentlemen. If we’re going to fight a disease, let’s fight one of the most terrible diseases of all, indifference.

 

Fr. Jack Conley, C.P. is the director of the Office of Mission Effectiveness.  He is a member of the Passionist formation community at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.