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Scripture:

Colossians 1:21-23
Luke 6:1-5

Reflection:

The Word of Life

If I am honest with myself, I have to admit that I do not understand, I cannot grasp the full meaning of eternal life.  I know through baptismal adoption my destiny is to return to our Creator God. Yet, St. Paul, today, exhorts us not to shift "from the hope of the Gospel that you heard." Maybe I have to understand "shift" more clearly, so I can more deliberately be involved in my destiny wrapped up in God’s Will for me to fulfill God’s Plan and return to the Creator.

Faith, trust, hope, letting go of control, selfless service, forgiveness and true Sabbath peace are all based upon the promise of eternal life of the Gospel. And I can never forget that all of this was acquired through the choice of a 33 year old man, Son of God, to give up his life in a horrible death. These sacred, but "this-side-of-eternity" realities are contained in the "fulcrum" of the balance between reliance on the law, the external locus of control (peer pressure), prohibition of eating from someone’s corn field on the Sabbath, and the internal locus of God’s gift of freedom, bestowed by the Lord of the Sabbath. And this freedom necessarily embraces the human condition of suffering, calling us constantly beyond ourselves in the service of others. Is this not what we are all about? We are going to constantly feel the tension of the "shift" from self centeredness to being for others.

William Jennings Bryan said it succinctly, "Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." 

Fully embrace this day the freedom-for-service God has given you to transform this world, one person at a time.

 

Fr. Alex Steinmiller, C.P. is president of Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School, Birmingham, Alabama.

Feast of the Nativity of Mary

Scripture:

8 Wisdom 9:13-18b
Philemon 9-10, 12-17
Luke 14:25-33

Reflection:

In Sunday’s Gospel reading (Luke 14:25-33), we continue to hear challenging words from Jesus about discipleship. He says words that startle us: "If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. … anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple." I don’t believe that Jesus is advocating hating our families, or that we should engage in self-destructive behaviors. But I do believe that He is being honest with His disciples and with us in telling us that if we choose to be His disciples, we have to put Him first above everything and everyone.

Now, it may sound like Jesus is telling us that if we don’t put Him first we won’t be allowed to be His disciples. But I wonder if it is more that if we don’t put Him first we won’t be able to be His disciples. In other words, we can’t be fully Jesus’ disciples until we are willing to go all the way with Him. Otherwise it will simply not work. Why do I say this? Look at the apostles. It is true that they renounced much in order to follow Jesus. They gave up their livelihood. Some of them gave up their families. But even with that, they still had to let go of things, or, to put it more accurately, they had to let go of certain attitudes and perceptions. They still had to let go of their pride. They still had to let go of worrying about who was the greatest among them. They had to let go of returning violence with more violence. Peter, for example, did not let go of some of these attitudes until after Jesus’ death and Resurrection.

Perhaps we could understand Jesus’ words in this way: "If you want to be my disciple, you will have to give me everything. I have to come first, even before your loved ones; even before your most prized possessions. You may not be ready to do that to the fullest extent now, but this will be the cost of discipleship. If you’re willing to go that far, you will find yourself able to do great things for others in Me. My love for you will never go away, no matter what you choose, but know this is what it means to commit to being my disciple."

In a way, as we choose to be Jesus’ disciples, we commit to becoming the kind of people God created us to be. I have taken vows as a Passionist, and I am ordained as a priest. But if you would ask me if I know everything there is to know about being a Passionist priest, I would have to say no, I don’t. I would daresay that would be true for all married couples and single people as well. In our second reading (Philemon 9-10, 12-17), Philemon is challenged to be more of a disciple by how he treats his runaway slave, Onesimus. St. Paul writes to Philemon: "Perhaps this is why he was away from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a brother, beloved especially to me, but even more so to you, as a man and in the Lord. So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me." In our commitment to God in Jesus Christ, we say "Yes" to God forming us into more and more perfect disciples.

As always, we remember that we cannot do this on our own. In our first reading from Wisdom (9:13-18b), the author gives praise to God as he acknowledges the impossibility of really knowing God: "Or who ever knew your counsel, except you had given wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high? And thus were the paths of those on earth made straight." We can travel on the path to discipleship by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. May we choose to be and become Jesus’ disciples, and may God’s kingdom come!

 

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P. is on the staff of St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center, Detroit, Michigan. 

Scripture:

Colossians 1:1-8
Luke 4:38-44

Reflection:

Why Believe?

Today’s Gospel selection vividly recounts Jesus’ healing ministry:  the cure of the severe fever of Simon’s mother-in-law, multitudes of sick with various diseases – even people with demons!  Crowds of people followed Him, and even tried to block his path as He desired to move on to other towns and proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God. 

We must constantly remind ourselves that Jesus is the center of our faith because of Who He is, not simply because of his miraculous powers or his persuasive words.  The demons driven out by Jesus had more insight into Jesus than many people of times past and present:  they declared to Jesus, "You are the Son of God." 

