Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Proverbs 21:1-6, 10-13
Luke 8:19-21

Reflection:

Eucharist at Calvary

“Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”

Last week I had one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. I received the great privilege of saying Mass on the Rock of Calvary! It was on the the site of the 11th station where Jesus was traditionally nailed to the Cross.

This wonderful place is the most valuable piece of land in the whole Cosmos! Here took place the greatest miracle of miracles of God’s love for the world! At this place the Creator of all gave His only Son to suffer and die for us and as one of us in His human nature!

Not only was this an awesome historical place but the wonder of this event is present in real eternal time in the Eucharist! What we devotedly honor in the past is being made present.

“This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Lk 22:19. Recognize in this bread what hung on the Cross, and in this chalice what flowed from His side.   ~St. Augustine

Fr. Bob Weiss, C.P. preaches Parish Missions and is a member of the Passionist Community in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

Wisdom 2:12, 17-20
James 3:16-4:3
Mark 9:30-37

Reflection:

In our second reading for today from the letter of St. James I hear frustration when he writes: “Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your members? You covet but do not possess. You do not possess because you do not ask. You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” I find myself looking at the political conflicts in our country and wanting to knock heads together! (Not the non-violent response I should take).

For James, conflicts within the community come because people want what they don’t have, and they let their envy and greed get the best of them. For me, it isn’t much of a stretch to extrapolate this to groups of people and to nations in the way they relate to each other.

In fact, we see this played out in our Gospel reading from Mark. Soon after Jesus has predicted His Passion again, the apostles argue about which of them is the greatest. Jesus uses the opportunity to teach them about discipleship and the kingdom: “if anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” He then takes a child, and putting His arms around the child, says to them: “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”

When I think about Jesus presenting a child to the apostles to help them understand whom they should serve, I think about what makes the abuse scandal in the Church so maddening and disheartening to people. The well-being of children is also at the heart of the immigration debate, the gun violence debate, the conflict about education and the debate about abortion. It is even at the heart about the debates we have about the environment as we look to what kind of a world we are going to leave our children and our grandchildren.

My hope for the Church is that the real changes that are necessary to be made, which would require a change in the “corporate culture,” so to speak, will be made.

But as far as the political debates are concerned, perhaps we could consider what kind of world are we leaving our children. In many ways, these debates can often devolve into contests to show who is the greatest, and the objects of our concern can actually be lost. Is the lesson we want to give our children that the only thing that matters is if you win against the other person? And it doesn’t really matter how?

In that letter of St. James, he writes: “And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace.”

Is it more important to cultivate peace or to prove that I or we are the greatest? By peace I do not mean, following Pope Paul VI and Martin Luther King, Jr., and many others, the mere absence of conflict, but the true peace that comes from justice. I believe Jesus would advocate cultivating peace. And I think working for justice and peace is a much better lesson we can give to our children as we strive to take care of them and show them the way.

There must be a way for people of good will to come together, forego trying to show they are the greatest, and work for justice that leads to peace and a better world for our children. May we follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is the local superior at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Community in Detroit, Michigan. 

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 42-49
Luke 8:4-15

Reflection:

In the gospel today, Luke tells us the “Parable of the Sower” (Luke 8:4-15). After telling the large crowd the parable, Jesus takes the time to explain to His questioning disciples, and us, the parable.  Jesus explains that the “the Seed is the Word of God.” The seeds fall about and depending on where they fall the amount of fruit they bear differs.

I think it is easy to judge those who don’t go to church or aren’t Christian, or Catholic as one of the non-producing soils. Is it a little too easy to cast a stone or two toward others here? I think instead that we are all four of these soils, for me, sometimes in one day.

Some days when I sit in the morning to do morning prayer, I am fertile and the Lords word penetrates me. I am nourished and cannot help but share those graces that overflow from my heart.

Some days I start out really great and I allow the devil to “come and take away the word from my heart”

Some days I quickly dart through my prayer, receiving very much what I give to the Lord. That time quickly forgotten and trampled with my day.

Other days the whole prayer time is covered in distraction and thorns of the day.

Perhaps the gift of the parable today is to encourage us to all work towards being fertile soil. To be fertile soil more. To plan ahead, to cut the thorns, to tell Satan to ‘get behind me’ and to open our hearts to God and his miracle grow and watch the fruits grow and nourish those around us.

Today. To open our hearts to the Lord in a new way trusting his nourishment and his constant feeding.

Kate Mims is the Retreat Center Director at Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center in Houston, Texas.

Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle

Scripture:

Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13
Matthew 9:9-13

Reflection:

Today we recall the life and memory of the apostle, St. Matthew.  He comes down to us in history as one of the authors of our four gospels, and his gospel is usually placed at the front of the listing of these gospels in the bible.

