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Scripture:

Wisdom 6:1-11
Luke 17:11-19

Reflection:

Faith is central to Christianity. It is a fundamental feature of the spiritual life. Yet faith is often misunderstood as an assent to doctrinal statements. When Jesus says to the Samaritan leper, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you," he is not suggesting the mended man has embraced a creedal statement or a philosophical principle. The faith Jesus speaks of is a capacity to affirm life, not a capability to believe a dogma.

Capability refers to a potential aptitude, skill or ability; while capacity indicates the possibility of containing something. A machine has the capability of accomplishing a task; a pitcher has capacity to hold water. Capability may get something accomplished; capacity is availability to receive.

To suggest that faith is a capacity implies that a certain feature of emptiness is necessary if we are to receive Spirit in any of its forms – graces or healings. Emptiness always means empty of something. A cup is empty of coffee. The tank is empty of gas. When we are empty of the ego we are available to be filled with Spirit.

The egocentric ego is full of itself. When in its grip, we take our thoughts, our opinions, our desires, and our self so seriously. The inflated sense of self revels in its capability to achieve and be productive.

Stress reduction programs are not the answer this problem. Ego reduction courses would be much more effective. Then, moving though life with an open mind and an open heart, we would be available for the surprising encounters with Spirit.

 

Fr. Joe Mitchell, CP is the director of the Passionist Earth & Spirit Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

See his website: http://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/

Scripture:

Wisdom 2:23-3:9
Luke 17:7-10

Reflection:

In today’s Gospel we read that no one would expect a master to ask a servant to sit at the table and serve him, rather the servant would be expected even after he has come from the field, to get the master’s dinner ready and serve the master. Moreover, the servant will not be thanked simply because he has done what was required of him. At the end of the parable and in the relationship with God, the disciples are cast in the roles of servants. They must realize that like the servant in the parable, they will also have to do all that is required of them and not expect any thanks because they have only done what was expected of them.

Last Thursday I had a beautiful experience visiting a patient at UAB hospital. I celebrated Mass at the hospital and visited several patients; then returned home. While I was having my lunch I received a call from the Pastoral Department at UAB, requesting that a priest visit a patient. I told that I would visit. As I sat in my car and drove to the hospital, I started to pray to God that whomever I was going to visit, Lord help me to be open to do His will. As I went into the patient’s room I introduced myself and told him that I was a Catholic priest from St. Mary’s Church. The patient was so happy to see me and then he told me that he was not a Catholic. He just had triple bypass heart surgery and it was a successful one. He began to share about his early life of going to Catholic Church with his friends for mass, his family and children. Then, he told me that he wanted to become a Catholic, he wants to come to the Church and do what he needs to do; though no one in his family is Catholic. I told him that I would pray with him. While we were praying I could see in him so much joy and peace. I truly believe it was a divine set up. I was able to bring Christ to him through priestly ministry. We are only servants before God and we do what He wants us to do for Him.

We are all called as servants for various ministries to a family, society, Church and country. We may do what God wants us to do in our respective ministries and may His will be done through our service. As we spend this day, let us ask ourselves, do we constantly expect thanks and praise for all the good that we do? Today, will you perform an act without any expectation whatsoever?

 

Fr. A. Justin Nelson, C.P. is a member of St. Thomas the Apostle Vice-Province, India, and is temporarily stationed at St. Mary’s Parish, Fairfield, Alabama. 

 

Scripture:

Wisdom 1:1-7
Luke 17:1-6

 

 

 

Reflection:

Good News in Jesus’ Alliteration

Jesus must love alliteration.  He uses it so effectively in today’s Gospel.  His message is of millstones, mustard seeds and mulberry trees.  Jesus wants his disciples and us to remember who we are and what we need.  His words are harsh, even frightening.  Yet, as severe as Jesus’warnings are about sin, his words of comfort are even greater.  Sin is a serious matter.   Sadly, we sin — a fact as heavy as a millstone.

What hope then can we cling to?  It is forgiveness.  We need to say "I am sorry" not just once, but every time we sin and cause others to sin.  We need to forgive one another even if we have been wronged repeatedly.  " I am sorry," and "I forgive" are the words that will unloose the millstone.

We are called to avoid sin and scandal, to seek forgiveness and give it.  This may require heroic virtue.  Are we capable of it?  We know own weakness all too well, and so wobbly-knee’d, we stand with the disciples who plead "increase our faith!"

