Daily Scripture

Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Scripture:

2 Corinthians 5:14-21
Luke 2:41-51

Reflection:

Today as we celebrate the Feast of The Immaculate Heart of Mary, we pause to reflect on Mary, the Mother of God and what place she has in our lives.  In the Gospel of Luke we hear the familiar story of the holy family going to Jerusalem for the Passover and after it was over, they traveled home thinking all the time that Jesus was with the group of family and friends they were traveling with.  It is not hard to imagine their fear and frustration they upon realizing that he was not with them.  What parent or friend having lost someone in that way does not immediately think the worst has happened and despair sets in.  Fear turned to relief when they were reunited with him in Jerusalem.  Even though they were a bit exasperated when Jesus did not share their concern for his safety.  Another one of those occasions that give parents fits.

Mary, for her part ‘kept all these things in her heart.” What does it mean ‘to keep things in our heart’?!  As spiritual seekers we must be aware that deep within, in our heart of hearts is where we meet the Divine, where we encounter the Mystery that is beyond words or explanation.  God invites us to come deeper, to trust more fully, to  enter into the silence. This is where we are fed and nurtured with the spirit of God.

We are surrounded with so much busyness these days, with family, work, community, and even church responsibilities and events that we don’t make the time to get in touch with our heart time.  Mary had many instances where she pondered many things in her heart.  She found peace in her heart of hearts, the space she alone could commune with God.  This was her holy space where she gained strength to meet the challenges of daily life as the mother of Jesus.

When we make the effort to set time aside to just BE, to enter into that holy space where we meet our God, where we receive nourishment for the journey, then we are truly at peace.  Summertime offers us a chance to enjoy life at a different pace.  Where are you going on vacation this summer?  Why don’t you spend some time resting in God’s loving embrace that can only happen deep in your heart of hearts.  Enjoy your vacation with God this summer!

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

Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Scripture:

Hosea 11:1, 3-4, 8c-9
Ephesians 3:8-12, 14-19
John 19:31-37

Reflection:

Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the symbol of God’s love for us.  Which leads to the question: what is love?  Merriam-Webster defines love as “a feeling of strong or constant affection for a person.”  Not a bad definition.  But St. Thomas Aquinas might disagree.  Love is more than a “feeling.”  Aquinas’ definition of love, found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church is this: “To love is to will the good of the other” (CCC #1766).  In other words, love is more than having powerful feelings for another person.  Love is an act of the will, regardless of one’s “feelings.”  This is a simple definition of love.  It isn’t complicated.  This is how God loves us and how we are to love one another.

Even if we are unfamiliar with Aquinas’ definition, we still can know what love by what it looks like.  We recognize it when we see it.  We see it when a parent cares for a child with patience, tenderness, and unconditional acceptance.  We see it in relationships involving compassion, and self-sacrifice.

Today’s reading also shows us what love – God’s love – looks like.  In the Book of the Prophet Hosea, God called the Israelites out of Egypt.  The Lord compares the Israelites to a child whom he took in hiss arms, taught to walk, fed, and protected on their journey.  The Lord says, my heart is overwhelmed, my pity is stirred.  Despite their failings, God loved them.

In the Letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul prays for the love of the Father, strength of the Holy Spirit, and the indwelling of Jesus, so that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what I the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.  God’s love is fundamental to all other gifts.

And in the gospel passage reminds us of God’s ultimate act of love.  During his passion, Christ held each of us in his heart of love.  The Lamb of God was led to the slaughter and sacrificed for our sins.  True love has little to do with one’s feelings.  It has to do with the commitment of the will to seek the good of the other person, even when those feelings are not there.  The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart is all about love.  Christ suffered and died for us.  This is how God loves us.  This is how we are to love one another – with all our imperfections, with all our failings, and brokenness.

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

Scripture:

2 Corinthians 1:18-22
Matthew 5:13-16

Reflection:

Walk in Light

Today’s Gospel reminds me of a song that says, “let your little light shine, shine, shine.” When we become children of God we are to shine. Darkness leads to sin, death, lies and separation from Jesus. Light leads to truth, holiness, generosity, sacrifice and virtue. “A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” —— Matthew 5:14. Once we commit our lives to Jesus and let our light shine publicly, there is no turning back. Our lives can no longer be hidden once we step out in faith as witnesses for Jesus on the job, in the neighborhood, in the public arena, etc. When we come into the light, to let the world know that we live in Jesus, the Truth (Jn 3:21; 14:6), people are watching us to see whether we will falter or stay faithful to Jesus.

