Daily Scripture

Scripture:

James 4:13-17
Mark 9:38-40

Reflection:

Driving out demons. If any theme fascinates Hollywood – and often leaves us on the edge of our seats as we watch late night television – it is that of some kind of battle with evil forces! Forces that initially seem powerful and malevolent and are intent on waging some kind of war on humankind. Added to this is the sub-theme usually accompanying the major one of the few against a force that is powerful and lurking with evil intent.

Perhaps in the same way we could be distracted by the setting of today’s gospel reading – albeit that it too speaks to us of the eternal contest between good and evil. We could restrict ourselves to a meditation on that great drama being played out across time and history – the struggle of good to overcome evil – a struggle in which Jesus Christ is the ultimate victor.

However, let us go beyond this and see today’s gospel in a way that is more immediate and speaks to our inner life just as importantly as to the outer world in which we live.

The context is clear – the disciples try to prevent someone driving out demons because he is not a ‘recognized’ follower of Jesus. He is not part of their movement. In this they want to adopt a judgmental stance and impose some kind of ‘exclusivity’ upon the mission of Jesus, and at the same time highlight the benefit of being with the inner circle of followers.

Perhaps their stance is easy enough to recognize and even understand; indeed we all acquainted with the idea that some boundaries are needed around any organisation or movement so that it has coordination, direction, purpose and consistency.

But the lesson to be learned is more subtle. In excluding others, not on the basis of their good works, but on the basis of their official ‘status’ the disciples want to add the dimension of ‘exclusivity’ or perhaps ‘ownership’ into the reality of their mission for, and on behalf of, Jesus. In this way they would create a kind of inner circle of privilege or relationship with Jesus.

In response to their stance, Jesus adopts a very moderate and reflective attitude. He prefers to be inclusive in his vision and to welcome the collaboration of people on the basis of their good intentions and desires. Jesus looks to the heart. If Jesus judges in the external forum then it is only on the basis of the fruits of one’s endeavors.

Perhaps then we can take this gospel to heart. Let us learn from Jesus and not rush to judgement on any basis let alone that of whether a person is ‘in’ or ‘out’ of a group or whether their ideas, life-style or belief system are akin to mine or not.

We are pushed and pulled by many forces in life today; often by forces that suggest to us strongly that we should adopt a certain position or that someone or some view is ‘wrong’ or ‘outside’ of the norm. Let us not be hasty in judging.

Like Jesus let us be reflective, reasoned and above all open so that we can give to all the benefit of the doubt until we see the fruits of their actions. “For whoever is not against us is for us.”

Fr. Denis Travers, C.P., is a member of Holy Spirit Province, Australia. He currently serves on the General Council and is stationed in Rome.

Scripture:

James 3:13-18
Mark 9:14-29

Reflection:

This short periscope in the Gospel of Mark is immediately preceded by the Transfiguration of Jesus. 

This is one of the great events in Jesus’ life.  He is accompanied by the three apostles: Peter, James, and John.  They witness the Transfiguration and the meeting of Jesus with Moses and Elijah.  Jesus asks the disciples not to tell anyone about the Transfiguration until after His resurrection.  Some commentators say the Transfiguration was intended for Jesus to sustain him in his suffering and death.  Other commentators say the Transfiguration was intended for the disciples to help them have courage to endure the sufferings and death of Jesus.

When Jesus and the disciples come down the mountain they are met by a crowd of people.  The crowd is upset with the disciples because they are unable to perform the miracles that Jesus could perform. Mark ascribed the failure of the disciples not to lack of faith, but inattention to the source of faith – prayer and fasting.

Jesus hears the voice of a man asking for help for his only child, who was possessed.  Jesus asked the father how long this has been happening?    He responded “since childhood.” Then the father says “Please help my child If you can heal him”.  Jesus seems to be taken aback by “If you can.”  Jesus says “you need faith.”  The father replies “I do have faith help my unbelief!”  Jesus heals the young man because of the father’s faith.  He assures him this is a permanent cure Satan will not enter him again. There is something poignant about this miracle.  Jesus is always attentive to the voice of His own Father, when He speaks.  Somehow the prayer of any father for his children gets a special hearing from Jesus.

The great medieval artist Raphael was born on Good Friday, April 6^th, 1485.  Raphael had a special  devotion to the Transfiguration in the life of Jesus.   He spent the last couple of years of his life trying to perfect his painting of this event. Finally, in the middle of the night he woke up  with the answer to why he could not be satisfied with the painting!  The answer he came to was that Jesus and the disciples could not stay up in the mountain, but had to come down the mountain to the people and their needs.

