Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Acts 3:1-10
Luke 24:13-35

Reflection:

In today’s Scripture readings, we hear about a lot of astonishing things. In our Gospel reading from Luke, we have the familiar and uplifting account of the encounter between the Risen Jesus and two disciples on their way from Jerusalem to Emmaus. The two do not recognize Jesus. They have heard stories about an empty tomb and a vision of angels telling others that Jesus was alive, but they are leaving Jerusalem in dismay, believing that their hopes in Jesus have been dashed. But Jesus interprets the Scriptures for them so that they can see how the Messiah would first have to suffer before entering "into his glory." Later, when they are about to eat, they recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread, and He disappears from their sight!

In our reading from Acts, Peter and John come upon a beggar who is crippled, and Peter says to him, "I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk." Peter then takes the man by the hand, and he walks!

For me, these readings remind us that we need not have lived in ancient Israel when Jesus lived on earth to have an intimate relationship with Him. We can hear Him speak to us in the Scriptures. We can encounter Him in a special way in the sacraments, especially in the Eucharist. We can be with Him in prayer, and we can grow closer to Him as we follow Him.

Like Peter and John, we can share what we have with those in need. We can share the love and grace we have been given in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. Like Peter, we can take people by the hand and help lift them up! And when we do this, we grow closer to Jesus Himself.

In this Easter season, we are called to be open to how the Risen Lord reveals Himself to us. May we know His presence and love in our lives.

 

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

Scripture:

Acts 2:14, 22-33
Matthew 28:8-15

Reflection:

We know that tradition plays a prominent role in our Christian faith, along with the Scriptures themselves, which also, so far as we can gather, are products of tradition.  Tradition is the handing over of stories from one group to the next, or from one generation to the next.  It is not to be dismissed as unreliable and untrustworthy, liable to exaggeration, error and/or misinterpretation.   Scholars of all kinds have come to respect traditions prevailing in areas of their own academic areas as indicators of underlying facts.

We hear of traditions at work even in today’s scriptures.  Peter waxes eloquent, in his words to the people of Jerusalem, about the venerated King David and his role as a prophet in speaking about his offspring who would succeed him as king, and also about the messiah who  was not to "…be abandoned to the netherworld", nor would "…his flesh see corruption." (Acts 2.31)  This was a tradition familiar to Peter, and he called upon it without hesitation, to make a point with his listeners who also revered tradition, especially in conjunction with the venerated David.  Peter doesn’t have to worry about the acceptability of citing tradition to recommend to his listeners the truth to which he was testifying regarding Jesus, even though He was killed by the very people to whom Peter was speaking, namely, "God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death…"  (Acts 2.24)

And then, in Matthew’s gospel, we hear his account of the amazing resurrection of Jesus from the dead, recounted to some women visiting the tomb and met by an angel with the message of His being raised from the dead, making them the source of several traditions about the resurrection, as they "…ran to announce this to his disciples."  (Mt. 28.8)  And shortly after this another version of the empty tomb story was getting underway under the machinations of the chief priests, reacting to the report from the guard at the tomb about "all that had happened" (28.11).  And these wily clergy fabricated their version of these events by instructing the soldiers to say: "His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep". (28.13)  And Luke continues: "And this story has circulated among the Jews to the present day." (28.15)   Yet another tradition!

Something as momentous as the resurrection was bound to generate many stories that would enter into the tradition.   Their variety and lack of coherence doesn’t militate against the truth of the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb.  Rather, they witness to the momentousness of the event, so much so that no one version of it could adequately capture all its dimensions.  So we welcome the tradition(s) that start as early as the prophet King David, and reach us even today.  They witness to the powerful significance of the resurrection as an epochal event that begs the adequacy of any rendition of it to fully convey its significance for us.

Just as people, excited by some stupendous event they have just witnessed, express, each in his or her own way, what happened, so do the early witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus from death to new life.  These excited and sometimes jumbled versions of what just happened, each witnessing to a remarkable event, are so many corroborations of the truth that something truly astounding HAS happened.  What exactly happened: that is the question.  But these several stories are as good a proof as any for the resurrection of the Lord from the tomb.  We are heirs of a tradition to this effect.  What does this mean?   "…he received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father and poured it forth…"  (Acts 3.33)  And we are gifted by this promise.  This is what the Resurrection means for us.