By our deeds we are to influence the world for good. We can no more escape notice than a city set on a mountain. We should always try to be good and generous and to walk with giant steps along the way of holiness and love, to which we have been called. Love consists in sacrifice, virtue, and integrity. Try to be patient with trouble persons, bearing in silence all the sufferings that may afflict your heart, spirit, and body. Keep in mind that by possessing Jesus, we become rulers of the entire world.

When we become disciples of Jesus, we need to have a taste that is pleasing to all. When salt losses its taste, it becomes useless. We as Christians, should always carry a taste, so that we can glorify God through our good works. Jesus wants everyone to say yes to his presence so that we can keep our taste and shine before all and attract everyone to the goodness of the Lord. If we fail in good works, we are as useless as flavorless salt or as a lamp whose light is concealed.

We should never conceal our light. If we let our light shine before men, and then turn away from following Jesus and turn back to a worldly lifestyle, we are “unfit” to give glory to the kingdom of God (Lk 9:62). The public credibility of the kingdom of God is at stake, and we are on display. We have put ourselves in a position where we desperately need the Holy Spirit, day by day and moment by moment, to keep us “set aflame and burning bright” (Jn 5:35). Satan will temp us to take a “breather” by stepping out of the hot lights into the darkness (see Jn 3:19); however, stepping away from Jesus is the devil’s trap. We must continually come to Jesus (Mt 11:28) and never move away from Him. “Fix your eyes on Jesus” (Heb 3:1) and let your little light shine.

Deacon Peter Smith serves at St. Mary’s/Holy Family Parish in Alabama, a religion teacher at Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School in Birmingham, and a member of our Passionist Family.

Scripture:

2 Corinthians 1:1-7
Matthew 5:1-12

Reflection:

I often wonder what Jesus means when he says in today’s gospel selection: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. (Mt 5:3)

Oh, how I would love to rejoice and be glad, to possess the Kingdom of God. I so want mercy, to be consoled, to inherit the earth, to have my fill and on top of all that, see God. But, and here’s the rub, to get all that, you ask me, Jesus, to be poor in spirit (I’m not sure what that means), full of sorrow (Yep, I do know that means) to show mercy, seek peace, and suffer hate all because of you. Talk about not making any sense!

What seems to make more sense to me is to get the best job and make the most money. Then I’ll get all, or at least my fair share of the earth’s riches. People will look up to me. I will be able to buy my way out of any trouble I may get into if I have enough money. If somebody treats me with hate, I’ll sue the #$@#$ out of them and when I feel sorrow or any other negative feeling, I’ll just have a drink, and all will be well.

Well, that is, until the next morning, when all my crazy thinking will start over again, and I’ll end up having another night cap or two or three, depending on how many it takes to drown those feelings of sorrow, of being hated and of being not enough. At least I’ll have enough money.

That kind of thinking works for a while. I know. I tried it. For the long run however, I’m beginning to think maybe I should try Jesus’ way. Maybe being poor in spirit means being satisfied with enough and not needing more. Maybe when I feel sorrow, I can accept it as a part of the joy that comes with having loved and being loved by another person even if it was only for a brief moment in time. Maybe forgiving that person who doesn’t even know me but hates me because of the color of my skin will bring some peace both for me and for them. I don’t know for sure, but I do know the other way, absolutely does not work.

Thank you, Jesus, for showing me another way, a way that seems counter intuitive at first, but the more I try it, the more it seems to work. Help me today to keep trying and growing in Your way.

Dan O’Donnell is a Passionist Partner and a longtime friend of the Passionists.  He lives in Chicago.  

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Scripture:

Exodus 24:3-8
Hebrews 9:11-15
Mark 14:12-16, 22-26

Reflection:

During the pandemic lock down my wife and I, like everyone else, worshiped in front of our computer. No matter how beautiful the music or how inspiring the homilist, not physically being with our fellow parishioners, not chewing the Eucharistic bread, left us unsatisfied.

As Catholics, the “source and summit” of our faith experience is the Mass. Unless we are adult converts, all of us grew up with the weekly ritual. With its words so familiar, it easily became routine, even boring…especially during our teen years.

Fasting from the in-person experience of the Mass during the pandemic may have had an unexpected benefit: paying more attention to what we do at the sacred liturgy. Perhaps its absence made our hearts grow fonder of how transformative the Mass is.

In his highly acclaimed book Eucharist and Torture, Catholic Theologian William Cavanaugh makes the point that in Eucharist we are lifted up from the world and given a foretaste of the heavenly kingdom. We become the body of Christ in the Eucharist.

