Daily Scripture

Scripture:

1 Kings 19:16b, 19-21
Galatians 5:1, 13-18
Luke 9:51-62

Reflection:

When we hear today’s gospel reading, there is real determination in Jesus “as he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem.”  Did he know exactly how everything was going to unfold? Probably not, but he knew he had to go to Jerusalem.  He knew that place was important in his journey to the Father.

Along the way, people at times welcome him.  At other times, they reject him.  But that was not his concern.  All of us are free to accept him or not.  The invitation is always there, but it is for us to decide whether to follow him or not.

The key message seems to be that this life of ours is but a journey.  And all journeys lead somewhere.  “If you don’t where you are going, then any road will do” is a paraphrase of the conversation Alice and the Cheshire Cat have in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.

Jesus definitely knows where he was going, and he knew the road he needed to take.

We know our own journeys often take us down dead ends and dark alleys.  We know we get distracted by whether we are welcomed or accepted by others.  We even wonder whether where Jesus is leading us is really where we want to go.

But every so often Jesus will turn around and look at us.  He will nod and gently hold out his hand to us.  And in that moment we will know that we are on the right path, that any detours we might have made are unimportant.  He knows where he is going and we can trust that is where we really want to be, as well.

Robert Hotz is a consultant with American City Bureau, Inc. and is the Director of The Passion of Christ: The Love That Compels Campaign for Holy Cross Province.

Scripture:

Lamentations 2:2, 10-14, 18-19
Matthew 8:5-17

 

Reflection:

Redemption Continues

Centurions were the regular soldiers of the Roman army; they were the glue that held the army together — disciplined, loyal, steady in action, reliable. Whenever they are mentioned in the New Testament, they are spoken of with respect and honor. Remember the centurion at the foot of Jesus’ cross who first cries, “Truly this was the Son of God!”? Or Cornelius, the first Gentile to convert to “The Way”?

But there was something distinct about the centurion in today’s Gospel from Matthew — his attitude toward his servant, a slave. Often the vanquished people of Roman imperialism, slaves were mere objects to be possessed in Jesus’ time, and they had no rights. But the gentleness of this centurion, coupled with his love for his servant, clearly moved Jesus.

Perhaps you have noticed a similar kind of transformation, redemption if you will, in recent news reports. Religious leaders in Orlando and across the country have brought a new sensitivity to the Latino and LGBTQ communities. In the face of horror and paralyzing sadness, we understand today’s first reading:

Cry out to the Lord;
moan, O daughter Zion!
Let your tears flow like a torrent
day and night.

Bishop Robert Lynch of St. Petersburg writes, “…sadly it is religion, including our own, that targets, mostly verbally, and often breeds contempt for gays, lesbians and transgender people. Attacks today on LGBT men and women often plant the seed of contempt, then hatred, which can ultimately lead to violence. Those women and men who were mowed down Sunday were all made in the image and likeness of God. We teach that. We should believe that. We must stand for that.”

 This chemistry between centurion and slave, or Bishop Lynch and his flock, is what gives me hope.  As the final line into today’s Gospel thunders, “He took away our infirmities, and bore our diseases.” Redemption continues.

In the introduction to her book, “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln”, historian Doris Kearns Goodwin states, “…after winning the Presidency, (Lincoln) made the unprecedented decision to incorporate his eminent rivals into his political family… The powerful competitors who had originally disdained Lincoln became colleagues who helped him steer the country through its darkest days.”

 Such leaders, woman and men, civil and religious, are still among us. Redemption continues.

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

The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

Scripture:

Isaiah 49:1-6
Acts 13:22-26
Luke 1:57-66

Reflection:

“He will be called John.” Luke 1:60   The Hebrew name for John is two words put together.  One is khä·nan’ which means gracious and the other is the Hebrew sacred word for God, Yahweh.   What a beautiful name to start the ultimate story of God’s affectionate intervention into our lives!   Everything for everyone begins and ends with God’s gracious kindness!

Sometimes John the Baptist can strike us as a little scary.  “So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Luke 3:7  But his task was to clear the path of the filth of sin so to open the door to a forgiving and caring God.  The Holiness of God demands conversion from the refuse of immorality.

