Daily Scripture

St. Lawrence of Brindisi

Scripture:

Micah 2:1-5
Matthew 12:14-21

Reflection:

Today we find examples given us about working with what is at hand, in our effort to do what God wants us to do.  It counters the periodic temptation to believe that God requires us do what is totally outside our competency or our experience.

For example, we are provided a reflection from the ministry of the prophet Micah.  While Micah is privileged to enjoy membership among that illustrious group of Jews who were designated as prophets, he is certainly not one of the “great” prophets listed in the bible.  He would be considered a “minor” prophet, who nonetheless is worth considering for the way he dealt with an issue close to him.  It was not something alien to his background and experience, for it concerned the issue of land or property in the Jewish community of which he was a part.  As in our day, so in his, land/property was accounted an asset, often of great value, and, like anything of value, was liable to be abused.  That’s what Micah noticed going on about him: he sees people who “covet fields and seize them; houses, and take them”.  And so, inspired and motivated by God, he announces a charge or indictment against this kind of activity.  Micah dealt with “what was at hand”.  It was not a task foreign to him about which he knew nothing.

And in our gospel account today, we note that Jesus is not passive before plots against Him, of which He became aware: plots to take His life.  There would come a time when He knew that His time for suffering such a death had come, but it was not now.  He had other plans to carry out before these threats would overtake Him, so He escaped them at this time.

So what we see playing out before us today is the issue of familiarity with situations encountering us.  We need not fear being caught by surprise, totally unprepared for an issue facing us.  We also see this working out in the life of the saint we recall today: Lawrence of Brindisi, a Capuchin priest who, because of his brilliance, especially as a linguist (he was fluent in five languages), was given the opportunity to engage in a variety of responsible activities.  And he excelled at them, such as addressing the contentious disagreements between the Catholics and Protestants of his day, mobilizing Christian military forces against the Moslem invaders, leading his own Capuchin community as its Superior General, enlisting the King of Spain in the Christian army fighting the Moslems, etc.  He didn’t go out searching for these tasks.  But he accepted the responsibility of engaging them, as they came along in the course of living his life and knowing his own talents.  None of the above situations were foreign to him.

So our individual talents and gifts are often the indicators of what is expected of us.  God has outfitted each of us with certain gifts and abilities, and these in turn are indicators of what will be our life tasks and responsibilities.  So we pray to God that He will make us aware of our endowments, which in turn will usually lead us into a way of life that proves to be both enriching and challenging, as happened in the lives of the prophet Micah, of Jesus Himself and of our saints of the day, Lawrence of Brindisi.

Fr. Sebastian MacDonald, C.P. is a member of the Passionist Community in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

Isaiah 38: 1-6, 21-22, 7-8
Matthew 12: 1-8

Reflection:

“I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”  I suspect all of us have heard that phrase many times before.  Surely, at least every time we’ve read this Gospel passage.  But, we’ve also been hearing it from our Holy Father, Pope Francis.  He’s been reminding us that Divine Mercy is at the heart of the Gospel.  He tells us that we must always begin with mercy if we are ever going to understand who God is and what God wants from us.

This Gospel story about the disciples of Jesus breaking the Sabbath Law by picking and eating the heads of grain while going through a field is an interesting one.  Jesus is challenged by the Pharisees since his disciples are so publicly breaking the Sabbath Law.  They see the disciples, and probably Jesus himself , as guilty of breaking the law.  Jesus responds by reminding the Pharisees of other occasions from their history when ordinary people have broken the Law by eating food reserved for the priests of the Temple.  He also reminds the Pharisees that Priests break the Sabbath Law whenever when they serve in the Temple on the Sabbath.  Jesus points out that all these people were innocent.  They were not guilty but forgiven because of extenuating circumstances.  No, they were innocent.

Jesus then concludes, “If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
you would not have condemned these innocent men.  For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”

This Gospel account raises some interesting questions for us.  What is the source of our judgments of others?  Where do we begin?  Do we most often start with the law and draw our conclusions from there?  Or, do we always initiate our judgments in mercy?  Jesus reminds us that only if we start in mercy will we ever be able to recognize the innocent.

Lord, teach us how to begin in mercy so we may never condemn the innocent.

