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Daily Scripture

Upcoming Daily Scriptures

Daily Scripture, July 20, 2017

Scripture:

Exodus 3: 13-20
Matthew 11: 28-30

Reflection:

Our first reading today from Exodus continues the story of the call of Moses.  The dialogue between God and Moses is truly a striking one.  Moses knows that the Hebrew people in Egypt will have little reason to believe that God has sent him; much less will they automatically put their trust in him.  So he asks for God’s name so he can tell the people who it was that sent him to them.  God’s response to Moses is, “tell them that I AM has sent me to you.”  I AM, the one who is always present to you, who is always with you, who knows the pain of your suffering.  Moses is coming to the people, not on behalf of someone who is far away but on behalf of someone who is right now with them in every way.  And God goes on to say that “they will heed you.”  And heed Moses they did…as we shall see as the story unfolds.

The beautiful passage from today’s Gospel puts an interesting gloss on our first reading.  Jesus invites everyone who is burdened to come to him and to learn from him. He assures them that in him they will find rest for his “yoke is easy and (his) burden light.”  I can’t help but wonder how Moses would have heard these words of Jesus.  I doubt that Moses found the yoke and burden placed on his shoulders easy or light.  He struggled for forty years to fulfill the charge that God had given him.

Yet we know from the rest of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus shared in the name of God that Moses received.  Just like the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Jesus was and is right here with us.  He is not far away but has fully shared our human experience, knows our sufferings, remains with us still in his Word, in the Eucharist and in the Church.  It is surely Christ’s continued presence with us that eases the burdens we carry.

So, today we are reminded that God is still with us in every part of our lives just as God was present to Moses, to the Hebrew slaves in Egypt, in Jesus walking among us and in Jesus still with us.  We know the name of God in the deepest part of our being.


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

Daily Scripture, July 16, 2017

Scripture:

Isaiah 55:10-11
Romans 8:18-23
Matthew 13:1-23

Reflection:

The Gospel of Matthew has a series of seven parables. These are the high point of Matthew’s Gospel.  In this section everything is centered on the Kingdom of God.

Parables were a popular way in the orient, the Old Testament, and the teaching of the Rabbis. Parables are “sayings,” “metaphors”,” proverbs” or “similes.”   Examples of parables are: the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, the Mustard Seed, etc.  Parables end with a cryptic statement that summons one to hear the all-powerful Word of God and act on it.

This Parable of the Soil is the only parable where Jesus interprets or gives a commentary on the deeper meaning of the parable!  In this parable the sower sows the seeds before it can be harvested.  Not all seeds bear fruit.  There are numerous reasons for this.  First, the seeds fall upon the pathway , Second the seed fall on rocky ground and cannot grow, Third, the seeds fall upon rich soil and takes root and multiplied

The emphasis in today’s parable focuses not on the seeds, nor the sower, but rather on the soil!  At this point of Matthew’s Gospel Jesus is preaching not only to His disciples but to the crowds.  This marks a new relationship that Jesus has with His followers.  The message is universal, i.e. for all.  It is a message of crises.  The time is short; the kingdom of God is at hand. Those who have ears, listen.  The theology of the Cross is being sharpened.

The message is clear.  Despite some failures, the soil ultimately succeeds.  The harvest grows.  There is no mention of the weather, i.e. rain, water, sun shine, etc.  This is a story of the inevitability of the Reign of God!  No matter the conditions the soil will yield success.

We have the power to thwart or divert the power of the Word.  Stewarts of life have the power to nurture life.  As stewards of life we need to nourish and care for the soil.  The average yield for a crop in the time of Jesus was 7.5 fold.  At the most 10 fold.  But here it is 100 fold! This is unheard of!  The point here is that success happens in spite of frustrations. The parable brings light and truth to those with faith.  The reign of God is made present in the ministry of Christ.

The Armenians have this understanding of parables.  “Three apples fall from a tree. The first is for the teller of the story, the second is for the listener of story, and the third is for the one who takes it to heart!

Carl Jung says that “greatest gifts of the human spirit are faith, hope, love and insight.”  Parables give us insight. Insight brings our lives together and helps us embrace the Reign of God.


Fr. Ken O’Malley, C.P., is the local superior at Holy Name Passionist Community in Houston, Texas.

Daily Scripture, July 13, 2017

Scripture:

Genesis 44:18-21, 23b-29, 45:1-5
Matthew 10:7-15

Reflection:

We pick up today’s Gospel towards the beginning of chapter 10 where Jesus commissions his Twelve Apostles, gives them authority to “cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons” and then sends them out. Of particular note, are Jesus instructions to them to bring nothing on the journey—not even a walking stick!

Is Jesus really asking for total dependence on and even vulnerability to the “worthy” people or towns they will encounter? Maybe this sounds very risky to our minds and I wonder how we translate those instructions in our own times?

