Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12
John 5:1-16

Reflection:

Both readings today reflect the life-giving and healing attributes of water as symbols of God’s countless blessings and abundant mercy. 

In the first reading the angel shows Ezekiel the river “flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple”.  Ezekiel first experiences the water as a small stream which is “ankle deep”.  As he moves on further the water becomes a larger stream which is “knee deep”.  Thereafter, it becomes a rivulet which is “waist deep”.  Finally, the water accumulates as a river “through which I could not wade; it had become a river that could not be crossed except by swimming”.  The life-giving and transformative power of this water sustains every kind of living creature that can multiply, including abundant fish, fruit trees of every kind which will bear fruit every month.  The abundant fruit serves as food and the leaves as medicine.  Keep in mind that this life-giving water is represented as flowing from the holy temple of Jerusalem.

Six centuries after Ezekiel’s encounter with the angel, John’s gospel portrays purportedly healing pool of water in Jerusalem called Bethesda with five porticoes (roof-covered porches).  Herein lay a large number of ill, blind, lame and crippled, including one man who had been ill for thirty-eight years.  Jesus goes up to Jerusalem on a feast of the Jews where he encounters and heals the man.  When Jesus asks the man “Do you want to be well?”, the man replies “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me”.  Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat and walk.”  The man did so. 

Note that Jesus did not ask the man to bathe in the pool to be healed as was the tradition at the Pool of Bethesda.  Jesus demonstrated that His healing power surpassed anything that could be expected from the pool, including not only the man’s physical infirmities but his, spiritual ones as well.  Later Jesus finds the same man in the temple area and says to him “Look, you are well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse will happen to you.”     

So here we are on our own faith journey through the river of life.  We have received the healing and forgiving power of God’s water at our baptism where we waded through the stream of God’s love and kindness.  As children, we learned that God’s life-giving and healing powers were more abundant and necessary than we appreciated as children, carrying us along the stream up to our knees.  Then, as young adults, if we remain faithful, we are waist-deep in God’s countless blessings and abundant mercy.  Finally, as adults, we have had to learn to swim to cross the river that we all one day hope to cross.  Of course, our coach is there for each stroke that we take: “Look, you are well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse will happen to you.”  So let us keep on swimming.  Remember that the surface of the earth is covered by 71% water, so we still have a long way to swim.  Yet all of that water is a “drop in the bucket” compared to God’s countless blessings and abundant mercy which we can count on to finish our journey. 

Bill Berger has had a lifelong relationship with the Passionist Family.  Bill and his wife, Linda, are currently leaders of the Community of Passionist Partners (CPP’s) in Houston, Texas.

Scripture:

Isaiah 65:17-21
John 4:43-54

Reflection:

The Responsorial psalm in today’s readings captures so aptly today’s gospel:
“I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.”

Jesus had reproached the people who followed him with the titillating expectation that he would perform something remarkable, even sensational, before their eyes.  Instead, Jesus demonstrated that the most amazing power comes from his word.

Today’s gospel tells the story of the royal official who approached Jesus in desperation — in a kind of foxhole prayer.  His son lay in mortal illness at home.  He urgently begged Jesus to heal his son.  “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 

In a most unsensational way, Jesus said to the royal official, “You may go,  Your son will live.”  Jesus’ simple declaration was all it took.  ”The man believed in what Jesus said to him and left.”  Undoubtedly, the royal official returned home praising the Lord who rescued not only his son from death, but him from despair to belief.  Indeed, he and his whole household came to believe in Jesus the Christ.

As with the royal official, Jesus challenges us.  Will we believe that the words of Jesus pack  life-giving power for us?  Will we believe that the Word of God is enough to conquer death and lead us to eternal life?

The story of the royal official is our story.  When we received ashes on our foreheads at the beginning of Lent, we heard the words, “Repent and believe in the gospel.”

During this Lenten season, we are called to believe the way the royal official believed — and to praise the Lord for he has rescued us.

