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Scripture:

Galatians 2:1-2,7-14
Luke 11:1-4

Reflection:

Today’s readings speak to the call of Christians to universality-another way of saying that we have been told to love everyone.  In the First Reading, Paul talks about chastising Cephas because Cephas did not embrace the uncircumcised along with the circumcised.  From fear, Cephas failed to treat the gentiles the same as he treated the Jews.  And today, thousands of years later, fear still keeps us from embracing those we perceive as being different.   When Jesus told us to "love one another," He did not add the word "except."  But most of us add it in our minds and actions.  Oh sure, we say, I love everyone, except, of course, beggars on the street, or criminals, or people who have hurt me.  But Jesus says everyone with no exceptions.   In the responsorial psalm, we are told to "Go out to all the world, and tell the good news."   It really is true that they will know we are Christians by our love.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches us to pray the Our Father.  A prayer for everyone.  Here again we see the call to be one.  The two words you don’t find in The Our Father are "me" and "I."  Jesus teaches us to pray as community.  The Our Father verses from Luke and from Matthew may likely have more reflections and commentaries written about them than any other verses of the Gospel.  As well they should because the Our Father forms the base for much of our belief as Christians.  However, probably the best way to reflect on the Our Father is not by reading about it, but rather by praying the words slowly and listening to your heart and your response.   Let’s each take the time today to pray the Our Father, slowly thinking about each line-what it means in our lives and how it invites us to change and to embrace everyone with no exceptions.

 

Mary Lou Butler is a long-time friend and partner in ministry to the Passionists in California.

 

Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

Scripture:

Galatians 1:13-24
Luke 10:38-42

Reflection:

St. Benedict told us hundreds of years ago, that there is only one thing that is important, to seek God. As high school students at the Passionist Prep, we were taught to periodically recall that we were in the presence of God. Each day one of the students was assigned the task of stopping whatever we were doing, i.e. playing baseball on the field, pinochle in the recreation room, studying hard for a test we would be taking shortly, to announce: "Presence of God!" When we heard that we would stop for a moment and then respond: "May Jesus and Mary be praised."

I wonder what would happen if I went into my local McDonald’s and announced: "Presence of God!" or even better yet, if I went downtown to the Chicago Board of Trade, got a hold of the public address system and announced: "Presence of God!"  I suspect I would quickly be apprehended and either thrown in jail or sent to the psychiatric unit at the local hospital.

I suppose too the same thing might happen if I suggested in this reflection that we should all stop at sometime during our day and say the rosary. We’d all protest (myself included): I don’t have time to waste, I’ve got to clean my house, prepare a report for the boss, I’m running late for an appointment…

In today’s scripture we hear: "Martha, was distracted by her many tasks…there is need of only one thing." (Luke 10: 41-42) Help me God, to remember that St. Benedict was right, there truly is only one thing that is important in this moment, and that is to seek You. Help me remember too, that the rosary is a great way to think about Your mysterious involvement in my life.

 

Dan O’Donnell is a Passionist Partner and a longtime friend of the Passionists.  He lives in Chicago.  

 

Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi

Scripture:

Job 42:1-3, 5-6, 12-17
Luke 10:17-24

Reflection:

This past week we’ve been privileged to walk with the Old Testament person Job and prayerfully grapple with the human reality of suffering and a search for meaning.  Despite all his mysterious sufferings, Job came to accept God’s will for him and, as we hear today, he repented of any resistance he had shown to God.  The story ends with a restoration to Job of even more than he had lost in his earlier trials:  large herds of animals, seven sons and three beautiful daughters plus numerous grandchildren, and a long life of 144 years! 

In the Gospel selection from Luke, Jesus welcomes back his disciples returning from their ministry to the needy souls of their day.  He reminds the disciples to rejoice not because of the power or success in their ministries, but because God knows them and loves them.  Following Jesus would include suffering; Jesus was there to encourage them and help them maintain his perspective on life:  suffering and love go hand in hand. 

