Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Isaiah 26:1-6
Matthew 7:21, 24-27

Reflection:

When I was young, I was blessed to be part of the Cursillo[PG1]  “short course” (in Christianity) movement. The first talk of our weekends was on “Ideals;” and the main point was that we know our Ideals (values) by three things: what we think about, how we use our time, and where we spend our money. As the weekend unfolded, we were invited to align our thinking, our activities, and our resources more closely with the Gospel values of Jesus, as the foundation for our lives.

In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus asking us to do just that: to listen to His words and act on them: to not just mouth “Lord, Lord” but to really walk the talk.      

And Jesus assures us that we:

“will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. 
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house. 
But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.” 

The people to whom Jesus spoke knew well the Palestinian winter rains that came down the slopes and eroded the sand from around the foundations of their homes…unless they were built on a rock foundation.   

In today’s first reading from Isaiah, God is described as the “eternal Rock” in whom we can put our trust. The “Rock” is a common Old Testament metaphor expressing the dependability of God.

As we strive to align our lives more closely with Jesus this Advent 2021, Scripture scholar Walter Bruggemann has a contemporary prayer to help us:

We discover yet again, how sandy we are,
with the quaking of our foundations
    and our fantasized firmaments.

We are filled with trembling and nightmares that disturb.

An then you-rock-solid-stable-reliable-sure
            You rock against our sand,
            You rock of ages,
            You rock that is higher than us treading water,
            You rock of compassion –

                 be compassionate even for us, our loved ones
                             and all our needy neighbors.
            You rock of abidingness for our sick,
                 and for those long loved, lingering memories,                            
dead and in your care,

You rock of justice for the nations,
            fed up with our hate,
                             exhausted by the greed of our several tribes,
            You rock of communion in our loneliness,
                            rock of graciousness in our many modes of gracelessness.

Come be present even here and there, and there, and there.
            Move us from our sandy certitudes to your grace-filled risk,
            Move us to become more rock-like
                        in compassion and abidingness and justice,
            Move us to be more like you in our neighborliness
                       and in our self-regard. 
Yes, yes, yes – move us that we may finally
            stand on the solid rock, no more sinking sand.

                ——from Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth, Prayers of Walter Brueggemann

Patty Gillis is a retired Pastoral Minister. She served on the Board of Directors at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center in Detroit. She is currently a member of the Laudato Si Vision Fulfillment Team and the Passionist Solidarity Network.

Scripture:

Isaiah 25:6-10a
Matthew 15:29-37

Reflection:

In his wonderful book, Let Us Dream, Pope Francis reflects on how we should face the future in a post-pandemic world.  One lesson to take with us, the Pope suggests, is the vital role that “healers” play.  He points to the life-giving work of first responders, health care workers, caregivers, and all those who risked their lives to bring to others the essential services they needed to stay alive.

He contrasts this sort of response to human need with those who whom he describes as being afflicted with “isolated consciences,” those who focus on concerns that have little to do with the everyday needs and anxieties of ordinary people.  Often these are religious leaders who fret about the finer points of doctrine or insist on the rigors of moral rules, but who have insulated themselves from the pain and struggles that most people face every day. 

The Pope has famously declared that the church should be something of a “field hospital,” caring for the desperately wounded.  The urgent mission is to care for peoples’ wounds.  You don’t ask a seriously wounded person first about their blood sugar levels; that comes later after you have saved their lives.

I thought of the Pope’s urgent message in the light of the Scripture readings for today.  The first reading is from the prophet Isaiah, and it dreams of a future where the Lord prepares a great banquet for all peoples, where death is destroyed, and God “will wipe away the tears from all faces” The prophet sees God as a healing and consoling God.   This passage is often read at funerals, a Word of God that brings comfort and healing.

The Responsorial Psalm 23 moves with a similar reconciling spirit: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want…Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.”

And the gospel selection from Matthew portrays Jesus as a great healer and nourisher of the people. In a scene unique to Matthew, Jesus ascends a mountain and the crowds of the “lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute” come to him, and “he cured them all.”  The people who witness this scene of healing “glorify the God of Israel.”

To this scene Matthew appends the story of the feeding of the multitude.  Jesus is prompted to feed the crowds because: “My heart is moved with pity…  for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat.”

Advent invites us to think more deeply about our lives as Christians. The Scriptures we hear at today’s Eucharist and the words and example of faithful followers of Jesus remind us that, above all, we are to bring healing and reconciliation into our fractured world.

Fr. Donald Senior, C.P. is President Emeritus and Professor of New Testament at Catholic Theological Union.  He lives at the Passionist residence in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago.

