Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Baruch 4:5-12, 27-29
Luke 10:17-24

Reflection:

You provoked your Maker with sacrifices to demons, to no-gods; you forsook the Eternal God who nourished you, and you grieved Jerusalem who fostered you. Baruch 4:7-8a

How do we provoke our Maker today? What are the no-gods that we bow down before? There are many things in America that we worship. We worship money, or the happiness we think money can buy for us. We worship status and power and beauty. We worship freedom and food and drink and pleasure and choice.

As we look closely at our lives, let us see if anyone or anything has taken first place before God. He alone is worthy to be praised, adored and worshipped. So, how can we keep God on the throne of our hearts?

We can look at where we spend our time and energy. If we spend all of our time working to make more money so we can buy things, but we don’t take time to pray and help others, we are out of balance. Loving God means that we also love our neighbor, and God will use us to bless them. Many of us are simply overcommitted and by cutting back on activities, we could make more time for God. It may be helpful to remember that by saying yes to one thing, we are saying no to others. Pray before you say yes, even to good things!

How do we spend our leisure time? The average American watches four hours of TV per day. That adds up to two months/year and by age 65 you will have watched nine years of TV! If we fall into that category, surely we can take one of those hours and spend it with God instead, or use it to be involved in a ministry to help others. Our time on earth is very short indeed!

Later in Baruch we read: As your hearts have been disposed to stray from God, turn now ten times the more to seek him. (Baruch 4:28) May we seek God above all else, and let Him use us to do the most good we can while we still have time.

 

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].

Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels

Scripture:

Baruch 1:15-22
Matthew 18:1-5,10

Reflection:

Today’s Gospel account brings to mind the challenge that Baptism must have been for the early Christians. In a way, it is still a challenge for us today.

We have no doubt that as the sacramental system was unfolding in the history of the Church, there must have been some who asked whether it was right to baptize children/infants. Jesus often had spoken of the choice that he expected his followers to make. “If you would be perfect, sell what you have, give to the poor, and come follow me. (Mt 19:21)” That citation seems to require an adult choice to become a follower of Jesus.

Others were asking whether or not it was possible to return to union in the Church after one’s betrayal through apostasy. Was forgiveness possible without a “re-baptism”?

In the search for answers, new pragmatic policies would be determined by the Church’s magisterium. For example, once baptized, even after apostasy, “yes,” one could return to the flock…following periods and practices of penance.

Or, “yes,” infants and children could receive baptism because as a sacrament, it is the work of the Holy Spirit through the Church which gives the sacramental character to the child or infant, and not the action of the child which confers/gifts the sacrament of baptism to himself/herself.

Out of this sense of baptism as “conferred upon the individual by the Church,” came the baptismal understanding of the expression “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus was not saying that we should be naïve and irresponsible, infantile, as His followers; but that just as children are best cared for by the provident love of their parents, and just as the family has the primary responsibility of nurturing the life of the child, so a member of the Body of Christ should live under the provident love of God and the surrounding care of the Church.

It was in this context of the care derived from the community and the divine oversight which would guide the newly baptized into their full participation in the life of the Church that Jesus’ words about Guardian Angels are derived. No longer speaking of little children (paidion), he speaks of the “little ones” (micron), i.e., those who are new to the faith, as being watched over by the angels of God in heaven.

Whether we associate Guardian Angels with infants and children, or with those who are beginning their lives in the Church, we celebrate today the wonderful interaction of love and concern which is showered upon us by those who bring us to the Faith, who baptize us in the Faith, and who guide us in our discipleship of Jesus.

 

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

Feast of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus

Scripture:

Nehemiah 8:1-4a, 5-6, 7b-12
Luke 10:1-12

Reflection:

Today is the feast of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, popularly known as the “Little Flower.”  Theresa had a brief yet remarkable life.  When she was only 15 she was fiercely determined to enter the Carmelite convent at Lisieux and with the permission of Pope Leo XIII managed to do so.  She would live the cloistered life of her order until her death from tuberculosis in 1897 at the young age of 24.  She was “fast tracked” to canonization as a saint in 1925.  Pope Pius X called her “the greatest saint of the modern era,” and Pope John Paul II declared her to be a “doctor” of the church.  Theresa was not an academic or great teacher, as most “doctors” of the church have been.  The pope was recognizing Theresa as a “doctor” or “teacher” for the beauty and simplicity of her “little way,” as she called it.  In reflecting on her spiritual life, Theresa emphasized the need for humility and of being without pretense in any way.  She was driven by an ardent love for Jesus and strove to live everyday with intense fidelity and authenticity, bringing a sense of devotion and purpose to even the most ordinary tasks of her life.

