Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Hebrews 7:25-8:6
Mark 3:7-12

Reflection:

Today we celebrate the feast of St Francis de Sales who died in 1622 at age of 55.  Many years ago I made a special effort to visit his tomb in the Presentation Sisters’ convent on Lake Annecy.   His remains rest near St Jane de Chantel.  St Jane with Francis was the Foundress of the Presentation Sisters

During his years as bishop, Francis acquired a reputation as a spellbinding preacher and something of an ascetic. His motto was, “He who preaches with love, preaches effectively.”  One of his main efforts was to teach ordinary folks how to pray in their busy lives.  His life and teachings influenced St Paul of the Cross. I love among his many quotable sayings: “Half an hour’s meditation each day is essential, except when you are busy. Then a full hour is needed.”

Today’s Gospel relates how “A large number of people followed Jesus from Galilee and from Judea.

Hearing what he was doing, a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon.  He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him. He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him.”

In the Greek inspired Text striking words of closeness to Jesus by the Jews and Gentiles are used!  Words like thlibō which means crushed or “squash” or “hem in”.  That’s close!  Another word is epipiptō; which means fall upon, gripped, pressed around!  I am sure most of these folks were common ordinary people who probably were not the intelligentsia of the day but were given the wisdom of the Gospel which is “to come to Me all you who are weary and overburdened and I will refresh you”.  Mt 11:28

This kind of healing closeness to Christ is caused by faith filled prayer!   A prayer that is a close relationship with Christ.  Pope Francis said it so well: “Our relationship with Christ, that is the primary thing: all else is secondary.”

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

Scripture:

Hebrews 7:1-3, 15-17
Mark 3:1-6

Reflection:

In our Gospel reading for today, Jesus is in a synagogue on the Sabbath, and there is a man there with a withered hand. The people there are watching Jesus closely, waiting to see what Jesus might be willing to do on the Sabbath. So, Jesus, knowing what’s on everyone’s mind, calls the man up front, and then asks a question: “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” Then Jesus heals the man.

As I reflected on this, I wondered if Jesus is telling us to always grasp the opportunity to do good, even if it comes across as unseemly or untimely. I was reminded of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham City Jail,” in which he tries to explain to the religious leaders who asked him to refrain from the direct action he was leading, why the work for civil rights could not wait: “This ‘Wait’ has almost always meant ‘Never.’”

There are many opportunities, both great and small, for us to do good and to save life. There are many people of good faith, even if their faith is not ours, with whom we can work to achieve good and promote life. And there is no need to wait.

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

Scripture:

Hebrews 6:10-20
Mark 2:23-28

Reflection:

I love this reading from Hebrews, “We earnestly desire each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfillment of hope until the end, so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who, through faith and patience, are inheriting the promises.” (Hebrews 6:10)

Isn’t this the joy of sharing in our lives with others around you! Last week was the 4-year anniversary of the death of my deacon husband, Mike. In the last 4 years I have come to realize, that for those I love, the most important thing that I can pray for, wish for, hope for is that they have the same ‘eagerness for the fulfillment of hope until the end.” that my husband had.

I love reading about the saints, one of my current favorites is Blessed Isidore De Loor (of Saint Joseph). He was a Passionist blessed from the late 1800’s.  Isidore was known as the ‘good brother…the brother of the will of God” (Passiochisti.org). I have been connected with him since I randomly ran into a statue of him at an antique store outside of San Antonio, Texas. A surprise to say the least! Blessed Isidore has been teaching me about this, “eagerness for the fulfillment of hope until the end” that Saint Paul is talking about in this letter to the Hebrews. Blessed Isidore was in terrible pain at the end of his life and found that suffering to be an opportunity to become more conformed to Jesus Crucified. This is not someone who was sluggish in his faith.

As we go about our day, let us remember this challenge, to be eager, not sluggish and through faith and patience, have an eagerness for hope in Christ!!

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

 

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 1:26-31
Matthew 13:44-46

Reflection:

In our Passionist Parish church of St. Agnes, in Louisville KY, we have a beautiful edifice about 90 years old, that has kept up its appearance over its nine decades of existence.  It features a mosaic in its cupola over and behind the main altar, showing a teenage girl with several grazing sheep, as if she were their shepherdess.

It is an appropriate artistic piece since “Agnes” in its English spelling deviates by only one letter from the Latin “Agnus”, the latin word for “lamb, sheep”, and so the linkage between the teenage Agnes and sheep is clear enough to need no explanation. There is no suggestion here that she was a shepherdess.  But there was something about the girl and that particular animal, the lamb, to suggest why they are linked together.  For Agnes was apparently an attractive girl, and several young men had their eyes on her as an ideal wife.  But when they approached her with that offer, she steadfastly rejected their offers, for she wanted to devote her life totally to God.

Rebuffed in this fashion, her suitors approached the emperor, Diocletian, to intercede with her on their behalf, so he was anxious to persuade her to marry one of these suitors, which would then stand him in good stead with one of these wealthy suitors, but she was adamant in her refusal, and Diocletian, not used to being refused when he made requests, proceeded to have her executed.  And so she became an early martyr of the church, and so revered in the early history of the church that she gained the honor of having her name inscribed in the most sacred part of the mass (the canon for the first formulary).

