Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Malachi 3:19-20a
2 Thessalonians 3:7-12
Luke 21:5-19

Reflection:

With two weeks to go to the first Sunday in Advent our readings take an apocalyptic turn today. Predictions of end times, looking for signs, and tribulations abound—it is enough to have us closing our bibles and running for the exits. Except there is no escape; our invitation is to sit with these verses to “pan for gold” and find peace in our times.

Jesus begins by predicting that “there will not be left a stone upon a stone” (v. 6), this Temple which was rebuilt (again) and completed in 64 A.D. was considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the entire Roman Empire.  It truly seems inconceivable that this building could fall, yet, it happened and the people asked; is this the end?

Why do we look for signs? How does it help us to live in this day—this moment? God is found only in the present, we risk missing him if our eyes are fixed beyond the now. If we are honest, thoughts of “end times” (suffering) in our lives or the lives of our loved ones only feed our fears.

The first reading from Malachi, an anonymous prophet, who writes following the completion of the first rebuilding of the Temple is concerned with careless religious ritual matters among other things and warns of the coming destruction. In both readings, the text ends with hope and comfort. Malachi: “But for those who fear my name, there will arise, the sun of justice with its healing rays.” (V.20) and from Luke: …but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” (V.19)

What comes through clearly to me is the sense of misplaced security. We simply put too much store in earthly things, whether it is a building, a ship named Titanic, or a human person(s) running for election.  Luke’s whole theology suggests redemption mediated through Christ’s life as he writes to Christians facing persecution for their professed faith in Jesus. They experience danger from all sides. This is still true today for many of our Christian brothers and sisters.

Only Christ can truly save us. We follow where he went, not in fear and trembling but in the Old Testament sense of “fear of the Lord” awesomeness in His presence. We follow him not just to the cross but through the cross to new life. Our story doesn’t end on Calvary but sometimes our fears have us stuck there. We can name our fears and place them at the foot of the Cross for Grace to bless them. Who knows what the future holds but I am placing my trust in the Holy Spirit to renew us all, to give us hope and peace. Let us persevere in faith through those tribulations in our lives and look with confidence to the future whatever the signs predict.

“Rouse yourself to cheerfulness in the Lord. Every trial will pass. Enter into the heart of Jesus in spirit, into that great furnace of love, and trust him.” St. Paul of the Cross

Jean Bowler is a retreatant at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center in Sierra Madre, and a member of the Office of Mission Effectiveness Board of Holy Cross Province.

Scripture:

3 John 5-8
Luke 18:1-8

Reflection:

There are many forms of prayer: praise, thanksgiving, and petition. Jesus begins this teaching by speaking about prayer in general. He says it should have two qualities. First we should “pray always”. For St. Paul of the Cross this means we must cultivate a deep interiority. Paul was a man of action. He founded thirteen monasteries, preached over two hundred missions, directed eighty retreats, and wrote about 10,000 letters of spiritual direction. But the foundation of all this work was his union with God. He valued solitude, quiet, silence, and spent hours each day in prayer. We could say that he walked in the presence of God.  We need to cultivate a like interiority in our own lives. Achieving it is a challenge. Jesus recognizes this by making a second point. He notes that we should pray “without becoming weary”. What does he mean?  Maybe the Revised Standard Version catches the meaning more clearly when it translates the Greek as “pray and not lose heart”.  At times it seems that our prayer is not getting us anywhere. The same old stuff comes up when we prepare for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. What’s the use? The temptation to give up prayer or let it slip is subtle, almost not a conscious decision. Paul of the Cross had to face this often in the people he directed. Again and again he encourages them to be faithful to prayer. If they can do nothing else they should just gaze at the crucifix, the sign of God’s overwhelming love.

 

Fr. Michael Hoolahan, C.P. is on the staff of Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

Philemon 7-20
Luke 17:20-25

Reflection:

Last winter my 84-year-old Uncle Joe was diagnosed with inoperable stage IV lung cancer and given a prognosis of a few months to live. Although doctors said they could try a last-ditch chemotherapy regimen that might extend it a bit, Joe chose to live the remainder of his time with as much quality of life as he could achieve. He gathered his children, shared stories and memories, and decided who would receive what after their dad died. Joe wrote letters to friends, forgave foes, and got his affairs in order.  He did all the things that were important, talked to all the people he loved, and wrapped it all up with a bow. But it won’t stay wrapped.