Yet Theresa’s spiritual vision ranged far beyond her convent walls.  She had strong missionary zeal and longed that the gospel could spread to every corner of the earth.  She declared that she wanted to be the “apostle of the apostles” and desired to help save “thousands of souls” for Christ.  Remarkably, even though she had traveled any significant distance only once in her life—a trip to Rome to plead with the Pope for permission to enter the Carmelites at such a young age—and lived a brief life in a strict cloister, Pope XI in 1927 declared her to be co-patron of the missions along with St. Francis Xavier.  She prayed everyday for missionaries and corresponded with some of them.

The readings for today are not special to the feast of St. Theresa, but providentially the gospel passage is the account in Luke’s Gospel (10:1-12) of Jesus sending seventy-two disciples out on mission, entering the towns where he would come and preparing for his presence. They were to travel light (“no money bag, no sack, no sandals…”).  They were to cure the sick and proclaim that “the Kingdom of God is at hand for you.”  This is the kind of text that inspired Theresa’s life and, even though physically confined, her spirit roamed the world.

Another Pope who has a special devotion to St. Theresa is our current Pope Francis.  He, too, embodies the missionary spirit of Christ—reaching out beyond the boundaries of the church to embrace the world and those in need.  In a brief speech he gave on the eve of his election as Pope he told the assembled Cardinals that sometimes people poetically speak of Jesus knocking on the door of the Church and wanting to get in…but, the Pope suggested, perhaps Jesus is knocking on the door in order to get out—out into the world to bring the joy and peace of the gospel to everyone.  In his first major statement, entitled the Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis reminded us that we are not just “disciples” but “missionary disciples”—ready to bring the witness of our faith and words and actions of healing, forgiveness, and compassion to our troubled world.

St. Theresa of Lisieux embodied that missionary spirit and the gospel today invites us to do the same.

 

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.

Scripture:

Nehemiah 2:1-8
Luke 9:57-62

Reflection:

At age twelve, when Jesus’ parents found him in the temple, he told them “Did you not know I must be about my Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49)  Right from the very start, Jesus was committed.  He was focused.  Doing his Father’s will was what Jesus was all about.  Nothing could deter him, not even death.

So, in today’s gospel, when Jesus goes out looking for followers, he is looking for that same strong dedication.  He knows the power of commitment.

Whether it is to a person or to a cause, once we decide to commit, amazing things happen.  Our whole being gets involved.  The doors of our imagination and creativity open up.  Our inner resources are taped.  We discover a quality of energy unknown to the wishy-washy.  Commitment rallies our courage, stiffens our backbone, and toughens us for all challenges.  Commitment opens our senses and our intuition, and hastens our learning.

Commitment clarifies who we are.  We forge our identity by naming our values.  Our commitment then excites others and brings them aboard.  Together we become a band of stickers and fighters.  Our attention is centered.

It has been wisely noted that little people have wishes, while great people have a purpose.  What greater purpose can there be than serving God and God’s people?  Jesus asks us to pursue that purpose with all our hearts, all our souls, all our minds, and all our bodies, with our chins facing the wind, our eyes never looking back.

Part of the inner peace Jesus promises us does not depend upon success, but comes from having a meaningful purpose and knowing we gave it our best.  That’s what he did.  “Come,” he says, “choose to follow me and share in my joy.”

 

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

Scripture:

Revelation 12:7-12
John 1:47-51

Reflection:

“War broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon.”  On this feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, we are greeted with these first words in our reading from the book of Revelations; “War broke out in heaven.”

We are given a picture of division in the ranks of the angels.  Division is so much a part of the signs of our times.  Every day we are bombarded by division; political parties, social issues, religious atrocities from every side, racial issues, economic separation and dysfunctional families.  We are a long way from the prayer of Jesus that we may all be one.  We are not one.  We are a divided world, except of course when we experience a common disaster.

I saw this many times in my disaster relief work for the Red Cross and AT&T.  Hurricanes and tornadoes create an immediate temporary bond in which we suspend divisions amidst our common experience of suffering. People are remarkably aware of the need to support our fellow human beings.  Then, with the passage of a few days, we take up our places again behind the artificial walls we create.

As a Passionist I am called to remind people that our hearts are one in union around the Cross.  The Cross of Jesus unites us in a common bond.  We are one.  The angels fought a war.  In the words of the song, “What is war good for?  Absolutely nothing”.  Our vocation calls us to “hold high the Cross” and stand up for the unity we all share as children of God.  I certainly am not an angel like Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, but I can peacefully fight for unity in our divided world.

 

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

Scripture:

Zechariah 8:1-8
Luke 9:46-50

Reflection:

This week our Catholic world and entire nation was captivated by the visit of Pope Francis.  I was moved to tears as I watched the Holy Father arrive in our nation’s capital. I am proud to be Catholic and immensely honored to be a part of this historical and spiritual event in our country.  That morning before coming to work, I continued to watch the unfolding of the events surrounding his visit.  President Obama spoke eloquently and sincerely as he welcomed Pope Francis and the Holy Father returned that welcome with words of praise and thanks for the hospitality shown.

