Daily Scripture

The Ascension of the Lord

Scripture:

Acts 1:1-11
Ephesians 1:17-23 or 4:1-13
Mark 16:15-20

Reflection:

Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel reminds me of a famous saying of St. Francis of Assisi, “Preach the Gospel and all times and if necessary use words.” So often when we read these words of Jesus we automatically think of what words to use to effectively communicate the Good News. The reality is that words often fall short unless accompanied by actions. Our actions can bring words to life or make those words irrelevant. If you think about the people you know whose words make a difference, it is usually because of their actions. You know something has touched you; their words carry weight and you will be more likely to hear their message.

In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we get a kind of back story to the event. As I read, I get a sense of a threshold moment in the life of the early church; Jesus is taken up to heaven on a cloud with its echoes of Elijah (2 Kings 2:9-11) as the “Men of Galilee” continue to look up. I wonder what was going through their heads—and their hearts? Did they feel loss in that moment? We read of their absolute fear as they locked themselves in the Upper Room (John 20:19) before Pentecost. The first readers of this text would be well familiar with the experience and emotion of Jesus’ departure and of the Apostles stepping into his earthly role—moving beyond their fear into the freedom of life-in-Christ.

It is no different for us today, we may think that Jesus’ command to “Go..” has somehow been watered down for us. It has not; it is essentially the same. Do the captives still need liberty proclaimed to them; the blind need their eyes opened; the oppressed need to go free? Absolutely!

There will always be a need to bring the light of Christ into the darkness around us; to bring mercy into our world. By virtue of our baptism (Christening) we are called to be a Christ.

We stand on the shoulders of giants –those who answered the call of Christ from the first moments, we are the beneficiaries of their labors in the vineyard of the Lord. “How beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of those who being good news.” (Is 57:7)

St. Paul of the Cross, the founder of the Passionist Congregation said to his companions, “The world lives unmindful of the sufferings of Jesus. We must arouse the world from its slumber.  His Holy Spirit will teach us how.” So, we can relax because the freedom to act and move and speak can only come through “the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.” v.20

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of all those who have gone before us who brought the good news of your love and salvation—who set us free! Give us the grace to allow you to Go in us beyond our comfort zone to new challenges in our lives. Let your glory shine through us. Bless all Mothers this day. Amen.

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:

Acts 17:15, 22-18:1
John 16:12-15

Reflection:

The two readings assigned to Wednesday of the sixth week of Easter, could be designated for a Mass devoted “to the Wisdom of God.” I heartily suggest that you linger over these two readings, read them a couple of times, because of their importance in confirming each one of us as “bearers of the Wisdom of God towards others.”

This is why these two readings get my attention. “I have much more to tell you,” Jesus says to his disciples, “but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.” (John 16:13)

Have you ever had the experience of someone speaking to you about something of a very personal nature? Such that you stop and think about what was said and ponder it in your heart. You may have instant recall of what was spoken to you from the heart of another. I recall a Confessor of mine, when I lived in San Antonio, spoke that kind of truth to me. It stopped me in my tracks and made me think and commit to a change in behavior. I use that wisdom he gave me, often, in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This priest was a “bearer of the Wisdom of God” for me.

And our bearing the Wisdom of God will not always be accepted as we read here in Acts, where, “some began to scoff.”  That is what St. Paul was for many who had assembled at Athens’ famous forum, the Areopagus, where sophisticated discussions and civic decisions were made. The God of whom Paul preached was the God of all people. He was preaching the God in whom all of us “live and move and exist.” (Acts 17:25)

Paul was quoting Aratus, a famous Athenian poet when he (Paul) said “For we too are God’s offspring.” And Paul meant that in a challenging manner, because people would be judged justly, knowing that they were not treating one another as brothers and sisters.

I will say it again. Through our Baptism we are entrusted with God’s Wisdom through the Gift of the Holy Spirit. The Father will take from what He gave to His Son and declare it to us.

Pray that you will be open to the Spirit, to bear whatever wisdom is appropriate at the moment that God sends you as God’s bearer of Wisdom. Let’s pray for each other.

Fr. Alex Steinmiller, C.P., is a member of the Passionist Community in Detroit, Michigan.

Scripture:

Acts 16:22-34
John 16:5-11

Reflection:

Why are the disciples sad?  Why do they grieve?  They mourn because Jesus is about to leave them.  He reassures them that contrary to their feelings of sadness, it is better that he goes.  Only then can he send the Spirit, the Paraclete, to them and us.

Don’t we sometimes feel like the disciples?  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have Jesus among us today?  If we could just see him, hear him, being a Christian would be easier, and our faith might be more robust. 

This way of thinking makes sense in our world of technology, proof, facts, seeing, and touching.  The disciples had a significant advantage over us.  They got to walk with Jesus, sit at his feet, and learn from him.  How can it be better that he leave?

Think about it.  The Jesus we want among us is the Jesus of history, a man who lived in a particular time and place.  Jesus was a first-century Jew who lived in a small corner of Palestine. 

The particularity of Jesus was necessary in our salvation history.  More than 2,000 years ago, Jesus ministered, healed, and proclaimed the good news: The Kingdom of God is at hand.  He died on a cross.  He was risen from the dead.  And he tells his disciples in today’s gospel, it is time that he returns to the Father.

But he quickly adds, get ready because I will send the Paraclete to you; I will unleash the power of the Holy Spirit among you.  It is through the Spirit that Jesus will continue his work through his disciples – and not just in a remote geographic location, but in all times and in all places on earth.