This sending is to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” (v.5). Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is clear about who he has come to save. It will not be until post-resurrection (Matt 28) when the mission is expanded to all nations. Yet, the author of Matthew wants the Jews of his time to hear and take seriously the message proclaimed by the Apostles who were sent out from Jerusalem following Jesus’ assumption to the Father. We know from those early stories that the “pagans” or Gentiles heard the news and believed in much larger numbers. I believe the author here in this text is hoping to spark the flame of faith in the Jewish people—to whom he is primarily writing—to remind them that they are the Chosen People and Jesus is their Good Shepherd.

Of course, we know in Jesus final commissioning, he instructs his disciples to, “Go and baptize all nations.” By virtue of our baptism, we are all anointed Priest, Prophet and King; we are all called and sent.

Today, as I entered the grocery store to pick up a few items for dinner, I chuckled to myself at the thought of going around the aisles and proclaiming to shoppers, “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Yet, that is exactly what I am to do! Although, I may be much more effective if I am kind and courteous…at the very least. Somewhere I remember hearing that I am my neighbor’s gospel.

“Without cost you have received, without cost you are to give.” How profound is that! I can share the love of God which has been lavished on me and it doesn’t cost anything….except maybe that I see beyond myself and my own needs. Perhaps, as I go about my day, I do not take along anything except the clothes I am wearing—no baggage from the day; no frustrations, anger or anxieties—just peace. Imagine we have the power to bring Christ’s peace to everyone—no exceptions.

We also need to remember to “shake the dust from our feet” every time we are rejected for trying to share that love. Jesus does NOT want anything to linger—let it go—all of it. Do not let it color your vision of mission. Brothers and sisters, let us live into this reality as we proclaim, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Come, Lord, Jesus! 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.

Daily Scripture, July 11, 2017

Scripture:

Genesis 32:23-33
Matthew 9:32-38

Reflection:

Jacob is heading home.  His journey though is littered with the wreckage of his deceiving his father, Isaac, his stealing the birthright from his twin brother Esau, competing wives, an avaricious uncle, and his own guilty conscience.  For Jacob, returning home means confronting his unresolved internal conflicts and troubled youthful past.

He is surrounded by wives, children, servants, herds, and great possessions.  But none of these can comfort the insecure boy within as he searches for the courage to face Esau, the great obstacle on the road home. He sends them away.

Jacob now stands alone at the Jabbok River, the spiritual divide between his youth and his adult self, between his doubts and his faith.  In Hebrew, the word jabbok is closely related to the word meaning “to wrestle.”  On the banks of this mysterious stream, Jacob meets a mysterious man, “Ish,” in the Hebrew.

Who is this “ish” who wrestles with Jacob on the riverbank?  Ish has many meanings.  It may mean a man, or angel or God.  Could ish be the ghost of Isaac?  Or Esau?  Maybe Ish is Jacob’s darker part of himself that doubts and fears?  Perhaps Ish is all of these — all true twins of Jacob.

Jacob wrestles through the night with Ish.  Finally, at dawn Ish announces Jacob’s new name, new spiritual identity: “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and men, and have prevailed.”

In confronting his demons rather than running from them, Jacob discovered that Ish is not someone to fear.  Ish is an angel of God who wrestled with Jacob throughout the night, a painful struggle to grow in faith, in spiritual and psychological maturity.

At dawn, Ish disappears.  But the struggle leaves Jacob with a limp.  No one goes through life without getting damaged.

Jacob’s story is our story.  Like Jacob, we are called to cross the Jabbok, cross the threshold from the uncertain and unsatisfactory, and to leave behind all possessions, all that we cling to in false security.  We are called to wrestle with Ish, our ghosts and demons.  We will not walk away unscathed, but with a limp.  It won’t matter, because we no longer will be running in fear, but walking in faith.

Our striving with Ish can transform us in our faith.  Only through life’s struggles will we discover that God is with us, even in suffering, in misfortune, in evil.  This is a loving God who even limps with us on our journey home.


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

Daily Scripture, July 10, 2017

Scripture:

Genesis 28:10-22a
Matthew 9:18-26

Reflection:

Today is absolutely glorious. I look out my window at leafy tree branches swaying in the breeze as birds take flight under a crystal blue sky dotted by cotton puff clouds. Days like this can take my breath away as I exclaim praises to the God of creation, whose deft hand is so visible in the glories of nature.

Then I get on the phone with Mom. She had been living independently ever since Dad died, with six of my nine siblings who live near her stopping in several times a week to visit or take her out. But now her dementia has progressed too far for her to live alone and none of us kids can take her into our homes for 24/7 care. We moved her into a wonderful, compassionate, bright and newly-opened memory care facility, with no change in the family visiting and outing schedule.