Scripture: 

Isaiah 2:1-5
Matthew 8:5-11

Reflection:

      O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord. -Isaiah 2:5

Mountains! Beautiful! Majestic! Some people feel the need to climb up to the very summits of the highest mountains in the world. Some of us stand at the bottom or admire them in photographs. Whether we are standing on these great places or looking at photographs we are in awe of their majesty. Created by the moving of ice over the earth many thousands of years ago they stand as watchtowers of the world.

The prophet Isaiah writes of “the LORD’s house being established on the highest mountain.” In scripture, mountains or going up to a high place is about heaven. Isaiah is writing about the future, when God’s Kingdom will be completed and what the possibilities are when that comes to fulfillment. The prophet Isaiah was writing to give hope to people of his time. Hope that they would no longer need to be in exile. Hope that they would not need to be prepared to protect themselves against enemies. Hope for peace among all peoples.

The author of the Gospel of Matthew writes that people from all places on earth will join in the “banquet in the Kingdom of heaven”. An unlikely person, a Roman officer, approaches Jesus and asks for help for a servant who is very ill. Obviously, the Roman officer has heard about Jesus either from talk on the streets or from his own servants. He must have some love for his servant in order to want to seek Jesus out to have him be healed from his illness. An unexpected person, a Gentile, asking a “teacher” for assistance. The Gospels are full of unexpected requests for help from Jesus. Requests come mostly from the poor, the outcast, and Gentiles. Requests come from people from all walks of life who have faith, the one requirement for healing. Faith can be shown by the person in need of healing or the people who bring the person to be healed or even a Roman officer.

Advent is about Hope. Hope that life can be different. Hope that our world can move towards a peaceful state of being. God’s Kingdom was established over two thousand years ago. And it has been evolving, taking shape through all of us as we go about our daily activities. God’s Kingdom has been evolving in the ways we treat one another through the giving of our time, talent, and treasure. The “mountain of the LORD” is the highest mountain to climb. It is steep and rocky in some places and in some places it is easy to walk. As long as we are moving forward and up we are on the right path. As long as we remember who is walking beside us, we are on the right path. Advent is a time to prepare for the coming of the Lord in our hearts in a new way. How we choose to deepen our relationship this coming year is up to us. How will you continue to climb the “mountain of the LORD”? Will you stand at the bottom and admire this mountain or will you be the one who continues to climb?

As we begin, a new liturgical year, may you and your families have a blessed Advent Season!

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

First Sunday of Advent

Scripture:

Jeremiah 33:14-16
1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2
Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

Reflection:

ADVENT IS HERE!!!!

Someone asked me recently to share my thoughts or images regarding the season of Advent.  Our liturgical planning group at our parish has been doing just that over the past few months. We prayed with the scriptures of advent, shared our thoughts and came up with the theme, Preparing for JOY!  I love the Advent readings, they are so full of what I feel advent is all about, joy, hope, promise, prophecy and challenge!  Hopefully this will be a time of preparation for the coming of the messiah into the world with the birth of Jesus, his continued presence in each of us, and the second coming of the risen Christ in glory.

The prophet Jeremiah in our first reading today reminds us of how God made good on his covenant promise to Israel in these words:

“In those days, in that time, I will raise up for David a just shoot;
He shall do what is right and just in the land.”

This was good news for Judah and Jerusalem and it is good news for us today!

Our family recently welcomed a new little one, Annabelle Grace, into our lives!  Her birth after nine long months gives her parents and all our family another reason to celebrate God’s love and promise in a world that sometimes seems to have forgotten the joy and hope that God promises to all of us.  She is a daily presence of what Advent is all about!  She is joy, hope, promise and challenge all rolled into one, even when she is exercising her role as prophetess as she cries out in the day and night reminding us she is God’s promise to us fulfilled!

My hope and prayer for all of us this advent season is to spend more time in listening to the prophets and prophetess’ past and present and take to heart their message of joy, hope, peace and love. May we spread their message by the way we live and love, not only those we cherish but also those who challenge us.

Have a Blessed Advent!

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

Scripture:

Daniel 7:15-27
Luke 21:34-36

Reflection:

How many times do we get caught up in the spirit of this world? Temptations are thrown to us left and right, and our best attempts at living a Godly life can sometimes seem futile, at best. How much of our time do we waste watching television, having one drink too many (thankfully I have a very low tolerance to alcohol…), or spend our time with things that will not enlighten us in our faith journey? Jesus said, “be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape imminent tribulations”. I believe those tribulations are those things that pull us away from Him, and that pulls us away from our eternity with Christ.

Imagine yourself constantly being next to Jesus. Everything you did, he would be there. Everywhere you went, he would be beside you. Wherever you drove, he would be in the front seat. Would you do things differently? Would you, possibly, not go to some of the places that bring you pleasure if you knew Jesus was there? Well, guess what – he certainly is! The good you do on earth; you do for the Father in Heaven. If we know he is always present, we certainly would do things differently! 