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

Scripture:

2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23
Ephesians 2:4-10
John 3:14-21

Reflection:

My Lenten resolution is to be more aware of the consequences of my actions and make positive changes where I can. I didn’t realize how challenging that would be, and in how many different scenarios! For instance:

• I use too much water and I want to more consciously conserve it. Yet lingering in that hot shower feels SO GOOD! And it’s inconvenient to save and use the colder water that I run out of the faucet until it gets hot.
• I want to be kind and loving, but oh, it’s hard not to make that snarky comment, especially in a context where I know my listeners would agree with me.
• I want to donate more money to causes whose impact goes far beyond what I could do on my own, but it’s hard to send that check when I want to feel financially secure myself first.
• I know I’ll have a stomachache later if I eat another piece of that dessert, but it’s so sweet and wonderful in my mouth! And yes, I know I should buy only “fair trade” chocolate, but this one is easily available and tastes fabulous.

We sometimes excuse our excesses and self-centered pleasures as “guilty indulgences”, and a little bit of indulgence is a good thing. Self-care is important. It’s hard, though, not to allow a “little bit” to become a habit. “C’mon. Just this time. It wouldn’t hurt, would it?” And then another time, and another, until we reach the point Jesus warns us about: We prefer darkness to light.

Admittedly, darkness can be easier. Ignorance is bliss. If I don’t think about it, I can continue on my merry way without a care. I can rationalize my way into almost anything that I want. But the Gospels and the teachings of Pope Francis are clear: that is not what we’re called to. We are lavished with immeasurable riches and called to be children of The Light. We are required to use what we’ve been given, to act in ways that don’t cause harm and that don’t directly or indirectly contribute to the perishing of other living beings or the environment. Darkness is not our future. Light and Life and Grace are.

I’m not sure I can get there in just one Lenten season. But I’m writing down all the times I become aware of negative consequences, and slowly but surely changing my heart, mind, and actions because of it. In this holy season, how can you go beyond “giving up something” that you will then just go back to after Easter anyway? In what ways can you act with deeper awareness so you more clearly shine the Light of Christ, sacrificing yourself and yes, some of your “guilty indulgences,” so that others may live?

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/.

Scripture:

Hosea 6:1-6
Luke 18:9-14

Reflection:

Who Can Live Without Some Privilege?

The desert journey invites an encounter with God in the Scriptures. There is the white noise of war and its effects, too many political words that say little to the hopes our hearts seek, dignity swept aside by violence. So, in these wet and dreary winter days on the east coast I hear a second invitation to withdraw into myself. Will the God of the Lenten desert meet a solitary winter wanderer who feels quite discontent.

I have recently read writings by Barry Lopez, a modern-day world explorer who has gone to the edges of the globe and lived harsh ways of survival as he comes to know the people and cultures of these remote areas. There is wonder in what he sees, but I sense it is the people he wants to know. Reflecting on how his experiences have made him who he is, he tells a revealing story….One night in a heavy rain storm after being in the wild for a few months, loaded down with luggage and equipment, he arrives at a prestigious club in the heart of Manhattan. He apologizes to the concierge for not being dressed according to code – after a few days travel he has just arrived at the airport and is a day early for his reservation. He hopes there is a room. ‘There is no room; your reservation will be honored tomorrow.’ He asked to please speak with the manager. The manager eyed him and affirmed he would be welcome for the next night. And then became surprisingly insulting and dismissive. Barry said no more. He hailed a cab for a hotel and returned the next evening to claim his reservation. But he did not play a trump card. He did not say that his father was one of the founders of the club and a significant person in it. He didn’t one-up those who belittled him.

His story ends there. No more. But realize he has been living with the people on the margins of the natural world, people surrounded by unspeakable wonders of creation and wildness, yet whose lives are primitive and by our standards poor in every way. He did not have to win, to have his way, there are obstacles, we go around.

The people to whom Hosea speaks today have a piety like morning dew. They have figured God out – one who renews, who heals wounds and raises up. We will offer sacrifice, they say, and count on this God who always shows up! Do we detect a note of privilege? Yes, God will surely do their bidding. They might be in for a surprise. Or the Pharisee who has found the fast lane as opposed to the weary tax collector who feels himself in the middle of a desert. His prayer comes from the depth of his being. How human and how profound. He will meet God in the desert or in the lane for slow-moving vehicles on the right side of the steep hill. With the old, slow vehicles, the breakdowns, and struggling pedestrians there God is giving a push to some, hope and encouragement to all.

