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Scripture:

2 Timothy 1:1-3, 6-12
Mark 12:18-27

Reflection:

Most of us have heard the G K Chesterton quote, “Christianity has not failed; it has not even been tried.” Is this what Paul is saying to Timothy? Paul, after announcing that he was an apostle of Christ, wrote Timothy to “stir into flame” the gift of the Spirit which had been given to him when Paul laid his hands on him.  Perhaps Timothy, hearing that Paul was imprisoned because of his preaching, hesitated to be a public witness and wanted to withdrawn from ministry because he didn’t want to be ridiculed or end up in prison because of his faith in Christ. Timothy, young in the faith, needed Paul’s encouragement to be bold rather than allowing fears to control his life. Avoiding ridicule is a strong temptation we all face. Who wants to be embarrassed or humiliated in front of others? Paul tells Timothy to overcome this fear by reminding him of the gifts of power, love and self-control that the Holy Spirit has implanted in his heart. The gifts of the Spirit can lie dormant unless we exercise them regularly and make them an active element in our lives. Timothy can be an effective witness to the Resurrection of Christ if he would move through his fears. Notice, Paul does not tell Timothy to deny his fears but to move courageously through them.

Courage isn’t about having no fear. It’s about being afraid and doing what needs to be done anyway. Like Timothy we have our fears. We can fear loss or failure. We can fear death. We can fear rejection or criticism. We can fear uncertainty. We can fear heights. We can fear many things about life. Paul reminds us that our task is to acknowledge the fears, and then to run past them with the courage of the Holy Spirit and do what needs to be done. Maya Angelou likens the process of developing courage to exercising and strengthening a muscle: “I don’t believe anyone is born with courage. You develop it in small ways.” The gifts of the Spirit can lie dormant unless we exercise them regularly and make them an active dynamic in our lives.

Fr. Don Webber, C.P., is the Director of the Office of Mission Effectiveness and resides in Chicago.

Scripture:

Acts 15:22-31
John 15:12-17

Reflection:

Both Scripture readings for today speak about relationships. In our Gospel reading, Jesus gives a commandment to His disciples: “love one another as I love you.” And then He tells them what kind of love that is: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” I think it is important to note that Jesus’ love for us does not depend on whether we obey His commandments. There is no way we can earn God’s love! But Jesus does tell us is that if we want to develop our relationship with Him, we will follow His commandment to love.

The more we love others as Jesus loves us, the deeper our relationship with Him will be. Are we willing to have that kind of relationship with Jesus? To answer “Yes” carries certain implications. It carries implications about how we are to pray. Jesus also says, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.” When we have a close relationship to Jesus, we will find ourselves praying not for things we want, but for what we need to “bear fruit.”

To have a deeper relationship with Christ carries implications about how we relate to each other. In our first reading from Acts, the leaders of the Church in Jerusalem send two messengers along with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch with a decision about whether Christians had to first be circumcised according to the covenant with Abraham. In the letter they sent, the leaders wrote: “It is the decision of the holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities…” A good criterion indicating our love for others may be whether we are trying to place burdens on them that are not necessary. Too often we see people burdened by poverty and discrimination and oppression.

Jesus’ commandment to love cannot be taken lightly. But the more we strive to follow His commandment, the deeper and richer our relationships will be with God, each other, and all of creation.

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is the local superior of the Passionist Community in Birmingham, Alabama. 

Scripture:

Acts 2:36-41
John 20:11-18

Reflection:

“Woman, why are you weeping?”  She said to them, “They have taken my Lord,
and I don’t know where they laid him.”  When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus.  Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?  Whom are you looking for?”  She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!”

