Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Philippians 1:1-11
Luke 14:1-6

Reflection:

In today’s compact first reading, St. Paul prays that the Philippians “discern what is of value.”  That brought to mind the following meditation:

When the time comes for our final accounting, when we stand before the Lord of Judgment, what will He ask us about our lives? Will He ask, “How many prayers did you say?” “How much money did you give to charity?” “Did you avoid sin?” These questions are important, but they aren’t the ones he will ask. I believe He will ask us something like this:

“Did you delight in my children? Did you give them affection, share in their wonder, bounce them on your knee and make them smile?

Did you care for my teens? Did you listen to them, affirm them and show them they were worth your time? Were you beside them in their searching? Did you believe in them?”

Did you share in the lives of my adults? Did you stand by them in their sadness and celebrate with them in their joys? Did you strengthen them in their failures and help them find peace?

Did you cherish my old folks? Were you patient with their infirmities and open to their views? Did you listen to their memories, help them in their loneliness and enjoy their company?

Did you… Did you love my people?”

This is the way of life that Jesus came into this world to teach us. If others see us, as his disciples, caring so greatly about people, they will have to conclude, “Their God must be a God of love.” If our lives have said that, we’ve said it all.

(Excerpted from the book, The Ten Things You Must Do Before You Die, by Alan Phillip, CP).

Fr. Alan Phillip, C.P. is a member of the Passionist Community at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.   http://www.alanphillipcp.com/

Scripture:

Ephesians 6:10 – 20
Luke 13:31 -35

Reflection:

Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.
 -Ephesians 6:10

As I have been reflecting on the scriptures for today, I can’t help but think that they are perfect for where we are at this moment in our country and the world. I am sure many a prayer has risen to heaven to end the Covid virus or prayers for family and friends who have contracted the virus. Prayers for the healthcare workers and first responders. Prayers for protection. Prayers to get through home schooling children and many countless prayers for many other things.

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is another example of how the scriptures give us what we need when we need it. He gives us the instruments to help get us through the strain of a pandemic. The uncertainty of the election and the change that seems to be occurring as our eyes are forced open to look at racism and inequality at the local, state and national levels. With his analogy of a soldier going to war, Paul tells us to put on “armor of God”, “gird our loins with truth”; “clothe ourselves with the breastplate of righteousness”; “hold faith as a shield”; “take the helmet of salvation”; “and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”. Let’s look at these words that I have italicized: God, truth, righteousness, faith, salvation, and word of God. For me faith and the word of God stood out to the most. The scriptures have always been important to me and now all the more since March. My faith has grown into a deeper trust that God has my back if I trust in him. I had to dig deep to find the faith to go back to teaching on campus not knowing if I would catch the Covid virus. Our school has done an outstanding job of making it as safe as possible and I was very anxious the first couple of weeks. So far, so good. I know that I belong there to show the students and to support my colleagues that what we are doing is an important witness to the students that it is possible with adaptations to how we do school. We also have a very cooperative student body that also makes this possible. Whether it is conscious or unconscious we have all put on the armor of God and acted in faith and trust acting in hope and not fear.

How will I put on the armor of God today?

In Luke’s Gospel Jesus also acts with the armor of God. He trusts in the Father’s will for him and continues his journey to Jerusalem where he knows his end will be. He makes a prophetic statement to the Pharisees who have come to warn him, “Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I accomplish my purpose. While Jesus knew his purpose, we do not. We hope and believe that we are doing what God has asked of us for today. That is all that is asked of us. To trust in God. To search our hearts and listen deeply for God’s peace and love as we make our way through these tough days. Remember, there is a Resurrection. Remember, the Resurrection is about new life. Peace to you and your families as we make our way in faith and trust in God.

How can I focus on the Resurrection as I make my way through these hard days?

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

Feast of Saints Simon and Jude

Scripture:

Ephesians 2:19-22
Luke 6:12-16

Reflection:

Brothers and sisters:

WE are no longer strangers and sojourners,
WE are fellow citizens with the holy ones
And members of the household of God!

Paul was writing this to the community of faith at Ephesus, yes, but he is also speaking to us, the faithful, today.

Our world continues to be topsy-turvy, the virus continues to prey upon the young and the old, rich and poor.  Each day the news brings us word of uprisings, crime scenes, political unrest, suffering and chaos!

In the midst of all of this craziness, we are reminded that God counts us among his household, that we are part of the family that includes apostles, prophets, saints and sinners.  This is GOOD NEWS People of God!  For me, this offers hope and gives purpose to my everyday life!  I think today there are so many people who are looking for hope, who are just hanging on by a thread, who spend more time worrying than rejoicing!  God is telling us once again that we are important, we are loved, and we are not alone!