In other words Raphael in his finished portrayal of the Transfiguration has a young man throwing off his crutches and walking strong and strait.  He was experiencing a permanent cure.

It is very interesting that Raphael died on Good Friday, April 6, 1520, at the age of thirty-five years.

 

Fr. Ken O’Malley, C.P., is the formation director and local superior at Holy Name Passionist Community in Houston, Texas.

Pentecost Sunday

Scripture:

Acts 2:1-11
1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 or
Romans 8:8-17
John 20:19-23 or
14:15-16, 23b-26

Reflection:

The event of Pentecost is hailed as the birthday the church. It is the day the followers of Jesus burst out of the Upper Room to boldly proclaim the Risen Jesus as the long awaited Christ. Pentecost is renewed and re-presented to us in the liturgy, the “work” of the church. Let us look at the prayers we pray on Pentecost.

First and foremost we will pray that the gifts of the Holy Spirit be poured out in our time across the face of the earth and that the divine grace, at work when the gospel was first proclaimed, fill the hearts of believers (Collect for the Mass of Pentecost). In the Sequence we will sing: “Come, Holy Spirit, come! And from your celestial home shed a ray of light divine! Come, Father of the poor! Come, source of all our store! Come, within our bosoms shine.” In the responsorial psalm we will confidently proclaim: “Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.” Finally, having received our Lord and Savior in Holy Communion we pray for the Church that the “gift of the Holy Spirit poured out upon her may retain all its force” and gain for us eternal redemption.

Pope Francis recalls an old image used in the past. He says that the soul is a kind of sailboat, the Holy Spirit is the wind which fills its sails and drives it forward, and the gusts of wind are the gifts of the Holy Spirit. (Homily, May 19, 2013) May this strong driving wind fill our lives with the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

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

Scripture:

Acts 1:15-17, 20-26
John 15:9-17

Reflection:

In a beautiful way, Our Lord tells us in today’s Gospel that just as the Father loves Him, so He also loves us; a sentiment that should truly warm our hearts. We are loved by the Lord, not mankind generally, but each of us, and in a very profound way. When I sit with that thought and reflect on it, I am truly humbled.  It’s pretty amazing.  He follows that with a statement telling His disciples, and us, to remain in His love.  Telling us to stay close to Him.

While He tells us that following His commandments and loving others is the way to remain in His love, why did He need to emphasize to us that we need to remain in His love?  Did He know the temptations we would face? Did He know that we would be tempted to flee from Him and deny Him?  Did He know how much the culture would pressure us to turn from Him, distract us or how much it would drown Him out?

We all love the feeling of being close to Our Lord, but it no doubt can be a challenge in today’s world to keep ourselves strong and focused enough to remain there.  Like anything else we want in life, it takes effort to stay there.  What is our plan to remain in the love of the Lord? A full life of prayer?  Daily mass?  Frequent confession?  Spiritual direction?  Retreats?  Hopefully all of the above.

Thank goodness though that staying close to our Lord, and in His love, is not all up to us.  We have a God who does not abandon us, does not leave us on our own.  He gives us the Holy Spirit, the advocate. With the gifts of the Holy Spirit we are so much better equipped to persevere in the challenges we face to remain in the love of Our Lord.

Lately I have been including in my prayers a request that the Lord send me the Holy Spirit to guide, inspire and purify me.  Something to think about on the eve of Pentecost.  With the gifts of the Holy Spirit, I like our chances of remaining in the love of Our Lord.

Steve Walsh is a retreatant at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center in Sierra Madre , and a good friend of the Passionist Community.

Scripture:

Acts 25:13b-21
John 21:15-19

Reflection:

About five years ago I was blessed to stand on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and ponder this Gospel. In that spot stands a bronze depiction of Jesus’ commissioning of Peter to “Feed My Sheep.” It shows Jesus with an outstretched arm while Peter is brought to his knees before him.

As I reflect today, two things come to mind: Post-resurrection, I believe Peter now understands, and embraces, Jesus teaching on the Beatitudes of forgiveness and mercy; and secondly, Jesus takes a step reflective of Psalm 139:1f, “Lord, you have probed me, you know me…” He knows Peter’s need for healing, even if Peter has not yet come to this realization himself.

Jesus wants to heal Peter of the memory of his denial when he asks “do you love me?” three times. Then Jesus commissions him to “feed my sheep”. The Shepherd is entrusting his sheep to Peter.

