Daily Scripture

Scripture:

1 Kings 17:1-6
Matthew 5:1-12

Reflection:

 

Opening and Using the Gifts of the Spirit

Our words may not be sufficient, but the spirit will give us words; he will make known to us all that Jesus has taught us, and will enable us to do the things that Jesus tells us are even greater than what he has done. The Spirit will be companion, advocate; source of life and joy.

The Beatitudes of Matthew teach us to live every day as if we possess the fulfillment of the kingdom of heaven. We can live comforted, gentle when daily life calls us to be hard, merciful and with a vision of God, satisfied and happy. But still those things that take away our living of the ‘blessings’ of the Beatitudes are also at work among us. But we can draw upon Jesus victory and the fullness of the Kingdom for our strength to try and live the Kingdom now, and to try to make the Kingdom present as Jesus did. As we hear this familiar gospel of the Beatitudes proclaimed today following the Pentecost celebration, we can clearly connect the Spirit who is with us always, as our  helper and guide to draw the strength of the Kingdom into daily life.

The Old Testament reading from the First Book of Kings introduces one of the most important figures of the Old Testament: the prophet Elijah, and with him some great stories! He will uphold the worship of the God of Israel against the worship of Baal; as a one-man army he takes on the wicked Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, who introduces this worship. Elijah, as a prophet is called to listen to God’s word. But he will also be taught how to do that. He is a victorious warrior but he also gives up and asks to die, a request God dismisses when he reminds Elijah that he did not do all that he did just by his own talent! ‘Go back to work, Elijah, and stop complaining (even though an army is chasing you) you work for me’. And Elijah is a man of prayer, the dialogue type between God and himself, one that speaks of injustice, the poor, failure, endurance over the long haul, intimacy and surrender. God’s voice comes to us in all of these situations of live also, we can ask the Holy Spirit to manifest the gifts we are given so we can open and use them as we need them in these situations of daily life.

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

Scripture:

1 Kings 17:17-24
Galatians 1:11-19
Luke 7:11-17

Reflection:

Are you one of those people who seem to lack patience?  Have you ever prayed for patience but didn’t seem to get what you prayed for?  I’ve never made any steps forward by praying for patience.  Usually I just end up in situations which publicly remind me of how impatient I am.  In my life I’ve discovered not to pray for patience but to pray for compassion.  Simply put, when I am more compassionate, I am more patient.  Moreover, as we look into scripture, compassion is a significant part of God’s divine energy and it is the healing power of Christ.

As we look at the readings today, there are two parallel stories.  The story in First Kings is a prophet (Elijah) who goes to the home of a widow whose son falls sick and dies. Elijah prays over him that the life breath may return to the boy and the child is revived.   The similar story in the Gospel has another widow who loses her son.  Luke states that he is a man, not a child as in the first story.  Jesus, being the man of God, steps forward, touches the coffin and commands the son to arise.   With this the people begin glorifying God and call Jesus a great prophet.     Jesus, as well as the crowds in the Gospel story, certainly would have known well the accounts of Elijah.   So would many of the readers of Luke’s gospel.    And if Elijah can bring the dead back to life, then so too can Jesus who we claim to be greater than Elijah.

When you look at these stories what catches your attention?  Perhaps it is the details around how the “miracle” happens?  Or is it the healing power of the holy man?  Who in the story do you find yourself identifying with: the widow, the holy man, or the son?  If you take a closer look, both stories have the holy man concerned with the widow, but is it only the need to do something about her grief?   Luke suggests not.  This son, he says, is her only son.  Why is this significant?  This is a widow.  She has no husband.  She lives in a very patriarchal society where men have all the rights and women don’t have any rights.  For her to lose her son is for her to lose the only connection she would have in her society which would give her identity, voice, status, rights or even a legal advocate.  When Jesus sees how this woman is so deeply torn, Luke says he was moved with pity.  He is moved in the very core of his being.  And he must do something about the situation.  Both stories are about the power of compassion, the need to do something about the situation that brings life.

Here we are in this time after Easter where we focused on resurrection and new life.  Liturgically we are beyond both Ascension and Pentecost which means Jesus has ascended to his Father and sent us his Spirit. Thus the question we are left with is how do we discover the power of compassion to do something about the situations that need more life?  I have witnessed some remarkable things parents have done out of love and compassion for their children.  But rather than start with remarkable things, perhaps we can start with a small yet significant thing.  How do we bring compassion into the areas of our hearts where we are so judgmental towards others? I’m reminded almost daily how judgments which we hold against one another rob us of so much happiness. The Dali Lama said, “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.  If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”

Fr. David Colhour, C.P. is the pastor of St. Agnes Parish in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Scripture:

Ezekiel 34:11-16
Romans 5:5b-11
Luke 15:3-7

Reflection:

There is so much to rejoice over in the readings today! I am feeling very blessed to be a child of God – even if He does compare us to sheep! The language is so rich and comforting – God Himself will pasture us. He will give us rest. He will seek out the lost and bring back the strays. He will bind up the injured, heal the sick, and lead us to good pastures! I imagine myself laying in a beautiful green meadow with Jesus nearby keeping an eye on me. . . and my heart is content.