May we serve others in love rather than step on the ‘Little Guy’ to gain status and privilege. In the wilderness of the desert or the winter of our hearts and souls may we meet the God who travels the margins, who shows us in poverty we are rich. Nothing can impede the surprises of God who raises up those humbly bowed down so they feel a brother’s love. And after emptying the pockets of those who come prepared for every emergency, we laugh because now we know we need not fear having enough.

Fr. William Murphy, CP is a member of Immaculate Conception Community in Jamaica, New York.

Scripture:

Hosea 14:2-10
Mark 12:28-34

Reflection:

Receive the Love of God

Only Jesus’ love can break the spell of self so that we no longer live for ourselves but for Him. (2 Cor 5:15) We love God, ourselves, or anyone because the Lord first loved us (1 Jn 4:19). When we receive God’s love, we stop being preoccupied with ourselves and start to, “love Him with all our hearts, all our souls, all our minds, and all our strength. (Mk 12:30)

Jesus asks the scribe, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” The man’s answer moves Jesus to say, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” God commands us to love him, and by that very command makes it possible. God says, “I am like a verdant cypress tree; because of me you bear fruit!” And “if my people would walk in my ways, I would feed them with the best of wheat” (Hosea 14) This is fulfilled in the Eucharist.

Don’t be addicted to self or love of self. Receive the love of God as he says, “I will heal their defection, I will love them freely.” (Hosea 14:5) When you do this your are able to love your neighbor as yourself. We human beings are addicted to ourselves because of our fallen nature, we are self-absorbed and egomaniacs. We are naturally preoccupied with ourselves and automatically live to do our own thing. Sometimes this addiction to self is passed off as a love for ourselves. However, addiction to self is closer to self-hatred than to self-love.

How can we break free of our addiction to self so that we can love ourselves and thereby love our neighbor as ourselves? As we are baptized into, and immersed into the Lord’s love, we forget about ourselves and, paradoxically, begin to love ourselves (see Mt 10:39). Receive His love! Give His love to Him, yourself, and others! Amen.

Deacon Peter Smith serves at Our Mother of Sorrows Parish, in Tucson, Arizona. He is a retired Theology teacher from Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School, a retired soldier of the United States Air Force, a Graduate student at Xavier University of Ohio, and a member of the Passionist Family.

Scripture:

Jeremiah 7:23-28
Luke 11:14-23

Reflection:

But he knew their thoughts and said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house.’   -Luke 11:17

I won a speech contest in my third year of high school. The year was 1962. The event was the annual Mother of Good Counsel Seminary Speech Contest. Our school’s mission was to train young men in the relatively popular media of the day (preaching and writing journal articles) geared to spreading God’s word, in particular the word of Jesus’ giving us his all—the Gospel of Good News. All that goes to say it was an important event. In preparing for this event, each class chose their representative for the upcoming contest after each classmate presented their speech to the class. My classmates chose me.

In preparation for the schoolwide contest, Father Germain CP, a short solidly packed man and our third-year speech teacher as well as the head librarian for the community, (monastery, a college, and a high school) coached me on how to give that speech. I’ll never forget being in his office, a narrow corridor like room on the west end of the library. “When you come to the last line, Dan, give it all you’ve got!” Father must have realized that even when I wasn’t trying to get your attention, I usually gave it all I had. Anyway.

The speech was Patrick Henry’s “Call to Arms” which I can still recite almost verbatim sixty-two years later. The final line, as you probably know is: “Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me eath!” (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclopædia_Britannica/Henry,_Patrick)

As I reflect on this event as well as the many, many events in my life since that “win”, I believe Henry’s liberty or death is a false dichotomy. Henry as Fr. Germain, and all my teachers and mentors of that time, have been given death. I believe, death, as Jesus taught us with his life is not to be feared. It is the final entry into freedom from such man-made separations, i.e life vs liberty; win vs lose; White vs Black…

God, thank you for life! Please, help me see that all You have given me is life giving freedom, even death. Help me see further that it is not my job to decide who receives which of Your gifts today or at any time. I only have to say yes to the life each day, one day at a time.

