Daily Scripture

Scripture:

1 Peter 1:18-25
Mark 10:32-45

Reflection:

It is a paradox of faith.  We are at the same time so very small and so very great.

If we gaze up at the stars at night and try to visualize how immense is the universe, we start to feel very small.  Scientists estimate that there are a hundred billion galaxies out there, and that the universe is over 13 billion years old.  In terms of space and time we are so infinitesimally small, like a grain of sand in the Sahara desert.

But then we have the words of our first reading today.  St. Peter says that we were ransomed, saved, delivered not by silver or gold but “by Christ’s blood beyond all price.”  Christ’s blood is priceless.  That makes us priceless, worth more than silver or gold.  That’s very great.

But wait. It gets better.  By baptism we are made members of the Body of Christ.  It doesn’t get any better than that!  C. S. Lewis said, “Next to the Blessed Sacrament, your neighbor is the most sacred object present to your senses.”  That includes the “neighbor” you see in the mirror.

However, we are made great not to be set on a shelf and look pretty.  We are made great – for service.  Jesus tells us today that, “Anyone who aspires to greatness must serve the rest.”

Worth more than silver or gold, a member of the Body of Christ, and called to walk with Christ in a life of service…  That’s all gift, given to us by God out of love. No wonder Meister Eckert stated, “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”

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:

1 Peter 1:10 -16
Mark 10: 28 – 31

Reflection:

. . . be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, for it is written, Be holy because I am holy. 1Peter 1:16

The readings today remind us that through our discipleship we are called to holiness. Holiness is about wholeness. It is about becoming the person that God created us to be through embracing who we are at the core of our being. Pope Francis’ latest encyclical, Gaudete et Exsultate, “rejoice and be glad” is about holiness. He writes that the fruits of holiness are joy, perseverance, patience and meekness, a sense of humor, boldness and passion. And with these were are able to overcome those things in the world that lead us away from God and the spiritual life.

In recent days a friend of mine passed away unexpectedly. She was eighty-five but none the less she was working and carrying on with everyday tasks until about two weeks ago. She went peacefully in her sleep. God called her home and she did not hesitate. She was my “wisdom elder.” I looked to her about how to live a holy life. She was kind, gentle, passionate about her work and life. She loved fishing and solitude and was certainly full of joy. She was naturally herself. She rejoiced at others accomplishments, big and small. She encouraged others in their endeavors. She made everyone feel like they were her best friend. She had a passion for her job, which was giving tours at a local Benedictine community, and shared with them her love of Christ and life. She had become what God created her to be and it come out of her so naturally. She was holy and true self. She was a disciple of Christ who new suffering and embraced that suffering knowing that Christ was helping her all the time.

Becoming holy takes a bit of work and sacrifice. It requires courage to make choices that are not what society tells us to choose. And there are so many rewards awaiting us after the work is completed. The Gospel for today is clear:

“. . . there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or
children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred
times more now in this present age . . .” Mark 10:29

Let us become holy because we know someone who is holy and because we desire to be that which God created us to be.

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

Scripture:

1 Peter 1:3-9
Mark 10:17-27

Reflection:

In 1 Peter 1:3-9 we are reminded of God’s goodness and love.  Even when we don’t see or feel that presence and goodness it is there!  Peter reminds us that life will have its ups and downs, trials and suffering, but ultimately God wins out!  Faith tells us of the love and security we all share with the one who created us.  Mark also reminds us that with God everything is possible as long as we put our faith and trust in a loving and persistent God.

Today we take time out of our holiday gatherings to pause and give thanks for the freedom we enjoy in this country we call the land of the free and the home of the brave!  We remember in prayer all of those military men and women who gave their lives for the cause of freedom.  We pray also for our veterans of past conflicts as well as those who currently serve in the military.  We owe a great debt of gratitude and blessings to all of these courageous and faithful service men and women.

So as you gather with family and friends this Memorial Day, pause and offer a blessing for all those who have endured trials and suffering past and present!  Take time to visit a veterans’ grave and offer a prayer of thanks or stop by a nearby veterans facility to say hello and thank them for their service.  You might write a letter to a soldier stationed far from home and let them know someone is thinking about them or invite the soldiers in your area for hospitality and a chance to unwind.

