Daily Scripture

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Scripture:

Exodus 24:3-8
Hebrews 9:11-15
Mark 14:12-16, 22-26

Reflection:

“Here beneath these signs are hidden
Priceless things to sense forbidden;
Signs, not things are all we see:”
(Sequence in today’s liturgy)

I, like probably many of you, made my first holy communion when I was seven years old—the age of reason we were told. That was a very special day. My mother and father took Dave, my twin brother and I to a restaurant, to “eat out”. We didn’t do things like that in the 50’s, at least not my family. Afterwards we stopped to visit one of my many aunts and uncles at their home where we got to go for a ride in my older cousin Nancy’s new Ford. Yes, that was a very special day.

Sixty-two years later and I still “receive” communion regularly and I’m still trying to “reason” that out. Actually today, I think of communion more as a mystery. Receiving communion awakens in me, my connection to God, to Christ, to you. It’s a mystery because as the above selection from today’s liturgy suggests, I see this communion as broken.

I walk the streets of Chicago where I see Bentley automobiles driven by chauffeurs carrying the “successful” to wherever they want to go. On those same streets I meet people who have no place to go or call “home” whose hands are out asking for a dime (well maybe it’s a dollar today). I see mothers pushing newborns in strollers as well as caretakers pushing the aged and the infirmed in wheelchairs. I see the thrilling blossoms of spring after a long winter’s night and the destruction of a tornado leveling a local town.

More than see, I recognize my oneness with all, with all people, with all the earth. I see “Corpus Christi” (body of Christ) body beautiful. Thank you God.

 

Dan O’Donnell is a Passionist Partner and a longtime friend of the Passionists.  He lives in Chicago. 

Scripture:

Tobit 12:1, 5-15, 20
Mark 12: 38-44

 

Reflection:

You might have heard of Fr. Richard Frechette. He is a Passionist priest who works in Haiti. In fact, he not only serves the pastoral needs of the people in the capital city, he also serves their physical needs as a medical doctor. One of his routines is to walk the dirty lanes around the medical clinic. He looks for dead babies that have been pitched away. Fr. Richard believes that everyone should have a proper burial and a decent funeral in which the deceased is offered back to God. I thought of Fr. Richard when I read about Tobit leaving his bride to bury a fellow-Jew found lying murdered on the street. Tobit did many good deeds.

Raphael, Tobit’s companion, declares, “Prayer and fasting are good, but better than either is almsgiving.” Jesus does encourage us to pray and fast. To a greater degree, he stresses that we are to do good to others. He censures the Scribes for going around in long robles (the poor cannot afford fine clothing), accepting greetings in the marketplaces (the poor are unnoticed or ignored), and for taking places of honor at banquets (the poor are in the kitchen doing the grueling, sweaty work of preparing the dinner). At that point, Jesus draws the attention of his disciples away from the Scribes and to the widow at the temple as an example of generosity. She “contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.” She emptied herself, perhaps a reference to “Jesus emptied himself” (Philippians 2:7) and gave away his life, out of love for his Father and for us. This is the ultimate example of almsgiving, not simply giving money or clothes but our very life. The world of the Scribes was centered on themselves; the world of Jesus was centered on others and doing good to them.

Doing good, almsgiving, expresses our gratitude for all that God has given us. Almsgiving is a realization that it is not simply “me and God”. I am a member of a community of faith. I am called to be a responsible steward with an attitude of generosity to better the lives of my neighbors in need.

Holy Cross Province begins our 34th Provincial Chapter on June 10. During the Chapter directions for the next four years will be decided and a new Provincial and Council will be elected. Please keep us in your prayers from June 10-17.

 

Fr. Don Webber, C.P., is Provincial Superior of Holy Cross Province and resides in Chicago.

Scripture:

Tobit 11:5-17
Mark 12:35-37

 

Reflection:

“Then Anna ran up to her son, threw her arms around him, and said to him, “Now that I have seen you again, son, I am ready to die!” And she sobbed aloud.”

When Tobit saw his son, he threw his arms around him and wept. He exclaimed, “I can see you, son, the light of my eyes!” ”

“The great crowd heard this with delight.”

I’ve been thinking about seeing a lot lately. I have an elderly friend, whom I love dearly, who recently lost sight in his right eye. Far from being bitter, he said of his condition, “at least I still have my left one.” I began to reflect on how I take my own site for granted. After looking at the readings for today, I thought of those people in my own life who, although I see them every day, I’ve lost sight of. I saw (no pun intended) how I often close my eyes to those I am most close to. They may be somebody I live with, work with, or just interact with on a daily basis. But, because they are so familiar to me, I no longer see them as they truly are.

In the first reading both Anna and Tobit rejoice when they see their son again. He had gone on a great journey and had returned safely. Just the sight of him was enough to make them weep. When someone we love is gone from us, it is easy to miss them and wish they were near again. But I know I often lose track of many people in my life, even when they are still near to me. And this doesn’t even include those people whom I choose not to see. The person in front of me driving too slowly, the young man bagging my groceries at the store, the clerk at the DMV. I sometimes forget to see them as who they are, as children of God.