But what exactly does the Eucharistic celebration do to transform us?

If, in the liturgy, we listen to God speaking to us in the reading of the Word, we respond, at the offertory, by surrendering our entire lives to God’s providence. And what is God’s response to our offering? God takes us, unites us and changes us into the body of Christ. We, then, the Body of Christ, are offered to the Father to be at His disposal.

Reflecting on this awesome mystery can take us into a mystical state, which is always dangerous. Why? Because deep prayer, deep connection to God in mysticism always us leads to resistance. We become a public, collective protest against all that is counter to God’s will.

In today’s world sin is on display every minute, especially with the explosion of social media. Street violence, domestic violence, wars, torture, oppression, racism, lies, greed, sexual exploitation, neglect and abuse of children, drug and alcohol abuse, environmental destruction surround us constantly. It is too much to absorb or understand. Part of us wants to just escape all of it, to hide away in comfort zones of entertainment, sports, consumerism or other means that can be, in their extremes, self-delusional.

But as Catholics by God’s grace, we can respond to sin with the most powerful antidote: our collective cry in the Eucharist for unity that is found only in Christ. When we gather around the altar it is a public display of all our hopes, all our dreams, all our ambitions for a world ruled by forgiveness and love. A world as God wills it to be. We, collectively, literally consume Christ as a community. The Eucharist is not a refuge; it is a rallying call, a challenge, to go into the world and transform it as we have been transformed in our communal celebration.

We take into our worlds…our homes, neighborhoods, schools, ball fields, workplaces, marketplaces, vacation spots… something people sorely need: love and raw truth. These are radical, out of mainstream. In some situations, we will be laughed at, shunned, shamed. In rare cases we will be tortured and killed.

St. Oscar Romero, the El Salvadorian archbishop, let the Eucharist transform him while his country endured a destructive civil war in the 1980s. He spoke out against the violence and against the U.S. backed military that tortured and murdered thousands of innocent people, including some of his dear fellow priests. On the morning a lone sniper pierced the archbishop’s heart, the prelate stood at the altar in the little hospital chapel saying Mass for some sisters. During this transformative liturgy…all liturgies are transformative…he raised the host in protest against all the sin and sadness that surrounded him and his people. A single bullet splattered his blood on the altar and the sacred host. 

He witnessed the ultimate price we all commit to paying each time we pray the Mass and receive the Eucharist.

May God give us the grace we need to live what the Eucharist is.

Jim Wayne is a board member of the Passionist Solidarity Network (PSN), and author of The Unfinished Man. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

Tobit 12:1, 5-15, 20
Mark 12:38-44

Reflection:

Throughout this past week the church has been listening to the readings from the Old Testament book of Tobit. It is a skillfully constructed story that combines morality, prayer, and East Asian folklore. The story setting places Tobit in the Assyrian territory of Nineveh. Outside of his native land of Israel, Tobit faces affliction, bad breaks, and misfortunes.   The story becomes popular beyond the Jewish circles.  Adapted by numerous cultures, the wisdom in the story reminds the listener that amidst all the things life may throw at you, be faithful to God, and lean on God.  Patients, endurance, and prayer are all elements of wisdom to be learned in life and passed on to the next generation.

We see that also in the gospel today. The ability of the widow to trust in God beyond her financial security.   Yet Jesus also calls into accountability those who “devour the houses of widows.” 

Both of these themes ring true for us in our world today.  This pandemic has shifted financial resources.  Financially, nothing is as predictable now as it seemed to have been two years ago.  Some have lost a tremendous amount.  Others find themselves ahead.   While still others keep shifting their earnings, expenses and assets like a big shell game.  And, with all that going on, we still have those who prey on others. Coercion, intimidation, manipulation still continue through all these years pending its greedy face against the vulnerable.

Our Universal Church celebrates this day the feast of Boniface, a great Missionary in Europe who was instrumental in reorganizing the church in Germany and the Frankish kingdom. Living in the eighth century as a Benedictine monk, he was sent to preach the Gospel in Germany, earning the title “Apostle of Germany.” His respect earned him greater responsibility as he was named Abbot and eventually Archbishop by Pope Zachary.  He died as a martyr when a group of barbarous pagans interrupted the confirmation of a group of neophytes.  It wasn’t a storybook ending.  Boniface was living in a conflictual society and yet remained devoutly focused on Christ.  The poor widow of the gospel is also focused on the providential care of God. And the wisdom of Tobit in the first reading reminds us to continue to thank, praise, and bless God.  Ultimately, the refrain from our Responsorial Psalm needs to be etched into our hearts this day— Blessed be God, who lives forever.