Saint Francis of Assisi heard that personal call of Jesus in the 12^th Century; he gave himself wholeheartedly to Jesus and began an exemplary life of praise, sacrifice and service. The Scriptures came alive for Francis of Assisi.  His carefree youth was radically changed by the call of Jesus; he renounced his personal possessions and changed his life to one of evangelical poverty and preaching.  Francis’ life witness was truly charismatic, compassionate, and loving of all God’s creation.  God called others to join him, and Francis compiled a "rule of life" and established a number of religious communities of both men and women.  In the 44 short years of his life, he shared the joy of those earliest disciples  of Jesus and sparked a spiritual renewal that continues to inspire men and women of all ages and walks of life – especially our own Pope Francis!

Today, the "trio" of Jesus, Job, and Francis challenge us to look at life today:  how do we respect God’s presence in people, nature, created things, daily events?  How do we reflect simplicity and humility in our lives?  How do we proclaim God’s mercy and compassion in the midst of our world’s suffering and hopelessness, and thus build up the Church? 

May we be simple, faith-filled, joy-filled, compassionate, and respectful as we follow Jesus today!  Job, Francis of Assisi, and Paul of the Cross have set the bar high!

 

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

Scripture:

Galatians 1:6-12
Luke 10: 25-37

Reflection:

Three week ago, Pope Francis talked about the function of law. He said laws are needed and can be good. However, Jesus did rebuke those who used the law against people. Jesus reprimanded people for not caring for others and using the law to rationalize their actions. We must be alert to those who ‘imprisoned’ others with unnecessary laws, little details of no importance or made others slaves to the letter of the law and not to the spirit of the law.

This reminded me of a Canon Law teacher I had during my seminary days. I wasn’t looking forward to the classes on Canon Law. I thought it would be boring with lots of memorization. Fortunately, I had a wise Franciscans as my teacher. He was wise for he emphasized over and over that the law was there to help people. If anyone used Canon Law to abuse people, they didn’t understand the purpose of Canon Law.

I believe this is the attitude of St. Paul in the first reading and Jesus in the Gospel reading. Both had a keen sense of how to appreciate the law. Paul counters a disturbing attitude among the Galatians by saying that it is through faith in Jesus Christ that a person enjoys a relationship with God and not by an exacting observance of external laws and ritual observances. It is possible for a Christian to be hung up on various external acts and obligations which are identified with Catholicism, and yet that person may be far removed from the spirit of the Gospel.

Jesus explains the spirit of the Gospel by saying we must love our neighbor. No law can excuse us from helping a person in need. When the two "holy" men, who were expected to love God and neighbor, saw a man lying on the side of the road, bloodied from his encounter with robbers, they carefully moved to the other side of the road and continued their journey…for religious reasons. I am sure they felt justified in snubbing the victim in need. Along comes a Samaritan who sees the helpless and suffering man. He sees and acts with compassion. The Samaritan, one despised by the Jews, is the person who comes to the rescue of the injured man. He could have used the laws and customs of the day to explain away any responsibility to offer assistance. Yet, he responded with compassion. He truly understood that laws should not separate us, imprison us or prevent us from helping others in need.

"Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?" [The scholar of the law] answered, "The one who treated him with mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

 

Fr. Don Webber, C.P., is Provincial Superior of Holy Cross Province and resides in Chicago.

Scripture:

Isaiah 5:1-7
Philippians 4:6-9
Matthew 21:33-43

Reflection:

"Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit."

There are many gospel stories wherein the people involved failed to recognize Jesus as the Christ. And I’m sure it is easy for most of us to distance ourselves from those people. I certainly find it easy to persuade myself that, on the whole, I recognize the Christ in myself and others on a daily basis. I am sure that if God were to send his personal messenger to me I would not turn him away or stone him or kill him. And yet, upon a close reading of this gospel, I noticed that Jesus does not condemn his listeners for turning away from God’s messenger. No, as the final lines of the Gospel clearly state, his listeners are charged with producing the fruits of the kingdom of God. In fact, it states that "the kingdom of God will be taken away from you." This clearly implies that we already have the kingdom of God available to us. The question I then ask myself is not, "do I recognize the messenger of God when he appears?" but rather "am I producing the fruits of the kingdom of heaven?"

