Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25
Matthew 7:7-12  

Reflection:

The readings today are all about prayer- its power, its efficacy, that it really works.  The reading from the book of Esther introduces the theme.  Living in Persia during the Babylonian captivity, Esther, secretly a Jewish exile, has been found beautiful and accomplished enough to be a member of the king’s harem, and then even to be made his queen.  Her uncle tells her that his enemy has convinced the king to approve a plot to kill all the Jews dispersed throughout the vast empire.  Esther, humbling herself before God, pleads with Him to save her people.  So touched by her prayer, God uses Esther herself to persuade the king to mercy and justice.

Matthew’s gospel then proceeds to give us a most enlightening and encouraging teaching of Jesus on prayer to God, our heavenly Father.  Ask and you’ll receive, seek and you’ll find, knock and it will be opened: Could anything be clearer?  If we pray for what we truly need, truly our heavenly Father will give it to us.

Jesus backs up his promise with a bit of human logic.  If we, who are weak and sinful, willingly give good things to our children when they ask for them, how much more will our infinitely good Father in heaven give them when we ask Him.  If we who are often tired and selfish, take care and pains to provide for our children and make them happy, how much more will our heavenly Father provide for us and make us happy.  If we love our children, how much more does God love us – truly His children.  Jesus is declaring it, simply and forcefully: God, his Father, is truly our Father.  We are God’s children; we are the real brothers and sisters of Jesus. 

In this first week of Lent, the last verses have a special potency for us.  "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.  This is the law and the prophets."  What has Jesus been doing to us?  He has just told us that we are the Father’s true daughters and sons – he has just reassured us that we are his sisters and brothers.  What does God do to us?  He gave us – and He gives us – His only begotten Son, Jesus the Christ, as our brother.  He makes us one with Jesus Christ.

What then does God our Father want us to do to Him, for Him?  Does He not want us to be Jesus, His son, to Him, for Him?  To meet Him in prayer as His child?  His daughter?  His son?  In this Lent can we take the time to contemplate this truth – to enter more and more into our hearts to see what it means for us?

In the depth of this truth – that I am really a child of God, that He really is my Father, and my Brother, and my Spirit – in its depths what does it say to me about every other person I know and meet?

 

Br. Peter A. Fitzpatrick, CFX, a Xaverian Brother, is a Passionist Associate at Ryken House, St. Xavier High School, across the creek from Sacred Heart Passionist Monastery in Louisville,KY.

Scripture:
Jonah 3:1-10
Luke 11:29-32

Reflection:
The prospect of a "miracle" catches the attention of most any human being.  Perhaps a physical healing, a financial turn-around, the avoidance of a "sure" accident…for ourselves or a loved one….  Sure! Thank you, Jesus!

The people in today’s Gospel were looking for some such miracle from Jesus, some spectacular proof of his claims to selfless goodness and truth.  But Jesus refused to give any extraordinary sign…his soulful preaching of God’s word was enough.  Even the pagans of Nineveh accepted Jonah’s preaching of reform — and Jonah could in no way match the personal power of Jesus’ words!

As people of faith, we once in a while wish for some extraordinary sign from God to confirm our faith and help us get ahead.  "Oh if God would only let me get that job…win that lottery…lose some weight…cure that cancer…"  Mostly we live by the "ordinary" signs of God’s activity in our lives:  his presence to us in the Holy Eucharist, the Sacred Scriptures, and in the lives of one another…"Ordinary", yet oh so special!

The Lenten season encourages us to seek a renewal of heart, an openness to God’s redemptive presence in all aspects of life.  In our fast-paced world, it may take a "miracle" to get us to stop and pay attention:  to take a "time-out" and go deeper in our lives. 

Rather than clamor for an attention-grabbing miracle, perhaps we can quietly accompany Jesus to the desert for an experience of spiritual conversation and enrichment, or we can join Him at the table of the Eucharist for a weekday celebration, or accompany Him as He reaches out to the needy person we meet during our day.  And, it’s amazing how these Lenten practices can lead us to ponder the Cross of Jesus — the "sign" of God’s miraculous love for us and our world.  Jesus’ love is greater than we could ever ask or imagine!

May Jesus’ Passion-ate love fill our hearts these days of Lent.