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

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9
Matthew 5:17-19

Reflection:

In today’s Gospel, Jesus addresses his disciples, mostly working-class Jews who knew the Ten Commandments and the minutiae of Jewish laws.

Jesus did not mince words. We must follow God’s will to fully live in the reign of God. And we must do this until “all things have taken place.”

Our noisy, distracting culture puts priority on personal choice, utilitarianism, private fulfillment, and individualism. We seek to live without limits. We want to be our own gods, in control, practical, functional. We carry the constant burden of never wanting to miss an event, “experience,” or latest gossip and news. We fill our minds with useless rubbish, clutter, and garbage.

Jay C. Rochelle has written, “The din and roars of the incessant noises of our daily world is enough to drown out both the impulse to prayer and its interiority. In the midst of so much noise the impulse to pray is eventually lost. We are swept away on the sounds and we move further away from that center where we know the experience of God.”

In dismissing prayer, we miss the opportunities silence affords us, the very place where God speaks the loudest.

In silence we can be free from an enslaving, oppressive, over-stimulating world.

In silence we abnegate and forget ourselves in order to pay attention to Christ.

In silence we discover the will of God.

In silence we rest in a place where our partnership with Christ is enhanced, our total trust in him is renewed.

In silence we come face-to-face with the false idols of money, fame, status, power over others and power over our common home…earth.

In silence we grasp how and when to respect life by banning war, poverty, homelessness, hunger, ignorance, racism, elitism, and domination and devaluation of the weak and vulnerable.

In silence we gradually learn to keep promises, not gossip, not trash anyone, welcome everyone, not judge, and to free ourselves from wealth and possessions.

The commandments to live by are written in our hearts, not on a government building or classroom wall.

“Whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

Perhaps today you can extend your silent time alone with Christ to let Christ speak in silence to your heart.

Jim Wayne is a board member of the Passionist Solidarity Network (PSN), and author of The Unfinished Man. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

Daniel 3:25, 34-43
Mattew 18:21-35

Reflection:

But with contrite heart and humble spirit let us be received…  -Daniel 3:39

Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.” -Matthew 18:22

In today’s gospel we find the parable of the Unforgiving Servant.  This is a very detailed story likening the kingdom of heaven to what awaits those who rely on God’s mercy but neglect to extend that same mercy to their brothers and sisters. I’m going to focus on the lead-in to the parable.

Here we again find Peter being Peter. He is always so down to earth. He knows Jesus preaches forgiveness and mercy, yet he wants to know the exact amount he has to extend. He wants the rules laid out clearly so that he can be assured of his place in heaven. He thought he was being generous with forgiving someone seven times. Jesus goes way beyond this. Some translations even read this not as 77, but as 7 x 70 or 490! In any case, it’s clear that Jesus is saying, “Just keep forgiving.”

Many times in the psalms we hear how God looks away from our sins, how they are removed far from us. Jesus calls us to show that same forgiveness to each other. This can be challenging on a daily basis. How many of us grit our teeth and clench the steering wheel while driving? It’s easy to harbor memories of slights and affronts from our families and friends as well. However, as Christians we are called to put those aside, to let them go and move on. This can sometimes be easier said than done.

I might suggest that a good place to start is with forgiving yourself, that is relying on God’s forgiveness. It is such a human thing to hold on to regrets of our own past transgressions that there is an internet meme circulating about our brain keeping us awake, rehashing our previous failures. By allowing God’s forgiveness to flow over us, we become free to forgive others. Brother Lawrence, a 17th century monk, was asked how he dealt with his own sins. He essentially said he’d confess them to God, then forget them, trusting to God’s forgiveness. Perhaps if we practice on ourselves, we will find it easier to forgive those around us.

Talib Huff is a retired teacher and a member of the retreat team at Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center in Citrus Heights, California. You can contact him at [email protected].