Pull yourself into a schedule of doing good on this earth. I believe that God wants us to enjoy this life and all the gifts that he has given us with it. Make the most of those gifts and enjoy them, but make sure you use them for good, especially for the good of others! When our day comes to stand before the Son of Man, I want all of us to be there! God bless you!

Patty Masson supports the Passionists from Spring, Texas. 

Scripture:

Daniel 7:2-14
Luke 21:29-33

Reflection:

We don’t waste much time moving from Thanksgiving to Black Friday. Stores open their doors late on Thursday before the remnants of the feast are put away, dishes cleaned, and guests out the door. It seems we need to rush past the moment of gratitude for what we have been given to focus on accumulating more.

Thanksgiving has for me always been a comforting celebration. It does not have the complications of Christmas. It focuses on gathering around a table of plenty. Very Eucharistic, wouldn’t you say? We gather in twos, threes, tens or twenties knowing we are imperfect, yet we gather, nonetheless. At our best we reflect on what little we have done to deserve such graciousness, yet here it is before us. Blessed indeed.

First, though, we need to see what is before us. Gratitude wells up in us only when we recognize the gift. It might be the birth of child or grandchild. It might be that finally we can come together safely and vaccinated to share space and a meal. It might be one of us has returned to health or maybe we acknowledge and celebrate a life well lived.

Thanksgiving should be a daily celebration. The extravagant feast is not repeated each day, but a moment to notice what is given to us each day can be repeated every day. But like today’s Black Friday, as long as we are focused on what we don’t have, we will find it hard to relish all that we already have. What is it that? Simply this: “You are my beloved. In you, I am well pleased.”

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.

Thanksgiving Day (USA)

Scripture:

Sirach 50:22-24,
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Luke 17:11-19

Reflection:

We hear today the first verses of Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Paul’s letter was written at a time when, as Professor Douglas Campbell, a Pauline scholar at Duke Divinity School, puts it, “the church at Corinth was a mess.” In fact, the situation in Corinth was similar in many ways to what we are experiencing in our own country and communities today: partisanship; leadership which encouraged factions and division in the community; a lack of concern on the part of the wealthy members of the community with the well-being of the poor and vulnerable members that had penetrated into the sacred meal of the Lord’s Supper itself—to name a few.

I wonder what it must have been like for Paul as he pondered how to respond to the community at Corinth in light of these serious issues that threatened his “beloved children.” As a parent, I know anger and frustration arise easily in the face of wayward children!  Yet Paul begins his letter not with anger or frustration but with thanksgiving:

I give thanks to my God always on your account
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus.

He goes on later in the letter to gift us with some of the most beautiful reflections and imagery of Christianity, including the description of the church as the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:12) and the affirmation “So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor 13:13). But for now, on this Thanksgiving Day 2021, I invite us all to stay with the first verses of Paul’s letter and imagine what it might be like if we entered into the conflicts of today’s world–and in our own lives–giving thanks to God for those we see as opposing us and our values.  Who knows?  We, like Paul in the course of his letter, may move inevitably from gratitude to the “greatest of these,” love.

Lissa Romell is the Administrator at St. Vincent Strambi Community in Chicago, Illinois.

Scripture:

Daniel 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28
Luke 21:12-19

Reflection:

Wonderful Providence

Yet not a hair of your head will perish.
By your endurance you will gain your lives. -Luke 21:18

God’s Providence means that God’s loving care surrounds us at every moment of our lives.   It is told that it was a custom in one of the tribes of Native Americans that a young man had to go through a testing to prove his manhood.   In the dead of night, he was led by his father into the depths of the forest blindfolded.  The young man was tied still blindfolded to a tree.  He was left alone all the night vulnerable to animal attracts.   The boy thought he was all alone and was expected to show bravery.   Unknown to him his father was close by to protect him if danger approached. 

I believe this gives us a metaphor of the protective presence of God in our scary moments.   We might feel that “God hides His Face” in our troubles.  The face was used as an image of God’s presence. “Here is looking at you!”  Often in the Psalms the author prays: “Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake (Hebrew:ʿāzab to abandon)  me, God my Savior.” Ps 27:9 Praise to His mercy He does not abandon us in our troubles!

We must trust in this caring presence of God.  He only seems to abandon us, to hide His face. He is close and only seems to be away.  He is only encouraging us to trust in His deep love for us!  In our deepest anxious moments, He gives us the biggest opportunity to make our greatest act of loving confidence.   Like the young man tied and blind in the story we grow into a beautiful reckless bravery of trust.   Love cannot really grow without challenging scary problems. “By your endurance you will gain your lives.”

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