In our gospel reading today, Jesus chooses his twelve apostles, charging them with the task of spreading his message throughout the world.  Wow! No small task!  Think about that on those days when everything seems just too overwhelming and hopeless!  We are also charged with spreading the good news of Jesus, but, thankfully, these twelve and others who followed them, paved the road ahead of us!  We also pause to give thanks more specifically today for the lives and works of Saints Simon and Jude, apostles, preachers and missionaries who died for the faith.  They spread the message to far away Persia and other parts of the world.

Paul goes on to remind us that WE are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.  May we continue to enjoy life in the company of all God’s faithful and be open to the indwelling of the Spirit as she guides us along the path of righteousness and goodness.  Amen.

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

Scripture:

Ephesians 5:21-33
Luke 13:18-21

Reflection:

The parables of the mustard seed and the yeast show how quickly and successfully the gospel could travel throughout the world despite opposition! 

We live in a world of rulers – our government, our employers, maybe someone in your families! We are given a voice by God, and a choice by God – to do what is right in our hearts and not be swayed by someone else’s agenda. NO ONE can stifel or silence us. We are allowed the chance to be heard. And at this writing, we are in a flux of emotion as we see where the world is going – riots (which I pray continue to subside), a pandemic (who saw that one coming), hurricanes (a ridiculous number of those), the reality of seeing our social lives change dramatically with our friends and family, as well as  limited attendance for funerals, first communions, baptisms – even our church attendance is limited and, quite often, live-streamed so we can watch from the comfort and safety of our own homes. And on top of all of that, an election that is causing more thought and concern than most I can remember in my lifetime. 

We see where the world is right now – we must continue to spread the gospel in a world of opposition. We have to prayerfully choose our words, deeds, actions – and right now – our votes! If we do what we can here and now, prayerfully, and through faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and his Blessed Mother, Mary, we can make positive changes in a world torn in chaos. 

Learn from the mustard seed and the yeast – our faith and our love must grow exponentially so that there is no doubt that they are present in our reality. 

Patty Masson prayerfully supports the Passionists from Spring, Texas.

Scripture:

Ephesians 4:32-5:8
Luke 13:10-17

Reflection:

The requirements of faith don’t get any more real than what we hear proclaimed in today’s scripture that picks up on yesterday’s Sunday readings. It really upset the synagogue leaders that Jesus would dare to cure the crippled woman on the Sabbath.

There can be no dissecting our love of God from our love of neighbor. There is no nuancing who is and who is not my neighbor, just like there can be no conditional love of God. In other words, you can keep holy the sabbath and care for those in need. In fact, caring for those in need is keeping holy the sabbath.  In yesterday’s gospel, Jesus refused to be tricked when asked what is the one “greatest commandment.” Jesus replied that the two commandments of loving God and loving your neighbor are inseparable.

Fratelli Tutti is the recent encyclical shared with the world by Pope Francis. It’s a reflection on Saint Francis of Assisi and his idea of brotherly and sisterly friendship expressed in “an openness that allows us to acknowledge, appreciate and love each person, regardless of physical proximity, regardless of where he or she was born or lives.” Pope Francis writes in this letter, “Wherever [Saint Francis] went, he sowed seeds of peace and walked alongside the poor, the abandoned, the infirm and the outcast, the least of his brothers and sisters.”

Loving God means loving our neighbor, especially those left alone and abandoned – often referred to as the widow and orphan, the cripple and leper, the sinner and foreigner. For us it means loving those who have a different skin color than we have, speak a different language, practice a different religion, and wear different clothes. It certainly means loving the most vulnerable and forgotten in our midst…the unborn, the migrant, the prisoner, the homeless, and those preyed upon for being a woman or gay or Black.

The Gospel does not say “Love the Lord your God when it is easy.” It does not say “Love your neighbor who is like you.” I wrote this reflection on the Feast of Saint Paul of the Cross who enjoins us to love and care for those crucified in today’s world. Gaze upon the Cross of Jesus and see God’s love, then gaze upon our suffering world to see and love our neighbor…all of them.

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.

Scripture:

Exodus 22:20-26
1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10
Matthew 22:34-40

Reflection:

Commandments to Love

Last week I reflected on the commandment “Love your neighbor” as a fitting response to “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” In the Gospel reading for this Sunday (Matthew 22:34-40), Jesus links the commandment “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” with the first and greatest commandment: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” As some Scripture scholars have noted, the scholar of the law who asked Jesus which was the greatest commandment was not necessarily looking for two commandments in Jesus’ answer. But Jesus does put them together and says, “The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

When you come right down to it, the commandment to love God and the commandment to love our neighbor are inextricably linked. We may be able to distinguish them in our minds, like the Three Persons in the Trinity, or the divinity and humanity of Jesus, but like those things I just mentioned, you can’t really separate them in practice.

