Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Acts: 15:7-21
John 15: 9-11

Reflection:

In today’s Gospel Jesus offers us a deal. You keep my commandments and “the joy I have in me, you will have in you.” It is the best quid pro quo in Scripture.

And what are the commandments we are to keep? In the following verse we find out…the command is to love one another (tomorrow’s Gospel selection).

It might be easy to gloss over these passages from Jesus’ last comments to his disciples before his cruel crucifixion because, since our youth, we may have heard them repeatedly.

But reading them afresh, slowly, gives us an opportunity to ponder their meaning in a prayerful manner. We can let the words penetrate our hearts and transform us, if just for today.

Joy is not found in the myriad of distractions and entertainments that fill our modern world, no matter how alluring, how stimulating they may be. Nor is it found in the three things spiritual writers tell us we are most tempted to spend our lives seeking: wealth, power and prestige and the comforts that may follow from their possession.

The true, lasting joy in Jesus’ heart that he wants in our hearts is experienced when we surrender our lives in love for others.  It is a daily willingness to have God change us, realign our priorities, our urges, our passions to be at God’s disposal.

This surrendering frees us to love one another in powerful ways that change the world, one person at a time, for good.  This is how God’s reign happens.

As our reward, deep within us, at our core, we experience Jesus’ joy… it is a very good quid pro quo.

What distinguishes us as Christians is not our grand institutions and houses of worship, not our influence in the political arena or honors. What sets us apart is the joy we have in facing the challenges of each day. We relish this joy…Christ’s joy within each of us…no matter what crises, tragedies, efforts, sufferings, illnesses, losses, disappointments we are dealt. The joy is seen in our eyes, our disposition, our sense of hope. It is Christ fully alive in us!

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

Scripture:

Acts 15:1-6
John 15:1-8

Reflection:

In today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles we see the early Church struggling with an issue that is still present today, namely whether Christianity is a bounded set or a centered set. Let me explain.

In the 1970s there arose the idea of looking at church communities through the lens of mathematical set theory. One way of describing a community is as a bounded set. This is a group of people who have drawn a boundary around themselves. You are either part of the “in” group or the “out” group. In religions, and particularly in sects of Christianity, the boundary consist of certain practices, beliefs, moral behaviors, etc. To be within the boundaries you need to hold to those beliefs and practices. Alternately, a centered set is defined by what is at the center. People are seen not as either in or out but rather, as either moving towards the center or away from the center. In addition, you could be moving sideways past the center. You could be moving towards the center in one part of your life and away from the center in another area. In this model, Christ is the center towards which we are moving.

So what does this have to do with our reading? The church in Jerusalem had drawn a hard boundary around the community. To be a part of the church you needed to be circumcised. But Paul and Barnabas found people that they judged to be very much moving towards Christ and yet were not willing to cross the “boundary” of circumcision. Through prayer and discernment the early church heard the call to be Christ centered, not rule-bound.

But how does this reflect on today’s gospel? Jesus talks about those do not remain in him being fruitless branches that will be thrown out. But this too seems to follow the Christ-centered set model because by not remaining in Christ we turn away from the center. It is our choices that determine whether we are moving towards Christ or away from Christ. As we continue our stumbling movement towards the center, Jesus tells us that God will help us by pruning away those dead parts in our lives so that we may give more fruit.

My prayer today is that I continue to turn towards the true center of my life, Jesus the living Christ.

In addition to being an independent teacher (now online!), Talib Huff is on the retreat team at Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center in Citrus Heights. You can contact him at [email protected].

Scripture:

Acts 14:19-28
John 14:27-31a

Reflection:

The Gift of Peace…aaahhh!

Classic words of Jesus to his disciples the night before he died: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give it to you…”  Now it’s Jesus’ message to us and our pandemic-ravaged world this 5^th week of Easter, 2021.

Peace is a beautiful reality, impossible to fully define and yet experienced by all of us at various times and in various ways.  Peace can be thought of in a negative way, such as an absence of war between peoples, or a lack of turmoil within a family, or freedom from anxiety in one’s heart.  True peace is a positive reality…a sense of tranquility and harmony and life.  Nations are truly at peace when they cooperate with each other; a family is at peace when they live together in harmony; a person is at peace when resting confidently in the loving arms of Jesus.  Peace is positive — and precious!

This positive, precious peace is the farewell gift of Jesus to his disciples – and us.  Jesus gave us more than descriptive, “nice” words about peace:  He also gave us the means to find peace, and that “means” is His very Body and Blood in the Eucharist.  The Eucharist is the means by which we become one in Christ.  By uniting us in Himself, a harmony and positive spirit builds us up and helps heal our troubled, fearful hearts.  No doubt, as we see in the Acts of the Apostles, Paul and Barnabas based their exciting and fruitful missionary journeys on the peace and strength they experienced in celebrating the Eucharist.

In our pandemic-ravaged world, Jesus encourages us:  “Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.”  With Jesus’ gift of peace in our hearts, we can live in peace with one another as we breathe a sigh of contentment, relief and encouragement — leading to true healing and life:  aaahhh!  So needed today…

In gratitude, with the psalmist we proclaim:  “May all creation bless God’s holy name forever!”