Against all odds, Joe has continued to live. He is in hospice and is clearly ill, but he is not in pain, he can still go out for very short excursions, and the end is not as imminent as he thought. Interestingly, he expressed some anger about the fact that things weren’t going as planned. He is also confused, because he doesn’t know how to live his life when he has no clue how long it may go on now.

Jesus tells us that no one knows the time or the day, whether of the end of the world or the ends of our own lives. Countless people point to “signs” that say it is imminent, but day after predicted day has passed without incident. (Remember Y2K?)  The truth is that we are not in control and we don’t know.

There are many people pushing now to grasp that control. They want assisted suicide, where they can legally decide the trajectory of the end of their lives, put their death date on a calendar, and ensure that they place the final bow on top of the wrapping themselves at a time of their choosing. There is even a movement in the Netherlands to legally assist healthy people to take their own lives if they decide they’ve lived long and well enough and are ready to go.

According to research, most of these decisions are rooted in fear. People are afraid of pain, afraid of “losing dignity” or being a burden to their families, afraid of being weak and out of control, afraid of the dying process. What if instead of passing laws that make it easy and convenient to circumvent the natural course of life and death, we worked to eradicate fear. Imagine if we:

• Educate everyone, young and old, about the dying process, what it is like, and how sacred it can be so it is normalized, talked about, and not a scary unknown.
• Make effective palliative care available to every dying person, so no one has to die in pain.
• Emphasize the inherent and inalienable dignity of every person as a precious child of God who deserves the best of care, even (or especially) if they are disabled, unproductive, feeble, demented, dependent on others, or nearing death.
• Form even young children to know that it is OK to not be in control, that all “control” is an illusion anyway and grasping for it hurts us in more ways than we know.
• Teach what constitutes true strength – being able to face the suffering of life, standing firm in core beliefs despite adversity, allowing and expressing painful emotions, companioning people who are ill, grieving, or dying, and having the courage to be vulnerable and needy when it is our time to be ill, grieving, or dying.
• Advocate for more comprehensive and affordable services for those who are homebound, or seriously or terminally ill, so the size of one’s bank account doesn’t dictate whether a person is a financial burden to the family.
• Become a role model for our children by regularly volunteering to bring food, sit with a dying person so the family can have an afternoon off, run errands or do chores for families with ill members, attend funerals and services to expose them to death while teaching them how to be comforting, and talk about what a privilege it is to care for those who need it.

I could go on with suggestions. Perhaps you have some of your own as well. But the idea is the same: Let’s live the faith we profess by working to cast out fear, surrender control, embrace the experiences of our lives whether good or bad, and support the dignity and value of every person we touch. If we could do all of these things, perhaps we could begin to counter the push for assisted suicide. I believe that as disciples of Christ, we must try.

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:

Titus 2:1-8, 11-14
Luke 17:7-10,

Reflection:

I have revulsion to hospitals.  It’s the smell, the wheelchairs, the nurses’ green outfits, the medicines and moans.  Even the flowers and balloons in the gift shop seem sickly and artificially happy.  I know, of course, that hospitals are places where the sick are made healthy, where new life takes place, where hope abides.  Nevertheless, I dread hospitals.

Perhaps that is why my wife recommended that I take a year off from retreat ministry and join her in hospital ministry.  Anxious though I felt, I agreed.  I contacted a fellow deacon, a chaplain at a local hospital.  He agreed to let us follow along in his daily routine.  Throughout the year, we prayed with the very old who knew they were dying.  We heard to the cries of the very young who didn’t understand pain and simply wanted to go home.  We heard the loudspeaker calling out emergency in room 23a.  We gave communion to those who needed nourishment beyond that of hospital food.  As much as we may have blessed the sick, they blessed us by their patience and hope and courage.

By the year’s end, however, I admit I felt relieved.  My year of hospital ministry was over.  I must admit, too, that I felt virtuous and rather proud of myself.