With the beautiful encouragement of God’s mercy by Pope Francis we also must be attentive to the first sermon of Christ. “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”   To preach the mercy of God also means eventually to remove the virus of Sin.   We sinners can indeed be touched by God’s grace before our conversion but run a deadly risk of losing God’s gift by not turning away from sin after his offer of mercy.

John the Baptist leapt with joy in his mother’s womb at the presence of the unborn Jesus.  From his birth he experienced the ecstasy of Jesus.  John’s ministry was one of the good news of God’s stunning care for the human race.  Even his name meant God is kind.   But salvation ultimately means the destruction of sin.  “you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”  Matthew 1:21 We, like the Baptist, must in our ministry try to disinfect the virus of sin in our society to clear the path for God’s mercy.

 

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

Feast of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More, Martyrs

Scripture:

2 Kings 22:8-13; 23:1-3
Matthew 7:15–20

Reflection:

“I die my king’s humble, good servant, but God’s first.”  So said Thomas More, lawyer and Chancellor of England,  to Henry VIII as he was led to the chopping block to be beheaded in 1535.  St. John Fischer, Bishop of Rochester, was of the same mind as Thomas.  Our saints of the day come together with the scriptures of today to offer a fascinating principle of our spiritual lives.

Our reading from 2 Kings gives us a wonderful example of gradualism in the spiritual life.  That slow moving practice or non-practice of our faith day after day can eventually build a rather solid pattern either for good or for ill.  We might find ourselves choosing to affirm a family member each day or offer support regularly to a friend in need or simply do something small  but real for the homeless, the destitute or  the lonely.  We choose to do this day after day until one day we cannot even imagine a day going by without this simple act of kindness, goodness, or compassion.  Gradually, it has become part of our makeup, part of who we are and we begin to identify ourselves more readily as a faithful disciple of the Lord in our world today.  On the other hand, we may choose to begin leaving off a prayer or two, leaving off our attendance at Sabbath Eucharist, leaving out our sense of kindness or generosity to family, friends, co-workers or those in need around us.  We find ourselves thinking they should be doing kind and generous things for me after all I have done and meant to them up to this point.

We might find ourselves thinking they don’t deserve my attention.  We might find ourselves thinking they should find a job and stop feeling sorry for themselves.  They need to stand on their own two feet.  We might find ourselves, in a gradual way, growing more and more critical and hard hearted toward people in our lives and toward groups of people in other parts of the world or groups which have a different complexion or faith or economic status or point of view than we have.  Gradually, we might find ourselves walling ourselves off from others without even realizing it.

This was the situation for the Israelites in today’s reading from 2 Kings.  They have returned from exile.  They have, over the years, grown complacent in their understanding of and living of the Covenant with the Lord.   They cannot even remember most of what covenant living entailed.  Gradually, day by day, they lost their sense of how to live in faith, hope and love.  This pattern is broken when Hilkiah discovers the Book of the Law (Deuteronomy), brings it to King Josiah who then initiates a dramatic return to covenant living by himself and all of the people.  They begin the process of gradually reversing the destructive gradualism that infected the people with a positive, uplifting, faith based living of life with God.

Jesus echoes the same principle when He urges us to understand that we will know others by their fruits.  Day by day, are we able to see the fruits of kindness, goodness, compassion, encouragement, and affirmation in our lives.  Once begun, the small deeds gradually grow to permanent fixtures in the way that we live our lives.  We are able to recognize and rejoice in the good fruit of our lives.  The same is true of any destructive, critical or cold ways of behaving until we cannot even recognize we are in a downward spiral.  Then, only bad fruit becomes apparent.  Sometimes we need a dramatic moment such as Israel experienced with Hilkiah.  Then we are able to reset the pathways of our lives toward living in small but real ways the mind and heart of Jesus.

