wpengine

Scripture:

Genesis 18:1-10a
Colossians 1:24-28
Luke 10:38-42

Reflection:

Today we hear instances of hospitality in our scriptural presentations.  Abraham entertains three gentlemen passing by his tent door, and Martha/Mary provide care and attention to their guest, Jesus.  Hospitality is a familiar practice for most of us.  We appreciate the attention it receives in the day’s biblical readings.

A promising facet of these hospitality passages, possibly overlooked, is the way revelation is embedded in these stories.  The Genesis account initially mentions ‘God’ (the Lord) as the visitor, only to quickly re-phrase the description of the travelers as "three men".  Already we suspect something is going on here.  While we may marvel at the casual way these visitors while away the better part of a day waiting for Sarah and Abraham to serve up a meal, we note that one of them, at least, promises to return (in about a year, apparently a frequent flyer) when Sarah will have a child.  Now this is a revelation.  But, as a revelation, is it information coming down from above, or is it an uncovering of something going on here below, among us?

And Luke’s account of Jesus’ visit to the home of Martha and Mary is also brought to our attention today.  Again, this event centers around a meal, though, unlike the Genesis story above, it seems to be mainly the concern of just one sister (Martha) rather than of the other (Mary).  And Martha seems to come out on the short end of the stick here.  Perhaps.  But she plays a part in elaborating the revelation underway here ("the need of only one thing"): what really matters is the significance of the time and attention paid to Jesus, or any guest, suggesting a possibly improved protocol for dealing with guests: serve sandwiches so as to have more time to host and enjoy your guests.  Again, revelation appears here as uncovering the significance of what we are about.

Paul too, as we hear his message to the Colossian church today, suggests that revelation is often embedded in what is going on in our lives, as much as it is a message from above.  Does he not use his own experience of " my sufferings for your sake" as  revealing "what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ"?  Paul proceeds to expose the implications of what is happening in his own body, as the locus of revelation unfolding right among us, rather than from elsewhere.  He further makes the intriguing remark about "the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past" to suggest that the church in Colossae is to play its part in the unfolding panorama of this mystery enveloping the Gentiles, that "Christ [is] in you, the hope for glory."  Revelation is a process in which we all participate.

This was surely good news to the Colossians who otherwise might have been overly concerned for Paul, given his own role in this process, look the worse for wear as a consequence.  And it should be good news for us, as we realize that we too are active participants in the revelation process, not just passive recipients of it.  Whether it’s by the hospitality we provide or the sufferings we undergo, we have assurance that we play a role in revealing God’s designs and program for this world of ours.  And we note the obvious gospel focus on Mary as a key player in the revelation that by sitting beside the Lord at his feet and listening to him speak, we help reveal that attention to Jesus in prayer is central to God’s emergence among us.

 

Fr. Sebastian MacDonald, C.P. is a member of the Passionist formation community at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago. 

Scripture:

Exodus 12: 37-42
Matthew 12: 14-21

Reflection:

Has any historical event so important been described in such an understated way?  In today’s first reading from Exodus we read the rather bland statement, "The children of Israel set out from Rameses for Succoth…."  Admittedly, you begin to get an indication of the scale of the historical moment as the text goes on, "about six hundred thousand men on foot, not counting the little ones."  But even so, it’s a pretty laid back description of one of the great liberation events in history!  After 430 years in Egypt, the last 50 or so in slavery, the Jewish people are finally being set free.

No doubt, as they began the journey, they were filled with excitement and hope, happy to shake the dust of Egypt from their sandals.  Had they realized how long the journey would take, some 40 years, they probably would have never had the heart to begin.  Trials and tribulations, suffering and loss, fear and violence were an integral part of the journey.  Yet, at the urging of Moses and their other religious leaders, they persisted.  And, they gradually came to understand how deeply God loved them, how faithfully God travelled with them, how attentive and responsive God was to their needs.  By the time they entered the Promised Land, they no longer thought of themselves as the slaves of Egypt, but as the "chosen people of God."  Now that’s a true transformation.