As I look at the readings for this Sunday and the readings for the next few Sundays leading up to the end of the liturgical year with the Solemnity of Christ the King, we have an exploration, if you will, of various aspects of what it means to follow these commandments.

In our first reading from Exodus (22:20-26), we have some strong words coming from God to the Israelites:” Thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. You shall not wrong any widow or orphan. If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry.’” To love God and to listen to God involves taking care of the most vulnerable (widows and orphans) and respecting the “other” (alien). I feel that we Catholics in the U.S. should especially be sensitive to this, as we Catholics for a long time were considered “aliens” in this country, even into the 20^th Century, shown in how some reacted to the candidacies of Al Smith and John F. Kennedy for President. At the same time, perhaps trying to prove how “American” we were, the Catholic Church in the U.S. did not embrace the abolitionist movement. With both of those things in mind, no matter where we stand on the debate about immigration or racism or prejudice, we can still heed the command not to molest or oppress those we consider “alien.”

Our second reading from 1 Thessalonians (1:5c-10), St. Paul praises the Christians from Thessalonica, because knowledge of their conversion inspired by Paul and his companions and their subsequent faith came to be known in other places, so much so, that when Paul and the others would come to those places they had “no need to say anything,” because the people at those places would “openly declare about us what reception we had among you and how you turned from idols to serve the living and true God…” To love God and love our neighbor involves turning away from the “idols” of violence, greed, self-righteousness, prejudice, and complacency, and to turn towards working for justice and making peace.

And how incredible would it be if our conversion “to serve the living and true God” were so well known! Again, this would not be from a stance of feeling superior or wanting to force things on others. Instead, it would come from a demonstration of love.

May we hold together the two commandments to love and live them out with the love God has for us.

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is the local superior of the Passionist Community in Birmingham, Alabama. 

Scripture:

Ephesians 4:7-16
Luke 13:1-9

Reflection:

Saturday Vigil, St. Paul of the Cross

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37 St Paul of the cross when he was an old man was saying his rosary.  Two young students passed by him and noticed he was saying his rosary.   They came back two hours later and saw he was still saying his rosary.  One of the students said: How many rosaries have you said?  The old saint looked at his rosary and said: “I am still on my first Our Father!”

Paul could not get past “Our Father” without being wrapped in awe at the wonder of saying “Our father”!  When it takes us two hours to say “father” to God we are getting a glimpse at the meaning loving God with “all of our hearts”!    This year Passionists are celebrating the 300-year-old founding of our Congregation.  Paul deeply understood the twofold love of God and neighbor on which his new institute must hinge.  “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

The Hebrew account in Deuteronomy 6 says we must love God “meod” (exceedingly)!  Before Paul would preach on Sunday in a nearby church, he would spend the whole night in prayer before the sermon.  What a wonderful way to love your neighbor!  Like the Apostles he “devoted” himself “to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” Acts 6:4 It was often his practice to go out with Scripture and pray for hours on Monte Argentario.  He realized his love for God would not be “exceeding” if he failed to love the neighbor “as Christ has loved us.”

To understand this deep love of Christ which possessed Paul we must understand his devotion to the sufferings of Jesus.  “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.^” John 15:13 Paul was deeply driven to the most explosive moment of the Gospel!  “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.” Lk 9:43   I love these words of Paul: The world lives unmindful of the sufferings of Jesus which are the miracle of miracles of the love of God.    We must arouse the world from its slumber.  His Holy Spirit will teach us how.”

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

Scripture:

Ephesians 4:1-6
Luke 12:54-59

Reflection:

In today’s Gospel reading, after Jesus points out to the people how well they can see things and know what kind of weather they’re going to have, He says, “You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time? He’s pointing out to them that they are witnesses to all kinds of signs that the Messiah has come, but they fail to recognize Him and who He is for them.

After reading this, I found myself wondering how we are interpreting our present time. For me, the pandemic has given us evidence of how much we are connected. What we do actually does affect another person. But it appears that we have let the political divisions in the U.S. influence how we treat each other and the pandemic itself during this time.

It just seems to me that this moment is calling us to come together, not split apart. What we hear from St. Paul in our first reading from Ephesians makes the most sense to me about how we are to be in what is a difficult time for so many: “I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love…”

If we can interpret the signs that Jesus gives us of His love for us, the Cross and the empty tomb, can we discern His call for us to care for each other?

Loving God, give us the grace to interpret the signs You send us. Amen.

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is the local superior of the Passionist Community in Birmingham, Alabama.