Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Acts 17:15, 22-18:1
John 16:12-15

Reflection:

Did you ever spend hours preparing a speech about a topic you were really passionate about only to have it fall on deaf ears or at the very least get a mediocre review?  Even though you were sure that the message would be well received and your listeners would surely give it the attention it warranted, but, alas, it just didn’t happen!

Well, we see this happening with Paul in his famous speech to the Athenians at the Areopagus as found in the first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles.  Paul prepared, planned and delivered what he thought to be a great philosophical message about Jesus.  The people did not want to hear anything about this Jesus and surely not in the manner that Paul was trying to tell them.

It was a hard lesson for Paul to learn.  He was not a philosopher, but, rather a tent maker converted to Christianity through his encounters with Jesus.  He was trying to be someone he wasn’t and it just wasn’t working.  So often we too try to be what we think others want us to be which in the end finds us disappointed and disillusioned.

Like Paul, we are called to be followers of Jesus Christ and to preach his message of love, compassion and mercy. May we recommit ourselves this day to give witness to the great love God has for us in how we live, love and care for ourselves and others.

 

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

 

Scripture:

Acts 16:22-34
John 16:5-11

 

 

 

Reflection:

Promise and Hope and Tenderness

Today’s Gospel, from Jesus’ Final Discourse to his disciples at the Last Supper, is filled with promise and hope and tenderness. Jesus is trying to encourage his followers for a time when he will no longer be physically present to them. I like to remember that these are the men who have argued among themselves who is number one, or they have asked to be the ones who sit at his right and left, then want to call down a scorched-earth policy (fire and brimstone) because Samaria didn’t offer them a warm welcome! Another disciple chastised Jesus for voicing his destiny to be suffering and death, and eventually another will say he’ll never believe until he sees.

Today’s first reading reminds us that the opposite is true: we will never see until we first believe. Maybe the jailer is transformed by Paul and Silas for the same reason that the centurion is transformed on Golgotha. He recognizes the Christ because he first was open and receptive to the promise and hope and tenderness.

Lately, when I think of witnessing to the Gospel, I can’t help but think of Pope Francis. His words – whether to women religious or gays and lesbians, Muslim prison inmates or Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres – are filled with encouragement. Most of us are called to evangelize, not by ringing doorbells or disseminating religious literature or preaching on a downtown street corner. We proclaim the Good News – whether at home with family, at work with colleagues and clients, or at leisure with friends –  by nurturing an atmosphere of compassion and mercy – promise and hope and tenderness.

 

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:

Acts 8:5-8, 14-17
1 Peter 3:15-18
John 14:15-21

Reflection:

In Sunday’s second reading from 1 Peter (3:15-18), it says: "Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence…" As I was reflecting on this, I had to ask myself, "What is the reason for my hope?" And it occurred to me that the basis for my hope is not some abstract belief in the resurrection of a person named Jesus two thousand years ago. The reason for my hope is that I have been lifted up by this Jesus time and time again. The reason for my hope is that I have seen others lifted up. I have seen alcoholics and addicts stop using self-destructive drugs after they have turned to a Higher Power. I have seen others continue to work to help those in need. I have seen still others reach across the divisions and barriers that exist between people and work together to make their part of the world a better place. The reason for my hope is not a belief in an event that occurred so long ago. The reason for my hope is that I have seen the Risen Jesus at work in mine and in other people’s lives right here and now!

There is an old saying: "Where there’s life, there’s hope." We may be tempted to think otherwise, as we have witnessed so much evil and suffering in the world. As people of faith, though, I think we can add a bit to that saying. We can also say, "Where there’s love, there’s hope." I’m not talking necessarily about romantic love, but about Christian love. In our Gospel reading (John 14:15-21), Jesus predicts the coming of the Holy Spirit on His disciples, but warns them that the world will not recognize the Spirit, and reassures them that they will know the Spirit. He then says, "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you." Jesus declares His love for us, and continues to exhort us to love each other. If we have that kind of love for each other, there is still hope.

