Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Sirach 36:1, 4-5a, 10-17
Mark 10:32-45

Reflection:

Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be handed over.

Today’s Gospel concludes one of the “framing” or “sandwich” technique examples in Mark’s Gospel. The evangelist skillfully applies this method to induce the reader to pay attention; but our temptation is to get lost in the bread and not get to the meat! You see, back in the eighth chapter of Mark’s narrative we read about Jesus healing a blind man at the pool of Bethsaida; remember, when Jesus asked if he could see, the man replied he could, but people were like trees walking, and Jesus had to come back and heal again! After that, at three different times, Jesus predicts his own Passion. Today’s Gospel is the third and final scenario. In tomorrow’s Gospel, from the latter part of Mark 10, Jesus will heal another blind person, Bartimaeus, the man who kept shouting, “Son of David, have pity on me! What Mark is trying to do by framing the three Passion narratives with the stories of the healing of two blind men is to remind us that the disciples were blind, unable to see Jesus’ destiny and their own.

How many times am I reluctant to hear or see what God is trying to communicate to me? To grow in holiness is not so much about concluding a significant prayer time, or taking my moral temperature on self-perfection, or giving myself a report card on good behavior. It is much a more about a growing sensitivity to God’s presence in my life. It is sort of like fine-tuning an old-time radio, trying to get on God’s wavelength. Commenting on Moses’ call in Exodus 3, when God spoke from a burning bush, the poet Elizabeth Barret Browning, penned these words,

“Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.” (Aurora Leigh)

How patient the Lord was with his Twelve in their “blindness” and inability to see! How patient with me when I just don’t pay attention.

 

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:

Sirach 35:1-12
Mark 10:28-31

Reflection:

The readings today are centered on giving things up to God.  Sirach tells us how to keep the law by doing works of justice, works of charity, and the giving of alms.  These works truly please God; these are the true sacrifices that enrich the altar more than gifts laid upon it.  As much as any incense, they send up a sweet odor to the Most High.  Sirach ends his litany with the exhortation: “Give to the Most High as He has given to you, generously, according to your means.”

This verse catches my eye – causes me to pause and to think.  “. . . as He has given to you.”  Can I ever enumerate all the ways that God has given to me?  If I start with today and begin to work backwards, day by day, will I ever get to the end?   As I start to move through my memories, I get lost in pauses and reveries of wonder.  Through it all, Jesus stands out – over it all and central to it all is Jesus.

A poem-prayer attributed to St. Francis Xavier in an English translation begins:

“My God, I love Thee not that I
may gain a greater place in heaven thereby.
Nor yet because all those who love not Thee
will burn in hell eternally.
No, Thou, my Jesus, whilst on the tree,
didst in Thine arms encompass me.
The nails, the lance, Thou didst endure,
. . .                   . . .                     . . .”

Francis Xavier knew that Jesus loved him personally, and that He gave Himself up upon the cross for love of him: – “. . . didst in Thine arms encompass me.”  Francis simply had to love back.

Many of us are old enough to remember retreats and missions, and maybe even religion class lessons, where we were prompted to prepare for the sacrament of penance by gazing at the crucifix and thinking, “My sins did this to you, Jesus.  I crucified you, Jesus.  I caused you this pain and horrible death.”   By such pondering we were to arouse true sorrow and repentance for our sins.

Nowadays we have recovered a much better response.  With Francis Xavier, with our own Paul of the Cross, with Teresa of Avila and Therese of Lisieux – in fact with all the great mystics and teachers  – we can gaze at Jesus crucified and ponder how in His great love, and because of His great love, Jesus did this for us.  In our prayer we can hear Him saying to us, “I did this for you – I do this for you.”

This is the much better way, I believe, to prepare for the sacrament: To keep our eye on Jesus and His great love, not on ourselves and our sins.  As we gaze upon the Lord and His love, we don’t have to worry about our sins, nor fret about the quality of our sorrow.  Jesus will take care of our sins.  He will make our sins known to us in His own way; and we shall find ourselves more easily dealing with our sinfulness and the root of our sin as He wants us to in His own time.

“Give to the Most High as He has given to you.”  “God so loved the world that He sent His only Son . . . ”

Gazing upon the generosity of God’s love in Jesus crucified will lead us, I think, to be truly generous ourselves.

 

Peter Fitzpatrick, CFX, is a Xaverian Brother living at Ryken House, Louisville, across  Bear Grass Creek from the Passionist Community Sacred Heart Monastery.  