Fr. David Colhour, C.P. is the local superior of St. Vincent Strambi Community in Chicago, Illinois.

Scripture:

Tobit 11:5-17
Mark 12:35-37

Reflection:

Praise the Lord, my soul!!

“Praise the Lord, my soul!”  These words from Psalm 146 are part of today’s Responsorial Psalm in today’s celebration of the Eucharist.  That bold phrase helps fuse the Scripture reading from the Book of Tobit with the selection from Mark’s Gospel – and provide us today with a heartfelt, simple prayer.

All this week we have walked with Tobit of the Old Testament in the 1^st Scripture readings of the Mass.  Tobit was blinded by a freak accident and turned to God for help.  In time, that help came from God working through Tobit’s son, Tobiah, as he returned from his wedding celebration with a “unique” medicinal “cure” for his father’s blindness, offered him by an angel:  fish gall.  The gall worked miraculously, and Tobit’s eyesight was restored, to the glory of God and the amazement of Tobit’s contemporaries.  Tobit’s subsequent words are filled with joy, excitement, and blessing – first to God, and then to all those Tobit met after his cure.  “Praise the Lord, my soul!”

Today’s short Gospel selection from Mark 12 shares Jesus teaching in the temple area, citing His relationship as “the Christ” to the person of the great Jewish ancestor, David; and “…the great crowd heard this with delight.”  We too delight in Jesus as Lord of all Creation, and we pray “Praise the Lord, my soul!”

This month of June 2021 gives us reason to add our personal words of praise for our loving God.  No doubt, challenges and difficulties exist for us and our global family; we need healing of body and spirit, individually and corporately.  Significant effort is being made to deal with the global COVID pandemic; we in the U.S.A. are moving towards a “new normal”.  Relationships are being renewed as we safely gather as families and faith communities; plus, long-awaited birthdays and anniversaries and graduations and vacations…yes! 

Like the healed and grateful Tobit, we thank God for the gift of life today.  With Jesus Crucified as our loving Savior and example, we call out our praise to God – AND we renew our commitment to continue growing in love and service of our sisters and brothers worldwide.

Fr. John Schork, C.P. is the Vocation Director for Holy Cross Province. He lives at St. Vincent Strambi Community in Chicago, Illinois. 

Memorial of Saint Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs

Scripture:

Tobit 6:10-11; 7:1bcde, 9-17; 8:4-9a
Mark 12:28-34

Reflection:

It has been called ‘the golden rule’ and indeed it is. In one unique combination of ancient wisdom Jesus sums up the entire Law in a prophetic manner and bequeaths to all his followers the key to life.

What God wants from us – far more than ritual or material offerings, is the gift of love. Perhaps this should not surprise us unduly, after all we are made in God’s own image and likeness and God is love. While it is not possible for us to fully describe God, we learn of God’s nature and deepest desires from Jesus words, lived example and witness to us.

In this light we can understand that the essence of God’s life is relationship. This deep reality is embedded in creation itself (witnessed even at a subatomic level where matter becomes particles in relationship to each other) and seen in all life that we know (patterns of relationship in nature and the environment and most clearly in the human person).

We are relational beings, made for communion with one another. In the vision of Jesus this relational circle is widened to incorporate our relationship with God.

To live a life committed to others and to their care, to exercise a nurturing stewardship of the earth, to seek to go beyond ourselves not just in exploration but in sacrificial loving of another – all this is but expression of the innate desire to form union that God has placed within us.

For Jesus to speak of loving with all one’s heart, soul, mind, and strength is for him to name the spectrum of human capacity and to suggest we orient our entire being towards love of God and others.

In saying this Jesus knows too that God extends love to us in the same way. God’s love for us is likewise a total gift of self to us. God’s love is endless, forgiving, nurturing, sacrificial and conveys joy and grace in abundance.

We are attracted to this love at our deepest levels. While some do not see the source and creator of such love and do not acknowledge God, they nevertheless experience the warmth of God’s love (and thus God’s presence) in the world. This is our task then – to be the conduit of God’s love as it seeps into human environment. When we love our neighbour, we share in the mission of God in our world – a mission revealed by Jesus and continued under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

This is the reign of God. Let us not live far from it.

Fr. Denis Travers, C.P., is a member of Holy Spirit Province, Australia.