We might also say, "Where there are relationships, there’s hope." At the end of our Gospel reading, Jesus speaks about relationships: "In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father and I will love him and reveal myself to him." As long as we stay in that relationship with God, there is hope. And as long as we stay in relationship with others, there is hope. We see this in our first reading from Acts (8:5-8, 14-17)where Philip has gone to hated Samaria to proclaim the Good News, and has been accepted! And then Peter and John do not stay isolated in Jerusalem, but come to Samaria and pray with the people so that they, too, can receive the Holy Spirit. When there are people willing to reach across the divide, and build new relationships with people who may be different, there is hope! I am honored to be in relationship with people who are willing to do as Philip and Peter and John were willing to do!

Perhaps another way to say all this is to recognize that we are called to live our lives in Christ in such a way that it can be said, "Where there is us, there’s hope." We are called to bring hope. To give in to despair or selfishness or resentment or fear is not really an acceptable option for us. There may be times when we fall into those things, but we can’t stay there. As long as we are willing to follow Jesus, who "suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous," and are willing to accept that "it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil," than there is hope. May hope in Christ be evident through us!

 

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

Feast of the Ascension of the Lord

Scripture:

Acts 1:1-11
Ephesians 4:1-13
Matthew 28:16-20

Reflection:

"When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight."

These words from the Acts of the Apostles describing the Ascension of the Lord, evoked many questions in my mind when I was a small child.  How high did Jesus rise before the cloud came?  Was it an immediate "whoosh" into the sky or a slower "up, up and away" type of ascension?  My approach to this Feast as a Catholic child was in language and pictures a child could understand and imagine. 

When I reflect on the Ascension as an adult, I ponder the wonder of a faith and a love without any boundaries.  There are no earthly boundaries when it comes to the presence of Christ in me, in others, in our world and beyond.  Christ is inside and outside, deep within me and all around me, beyond life and beyond death, no place and every place.  As Paul said in his letters, I no longer live but Christ lives in me!

The Ascension reminds us of a beautiful reality without boundaries!  On the Ascension of the Lord, I remember.  Nothing can separate us from Christ.  God’s love is always available to me and a deep river of compassion and love with God runs swiftly through my soul.  If I take time to prayerfully remember who I am in the present moment, I can drink deeply from this river of God’s love.  This beautiful reality evolves within me, and in everything and every person around me.  God’s love ascends within us all as we grow in Christ.

This Feast of the Ascension underlines the unity we all share in Jesus the Christ; who suffered and died, who rose from the dead, and who ascended into heaven.

 

Terry McDevitt, Ph.D. is a member of our Passionist Family who volunteers at the Passionist Assisted Living Community in Louisville, Kentucky.

Memorial Day in the USA

Scripture:

Acts 16:11-15
John 15:26-16:4a

Reflection:

At the start of every family car trip, my mother and father would intone, "Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary…" to entrust our safety to the Mother of God through praying the Memorare.  With reference to the same prayer when gathering for various occasions, my father enjoyed saying, "Here we are, sinful and sorrowful."

Today is Memorial Day in the United States, a national holiday that invites us "to remember" those in our families and communities who have bravely served our country in time of war and strife, and who have died in this service.  The very word "remember" means so much more than just a simple recalling of past events or people.  The Latin root of the word is memor, which means being mindful or being aware.  It means making real again in our hearts and minds an important experience or person.

I have always been drawn to good storytellers.   A well written book, a classic movie, or a modern troubadour creates in very compelling ways an experience that draws me in because their story taps something profoundly important in me.  It helps me remember…to make real again what I may have forgotten.  The people of Israel were tremendous storytellers.  Throughout the scriptures, we hear prophets and kings pleading with the people to remember how gracious God has been to them.  They tell over and again the stories of God intervening in their lives.  It is when they forget (unable to remember) that disaster descends upon them.

So this day, let us remember.  Let us bring to heart and mind those people who have loved us and those events that have shaped us.  Let us find a way to tell one particular story that makes very real again our experience of how much God loves us.

 

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.