 

Scripture:

Sirach 17:20-24
Mark 10:17-27

Reflection:

Our western civilization, even in these difficult economic times, is one of the wealthiest in history.  So when we hear Mark’s Gospel today, it might cause us to panic.  But it is not wealth itself that poses the biggest threat to our salvation, but rather the attachments we form to the things that wealth buys.  We lament often about our society’s fascination with our “toys” – Depending on our interest, we may long for a big screen TV, the latest I-Pad or I-phone or a new car, top of the line golf clubs, or a big house or any of the myriad of other items we see on TV or in the ads.  And we should be clear.  These things are not evil in themselves, but certainly our attachment to them – both in the longing and in the possession can turn these things to evil for us.  If the possessions cause us to make bad choices – such as not sharing what we have with those who are in need, or spending an inordinate time with our toys and hobbies – or if our possessions become an obstacle in our relationship with God, then these things do become evil and impede our entrance into eternal life.

The last two lines of today’s gospel, however, tell a story of everlasting hope.  As members of our wealthy society today, it certainly will be hard to enter heaven.  In fact, it’s probably accurate to say that most of us as members of our culture today could never achieve heaven on our own.  But not to worry,   God has our back.  Yes, we are going to make mistakes, give in to temptations,  but God is there for us.  God will forgive us and God will love us.  As today’s Gospel tells us, it is probably impossible for us to achieve heaven, but for God, it is possible.

Let us pray for God’s mercy and rejoice always in the love God shared with us through the passion and death of Jesus, our Savior.

 

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

 

 

Pentecost Sunday

Scripture:

Acts 2:1-11
1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 or Galatians 5:16-25
John 20:19-23

Reflection:

He breathed:  on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. John 20:22           

Years ago when I was trained in CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation ) the common practice was to breath into the patient.   This is no longer encouraged.  But it strikingly shows how important it is for us to breathe.   We cannot stay alive for much more than three minutes without breathing! On the average a person at rest takes about 16 breaths per minute.   We are air guzzlers using about two gallons of air a minute.  At that rate I could only drive about 10 minutes before I would have to stop and refuel my pick-up truck!  We need a tremendous supply of fuel of the Holy Spirit to stay alive spiritually.

The Holy Spirit in its etiological roots means both in Hebrew and Greek wind or breath.  We are no less depended on the Holy Spirit than we are on the air we breathe.  “Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” Gen 2:7      The Holy Spirit certainly is the “breath of life”!  Devotion to the Spirit can never be reduced to an optional private choice but is the power source of our spiritual life.   Paul reminds us in the second reading: “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by Holy Spirit.”1Cor 12:3   I find it interesting that we describe our life with Jesus as “our Spiritual life”.

“And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were.  Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” Act 2:2  There are some 400 references to the Spirit in New Testament.  Just about every spiritual gift we can think of is attributed to Holy Spirit, this “divine wind”.

The Spirit is called “the life maker”.  “It is the Spirit who gives life” John 6:63  In the Greek New Testament He is called: zōopoieō Literally life maker.  May this “divine breath” recreate us in the image of Christ!

 

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

Scripture:

Acts 28:16-20, 30-31
John 21: 20-25

Reflection:

In our reading from the conclusion of John’s Gospel, Peter sees the disciple whom Jesus loved, and asks Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” This is after Jesus has told Peter “by what kind of death he would glorify God.” Jesus answers, “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours? You follow me.” By Jesus’ response we see that Peter is probably not asking out of idle curiosity, but perhaps trying to compare himself with the beloved disciple; to see whether the beloved disciple is going to get some special treatment or a better prediction of his fate. Have you ever encountered anyone who did the same thing, always checking to see what other people get and how it compares to what they have received? Perhaps you have fallen into the same trap yourselves. I know I have.

Checking to see how much others have and how much we don’t, or trying to determine whether they should be loved by God or not, is not our purpose as disciples. If we follow Jesus, when we ask “What about him?” or “What about her?” or “What about them?” we are really asking “How can I help him?” or “What is her story?” or “Is there a way we can meet their needs?” We are to look at the choices we make and ask, “How does this affect others?

When we find ourselves asking, “What about him, or her, or them?” Jesus has answered our question by His Cross and the empty tomb: They are beloved by God. May we share Jesus’ answer with the world.

 

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

 

 

Scripture:

Acts 25: 13 – 21
John 21 : 15 – 19

Reflection:

In the marvelous movie “Lion in Winter” in which Peter O’Toole and Catherine Hepburn depict King Henry and Queen Eleanor at Christmas time with their three sons, all of whom are anxious to replace Daddy on the throne of England, there are constant sets of circumstances which give life to the euphemism, “Don’t look now, but…”  They are forever plotting and contriving to make their desires become a reality but something always happens to change directions and possibilities, moving them along entirely different pathways.