It was the combination of her youth, her appeal and her tenacity in the face of torture that endeared her to Catholics over the centuries (she died in the early part of the 4^th century), and that recommends her to our own veneration of her even today.  She not only exhibits an extraordinarily strong faith in the way that she died, but she also illustrates how God can work within each of us, to make of us examples of living the faith, not just as a display of our own strength of character, but, even more, of how God comes to our assistance in times of need.  Especially in this present time, when we stand in need of examples of strength of character and of virtue, we can recall Agnes and her commitment to the faith under duress and persecution.

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

Scripture:

Hebrews 4:12-16
Mark 2:13-17

Reflection:

The word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account. (Letter to the Hebrews, 4:12 – 13)

Our Catholic tradition has always been fascinated with the word “word.” There are 284 references to the word “word” in the New Testament. Why so many references?

We are being called to reflect upon the impact that the Word of God has in our lives, the Incarnate Word as Son of God and Son of Mary and how we are challenged to pay attention to our own words as we speak to one another. Words matter. What we say matters. So, let us take a deeper look on how today’s Word of God impacts our lives.

If you are like me, you can remember words and phrases from your past, even from your earliest moments of awareness. They came to be in our awareness and now live on forever in our memory.

I remember words that made me smile and words that made me cry. I remember encouraging words and humiliating ones. I remember words that made me angry, that offended me, words that left me confused and speechless. I remember words that invited me to go beyond my personal best and prodded me to go beyond my comfort zone. I remember words of love and how these words made me feel. Yes, words are a two-edge sword.

Early on in our lives, we learn to use words to protect ourselves. We learn to use facile words, careless words. We may have even become accustomed to speaking falsehoods, thinking that our misstatements and lies can save us from the exposure of our true selves and innermost being. Falsehoods only lead to false security. Many of us have learned this lesson painfully.

How does the Word of God touch my life? How does God’s Word challenge me and call me to conversion? At what point will I become truly convinced that God’s Word is Truth, the kind of truth that will set me free? God’s Word is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Most of us will agree that being true to our word can come at an awful price. To live a virtuous life will demand integrity, honesty and courage. We need courage to live trustworthy lives, for our yes to be yes and our no to be no. When we give our word, we give our very selves, a child of God.

Let us, then, meditate on this: And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us! Today, at this moment, we are the Word of God in our world.

Fr. Clemente Barrón, C.P., is the Director of Hispanic Ministry for Holy Cross Province. He lives at Mater Dolorosa Community in Sierra Madre, California. 

Scripture:

Hebrews 4:1-5, 11
Mark 2:1-12

Reflection:

Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him.  After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying.

This parable begs the question what are we called to…what creative means are we called to use to bring healing.  Given today’s hurting world, the polarization, the raw hate, the hurtful ‘reaction’ that surrounds us.  Given the digging in of heels and unwillingness to hear the other.  Given the tensions that consistently envelop us.  How are we called to bring people to Jesus, how creative do we need to be to bring people to the feet of Jesus?

How can we invite ourselves and others to believe in and dare to risk the possibility of peace – inner peace, outer peace, the peace the world cannot give?  The peace we find in God, in Jesus.  What is it that we – individually and collectively – are called to do to set another world view in motion?  How can we re-introduce the worldview that Jesus shared, the Kingdom of God that begins now?  How can we open the roof to let in the healing balm of Jesus presence among us?

Waiting for the other – for someone else to breakthrough and empower dialogue and creative solutions has proven futile.  This parable reminds us that the time is now, we need to step in, we need our voices and our hearts to be heard.  We need to introduce a new path, a new vision, a new accountability.  How creative are we willing to be?  How do we empower each other to re-discover the voice, and presence of God and join together to build something new – bring about a new creation, a new paradigm?  Jesus is present, he has returned to Capernaum – where are we?

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

Scripture:

Hebrews 3:7-14
Mark 1:40-45

Reflection:

Today’s first reading can aptly be described as a warning to periodically check the condition of our hearts lest, in ways we are scarcely aware, they turn us away from what is true, holy, and good. The passage from Hebrews speaks of “hardened” hearts, “erring” hearts, and “evil and unfaithful” hearts, suggesting that though it may be easy to develop each of these pathologies, such conditions of heart are fatal to our relationship with God and one another.

A hardened heart is a dangerous spiritual predicament because when our hearts are hardened nothing can touch them, nothing can enter into them; hardened hearts are closed to God’s spirit and life, closed to any possibility of healing and hope. Our hearts harden over time—sometimes so gradually that we have no idea what is happening to us—when we shut our lives to others, when we settle into self-serving routines that suck life from us and those around us, or when we become so comfortable with who we are and what we believe that we are no longer willing to grow and to change. With erring hearts we slip slowly away from God by letting other things (other persons, our own pleasures, money and possessions) take the place of God. With erring hearts it is not that we suddenly begin to love the wrong things, but that we love them in the wrong ways, giving lesser goods far more attention than they deserve. And with evil and unfaithful hearts we act as if we ourselves are gods, doing whatever we want and getting whatever we want no matter how much hurt and harm it brings to others.

And so maybe it is time for a heart checkup. Like people who are sick long before they receive a proper diagnosis, we need to periodically check the condition of our hearts to be sure we are not denying ourselves the love, healing, mercy, and wholeness that God wants to give us and that we need to truly live.

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.