wpengine

Scripture:

Acts 14:5-18
John 14:21-26

Reflection:

In today’s passage from the Acts of the Apostles we see Barnabas and Paul in a ticklish situation.  After seeing a lame man walk, the people acclaim the two apostles as gods in human form.  The people even name them "Zeus" and "Hermes".  When Barnabas and Paul realize what is happening they speak to the crowd.  "We proclaim to you good news that you should turn from these idols to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them."

As I reflect on this passage, I realize how often I create my own "gods" and idols rather than partake in the life of the Spirit of God.  I also realize why I and so many of us create our own gods; what we create, we can control.  It is far easier for me to follow my own self-made gods than to follow the movement of God’s Spirit in my life.  Following the urgings of the Holy Spirit means I have to follow the teachings of Jesus.  The Gospel passage spells it out for us.

"I have told you this while I am with you.  The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name; he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you."  Yes, it’s much easier to create my own gods than to follow the teachings of Jesus!  It is easier to ignore injustice in my world than to speak up in protest.  It is easier to pile up money than to risk giving it away to those in poverty.  It is easier to fill my life with gadgets, property, addictions and assorted distracting "stuff" than to truly listen to God’s Spirit every day in prayer.

Creating new gods in my life is easy.  I do it all the time.  Following the challenge of loving God and my neighbors is tough.  Before I dismiss the crowds who wanted to make Paul and Barnabas "gods", I probably ought to remember the "gods" I create every day to bring me comfort and a sense of control.  I need to remember the verse from the Gospel of John every day.

"The Holy Spirit will teach you everything and remind you of all I told you."

 

Terry McDevitt, Ph.D. is a member of our Passionist Family who volunteers at the Passionist Assisted Living Community in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

Acts 13:26-33
John 14:1-6

Reflection:

"There’s always room for one more" sums up my father’s generous spirit.  While some friends think this refers amusingly to the nine children my mother and he welcomed and raised, the story actually refers to a winter trip we took with ten of us traveling in one station wagon in the mountains of Wyoming.   Coming upon a man stranded and out of gas in sub-zero temperature, my father stopped to help.  The man looked inside the car and said he could wait for another car to hitch a ride to the next town to get some gas.  "Nonsense," said dad.  "There’s always room for one more."  So we made adjustments, as we often did, to make room for him.

My dad was anything but stingy.  He gave himself to others, and encouraged us to live generously.  I think of him today when I read how Jesus reassures Thomas and the other disciples, "In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places."  Jesus is always welcoming and including others.  There is always room for one more.

This inclusiveness is echoed in the first reading from Acts of the Apostles when Paul preaches to the "children of the family of Abraham, and those others among you who are God-fearing."  The Word of God is intended to reach the ends of the earth, not for a select few.  Being on fire with the Living Word does not lend itself to being stingy.

We humans, though, have a propensity to divide, exclude, and separate.  We tend to be stingy.  Look at the tremendous loss of life during sectarian violence in different parts of the world.  Listen to the debate on immigration reform.  We discount the unborn, the incarcerated, and the homeless. Conservatives and Liberals demonize and ridicule each other believing they are the only repository of truth.

The disciples were not much better.  They would try to get Jesus to send people away because it was getting dark or there was not enough food; to stop frequenting the homes of sinners; to call down fire on those preaching without formal credentials.  Time and again, Jesus would help the disciples – and us – be a little less stingy.  "Give them something to eat yourselves," and "Let the little children come to me."

The profoundly moving words of the Psalm today are spoken to each of us:  You are my son.  You are my daughter.  This day I have begotten you.  There is always room for one more -you, me, the hungry, the homeless, the rich, the poor, whites and blacks, Catholics and Hindus.    To live a life of generosity is to welcome and include others.  God is not stingy with His love.  We shouldn’t be either.

 

Robert Hotz is a consultant with American City Bureau, Inc. and is the Director of The Passion of Christ: The Love That Compels Campaign for Holy Cross Province.

Scripture:

1 Peter 5:5b-14
Mark 16:15-20

Reflection:

Mark’s gospel is the oldest and the shortest of the four gospels.  It was probably written in Rome for a Gentile community of converts.  Of the four gospels Mark’s is a manifestation of the "scandal" of a Crucified Messiah.   It is fitting that Mark is represented as a winged lion. The roar of the lion was so loud, all shuttered at the sound.