However we choose to celebrate this day of remembrance may we never forget these words from 1 Peter:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope
Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
To an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,
Kept in heaven for you…..

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

The Most Holy Trinity

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40
Romans 8:14-17
Matthew 28:16-20

Reflection:

Today is Trinity Sunday.  This is a day we celebrate the mystery and revelation of the Holy Trinity.  We celebrate the relationship of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  This relationship is the beautiful expression of God’s love.  It is at once a mystery and a gift of love from God.  I really like the way Fr. Richard Rohr looks at this mystery.

“The basic template of reality is Trinitarian, it’s relational.  God is relationship.  Let us create in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves.  (Genesis 1:26)  God and evolution are inviting us toward a relational wholeness that is a synergy and a life energy higher than either one apart but even larger than both together.”

I think in simpler terms, we are all connected.  Father, Son, Holy Spirit, me, you, and everything in the cosmos around us are connected and one.  That’s why love is so important in the scheme of things.  If God is love, we are love.  Love is the relational energy we share that moves us toward oneness.  What I do every day, every action I take impacts everyone and everything else.

If I affirm life in all its forms I affirm the loving presence of God.  If I deny love to anyone or anything I weaken the love we share.  Division is the enemy of love.  Unfortunately we live in a world which seems more divided all the time.  We kill the innocents and divide families.  We scapegoat whole groups of people and destroy the earth.  We use nationalism to disguise greed and hate.  Trinity Sunday reminds us, we can do better.

Trinity Sunday is a day to remember the relationship of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  It is also a day to work for better relationships with everyone and everything.  As we celebrate the mystery of the Holy Trinity may we also pray with Jesus and base all our actions on His prayer “that all may be one.”

Terry McDevitt, Ph.D. is a member of our Passionist Family in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

James 5:13-20
Mark 10:13-16

Reflection:

My memory of growing up in Omaha is that the month of May was filled with days of bright sunlight, blooming flowers, May Crownings, and warm days in the park. But recent experiences of May have proven less idyllic, if it was ever so. I am more aware of the tug of war between winter and summer. One day of lovely south breezes is followed by strong north winds coming off Lake Michigan, plunging the temperature back into the 40’s. It is a time when the life we know is there in the Earth struggles to emerge. But emerge it certainly will.

The Letter from James today reflects something of the same tension. He seems keenly aware of the tension between sin and grace. He appreciates that we all struggle to live a good life, but reassures us that hope and reconciliation break through the barriers in our life that keep us from becoming the men and women God created us to be.

These barriers are evident in the Gospel reading, a story that is both profoundly disturbing and heartwarming. The disciples, rebuking those bringing children to Jesus, must have thought they were doing the right thing by imposing some order on the crowds. But Mark writes, “When Jesus saw this he became indignant….” Jesus saw the barriers the disciples were putting up. Jesus was always needing to help his friends resolve the tension of their wanting to do right instead of doing good. He stays faithful to them as they sort out sin from grace.

We all struggle in allowing the life within us to emerge. Sometimes others impose barriers on us, and at times we erect our own. The first step in allowing the fullness of life to emerge is to recognize and name the barrier, the sin, and trust that new life unfolds as sure as we know summer finally will win out. We just need to be patient with the process.

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:

James 5:9-12
Mark 10:1-12

Reflection:

Have you ever seen those billboards that advertise, “No Fault Divorce: $139.00”? Or type the word “divorce” into your favorite search engine and notice the entries that begin with… “Complete paperwork in less than thirty minutes”!  As I write this, the media offer us the joy and inspiration of the nuptials of Harry and Meghan —  the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and I am preparing a weekend retreat for Married Couples. We revel in marriage, honor it, celebrate it… even if fewer people are embracing the reality today. Today’s readings offer us helpful guidance through it all, and it behooves us to pay attention.

Initially, it seems there are two responses to our Gospel: First, the responsibility that each of us has to walk with those suffering through the painful experience of separation or the dissolution of their marriage. It is often long years in coming, and long years in the settlement and in the adjustment. The upheaval of life is immeasurable; the sense of failure and fear can torture our souls. Psalm 6 voices it so well: “…all night long I drench my bed with tears; I soak my couch with weeping. My eyes are dimmed with sorrow.” Our work performance is hindered, and friends and family don’t know how to relate to us, so they begin to withdraw. As the Baptist pastor/author, John Piper, says… the death of a spouse is clean grief, but divorce is dirty grief, because it is compounded by courtroom controversies, the awkwardness of visitation rights, and countless other raw, emotionally festering wounds.