I have always enjoyed Easter Week and, for as long as I can remember, I have always loved this wonderful Gospel passage from the 20^th chapter of John’s Gospel.  Quite simply, these few verses evoke a sense of powerful loss followed by a compelling awareness of discovery and new life.  I hear in Mary Magdalene’s voice a plaintive cry from one who is still in such shock at the loss of her Lord that she is on the verge of panic and despair.  Yet, with only a word spoken from the mouth of Jesus, “Mary”, her eyes are opened and a whole new awareness begins in her life.  A simple calling out of her name by one who loved her so very much and her life is changed forever!  For me, this is almost like a second resurrection except that this time it is profoundly personal and intimate, almost as if Mary Magdalene was singled out to be another special bearer of the unbelievable news of the resurrection.

We are all invited to listen for that calling of our name by the Risen Lord and we must listen carefully or we may miss it.  But one thing I know, if we do hear the Lord call us by name, like Mary Magdalene, we will never be the same again!

Continued blessings for you all during this wonderful Easter Season and may the joy of the Resurrection fill your hearts with great peace.

Fr. Pat Brennan, C.P. is the director of Saint Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center, Detroit, Michigan.

Scripture:

1 Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51
Mark 3:1-6

Reflection:

“Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” Mark 3:4

Today, the Church is asking all of us to pray for the legal protection of Unborn Children. And the Scripture for today gives us two very familiar Scripture images to help us reflect upon this request for prayer. The first one is David verse Goliath. The second one is Jesus curing a person on the Sabbath while the Pharisees looked on. Both of these accounts from the Scriptures are worthy of our meditation and reflection. Prayer, after all, is what allows us to come close to God and helps us to experience the grace we need to live a life worthy of our calling as disciples of Jesus, children of God.

There are so many examples of the “David versus Goliath” story that we apply to everyday life. It is the story of the inexperienced young person going up against the giant and seasoned warrior. It is the story of God’s chosen one from a small country village going against the destructive rule of gigantic power. Oh, how we love this story. We may love it so well that we may forget its underlying truth as found in verses 37 and 39 of the reading: that God would be with David and David did not take the sword with him, the instrument of war. If God is with us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31) So many times we rely on our own resources to overcome evils that surround us.

And the Gospel account builds upon this important instruction found in the first reading. It tells us how Jesus gave life, restored life and valued life over any human norm. We know that we do the good when new life emerges and healing takes place, regardless of the time and place. So, today, let us take a good look at how we value life and how we restore life, especially by how we live it and in what we say and do.

One of the surest ways that we can protect the Unborn Children is by creating a culture of justice and peace in our world, in other words, by creating a culture of life. For the vast majority of us, it is about being respectful of life and cultures and customs. It is about saying no to destructive instruments and behaviors. Every time we do something that dehumanizes another human being, young or old, we are failing to protect Unborn Children. This day is about doing something positive to bring about new life. And we begin with prayer.

There is an old saying that goes this way: “it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” Let us bring light and life and love into the world around us. Let us all pray for all that is yet to be born within us.

Fr. Clemente Barrón, C.P. is a member of Mater Dolorosa Community in Sierra Madre, California. 

Scripture:

1 John 2:29-3:6
John 1:29-34

Reflection:

What if our daily meditation began with the assumption and acceptance that we are “children of God?”

“That is what we are,” according to John. This mindfulness will wake us and shake us, because “the world of our making” doesn’t recognize this identity, nor from where it came. (1 Jn 3:2) Rather, in the eyes of those who buy into the powers that be, they see only children of profit, power, proficiency, popularity, and pleasure.

To bolster the power of this new creation that we are begotten by God, through His Son, we realize as did John the Baptist, that this is a totally inspired gift from God. “I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.”

At a recent Mass before we made the penitential act of forgiveness, I asked the congregation to imagine that God wanted to forgive every single sin that separates us from Him. And, I asked the question, “Are we willing to do what is necessary to amend our lives?” As children of God, despite all fears of what it will take to amend our lives, this is our primary act of faith, and trust. He died for our sins and wants us, his brothers and sisters, to join him in the mission to redeem the world by removing all that taints our family’s communion with God.

Fr. Alex Steinmiller, C.P., is a member of the Passionist Community in Detroit, Michigan.