Daily Scripture

Scripture:
Judges 2:11-19
Matthew 19:16-22

Reflection:

The Israelites are living in the Promised Land.  They are mixed in with many other peoples with different customs, religions, practices, etc.  They have no central government.  Rather, each tribe lives on its piece of territory.  They come together if one or more tribes get in trouble.  God raises up spiritual and military leaders, called the Judges, in time of crises.

The days of purity of faith, fashioned in their desert journey, are gone.  The Israelites are attracted and enticed by the cultures around them.  They are so diluting their faith that they are becoming an abomination to their Covenant God.   God allows their enemies to overpower them and harm them.  If they can make the association of this punishment to their sinfulness, then they can repent and God will bring good back into their lives.

Even though the stories of God mighty acts are told to them and handed down from generation to generation and remembered and re-enacted in their feast-day liturgies, the stimuli of the present, quickly blur and distance them from a sense of God’s presence.  They drift into the oblivion and faithlessness of the present moment.

Doesn’t this sound a lot like what is happening in our Western culture today.  We are absolutely being buried under this, that and another, often needless gadget.  Images, sounds, numbing and shallow philosophies of life, identity denying theories, political parties imprisoned in their ideologies, relativism running rampant and on and on we can go.  Even though the faith we grew up with years ago was not “desert pure”, it was certainly more “God orientating” than what so many people have today.

Jesus has us left with his Church, WORD AND SACRAMENT.  The Word seems to mean something to some but Sacrament struggles to breath and survive.  The intensity and simplicity of Sacrament, no longer has a strong attraction.  Maybe God will have to wipe the slate of our society clean through punishment before we can see again the etches of God’s law that has become buried underneath.

Jesus also left us with his Church, the Holy Spirit.  Come Holy Spirit, renew the face of the earth!

 

Fr. Blaise Czaja, C.P. gives parish missions and retreats.  He is a member of the Passionist Community in Detroit, Michigan. 

 

 

 

 

Scripture:

Proverbs 9:1-6
Ephesians 5:15-20
John 6:51-58

Reflection:

There is a popular Bruce Springsteen song that contains the lyric, “Everybody has a hungry heart…Everybody wants to have a home.” The song has a through-line of yearning, and although its focus is romantic love, I think the essence relates very much to the Scripture readings today.

All three readings contain reference to nourishment, not the kind in our bellies, which we humans know about all too well, but the deeper, more lasting nourishment that feeds the hunger in our souls.

The “bread and wine” of our human lives, that which keeps us living and contented as physical beings—the food we eat, the people we love, the work we do, the material objects that provide a modicum of comfort—ground us in reality and give a measure of sustenance that we need and appreciate.

But Jesus challenges the crowds, and us, to confront the fleeting needs and satisfactions of our human flesh and instead find eternal Life through the Flesh and Blood of the Son of Man.  It is our communion with Christ that gives life everlasting.

Living as we do in a world waging war with itself over how to keep or get goods to survive, I can relate to how crazy Jesus’ words must have sounded to the crowds who were being asked to put their faith in the nourishing power of a different kind of “food.” Could there truly be something even more filling than the loaves and fishes that had taken away their bodies’ pangs of discontent?

Yes, Jesus assures us. If we go to Christ, if we become one with Him, we will be seated at the banquet of God’s love. It is at this table that the hunger in our hearts is finally satisfied and where we find the place that we can truly call home.

 

Nancy Nickel is the director of marketing and communications at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Illinois.   

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Scripture:

Revelations 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab
1 Corinthians 15:20-27
Luke 1:39-56

Reflection:

We have an abundance of riches to ponder in this feast of the Assumption of Mary.

As the ark contained the tablets of the Commandments, so Mary’s body contained the Savior of the world, the Son of God. In a vision of transfigured glory John sees a woman with child surrounded with the lights of heaven: the sun, the moon and the stars. She gives birth to a son destined to rule the nations. Our reading concludes with the resounding proclamation that salvation has come and God’s kingdom is firmly in place.

Paul notes that Jesus’ resurrection is the foundation of our hope for eternal life for our whole person, body and soul. The Church believes that Mary’s assumption is the first realization of the full impact of Jesus’ resurrection.

