Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Jude 17, 20b-25
Mark 11:27-33

Reflection:

The message from the Letter of Jude is somewhat of a mystery.  We know almost nothing about who wrote it, to whom it was written, when it was written, and what it is really addressing.  It seems the author is reminding us, the faithful, of the importance of staying faithful to the message preached by the apostles of the mercy and love of God.  We are cautioned to be wary of false prophets who stir up angst and unrest and work against the message of love and mercy proclaimed by our Lord, Jesus Christ.

At times it seems like our lives are inundated with false prophets, broken promises, untruths and unrealistic messages.

What is a person of faith to do!!!!

As people of faith, we are called to stay true to our belief that the love of God and mercy of our Lord, Jesus Christ will overshadow this dark cloud of fear, mistrust, arrogance, bullying and meanness that seems to pervade our very existence at times. It is at times like these that we are called to stand up for our values and beliefs that make us the people God created us to be.

Our parish community of Saint Agnes is aflame with the excitement of the new Pentecost as witnessed in the Acts of the Apostles. There is no place for the unrest and angst that pervades the world around us.  With excitement and determination we continue to preach gospel values and try to live them out in these ways….  We are about a capital campaign that will enable us to better serve our parish community as well as the broader community around us. We are following the admonition of Pope Francis in settling a refugee family later this summer and we are making room in our school to meet the growing needs of pre-school children in our area.

In all of this we take hope in the closing doxology of the Letter of Jude.

“To the one who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished and exultant, in the presence of this glory, to the only God, our savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power and authority from ages past, now, and for ages to come.”  Amen.

Down with false prophets! Up with dreamers and visionaries!  Hope in the Lord!

ALWAYS!!!!

Theresa Secord is a Pastoral Associate at St. Agnes Parish, Louisville, Kentucky.

 

Scripture:

1 Peter 4:7-13
Mark 11:11-26

Reflection:

“Above all, let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” My new friend “Harriet” recently showed me how to use a gift to serve one another.

Harriet hugs people. She seeks out homeless individuals in the city of Louisville, asks them if they would like a hug, and if they say yes, she hugs them. She seeks out not just those who are at shelters, cleaned up and warm. She specifically looks for those who are not cleaned up, often sick, and not yet clear of the smells of city streets. Harriet is in her eighties, frail with age yet strong with love.

I heard Harriet speak about her ministry last week at a meeting of the Louisville Compassionate ElderCounsel. I, and all those present, were humbled by her wonderful ministry, so appreciated by the recipients of her hugs. One of them told her “No one wants to hug me. This means so much to me.”

Harriet is a great model for seniors. We seniors tend to think we have nothing to offer once we are not able to minister to others in the ways we used to in the past. We sometimes forget that the source of our ministry comes from deep inside our relationship with God. We all have gifts. Harriet’s gift comes from her experience of the meaning of a hug she received as a child. Now she uses the experience to express God’s love to others.

Today would be a good day to reflect on our own gift. How do we share the gift we have received from our own experience of God’s love in our life? As Passionists, how do we take the gift we experience at the foot of the Cross and serve others, no matter if we are ten years old or ninety?

Terry McDevitt, Ph.D. is a member of the Passionist Family in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

1 Peter 1:18-25
Mark 10:32-45

Reflection:

Once again I hear the challenge and love of Pope Francis, encouraging us to move from the center (where power dwells) to the periphery (where we are called to serve). And Jesus reminds his disciples (you and me) that princes of this world use power to dominate, but it can’t be that way for Jesus’ followers.

Last week I directed a retreat for (mostly retired) religious women. The Sisters might seem frail or fragile to the spectator, but their histories are anything but! Several of them spend fifteen or twenty years in West Africa as foreign missionary educators. One spoke to me of founding a school/home for unwed mothers because the high school had a policy of expelling any pregnant girl and forbade her getting a diploma. (“Why not the boy?” she questioned!) So she made sure the girls had the opportunity to complete their course work and graduate. Another Sister shared the privilege of working with refugees in Minnesota. I stand in awe at their conviction, their commitment, their courage.

It seems to me that we need not waste our time anxiously pondering diminishment of resources (finances or personnel in church and religious life and vocations) when we can revel in the kingdom God is building now, much like the disciples in today’s Gospel, full of “wonderment”!

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.

Scripture:

1 Peter 1:10-16
Mark 10:28-31

 

Reflection:

Leaving and Following Jesus

Peter began to say to Jesus, “We have given up everything and followed you.” Peter gives all of us a good outline on discipleship with Jesus by using the two important words of leaving all and following Jesus.

First we must leave all in the sense that we must trim away anything that detracts away from being a productive member of Christ’s body.  My father had over 100 rose bushes in his yard.  To keep them in constant bloom I had to help him cut away branches at five leaf connections so the plant could produce more buds rather than more leaves!  Jesus talks about this.