Many of us can recognize ourselves in this great story.  It’s a long journey to a deep understanding of God’s great love for us.  And, it’s a great challenge to grow into a deep conviction that God is walking with us throughout all the experiences of our lives.  Yet, that’s what this story is about.  May you recognize your journey as the path into the embrace of our loving Father.

 

Fr. Michael Higgins, C.P. is the director of the Development Office for Holy Cross Province and is stationed at Immaculate Conception Community in Chicago.

Scripture:

Exodus 11:10-12:14
Matthew 12:1-8

Reflection:

"For the Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath." Matthew 12:8

The readings for today’s Mass draw us into two very dramatic moments, the first, in the life of Israelites as they wait for The Day of Deliverance from Slavery in Egypt and the second, Jesus’ disciples being delivered from the slavery of human laws which show no mercy. Both of these dramatic moments have life-long consequences. As we continue reading and reflecting on the following passages after the readings for today’s Mass, we discover just how central they are to our understanding of a God who liberates us despite all odds and a God whose mercy gives us a new chance on life.

Those of us who are very familiar with the Exodus account know what happens next. The Pharaoh finally relents and lets Moses lead the tribes of Israel out of Egypt. The next day, Pharaoh changes his mind and sends his armies after them. God shows him and us that human violence, human power and human greed are no match for God’s sense of Justice and Righteousness. And for us who follow and love this God of ours, there is a sense of comfort knowing that God’s Justice will ultimately prevail over the evils that are caused by a humanity that values power, control, greed and privilege at the expense of other human beings.

The Exodus story is about us, the struggle that we have within us to free ourselves from the demons that try to make us and our comforts the center of our lives rather than embracing the truth that we are all God’s children regardless of when and where we were born. We are all equal and each has the same dignity before God. We share a human tendency to keep what we have now, not to let go of what we have now and not have faith in a future that we know nothing about. I know that I do.

But the Exodus is about letting God lead us out of that human sense of security into a future that promises a new way of life. What a challenge it is for me to let go of my human wisdom and let God lead me into the Promised Land!

The Gospel invites us to see our God, the God of Exodus, in the Person of Jesus. This particular passage of Jesus defending the right of the disciples to eat when hungry and pluck grain on the Sabbath is followed by Jesus curing a man who is worshipping in the Synagogue who has a withered hand. In both of these accounts it is the human law that prevents goodness and mercy to prevail. Jesus would have none of that!

In these readings, we are invited to follow the Spirit of God and of Jesus as we make our way in life. In both of these readings, it is the people who have the responsibility of leadership that find it difficult to do justice and to practice mercy. God and Jesus make a stand against injustice. These readings invite me to look at the way I treat others. I may discover that I do sometimes enslave others with my thoughtless ways. They invite me to look with kindness and mercy upon those who are so disadvantaged in life that they will never have a decent way of life. We all are, after all, God’s children.

We thank God that we follow a God who desires mercy, not sacrifice! Jesus is, after all, the Lord of the Sabbath!

 

Fr. Clemente Barrón, C.P. is stationed in San Antonio, Texas. 

Scripture:
Exodus 3:13-20
Matthew 11:28-30

Reflection:
My mother’s birthday would have been this week.  When I realized the date of this reflection, I hoped there would be some meaningful synergy between the Scripture reading and my recollection of my mother. And in a strange sort of way, there is.

My mother, perhaps like so many of your mothers, grew up in the Depression. She was half Irish, her father could barely find work, and so she spent much of her youth and adulthood deconstructing, inwardly and outwardly, the prevailing attitude that she was somehow second class. How did she do it?

She worked. She and my father attained middle-class stature. She dug in to the 9-5 world and claimed her right to be there.  She re-invented herself away from her Irish heritage. She and my father didn’t achieve the American dream in any grandiose way, but in their own modest way, they embraced and embodied its values. I love my mother for her toughness, her work ethic, her survival instinct.