Now, though, she cannot leave the unit without having someone sign her out, she cannot drive, she has no stove or microwave, and she feels trapped. Worst of all, she doesn’t understand. She knows she isn’t as sharp as she used to be, but asserts there is nothing wrong with her that wouldn’t be cured if she could just get back to her own apartment and resume her independent life. She feels betrayed and abandoned, convinced we just don’t want to bother with her and so we’re inventing a scenario of incapacity to cruelly deprive her of the life she loves. She feels that her future is gone, awash in a world she no longer controls or has any say in. It is so hard to listen to her complain and weep, to empathize with kindness, and yet to know there is no other option. Gradually, this intelligent, capable, highly respected woman is losing the capacity for recent memory, rational thought, and planning ahead, and it will only get worse from here. As I hang up the phone, I am bereft of glory, my wonder at creation replaced with wondering where God is in this situation. Intellectually and by faith I know God is there, but where is that deft hand for Mom?

I sometimes speculate that this process will eventually be easier for Mom than it is for us. She is regressing, becoming younger and simpler over time as the complexities of life elude her. I suspect that over time she will revert to a child-like faith, relying on the God of love that she knows and feels all around her. Even at times when her eyes reveal the frightened child inside, one of her mantras has always been, “Jesus, I trust in you.” Increasingly, that will become the central core of her life, as she lets go of the expectations and responsibilities of this world and sinks into the divine embrace, until the time when she fully enters into and becomes one with it.

It is harder for us who love Mom and see her personhood diminishing inch by inch before our eyes. We long for what was, for the person and the parent we know her to be. We grieve mightily over the ravages of this disease, shedding many tears and hugs together. Underlying the difficulties, though, perhaps I can learn important lessons from Mom.

For instance:
Can I see the world and people with fresh eyes every day, open to discovery of something I hadn’t noticed before instead of thinking “Been-there-done-that?”

Can I gracefully accept my own diminishments as I age?

Can I accept what is and who Mom is becoming? In the process, can I broaden to release any expectations, control, and desires for other people to be the way I want them to be, more consciously and gently inviting who they are to emerge?

Can I allow the tears and grief while also reinforcing my trust in the divine embrace that holds me, too?

Can I learn to increasingly let go of the Mom I want so I can treasure the Mom I have, until the final letting go of her physical form?

Can I sometimes “regress”, leaving behind my informed theological understandings to recognize and accept the underlying, simple ways that God is truly present?

In my reverie, my gaze returns to the outside world. I think about the fact that trees make no demands of God. Clouds do not require explanation of where the wind blows them.  Birds build nests that get destroyed, and set out to build again. All of creation lives, ages, and eventually dies as one small part of the grander scheme of life. All are beloved of God. All are precious, no matter their capacity. All deserve respect and care. All seasons and times have their place.

I pray that God will continue to work in me to expand my heart, consciousness, and faith. I don’t think I’m there yet. I still want to hang on, to retain some control, to “fix” things, and to make Mom happy. I can too easily lose sight of the divine presence when I don’t feel it or when yet another loss faces me. But I want to reach the point at which no matter what happens with Mom, and no matter where I am in the world, I can join Jacob in declaring, “Truly, the LORD is in this spot, although I did not know it!” I pray that your eyes, too, may be ever opened to the deft and ever-present hand of our God.


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/.

Daily Scripture, July 9, 2017

Scripture:

Zechariah 9:9-10
Romans 8:9, 11-13
Matthew 11:25-30

Reflection:

To the Merest Child
is Revealed the Father’s Love

Jesus is the fullness of wisdom; the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is the Son of the Father whom we meet as gentle and humble of heart. He refreshes us and gives us rest when we are burdened and weary. Like the Son of the Father, so our sons and daughters awaken in us values and truth.

We owe all little ones awesome respect for what they offer us. Sadly precious treasures are overlooked. The tragic number of infants who die in domestic violence, children caught in the crossfire of gang fights, the violation of the safety of schools, trafficking – the world of Charles Dickens or the coal mines of Pennsylvania of a century ago, bad though they were for children seem in second place to our present moment. And the above are overshadowed at least by volume when we see mothers in war torn countries or refuge camps with their malnourished children. Like Hagar who placed her son, Ishmael, under a tree and sat the distance of a bow shot away so she could not see him die of thirst, we sit and watch, we pray for a change, that God hears the cry of suffering and comes to our aid.

We hear the expression, ‘the tyranny of two’, implying that a third element is needed to get beyond impasses in life or to open new delights in love. (Some disagree saying the tricycle preceded the bicycle!). But with marriage as an example the love of two increases with a third, a baby. There is a gift given to parents, a gift they share together. The child is an object of their love, and also increases their love as mother and father which they share with one another. The burden and weary part of life, the yoke spoken of in the gospel are not unfamiliar to any couple who love one another, nor will their sons and daughters always lessen the weight of the burden they carry. We ask the grace to change what we can, accept what we cannot, and the wisdom to know the difference.