The Gospel speaks of seeing something familiar as new as well. Jesus takes a well-known verse from Scripture, one that his audience is well acquainted with. And he shows them a new way to look at it, to see it. And this fills them with delight.

My prayer for today is that I allow Jesus to open my eyes. That I see those around me as if for the first time. That I listen for his voice when reading Scripture, that He may show me a new way of seeing that which is familiar.

 

Talib Huff is a volunteer and presenter at Christ the King Retreat Center in Citrus Heights, California.

Scripture:

Tobit 6:10-11; 7:1bcde,9-17; 8:4-9a
Mark 12:28-34

 

Reflection:

Loving Jesus…in Many Ways!

Today’s Gospel selection begins with a probing question from one of the Scribes:  “Which is the first of all the commandments?”  Jesus’ response flowed from his knowledge of the ancient Scriptures:  love God with every dimension of your person — and love your neighbor as yourself.

A single question was asked by the scribe, an important one.  Jesus’ answer combined two commandments of the Old Testament into one…thus stating that the two cannot be separated.  We cannot truly love God if we do not love our fellow human beings…as we love ourselves.

This encouragement on love comes at a special time in our calendar year:  the month of June.  These days of June have traditionally been days for many people to celebrate their commitments in marriage, or the ordination of those called to sacramental priesthood.  This June 2015 is also part of the year-long celebration of Consecrated Life established by Pope Francis; religious men and women are invited to collaborate on service projects during the summer months, highlighting the special character of consecrated life.  And for the Passionists of Holy Cross Province, we will gather June 10 – 16 in our Provincial Chapter to deepen our love of God, neighbor and self as we look to the future and consider our Passionist community life and ministries.  The Church likewise celebrates the love of Jesus for us all in the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on Friday, June 12.  Love!!

For each of us, Jesus’ words are a challenge to look deep in our hearts and reflect on the quality of our love.  Is God first and foremost?  Do we truly love our sisters and brothers?  Even our love of self these days:  do we truly care for our physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual well-being?  No doubt, we each can deepen our love on all levels…and our pondering of the person of Jesus in the Scriptures, our reception of the Sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation can greatly help our love grow and be even more fruitful.

Jesus passionately loves each of us, and invites us to celebrate and grow in His love as we ponder his Sacred Passion and credibly live our vocations.  May we be blessed these summer days!

 

Fr. John Schork, C.P. is the local leader of the Passionist community in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Scripture:

Tobit 3:1-11a, 16-17a
Mark 12:18-27

 

Reflection:

Command my life breath to be taken from me . . . It is better for me to die than to live . . . I am overwhelmed with grief. Tobit 3:6

Sometimes we are so overwhelmed with life that we want to give up. It seems that it would just be easier to die. And sometimes, we may even entertain the idea of suicide.

I was a freshman in college when I considered killing myself. I had had an abortion, and I hated myself. I couldn’t find the forgiveness I needed even though I had gone to confession. I was driving down the freeway and thought that if I just drove into oncoming traffic, my pain would be over in an instant. I would finally be at peace. But then I thought of the pain I would cause another family or families who would also be involved in the accident, so I couldn’t do it.

I finally told our chaplain that I was entertaining suicidal thoughts. He helped me so much that day. He told me that any thoughts of suicide come straight from the pit of hell and that the next time one came, I was to reject it immediately and ask God to protect me. He said that my reasons for not wanting to live were all lies from Satan who is a liar and the father of lies. Father Frank saved my life that day.

Others are not so fortunate to have someone help them face their demons, and they do in fact kill themselves. Growing up, I believed a person would go to hell if they committed suicide, but today I believe you aren’t culpable for your sin if you are desperate enough to kill yourself.

The catechism states this: “We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to Him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.” (Catechism 2283)

Father, today we lift up anyone who is considering suicide, and for families who are suffering the pain of losing someone to suicide. Please send them the help they need, and the assurance of your love and consolation. We pray in Jesus’s Name. Amen.

 

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:

Tobit 2:9-14
Mark 12:13-17

Reflection:

The coin in today’s gospel passage—the coin which Jesus used to respond to the “trick question” which had been put to him—reminded me of the first reading’s closing passage, in which Tobit’s wife, Anna, challenges him for being “two-faced”.

Tobit has been introduced to us as a generous and pious person, faithful to the covenant even though his family had splintered from the Jerusalem Temple. Following the exile into Assyria, he continued his virtuous practices, especially the burial of the dead. This practice ultimately leads to his becoming a fugitive until the untimely death of the king, Sennacherib, makes possible his re-establishing his family life in Nineveh.

Following his misfortune that leads to blindness, Tobit seems to change, he seems to lose his pious and charitable attitude. When he rashly judges that his wife, Anna, has brought home a stolen goat, he refuses to keep it and demands that she return it to its owner. Anna then rebukes him, and asks what became of his pious nature; perhaps this is his real character now being displayed.

I think all of us can relate to Tobit’s response. We go through our life’s duties trying to be faithful to our Catholic way of life. We make efforts, consciously, to do the right thing. Eventually, all of us will come to the crisis that unleashes a run of words, throws up a wall of silence, or sharpens the biting rebuke that is not at all our “best self”.