 

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

The Fifteenth Station:
Jesus is Raised from the Dead  

Mary Magdalene and the other women who left Jesus’ body in the tomb on Friday, thought that the Sabbath would never end. They gathered their oils, spices and perfumes with which they were going to anoint Jesus’ body. They made their way to the tomb, wondering if they could find someone who to help them roll back the huge stone that was blocking its entrance.

As they came upon the tomb, the women saw that the stone had been rolled away. Confused, they went inside but did not find Jesus’ body. They encounter two men dressed in white garments who told them that Jesus had been raised from the dead. The women were so startled that they did not know what to believe! They saw an empty tomb, a burial cloth laying on the floor and no sign of a body.

The two men dressed in white sent the women as messengers to tell the disciples that Jesus had been raised from the dead and that he would soon appear to them.

These women were the very first believers in the Resurrection of Jesus. Their sorrow which had turned into fear, suddenly become sheer joy! The Resurrected Jesus trusted them to be the first messengers of his Resurrection. Their faith in the Resurrection of Jesus was complete and absolute.

When Jesus the Christ finally appeared to the disciples, he appeared as the one who bore the marks of crucifixion. In fact, Jesus had to show them his hands and side to help them believe that he had risen from the dead. His wounds that were so visible and painful just three days ago were now scars which were completely healed.

The Signs of the Passion would always be visible on the Risen body of Jesus, the Christ.

We adore you O Christ and we bless you. By your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

Dear Jesus, we thank you for letting us accompany you on your Way of the Cross. May the joy of the Resurrection bring peace and reconciliation to all we meet in our lives. Amen.

  

 

Holy Saturday

Scripture:

Genesis 1:1-2:2
Genesis 22:1-18
Exodus 14:15-15:1
Isaiah 54:5-14
Isaiah 55:1-11
Baruch 3:9-15, 32-4:4
Ezekiel 36:16-17a, 18-28
Romans 6:3-11
Matthew 28:1-10

Reflection:

The day dawns upon the Sabbath and the usual silence continues within the homes and streets Jerusalem. For a small group of men and women, followers of Jesus, this day is one of unbearable heartache and unimaginable sorrow. Yesterday, as the day was ending, these men and women buried Jesus in an unmarked tomb after he had died a terrible death on a cross. His life and his words haunt them. All their hopes and dreams were shattered with his death. They would find meaning in these Good Friday events only on Easter Sunday. That Saturday was a day of silent mourning.

Centuries later, the Church still strives to capture that mood, that sense of loss that the disciples of Jesus must have felt on that first Holy Saturday. Today, when we enter a Church on Holy Saturday, we find it stripped bare of all of the usual reminders of a place of worship. There is no lit Sanctuary Lamp and the Tabernacle door has been left open. The altar is stripped bare. There are no flowers or banners or trappings that speak of life, hope and tomorrow. Only silence and a sense of solitude are present in the Church.

There is no morning Mass, funerals or weddings on Holy Saturday. It is a day of silent prayer, a day of remembrance, and a day of longing. It is a day of quiet and reflection. It is a day when we can invite the Lord to make a dwelling deep within our hearts and minds. It is a day of profound communion with ourselves and God.

Before we go to bed on Holy Saturday, we will experience a whole new feeling, a very different mood. Out of the darkness will come voices from the past, helping us remember the Love of God from the beginning of time. We will be reminded of the Power of God, the God who Saves time and time again. We will be invited into the empty tomb where Jesus’ body was laid to rest, only to find messengers of Good News: Jesus Christ is Risen from the Dead. We will be called to communion of heart and mind as we unite as a People of Faith around the Risen Christ. Candles will be lit. Glorious voices will sing out. A New Day Dawns! Alleluia, Alleluia!

 

Fr. Clemente Barrón, C.P. is a member of Immaculate Conception Community in Chicago, Illinois. 

Holy Thursday

Scripture:

Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-15

Reflection:

Today continues our journey to the Cross with remembrance of the Last Supper and washing of the feet. Holy Thursday opens ourselves to the love that is placed before us on the cross. This Holy Day reminds us not only of great gift of the Eucharist but also the service that we should provide to one another.

This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.