Fr. Michael Higgins, C.P. is the director of Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

Isaiah 1:10-17
Matthew 10:34-11:1

Reflection:

Be willing to re-prioritize, shake up and surrender all.  Jesus’ tools of discipleship.  Palpable, inspiring, taken-to-heart messages when we are tucked away in the silence of a weekend retreat, in full out surrender on a pilgrimage in a distant land or swept up after an encounter in the communion line after the healing and heart opening prayers of the Mass.  And yet, will we continue to stand with Christ as we meet the challenges of a daily life grounded in the reality of relationships?  Will we stand firm in the face of family who may balk at any challenge to status quo or return to a less life affirming way? Will His Way become our new reality, our consistent way of being?  Our intention behind each action or word?  Will we meet each challenge set before us with the highest response of love, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, generosity and peace?

In Matthew 5, Jesus calls the first disciples Peter, Andrew, James and John.  We are told James and John were sitting in a boat mending nets with their father and that they dropped everything and left immediately.   They left, in a moment of inspiration, a spur of the moment prompting. much as we might experience the initial invitation to arrive on retreat.  In the ensuing chapters we are given a view of the days that followed as Jesus lays the groundwork for His fulfillment of the laws, awing and angering those around with His ability to compassionately cure and courageously challenge.  The disciples are steeped in the intimacy of their relationship with Christ away from their familiar ties.  Today’s reading arrives as Jesus actively prepares his disciples to be sent forth to act in all ways as He had.  He knows how easy it will be to lose sight in the face of their own internal and others’ external rejection of His ways, if not yet deeply rooted.

After decades of listening to, or reading the Word, it always amazes me when I hear a word or phrase pop out for the first time.   “When Jesus finished giving these commands to his twelve…he went away… to teach and to preach in their towns.”  There is something so endearing in those words rising from the page and into my heart.  A conscious journey by Jesus to places with our most intimate human relationships.

How many times have I prepared to leave a retreat, ready and inspired, enlivened and encouraged, with the question looming as I sense or fear my aloneness on return? “How? How do I return with Jesus in my heart? To truly bring him home?”  And then the narrative paves the way, “Jesus returns to teach and to preach in their towns.” The reality.  There is never a place or time we are alone.  Where Jesus has not actively entered or already laid the road.  We are never alone.  We are always walking alongside Jesus.   Jesus enters each situation before and with us.   It is only ours alone to change our heart and ways.  It is up to Jesus to do the rest.

 

M. Walsh is a retreatant of Mater Dolorosa in Sierra Madre and friend of the Passionist Retreat community.

 

Scripture:

Amos 7:12-15
Mark 6: 7-13

Reflection:

Throughout our lives we are called to many things, universities, jobs, sporting teams, etc. To be a disciple of Jesus is to experience a call, it is to be sent on a mission in partnership with others, a mission expressed in terms of living the Gospel. Before before anyone can preach, teach, heal, or drive out of demons as we heard in today’s Gospel they must be in the word.

So what is your call? Sometimes our lives become so full of white noise and static we miss what God calling us to do, what God is calling us to be. Our lives become too complicated and we allow ourselves to be pulled in too many different directions. Have you ever tried to listen to a radio station with static? There is a message that has gotten your attention and you strain to hear it but this static noise and other voices are coming through the speakers, then you fine tune the dial and the voice or the music becomes clearer and you can focus on the message.

Well every once in a while we need to do a little fine tuning of our lives and ask ourselves, am I tuned into the Gospel or am I allowing the noise and busyness of life to water it down? In other words, am I orienting my life to the truth of the Gospel or am I orienting the truth of the Gospel to fit my life? St. Augustine once said, “If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.”

God is calling us; let us ensure that we are on the right frequency so we can hear him.

Deacon James Anderson is the Administrator at Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center in Houston, Texas.

Scripture:

Isaiah 6:1-8
Matthew 10:24-33

Reflection:

It is always valuable to take a few moments to look over the Scripture readings for each celebration of the Holy Eucharist.  Sometimes I find that there are short sentences that suddenly jump out at me as if I had never read them before!  There are several in our readings for today that do just that.

The Alleluia verse is the first: “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of God rests upon you.”