In the second reading He reminds us that He paid the ultimate price for us by laying down His life for us even while we were sinners. We don’t deserve His love or salvation, but He gives it to us anyway. He is not only a good shepherd, he is the BEST shepherd! I imagine arriving at heaven’s gate one day to meet Him face to face. . . and my heart is grateful.

In the Gospel acclamation, He reminds us that He knows us and that we can know Him. Again I am grateful because God wants us to know Him and walk with Him and live and move and have our being in Him. He is a personal God, not one who is far off and unreachable.

Finally in the Gospel He tells us again that He will leave the 99 to go find one who is lost. Thank you Lord for loving us so much! We lift up all those today who are lost and pray that if we can help them find their way back to Your love, You will show us. Thank you Lord! We love you!

 

Janice Carleton and her husband Jim live in Portland, OR and partner with Passionist Fr. Cedric Pisegna in Fr. Cedric Ministries. She is the mother of 4 grown children and grandmother of 6. Janice also leads women’s retreats and recently published her second book: God IS with Us. Visit Janice’s website at http://www.janicecarleton.com/ or email her at [email protected].

Scripture:

2 Timothy 2:8-15
Mark 12:28-34

Reflection:

As we come to the end of the school year in the United States, those who have been students this past year, at any level, are attending graduations, preparing for summer school, dreaming about vacations, and looking for jobs to earn some money to help enjoy summer and prepare for a new school year or the start of a new career.

Some parents are probably wondering where the year went, how their children have grown, and grown-up so manifestly; maybe even trying to help their children make crucial decisions about the next school year.

As a Passionist with many nieces and nephews, grand-nieces and -nephews, I find myself sharing in the family engagement with the end of the school year.

That is why today’s readings seemed so timely for me as I was congratulating my grand-niece Erika on her passage out of eighth grade and into high school. The wisdom of the scriptures that I wish she would take with her into high school is richly described by St Paul in the first reading.

Paul writes to Timothy out of a prison, where he senses that his days will be coming to an end. His relationship with Timothy was both as close friend and mentor; which means that now that Paul senses that his life is coming to an end, he offers some advice which he not only understood, but which he has lived. This advice is relevant today for a younger person setting out to engage the world. They are words which Paul might have woven into a Graduation Address, had he lived in our day and been invited to speak to a graduating class.

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David: such is my Gospel, for which I am suffering….If we have died with him we shall also live with him; if we persevere we shall also reign with him.  Those of us who have been baptized into the body of Christ, are baptized into his death, but have also been raised with Him, which means that we share in every person’s suffering so as to witness to the Resurrection which redeems any and all suffering. We endure suffering because we shall ultimately transcend it; we endure suffering because it generates compassion for all who suffer. Paul did not walk away from his mission as an apostle when he endured so many hardships on account of it; rather, he drew strength from Christ and the Community of the Church, and continued his missionary life.

To those students who are setting out on their life’s journey, I offer them the wisdom of Paul, to pursue one’s mission in life, no matter how much we may have to endure suffering of all kinds; we know that nothing, no suffering, can separate us from the love of God and the Resurrection of Christ.

 

Fr. Arthur Carrillo, C.P.  is the director of the Missions for Holy Cross Province.  He lives in Chicago, Illinois.  

Memorial of Saint Justin Martyr

Scripture:

2 Timothy 1:1-3, 6-12
Mark 12:18-27

Reflection:

Many years ago when I was a Passionist seminarian studying philosophy in our Chicago monastery on Harlem Avenue, one of our “tasks” as students was to take turns in the evening visiting our elderly and retired members who lived in the small infirmary attached to the monastery.  Sometimes this meant simply sitting quietly by as one of our venerable members took a nap—at other times we heard an account of their latest aches and pains.  Among the visits I still cherish the most were the times I could spend with Fr. William Westhoven.  Fr. Bill had been a long-time missionary to China and had suffered there when the Communist government took over.  He was one of those people who always seemed to be full of energy and zeal, no matter how fragile his health became.  Sitting with him and hearing his mission stories always ended up being a pep talk, urging me and my fellow young Passionists to persevere in our vocations and to get ready to get out there and preach the gospel!

I thought of Fr. Bill, who has long since gone to his heavenly reward, when I read the selection from Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy that is the first reading for today’s liturgy.   Scholars debate whether Paul himself wrote this letter or whether it was penned sometime after Paul’s death by a loyal disciple writing in his name.  In any case, the whole letter and especially this passage presents Paul speaking tenderly and with great encouragement to Timothy, his young co-worker who accompanied Paul on his missionary journeys.