A friend of mine who enjoys a dinner out, a party and a little dancing has been laid up with a back problem. After two weeks of rehab he was able to join the celebration of a wedding and, while still hobbling along with a cane, attend the reception. A sad thing happen. As the dancing began he found himself alone at his table when everyone else took to the dance floor. As he sat there it seems all the limitations he had been suffering for several weeks, the inability to do his ministry, the pain itself, all of this came crashing down upon him. He wasn’t very good at hiding his feelings either nor was he aware that he was under the scrutiny of a five year old. The little boy had a new small truck that he was playing with, his latest acquisition and new favorite toy. The child went to his mother and ask if he cold give the truck to Father, because ‘he looked so sad’.

We may have the joy of being around children or only enjoy them in passing or from afar. We may be moved with sorrow and just indignation where we see a child suffering or denied the right to grow up as a happy individual. May we care for children and support parents and all who work and care for children. We need what they offer us. We see in them a way of knowing Jesus, God’s love. He shows us the Father who looks upon us and loves us, seeing in us what he sees and loves in his Son.


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

Daily Scripture, July 7, 2017

Scripture:

Genesis 23:1-4, 19; 24:1-8, 62-67
Matthew 9:9-13

Reflection:

“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” (MT 9:12-13)

I attended my nephew’s block party last Saturday with three siblings and as usual, the conversation eventually turned to politics. Unlike some years past, we all seemed to be on the same page and quickly moved to discuss other interests. I’m probably nuts to be thinking this, but I kind of miss the days when my brothers and I would get into some very heated arguments concerning the issues of the day. The miracle of those encounters was that we parted brothers, maybe not totally respecting each other’s views, but caring about our common welfare.

It seems Jesus had a knack for bringing people to dinner who held unpopular jobs or represented the marginalized individuals of his day, like tax collectors and sinners. I wonder what Jesus is trying to tell me. I can easily dismiss the story in today’s gospel thinking well of course Jesus came to save sinners, but who are the sinners today? I would like to think the sinners are you, that is anyone who doesn’t think like I do. On my more sober days, I remember that I am the sinner. I am the one Jesus came to save. I am the one who must change. I am the one who needs to sit at the table with Jesus and discover where I need to grow in his likeness.

Thank you Jesus for being patient with me. I’m a slow learner, but you keep bringing me back to the table.


Dan O’Donnell is a Passionist Partner and a longtime friend of the Passionists.  He lives in Chicago. 

Daily Scripture, July 6, 2017

Scripture:

Genesis 22:1b-19
Matthew 9:1-8

Reflection:

Before Jesus was born, an angel appeared to Joseph and said, “You are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21 Right from the very beginning of his earthly life, Jesus’ identity was wrapped up in forgiveness.

Throughout his public ministry, Jesus taught forgiveness.  When Peter asked him how often he must forgive his brother or sister, Jesus answered, “not seven times but seventy-times seven” (Mathew 18:22).  In the Sermon on the Plain in Luke’s gospel, Jesus says, “Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.  Forgive and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37).  With the parable of the prodigal son Jesus gave a profound teaching about forgiveness (cf. Luke 15:11-32).

Throughout his public ministry, Jesus showed forgiveness.  In today’s gospel he forgives the paralytic. “Courage child, your sins are forgiven” (Matthew 9:1-7).  When a sinful woman washed Jesus feet, a Pharisee was very upset.  Jesus responded, “Her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love” (Luke 7:36 -50).  On the cross Jesus forgave those who were killing him.  “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Luke 23:24).

There was a convert on Calvary.  In Mark’s gospel we read that the centurion who stood guard over Jesus “on seeing the manner of his death, declared, ‘Clearly this man was the Son of God'” (Mark 15:39).  What did the centurion see?  He had seen many crucifixions.  That wouldn’t impress him. However, the centurion had never seen anyone hanging on a cross, in agonizing pain, cry out, “Forgive them!”  Seeing the gracious forgiveness in the heart of Jesus convinced the centurion that this was the Son of God.

There is much concern about the lack of faith in our modern world.  How are we to lead people to believe?  Yes, we can try to bring them to church. Yes, we can try to get them to read the bible.  But when non-believers see us, the followers of Jesus, forgive everyone, everything, totally, unconditionally, day after day, year after year, “seventy-times seven times,” they will come to see with their own eyes what our God is like.  For the power to forgive like that can only come from on high.

Gandhi said, “The weak can never forgive.  Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”  And our God is the strongest of all.


Fr. Alan Phillip, C.P. is a member of the Passionist Community at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

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