Secondly, the Gospel offers little wiggle room, much like the admonition of James in today’s first reading: “Let your “Yes” mean “Yes” and your “No” mean “No.” When Jesus replies to the Pharisees, he is alluding to Deuteronomy 24:1-4. Today we might better appreciate the straightforward rhetoric and clear stand, perhaps, because we are so used to slippery language from public figures. But Mosaic culture was male dominant, obviously, so Jesus’ words are not only a reflection of God’s ideal for God’s people, but also the reflection of the hardness of the human heart in a patriarchal culture, and how to manage woundedness and sin in a particular people at a particular time.

Once again we are called to hold the paradox in a dynamic tension, offering what Pope Francis calls the “revolution of tenderness” as we listen, console, and comfort our loved ones.

Fr. Jack Conley, C.P., is a member of the Passionist formation community at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

Scripture:

James 5:1-6
Mark 9:41-50

Reflection:

For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink  because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward. Mark 9:41

Years ago when I first arrived at the seminary in Normandy, Missouri, there was a beautiful statue of the Sacred Heart outside. The statue had been damaged by a storm and the hands were missing. For first three years there I thought it was sad that an otherwise beautiful image of Christ was ruined. But after some wonderful classes taught by Fr Leo Patrick Brady, CP, on the Church as the Body of Christ, I received my first deep understanding that my hands are the hands of Christ!  Through Baptism we are all members of Body of Christ. In my little world the only healing hands that touch and heal others are mine.

When we service members of Christ’s Body we are indeed repairing and enabling the members of Jesus, we are all active in making Jesus present by many ministries that have high maintenance needs.  We need to make serious efforts to support the various members of Christ’s Body.  Some might have to support young families raising their children in a hostile secular world.  Grandparents need confirmation encouraging their extended families to remain faithful to their Catholic traditions. Catholic teachers need support from parents.

Clerical and lay pastoral workers need affirmation in their evangelization. The many people who work so hard to support the religious orders and organizations in their spread of Gospel need our grateful appreciation.  Many people serve on liturgical committees or in the choir, who practice for hours working to raise our hearts in worship!   There are so many people giving hours of care to the sick and elderly.  Our parishes are treasure houses of the compassion of Christ!

Mark Twain said: “I can last two months on a good compliment.” While we should have good hearts for all of God’s children, we should especially be sensitive to the multiple of members carrying on the work of the Living Christ!

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

Scripture:

James 4:13-17
Mark 9:38-40

Reflection:

When I was working at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center in Sierra Madre, CA, the ministry team would conduct a guided retreat for five days during the summer. One of the priests who helped us in this served at a parish in a town that also had at least two Protestant churches. If I remember correctly, one Protestant church was named Trinity Church. The other was named Holy Trinity Church. And the Catholic Church was named Most Holy Trinity Church. I find this humorous, but it does point to what can be unnecessary divisions among us.

This is what I get from our Gospel reading for today. The apostle John sees a man driving out demons in Jesus’ name, and tells Jesus that he and others tried to stop him because he was not part of their group. But Jesus says, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.”

It seems especially so in our society today that Jesus’ attitude is hard to come by. We can be in such adversarial stances that it can seem impossible for people to work together. Have you ever watched some “talking heads” on some TV news program where they seem to be arguing even though they are saying pretty much the same thing? But they could never be caught agreeing with each other.

For Jesus, driving out demons is not a contest. What’s important is that people are healed and shown the way to salvation. What would I gain, for example, by dismissing the work of an inner city Protestant pastor, or Jewish rabbi or Muslim imam, that was meeting the needs of people, just because they weren’t Catholic? There can be a danger in relativism, but I’m not sure Jesus would approve of stopping good works because of it.

My hope is that more and more people of good will can come together to address the needs of the people and care for the earth. We don’t have to be always against others to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is the local superior at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Community in Detroit, Michigan.