 

Scripture:

Acts 15:7-21
John 15:9-11

 

 

 

Reflection:

I wonder why it pleases a person to be told time stands still when you look into her face, but not to say her face would stop a clock. Why?
I wonder why, when a preacher says, "In closing…" he doesn’t.
I wonder why a speaker who needs no "introduction" gets one anyway.

Many things in this world cause us to wonder. But one of the most striking is that Jesus should want to love us as much as God loves him. "As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love."

It is the experience of this wonderful love, so generously bestowed by God, that motivates the apostles to welcome the Gentiles into the early Church. This was not an easy decision for the Jewish Christians. In today’s first reading a decision is reached by the Council of Jerusalem to open wide the doors. Peter affirms that the Spirit of God is working among the Gentiles. He has experienced this with Cornelius and his family, the first Gentile Christens. James supports Peter’s decision by quoting Scripture. The rest of the "apostles and presbyters" fall silent but eventual agree that a letter (like an encyclical from the Pope) should be written to welcome the Gentiles into the Church.

Fortunately, the early Church leaders, especially Peter, understood God’s wonderful love to be inclusive and that no one of good character was to be excluded. Opinions would have to change, laws would have to be reinterpreted, the "outsiders" would have to be welcomed. The way of doing Christian "business" would change forever.

As someone described it, the love of God is like eclectic current. If the current does not pass through you, it cannot enter into you. If the love of Jesus does not pour through you to others, it is a sign that God’s love is not really in you. The love of God has to be recognized, responded to and passed on. That’s the wonder of it all.

 

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

 

 

Scripture:

Acts 15:1-6
John 15:1-8

Reflection:

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does, he prunes so that it bears more fruit."

As an amateur gardener, I find great joy, and put much energy, in the awakening of my garden from its winter slumber.  There is something spiritually fulfilling about nurturing plants to life, and then standing back to watch them bear fruit.   As a gardener, I welcome my role as steward, charged with guiding and directing my little piece of earth.

As I read today’s gospel, it was not difficult to embrace the importance of Jesus’ words.  Just as we feed and nurture our gardens, so should we feed and nurture our souls.  If left unattended by half-hearted commitment and contradiction it will certainly wither. In the true vine, we will find strength, to shed the non-productive and diseased. If cared for and fed with the love of God, our souls will be forever enriched with joy and hope, increasing the yield and quality of our lives and those who surround us.  As we welcome our roles this spring as stewards to the earth, so should we embrace and steward our relationships with the vine.

 

Angela Kwasinski is the Director of Donor Relations for the Holy Cross Province Development Office.

Scripture:

Acts 14:19-28
John 14:27-31a

Reflection:

How easily discouraged are you?  When things don’t go your way, or when people don’t agree with you, or you meet resistance to your ideas or beliefs, how do you respond?  Do you become quiet?  Do you give up?  Do you turn away in anger?  In our first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear about St. Paul the Apostle and his experience of preaching the Good News.

He’s down in the city of Laodicea, a thriving commercial town in southern Turkey.  He’s bringing the Good News to the people there and at first it seems they were receptive.  Then some Jews come down from nearby Iconium and Antioch and turn the people against Paul.  They don’t just get the crowed to stop listening, they incite the them to stone him; then they drag his apparently dead body outside the city walls and dump it.  A few of his remaining friends follow the crowd out of the city so they can bury him.  But, much to their surprise, his friends discover that Paul is still alive, though battered, bruised and unconscious.  As soon as Paul wakes up, he heads right back into the city.  Then, he continues his mission, returning to Antioch and Iconium and then off to other towns in the region:  Lystra, Derbe, Perga and the regions of Pisidia and Pamphylia.  We’re told many people came to believe in the Gospel as a result of Paul’s visits and preaching. 

What remarkable commitment to the Gospel.  It is no wonder the Gospel spread rapidly given the deep commitment Paul, Barnabas and the other Apostles and Disciples had to witnessing to the resurrection and teachings of Jesus Christ.  Nothing would deter them from spreading the Good News.

They certainly have set a high bar for those of us who follow in their footsteps.  But their fearless witness and great success encourage us to let go of our fears and rely on God’s presence in those we meet. 

 

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