Jesus cured Simon Peter’s mother-in-law of a severe fever, but there were undoubtedly many other sick people whom He did not cure.  Jesus laid hands on those with various diseases and healed them, but there were many more sick people throughout the world at that time with whom Jesus never came in contact.  Jesus worked his miracles out of a sense of compassion, but he was even more concerned with drawing people to himself in faith.  The response of faith is much more important than a cure or a healing; our eternal future, not just our here-and-now lifetime, depends on our response of faith.

We cannot limit ourselves by accepting Jesus only if he pleases our needs or our sense of values.  Jesus reveals himself to us as much more than our human "view":  He is the Christ, the Word Made Flesh — and Son of God!  We’re invited to believe in and generously follow Him without condition.  Like St. Paul in the first reading, we give thanks to God for the gift of faith in Jesus, and the love that freely flows from that faith.

With and in Jesus, we embrace our needy world with the good news of the Kingdom of God.  May hope and healing abound!

 

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

Scripture:

Colossians 1:15-20
Luke 5:33-39

Reflection:

Fasting & Feasting:  Towards A Change of Heart

The "good old" Scribes and Pharisees:  today’s Gospel continues the saga of their confronting Jesus with their legalistic formalism…and so little heart!  "Your disciples don’t fast and pray…yours eat and drink."  For them it was more important to follow minute regulations than it was to help a neighbor in distress.  Law itself had basically replaced the Lawgiver!

Jesus met this issue head on and wanted to show that love is the essence of religion and that regulations are valid only if God’s purposes are served.  He asked more of his disciples:  to follow his example, and love God with one’s whole being and to love one’s neighbor as He did — a much more demanding life response than a fasting from food!  A new cloak…a new batch of wine…

As contemporary disciples, we are all asked to think outside the box.  We’ve moved beyond our Baltimore Catechism days; the Second Vatican Council has opened the "windows" of the Church.  The Spirit is alive in our midst:  the Church is a community of believers!  Our liturgical prayer invites and requires our full and active participation!  Our Baptism calls everyone to a life-long discipleship / involvement in the Church, in line with their particular vocation!  It’s more than what you do (or don’t) eat or drink.

No doubt we seek to grow day by day; we need God to open our hearts in both our fasting and feasting – to help us change and grow.  As members of the Passionist family, we ponder our lives and that of our world.  What are our values in life?  What value do we place in today’s quest for power, or money, or material goods, or popularity?  How do we "love"?

May God open wide our eyes and our hearts, to see the treasure of our faith, the blessings and hard realities of daily life, and the Life and Goodness that is ours in Him.  Together, we give thanks to God, and bless His name!  God’s kindness and faithfulness reaches out to us all!

 

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

Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great 

Scripture:

1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, 9-11
Luke 4:31-37

Reflection:

"For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits and out they come!" Luke 4:36 

I ask myself, "Can it be possible for me to accept, daily, the authority and power of God, through Jesus Christ his Son?" I am assured by St. Paul that I am not in darkness, despite that the time and seasons appear that way. " Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. spoke of this authority in his acceptance of the Nobel Peace prize, December 10, 1964. "I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the "is-ness" of man’s (sic) present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal "ought-ness" that forever confronts him. I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsam and jetsam in the river of life, unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him.  I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright day break of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality…I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant."

These sentiments capture the authority of Jesus Christ in the face of evil embodied in the spirit of a person depicted in today’s Gospel. This happened on several occasions after Jesus experienced a grace-filled moment from God, there would be confrontation with a person possessed with evil, e.g., after his inaugural mission statement in the synagogue, and, immediately coming down from the mountain where the Transfiguration had transpired.

Can it be possible for me to accept daily the authority and power of God through Jesus Christ? We have saints like Gregory the Great to personify how God works through those who stay awake and alert. Ordained at 38, appointed abbot of the Benedictines at 46, becoming Pope at 50. So I accept each day that the authority of the Lord Jesus is in me. St. Paul tells us that we can expect resistance and pain, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman. The Christian life is a daily adventure assuming that I remain alert and sober in the reality in which I am placed, knowing that I am destined, not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Fr. Alex Steinmiller, C.P. is president of Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School, Birmingham, Alabama.

Scripture:

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Luke 4:16-30

Reflection:

Today’s Gospel passage is the rather rich and dramatic reading which incorporates Jesus’ proclamation of the fulfillment of the Isaiah passage he has chosen to read in the synagogue of Nazareth, the positive response of the people, the transition to doubt and anger, and finally, the turning against Jesus and seeking to do him bodily harm.

One is tempted to think, "Why didn’t Jesus leave well-enough, alone?"  He had held up the mission proclaimed by Isaiah as having reached the time of fulfillment.  The people "all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth."

Instead of building on the popularity that he had generated for himself, he goes on to accuse them of selfishness ("Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.").  He replies that in the time of Elijah the Prophet, God favored the poor and needy who were in Sidon and Syria, rather than the Chosen people of Israel, thus reminding them in one utterance of God’s compassionate generosity to all people, and the low ranking of their town and its synagogue compared with the magnificent architecture in Capernaum.

It is no surprise, then, that "they rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill…to hurl him down headlong."