“Don’t look now but…” is a phrase which invites us to move more deeply into our Sacred Scripture for today.  In the Gospel of John, the Risen Lord is taking care of a few final but important details having to do with Peter.  In the Acts, Luke is moving us headlong toward the final proclamation of the Gospel  at “the ends of the earth”, i.e. the city of Rome.  Let’s stand alongside Peter and  the Risen Lord for a moment.   Don’t look now but the effervescent, blustery, and impulsive Peter of old is gone.  He has been humiliated and has failed to the extent that he betrayed Jesus three times.  Peter has returned to the only job he knows he can manage, given his circumstances.  He is fishing again.  He can be  low key and safe on the sea and along the seashore.  Then the Risen Lord appears and Peter has one of those moments : don’t look now, but this seaside life is not what I have in mind for you.  Three times Jesus asks, “Do you love me ?”  Three times Peter surrenders his heart to the Lord.  Peter is forgiven.  Peter is rehabilitated.  Peter learns a depth of compassion and mercy which only one who has experienced it can understand and provide for others. Don’t look now, but you are not to be a fisherman, you are to be a Pastor of Christ’s people – feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep.  God’s direction will guide you to your destiny.  Peter, you are to be a witness of the Risen Lord “to the ends of the earth”, i.e. in Rome where others will determine how you will give your final and most profound witness to the Risen Lord in your heart, your life and in our world.  Don’t look now, but the Risen Lord has shifted everything you expected out of life as you cast your nets into the sea for the last time.  The shift is the action of the Holy Spirit and it is marvelous in God’s eyes.

Don’t look now, but Paul, in this scene from the  Acts, has coupled his own ingenuity with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in his life to create a completely unexpected turn of events in his journey of witnessing to the Risen Lord.  Governor Felix has left the new governor, Festus, with a conundrum – namely Paul and the accusations against him. When he decides to send Paul to Jerusalem, a hot bed of hostility against Paul, the Apostle appeals to Caesar.  Don’t look now, but Paul automatically guaranteed himself a journey to Rome at the government’s expense which is where he wanted to go in the first place.  He will spend several years living comfortably in Rome while freely preaching the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ.  Don’t look now, but Paul will not only found a vibrant faith community in Rome but will provide an unshakeable foundation of faith, hope and courage by his final and profound witness to the Risen Lord through martyrdom.

Don’t look now, but the Holy Spirit moved through the circumstances of the lives of both Peter and Paul to bring about unexpected, wondrous, and lasting fruit through the shepherding, nourishing, and affirming presence to the faithful of their day in ways they never imagined for themselves.

This is the Holy Spirit we wait to celebrate at the conclusion of our Easter season.  The Risen Lord continues to stir things up in our own circumstances of life.  How do we respond when we have one of those moments – and we all have them from time to time – “don’t look now but…”  Are we able to open ourselves up to the movements of the Spirit in ways we do not expect and cannot even imagine?  Are we able to count as blessings those moments of life when we are called to experience a deeper faith, a more trusting heart, healing for a fractured relationship, mercy for the sinner, rehabilitation for the betrayer?  Don’t look now, but we are all called to surrender to the direction of the Risen Lord in our lives.  We are asked to avoid hesitation, fear, and excuses in order to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth today, beginning with our own families.

At the end of the “Lion in winter”, Eleanor asks Henry, “Will you let me out (of my castle prison) at Easter?”  Henry responds, “You will rise with the Risen Lord!”  It is our destiny to rise with the Risen Lord.  He has asked us to be his witnesses every day in every way, to conform our minds and hearts to His so that our lives preach His Good News of salvation every moment until our own final, profound witness as we move into eternal life with Him.

 

Fr. Richard Burke, CP, is a member of St. Paul of the Cross Province and also serves on the Provincial Council of Holy Cross Province.  He lives at St. Ann’s Monastery in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

 

Scripture:

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

Reflection:

One of the wonders of the quilt-making craft is how scores, possibly hundreds, of quite differently hued and shaped pieces of cloth can be brought together into a bed-sized quilt, so that, seen covering a bed, it becomes a thing of artistic beauty.  At first sight, it would have seemed impossible to work with such diverse pieces of materials, and bring forth symmetry and harmony: harmony out of diversity—indeed, harmony by way of diversity.

When Jesus completed His mission on earth, suffering death on the cross as a disgraced criminal, then rising majestically from the dead, and returning in glory to His Father in heaven, He was leaving behind Him, despite three intense years of formation and instruction, a motley group of followers none of whom demonstrated any significant signs of leadership or organizational and inspirational skills.  They resembled so many different pieces of cloth as they went their way preaching the gospel, across the borders of disparate countries, without the benefit of cell phones or any other mode of communication with one another, likely never reassembling together again, in the remaining years of their lives.  And yet, they offered a cohesive pattern of religious faith in the person of the Lord Jesus, comparable to the way a quilt acquires the status of an artistic masterpiece, from so many distinct pieces of cloth.  How do we account for this?

