Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14 or Colossians 3:12-21
Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23

Reflection:

In today’s gospel, on the Feast of the Holy Family, we see the undying faith of Joseph, husband of Mary. Like many people in today’s world, we see Joseph going where he needed to go to keep his family safe, trying to find an inn, but having to settle on a stable for Mary to give birth. In today’s reading, Joseph sees the angel of the Lord in a dream and says, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.”  Not trusting the son of Herod, Joseph decided that it would be best to go to Nazareth to fulfill what the prophets had said, “He shall be called a Nazorean”.

During all of the bumps in the road of Joseph and Mary, the birth in a manger, the flight into Egypt, they remain strong in their support and protection of their precious family. Lord, help us to remember to keep sacred our vows of marriage, remind us to treasure the gifts of family that you have placed in our hands, and keep the bond of our families strong! 

God bless you all!

Patty Masson is the Director of Adult Formation and Evangelization at St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Church in Spring, Texas.

Feast of Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr

Scripture:

1 John 2:3–11
Luke 2:22-35

Reflection:

   . . . for the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. -1 John 2:8

In 1935 the play Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot, was published. The play focuses on the story of the death of Thomas Becket who was the childhood friend of Henry II of England. When Henry II ascended the throne he appointed Thomas as the Primate of England or Chancellor. Today that would be the Prime Minister. Everything was going along fine when Henry II decided that the Church had more power than he did and so wanted an inside man to help him with gaining control. Becket pleads with him not to appoint him Archbishop of Canterbury, which today is the highest ordained position in the Church of England, the Queen is considered the head of the Church of England. And all of that history is another story. Becket is already a deacon in the Church and so he is ordained a priest and the next day elevated to Archbishop. Over the course of several months Becket is changed by his position. He helps the poor and serves as a faithful shepherd of the people. Henry II and Becket disagree several times on matters of the Church and State. One night, in a drunken fury, Henry II makes a comment about being rid of the bothersome Archbishop. Four loyal knights interpret this as a command to assassinate Becket and so in the middle of the night they ride off to Canterbury Cathedral and murder him as he is saying a private mass.

The First Letter of John gives us the message of walking in the way of Christ through the commandments. The two commandments that Christ gave to his Apostles and us; To love God with all our heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbors as ourselves. The message goes on to speak about what it means to walk in the light and what it means to walk in the darkness. Two leaders of England made choices. One walked in the darkness of wanting more power and the other followed the path of Light and was changed by that Light. Even in the time of Jesus there were people who thought that they were following God through the commandments and the multitude of prescribed laws. But instead became blinded by them and were unable to see the true Light when it appeared as promised.

Christmas is a reminder for us that the Light has come into the world and that we can choose to walk in the Light or to choose the path of darkness. Simeon, a man waiting in the Temple for the Messiah is blessed by God to be able to see the true Light before he died. He spent his life waiting patiently for that moment. What a great joy that must have been for him! The words of Simeon, from today’s Gospel offer us food for thought:

              “Lord, now let your servant go in peace;
              your word has been fulfilled:
              my own eyes have seen the salvation
              which you have prepared in the sight of every people,
              a light to reveal you to the nations
              and the glory of your people Israel.”

We don’t need to wait. The Light of the World has come, Emmanuel.

May the coming New Year bring you peace and joy!

Let us also keep Pope Emeritus Benedict in our prayers.

Linda Schork is a theology teacher at Saint Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

1 John 1:5-2:2
Matthew 2:13-18

Reflection:

In today’s first reading, we hear: 

God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.

We are still basking in the Christmas season, celebrating the birth of our savior just three short days ago.  Jesus the light of the world shines through our darkness. The brilliance of colorful lights and candles continue to shine throughout our neighborhoods, homes and churches.  Our Jewish sisters and brothers celebrate Hanukkah, the eight-day wintertime “festival of lights,” with a nightly menorah lighting, special prayers and fried foods.  Hanukkah means ‘dedication’ and is named because it celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple.

There is so much darkness present in our world these days. It seems wars, famine, droughts, homelessness, poverty, racism, daily violence in our neighborhoods and cities can be overwhelming!  Remembering the tragic deaths of the Holy Innocents who died at the hands of a devious tyrant brings to mind the dark days many people past and present experience because of rampant corruption and evil.

GOD is light, and with God there is no darkness at all!

This is the hopeful message of Bethlehem!  Jesus brings light to any darkness we may be experiencing! For me, Bethlehem hope and promise has come in many ways during this special time of Advent and Christmas.  The look of joy and gladness on the faces of our homebound and sick when we sang carols to them brightened the evening for all of us. Gathering each evening for vespers, hearing the scriptures proclaimed, sharing times of how the light of Christ was present in our lives and praying for those in need gave us Advent hope and promise. The opportunity to spend quality time visiting with friends and family near and far, to see the light of Christ and know that God is making our lives a little brighter during these days has been a gift to be treasured.

May the light of Christ continue to guide us and dispel the darkness we may encounter.  In turn may we share that light with those who walk in darkness unable to see the life-giving light of Christ.  A Blesses New Year to All!