Mark’s gospel is divided into three parts.  Chapters 1-8, no one seems to understand the true identity of Jesus, not even his disciples.  Chapters 9-15, true discipleship constitutes service to others.  The ultimate example of service to others is Jesus who dies for his people.  Chapter 16, Jesus’ death is not the end of the story.  The disciples of Jesus are challenged to follow his example and are imbued with the Spirit of Jesus to serve those to whom they are sent.

Mark’s gospel gives a very human portrait of Jesus.  In it, Jesus is able to be "sharp."  In Capernaum Jesus rebukes the spirit possessing a man in the synagogue (1:25).   Jesus is capable of grief and anger.  After healing the man with a withered hand, Jesus is upset with those who criticized Him for healing on the Sabbath (3:5).  He is indignant when the disciples try to prevent the mothers from bringing their children to him (10:14).  At the same time Mark shows the sensitive Jesus, who after curing the daughter of Jairus tells her family the little girl should be "given something to eat." (5:43). When Jesus meets the rich, young man who asks to follow Jesus.  Jesus looks at him and "loves him." (10:20). 

Trust is the heart of discipleship for Mark.  Jesus could give sight to someone who was blind, but could not give insight to his disciples about his mission as a Crucified and Suffering Savior.  It is service to others that the disciples take up the cup and cross of suffering and attain the glory of his Resurrection. 

 

Fr. Kenneth O’Malley, C.P. is the director of Formation and local superior at Holy Name Passionist Community in Houston, Texas.

Scripture:

Acts 11:19-26
John 10:22-30

Reflection:

In our first reading from Acts, Luke tells us that "it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians." What does it mean to be called "Christian?" Obviously there is not enough space here to go into a complete answer to that question. But our Scripture readings point to a few aspects of what it means to be Christian.

One thing that comes to mind is that to be Christian is to be open to God’s transforming love and power in Jesus Christ. We believe that in the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, God transformed a sign of defeat and destruction into the sign of our salvation. In our reading from Acts, many of the disciples scatter after the martyrdom of Steven. And yet, look at what happens! The Good News of Jesus Christ now reaches Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch! God transforms the persecution of the disciples into an opportunity for evangelization!

Another thing about being Christian is that to be Christian is to be a person of hope. We are an Easter people. This is so important in our world today. In the aftermath of the bombing in Boston, and with all the senseless acts of violence in our world, Jesus’ words in our Gospel reading are especially meaningful: "My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand… and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one." It is true that too many people have been taken out of our hands through war and terror and violence. But they have not been taken out of God’s hands! And because of this, our loved ones who have gone before us have not been taken out of our hearts or out of our lives! Death does not cut us off from each other! As Christians, we comfort those who grieve. We work to help build a world where senseless violence will be a thing of the past. And we wait in hope for Jesus to come again and bring the fulfillment of the kingdom of God.

May God give us the grace to live up to the name "Christian."

 

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

Scripture:

Acts 11:1-18
John 10:1-10

Reflection:

‘John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ Acts 11: 16

The first time I heard about baptism in the Holy Spirit was when we moved to Chico, California in 1977. I met some people at our new parish who seemed to have a more vibrant faith than I did, and I thought I was a pretty good Catholic! They talked about Jesus like they knew Him. . . I wasn’t even comfortable saying His Name out loud. As I got to know them better, I learned that they had all been baptized in the Holy Spirit, meaning that they simply invited the Holy Spirit they had received at Baptism and Confirmation to work in their lives.

Well, I wanted what they had, so one night when Jim was out of town and the kids were in bed, I asked the Lord to baptize me in His Holy Spirit too. I invited Him to take over my life as I surrendered to Him. I wanted to get to know Jesus as a person and grow in my faith. No bells or whistles went off, but when I look back, I know that a new chapter in my journey of faith began that night.