Now when I ask this kind of question I find it easy to become worried or stressed. How do I even know what the fruits of the kingdom of heaven are? St. Paul, in his epistle to the Philippians, gives us great instructions on how to be sure we are producing the fruits of the kingdom of heaven.

The first step? Don’t be anxious! God is not asking me to worry or stress about whether I am doing his will. But he is asking me to be attentive to it. The second step: in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make my requests known to God. I need to pray with a fervent heart to God our Father for the wisdom, the grace, and the strength to do His will.  Then, the fruits of the kingdom of heaven will flow from my actions.

 

Talib Huff is a volunteer and presenter at Christ the King Retreat Center in Citrus Heights, California.

 

Scripture:
Job 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5
Luke 10:13-16

Reflection:
"Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence where can I flee?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I sink to the nether world, you are present there." Psalm 139: 7-8

In the past whenever I read or heard these verses, I felt that the author was trying to get away from God, possibly to hide because he has done something wrong. I thought he was upset that he couldn’t find a place to go where God wouldn’t be.

I’m wondering if I had that sense because I sometimes want to hide from God myself! There are days when I am so convicted of my bad attitude or I’m so ashamed of my actions that I really just want to disappear. I hate it when I give in to my flesh and let the Holy Spirit take the back seat. Days like that when I don’t like myself, I don’t want to be around anybody, not even God.

I was very surprised as I was doing the readings for my reflection this month that the person who wrote Psalm 139 was actually saying the opposite of what I had previously thought. Maybe this is why we need to see the whole context of the verses before we try to interpret them. Even just reading the verse preceding the ones I quoted would give a whole different perspective. "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain." Psalm 139: 6 And in verses 9-10 we also see his positive sentiment:

"If I take the wings of the dawn,
if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
Even there your hand shall guide me,
and your right hand hold me fast." Psalm 139: 9-10

The lesson for me from all this is that whenever I’m reading scripture I need to read the verses in context and not alone. It is also nice to be reminded that God is always with us, always cheering us onto the finish line, even when we fall short and have a bad day.

Lord, please "hold me fast" especially when I’m struggling.

 

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].

Memorial of the Guardian Angels

Scripture:

Job 19:21-27
Matthew 18:1-5, 10

Reflection:

What do we think of Angels in 2014?  Where do our notions of what Angels are and what they do come from?

While I was pondering of angels in preparing to write this reflection, I remembered how surprised a friend of mine was when taking a tour of Shakespeare’s Stratford-on-Avon, and the tour guide began to recite some of the many sayings which first saw the light in one of his plays.

To be, or not to be: that is the question.
For ever and a day.
Now is the winter of our discontent.
A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!
Off with his head!
O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Good Night, Good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow.
But love is blind, and lovers cannot see.
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.
Et tu, Brute!
Beware the ides of March.
Out, damned spot! out, I say!
The game is up.

Even without our thinking consciously of it, the realm of literature sends us images and ideas that become part of our personal speech, if not beliefs.

So, quite naturally, I began to think of the many ways that Angels have been appropriated by motion picture producers to entitle films.  Here are some, in no order:

Charlie’s Angels; Angel on my Shoulder; The Blue Angel; The Trouble with Angels; Almost an Angel; Angels in the Outfield; City of Angels; Date with an Angel; and Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows. If we toss in some TV titles, we get another Charlie’s Angels, and Touched by an Angel, and simply Angel. 

Where do our ideas of Angels come from?  Are they only the fruit of media publicists and producers?

I am sure you can remember when you were young and your parents, perhaps your grandparents or a baby-sitter would lead you through night prayers, and you prayed to your Guardian Angel: Angel of God, my Guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here….