Theresa Secord retired as a Pastoral Associate at St. Agnes Parish, Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

1 John 1:1-4
John 20:1a, 2-8

Reflection:

Advent through Christmas is such a busy time of year. We are in a hurry – shopping, baking, planning. We rush to get the perfect tree, to put up the lights, to plan the perfect meal, to make sure everything is perfect for those we love when we can finally gather together. We cling to the joy of this season; a season of our Lord’s birth and the hope that His birth brings to us.  

But how often are we in a hurry for Jesus? The Gospel today says that Peter and John were in a hurry to find Jesus because the tomb was empty. We carry Jesus in our hearts, always! But we must stay vigilant, getting the distractions out of the way so we can finally hurry to the manger to await the coming of our newborn King! 

Be in a hurry, be anxious, for Jesus’ coming – and when he comes, languish in his beautiful presence, and treasure your time with this perfect Prince of Peace.

God bless you all!

Patty Masson is the Director of Adult Formation and Evangelization at St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Parish in Spring, Texas.

Scripture:

Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59
Matthew 10:17-22

Reflection:

Preparing our home for Christmas includes arranging a nativity set that my grandfather made. He took up pottery in his retirement and made a nativity set for each of his three daughters, my mother included. The one we have was his gift to his youngest daughter, my aunt.

I like sitting near that manger scene. It helps me pray. I was introduced many years ago to the practice of imaginative prayer while making the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. He asks you, the one praying, to put yourself into a scene. Where is it? What do you smell and see? Who’s there? What’s happening? And, most important, where are you in the scene? Once you enter the scene, you begin to have an ordinary conversation with one or more of those “present.” Let it play out and trust in the Holy Spirit to give you the graces you need.

Back to my grandfather’s nativity set. There are the requisite characters…Mary, Joseph, the Child Jesus, shepherds with their animals, and the Three Kings. Interesting that he also included the innkeeper. But even more interesting is that there is no maidservant or midwife. The gospels do not say there was someone there to help Mary during her delivery, but we assume so since it is very likely Joseph was not going to be all that helpful. In the Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius has you imagine Mary, Joseph, and a servant girl setting forth from Nazareth to go to Bethlehem. He encourages the one making the Exercises “to see Our Lady, Joseph, the maidservant, and the infant Jesus after his birth.”

What did the maidservant experience? What does her experience of helping Mary during childbirth tell us about what we might do to help bring Jesus into the world? As I place myself in the scene in those precious days that follow the birth of any child, I am drawn to that midwife who is there trying to make things easier for this young family. I talk to her about what she sees. What stories would she tell afterwards, like the shepherds did when they returned to their fields? They all must have experienced something special, but its significance would need to play itself out over time. For now, though, it is simply enough to be there in that moment.

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

Christmas Eve

Scripture:

2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16
Luke 1:67-79

Reflection:

Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace. -Luke 1:78    

We find in this passage from Luke on Christmas Eve a beautiful meditation on the reason for the season.            

It starts with one of the most passionate and tender words for the compassion of God in the Greek New Testament.   The Greek word for tender compassion is splagchnon. What the word means is our innermost parts.  What we feel rises from the depths of our being.  It means God’s feelings for us come from the depths of His Being. The Divine decision to share our human nature is the most stupendous creation of God.  It is the most astonishing design He could plan for our poor humanity.  He “visits” us.  In the inspired Greek text “visit” comes from the word skeptomai (to look carefully, consider)and epi (upon).  The loving eye of God smiles on us. This is “peace”!   It is a beautiful thing to be kissed by God!

Christ is like the sunrise shining on us and obliterating the deep darkness of our lives!   When He took on our nature He become vulnerable and incredibly close to us.  A very early Scriptural verse in Phil 2:5f wonderfully articulates this for us.  “Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.   Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”  

The Almighty God, Who keeps billions of galaxies in existence, shows us how much our little lives matter to Him.  This is the wonder of Christmas!  It is beautifully expressed in Titus 3:4f  “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,   He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy.”   “Kindness” has to be one of the most meaningful descriptions of God.  Don’t you love a kind person!

 Merry Christmas!

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

Scripture:

Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24
Luke 1:57-66

Reflection:

In our Gospel reading for today, we hear about the birth of John the Baptist. The circumstances about John’s birth are almost as remarkable as those concerning Jesus! When the people reflected on the fact that Elizabeth even conceived a child, and then, when Zechariah had confirmed in writing (because he was struck mute by the angel Gabriel) that the baby’s name was to be John, and then he was able to speak, they began to ask each other, “What, then, will this child be?” For, as Luke writes, “The hand of the Lord was with him.”

What, then, did John the Baptist turn out to be? For us Christians, John the Baptist became the fulfillment of the prophecies that told of a messenger that would come before the appearance of the Messiah. In our first reading, God speaks through the prophet Malachi: “Lo, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me.” And later, we hear, “Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and terrible day, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.”

John the Baptist came and preached repentance as preparation for the coming of the Messiah, exhorting the people to turn back to God. One of the ways we demonstrate our turning back to God is to turn our hearts to each other.

In these last few hours of Advent, we can still make room for Jesus in our hearts by making room for others. Sometimes the Christmas season is a time of stress, and tensions within a family are heightened, not eased. But maybe, just maybe, this Christmas can be different. May we let the Baptist’s call for repentance open our hearts to turn toward Jesus and toward each other.

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is the local superior of the Passionist Community in Birmingham, Alabama.