The Mass came alive for me after that. I started really noticing the words that I was saying and hearing, and realized that it is the best prayer you can pray – the words of the prayers during mass are incredible! Another thing that happened was that Scripture also came alive for me – it wasn’t just an old book of old stories anymore, but through it God was speaking directly to my heart  and I couldn’t get enough. I began to notice that the Spirit was nudging me to do and say things, correcting me and bringing certain scriptures to mind when I needed them. After yielding to the Spirit, my faith went from a religion to a relationship with a living, loving Lord.

Scripture tells us the many ways the Holy Spirit can help us, but we often don’t take advantage of it, because we don’t know how. I think it would be awesome to have a sacrament called "Baptism in the Holy Spirit" for adults! Then we all could experience the fullness of our faith just like the disciples did at Pentecost, and we could affirm what our parents did for us when they baptized us as infants. Thanks Mom and Dad. I am forever grateful! And thanks Holy Spirit for the gifts you give us and the ways you teach and guide us.

 

Janice Carleton and her husband Jim live in Portland, OR and partner with Passionist Fr. Cedric Pisegna in Fr. Cedric Ministries. Janice also leads retreats and has written her first book called "God Speaks to Ordinary People – Like You and Me". She is the mother of 4 grown children and grandmother of 6. Visit Janice’s website at http://www.janicecarleton.com/ or email her at [email protected]

Scripture:

Acts 13:14, 43-52
Revelation 7:9, 14b-17
John 10:27-30

Reflection:

Mary Tallchief was a famous ballerina, recently deceased, noteworthy for her achievement, given her background as a Native American: a member of the Osage tribe that counted Kansas and Oklahoma as its homeland.   This was also part of the territory, especially around Coffeyville, where the Dalton gang, contemporaries of Jesse and Frank James, hunted down and robbed trains, just as the James boys were doing.  I grew familiar with this area during my novitiate year with the community of Passionist religious, in the small town of St. Paul, in southeast Kansas.   The Passionists succeeded the Jesuits in this area at the end of the 19^th century, during which the Jesuits had established Osage Indian mission there.  This transaction cost $1.00, and the Passionists subsequently complained they had been cheated.

A novitiate year is the equivalent of boot camp in the military: it’s the beginning stage, where one learns the basics of the new way of life one is entering.  My year of entry (1950) was memorable for me because a fellow novice, Richard Osterberg, drowned while swimming the nearby treacherous floodwaters of the Neosho River, despite his skill as a swimmer, being a US Navy veteran during WW II.

This is the context for appreciating the achievement of Mary Tallchief, (and the Dalton boys), in earning credentials with a grudging American society against this kind of background, which she did with aplomb.  After all, was she not a Native American?

A similar scenario plays itself out in today’s liturgical readings.  There we hear of another social division brewing between the early Christian community in Antioch, and the Jewish community there.  Sts. Paul and Barnabas were there, preaching Jesus Christ as Savior to an unfriendly and unreceptive Jewish group, who ultimately forced Paul and Barnabas out of their territory.  This was not the first instance of rivalry between Jew and Christian.

But there is a happy ending to this mutual antagonism, spelled out for us in the book of Revelation as it presents the final outcome and destiny of Jew and Gentile/Christian: an assembly of every nation/tribe on earth gathered together before the throne of God, at the end of time.  At that point (the end of time) we are to be all gathered together, Jew and Gentile, as well as late arrivals in America, and native Americans such as the Osage, Apache, Iroquois, Sioux, Mohawk nations, hopefully to take our place in the great liturgy of praising God.

The gospel too captures this scene in terms of the Good Shepherd gathering together and protecting all His sheep, none of whom He overlooks, loses or forgets, whether Jew or Gentile Christian.  We hear the consoling message that no one shall take any of these out of the Good Shepherd’s protecting hand; He will allow none of them to perish.   Perhaps Mary Tallchief’s success in the eyes of her fellow Americans is a sign that all her fellow tribesmen will experience the same acceptance from us subsequent settlers, both now and hereafter.  After all, was she not the child of an impressive Osage warrior/father and a Scotch-Irish mother?  Divisions among us are destined to disappear at the end, as we assemble before the throne of God, Who gathers us together.

