Daily Scripture

Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 15:1-11
John 19:25-27 or Luke 2:33-35

Reflection:

Mary, our Mother. This morning I struggle with the image of you suffering at the foot of the cross. 

Having become more at home and accustomed to your heavenly presence. The gift is that you are here.   Present.  Mother.  Always ready to show us the way.  His Way.   Your life and light shining as we hold a rosary.  To listen, to learn and be changed by the fullness of your story that we will come to know. 

Experiencing the ebb and flow, of suffering and Grace, that leads us into the deepest spaces of our own humanity.   Our own place in the suffering.   

Your courage was grown throughout your life.  Your strength.  Your confidence.  Never reactive. You were one to move within and to ponder.  You who bore the Word made flesh inside of you.

If I return again to the story of your teen motherhood, will I find you on this day?   So young.   Barely a woman.  Setting out on the hillsides alone.  Moving towards the witness of another miracle so many said was not possible.  Elizabeth is pregnant.  You are moving towards.  Never running away.  And that remained true your whole life. As you stood with your baby at the temple hearing Simeon’s words.  As you grew in your motherhood always engaged, guiding, witnessing, hoping amid your daily life.  Then along the sidelines as He ministered.   Never losing sight of your own unwavering “yes” to love.  From His conception to His death. From death unto life.  And as witness again to the Spirit descending in the fullness of promise alive in the world.

You, as the young woman riding a donkey, trusting your husband’s faith in a dream, nine months pregnant in the darkness of the night.  A baby not yet born.   After His birth fleeing only for His protection.   Three decades later your Son would ride a donkey in His entry into Jerusalem.  And you would be called to fully enter the sorrow of the cross.     Your mother confidence having been grown through the ongoing conditions of deeply trying times, the work, the hardness of life.   But also, in the joys of life.  You who invited the opening of His mission at a wedding feast.  Who came to intimately know his friends, the men and the women that followed?   Who watched in amazement as the crowds surrounded him in need and in awe?  Yet also knowing the more who jeered, rejected and scorned Him.    In the retelling of the Gospel, you seem to speak so few words.  Yet remain striking in the depth and strength of your enduring presence.   Even now.

Your heart will be pierced.   Showing us, that if we focus too much on the harsher moments of what might lie ahead, we can lose sight of every gift of God in our path.  We can lose sight of all we are called to do, to be, of Christ in these times.  In ways only possible when we trust in His promises.  He promised He would be there.  He promised you would be ours.  Your fiat.  Continuing through time.    With your own closeness with God, you did not lose sight of the One entrusted to your care, spilling your heart open to all suffering. Opening the room for Grace to pour forth in Spirit.  Showing us Love comes in all forms.   Some more painful than others.  Yet all leading to the Way. 

What did you ponder in these times?  As so many times I can unravel in the worry of what might be or happen in life rather than moving towards His abiding Presence which allows me to bear the unfathomable costs of suffering held alongside His promise of Hope.  A hard space to trust from our own wounding.   But a way that allows our hearts to be carved more deeply with a truer Love.  His Redemptive, Transformative Love.  In the light of His Mercy.  That shares the wonder of those first sightings of Jesus, Risen, outside the tomb.   Restoring what had been lost.

Just as Peter sank into the water when he turned His gaze from Christ.  We too can fall into the depths of suffering when we lose sight of God’s unwavering Love.   The Hope that held you so deeply at the foot of the cross.  Having nurtured that truth throughout your life, in all the ways you moved inward to ponder in prayer, the Word and His incarnation.  Opening your heart to the One that would teach you never to let go.   Showing us on this day maybe, that there is a difference to be found in the tears of one who trusts in God.  

M J Walsh. In gratitude for the witness of the Passionist community through each vocation.  For the sacred grounds dedicated to Mary’s seven sorrows at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center in Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

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

Reflection:

Our Gospel reading for today comes from the Gospel of St. Luke. The widow of Nain is a well-known story and the only story told in the four Gospels. Another reading of this Gospel highlights a pre-figuring story of Jesus’ final moments on the Cross when he gives his mother to the Disciple, John (John 19:25-27). In this story, as he encounters this funeral service and feels immediate sorrow for the widow who has lost her only son. He gives the risen son to his mother. This is one of Luke’s Gospel motifs, demonstrating the mercy and compassion of Jesus. This act heralds so much rejoicing in Israel as “God has visited his people.” A great prophet is with the people (chapter 7:16). This phrase is no doubt an ancient ritual of expectation.  Imagine for a moment, when the people come to realize their blessing, God is among the people! And he still remains, even today.