The good news lurks in alliteration.  As massive as the millstone is, faith the size of a mustard seed is more massive yet. Where sin tosses us into the sea, forgiveness plants a tree there.  Forgiveness transforms us, much like a millstone, to mustard seed, to mulberry tree.

 

Deacon Manuel Valencia is on the staff at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

Romans 14:7-12
Luke 15:1-10

Reflecton:

Things just kept getting worse. Fights were breaking out much more regularly and what should have been a nourishing respite in the school day was becoming a dreaded hour for students and teachers alike. Our students came from all around the city of Chicago. Some belonged to rival gangs and lunchtime seemed to be the place where troubles broke out. Someone had the idea that we should adopt a "Closed Campus" where teachers would eat with their students. For giving up their 45 minute lunchtime away from the students, the school day would be shortened by 45 minutes. Lunchtime would become learning time. We tried it and it worked! For whatever reason teachers eating with their students put an end to the majority of the problems we were experiencing. It worked so well, teachers were asked to give up some of their preparation time in the morning and have breakfast with their students as well. That made for an even nicer day. Even teachers who weren’t assigned to a particular classroom were assigned to a class. The entire school, students, teachers and administrators had lunch together. This turned out to be my and many other teachers’ favorite time of the day.

Today, I’m a senior citizen (that means I’m over 60 according to Golden Diners-a city of Chicago initiative providing seniors a hot meal and time to socialize) and I have lunch every day at the local Prebysterian Church with people from all different backgrounds. Some of us have healthy pensions, some are totally dependent upon social security and some of us live on the streets. Every Wednesday we have lunch with the high school students who attend the Alternative School sponsored by the Church. Today, this is my favorite time of the day.

Down the street from where I live there is a rather exclusive club. At the driveway entrance, the only way I see of getting in, there is a sign posted that says: "Private Property-No Trespassing" Being the obedient Dan that I am, I heed the sign’s advice, but I must admit, I’m tempted to sneak in to see if they enjoy their lunches as much as I do.

I wonder what would happen if today we gathered people of different socio-economic backgrounds, ages, religions and nationalities to share a meal? I wonder  if Jesus actually meant for us to follow not only what he said but also what he did? "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." (Luke 15:2)

 

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

Scripture:
2 Micah 7:1-2, 9-14
2Thessalonians 2:16-3:5
Luke 20:27-38 or 20:27, 34-38

Reflection:
I have talked with many atheists who do not believe in eternal life, as well as people of faith who have their doubts. Is there something after this life? If so, what is it like?

Having worked with over 2,000 sick, dying, and grieving people, I personally have witnessed too many things and heard too many stories to question afterlife. The veil gets thinner as death approaches. The dying see things we don’t see and talk to people we can’t hear. Then after the death, tendrils of connection and love endure in ways we don’t understand. The connection we have on earth is not completely broken when a person dies.

Yet even my firm belief does not answer questions about what it will be like. I was married to John for 5½ years before he died, and I have now been married to Ken for 29 years. As the inquirers in the gospel asked, who will be my husband in eternity? When Jesus is asked about marriage in eternity, he basically says it is a nonsense question; we humans simply don’t understand.

It’s like trying to describe this world to a baby in the womb. The child knows only darkness, warmth, floating, and having every need met. There is no construct or capacity to even conceive of "blue" or "sunshine" or "family", or anything of this earth. The child can only imagine what he or she knows.

Likewise, we have no concept of what life after death will be like. Jesus often used earthly analogies to try to explain the afterlife, but they all ultimately fall short. I don’t know how I will recognize myself without my body, much less how we will relate to each other. I suspect we will understand and communicate without the barriers of skin, language, and all the other things that keep us separate and distinct. Yet this, like anything I speculate, could be totally wrong.

The important thing, then, is not to focus on figuring out what I will experience after I die. It is an exercise in futility anyway. The important thing is to decide in whom I place my trust. Do I believe in the God of resurrection? Do I believe that death is not the end, and that I will be embraced by the Source of all love and life? I pray that when my time comes, my trust in that Source is strong enough to allow me to let go of this life and sink into the river of God’s ever-flowing presence with peace and grace. Only then will I enter a realm that is beyond anything I can conceive or imagine, where God’s love surpasses every human design or construct. And in the midst of it all, I’m pretty sure God has the marriage thing figured out.  