Today’s gospel is almost rude in its bluntness for those, like myself, who may harbor heroic self-opinions.  Jesus’ words are cold water splashed in my face.  Snap out of it.  I was doing only that which I was expected to do: to serve others – without regard to whether I disliked it or enjoyed it, whether I found enrichment or not.  I ministered to the hospital sick because that’s where I was needed.  Period.

We all are called to serve one another, even when we don’t feel like it.  It’s never a matter of feeling.  It’s a matter of calling.

And after we have done what is commanded of us, our evening prayer should be one of humble gratitude:  “We are unprofitable servants.  We have done what we were obliged to do.”

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

Scripture:

Titus 1:1-9
Luke 17:1-6

Reflection:

The other day I got up to exit the “el” train I was taking to go to lunch and while standing at the door waiting for it to open I caught the eye of a little boy about three feet tall standing with his mother (I presume) who was pushing his little sister (I guess) in a stroller. They were also getting off. The little boy stuck up his hand and called out to me, “Give me five!” I gave him five and then as we began exiting, he grabbed my hand commanding: “Hold my hand.” I obliged. We got off the train holding hands and only let go when his mother and sister headed for the elevator—I was taking the stairs, which were right by the train door we just exited. The little boy and I waved good-bye as he, his mother and sister headed towards the elevator. Walking down the stairs, it dawned on me, I had just experienced about the closest thing to perfection that exists, the trust and openness of a little child

In today’s first reading, St. Paul challenges Titus to find what seem to me to be perfect leaders for the infant community at Crete. They were to be:

“…blameless, not arrogant, not irritable, not a drunkard, not aggressive, not greedy for sordid gain, but hospitable, a lover of goodness, temperate, just, holy, and self-controlled…” Titus 1:7-8

No small task for Titus or for anyone seeking leaders I suppose. Too bad we can’t get that little boy whose innocence and trust contagiously invaded the “el” platform that morning. Yes, sure, his mother might be able to tell us a little more about her precious but probably not perfect, son, but I believe I experienced a bit of perfection. I hope as he grows he doesn’t lose that bit of perfection and chooses to lead.

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

Scripture:

2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14
2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5
Luke 20:27-38

Reflection:

In Sunday’s Gospel reading (Luke 20:27-38), it is the Sadducees’ (those who didn’t believe in resurrection) turn to try to trip up Jesus, and so they give Him this extreme hypothetical about a woman who winds up marrying seven brothers (not all at once!) according to Mosaic law, and asking Him whose wife would she be in heaven. Jesus basically rejects their whole premise by stating that “those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels.” And then Jesus speaks to them about a belief in resurrection coming from Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush (See Exodus 3): “That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called out ‘Lord,’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”

This past week, we celebrated the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls, and we have another reminder of our belief that not even death can cut us off from neither God nor our loved ones. But Jesus’ declaration of faith in the resurrection pertains not only to the life after this, but to the life we live now. Does it have anything to do with how we live our lives if we believe God is God of the living and not the dead?

We may all respond to that question in the affirmative, but what impact does it have to believe in God as God of the living? For me, our faith leads us to be oriented toward life. It orients us toward thanksgiving. It orients us toward hope. And it sustains us in love. Our second reading from 2 Thessalonians (2:16-3:5) speaks to this. St. Paul, in the beginning of our reading, writes, “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting encouragement and good hope through his grace, encourage your hearts and strengthen them in every good deed and word.” Paul gives thanks for what God has already given (encouragement and hope and grace), and prays that his brother and sister Christians are encouraged and strengthened in good deeds and words.

May our deeds and words promote life! May we work not only with women considering ending their pregnancies, but also advocate for those whose lives have been degraded by poverty and oppression and injustice. May we work for an end to war and violence. May we care for the environment in which all life exists. In the words of our second reading, may the word of the Lord “speed forward” through us, so that people may know the generosity and love of God in Jesus Christ, who cherishes their lives and the lives of all.