Luke recounts the visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. Among the riches of this familiar passage we have an answer to why we call Mary blessed. Ordinarily we think Mary blessed because she is the Mother of God.

She has been assumed body and soul to heaven where her son has crowned her queen. But Elizabeth puts it at a more fundamental level, before Mary conceived Jesus. “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”  Mary believed in God’s promises to her and to her people.   May we have that same faith ourselves, faith that God’s kingdom has com and faith that we are destined for glory body and soul. May we proclaim as Mary did that “… the Almighty has done great things for us…”

 

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

Scripture:

Joshua 3:7-10a, 11, 13-17
Matthew 18:21-19:1

Reflection:

One of the most difficult challenges in life is forgiveness. In fact, I might argue that unforgiveness is the cause of so much pain in our world, in our towns, in our families and in our hearts. We can be in such bondage to our hurts that we fail to see exactly how toxic they really are as we go along our days. I once read the statement: “Pain that is not transformed will be transmitted” and I felt its truth—feel its truth.

Peter approaches Jesus with a very generous offer. It appears to go to the widest boundaries of the time—finite, and Jesus responds with not seven times but seventy-seven times—infinite.

This servant owes so much to his master and as he begs for mercy by promising to repay, the reader understands the absolute impossibility of this. He is totally at the mercy of his master for his life and that of his family. Yet, we read that in an instant, he is forgiven—done, forgotten, free. It is that simple with God—mercy flows freely to those who ask. Following this encounter, it is so easy to judge this servant’s behavior as deplorable in the context of the mercy extended to him. Is he that disconnected from the encounter to completely forget to be merciful to others? Are we?

Father Eamon Tobin in his book, “How to Forgive Yourself and Others”, states that forgiveness is largely an act of the will and not a matter of feelings. This makes sense in line with Jesus’ words on forgiving from the heart. Father Tobin goes on to explain that forgiveness:

• is a process where we seek to rid our mind and heart from hurt and resentments because of what someone did to us;
• it is spiritual surgery that we perform on ourselves with God’s grace so as to free ourselves from the venom we feel;
• is a gift we give ourselves so we do not remain stuck in the past and in our pain. When we are able to forgive, we can move from being a victim.

Forgiveness is not a surrender to our right to justice; we do not necessarily want to forget—some hurts teach us. It doesn’t it mean that we never have negative feelings towards our offender.

The only response to the kind of mercy shown the servant by the master is to receive it so as to be open to bring that same mercy to others. We are asked to move beyond vengeance and move towards reconciliation in humble willingness. We never fully experience one without the other; God’s mercy towards us as we go and do the same from the heart. “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” (Matt 6:12).

Lord, God, heal our hearts and our world. 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:

Deuteronomy 31:1-8
Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14

Reflection:

These past few days the Church has been fed by the Sacred Scriptures that remind us that Jesus is the bread of life and that anyone who is nourished by this living bread will never die.  Such a promise is almost too much to believe, isn’t it?  The interesting thing is that, in the Gospel for today’s celebration of the Eucharist, reminds us, on the heels of these “Bread of Life” passages, that “unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.”

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to celebrate Mass in the home of a wonderful young couple celebrating their thirteenth wedding anniversary.  Really it was just a chance to get all the family together and just celebrate being family!  This is something that this lovely couple, their brothers and sisters, and parents, are very accustomed to doing.  Any occasion means a celebration, a party, a chance to be together as family.  Naturally, being young families, there were about a dozen children ranging in age from fifteen to three months!  When I spoke to the littlest children sitting around the living room altar about Jesus being the bread of life and how wonderful it is to be able to (one day) receive him in Holy Communion, there was not the least look of doubt or skepticism on their innocent, accepting, and eager faces.  The little ones could believe in this great mystery of our faith in ways that we who are older and “more mature” could ever do!

Could this be what Jesus means when he says that we must be like little children?  Does he mean that somehow we must regain a simpler acceptance of the mystery of our faith?  I can’t tell you how refreshing it was to see such acceptance on the faces of the little children.  Now the question is, how do we get that back?  How do we become like the little children once again?