Paul addresses Timothy affectionately as “my dear child” and states that he is “grateful to God” for Timothy and remembers him “constantly in my prayers, night and day.”  Most of all, Paul wants to encourage his young protégé.  He reminds him “to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.”  Paul transmits his own sturdy and courageous spirit when he reminds Timothy that “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.”  Therefore, one should “not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord” and “bear your share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God.”

Paul recalls gratefully his own vocation as a “preacher and Apostle and teacher.”  Paul is willing—as in fact was the case—to suffer for the sake of his ministry because of the strength that God gave him: “…I am not ashamed, for I know him in whom I have believed and am confident that God is able to guard what has been entrusted to me until that [final] day.”

The early church kept this letter and circulated it because of its beautiful portrayal of Paul as he faced the end of his days as the great Apostle to the Gentiles.  At the conclusion of the letter Paul would speak peacefully as he neared the end of his life: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”  But beyond the letter’s portrayal of Paul and his care for Timothy, the early Christians wanted to take to heart the strength and encouragement of Paul’s words.  No matter what our role may be—lay person, religious or priest—God has given us the same gift as he did to Paul and Timothy, to live and proclaim the gospel, and to do so with courage—in Paul’s words, with “power and love and self-control.”

 

Fr. Donald Senior, C.P. is President Emeritus and Professor of New Testament at Catholic Theological Union.  He lives at the Passionist residence in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago.

The Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Scripture:

Zephaniah 3:14-18a or
Romans 12:9-16
Luke 1:39-56

Reflection:

If you’re at all like me, you’ll have asked yourself The Question: “What is my purpose?  Why am I here?  Why was I born?”  I suppose that’s the question most often asked of Spiritual Advisors and religious leaders by seekers.  Part of our journey seems to be the ever-evolving focus of our vocation.  I know that what I wanted when I was 20 was vastly different when I hit 30.  And 40.  And…

I’m relatively certain most of us know today’s passage from the Gospel of Luke.  After hearing the news from the angel that she would give birth to the Messiah, Mary traveled “in haste” from Nazareth to the house of her cousin Elizabeth and her husband, Zechariah, which was in a village in the hill country of Judea. When Mary arrived, she found her elderly cousin also pregnant.

There are so many moments in this passage about which I could write.  Elizabeth was thought barren, but was now carrying John the Baptist.  And Mary, in the midst of a very interesting marital situation, has a heavenly messenger tell her she’s carrying the Son of God.  Both of these women were in the middle of truly miraculous pregnancies, having had remarkable and world-changing encounters with God.  And then there’s the fact that, in those days, the lengthy and difficult journey for someone entering her  (probably) 2^nd trimester could have been disastrous.  Or that God inspired Mary to go on this journey and be with her family.  And what about Elizabeth’s greeting to Mary? “Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice, ‘Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.  And how does it happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?’” Mary’s response is equally amazing, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord…” which we now pray as the Magnificat.

Such wonder, richness, and depth.

But there’s something else in this passage… something that hit me like a ton of bricks.  It happens just as the mother of the Messiah approaches the mother of the Forerunner – at the very moment Mary’s greeting was heard – John leaped for joy in Elizabeth’s womb.

1^st Peter 1:8 explains it pretty well…

“Though you have not seen him, you love him;
and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him
and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.”

It kind of made me chuckle a little bit as I was reminded of that age-old question, “What is my purpose in life?”  Even before his birth, John the Baptist was pointing the way to Christ.

And so I found myself reflecting again on my own vocation and how it’s evolved in my 45 years on this planet.  What is it that God has been calling me to grow into?  I’m a composer and performer, writer and speaker, liturgist and minister, husband and father – a laborer in this small part of God’s vineyard – and what an amazing gift it continues to be for me.  And that’s not all… on another level I’m a counselor and confidant, spiritual guide and companion on the journey, meeting people where they are and hoping that, in some small way, I can help them see God’s presence in their own lives.

That’s when the light went off in my head.  That’s what Mary did.  She brought Christ to Elizabeth and John.  She brought Christ to the world.  And Elizabeth and John recognized Christ within Mary.  Ok, sure… Jesus was literally “within Mary” at the time, but I know you get my point.

All the items I do in life have one thing in common… they all are designed to reveal Christ to the world, and to help lead people into a deeper relationship with God.  And that’s not all… in doing that I also am reminded to look for the face of God in everyone I meet and every experience of every day.  And, friends, that’s a challenging order to fill.