But then we come to today’s readings and the centerpiece of our American cultural identity folds inward. God doesn’t ask us to pull ourselves up by our "spiritual bootstraps" and make something better of our meager lives. He asks us to surrender; to come like a child before Him, unassuming and fragile in our own humanity.  He offers us the chance to rest, to breathe, to be unburdened. We don’t need to try to get ahead. We just need to be.

Then as now, it seems to me that the yoke which truly crushes us is the burden of the distance between ourself and God–a God of pure being, pure love, pure authenticity–"I am who am."  I’m reminded of how many of my own burdens are self-imposed and needlessly borne. I think of how hard my parents worked, and I truly love them for their efforts, but I also can’t forget how fleeting are the trappings and promised successes of our culture, our society, our world.

My parents are now at rest, freed from all the pressures and "rules and regulations" that the world imposed. And I trust that they, in the gentlest possible way, are nudging me now to remember that true peace of mind and heart can be found only in simple love and true surrender to God.     

 

Nancy Nickel is a former staff member at the Passionist Development Office.

 

Scripture:

Exodus 2:1-15a
Matthew 11:20-24

 

 

 

Reflection:

Listening to God’s Call to Conversion

Last weekend we had the archdiocesan Spanish vocation retreat "Vengan y Vean" (Come and See) here at Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center in Houston, Texas.  Most of the young men and women who attended the retreat expressed their personal fears and expectations for the vocation weekend.   They were afraid of ignoring God’s will and missing His call to religious life and/or priesthood.  Likewise, they expected to have a retreat that would help them deepen their vocation discernment by dispelling their fears and doubts and affirming their willingness and capacity for serving God and the Church as religious.

Today’s gospel reminds us of the Psalmist’s warning  words, that is, "If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts" (Psalm 95:7-8), which encourages us to be aware of God’s presence within and among us and not to miss the opportunity of acknowledging and appreciating the manifestation of God’s kingdom in the here and now of our everyday living.  For Jesus’ words indicate that God’s everlasting kingdom of love, justice, and peace always occurs in the present and local circumstances of our daily life.  That is why we hear Jesus reproaching "God’s chosen people" of the neighboring towns of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum for not responding to the manifestations and the life-changing invitations of God’s kingdom occurring in their very midst, in and through Jesus’ preaching and miraculous deeds.  

The Psalmist’s warning words and Jesus’ reproaching words thus prove what some have already argued.  That is, opportunities are given to us only once, just as time passes only once.  In effect, the opportunities we miss to follow through on the invitation will be lost, just as the times we fail to do something prevent us from growing in God’s grace.  We might have other opportunities and times to do the same thing, but the experiences and circumstances of life will never be the same as the ones we missed.  That is why Jesus assures us that, at the final judgment, it will be more tolerable for Tyre, Sidon and Sodom, the pagan cities that refused to hear God’s message of repentance and conversion.  

Todays’ readings, therefore, invite us to be perceptive and appreciative of God’s living presence within and among us, and to be proactive to Jesus’ call to build up God’s kingdom by proclaiming and living out the gospel values of faith, love and justice.

 

Fr. Alfredo Ocampo, C.P. gives retreats and parish missions.  He is stationed at Holy Name Passionist Community in Houston, Texas.

 

Feast of St Bonaventure

Scripture:

Exodus1:8-14, 22
Matthew 10:34-11:1

Reflection:

We have just read the conclusion of Matthew’s effort to gather in one place (Chapter 10) Jesus’s instructions to his disciples as to how they should conduct their evangelization efforts, the challenges they would face when they undertook this task and the difference responding to the good news makes in the lives of those who accept this message. In the highly charged atmosphere of the Roman Empire of 50-100 AD the consequences of accepting the Christian message could and did divide families. In 2013 enthusiastically accepting and living the faith might more mean incomprehension on the part of family members and friends rather than outright hostility. Yet that is a price many are willing to pay as they enter RCIA programs in response to hearing the invitation of Jesus to follow him as a Catholic.