Today’s gospel has one of the texts that speaks directly of Angels, and how each member of the Body of Christ has one such advocate, who stands in the presence of our heavenly Father.

Although the passage read today seems to be speaking of little children and their Angels, in reality, only the first five verses speak of little children–paidion, and their "humility", i.e., their total dependence on their parents or family to survive in life-which becomes our total dependence on God for what sustains us for eternal life.  Then, taking into account the four verses omitted from today’s Gospel passage, Matthew has already changed the subject, and we are in a more sober and challenging lesson: how to avoid the eternal loss of God.  Matthew uses the expression "little ones"–micron, in verse 6 and in verse 10, not speaking of children anymore, but speaking of the disciples of Jesus.

Consequently, and it should be reassuring for us, we have not lost our Angel, Guardian or otherwise. Jesus speaks directly to the question, all of us are conversant with God in many ways, and one of those ways is by acknowledging the presence of our Angels before God. However, as messengers ("angel" equals "messenger"), they also challenge us to maintain our dialogue with God, whether in prayer, meditation, or scripture study.

There was a time when we invoked our Guardian Angels as we prepared to cross a busy, multi-lane street; or when we got into the family car to take a trip out of town.  Today we would do well to remember our Angels who gaze on the face of God, and tell us to do likewise.

 

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

Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux

Scripture:

Job 9:1-12, 14-16
Luke 9:57-62

Reflection:

Today is the feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, ranked with St. Francis of Assisi as the most popular saint in history.   Therese led a quiet, cloistered life in the Carmel monastery of Lisieux, having entered the convent at the age of 15.  She was bright but never went to a university.  She barely traveled from her home, except for a brief pilgrimage to Rome where she boldly asked Pope Leo XIII permission to enter the Carmelites at such a young age (he told her to obey her superiors!).  Yet Therese has been declared the patron of missions and was named as a "Doctor of the Church" by Pope John Paul II! 

Although her life was lived in a small circle, Therese’s spirit enveloped the world.  She had a profound sense of God’s love for her and was filled with the awe of God’s majesty that embraced the universe. She desired with all her heart to be a missionary of God’s love to the world through her life of prayer and dedication.  Although surrounded by the sentimental piety of late 19^th century France, Therese was eminently practical and genuine.  Her famous "little way" emphasized that even the humble and ordinary tasks of life, done out of love, can be pleasing to God, a spirituality rooted in the gospel and the best of Catholic tradition.

The readings today were not selected specifically for the feast of St. Therese but their themes harmonize well with her spirituality.  The first reading is from one of the soliloquies of Job.  His friend Bildad has urged Job to ask God’s forgiveness since the calamities he is enduring must be a result of some evil done by Job.  The entire message of the book of Job is a rejection of this kind of theology.  Job knows that even the innocent suffer, a challenging mystery for faith.  In this passage from chapter 9, Job affirms his great respect for God’s majesty and power-the one who can "remove the mountains before they know it" and who "stretches out the heavens and treads upon the crests of the sea".  Yet this transcendent and all-powerful God is the very one that St. Therese knew also as a God of tender mercy and infinite love.

The reading from the Gospel of Luke underscores another dimension of Therese’s sanctity.  As Jesus and his disciples were on their journey to Jerusalem, several would-be disciples come forward.  One seems unaware that because of his mission the itinerant Jesus "has nowhere to rest his head."  Jesus summons another man to "follow me" but this would-be disciple wants first to bury his father-certainly a solemn obligation in Judaism but Jesus makes the point that no priority can come before the proclamation of the Kingdom of God.  Yet another candidate for discipleship declares he will follow Jesus but must first say farewell to his family.  Jesus again places commitment to the gospel above every other commitment, no matter how compelling.  "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God."

St. Therese embodied the profound commitment to following Jesus revealed in today’s Gospel.  The beauty of her life and teaching is that she showed how fidelity in everyday things done out of love can lead us to the Kingdom of God.  St. Therese, Little Flower, pray for us.

 

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.