“Prune away the shoots, for they do not belong to the Lord” Jeremiah 5:10

1. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes a so that it will be even more fruitful. 3. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.”  John 15

Secondly Peter speaks about following Jesus.  The Scripture speaks 76 times of following Jesus.  The word in Greek for follow is akoloutheo which means on the road.  It has different nuances. “To walk the same road”; “On road with Jesus”.  Discipleship means accompanying Jesus on a journey.  We must keep moving but never out of sight of Jesus!  It is the simple wisdom of the Gospel to cleave to Christ for light, warmth, and healing.

The Detroit zoo has a wonderful exhibit for Snow Monkeys.  They always follow another Snow Monkey!  They keep going around a hill in a circle getting nowhere!  Jesus is “the Way”

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

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity 

Scripture:

Proverbs 8:22-31
Romans 5:1-5
John 16:12-15

Reflection:

I have had many occasions to drive on the Schuykill Expressway through Philadelphia, PA.  Almost always, as one approaches the “Conshohocken Curve” on the expressway, one is stopped dead and then locked into stop and go traffic for twenty to thirty minutes.  Once one gets past the curve, traffic flows freely again.  There is never an apparent reason for the stop and go traffic and no one ever discovers the reason for the slow down.  I once was bringing an elderly priest to Wills Eye Hospital in that city.  Once past the curve he remarked, “It’s amazing.  Understanding this slow-down rivals the Mystery of the Trinity.”

Our Solemnity today is a celebration of God as God is.  Our God is three divine persons in one God.  How we attempt to reflect upon this great mystery of our faith can tie us up in knots.  Perhaps we need to begin by remembering this is a Mystery of faith.  Mathematics and logic have a wonderful roll to play in human life but do not reach to the realms of One God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Our scriptures can lead the way for us.  The very beautiful personification of Wisdom from the Book of Proverbs speaks to us of God and the divine ways from before the dawn of creation.  The Father, God’s Word, and the Spirit experience such intimacy that it overflows into the creation of the universe, the earth and humanity itself.  From the beginning of time, our Triune God is with us, surrounding us with divine love and purpose.  Paul reminds us in the letter to the Romans that God, through, with and in Jesus and in the power of the Spirit, has blessed us with faith which sustains us in the joys of life and even in the times of affliction.  As a matter of fact, the afflictions, lived out in faith, actually produces hope that informs our living.  How do we recognize this ?  We see and understand it because of the love of God has been poured out into our hearts with Jesus in the power of the Spirit.  Paul gives us a great message of consolation and encouragement here.  Even though we may not be able to articulate the Mystery of the Blessed Trinity, we actually live in the mystery.  We have a God who is Three Persons who does not live aloof from all that has been created.  That would be contrary to the very act of creation itself which flowed from divine love.  Loving, for God, means to be present, to be involved, to live in and around God’s most precious creation – the hearts of human persons.  Rather than aloof, our God has chosen to live in the closest union with us possible.  In our faith, we call this the divine indwelling of the Blessed Trinity which is given us in Baptism.

Saint John reminds us in our gospel reading that because of the presence of the Trinity in our hearts, God continuously invites us to a deeper experience of the Divine Presence within, to hear  God speaking to us, to see God acting on our behalf in life’s circumstances, and to find a deepening understanding of God’s revealing love as it is continuously poured out into our lives.   Our Triune God has chosen to be intimately bonded with us in life and for life.  God walks with us here and leads us to the pathways of the eternal Kingdom.  This not only makes God very special, it makes us very special in God’s eyes.  Our solemnity today, then, is a special celebration of an amazing God who provides for us  an amazing source of love and encouragement in our everyday life.

On the feast of the Trinity, I am reminded of a music teacher’s attempt to wrap her mind around the mystery of the Trinity.  She did so by having her students sing a “round” like Three Blind Mice.  I always smile too myself remembering this was the “round” practiced by the new boys’ choir in Going My Way that drove the Pastor to the Bishop’s office to have his new musical, assistant pastor transferred out of his hair.  The teacher, however, took the time to reflect on the ONE song sung in THREE timings which created a melodious dynamism that could last forever and give birth to great beauty.

I am not a musician but she helped me to think about our God in a creative, intriguing and fun way.  May we always be willing to reflect on the Mystery of our God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, remembering that our God has chosen to be with us always, and celebrating God’s love for us.

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:

James 5:13-20
Mark 10:13-16

Reflection:

“Then he embraced the children and blessed them, placing his hands on them.” Mark 10:16

Both readings and the responsorial psalm today are about praying. This seems very fitting to me as we are invited and encouraged to deepen our prayer lives. I was especially drawn to the last line of the gospel today because I love the idea of laying hands on our children and blessing them.