Jesus asks this question of every disciple: who or what do you really love?  That question has never changed down through the ages. The answer has not changed either. I must love Jesus more than any human person and be ready to sacrifice my life or possessions for his sake. In stark terms: I must "take up his cross and follow after him". Only in giving will I find the life that Jesus offers.

Jesus concludes by speaking of the reward that comes with responding to the good news. The mystery is that whoever accepts the message receives Jesus himself and "the one who sent him", the Father.  Accepting the message also demands action. Even the simple act of giving someone a cup of cold water will be rewarded. In the heat of this summer, with temperatures close to 100 degrees some days, we recognize how life saving and refreshing a cup of cool water is.

The core of message "The Kingdom of God is at hand for you" challenges us to live in the nearness of God’s reign. Like the wise scribe who answered with understanding we are not far from the kingdom.

 

Fr. Michael Hoolahan, C.P. is on the staff of Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

Genesis 49:29-32; 50:15-26a
Matthew 10:24-33

Reflection:

Fr. Hugo Esparza Pérez, CP, currently serves in a very poor area of Mexico.  In the strength and determination of the people he encounters in his work, he sees the words of today’s Gospel lived out: 

´´…do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul¨

You may see us almost static, at the feet of the system that oppress us, that rapes the earth and our culture, but we are not. We walk in serine peace, for we know that the God of life is with us. No matter how many of us die or how much we continue to suffer, we know that at the end in God´s victory we will prevail. – An Elder from the Tojolabal People of Chiapas.

 

Fr. Hugo Esparza-Pérez, C.P. is a Passionist of Holy Cross Province now working in Mexico with the Province of Cristo Rey.

Scripture:
Genesis 46:1-7, 28-30
Matthew 10:16-23

Reflection:
The Gospel speaks to the "New Evangelization" as the apostles are sent out on their mission to spread God’s Word to all people. One verse that has always struck a chord in me as a missionary is "Be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves."

We must be wise about the culture we live in. We must be shrewd and crafty about how we proclaim the Gospel effectively in this day and age. We must understand exactly to whom we are talking. Often I will be in a parish preaching the "Call to the Mission" at the weekend Masses. This is the important homily that invites people to return and participate in the parish mission on Monday – Wednesday. Usually the final Mass of the four or five that weekend occurs on Sunday night and is often known as a "Life Teen Mass." I know from experience that the Mass will be attended by many teenagers, so I slightly change my stories to make them applicable to their lives. I call this "Youth-enizing" my homily.

We live in the midst of a sports culture. Many men and women spend hours watching sports on TV or in person each weekend. Sports are the great idol of American society. The reason why I wrote a book titled Golf and God isn’t simply because I like golf. Golf (sports) is the medium, the language, through which I present the Gospel (softly and clearly – like a dove) in the midst of a culture saturated with sporting activities. I’ve had numerous requests to write a book such as "Fishing and God." Perhaps as a sequel?

My books are unique because I have them printed with larger print. I move the margins away from the center and more toward the left and right edges to make them easier for older people to read. I know my clientele. I purposely use stories and easy-to-understand personal experiences the reader can relate to. I present the Gospel clearly, but in a way people can receive the message. As my editor says, "Your books are easy-to-read but are not an-easy-read."

Whether we proclaim the Gospel through writing, preaching, media, our presence, or by simple example, we must be familiar with our culture and the people we are sent to minister to. As the family of Passionists, Jesus has sent us to be effective missionaries and to bring the saving Gospel to all: elderly, youth, faithful, and fallen-away. As the Church considers "The New Evangelization" afresh, the words of Jesus echo true: "Be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves."

 

Fr. Cedric Pisegna, C.P. is a missionary preacher, author of 16 books and creator of the TV program Live with Passion! airing in many cities. You can learn more about his ministry at: http://www.frcedric.org/