There is a very subtle element to this exchange and that is Peter’s posture. While we understand this is not the first time Peter and Jesus have met following Peter’s denying Jesus; Peter doesn’t seem to have any remorse as he confidently declares, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you” in the shadow of his denial! In my humanity I want to ask—how could one possibly come to that understanding following your behavior, Peter? And my answer is that Peter really comes to understand Jesus’ life message of the complete and total acceptance of the merciful love of God. He doesn’t fall into humanity’s trap of un-forgiveness. He doesn’t seem to question if Jesus forgives his unforgiveable sin or –more importantly—if he forgives himself! He opens wide his heart in vulnerable trust to his Redeemer. He stands before Jesus in his nakedness—not in fear and trembling but in fully embracing his redeemed humanity, gloriously! This is transformation.  And so, before Peter strikes out in ministry, is it possible that Jesus might have been testing Peter’s convictions—his new awakening to the message of the cross and beyond? Not because he (Jesus) didn’t know everything but because Peter needed to verbalize this foundational principle?

The power of grace at work in Peter’s life is the same power at work in our own life. How many of us feel shame around our actions or inactions and do not feel worthy to approach Jesus in this shame? For most of us this may be a subtle shadow existing in the periphery of our consciousness—yet, it is still there. Psychologists tell us that rather than going away these unclaimed shameful experiences become larger out of sight. This is our humanity. Our invitation today is to step through, like Peter, and encounter Jesus’ healing of our total self so as to be an instrument of God’s merciful healing in our world.  Today, may we confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace for timely help. (Hebrews 4:16). Amen.

 

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:

Acts 22:30; 23:6-11
John 17:20-26

Reflection:

No doubt the Chief Priests and whole Sanhedrin were excited to have a chance to get Paul condemned by Roman authority but surely they must have also been a bit nervous.  After all, the top Roman military commander of their area was personally bringing Paul before them to hear their complaint.  And, the Pharisees and Sadducees had no great love for Roman authority.  But, now was their chance to get Paul condemned and hopefully executed.  So they were ready.

Paul, too, was ready.  He knew that while they were united in their desire to get him condemned, their unity was a fragile thing because there were many other issues about which they vigorously disagreed.  So, as soon as he stood before their condemning eyes, he launched his plan.  “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees; I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead.”  Resurrection of the dead was a belief firmly held by the Pharisees but hotly denied by the Sadducees.  So the in-fighting began.

The argument became so heated that the military commander grew fearful for Paul’s life so had his troops rescue Paul from the room and bring him to safety, leaving the mayhem in the Sanhedrin going full blast.

Every time I read this account of Paul’s quick thinking, it reminds me of the many internal disagreements we experience in the Church.  We have our factions and our arguments about sometimes important but often enough not essential issues.  We condemn those who don’t agree with us and sometimes treat them with disrespect and even contempt.  We wrap ourselves in our convictions and are confident that those who don’t share our every belief are unworthy.

Paul was a man of deep conviction and strong beliefs.  Yet, he could acknowledge that he had been wrong in his beliefs about Jesus and he could embrace those he had once condemned.  At first he was convinced that the followers of Jesus were heretics and should be condemned, even to death.  After his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus, he realized that Christ was the fulfillment of God’s revelation.  And that was just the beginning of the changes in his life.  He continued to grow in his understanding, changing his views on the law, moving beyond the Jewish community to the Gentiles, and recognizing in the sufferings and death of Christ the path to true life for all believers.  Paul is a remarkable example of someone with strong faith who could still really listen to the voice of God coming to him through the people in his life.

We are challenged everyday to give an account of our faith.  Unlike the Pharisees and Sadducees, we must not get caught up in internal squabbles and self-righteous condemnations of others, but give visible witness to God’s love for all peoples.   May God give us a loving heart.

 

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

Scripture:

Acts 19:1-8
John 16:29-33

 

Reflection:

The Spirit Will Bring us Peace

In our Easter readings what takes place in Acts sometimes is illustrated in what we hear Jesus say in the gospel of John. Today Paul baptizes in the name of Jesus a group of disciples who were baptized with John’s baptism of repentance. When Paul lays hands upon them they are filled with the Holy Spirit. They receive a gift, the gift that makes the absent one present.

John tells us that as we live in the in between time, after Jesus departure, the Holy Spirit will enable us to live with faith, love, joy and peace. In the confusion and challenges of life the Spirit brings the life giving presence of the absent one into our worshipping community.

Our parish school community suffered the death of a young teacher whose funeral we celebrated on the feast of the Ascension. The words of Scripture during these Easter days became very real as we hear the promise that Jesus will be with us in such sorrow.