 

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

Scripture:

2 Corinthians 9:6-10
John 12:24-26

 

Reflection:

Jesus teaches that when the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it produces fruit. We often interpret that as dying to our false selves in this life. However, it also applies to the way we die, a topic we are not good at facing in our society. One application: When I teach about advance directives, I inevitably get questions about assisted suicide and euthanasia. This topic is too complex to explore deeply in a couple of paragraphs, yet we can look at general principles to better understand what is in the news and how it might fit with Jesus’ words.

By means of definition, assisted suicide occurs when an “assistant” provides the means for ill or suffering persons to take their own lives (lethal medications, gun/ammunition, carbon monoxide hood, etc.) but the assistant does not participate in the act. Euthanasia occurs when someone actively participates (or acts alone) to take the life of persons who are ill or suffering, sometimes with permission or even at their request. The Catholic Church condemns both, proclaiming that we need to alleviate end-of-life suffering by utilizing effective pain relief, employing hospice and palliative medications early in the process, and ensuring every patient has proper, compassionate care, rather than ending the suffering by killing the patient. Death should rightly occur because of disease, illness, or injury, not human actions.

Yet the Church also clearly teaches that this does not mean we are morally bound to use every means known to humankind to keep our bodies alive until our bodies simply can’t take it anymore. Life is not the ultimate good. God created us as finite beings and death is a normal, natural, expected occurrence. We are not supposed to be here forever, and God has something better in store. At some point, it is time to let go of life, die, and go home.

Recognizing this fact, in document after document the Church calls for “acceptance in the face of death”, and weighing the potential burdens and costs of treatment against the potential benefits it could offer. It is morally and ethically OK to stop or refuse treatments that only serve to prolong dying or that cause increased pain and suffering in the dying process. For instance, a patient experiencing a recurrence of aggressive cancer can morally and ethically refuse a last-ditch round of harsh chemotherapy, believing it would prolong the dying process complete with painful, debilitating side effects, and instead choose to maximize the quality of whatever life remains. This is not assisted suicide nor euthanasia. Death occurs naturally, caused by the underlying disease or illness, and the patient is free to more fully enjoy their final days on earth, hopefully surrounded by supportive family and friends.

Jesus says “Whoever loves his life will lose it.” We are called to cling to nothing, not even life itself. If instead of viewing death as the ultimate evil, as something that must be fought with every ounce of strength until the last moment, perhaps we can get better at accepting death with faith, dignity, and grace. Perhaps we can better utilize the benefits of hospice and palliative care for weeks or months instead of hours or days before death, enabling us to be more present to loved ones as we die. Perhaps we can then achieve the goals we long for – whether reconciling with someone, tying up loose ends, or having time to properly say goodbye. Perhaps by the way we die, we can be a visible sign to the world that we are part of something bigger, that this life is not the ultimate good, and that we can sink into the river of God’s peace and love as we take our last breath. The issues are not so simple, yet we can do a much better job of valuing life even as it ends. And what a witness that could be!

I pray that not only my life but my death might produce much fruit and be a source of inspiration and hope to others. I hope I have the strength to stop the fight when it becomes futile, living fully whatever days I have and then going peacefully into the arms of God. I pray for you, too, that whether we live or we die, we may all be instruments of Christ.

 

Amy Florian is a teacher and consultant working in Chicago.  For many years she has partnered with the Passionists.  Visit Amy’s website: http://www.corgenius.com/.

Scripture:

1 Kings 19:4-8
Ephesians 4:30-5:2
John 6:41-51

 

Reflection:

The Inn of Hospitality and the Bountiful Table are images that John Chrysostom uses to speak out our experience of church. Before baptism the inn has doors hanging loosely on broken hinges; it is a dangerous, chaotic place. The inn of the church is one of gracious people, safe and peaceful, its doors open easily to where we can share bountiful gifts at a table that groans under the weight of such abundant blessing.

We reverently receive the mystical bread. We do not rush this acton of taking, speaking Amen, and placing it in our mouths. We savor the vivifying bread of life. Likewise we take the holy cup, speak Amen, bring it to our lips, and drink. We enjoy the cup that inebriates our sprit with joy.