It is a familiar lesson that comes from today’s gospel passage.  The Church is a revelation to all peoples of the compassionate goodness of God.  The Church reveals God’s saving action in Jesus Christ as intended to reach all people.  But not "all people" can welcome that message.  We prefer that God build up in our lives the evidence of our spiritual superiority, our spiritual strength, and our proximity to the Kingdom.  We might even suffer from a spiritual jealousy of those who seem to have more than we have been allotted by the providence of God. 

Taking a cue from the Gospel of the 22nd Sunday (C), let us remember that wonderful Christian virtue we call "humility".  In a modern definition of that virtue, we believe that to be humble is to "see ourselves as God sees us."  God sees the divine image in us; God sees the life of one for whom his Son, Jesus, gave his life; God sees every effort we’ve made to be open and attentive to the Spirit of God; and God sees all of our sinfulness, and loves us still.

 

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

Scripture:

Sirach  3:17, 20, 28-29
Hebrews  12:18-19, 22-24a
Luke  4:1, 7-14

Reflection:

The readings today emphasize what has traditionally been called almsgiving -the giving of alms to the poor and needy.  They step by step lead us to the call to follow Christ in his great love for the poor and his mission to go about doing good to them and for them.

The first reading from Sirach opens by calling us to be humble, advising us to humble ourselves and listen carefully to the wise.  Sirach ends with a proverb: "alms atone for sins."

The psalm invites us then to see and praise God’s glory.  That glory is our heavenly Father’s great love and care for the poor, illustrated by each succeeding stanza.  And we reply with the refrain, "God in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor."

The second reading, the letter to the Hebrews, moves us into the new testament.  God in his goodness fulfilled his former covenant by sending us his son, who  now  mediates  a new covenant which he made by shedding his own blood.

The Gospel then shows us that mediator in person, the model of this new covenant: Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, teaching us to think not about satisfying and rewarding ourselves here on earth, but to go out to "the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; – blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you."

In reflecting on these readings, I am constantly reminded of a saying of St. Teresa of Avila:

          "Christ has no body now but yours.
           No hands, no feet on earth but yours.
           Your eyes are the eyes through which
           Christ looks compassion into the world.
           Yours are the feet with which Christ walks to do good.
           Yours are the hands with which Christ blesses the world."

Christ, feeding me with himself in this Eucharist, sends me forth to be him – goes with me to make me him in his love and devotion to the poor, in his own giving of alms.  How well do I really let him act and show himself through me – through my hands and feet, my giving and caring?

I am called back to the proverb of Sirach: "alms atone for sins."

 

Br. Peter A. Fitzpatrick, CFX, a Xaverian Brother, is a Passionist Associate at Ryken House, across the creek from the Passionist Monastery, in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

1 Thessalonians 4: 9-11
Matthew 25: 14-30

Reflection:

"..Well done, my good and faithful servant.  Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities.  Come, share your master’s joy…."

The parables of Jesus not only help us to learn more about God’s Kingdom, but they also provide us with some insights that help us to move more effectively along that road to the Kingdom. These parables continue to have relevance in our lives today.

The message of today’s gospel parable is simply this: the Christian is a person who must put himself or herself at risk. We are asked to become risk takers.  The master gives money to two of the servants, they put the money to work, make a profit and make their master happy. These two individuals took risks.

It’s precisely this willingness to take risks that the master finds lacking in the third servant.  "You did not put the money to work because you were afraid you might lose it. Because of your fear, I received no profit. Now you will lose everything." 

Why must a Christian put himself/herself at risk?  At the heart of Christianity is Christ’s commandment to love God and love people. Is that command risky?  Indeed !!  This will very often mean; "take up your cross, die to yourself, live by Christian values and follow me." The demands of being a Christian can be very challenging.

Jesus’ parable is, of course, about what we do with all that God has given us.  "How are we managing our gifts and talents?" 

God has given everyone an abundance of gifts and talents. The gifts we have received are to be developed. The gift is the potential and our development of this potential brings about fulfillment of the gift.

 I suspect that fear is the reason that many are reluctant to use their gifts or talents. Some may believe they have few, if any, talents that God would want to use.

God is accustomed to working miracles with "one talent people" who have enough faith in God and in themselves to do significant things. Remove the haloes from these heroes and saints of the past and let’s take a good look at them.

Moses was a man who had murdered an Egyptian. James and John were self-absorbed fishermen who tried to badger Jesus into giving them special seats in heaven. Peter was impulsive and widely known for making promises he could not keep. Paul was an unimpressive Pharisee determined to persecute every Christian that crossed his path. These were "one talent individuals" whom God took and twisted their talent into something incredibly significant…and today we call them saints!

The choice before us is one of being a reluctant servant or a risky servant!

God’s biggest challenge is not with big, important people…there are only a few of them in the world. No, God’s biggest challenge is with all of us "one talent" types who believe that no matter what we do it won’t make much difference.

There is great joy in developing and using our gifts and talents in a lifelong partnership with the One who created us, and God continues to use "ordinary" people to do "extraordinary" things!!

 

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