Today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles gives us a glimpse of what life in the Spirit looks like.  The Romans have imprisoned Paul and Silas to silence them from preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ.  But a miraculous earthquake frees them from prison bars.  The Spirit cannot be imprisoned, cannot be contained. 

First, the guard and his family came to believe in Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Then, the guard welcomed Paul and Silas into his home to feed them and tend to their wounds.

What have we witnessed?  Through Paul and Silas, the Holy Spirit has brought about the radical conversion of the prison guard and his family.  Then, the guard’s conversion leads him to offer hospitality to the disciples. 

The Holy Spirit was at work, giving the guard the gift of faith and empowering him to love the men who had just previously been his enemy.

These are examples of the power of the Holy Spirit as we cooperate with the Spirit’s continual grace in us.  This is what Jesus meant when he proclaimed the Good News: The Kingdom of God is near.  Jesus, the incarnation of God, has entered our world.  The reign of God has begun, and it will be fulfilled at his second coming.  In the meantime, the Holy Spirit dwells with us – at work, inspiring us to faith, hope, and most of all to love.

Jesus does not abandon us.  Rather, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is still with.  As with every generation of Christian since the disciples, it is now our turn to continue the ministry of Jesus: to care for one another, to love one another.  In other words, filled with the Holy Spirit, we are summoned to proclaim the Good News — That the Reign of God is near us in Christ Jesus.

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

Scripture:

Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48
1 John 4:7-10
John 15:9-17

Reflection:

The Sacrificial Love of God is a Mother’s Love

We believe that the love of Jesus embraces everyone and shows God’s divine love for all of us.

When Jesus washes the feet of his Disciples, he is their servant, and he the master, tells them that he is their friend. Jesus does not deem equality with God something to grasp at but rather empties himself becoming the servant. Jesus loves us with a sacrificial love. God describes this love to Moses. “The Lord, the Lord a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and rich in kindness and fidelity’. The New Commandment of Jesus given at the last supper is for us to love in this way.

Who loves with a sacrificial and unselfish love more than a mother? That is what we celebrate today, Mother’s Day.

A story tells that when God created woman from Adam’s side as he slept, God told the woman not to wake Adam. ‘Let him sleep and you and I will take a walk in the garden’. God talks with the woman and fills her with all that will make her different form Adam. She sees her reflection in some water and asks, ‘what is that’? God says, ‘that is only a reflection of you, it will disappear when we move. But, ‘let us wake Adam. Then his love for you will reveal to you who you are; and in your love him, he will come to know who he is’.

Each mother has the privilege of revealing to their child who they are by the love they give. Just as Eve did to Adam, so all the daughters of Eve have the privilege of doing.

Eve isn’t named until God ushers her and Adam out of the garden. Only at the gate does Adam name her Eve. The name that means the mother of all the living.

It is not a woman becoming vice-president, a CEO, or whatever brings fame because of her talents to serve or save or to bring meaning and happiness into the world. What makes all the daughters of Eve unique is the awe filled gift of being a mother.

In our parish church this Lent and for the days of Easter we hung the names of 40 women of the Bible. This was inspired by the church on the shore of Galilee dedicated to the women of Galilee. Around the Baptismal font are 8 pillars, seven have the names of the women of Galilee on inscribed on them, the 8th was left blank. It is for each woman who ministers on behalf of Jesus as did the women of Galilee. They can put their name on that pillar. So there is a blank panel among the names of the Bible women to remind the women who come into our church to put their names there.

We wish a Mother’s Day to all mothers, that is more than happy. May it be profound because of your dignity and privilege, your sacrificial love and the indescribable beauty of your giving birth and revealing the love that makes us in the image of God. See that your name is written in the hand of God, the hand that touches you with special love.

Fr. William Murphy, CP is the pastor of Immaculate Conception parish in Jamaica, New York.

Scripture:

Acts 16:1-10
John 15:18-21

Reflection:

Jesus’ Tender and Redeeming Love

Each year the fifty days after Easter are a kind of virtual retreat for me. You see, a long time ago when I was a student preparing for final vows with the Passionists, a classmate of mine and I made a thirty-day retreat at our Prayer Center in Hinsdale, Illinois. Our director, Fr. Jim, would reflect on these Easter-to-Pentecost readings, and while I don’t remember any particular homily he gave, I do remember how soothing and prayerful and hopeful the experience was for me. Beginning with Jesus’ appearances to his disciples that first week of Easter Octave, unfolding into the intense conversations with Nicodemus from the third chapter of John’s Gospel, and, my favorite, the final discourse of Jesus — those final and very intimate words of Jesus’ love shared with us, his disciples.

Perhaps that is why we hear in today’s first reading, “Day after day the churches grew stronger in faith and increased in number.”  Amidst all the violence and jealousy and hurt of first century Palestine, the memory of Jesus’ unconditional love was contagious. And maybe that is our call today as well. Amidst all the polarization and fear and rancorous words, I must ask myself, “How have I revealed Jesus’ tender and redeeming love today?”

In an excerpt from the last testament of our founder, St. Paul of the Cross, we read, “Above all, I recommend most urgently the observance of that most holy admonition that Jesus Christ gave his disciples: In this shall all know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. Behold my dearest Brethren, what I desire with all the intensity of my poor heart, I give to you…”

“How have I revealed Jesus’ tender and redeeming love today?”

Fr. Jack Conley, C.P. is a member of the Passionist Community at Christ the King in Citrus Heights, California.

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].