Our participation in the Last Supper at every Mass has a vertical and horizontal nature. Vertically, it strengthens our relationship with God, reminding us that all we have comes from him and goes back to him. The horizontal element strengthens our relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. The gifts and graces that we receive in the Eucharist, we are called to then share with others. And not only share but take responsibility for and to love one another. Jesus is the model for this in the washing of the feet of the disciples

He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist.

Through the gift of Christ in the Eucharist, we are called to serve one another with the gifts we have been given. The range of the ways we can use our gifts is vast. We are taught that it is our duty to serve one another. What we don’t always remember is that Jesus also showed his disciple how to be served. It can be difficult to humble ourselves and be served by another person. Whether that be accepting meals during an illness, or asking others to pray for you, we have to be open to accepting the help of others. God sends us graces and gifts through others when we are in need; let us be open to accepting it.

As come to the end of this Lenten season, let us recall the ways that God has called us to serve one another and how we can learn to be served.

I have given you a model to follow, so that I have done for you, you should also do.

Will you let me be your servant? Let me be as Christ to you. Pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant too. – Servant Song

 Kim Valdez is a Pastoral Associate at Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center in Houston, Texas.

 

Wednesday of Holy Week

Scripture:

Isaiah 50:4-9a
Matthew 26:14-25

 

 

Reflection:

The Redemptive Suffering of Jesus’ Passion

What liberating power does God’s word have without being prophetic in the face of social injustice and human disgrace?  What meaning does praying to God have in the face of human distress and hardships without any zeal for God’s merciful love?  What beauty and nobility does the glory of Jesus’ resurrection have without the horrific suffering of his death?  The redemptive suffering of the Servant of the Lord surfaces in today’s liturgical readings and orations and thus evokes the above reflective questions that resonate with the human experience of suffering and redemption in and through Jesus Christ.   For, in the offertory, we beseech the Lord to receive "the offerings made here, and graciously grant that, celebrating your Son’s Passion in mystery, we may experience the grace of its effects."

We indeed present to God our existential struggles, hardships, hopes, and joys along with Jesus’ self-giving and suffering on the Cross, knowing that "the Lord hears the poor, and his own who are in bonds he spurns not" (psalm).   Because we know that Jesus’ "appointed time draws near" in Holy Week, the church’s liturgy prepares us to celebrate with him the Passover.  No wonder the more we approach the celebration of the paschal triduum of Holy Week, the more we are asked to surrender our selfishness, sinfulness, and self-sufficiency to God in order to commemorate and make sense of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ in our lives.

The church prepares us so well to be in tune with Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection by instructing us, since Monday, in the light of Isaiah’s "Oracles of the Servant of the Lord."  And today we hear from the third oracle that the Suffering Servant of the Lord did not shield his face "from buffets and spitting," because "the Lord God has given him a well-trained tongue . . . to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them and a receptive ear "that I may hear" and not rebel against his divine will.  Therefore, we will eventually come to hear on Good Friday Isaiah’s Forth Oracle of the Servant of the Lord who denied and "surrendered himself to death" (Is 53:12).  We can even come to open our hearts and minds to deepen in our lives the meaning of Jesus’ words from last Palm Sunday’s Gospel of the Lord’s Passion, that is, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will" (Mt 26:39).

God’s word will never set us free unless it remains true and prophetic in the face of social injustice and human disgrace.  Likewise, unless we develop a zeal for God’s merciful love, we will never experience his life-giving and imminent presence in our prayer life.  And we will never come to experience God’s redemptive grace in our lives unless we accept the suffering of our daily living with the dignity and humility of a self-surrendering attitude to God’s will.   Hence, let us prepare ourselves to walk with Jesus and submit ourselves with him "to the yoke of the Cross," so that we may "attain the grace of the resurrection" (today’s collect).  

 

Fr. Alfredo Ocampo, C.P. gives retreats and parish missions.  He is stationed at Holy Name Passionist Community in Houston, Texas.

Scripture:

Acts 5:27-33
John 3:31-36

Reflection:

On this first day of May when people throughout the world celebrate the importance and dignity of labor, the readings from our liturgy remind us of our mission as Christians-as they do throughout this post-Easter season.  Pope Francis has made this a constant theme of his pontificate-not just in what he says but in what he does.  The Church must not be turned in on itself.  It has to avoid the "stale air" of a closed room.  Christ calls us to reach out to the world in love and compassion, especially to those most in need.