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

Scripture:

Philippians 4:10-19
Luke 16:9-15

Reflection:

…I have learned, in whatever situation I find myself, to be self-sufficient. Philippians 4:11

The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones…Luke 16:10

We all want an easy life – a life without pain or even discomfort. The stories we tell each other around the water cooler (are there still water coolers?) are often filled with the disappointments, setbacks, and challenges of our daily lives. Who hasn’t told a story to friends that includes the phrase, “But wait, it gets worse!” We share these stories with each other, bonding over our common misery that seems to be the lot of those who walk this Earth. As it says in the book of Job, “…mankind is born for trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.”

However, we tend to interpret God’s favor as being upon us when life is easy and God withholding His favor when times are hard. Or we see the hard times as a test to grind through. We can sometimes feel that if we just grit our teeth and power on through, God will like us again and things will get easier.

In the readings today there seems to be another way put forth, the Way of Christ. St. Paul speaks of having endured privations and abundance, fat times and lean times. He shares his thoughts on getting through it all: “I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need. I have the strength for everything through Him who empowers me.” It is interesting that it is a secret for living both in abundance and need, not just need. By living in Christ, abundance and need seem to become two sides of one coin. Both are just circumstances of life. It is often said that pain is inevitable; suffering is not. Suffering can arise when we fall into the “Why me?” trap. St. Paul teaches that abundance and need follow one another. He shows us that with Christ we can endure the need and remember to show gratitude in abundance.

In the gospel, Jesus says we are to make friends with and be trustworthy with dishonest wealth (mammon). And yet later he says we cannot serve both mammon and God. This calls to mind the saying from Matthew, “Resist not evil.” This teaching calls on a strength that God shares with us. This strength is to hold true to serving God by not resorting to violence against the evil, dishonesty, and corruption we see around us. At the same time, we are called to act with integrity with the world. Dishonesty from another does not justify our acting dishonest ourselves. We are called by our conversion to treat all as brothers and sisters.

My prayer for myself today is that I find the strength of Christ within me to serve God as I make my way through this less-than-perfect world.

Talib Huff volunteers and works at Christ the King Retreat Center in Citrus Heights. You can reach him at [email protected]

Feast of St. Charles Borromeo

Scripture:

Philippians 3:17-4:1
Luke 16:1-8

 

Reflection:

The Challenge of Stewardship

As we continue our journey through our special November commemoration of saintly people, today we thank God for the person of Charles Borromeo.  He was a gifted and zealous man of the Church who lived during the 16^th Century, credited for helping reform and build up the Church in a variety of ways.

As a bishop and Cardinal, Charles encouraged the intellectual and moral growth of clergy and religious, especially in forming new seminaries.  He helped author the catechism that was called for during the Council of Trent; he also started the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) for children’s growth in their faith.  He held many special meetings in his home diocese of Milan, seeking to incorporate the message and teachings of the Council of Trent.  He reached out to the poor and needy of his day, sacrificing wealth, honor and influence to serve them – even in the challenges of the plagues and famines of his day, ministering to the sick, the hungry, and the dying.  Truly a gifted and zealous man who gave God his all during his 46 years of life!

Today’s Gospel from Luke recounts a parable of Jesus about a “resourceful” steward who at first dishonestly squandered his master’s property, but then prudently tried to save face by dealing with his master’s debtors.  Though we might first be appalled at his dishonesty, in his moment of crisis he was decisive and acted quickly to prepare for the future.  Jesus highlights the steward’s “gifts” and limitations as a human person – and encourages us to be faith-filled and zealous in living out our faith in Him.

St. Paul, in today’s first reading, encourages his followers to imitate his example as a convert-missionary, giving his life to help spread the Good News.  Paul’s many gifts, especially his ardent faith, was held up as an example to the many people he touched in his journeys; his last words of today’s scripture selection have encouraged many:  “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I Iove and long for, my joy and my crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, beloved.”  Stand firm in the Lord…

The Good News challenges us today:  zealously follow the words and deeds of Jesus; be good, faith-filled and active stewards of God’s many gifts; learn from St. Paul and St. Charles Borromeo to share your gifts with the Church of your day, especially those most in need.  The “value” of such an action plan of life:  priceless…for both ourselves and our world!!  Amen!!

Fr. John Schork, C.P. is a member of the Passionist community in Chicago, Illinois.