He has the distinction of not only being called by the Lord to become His follower, but his calling was distinctive, along with that of Peter and Andrew, James and John, and Nathanael, because it enumerates him among those specifically named by Jesus, and provides some information about his background.  For Matthew was a tax collector, working for the government, and the government happened to be Roman controlled.  The Jews had no love for the Romans, their conquerors,  who, among other things, used Jewish wealth/assets for Roman projects, in which the Jews had no interest whatsoever.

At any rate, Jesus went out of His way to meet Matthew in his work setting, and He invited Matthew to become a follower of His.  Matthew jumped at the opportunity, for, Jew though he was, he was comparable to being a traitor to his Jewish background.  So he was not popular among his fellow Jews.  To have someone of the caliber of this remarkable young Jew named Jesus of Nazareth to invite him to join His specially chosen group of followers was a wonderful opportunity for Matthew to reconnect with his Jewish background again.  So he lost no time in inviting Jesus to his house and join him for a meal with many other tax collectors and “sinners”.

In view of this strained relationship, it is surprising (or maybe it’s not) that Matthew’s gospel has come down to us as an effort to present the life and death of Jesus as being in continuity with the religious convictions of the Jews, deeply rooted in the bible.  This became the conviction of Matthew in writing his gospel in which he depicts the way Jesus comported Himself in dealing with His Jewish compatriots.

And that’s why the words of St. Paul today are so appropriate in describing how Christians should live their lives, “striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace, one body and one  Spirit..one Lord, one faith,…one God and Father of all.”  And, again in St. Paul’s words, Paul writes the Christian community in Ephesus to anticipate attaining “to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God…”

So St. Matthew hopes that his gospel will be instrumental in unifying Judaism and Christianity.  For he has undergone the pain of being ostracized from his native Judaism.  So Matthew can well be a bridge between the Judaism of our day, and our own Christian faith, even though the past century is replete with the horrors  of anti-judaism reaching its climax in the near annihilation of the Jewish race during Hitler’s time.  Judaism remains as the oldest religion on the face of the earth, with the possible exception of some far eastern religions like Hinduism and Confucianism.  Perhaps St. Matthew’s gospel can inspire us to see bonds of unity waiting to be tied between Christianity and Judaism.  May it serve to diminish anti-judaism from our society.

Fr. Sebastian MacDonald, C.P. is a member of the Passionist Community in Louisville, Kentucky.

Memorial of Saint Andrew Taegon and Companions

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Luke 7:36-50

Reflection:

I am reminding you, brothers and sisters,
of the Gospel I preached to you,
which you indeed received and in which you also stand.
Through it you are also being saved,
if you hold fast to the word I preached to you….

With these words from our first reading today, St. Paul is urging the Corinthians to resist the judgment and condemnation of the culture around them, but rather to be faithful to the Gospel that they have received.  These words of St. Paul encouraged the Corinthians and the many generations that came after them to stand with Christ no matter the cost.

These are powerful words and words that were certainly taken to heart by the men and women we celebrate today, St. Andrew Taegon and his many Companions.  Perhaps this St. Andrew is a “new” saint in your awareness.  He was canonized by Pope Paul II only in 1984.  So, these saints are new to the liturgical calendar.  But they are worth remembering and celebrating because they are fellow Christians who are powerful witnesses to living the Gospel in real life.

St. Andrew is tied closely to the foundation of Christianity in Korea.  He wasn’t the first Korean Christian by a long shot.  By the time he was born in 1821, Christianity had been growing in Korea for about fifty years.  It is believed that Christianity had been brought into Korea by some Christian Japanese soldiers in the latter part of the 18^th century.   The Christian Japanese soldiers baptized the first Korean Christians and the Christian community began to grow quickly.  By the time the first foreign priest arrived in Korea in 1836 there was already a substantial Christian community flourishing there.  It’s the only known Catholic Christian community that first developed completely from the witness and work of lay Christians.

The rulers in Korea were not at all pleased to have this foreign religion thriving in their country.  At first they just discouraged it but soon enough outlawed this practice and began to actively persecute anyone who took it up.  As Christians were arrested, tortured and put to death the Church quickly moved underground

St. Andrew’s parents, members of the Korean nobility, were an important part of that early community and secretly remained faithful to their life with Christ.  Andrew was baptized at fifteen and soon expressed his desire to become a priest.  He traveled to Macau to attend the seminary and was ordained in 1845.  He was the first Korean to become a priest and returned home shortly after his ordination to help organize the Church and bring the sacraments to the faithful.  He ministered in Korea only a year before he was arrested and put to death.

There were intense persecutions of Christians in Korea in 1839, 1846, 1866 and 1867 and 103 Christians were martyred for their faith.  We celebrate these heroic martyrs on this day.

May their faith and courage inspire us to live our lives faithful to the Gospel and have the strength to be fearless witnesses for Christ in our everyday lives.

Fr. Michael Higgins, C.P. is the director of Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13
Luke 7:31-35

Reflection:

Brothers and sisters: Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts. ~1 Corinthians 12:31

It’s with these words, words that come from deep within Paul’s heart, words that almost seem to be a desperate plea to a people who Paul loves with a father’s love and looked upon them with pride and gratitude, that begins today’s first reading.