Anna accuses her husband of being hypocritical, of finally revealing his true “side”. We are probably not surprised at Anna’s behavior; she has been hurt by the refusal of Tobit to accept her explanation that the goat was a “bonus” for a job well-done. Perhaps Tobit’s doubts are being interpreted by Anna as doubts about the quality of her work, implying that no one would give her a bonus for her work.

Let us bring Jesus into our reflection. We know from today’s gospel passage that Jesus was quite adept at turning his accusers’ traps and plots back on themselves. Jesus knew human nature, our shared human nature, and it is the reason that Jesus can be compassionate with us. As we will discover in the continuation of this reading, tomorrow, the compassion of Jesus flows as healing balm into our hearts when we repent, when we recognize the wrong we have done, and ask forgiveness, seek reconciliation with God and with those whom we have offended.

The two sides of a coin can always remind us that our human nature is flawed but redeemed. Which side of the coin of our personhood will we offer to Jesus and to our neighbor?

 

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

Feast of Saint Justin, Martyr

Scripture:

Tobit 1:3, 2:1b-8
Mark 12:1-12

Reflection:

Today is the feast of St. Justin, an early Christian martyr who lived in the second century.  He was a brilliant philosopher and a stout defender of the Christian faith—a stance that ultimately cost him his life.

The readings for today are part of the ordinary weekly cycle but their content makes us think about the cost of Christian discipleship.  The gospel story of the workers in the vineyard who abuse the emissaries of the owner and finally even kill his son—a harbinger of Jesus’ own suffering and death—is familiar to us.   But we seldom hear readings from the Book of Tobit like the one we have today.   This unusual book was probably written sometime in the second century before Christ,  and meant as a story of encouragement in the wake of Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Middle East, which left the Jews of the region living under foreign rule.  The author of Tobit casts the story much earlier, when Israel was in exile due to the Assyrian invasion in the 7^th century B.C.  Tobit is a devout and faithful Jew living in Nineveh with his family.  In the quaint scene depicted in our reading, Tobit is enjoying a “fine dinner” celebrating the feast of Pentecost.  Reflecting Tobit’s goodness, he tells his son Tobiah to go out and find a poor man with whom Tobit can share his feast.  However, the son returns with a very different report—he has discovered the body of a fellow Jew who had been executed and left lying in the street.  In accord with Jewish piety, Tobit immediately leaves his dinner table and goes to bury the man—earning the wrath of his neighbors who preferred that this executed man would suffer the indignity of not even being buried.

As the story of Tobit continues—beyond the passage we have today—we learn that despite Tobit’s goodness he continues to suffer calamities in his life, including being blinded (from bird droppings while he is asleep!).  A parallel account in Tobit is that of the beautiful Sarah who has seen seven of her newlywed husbands in succession die on their wedding night!

Ultimately the story of this righteous suffering receives comfort and relief.  The Angel Raphael (the name in Hebrew means, “God heals”) works to heal Tobit’s blindness and to break the cycle of death that engulfs Sarah’s life (she will successfully marry Tobiah, Tobit’s son!)—all through the healing powers drawn from the entrails of a fish! [Read the whole book to get the amazing details!]

Like ourselves, the original readers of this great biblical fable may have chuckled at some of its outrageous features.  But the underlying message contains sober truth.  Living a devout and righteous life does not necessarily protect one from acute suffering.  I think of the innocent Christians of Iraq and Syria who are suffering terrible persecution and death itself at the hands of hate-mongers who use the cover of religion for their treachery and violence.  All of us can experience suffering of a less dramatic sort that makes us ask where is God at our time of need.

But the book of Tobit in its winsome way, also reminds us of the deepest wellsprings of our faith, particularly in this Easter season.  Ultimately, God will heal us and bring us home, despite the mystery of evil and the suffering it can inflict on us.  We pray today that, like Tobit and Sarah, like Justin Martyr and all of the contemporary unnamed martyrs who suffer around the globe, that God would send the Angel Raphael, God’s own comfort, to sustain us.

 

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:

Sirach 44:1, 9-13
Mark 11:11-26

Reflection:

Sometimes a reflection is simply a reflection.  It is not an attempt to make another person accept my point of view or a “soap box” opportunity to preach about my favorite theme.  Today’s story from Mark’s gospel regarding Jesus and the temple is an opportunity to simply reflect.

“They came to Jerusalem, and on entering the temple area he began to drive out those selling and buying there.  He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.  He did not permit anyone to carry anything through the temple area.”

In today’s gospel, Jesus looks angry.

One of the desert fathers, Abba (father) Poeman says, “If your brother plucks out your right eye and cuts off your right hand, and you get angry with him, you are angry without cause.  But if he separates you from God, then be angry with him.”

Jesus did not want people to be separated from God’s presence in the temple or anywhere else.  Deliberate separation from God was the worst form of injustice.  Separation from others and our world also is unjust.  We are one.

Jesus got angry when He saw this injustice.  Today’s reflection is simple.  Am I angry enough to “turn over the tables” when I see divisiveness in the sacred temple of our world?

 

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