Today’s Gospel uncovers that all of us have a “bottom-line” vocation – that we are all called to be like Mary and bring Christ to our world, and to be like John the Baptist and point the way to the Saving Lord.  In all we do, and all we experience, God is there, and we are called to see Him, to announce Him.  This quote from St. John Chrysostom of John the Baptist can certainly be considered a solid and unmistakable blueprint for our own lives:

He has not yet left the womb but he speaks by leaping; he is not yet allowed to cry out but he makes himself heard by his actions; he has not yet seen the light but he points out the Sun.”

So I’ve replaced “Why am I here?” with much less simple questions I now ask myself instead.  Let’s take a moment and ask them of ourselves together right now:

Who have you been Christ to today?
Who has been Christ to you today?
How have I failed in these?

Dear God of all, thank you for the gift of your most precious presence. Grant us the grace to see you in the face of every person we encounter, and to be the face Christ to every person we meet. Amen.

Paul Puccinelli is Director of Liturgy & Music at St. Rita Parish in Sierra Madre, California, and a member  of the retreat team at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center.

Scripture:

2 Peter 1:2-7
Mark 12:1-12

Reflection:

There is a lot of violence in today’s gospel.  Jesus gives a parable about the owner of a vineyard sending his servants to obtain produce from the tenants.  But the tenants seize the servants, beat them and even kill some of them.  Finally, the owner sends his son, and the tenants kill him, too.

Jesus addressed this parable to the chief priests, the scribes and the elders, and they knew he was talking about them.  It is easy for us to say, “Oh, those bad guys,” and to dismiss this parable as not applying to us.

But then in the background we hear Jesus’s words, “Whatsoever you do to the least of my people, you do to me” (Matthew 25:40).  And we hang our heads in shame.  For our world is filled with people being seized, beaten and killed.  From abortion to war, from rape to road rage, from school shootings to suicide bombings, violence abounds all over the earth.  Even a five minute sampling of the daily news shows us the Passion of Jesus going on today.

The Incarnation, Jesus becoming a human being, was God’s way of shouting to us that the human body fashioned by the Creator is holy and beautiful.  It is to be reverenced, cared for and enjoyed.  If we deeply felt that, I believe we would be less inclined to physically hurt ourselves or others, less inclined to bully or insult others, and less inclined to misuse our bodies in overwork and overeating.

In short, we would be less inclined to violence.  Instead, there would stepped-up efforts to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and give drink to the thirsty.  There would be stepped-up efforts to improve sanitation, provide quality education and decent housing.  There would be stepped-up efforts to share good art, music and literature. There would be a greater commitment to unity and peace among nations.

Bodies hurt; bodies cry; bodies die.  Bodies also laugh, dance and hug.  The Church and its spiritual leaders should lead the way in the graceful celebration of human life, — soul, mind and body.  The care of the earth begins with the care of the human person.  “Laudauto Si’,mi’ Sigore,” — “Praised be to thee, my lord.”

Fr. Alan Phillip, C.P. is a member of the Passionist Community at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California. http://www.alanphillipcp.com/

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Scripture:

Genesis 14:18 – 20
1 Corinthians 11: 23 – 26
Luke 9: 11 – 17

Reflection:

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. What a great feast to remember when Jesus took ordinary bread and wine and changed it into his own Body and Blood to nourish our souls and to connect us all the more with him. In the readings today bread is being used in a blessing, a remembrance, and as food for the hungry.

In the Ancient Jewish tradition bread and wine are blessed as a way to begin the Sabbath or Shabbat. The challah is baked at home and is traditionally six strands of dough braided together. It is a reminder of blessings received from the six days of work and uniting them with our lives. The bread is broken with the hands and a knife is not used because it is seen as a symbol of violence. Wine symbolizes joy and life. The blessing of the wine is recited first out of respect for the sacrifice that the poor makes to have wine. Bread and wine are present when Melchizedek blesses Abram (Abraham) and thanks God. Simple items prepared and presented simply to give a blessing and thanksgiving.

In what ways has God blessed me? How might I be a blessing to others?

Each time we attend the Celebration of the Eucharist we remember Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection. We bring our own sufferings, blessings and thanksgivings to the celebration. The men, women and children who had gathered to hear Jesus’ message also brought their sufferings, blessings, and thanksgivings. Many of them were most likely very hungry and may not have had anything to eat that day. Imagine sitting in a group and listening to Jesus’ words then one of his followers brings a basket around and hands out bread and fish to everyone. Shock and joy must have filled their hearts over the plentitude of fish and bread and “They all ate and were satisfied” They heard the Word and shared an extraordinary feast from five loaves of bread and two fish.

Today we hear the Word and share in an extraordinary feast where we have the opportunity to be with others who share our faith and to have hope in the promises of Christ by feeding ourselves spiritually through the Body and Blood of Christ.

Do I take time to prepare myself for the Celebration of the Eucharist?

“They all ate and were satisfied”

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