For Saint John Fisher and Saint Thomas More the lesson of gradualism was all too clear.  They watched and attempted to prevent Henry VIII’s gradual drift away from faith living.  They were challenged in a dramatic moment to accept the gradual move away from God or pay with their lives.  They chose to die as God’s faithful servants.  Perhaps today’s scripture will help us to re-commit to faithful living of our union with the Lord Jesus in this world, with the knowledge that our destiny is the heavenly Jerusalem with John and Thomas.

 

Fr. Richard Burke, CP, is a member of St. Paul of the Cross Province.  He lives at St. Ann’s Monastery in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Scripture:

2 Kings 19:9b-11, 14-21, 31-35a, 36
Matthew 7:6, 12-14

Reflection:

“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.  This is the Law and the Prophets.”

With this very familiar and utterly simple imperative, Matthew the Evangelist continues the Sermon on the Mount that begins in Chapter 5 and runs through Chapter 7.  Unlike the Gospel of John where we find dense theological teachings and images, like the Bread of Life discourse, here in Matthew’s Gospel Jesus is guiding us on how to not only be hearers of the Word, but doers of the Word.

In these three chapters, we hear what it means to live as sons and daughters of God.  We begin with a set of attitudes and values in the Beatitudes and move through lessons on a wide range of topics that touch on right living.  The topics are practical and real.  They touch on money and marriage, almsgiving and fasting, and on praying.

Living as disciples of Christ is a day-to-day adventure made up of putting one foot in front of the other, one decision after another.  That narrow gate we read about in today’s Gospel can make many of us cringe.  It seems to contrast with an image of God as all-welcoming.  But perhaps it’s not about who gets in and who does not.  Rather, it’s about focus.  Keeping our hearts and minds focused on where we want to go will determine what we choose do each and every day.  The whole of the Sermon on the Mount is a collection of teachings that help form a pattern of thought and behavior that will lead us to that door that opens to life with God.

I have a vivid memory of sitting on the landing of the front stairs learning how to tie my shoes.  Over and over again with intense focus, I practiced getting those laces tied right.  Today, I don’t think about how to tie my shoes.  I just do it.  But the piano is a whole other story.  Years of lessons coupled with putting off practice has given me an appreciation for the piano but no skill at playing.  I thought I wanted to play – and wish now I had then the focus to practice – but I didn’t integrate practice into my life.  So I can’t play.

It’s not our words or good intentions that the Lord wants to review with us.  It’s what our faith and our love of God leads us to do each day with the gifts we have been given.  A good place to begin might be to ask when on the highway, at the store, or at work, “Am I doing to others today what I would want them to do to me?”

Robert Hotz is a consultant with American City Bureau, Inc. and is the Director of The Passion of Christ: The Love That Compels Campaign for Holy Cross Province.

Scripture:

Zechariah 12:10-11; 13:1
Galatians 3:26-29
Luke 9:18-24

Reflection:

“I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and petition; and they shall look on him whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they shall grieve over him as one grieves over a firstborn.” Zechariah 12:10

It seems that the older we get, the more we mourn. Loss has become an unavoidable and unwelcomed companion.

Last week, I buried a dear friend, whose family I’ve known for about 40 years. Her family and friends gathered together to remember her in prayer, to shed tears of grief and to comfort one another with faith that defined my friend’s life.

Mourning connects us at the deepest level of our existence. The first reading for today’s Mass reminds us that there is grace in mourning. For those who believe that all life is sacred, a gift from our Loving God, then the earthly loss of a life here on earth is to be mourned “as one grieves over a firstborn.”

My sister is a Bereavement Minister at a parish. Every week and every month, she comforts the dying and consoles those who come to pay their last respects. Sometimes she is called to console large families with a good number of friends. Other times, there is only a few who gather. Some who come are clearly bothered and unattached to the reality of dying. And yet, she is there, caring and praying and wiping away the tears of those who mourn. It does not matter if this dying person belongs to the parish or not, if he or she is well known or not, if they are poor or wealthy. Death comes to all and she mourns for them all.