Those who come to Jesus will be drawn to the Father and will have everlasting life. Jesus says, ‘I am the bread of life’, ‘I will give my flesh for the life of the world’. Jesus has spoken of being raised up, of his approaching ‘hour’, and of the conflict between light and darkness. He will give us his flesh for food when he breaks bread at last supper meal and gives himself over to its fulfillment on Calvary when his body is broken and his blood poured out. This is the food of the bounteous table. The inn of hospitality calls out, ‘come to me all you who are hungry and all you who thirst’.

We may find it challenging to explain the beautiful words of John, but when we have eaten at the bounteous table at the inn of hospitality our actions say it all. We want to lead the way for the hungry and thirsty. Today is the feast of Edith Stein, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, OCD. A scholar, Jewish convert and Carmelite religious. Edith died in Auschwitz with her sister and several religious who were Jewish converts as a reprisal for the Dutch bishops speaking out against the Nazis. A witness describes her standing in an open railway car packed with those going ‘East’. It was late at night in a marshaling yard when the soldier on duty saw her as a commanding presence sheltering those in the train and asking him to get water for them. He did, and did not forget that experience. Edith went to her death having said to her sister, ‘let us go with our people’. She knew Jesus in the Eucharist and in these steps to her death could share him. She led her companions to the Inn of Hospitality and shared the refreshment from the bounteous table. He is the living bread, the life of the world.

Today in the Passionist family is the ordination of Emery Kibal, CP as bishop of Kole in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Emery lived at the Passionist Monastery in Jamaica, NY, working in a neighboring parish and interested in pursuing studies in liturgy. His appointment came as a surprise. His ministry will be in the heart of a very poor country and it is an assignment that is not only difficult for many reasons but also dangerous. He is asked to be in an innkeeper in the Inn of Hospitality indeed, one on the margins of where people travel, but none the less where people hunger and thirst for the Bread of Life.

God asks of us to share the Bread of Life in such different circumstances! Let us find in his generosity strength to be gracious, inviting, self-giving, hopeful and humble.

 

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

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 6:4-13
Matthew 17:4-20

 

Reflection:

Today’s Gospel from Matthew is an opportunity to reflect a bit on Faith.  Faith is a freely given gift from God.  So then why does Jesus seem so exasperated with his Apostles for not having enough faith to drive out the demons?  Why does he admonish them about the size of their faith?   Yes, faith is a gift from God, planted in our heart and soul, but it’s up to us to make sure it takes root.  So here are the Apostles, constantly with Jesus – seeing him live and in action-as it were.  Of everyone in the Bible surely these men were given the gift of faith.  But the question Jesus seems to ask them throughout the New Testament is what are you doing with it?  Throughout the New Testament Jesus asks them questions that we could paraphrase today as “…don’t you get it, yet? …Hey, I’m not always going to be with you…hurry up, get on board…”

So when Jesus tells us that with even a little growth in faith, maybe just to the size of a mustard seed, we could cure demons or walk on water or move mountains, or perform other miracles he really means it. And make no mistake, while Faith is a gift, it’s up to us to nurture, to tend that Faith that’s been implanted in us, to grow it to the size of a mustard seed.   We grow and enrich our Faith by prayer and the Sacraments, by spiritual reading, and by the ways we love God and one another.

In our first reading from Deuteronomy, the Israelites are told to love the Lord with their whole being…. and then told how to do that.  The time sequence in this reading suggest that the people are being prepared for a time when it will be harder to love God with their whole being, a time when, with no effort on their part, they will have their fill to eat.  Do you find it harder to love God when you have all that you need and then some?  It seems to me that when we have much, our lives are also filled with with a desire to acquire more and with all the activity that requires.  Sometimes it is hard to find room for God.  We do know that our faith is built upon love of God, and if we are to have faith that cures, forgives, evangelizes and grows, we must first love God completely.

Let us pray to St. Dominic, whose feast day we celebrate today, for the gift of Faith, for the ability to grow that faith and that the love of God will permeate our lives even in the midst of our activities and busyness.

 

Mary Lou Butler is a long-time friend and partner in ministry to the Passionists in California.