After living as a disciple and even as a priest in our Catholic faith for many years, I cannot remember a single moment when I have ever been insulted in the name of Christ.  I am sure there are times when individuals may have distanced themselves from me because of who I am, but I have no recollection of anyone ever actually insulting me, at least not to my face!  But our Alleluia verse tells us that if, indeed, this should ever happen we would, in fact, be blessed.  And not only blessed but even have the Spirit of God resting upon us.  While I may fear being insulted, I certainly long for the Spirit of God to rest upon me!  Perhaps the challenge inherent in this is that I may need to witness my faith more radically than I do at the present time.  Perhaps I live my faith too cautiously!

This challenge to a more radical witness is also found in our first reading from Isaiah.  There is an amazing vision of the Lord, the Holy One, seated upon his throne.  Along with this great vision come words that I must remember in simple ways every day: “Here I am Lord, send me.”  God reveals himself to us all in great and small ways each day.  And our response to this intimate revelation can be nothing less than an awareness that to know the Lord also means to realize that we are sent forth in His holy name, as well!  Send me Lord, send me!

And lastly, in our beautiful Gospel passage from Matthew we are reminded that we are even more precious to God than all the birds of the air!  Not a single sparrow falls from the sky without the knowledge of our heavenly Father.  We should not be afraid to go forth and witness our faith for we are “worth more than many sparrows.”

Brief and concise sentences are found in our readings today and each of them is packed with challenge and assurance.  We need both!

Fr. Pat Brennan, C.P. is the director of Saint Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center, Detroit, Michigan.

Scripture:

Hosea 11:1-4, 8e-9
Matthew 10:7-15

Reflection:

“Provide yourselves with no gold or silver, not even with coppers for your purses.” The way Jesus sent his disciples out made them totally dependent on the hospitality of others. When one avails themselves on another for their time, conversation or “breaking bread” we are drawing out a gift from that person, namely some form of hospitality. When I worked with “at-risk” young adults on the streets, or in public high schools, people usually were not expecting to “give of themselves in a hospitable way.” It could have been a “learning” for someone who had little confidence in themselves, and they stayed away from others, sometimes with hostility. For such a person isolated and alone, it was like “someone approached them, a stranger, asking them for some space, time, or attention.”

Jesus suggested that his disciples would look for a house where they could stay, “to seek out someone worthy.”

At the end of each Sunday Liturgy at Our Lady of Lourdes in Birmingham, Alabama, the people are deliberately and intentionally sent forth “with their mission” to seek out someone worthy. The difference between a “parish of convenience” and a “mission parish” is that those sent forth from a mission parish have a deliberate and intentional purpose in mind with regards to sharing the Good News during the course of the week with whomever crosses our paths.

God is never absent from any place in the world. Hospitality is the first sign of God’s presence.

Fr. Alex Steinmiller, C.P., is the administrator at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Birmingham, Alabama.

Scripture:

Hosea 10:1-3, 7-8, 12
Matthew 10:1-7

Reflection:

“Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.” Matthew 10:1

Jesus “sent out,” (apostello), these Twelve to proclaim that “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 10:7).  This is an urgent calling.  The coming Kingdom is imminent, about to break through at any moment, and there is work to be done.  This includes the driving out of unclean spirits.  This pressing message and mission was not the exclusive work of the first apostles only.  No.   It is ours, too.

And where do those unclean spirits reside?  Look around.  They haunt us, possess us everywhere.  They look like greed.  The United States, along with the other 10 percent of the wealthiest nations, consume nearly 60 percent of the world’s resources.  Or like gun violence.  In the first six months of this year alone, the United States suffered through 154 mass shootings (involving at least four victims), more than any other country in the world.  Or the slaughter of innocents.  More than 900,000 unborn children were aborted last year.  Tough numbers to swallow as we sip our $5 latte while more than 14 million children go to bed – and to school – hungry.

St. John Paul II called these unclean spirits the “structures of sin,” sin beyond individual wrongdoing, and yet sin in which we have corporate responsibility.  And just as Jesus “sent out” the Twelve, so too did John Paul II prophetically send us out to drive out unclean spirits.  How?  By taking action; by doing something, however insignificant it may seem, by resisting, correcting, or countering that structural sin, that unclean spirit.