 

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

Scripture:

Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18
Matthew 25:31-46

Reflection:

When I was in grade school, we were tested and re-tested on our ability to recite the Ten Commandments. Some people proclaim these ten laws to be the only things you need to know to follow God faithfully. It is interesting, though, that Jesus never quoted the Ten Commandments or held them up as central truths of our faith. Instead, he speaks of loving God and neighbor as being the highest commandments of all, and he tells the story about sheep, goats, and serving the least of God’s people as illustration of how to enact that love.

The command to love your neighbor as yourself comes from Leviticus. It is the ending statement of a section that begins much like the Ten Commandments, but the text then expands on the instruction. It dictates that we are not to show partiality to anyone because of their position in life. We are not to take revenge (in fact, we are not even to hold a grudge!) We are to harbor no hatred in our hearts, even against one who has done wrong and needs to be reproved. We are not to gossip. We are not to stand idly by when our neighbor’s life is at stake.

These seem in close parallel to what Jesus has in mind for us, which perhaps is why he quoted it. Yet when I let this expanded version of the Ten Commandments sink in, I am challenged to the depths of my soul. There are so many ways I fall short. I’ll choose just one: In many ways, I fail to live out the precept against standing idly by when my neighbor’s life is at stake. Examples:

– Millions of children in the U.S. go to bed hungry every night. I never do, and in fact I sometimes let food go bad in my fridge. How can I waste less, take more to food pantries, serve in or support soup kitchens, and donate more to hunger organizations like Second Harvest?

– People in many parts of the world have to carry heavy jugs of water for miles in order to stay alive. Yet I think nothing of taking long showers and barely consider ways to conserve water usage throughout the day. Can I change my ingrained habits, learning to act as if my own water supply was extremely limited? How can I also support organizations dedicated to providing clean, safe water worldwide?

– Congress keeps voting to cut back food stamps and "safety net" programs for the poorest people in our country. Have I done so much as write a letter in protest? Can I volunteer my time in one of those "safety net" programs?

– We have the highest rates of incarceration in the world, often inflicting harsh sentences for minor crimes. The death penalty, the ultimate form of retribution, is still enacted in 34 states. Can I become a pen-pal for someone in prison and bring respect and hope to someone without it? Can I volunteer as a driver to take children to visit incarcerated parents, or at least support those who do? In what ways can I oppose the death penalty and advocate for humane treatment of prisoners?

– Immigrants to this country often experience profound discrimination because of their clothing, religion, or accent. Indeed, I catch myself complaining when I can’t understand them, or being exasperated until I "finally reach someone who can speak English." Can I instead reach out with patience, a smile and a kind word for immigrants on the phone or on the street, treating each one with the respect and care I’d want to be shown in a foreign country? Can I encourage the blending of cultures at my parish, attend ethnic celebrations, learn from those whose culture is different from mine, and welcome them fully?

I could go on and on. You may not agree with all of my examples. That isn’t the point. There are countless ways that my behavior puts another’s life at stake. Yet I sit more or less idly by because it isn’t in my face and doesn’t affect my day-to-day life.  As long as I am not hungry, thirsty, a stranger, in prison, or in danger, I let myself get complacent.

Perhaps we all need to take the challenge of these laws more seriously. Choose one, and ask God to soften your heart, open your arms, and show you ways that you can more faithfully live out the challenge of that precept. If we all do just that…just one command…the word of God can shine forth more brightly, spreading truth, justice, and light to the ends of the earth.

 

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.amyflorian.com/.      

 

First Sunday of Lent

Scripture:

Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7
Romans 5:12-19
Matthew 4:1-11

 

Reflection:                 

Lent: Working on Our Relationship with God

Eve saw that the fruit of the tree was good to eat, beautiful and desirable for knowledge. But Eve and Adam after eating the fruit see something else. They see themselves in our fragile humanity, exposed, knowing good and evil. The image of God holding the sleeping Adam at Chartres Cathedral has been interpreted as taking place outside the Garden. God leaves the Garden looking for Adam and Eve who are in exile. God finds them when they sleep and embraces them, because God cannot stop loving them. They have been made in the divine image.

John’s Gospel tells us that Jesus is leading us to the Father; Jesus is leading us back to the Garden. He is the Gardener as Mary Magdalene correctly named him. The reading entitled ‘The Rending of Hell’ from the Office of Readings for Holy Saturday tells of Jesus descending among the dead after his dying on the Cross. He goes to the prison where all of the dead wait, finds Adam and takes him by the hand and leads him and all who wait with him to the heavenly banquet.