In reflecting on the Gospel passage from Luke 9:46-50 where Jesus reminds us once again to be conscious of those who do not enjoy the life that we do in these words:

“Whoever receives this child in my name received me,
And whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
For the one who is least among all of you
Is the one who is the greatest.”

The message Pope Francis gives over and over again is also the message Jesus gave to his disciples and gives to us today.  We are blessed to have a religious leader who emulates the Gospel and challenges us to do the same.  The disciples seemed to be all caught up in external trappings of power and control, who is going to be first, who is the one Jesus likes the best, etc.  Children were given little status or attention in the time of Jesus.  When Jesus challenges us to welcome the little children among us, he is calling us to look beyond positions of power and control, beyond our drive to be rich and famous, and our preoccupation with being number one and thinking that ‘it’s all about me.’

May we all take seriously the message of Jesus that Pope Francis delivered this past week.  May we recommit ourselves to looking beyond our needs and focus on the less fortunate, the hungry, the poor, the homeless, the immigrant and refugees at our doors.  May we tear down the barriers of race, color, creed and gender and concentrate on the least in our very midst.

May the events of this week lead us to be people of faith and action!.  God Bless America and God Bless our Church!

 

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

Scripture:

Numbers 11:25-19
James 5:1-6
Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

Reflection:

Better FOR, not better THAN

Today’s readings pull us into that wonderful mystery, that cauldron of transformation, linking discipleship and surprise.

I suppose we’ve all had the experience when we thought we knew how a friend or colleague would react, only to be taken aback by their response. These last several Sundays, the disciples learn how following Jesus is fraught with challenges, surprise, and hard lessons.

After the Transfiguration, for example, Peter offers to erect tents on Mt. Tabor; instead, Jesus warns them of suffering. Or remember a couple of weeks ago, when Peter approaches Jesus, questioning how often he must forgive when offended? Convinced of his own magnanimity, our first Pope struts around waiting for commendations! Instead, Jesus replies not seven, but seventy times seven… almost as if Jesus is saying, …Peter, you will have to change that stingy attitude; get out of your quid pro quo, tit-for-tat economic system. The Kingdom is so much bigger! And last Sunday, while the disciples are arguing who’s number one, Jesus places a child in the midst of them; we must remember that in Jesus’ culture and time, a child is a non-entity, with no esteem… to be seen and not heard.

Over and over again, Jesus reminds his followers that they are certainly not better than their country-folk. Following Jesus and listening to his teachings, they came to see their own need for conversion. Their questions (and mine) about who would be first, who belongs, who will be saved, all indicate our self-centered attitudes.

They were not “better than,” but being spun around, turned upside down and sent out to be with their human brothers and sisters. They were sent, not to impress, but to turn their attitudes around, as well about their being loved and blest.

The apostles’ encounters with Jesus, and our sacramental meetings with Jesus are all the same.

We are always being formed to be “better for” and not better than. The prophets, the apostles, are in the same need as those to whom the prophets and apostles were and are, sent.

Jesus came onto the earth to meet us eye to eye, hand to hand. He meets us in every sacrament in this way, meeting us in our fragility, so that we will not be paralyzed by this fragility and weakness,but inspired and incarnated to embrace the broken around us. How lucky we are to have Pope Francis thundering that “universal call to holiness” of which Vatican II spoke! Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets!

 

 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:

Zechariah 2:5-9, 14-15a
Luke 9:43b-45

Reflection:

All this week, Pope Francis has been making his way among us in the United States. From the White House and Congress to Cathedrals and public Masses, we know he is here among us. I see his presence among us as a reflection of what the Prophet Zechariah writes in today’s first reading: “See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD. Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord on that day, and they shall be his people and he will dwell among you.”

Pope Francis draws throngs wherever he goes. We are drawn to him. He is communicating the Gospel in new ways, making real Christ’s words of mercy in his care for those alone, poor, and shunned. He also makes many of us rethink what it means to live out our faith in our everyday lives.

When Jesus went among the people, he did not go to make people feel uncomfortable or judged. When people encountered Jesus, he reflected back to them, as if a mirror, the truth of their lives. With all their hopes and dreams, their sin and blindness, the people came to recognize themselves as they were. But more important, they came to recognize who they could be. This transformation is not easy. We may even resist it. Yet we need to see the truth of who God created us to be, even in the messiness of our lives and relationships, in order to see beyond the messiness to become all that God calls us to be.

By his simplicity of life, by his acts of mercy and forgiveness, by his challenge to bishops and priests to be real shepherds, and by his embrace of immigrants from war zones, Francis holds up a mirror to us to help us see how we can better live our lives. The Gospel each day challenges us to live the joy of Jesus out there in the world that is so broken and in need of God’s love and mercy. We become the presence of God in the world. Through us – and with the help of Pope Francis – God indeed dwells among his people.

 

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.