Christ sends all of us.  No exceptions, no excuses.  We begin at those places where the world touches us, and where we touch the world most immediately, in those places where it hurts.  God’s creation is innately good.  But this world is broken and in crucial need of mending.  We are sent out not only to fix those damaged places, but to improve upon it, to bring it closer to the harmonious and loving condition in which God created it.  Only as we work to heal our small part of the world, will we make real the words Jesus summons us to proclaim: “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

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

Scripture:

Hosea 8:4-7, 11-13
Matthew 9:32-38

Reflection:

I recently read a fascinating chapter by Bryan Stevenson in his book Just Mercy. Bryan says:

“I guess I’d always known but never fully considered that being broken is what makes us human. We all have our reasons. Sometimes we’re fractured by the choices we make; sometimes we’re shattered by things we would never have chosen. But our brokenness is also the source of our common humanity, the basis for our shared search for comfort, meaning, and healing. Our shared vulnerability and imperfection nurtures and sustains our capacity for compassion.

We have a choice. We can embrace our humanness, which means embracing our broken natures and the compassion that remains our best hope for healing. Or we can deny our brokenness, forswear compassion, and, as a result, deny our own humanity. . . .

So many of us have become afraid and angry. We’ve become so fearful and vengeful that we’ve thrown away children, discarded the disabled, and sanctioned the imprisonment of the sick and the weak—not because they are a threat to public safety or beyond rehabilitation but because we think it makes us seem tough, less broken… We’ve submitted to the harsh instinct to crush those among us whose brokenness is most visible. But simply punishing the broken—walking away from them or hiding them from sight—only ensures that they remain broken and we do, too. There is no wholeness outside of our reciprocal humanity. . . .

Our country is so polarized, and I see it as I travel. Just a few examples: People participating in peaceful rallies are spat upon, called names, and accused of defending criminals. Regardless of where you stand on issues, is this the best and most Christian way to debate its merits?

I talked to a young woman who was walking down the street wearing a hijab when it was ripped from her head by a group of young men who taunted her, called her a terrorist, and told her to go back to her own country. But she is a law-abiding, tax-paying citizen born and raised in the U.S. and no longer feels safe in her own community. Does the Church call us to condemn those of other faiths, abuse them, and cause them to fear us?

A professional woman told me that she thinks all the people demanding their rights are crazy. She says she has never experienced discrimination or gender bias, she had to work hard to achieve the success she has, and so she believes that everyone else is making it up, looking for a handout, lazy, or too sensitive. She said it does no good to talk to people like a single mother trying to make ends meet, a teenager who lives in a section of town dominated by gangs, or any of the others who claim injustice. Would Jesus fail to stop, listen, and truly hear the cries of the poor and marginalized whose experience is different than one’s own?

Finally, and most disturbing, the desperate people presenting themselves at our borders are categorically labeled as murderers and rapists who infest our country. There is no compassion for what would compel them to undertake such a perilous journey with uncertain outcome, nor recognition that immigrants (whether legal or illegal) who commit crimes make up only a tiny fraction of that population. Would Jesus dehumanize entire classes of displaced people and refugees, tear their families apart, and deport them without a hearing?

When Jesus looked at the crowds, the Gospel says, “His heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.” Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Regardless of where you are on the political spectrum, so much of what is happening is against established Catholic doctrines, and as followers of Jesus Christ we need to speak out.

As always, I have to begin with myself. It is so much easier and more expedient to dismiss those who disagree with me and have nothing to do with them or to accuse them of acting under the influence of Satan, just as Jesus was accused of doing. It is infinitely easier to turn away those who are struggling, mistreated, living in poverty, or on the margins than it is to work to correct the societal problems that got them there. It is easier to dehumanize refugees and migrants than to look in their eyes, hear their stories, and enact just immigration laws.  It is easier to stay safe and make sure I am not a target of hateful speech than it is to speak truth to power. But Jesus calls, and I am reminded that all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for enough good people to do nothing.

Can I be a laborer for God’s harvest? Can you? What specific actions can I take this week to protest against injustice, call out bad behavior and unacceptable tactics, and shine a light on unethical practices? Let’s work for a harvest of justice and peace, let’s join together as a prophetic voice, and let’s do it now!

Amy Florian is a teacher and consultant working in Chicago.  For many years she has partnered with the Passionists.  Visit Amy’s website: http://www.corgenius.com/.