As I reflected on this Gospel, I couldn’t help but feel for Jesus, his compassion for people as he went around Galilee brought hope for the future of the Hebrew people. They were all well familiar with the stories of the expected Messiah, can you imagine the way news spread of his miracles and presence among them? Sadly, he desired to heal and teach the people that ended up getting Jesus crucified. Not for the first time, I am grateful for Jesus’ love of the people. What a lonely life he must have experienced. His desire to love, heal and show mercy to all those whom he met. Two Thousand years later his life and spirit still inspire us.

In our first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul touches on a theme of how the body works. A common theme in the ancient Mediterranean world. Order must be observed and respected for our future. We are the body of Christ and members of that body. We ALL count and make a difference and Jesus came to give us exactly this message.

On this feast of St. John Chrysostom may we be consoled in the sure hope of God’s presence among us.

Jean Bowler is a retreatant at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center in Sierra Madre, California, and a member of the Office of Mission Effectiveness Board of Holy Cross Province.

Scripture:

Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Luke 15:1-32

Reflection:

Today’s gospel begins with the Pharisees and scribes grumbling that Jesus “welcomes sinners and eats with them,” implying he condones the behavior of sinners.  For Jesus, however, table fellowship implies full communion with him.

Their grumbling is the impetus for three parables that Jesus tells them – the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son and his father.  These parables share a common theme: that which was lost is now found, leading to boundless joy and celebration.  This is a joy that mirrors God’s joy when a sinner repents.

The story of the prodigal son and father is arguably the most memorable of the three parables.  Moreover, it serves as a metaphor for the Eucharist and the life of the Church.

It is the father who sacrifices all for his two sons, however divided they may be.  His gift to them is his love, his utter willingness to forgive, and to celebrate at the return of the lost son.  He invites all to join in communion with him.  Such is the gift of God in Christ in the Eucharist.

Our response should be the response should reflect that of the prodigal son – conversion, that is a return from our disobedience, from the “far country,” our return of mind and heart to the Father.  In the conversion, we are reconciled to the Father and to one another.  There is more.  We are invited to the table, to celebrate with and to dine with the Lord. we are transformed in Christ when we receive the Bread of Life.

The Pharisees and scribes, like the angry son the parable, may grumble and refuse to join in the celebration.  But like the father and the indignant son, he will never stop inviting even to them to the table.  Why?  Because God in Christ continues reconciling the world to himself.  And like the prodigal son robed in the finest, He robes us in new dignity for the celebration of the Eucharist.

With arms as wide as the universe, God the Father is ready to embrace everyone with a loving welcome.  No exceptions.  God does not say you are welcome “if” you meet these standards.

We too are called to welcome others as we have been welcomed, and to forgive others as we have been forgiven.  We who were lost have been found.  It’s time to celebrate.

Deacon Manuel Valencia is on the staff at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 10:14-22
Luke 6:43-49

Reflection:

Gandhi once said that Christianity is a wonderful religion, if only someone followed it. Jesus laments the same thing, frustrated with all who proclaim his name and yet do not do what he teaches. I don’t think that dynamic has changed since Jesus’ or Gandhi’s time.

After all, I read about Christians espousing the death penalty, as if Jesus taught us to kill someone who kills another. I observe Catholics who would deny Communion to people who don’t obey every letter of Church law, as if Jesus didn’t freely welcome sinners to the table (often preferring their company to the “righteous” ones and upholding their dignity). I hear Christians shouting hateful things accusing immigrants of taking away jobs or resources from those more entitled, as if Jesus taught us to hoard what we have, exclude the immigrant and the stranger, and assert our own rights over those of others. I see Christians who support any legislation that adds to their business profits or cuts their own taxes regardless of its impact on others, as if Jesus didn’t disdain the love of money and laud those who give even from their own need. Even more disconcerting, many Christians with these practices assert that they are following Jesus’ teachings and even “defending the faith.” What kind of a foundation are we building under our society, our Church, and our own souls?

I am challenged yet again to examine my actions and commitments in light of what Jesus said and how he lived. For instance, because of the circumstances of my upbringing, money became a form of security I crave (and yes, I love it when my taxes go down). A primary challenge for me, then, is to advocate to my representatives in Congress for tax reform that lifts up the needy more than those like myself who have enough. I commit to increasing my rate of giving and donations to the extent that it requires sacrifice in my own life. I pray to find my security in God rather than in something so fleeting as money.

Yet that is not enough. I will also write to my bishop and talk to my pastor, expressing my support for welcoming all to the table. When I am at Mass, I will look for ways to include, talk to, and sit next to those of another age, status, culture, or race. I will encourage and support those who work to overturn the death penalty and facilitate rehabilitation of people who commit crimes.    