Our first reading today establishes our relationship with our Loving God. We can imagine  being where Adam and Eve are before the fall, if we could just remove their mistake. In the Gospel Matthew reflects on our relationship with God. He looks to chapter 6-8, of Deuteronomy, where Moses recalls God’s faithfulness to the Covenant with Israel: God set his heart on you not because you were great, you were the least of all peoples. God chose you…know that your God is God indeed, a faithful God who is true to the covenant. Moses encourages Israel to remember their forty years in the desert as they prepare to go into the Promised Land. They have learned much. Be true to the Covenant. However Israel will not always be true to the Covenant.

Matthew shows us Jesus, Son of God, who passes the tests set forth by the tempter and who is the model of faithfulness to the Covenant and love of the Father. "We have one who has been tempted in every way that we are, though he is without sin" (Heb.4:15).

The first preface for Lent calls it a joyful season. It is the time when we try to live fully our Christian lives, to tend or relationship with God whose love is faithful and embraces us. Using the metaphor of journey for Lent is good because every journey has its tests and challenges, be it an epic of ancient history or a recent trip to another city for a visit with family and friends. Our Lenten journey cannot be without ‘tests’ because we are rending our hearts, working on our relationship with our God. We are dealing with those everyday demons who get in the way of living fully our Christian life.

Lent will take us to the celebration of Our Lord’s Passover from death to life as we celebrate the Paschal Triduum, and we will come in the end to renew our Baptismal Covenant and to sing the Alleluias with those who approach the ‘waters of refreshment’. The gates of the Garden are opened. The failure of Eve and Adam is the happy fault that reveals to us the love of so great a redeemer. From beginning to end we are in a relationship with God. Let us respond to the invitations of grace these days as we tend the garden of our relationship.

 

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

Saturday after Ash Wednesday

Scripture:

Isaiah 58:9b-14
Luke 5:27-32

Reflection:

One of the messages of today’s Gospel was recently addressed by Pope Francis.  "If we don’t feel in need of God’s mercy and don’t think we are sinners, it’s better not to go to Mass."   In some ways, it was a little hard to hear Pope Francis’ words.  Even though we begin the Mass by confessing we are sinners,  sometimes we think of ourselves as the "good guys" and others, those who don’t come up to our standards-that is those who don’t  pray as we do, dress like us, donate enough, behave as we do- as the "sinners."   Like it or not, we need to remember that we are sinners just like everyone else and that we join together in communion as a body of repenting sinners. 

That is what Francis has been preaching through his words and actions since becoming Pope and that is the message that resounds through the New Testament.  Francis speaks loudly by washing the feet of the poor and the imprisoned, by reaching out to the disabled, and by saying to the world, "who am I to judge?" 

And today Jesus gives us the example of eating and drinking with the tax collectors and sinners.  Not only does he sit at table with them, but He tells us that this is the very reason he came.  

As disciples of Jesus, we not only need to acknowledge that we are indeed sinners, but also that we are given the charge to follow his example.  We are called to sit at table with other sinners, to invite other sinners to join us at Eucharist, to be one with them- we are called to truly and completely welcome all into our church family.  As Francis asks, "Does the Eucharist we celebrate lead me to consider all of them [sinners] as brothers and sisters? Does it increase my ability to rejoice when they do and to weep with those who weep?"

And aren’t we, as sinners, further called to go out from our churches, from our homes, from our safe lives to reach out to our fellow sinners, inviting them into our Eucharist, and to join us on our journey to find salvation.  After all, Jesus, did not stand on the steps of the temple, saying to people, "come in" – but rather he went to them- in their villages, in their homes – sharing with them the Good News!  May this Lent be a time of increased evangelization in our churches as we go forth proclaiming Jesus through our words but  especially through our actions.

 

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

Scripture:

Isaiah 58:1-9a
Matthew 9:14-15

Reflection:

I have never liked Lent. As a very young child I remember a time of the year (and it seemed to come every year) when life seemed tense and just miserable. Those around me seemed much more irritable and less patient. The fun of the Christmas Holidays was over and the new clothes I got were now worn and ordinary. The days were cold and I was tired of being stuck in the house. Today, I figure that time of the year, must have been Lent.

I still don’t like Lent, especially when I read today’s passage from Isaiah:

This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own. (Isaiah 58:6-7)

Do you really expect me to do all these things Isaiah? I support the local homeless shelter with a yearly contribution and I donate my old clothes to the Brown Elephant, a local resale shop benefiting the Howard Brown Health Center. I would never turn my back on my own, unless of course they got on my nerves.  Oh, and I volunteer once a year at the Chicago Food Depository. That’s enough right? What’s this releasing those bound unjustly and setting free the oppressed?