When our kids were little, we started doing that after we attended a family church camp. At camp we were taught to make the sign of the cross on the child’s forehead, lay our hands on their head, and then pray a simple prayer for them. We practiced at camp, on adults as well as children, and it is still one of my favorite experiences… having someone lay their hands on my head and pray for me!

You can’t bless your children too much! Just the power of touch has been studied, and affirmed. What a wonderful way to remind your kids that God is with them and that you love them no matter what! We prayed over our children through the years when they were sick or when they had something big coming up at school. When they got to high school, we prayed with them for tests, and whenever they were driving anywhere. We even blessed the van they drove back and forth to school and activities.

Because the Lord has no hands now on earth except ours, I truly believe that when we bless someone in this way, the Lord is touching them through our hands. We can pray for anyone, not just children, and be an instrument to let the Lord bless others through us. What a privilege we have to pray for one another. May we be willing to let the Lord use us in this way whenever we have the opportunity. Just do it!

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 wrote her first book: God Speaks to Ordinary People – Like You and Me. Visit Janice’s website at http://www.janicecarleton.com/ or email her at [email protected].

Scripture:

James 5: 9-12
Mark 10: 1-12

Reflection:

 Are you all in?  Are you fully invested in following Jesus?  That seems to be a continuing question being raised in the liturgical readings for the past week.  In the letter of James we have consistently been given advice about what it means to live a fully Christian life.  We have been advised not to complain or enter into bitter jealousy and selfish ambition.  Nor should we covet or rely on our earthly possessions.  Rather we should draw near to God and be pure, peaceable, gentle and compliant, full of mercy and good fruits.  We are called to endure hardships patiently and to persevere in following Jesus.

The various accounts from the Gospel of John have also challenged us about what it means to follow Christ.  Christ testified that anything can be accomplished if our faith is strong enough though the hardness of our hearts often keeps us from understanding what Christ is trying to show us.  When Jesus tells his disciples that he will be killed yet will rise again on the third day, they don’t “understand…and are afraid to ask him any questions.”  In response to their desire to “be first,” he says the way to being first is to be last and the servant of all.  Jesus further says that they must remove any obstacle that keeps them from being faithful even if it’s a valuable part of their bodies!  And in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that it is their “hardness of heart” that kept Moses from teaching the sacredness of their commitment in marriage.  Throughout this entire week, we have been challenged over and over again to assess the depth of our commitment to Christ.

It isn’t hard to recognize ourselves in some of the attitudes that James condemns and in some of the virtues he recommends.   It’s also true that most of us haven’t achieved the purity of heart into which Jesus continues to invite us.  So we continue to trust that Christ will show us mercy by patiently transforming us as we struggle to follow him.

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

Scripture:

James 5:1-6
Mark 9:41-50

Reflection:

O Lord, I trust in your merciful love. My heart will rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord who has been bountiful with me.  (Psalm 13:6) Entrance Antiphon

Earlier this week, I received a call from a dear friend telling me that her elderly sister was in intensive care and that the doctors were considering a simple but serious procedure to better her condition. The older we get, the more aware we become of the life-threatening conditions we face in life.

We wish that life could be filled with just good stuff, that we didn’t have to recognize the reality of sin, sickness and death as integral to everyone’s life. What the Scripture today tells me is that while everyone faces the darkness of sin and is tempted to sin, we are not alone. Our God has overcome sin and death!

These reading from James and Mark were serious reminders that all life, especially eternal life, comes at a cost to our sinful selves. While the benefits to living a faithful and committed Christian life are well known, the actual living it day in and day out is no so easy. They are sobering readings, but they are not without hope.

Everyone who is serious about life, especially eternal life, is keenly aware that we are made in the image and likeness of God. We are aware that God is God and we are God’s creation. Our lives have a beginning and they have an end. We are born, and then, at some point in time, we die. As Job reminds us, “Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall go back again. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:29)

But how we want to live our lives, how we want to be remembered, is left pretty much up to us. We cannot do anything about our heritage, our parents, our country of origin and the day we were born. Those are given. But we can decide if we want to live a virtuous life or not. We do not need to be prisoners of our environment, of our age and time. We can aspire for the greater gifts, for a life virtue and a life of good deeds, even though we may need to take a road less traveled.

Is it easy to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily? Of course not. But does God give us the personal grace and the community of faith to do so? Yes, God does!

If these readings for today’s Mass were the only ones we had to live by, then we may be tempted to think that the Christian way of life is all too difficult, too hard to live. But Jesus gives us a context to these readings when he says: “Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.” (Mark 9:41). God enables us to do the good, to pick up our cross and follow Jesus, his Son, our Crucified Lord. The beautiful words with which we began this Mass, uplifts us and sustain us in the time of temptation: “O Lord, I trust in your merciful love.” (Psalm 13:6)

Yes, our God is Kind and Merciful!

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