The faith community of Corinth was Paul’s first real success as the Apostle to the Gentiles. They were the dregs of society. You only need to read the first chapter of this letter to know that. There he says, “Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God.” (I Cor. 1:26 – 29)

Paul knows that the people he preached to and the people who responded to his Gospel message were ordinary people, and yes, even prostitutes and law-breakers, as he reminds them in Chapter 6. They were once a fervent faith community. But then they went astray. Now these people were knowingly living a double standard, lives of unlawful and sinful practices and yet practicing their faith as if their bad behavior did not matter. Maybe they thought that they are fooling God, but they were not. So, Paul reminds them of that very ancient truth: God sees not as humans see. Yet Paul holds out hope for the worst offenders, for he says in 5:6 that there is still hope that “his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord.” What a wonderful balance between a harsh critique of bad behavior and a loving, compassionate belief in a God of Mercy.

Is Paul talking to the people of his day or is Paul talking to the people of this day? Is he telling us as individuals and, especially as a community, “to strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts?” Are we content with living in two worlds that are so different from one another, that we have become powerless? Have we become blind and deaf to the injustices of our society, to the cries of the suffering and the dying, and have we become paralyzed to a proper Christian response? I know that I sometimes feel that way.

It is with passages as we have for today’s Mass, that tells us to “strive eagerly for the greatest gifts” and Jesus’ question: “To what shall I compare the people of this generation? What are they like?” that call us back to faithful discipleship.

Jesus and Paul do not want us to be satisfied with what is. We are being asked to be a courageous people. They want us to strive to do better, to live better, to love better. How, then, are we to love better?

Just continue with the first reading for today’s Mass!

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

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27-31a
Luke 7:11-17

Reflection:

When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity…

Let’s think about this scene, Jesus, travelling in a large crowd with his disciples, likely engaged in conversation and laughter, busy about themselves.  They happen upon a funeral procession a widow who was burying her only son.  We are told that when Jesus sees her he is ‘moved with pity’.  Seeing her takes him out of himself and his carefree surroundings, his heart is touched, deeply.  He knows this is devastation for the widow, she now has no one to care for her, in Jesus day, she now would be considered a ‘nobody’ she would be abandoned to fend for herself, invisible to the community.

He reaches out and touches the dead man – again, touching the dead makes you unclean – another reason to be abandoned by the community.  But Jesus follows his heart, his gestures show another way – a way of compassion, a new way of being community and caring for one another.  Being a community who supports one another and offers new life.

When our heart is moved with pity, are we willing to follow our heart as Jesus did , or do we stop short and ‘follow the crowd’, or put too much stock in what others may think or do?  In a world that seems to be unsure of neighbor and community the ‘heart of Jesus’ can provide a new lens, a new opportunity, a path to new life.  Can we allow our ‘hearts to be moved with pity’ and respond from that openness?

Faith Offman is the Associate Director of Ministry at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center in Detroit, Michigan.

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 33
Luke 7:1-10

Reflection

We receive the body of Christ in order to be the body of Christ.

This metaphor for the church originated with the apostle Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians. To speak of the church as a body suggests unity, togetherness, and harmony. We imagine a vibrant community where everyone shares their talents and resources generously and joyfully, encouraging and supporting one another as together they further Christ’s work in the world.

But that was not happening in Corinth at all. Ironically, Paul’s most original theology of the church developed in response to a grievous problem. The Corinthian church could not be Christ’s body for anyone because they were a fractured and divided community, one marked more by conflict, animosity, and discord than harmony and peace. Today’s first reading is the earliest account in the New Testament of how the first Christians worshiped. As the passage illustrates, they gathered in one another’s homes where they would share a meal together. Bread would be blessed, broken, and distributed, and a cup of wine would be shared. In this way, the unity, charity, and peace they had together in Christ was meant to lead to unity, charity, and peace among themselves.

Paul is angry with this fledgling Christian community (“What can I say to you? Shall I praise you?”) because the factions among them, rather than being healed when they celebrated the Lord’s supper, only grew more prominent; indeed, their “meetings are doing more harm than good.” When they gather, those who have more, thinking only of themselves, share nothing with those who have little; thus, the poor, left out and overlooked, are shamed. Moreover, some are getting drunk at a meal that ought to be marked by reverence and thanksgiving, not thoughtless self-indulgence.

In stark contrast to this unsettling portrait of the early church is today’s passage from the Gospel of Luke. The centurion addresses Jesus with the words we reprise at every Eucharist: “Lord,…I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof.” Like the church at Corinth, if we are to be Christ’s body in the world, we must first receive Christ’s body with the humility, sincerity, and truthfulness that Jesus encountered in this memorable Roman soldier, the very one he holds up for us as an exemplary model of faith.

Paul J. Wadell is Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, and a member of the extended Passionist family.