Jesus gives glory to the Father as he loves Him and loves us even to death on the Cross, and he is also glorified. His death is victory over sin and death for us. Like Jesus we suffer many deaths, and we pass over from death with him to victory. We who are one with him are told to ask the Father anything. Ultimately at the funeral we commended our friend and third grade teacher into God’s hands, we could do no more as the thin thread that held us to her was severed. We asked God’s comfort and love to embrace her.

On the feast of the Ascension we heard the words addressed to the disciples as Jesus leaves them: as you now see him leave you, again you will see him return to you. How comforting. Jesus we see, we know, he is like us. And so one who is familiar will come back to us. Until then the one familiar, although absent, welcomes us as we come to him. The poet Gerard Manley Hopkins describes such a welcome in The Wreck of the Deutschland, Our Lord coming to take a drowning nun to himself. He comes not as a dooms-day, dark as he came, but rather as gentle as a shower on the shire, he comes royally reclaiming his own, the Christ of the Father compassionate.

All who suffer the loss of one they love themselves suffer a death. We share the cross and their death, and one with Our Lord, we share their victory. The Spirit given as a gift in Acts, the Spirit who will bring the disciples of Jesus understanding, and we, in line behind them, who await to celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit are led from death to life on the journey of our faith. Trust that what we ask in our confusion the Father who loves us as he loves the Son will give us. John tells us that we must ask the Father for what we need. The gift of the Spirit will be with us always to help and guide us. We may be at peace.

 

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

Scripture:

Acts 7:55-60
Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20
John 17:20-26
Reflection:

Today the church celebrates the Ascension of Jesus into heaven. The Ascension of Jesus is part of the fulfillment of the promises He gives to His disciples. During the Easter season we have heard Jesus telling His disciples that He has return to the Father, and then the Holy Spirit will come to them. The Ascension, then, is another point in salvation history, and another demonstration of God’s faithfulness.

As I was reflecting on Jesus’ Ascension, I found myself thinking about the “ascension” we hope to make. We don’t expect to ascend to heaven as Jesus did. But we do hope that when we leave this earth, we will be in heaven with Him.

What about between now and then? In a way, we are invited to make an “ascension” in our life now. We are called to come closer to God. We are called to be more faithful disciples of Christ. We are called to “ascend” to holiness.

This kind of ascension is not done just by looking up toward heaven. As the apostles are still looking up as Jesus leaves their sight (Acts 1:11), two angels say to them, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?” To ascend to holiness, it is true that we need to be mindful of the “things of heaven.” But we need to look at what is going on in the world with our brothers and sisters and indeed with all of creation, and respond with the love of Jesus Christ.

We also know that ascension to holiness does not happen in one, uninterrupted, straight line of spiritual progress. There can be obstacles, setbacks, and surprises. Recognizing this has led me to reflect on how important the Easter season is. During Lent, we may ask ourselves why we find ourselves bringing the same issues to God every year. Although it may look like we’re traveling in circles, dealing with the same things, what we hope to be doing is actually travel in a spiral, in which we may deal with the same issues that turn us away from God, but on an ever deeper level. And so we need Lent to come around every year.

Perhaps we could look at Easter the same way. Every year, we come to the hope, joy and peace of Easter, but hopefully on an ever deeper level. Hopefully we come more and more in touch with the truth of Easter, and the victory of life and love over sin and death. And so we need Easter to come around every year as well.

To ascend to holiness involves trust in the love that God has for us in Jesus Christ. As it says in our second reading from the letter to the Hebrews (9:24-28, 10:9-23), “… let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy.”

To ascend to holiness involves a willingness to let go of whatever takes us away from God. Before Jesus ascends to heaven, the apostles ask Him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” It seems that they were still hanging on to the idea of Jesus as a worldly king, even with all that had happened. Sometimes we hang on to worldly ideas about Christ, even when we know what Jesus did for us on the Cross, and that we have the promise of everlasting life in His Resurrection!

To ascend to holiness also involves reaching outside of ourselves. We are not to be only concerned with our ascent, but the ascent of others as well. We are called to lift others up, as we have been lifted up. Too many people in our world are struggling just to ascend to survival. Others are struggling to ascend above despair and anxiety. Still others are trying to ascend to sobriety. We are called to share the hope and joy, and most importantly, the love that Easter shows us. Might we even say that our ascent is tied up with the ascent of others? What kind of a world would we have if we acted on that belief? Would that be too much to hope for? Not for an Easter people!

Happy Mother’s Day!

 

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P. is on staff at St. Paul of the Cross Retreat and Conference Center, Detroit, Michigan.