 

Amy Florian is a teacher and consultant working in Chicago.  For many years she has partnered with the Passionists.  Visit Amy’s website: http://www.amyflorian.com/.

 

The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

Scripture:

Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12
1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17
John 2:13-22

 

Reflection:

We are Made Beautiful in the Beauty of the Church

The church of St. John Lateran is the cathedral of Rome, the church of Pope Francis, Bishop of Rome. More than the Church building we celebrate the living stones that make up the Church. Our greatest symbol when we gather at the Eucharist is the community of the faithful, the Body of Christ.

A long way from Rome, in Calgary, Canada, Heidi Grogan, describes the Servants Anonymous Society (SAS), which supports women leaving the sex trade. She describes the poverty of these women with words such as these: broken hearted, crushed in spirit, powerless, those for whom no one cares, belonging nowhere, and, women who have had the gift they are ‘taken’ verses freely given.

An SAS volunteer expressed her shock at the ingratitude of the women who were living in a newly renovated home. The blinds were broken; stains marred the tabletops. Heidi replied to the volunteer that the women were grateful but uncomfortable. The house did not match the way they felt inside. The volunteers insist the women are beautiful and want them to see themselves that way, to feel they belong in a beautiful home. But new girls will make their home affirm their poor self-mage. The volunteer looked at the damaged drywall, the marks on the walls. She made the connection to the newest resident, whose body had been a punching bag, whose arms bore scars from self-harming.

[Weavings XXIX Number 1 p. 8]

Like the volunteer in the story John’s gospel makes the leap from the building to the person. Those who hear Jesus think he speaks of the building but he speaks of his body. Our gospel follows the miracle at Cana, where Jesus gives the gift of wine that comes from water; today is the gift of himself as the New Temple that replaces the old.

As the women’s bodies were abused, so the temple of the Lord was being abused. Those who want to help heal and to bring justice will meet opposition in many ways. To give us the new Temple Jesus would endure his Passover from death to life.

Why celebrate a dedication of a church building? How our words that describe the Church are so different than the descriptions of the abused women above. We describe our Church as: mother, New Jerusalem, a bride made beautiful for her husband, a refuge for sinners, a family where all are welcome, the place where we gather to share the life giving and transforming presence of our Savior. The women made their home conform to their suffering. We celebrate the dedication of the church so that it may enable us to see in ourselves the mystery and beauty that is the Church, and we may share this gift with one another. 

 

Fr. William Murphy, CP is the pastor of Immaculate Conception parish in Jamaica, New York.

Scripture:

Romans 13: 8-10
Luke 14: 25-33

Reflection:

Are you willing to pay the price of discipleship? Please, don’t answer that question quickly. Jesus does not want a sentimental, rash response. In preparing a couple for the sacrament of matrimony, the priest wants to make sure the couple are not entering this sacred union unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, discreetly, soberly and in the fear of God (fear of offending someone whom one loves). Martin Luther said, "A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing and suffers nothing, is worth nothing." Are we willing to pay the price?

To stress the significance of this question, Jesus uses twin parables: a man who set out to build a watchtower and the king, with few soldiers, preparing to battle an enemy king with a larger and stronger army. Jesus tells the crowd to consider whether they can afford to follow him. A commitment abandoned is not a positive testimony. Therefore, Jesus says, "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything cannot be my disciples." The person who wants to follow Christ must accept the price: surrender. The person cannot afford to hold tightly to people, position or possessions. The true disciple, considering seriously the plan laid out by Jesus, realizes that there is no greater person to love; no greater position to pursue; no greater possession to acquire than Jesus Christ.

The disciple also realizes that complete surrender is impossible. The hold of people, position and possessions are so strong. Our inner resources are not strong enough to resist the magnetic pull of people, position and possessions. We don’t have enough money to build the tower; we don’t have enough troops to win the war. It is only the resources (grace) that God gives us which enable us to surrender, which enable us to be what God calls us to be.

When we discern and comprehend the person Jesus is calling us to be and the price we will have to pay to become that person, then we are ready to answer the question, "Are you willing to pay the price?" Responding to the call of Jesus is not easy, but we know that behind the call is the one who enables us to be faithful disciples.