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

Feast of Saints Philip and James, Apostles

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 15:1-8
John 14:6-14

Reflection:

He is our way, our truth and source of our life.  

In our gospel today, Jesus not only announces that it is through him that we come to know and understand God, but he also reveals something of the depth of his relationship with the Father.

While we do acknowledge the mystery of God and the life of the trinity, we can take such consultation from the words of Jesus today. He reminds us powerfully that our search for God and our attempts to describe God begin and end in knowing him.

While the mystery of God will always be beyond human understanding, but in our seeking to know Jesus we do have a way into this mystery. Perhaps it is better put if we say that knowing Jesus is our way into living this mystery.

For at its heart that is the Christian task. The more we live with Jesus, through Jesus, and in Jesus the greater will be our perception and understanding of God. But the key is living a life that centres itself on Jesus. He is our way, our truth, and our life.

Today, to we might also spend a moment reflecting on the intimacy of the relationship Jesus shares with the Father. It is a living intimacy, one that is shared most fully with us as life giving works. What is more, this intimacy spills over into our world and our daily lives – we share in its richness. The promise of Jesus is that we may approach God in his name and that he will forever be our advocate and act for us.

Philip and James the apostles featured in today’s liturgy, remind us that being in the company of Jesus is the way for us to learn and understand. The entire dialogue between Jesus and the disciples, and us as we read and listen today, is a revelation.

Indeed, perhaps this is an approach for today. John’s gospel – particularly through passes such as today’s reading – invites one to stop and contemplate the words of Jesus. Let us be still and quietly allow the words to wash over us, listen to what resonates and respond from your own heartfelt relationship to Jesus. He awaits us.

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

Scripture:

Acts 9:26-31
I John 3:18-24
John 15:1-8

Reflection:

“Remain in (stay with, dwell, settle in), as I remain in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own
unless it remains on the vine,
so neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,
because without me you can do nothing.” John 15:4-5

Last summer I grew some flowering vines on a new trellis in my garden. As they grew and intertwined, it was hard to tell the vine from the branches. By contrast, tree trunks and branches are more clearly defined and distinct, growing to appear to be almost separate entities.

But with a vine, the branches are kept very close to the nurturing vine, so close it is often difficult to distinguish between the two. And this is the graphic image that Jesus chose to describe His intimate and nurturing relationship with us, his disciples, that we read about in today’s Gospel reading!

As we remain (stay with, dwell in, and settle in with) Jesus, he promises we will “bear much fruit”. And we see that “fruit” in today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. In these earliest years of the Church, people who would normally not meet because of their religion or ethnicity were drawn together as disciples, as they recognized the same life of Jesus in each other. Saul of Tarsus (modern day Turkey), a Jewish persecutor of Christians had become “Paul” after his conversion experience with Jesus. He tries to join the disciples in Jerusalem, and they are understandably afraid of him. Enter Barnabas who befriends Paul and later goes on mission with him, establishing Christian communities all around the Mediterranean area.

How has your life as a branch on Jesus’ vine been opened to new and fruitful relationships?

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.

Feast of St. Joseph the Worker

Scripture:

Genesis 1:26-2:3 or Colossians 3:14-15, 17, 23-24
Matthew 13:54-58

Reflection:

In December, Pope Francis declared this liturgical year of 2021 as a special year to honor St. Joseph.  In fact, Joseph’s role is so important in our Christian tradition that he is honored on two feasts—March 19, the “Solemnity of Saint Joseph, the Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary” and today, May 1, “St. Joseph the Worker.”  Both feasts celebrate gospel scenes in which Joseph is mentioned.  The infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke point to Joseph’s role as the spouse of Mary. Matthew’s Gospel emphasizes the protective role of Joseph, as he is counseled by a heavenly messenger in a dream to take Mary and the infant Jesus to Egypt, out of the deadly reach of the despot King Herod who seeks to kill the infant as a potential rival to his throne.

Today’s feast reflects another dimension of Joseph.  As the gospel selection from Matthew notes, Jesus is known in his hometown of Nazareth as “the carpenter’s son.”  The Greek word used here—tekton— literally means a “craftsman,” someone working with wood but perhaps also with stone.

Appropriately the special readings for this feast cite the opening chapter of the book of Genesis, which in majestic poetry describes God’s creation of the world.  The segment selected for the first reading today notes the creation of the human being, with the astounding assertion that God made the human being, “male and female” in God’s “own image.”  Distinct from all the rest of creation, the human is endowed with self-awareness, a capacity to love, and sharing in God’s own stewardship of the created world. 

Awareness of the threats to earth— “our common home” as Pope Francis refers to it in his encyclical on ecology, Laudato Si’—modern biblical scholarship has noted that “dominion” over the created world entrusted to humans by God is probably not the best translation.  The responsibility of humans for the development and well-being of the earth should mirror God’s own “dominion”—that is, recognizing its innate goodness and beauty and, therefore, caring for it and not destroying it.  Perhaps the English word “stewardship” catches more accurately the meaning of this key passage in Genesis.