Death touches our lives every day. Most of the time, it is the death of strangers and at other times, those who have been part of our historical journey. We hear about the deaths of immigrants crossing waters or crossing deserts. We hear about many dying at one time, and the many who die, one at a time, in every state and every country.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls us to mourn for his death on the Cross. We are called “to look upon him whom they have pierced” so we can mourn him. From his side will flow “a fountain to purify from sin and uncleanness.” And on the third day, our mourning will turn into Easter Joy.

In our second reading, Paul says, “Through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus.” May our mourning be a sacred mourning, a moment of grace, a moment of communion with our God of Life and the person who died, regardless of the place and circumstances of death.

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus teach us how to love every one of his brothers and sisters, our brothers and sisters!

Fr. Clemente Barrón, C.P. is a member of Christ the King Community in Citrus Heights, California. 

Scripture:

2 Kings 2:1, 6-14
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Reflection:

The scriptures always make us think. Who is the most powerful person in the world today?  Is it the man who lives in the White House and who flies around in Air Force One?  If we reflect on our reading from 2 Kings we might wonder. For it is not King Ahab, the ruler of the northern kingdom of Israel that is praised, but Elijah the prophet. He is the one who speaks to God and for God and he is the one who has the power. The symbol of his power is his simple cloth mantle which he rolls up and uses to strike the water of the River Jordan. The river divides and Elijah and Elisha cross over on dry land.

The dialog that follows is instructive. Elijah is ready to do anything for Elisha. But his servant only asks for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. The request is honored as Elisha sees Elijah taken up into heaven in a whirlwind. There on the ground is Elijah’s mantle. Elisha picks it up and strikes the water of the Jordan which divides. There is still a prophet in Israel.

Centuries later Jesus will speak of Elijah’s return in the person of John the Baptist, the voice that was crying out in the wilderness. We must believe that God always sends his people the prophet they need.

 

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

Scripture:

1 Kings 21:17-29
Matthew 5:43-48

Reflection:

Over the past few days, and especially the powerful readings that shaped the Liturgy of the Word this past Sunday and again today, have been leading us into a mystery that is so often overlooked in contemporary society.  Far from eschewing the old “an eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth” philosophy, from the looks of things in modern society we seem to be embracing this “gotta get even” way of thinking more than ever before.  How distant and alien this is from the radically new and transformative message of Jesus that we must forgive others as we hope to be forgiven ourselves; indeed, that we must love not only those who love us but we must love and forgive even our enemies!

Certainly in all the years of preaching retreats and speaking with literally thousands of men and women from all backgrounds, the topic of forgiveness is one of the major issues that good, loving people find themselves dealing with in daily life.  And, not surprisingly, they find it to be one of the hardest things in fully living their call to follow Jesus faithfully.  Because life’s hurts and disappointments come again and again living this Gospel message of pardon and forgiveness is one of the greatest challenges we all face in fulfilling this radical message of the Gospel.

Countless books have been written from a variety of perspectives about how to forgive those who have wronged us.  There is no easy way.  Frequently I find myself reminding the good people who come to St. Paul of the Cross Retreat Center in Detroit that forgiveness is an act of the will, not simply an emotional surrender or easing up of initial pain and hurt at a feeling level.  Consequently, as a decision that we consciously make, it sometimes has to be repeated over and over again, even as we remember life’s hurts and the feelings that accompany those memories come flooding back into our hearts.  Often, as we relive painful events in our lives, and because we re-experience those emotions, too, we then judge ourselves as having failed to truly forgive the other, and, consequently, failed to fulfill the commandment given us by Jesus himself.  Yet, the truth is, as long as I make that conscious decision to forgive, to surrender the hurt and pain, and as long as I reiterate that choice over and over again, surely the forgiveness asked of us by the Lord has been met and lived out in our life as a disciple and follower of Jesus.  The peace that we offer the other should fill our own hearts as well and we should not be misled by memories and emotions that can wreak havoc if we forget what is really and truly at the heart of forgiveness.

The concluding words of Jesus in our Gospel passage make it very clear that the kind of forgiveness Jesus asks of us is radical, so very difficult to achieve.  Yet, in following his example, we do far more than what the pagans do, we love even those whose lives are devoid of forgiveness, mercy, or love.  Why, we even dare to be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect!  Imagine that!

 

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