The list could go on. What is yours? If we can each honestly examine ourselves and change the ways we fall short of the Gospel, we can build that strong foundation and be an authentic witness to what Jesus taught. Perhaps our witness could even be strong and authentically Christian enough to attract others to come and follow rather than to turn away in frustration.

Amy Florian is a teacher and consultant working in Chicago.  For many years she has partnered with the Passionists.  Visit Amy’s website: http://www.corgenius.com/.

Memorial of St. Peter Claver

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22b-27
Luke 6:39-42

Reflection:

                                              Becoming Mystics of the Crucified                                                         

Today we are in a jury box listening to Paul defend his ministry of preaching. “I have no choice; I’m under compulsion” to do it. Free, he has made himself a slave wanting to be weak so that he can be one with the weak, to share with them the Good News, and win some of them over.

I thought I found myself in a jury box yesterday, where I and a few other Passionists sat judging two professional Catholic writers, a man and a woman, both people of color.

Could these professionals help us in our mission of preaching Christ Crucified? As they shared with us about their work of writing on injustice and the suffering of men women and children of color in our society, I found myself not in the jury box but being judged, judging myself. They knew the prejudice that keeps people on the margin. They voiced the hurt and suffering known to them as people of color. They showed the faces of the unjustly treated through there professional expertise, and invite compassion and conversion. They showed the gift of hope given to us at Baptism.

Paul is a mystic of the Passion who invites us to share an intimate association with Jesus the Crucified by being one with crucified people. We proclaim Christ Crucified whom we meet in our brothers and sisters, and we come to Christ Crucified by becoming one with them in their suffering. Paul speaks of discipline. Could his discipline be this work of making ourselves one with those who suffer the Passion of Christ, thus enabling them to come to know the Crucified Christ through us?

Imagine Peter Claver, whose feast we celebrate today, in light of the the words of Paul.

Peter who has been in Cartagena for 5 years, in 1615 prepares to go on board a slave ship just arrived. He has established a bit of a reputation and will call himself in the days ahead a ‘slave of slaves’. The owners probably thought he did no harm, indeed the little food or drink he could share, some superficial medicines, the gentleness and kindness wouldn’t hurt and maybe would help the slaves when they got to market.

Poor, disorientated people. Exhausted after a long frightening voyage away from what was known into a cruel unknown. Ahead was work in the fields if they were lucky, others would go into the mines. Another part of the Passion of Christ that Peter knew was the slave system and culture. Some Christians would not go into church or into a confessional if a slave was there before them. How to do good in a society that accepted such injustice, such inhumanity? Peter said, “speak with our hands before we speak with our lips”. He served his crucified Lord by being one with his crucified people. This was also his gift of grace to the unjust. In Columbia today is the Day of National Human Rights. His work was not unseen. Besides the slaves others heard the work of his hands.

No blind guide is Peter Claver, SJ. He is a teacher inviting us to become like him. He gives a vision, a mystic’s vision. He pulls the plank of prejudice out of our eyes enabling us to see the Crucified of today, and full of compassion respond to Christ whom we meet in them. I so look forward to working with our two new writers.    

Fr. William Murphy, CP is a member of Immaculate Conception Community in Jamaica, New York.

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Scripture:

Micah 5: 1-4 or Romans 8:28-30
Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23

Reflection:

An Amazing Day of Grace

Let us celebrate with joy the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for from her arose the sun of justice, Christ our God. “We know that God makes all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His decree.” –Romans 8:28

On this day when we celebrate Mary’s birthday, some of you are on the verge of divorce, in danger of death, or in agony. Jesus loves you infinitely and has died on the cross and risen from the dead for love of you. On this birthday celebration of Mary, expect Jesus to make “all things work together for the good” (Rm 8:28)

It is typical in the church to celebrate a saint’s death-day instead of the saint’s birthday. The birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary is an exception because in her humanity, God “has prepared a living temple where his Son, made flesh, wanted to live among us and give us salvation”; she “reminds us that God is faithful to his promises” (Pope Francis). In fact, from the first moment of her existence God had a loving plan for her—and through her, for us! In honoring Mary on Her birthday, we honor God, for “He who established the heavens in wisdom has fashioned a living heaven” (Byzantine Liturgy).

Deacon Peter Smith serves at St. Mary’s/Holy Family Parish in Alabama, a retired Theology teacher from Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School in Birmingham, a retired soldier from the US Air Force, and a member of our Passionist Family.