As the biblical readings today testify, the Pope’s call to mission is not something new but reaches back to the very heart of our Christian faith.  Today, for example, we hear of the irrepressible zeal of Peter and the other apostles.  The religious authorities were deeply disturbed by the apostles’ preaching and had warned them to be quiet, but to no avail.  Finally, in the segment right before the passage we hear today, the authorities had thrown them into prison.  But no prison could bottle up the Spirit of God and the apostles are miraculously freed from their cell.  When the authorities tell the guards to bring the prisoners to them for interrogation, the amazed guards have to report that the apostles were somehow freed and were back preaching the gospel again!

When finally the apostles are brought before the council and reprimanded for not keeping quiet, the apostles still refuse to be silent!  "We must obey God rather than any human authorities," Peter boldly says.  Like Jesus before them, they live under the threat of death and are scourged for punishment, but their witness to the gospel continues without hesitation.

The gospel passage for today has a similar theme.  It is taken from Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus early in the Gospel of John.  Jesus speaks to Nicodemus about himself and the mission God has given him:  "The one who comes from heaven…testifies to what he has seen and heard."  "The one whom God sent speaks the words of God.  He does not ration his gift of the Spirit."

The early chapters of the Acts of the Apostles describes the witness of the early Church in dramatic terms: Peter preaching to the crowds of pilgrims who come to Jerusalem for the Jewish feast of Pentecost; Peter and the other apostles bursting out of prison and preaching the gospel despite the threats against their lives posed by the authorities; Steven giving witness even as he is being stoned to death as the first martyr of the young Church.  Later in Acts we travel with Paul as he fearlessly proclaims the gospel throughout Asia Minor and on into Greece and finally Rome itself. 

There are still Christians today who are called upon to give courageous witness to their faith and to the gospel message, even in the face of threat.  But for most of us, witness to the gospel may come in less dramatic but still demanding settings.  Learning to forgive and seek peace when we have been hurt by someone’s harsh words to us; supporting efforts to bring justice to the poor in our society; taking responsibility for caring for the environment-seeing it as God’s sacred creation; being willing to share our faith with friends or neighbors when the opportunity presents itself; nourishing that faith with prayer and reflection.

The readings today urge us to make our own the words of the responsorial Psalm for this beginning of May: "I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth."

 

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.

Monday of Holy Week

Scripture:

Isaiah 42:1-7
John 12:1-11

Reflection:

Our readings for this Monday in Holy Week are so rich and filled with wonderful imagery, some of the best that we can find in Isaiah.  Of course it is Isaiah who ushers in for us the very beginning of Holy Week immediately after Passion (Palm) Sunday where, in the Gospel, we journeyed with Jesus from the Passover Feast to Calvary.

The words he speaks to us today are in such contrast to the image of the crucified Christ on Calvary:

            Here is my servant…whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
            upon whom I have put my Spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations,….(and)            
            establish justice on the earth,

            I, the Lord, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand;
            I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the      
            eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live 
            in darkness.

What amazing imagery, a far cry from what artists over the centuries have portrayed when they try to show us what the crucifixion of Jesus must have looked like.  Yet that is what is to come and Isaiah lures us first into the glory and the beauty of the mission entrusted to Jesus by the Father.  We get just a glimpse as we only see in the Gospels very rarely the intimacy that exists between the Father and the Son.  And then only a few short days later the glory and beauty are gone and we are immersed in a moment that is filled with darkness and death.

Then in our response we pray: The Lord is my light and my salvation …we need these words if we are to stay with Jesus in the midst of his Passion and death and not run away as others did.  We need to remember that even in our greatest darkness the Lord is our light.

Even Mary in Bethany seems to sense that something terrible is coming during what was surely Jesus last visit to the home of his dearest friends.  Mary, through the anointing, gives Jesus great comfort and honor just days before he would celebrate the Passover, be betrayed, arrested, and humiliated by the abandonment of those he loved so very much.  Yet, such pristine and pure love was too much for Judas to understand!  John’s Gospel calls him a thief!  How could he comprehend things clearly if he was a thief and concerned with money rather than with the Lord?  After all that time together and Judas still could not see the Lord standing before him. 

These are special days we are entering into.  What a great opportunity to accompany the Lord from the Hosanna’s to the shouts of the mob; what a profound invitation to walk with the Lord each step of the way this Holy Week and to know the power and the terrible beauty of his Cross.

 

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