Today’s gospel contains the secret of this wonder: it is embedded in Jesus’ final prayer for His twelve closest followers: a prayer for harmony and unity.  This was a prayer of petition for a very unlikely outcome, that harmony and unity would prevail among the twelve, and with Jesus Himself, despite His absence from them as He returns to His Heavenly Father.   His prayer for their harmony and unity amid so many factors militating against any success in preaching the Good News, such as their disarray, incompetence and ignorance, seems as unlikely to succeed as the multiple squares of multi-colored pieces of cloth coming together into a charming bedspread of beauty.  But Jesus had confidence in the success awaiting His apostles, so He confidently departed their company to face His imminent arrest and crucifixion.

Now, granted the efficacy of Jesus’ prayer that harmony and peace would prevail among them, we note a very different tactic resorted to years later, by the versatile and clever Paul, the Apostle, while the other apostles, during these years following Jesus’ Ascension into heaven, spread out across the eastern part of the Mediterranean basin, exhibiting the harmony of purpose and achievement, prayed for by Jesus at the Last Supper.  But Paul, for his part, was doing something equally marvelous, in his own way.  Today’s reading presents a coy and clever Paul, arraigned before the Roman authorities for the disrupture of the public order he had caused, at least within the Jewish community, by preaching the saving mystery of the dead and risen Jesus.  On this occasion, the clever apostle, anticipating the disharmony and disagreement among segments of the Jews assembled against him if he introduced the topic of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, instigating a furious argument among them, which worked to his own advantage, since he knew the Roman authorities would have to turn their attention away from him in order to restore law and order among the combative factions of Pharisees and Sadducees, arguing over this very topic.  This is exactly what happened.  Paul made clever use of disharmony among his opponents to secure his escape from them so he could carry on his preaching ministry with his customary success.

And so today’s scripture shows both harmony and disharmony working in equally effective ways among the apostles, in their efforts at advancing the message of Jesus.  And the same factors play out in our contemporary church as we recall today the martyrdom of contemporary (1937) Christians such as SS. Christopher Magallanes and his companions for their support of a Mexican Christian protest movement against an anti-Catholic government, or as we celebrate this Saturday (May 23^rd), when Pope Francis’ beatifies Archbishop Oscar Romero, assassinated in El Salvador (1980) for his opposition to governmental  persecution of the church because of its support of the poor and disenfranchised—a step Pope St. John Paul II earlier on hesitated to take, fearing it to be more a contentious political issue than a religious one.

Both harmony and disharmony, each in its own way, work themselves out, each in their own way, can promote and advance the gospel message about Jesus Christ.  So, different ways of presenting the gospel can prove as effective as different patterns of quilt material coming together into a bedspread pleasing to the eye.

 

Fr. Sebastian MacDonald, C.P. is a member of the Passionist formation community at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago.

 

Scripture:

Acts 20: 28-38
John 17: 11b-19

Reflection:

During this week between the feast of the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven and the coming feast of Pentecost, our Liturgical Scripture readings invite us to reflect on two people who are preparing themselves for the end of their ministries and lives.

In the Gospel reading we listen as Jesus prays for his disciples, the ones who are with him at the time and the ones who are with him throughout time.  He asks the Father to hold them close and to keep them united with one another, with Jesus and with the Father.  He thanks his Father for giving him the disciples to him and is grateful that he has been able to keep them safe.  Jesus has taught them of their relationship to the Father and more importantly, of the Father’s great love for them.  Jesus then continues to witness to that great love by giving up his life on the Cross for them and for us.  It is a beautiful prayer of union.

It is also a prayer that God will keep them safe.  Jesus notes that the world will hate his disciples just as they have hated him.  So, he asks the Father to keep them safe and faithful so that they can be clear witnesses to God’s love.

We have only a part of the prayer of Jesus in today’s liturgy but it is a beautiful prayer for us made by Jesus on the night before he gave himself completely for us.

In our first reading we hear Paul bidding goodbye to the leaders of the Church in Ephesus.  Paul has to call them to come to him because he is under house arrest in the neighboring town of Miletus.  Paul will be sent to Rome for judgment and he realizes that he will never see these people he has grown to love ever again.  He tells these leaders to be faithful to the good news they have received and to give themselves generously in service to the people under their care.  He reminds them of the selflessness his service has been and encourages them to be equally selfless.  The author of Acts then describes how sad everyone was as they escorted Paul to the ship.

There’s a certain melancholy flavor to the readings today as we remember these farewells.  Clearly, both Jesus and Paul are saddened to be leaving their friends and ministries.  Yet, both also speak of how fulfilled and grateful they are for the lives they’ve been able to live.  Both have given their whole lives in love and service to those God has given them.  And, they urge their disciples and us to do the same.

 

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