 

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

 

 

Scripture:

Acts 9:31-42
John 6:60-69

Reflection:

In the First Reading today, Peter heals the sick and raises Dorcas from the dead.  I wonder what Peter’s thoughts were when miracles started happening at his hand.   Perhaps he thought, "I can’t believe this – I denied Jesus, I tempted Him, I didn’t understand his message and still he uses me to do his work."    Or perhaps, Peter thought, "Well, Jesus chose me to do his work, I must be pretty special!"  This reading offers us an opportunity to remember that all that we do – our accomplishments, our triumphs, our successes, and our achievements – are not our doing, but rather gifts God has given us to be used for God’s work.   We know also that God considers each of us to be special – and calls each of us to do His work.

In today’s Gospel, many disciples who were following Jesus leave Him, saying, "This saying is hard…."  They were talking about Jesus’ instruction to "eat my flesh and drink my blood." For us, as Catholics, this, the Eucharist, is usually not an obstacle to our Faith but rather as the very heart of our belief a source of great strenth.  But maybe this Gospel reading can also be a reminder to us to look at where we are tempted to echo the words "this saying is hard" when we hear Jesus’ message.  Often this happens when we move past talking about Jesus’ message, and begin "walking the talk."   Often we speak loudly about those very things that don’t really cost us much and aren’t much of a sacrifice and ignore doing the things that would be "hard" for us.

It becomes a different story when our actions begin to speak louder than our words.  When we live the Gospel message instead of just talking about it – then it isn’t so easy.  Often it is truly a difficult road that Jesus asks us to follow.  It may be hard, but we live the Gospel message when we choose to go without in order to share our resources with those in need, or when we sacrifice our time to visit the sick or those in prison and it is difficult when we choose to go against popular opinion to work for peace and justice even when that means being rejected by family, friends, and community. 

Our challenge is to walk the path that Jesus followed; to work to serve others in His name and to remember to be grateful for the skills and gifts God has showered on us.

 

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

Scripture:
Acts 9:1-20
John 6:52-59

Reflection:
"So Ananias went and entered the house, laying his hands on him; he said, "Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me, Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came, that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Acts 9: 17

There is no doubt that our country is traumatized once again by the senseless bombings that took place in Boston earlier this week. Such violent acts create a broad range of emotions within us as individuals and as a community. We are filled with so many mixed emotions that challenge our humanity and our Christian heritage. We become fearful and want to hide in a safe and secure place. We are compassionate towards those who have suffered greatly in the violence and want to help. We get angry at those responsible for such heinous acts of violence but our anger and rage has no target, since no one is caught. The tendency is to blame everyone who is on our list of violent trouble makers, regardless of guilt. By the time the one or the ones responsible are identified, we have already spewed our hatred and condemnation to anyone who will listen. These are the times which define us as human beings and as Catholic Christians.

The early Church was certainly traumatized by the Passion and Death of Jesus. This heinous act was the result of many, many people who came to hate Jesus. It was not just one group of people who turned against him. Those who wanted Jesus to suffer a horrible death included people who once walked with him, listened to him and even benefited from his generosity and goodness. In today’s Gospel, we see people walking away from Jesus. One of his followers betrayed him with a kiss. Others fled. Peter denied him. Jesus’ violent end put great fear into the hearts of his most faithful followers, so much so that they began to run away or to gather behind locked doors.

Jesus’ resurrection began to change all of that, little by little. However, it did not happen overnight, instantaneously. The women were the first to believe. The men did believe them. Jesus had to appear to them two times before they all believed. But this faith did not remove their fear. Their faith challenged them to overcome their fear and urged them to be more like Jesus, praying and preaching openly, curing the sick, even bringing back to life those who had died.

Those opposed to Jesus and his message did not go away. Saul, as we read in today’s first reading, was committed to bringing the followers of Jesus to justice, even to death. As the Christian community learned more about Saul, the more fearful they were of him. But Saul had a conversion, and the followers of Jesus were called to overcome their fear of him. It was the Christian thing to do.

Once again, we, as individuals and as a community, will be called to do the Christian thing, namely overcome our fear and prejudices with faith. We are called to let go of our hate and rage toward those who have done us evil. We are called to the Peace-makers in the midst of violence and death.

May the Risen Lord appear to us and make us strong in our resolve to follow him!

 

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