It is this God-given commission to care for the earth—to be its “stewards”– that ultimately gives human work a sacred character and confers dignity on those who labor.  This feast of St. Joseph the Worker coincides with the celebration of labor that takes place in many countries throughout the world on May 1.  Pope Francis again, in his decree inaugurating the year of St. Joseph, noted this connection. In accord with the gospels, it is true to say that Jesus himself was from a “working class” family. From our Catholic and Christian point of view, human labor of all types is to be respected.  Working conditions that demean or exploit human labor are unjust and to be condemned. 

Because of the ravages of the pandemic, we are aware more than ever today of those who have lost their jobs and families who live in acute poverty and uncertainty about their survival.  In the responsorial Psalm 90 for this feast, we earnestly pray: “Lord, give success to the work of our hands.”  This feast honoring Joseph the “worker” invites us to pray and to strive for justice on behalf of those who work, particularly those most vulnerable.

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:

Acts 13:26-33
John 14:1-6

Reflection:

One of my favorite readings – today’s gospel from the book of John; I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Those three words – way, truth, life – reflect who Jesus can be to every one of us. 

There is only one way – Jesus’ way. I want to live as Jesus would have me live, because I want to go to heaven when I have finished my earthly journey. I want to be Christ to others; I want to turn the other cheek (that is a hard one) and I have to serve others in whatever capacity the Lord sees fit. I want to see my Father’s house at the end of this journey.

There is only one truth – that Jesus Christ is Lord, and he is our one saving grace. His words and actions should be reflected and shared through us to others. In trusting in him, we know that he will lead us to his truth, enabling us to see through the mess through which some have blurred the clear vision of truth.

There is only one life – a life sharing Jesus with others and living in a way that promotes his unending and beautiful love. And in living this life, I am reminded of the steps to grace that we can accomplish, enabling ourselves and others the chance of entering the gates of Heaven:

• to hear Christ’s words and put them into practice (Matthew 7:24)
• to believe in Him, and have an everlasting faith; for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him will have everlasting life
  (John 3:16)
• to repent from our sins (Luke 5:31-32)
• to confess Christ to others (Matthew 10:32)
• to being baptized into Christ’s death, and living and sharing his Passion (Mark 16:15-16)
• to remember a constant commitment in presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God (Romans 12:1-2)

May the peace of Christ be with you all!

Patty Masson supports the Passionists from Spring, Texas.

Scripture:

Acts 13:13-25
John 13:16-20

Reflection:

If you are what you should be, you will set all the world ablaze!     – St Catherine of Siena

Today the Church celebrates the feast day of one of the four women Doctors of the Church, Catherine of Siena. Her influence on Pope Gregory XI to return to Rome from Avignon, France was Divine intervention only because she listened to God with deep love and was open to the Holy Spirit.

In her Dialogue she writes about many visions and experiences and conversations she had with God. About midway through her Dialogue she writes about Christ being the Bridge for those on earth to be able to travel to heaven. The bridge has three steps or levels. These levels relate to the spiritual life. Under the bridge are the raging waters of sin. Those who choose the waters of the earthly distractions will drown. Those who take hold of the feet of Christ have begun their journey in the Light. The feet are where the person becomes a servant, a follower and is “lifting her from the affections of the earth”. As the person continues the journey they move higher towards the heart of Christ where “she fills herself with love and virtue”. And then climbing higher reaches the mouth where there is an experience of great peace. The importance of the Cross is that it never leaves the earth but remains rooted so that Divinity remains with the “humanity of the earth”. This is the Bridge that frees those who wish to climb from earth to heaven. Through the suffering of Christ. The stones are what the bridge is made of and are the virtues. These stones are cemented together with the Blood of Christ. 

In the reading from Acts, Saint Paul is recounting to the Jews, in Antioch, the long journey that they have taken to arrive at the coming of Christ. Speaking of each step as like a bridge from the past to the present and how they are connected to that very moment of the coming of Christ. This journey is ours as well throughout the centuries. We, as the People of God, recall at the Eucharistic celebration the sacrifice of Christ’s Body and Blood for our redemption. Each time we partake of this celebration and put our faith into action, we climb further up the Bridge of the Cross. When we find ways to feed our soul this too helps us to climb further and not in a way where we are racking up points, but truly deepening our relationship with Christ. Faith and good works, in balance, can lead us to a better understanding of who we are in Christ.

Paul was an unlikely messenger to the Jews but he was called to be an instrument to carry the news to, what was at that time, the whole world. Some received the word of God through him and thus were open to God and the gifts and graces of faith. The reading from the Gospel of John affirms that when we hear the Word through another sent by God then we receive Christ and God. Opening our heart to the Gospel message is not always easy. There are some challenging messages that we might not always be willing to take hold of. The good thing is that we can try and as we try, we are working on our relationship with Christ in becoming the person that God created us to be. Climbing the bridge one stone at a time with the grace of God to guide us.

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