Let me end with an incident that happened to the author of the "Cotton Patch" New Testament. He was given a red-carpet tour of a new church. The pastor of the new church pointed out a large cross atop a tall steeple. "That cross alone cost us ten thousand dollars," the pastor said with pride. The author replied, "You got cheated. Times were when Christians could get them for free!"

 

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

Scripture:

Romans 12:5-16b
Luke 14:15-24

Reflection:

In our Gospel today, Jesus tells a parable of a King who threw a big banquet and discovered those who were invited really didn’t want to go.  In fact many of them had excuses.  The king continues to extend his invitation to more and more people who originally weren’t invited, and banquet hall never seems to get full.  There is always room for more people.  Luke of course, uses this story to illustrate to his Gentile community that God’s invitation to the kingdom has been extended to include themselves.  This is why Luke’s community has an inheritance in God’s kingdom.  And even when the least, the last and the lost are invited, there is still more space for more people. With such a big space of inclusivity, there is no place here for elitism.

I also read this parable with the lenses of our contemporary society.  I see it is profoundly true because we all have so many options which didn’t exist, 25, 50 and 100 years ago.  I hope I’m not projecting too much of my own personal experience on this but throughout many of our Passionist ministries we frequently hear the same kinds of refrains.  Whether it is retreat centers, parish missions or programs here in the parish, people have many sound and logical reasons why they can’t attend.  And it is true people are busy with many things.  Moreover, it seems as though our culture now has more options to busy ourselves with more things on any given day then we did in previous years. Many carry the expectations that they are supposed to attend all the functions, go to all the sporting events, volunteer for numerous organizations till they feel tired deep in their soul. Some parishioners I know find it difficult just to keep up with the events of all of their grandchildren.   It’s a universal struggle so many of us have.  It feels like there is never enough time to do the wise and healthy things we need to be doing because we are spending too much time doing the list of things someone said we should be doing.  We frequently busy ourselves to the point our vision is clouded.  At times I wonder, has our culture shifted some of its fundamental priorities? 

When I read this parable I get a certain sense of disappointment.  As a King, who is supposed to have such authority over people, he can’t seem to generate enough enthusiasm so his originally invited guests desire to be there.  I’m left thinking if I lived in the Middle Ages and the King invited someone from my village to the King’s Castle, everyone in the village would know about the invitation and be talking about it many days before the departure.  New clothes would need to be tailored, and sending ceremonies might include the entire village.  I anticipate that there would be great festivities before the departure.  The village would be enthusiastic about such an event which would certainly take several days.    But today’s society would be completely different.  Would the ones invited even buy new clothing, or would they settle for something in the closet that didn’t look too wrinkled? The local village, the person’s social group of friends, may congratulate the person, but certainly not do anything which would conflict with one’s busy schedule.  And as for the event itself, no one would want to stay out too late.  We all know there are other things happening that night, including the game that is on.    Picture how awkward it could be if you had to explain to the King why you couldn’t come to his banquet because you had special tickets to a sporting event.   "Sir, King, your Royalness, Yes I know you planned a big banquet party, but I can’t come to your castle tonight.  I have tickets to tonight’s game".   

Have we become lethargic at our personal invitation to be at the banquet of the Lord?  Paul in his letter to the Romans which we also read today warns us about such a condition.  He says,

Let love be sincere;
hate what is evil,
hold on to what is good;
love one another with mutual affection;
anticipate one another in showing honor.
Do not grow slack in zeal,
be fervent in spirit,
serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope,
endure in affliction,
persevere in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the holy ones,
exercise hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you,
bless and do not curse them.
Rejoice with those who rejoice,
weep with those who weep.

Paul’s words are wise.  I’m just not sure we start with these words.  In order to accomplish what Paul articulates we first must have some type of engagement in our heart.  He presumes there is already a passion, desire or drive.  Paul simply wants to focus it and make sure it is Christ centered.  But what happens when a person is too busy to even realize their love is misdirected?  For me this is where the wisdom of St. Paul of the Cross enlightens us.  If a person starts simply by praying reverently with the crucifix, then there is something about the power of the cross which has the ability to redirect our love,  and to modify our priorities.  This mission alone is just one reason why our world needs Passionists.

 

Fr. David Colhour, C.P. is the pastor of St. Agnes Parish in Louisville, Kentucky.