Hum? I think I know now why that time long after Christmas was miserable as a child.

 

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

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Luke 9:22-25

Reflection:

As we read the Gospels, we get a sense that many people followed Jesus. At times these people are described as multitudes or even thousands when Jesus multiplied the bread. I can imagine the contemporaries of Jesus were inspired by his preaching, amazed by his teaching, stunned by his miracles and excited to hear Jesus debate the Scribes and Pharisees. But Jesus was never impressed by the size of the crowd. We also find times when Jesus turned to the multitude of followers and put them in a position of having to choose. This is the situation in today’s Gospel story.

"If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." That is drawing a line in the sand! Jesus is asking the people whether they are fans or followers. Examples of fans are described later in this Chapter. First there is the man who tells Jesus that he will follow him. Jesus says the Son of Man has nowhere to place his head. The man disappears. Another man tells Jesus that he has to have time to bury his father. And finally a third man says he must first say goodbye to his family. These fans are saying that they want to follow Jesus but don’t ask too much of me. Don’t ask me to forgive the person who hurt me. Don’t ask me to let go of a grudge or bitterness. They want to pick and choose as if the teachings of Jesus were a buffet, where you take what looks good to you and ignore what you don’t like. A fan will tell you he or she wants to follow Jesus, but not right now. Now just isn’t a good time. We put Jesus off like we put off going on a diet. I’ll start tomorrow! Following Jesus half-way or part-time or half-hearted isn’t an option.

The invitation hasn’t changed. Jesus is still turning to the crowds and addressing us with the same words: "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." A fan admires the statement but never really acts on it. A follower responds to the invitation daily. A preacher said: "We are not invited to wear a cross; we are invited to bear a cross." We are invited to take up a cross, and we are given divine power to bear it in the spirit of Jesus. What particular cross do you need to bear this Lent?

 

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

Ash Wednesday

Scripture:

Joel 2:12-18
2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Reflection:

Last Friday was the title feast of our Passionist Congregation.  St. Paul of the Cross proclaimed the Friday before Ash Wednesday to be the Solemn Commemoration of the Passion.  Somewhere in my theology days, when I first had to preach on this feast, I realized the wisdom of St. Paul of the Cross.  It seems as though, if you are going to take a journey, it is essential to know where the journey ends.  And Lent is a journey which takes us to the foot of the cross.

Welcome to Lent.  Today is Ash Wednesday.  It is officially when we begin our journey and our foreheads are marked with ashes for everyone to see.  Again, it is the cross before us, right between the eyes.  The prophet Joel reminds us to "return to the Lord with your whole heart, with fasting, weeping and mourning."  And the Gospel of Matthew uses Jesus’ teaching to instruct us about the right attitudes especially in regard to almsgiving, praying and fasting.  Lent can be a time of great conversions, of spiritual growth, of getting ourselves back on track.  But I sometimes wonder how many times we let the Lord have the first word when it comes to our Lenten resolutions.

What I found in the Liturgy last Friday, was the power of the proclaimed Word; especially the Passion Narrative.  It humbles us.  It cuts through our pragmatic logic and selfish areas.  It sides us as disciples with Jesus while the crowds around him mock him and humiliate him.  It compels us with a strong desire to step in and do something for Jesus and with the realization of our powerlessness that we can’t change the historical story.  It pulls us into the story to the point of reawakening feelings of caring and compassion where time and daily burdens have numbed us.  And at the end of the proclamation, we are left with this unsettling question why the man who spent his life doing good things and helping so many people dies such a tragic and violent death?  What is wrong with this?  There is something about this narrative which just doesn’t sit right in the core of our soul. And yet the centurion, the Roman outsider understands, "Truly this man was the Son of God."

Ultimately Jesus lays down his life the exact same way he lived his life every day.  He pours himself out focused only on his Father’s love and mercy.  Of all the things that could have come out of his mouth, he looks at those humiliating him and instead of vengeance he continues to pour out God’s mercy as he says, "Father, forgive them."

Our Lenten Journey has only one destination and that is the death and resurrection of Christ.  Lenten season finds us putting considerable energy into fish fry’s, devotions, and personal Lenten practices including  more liturgies, penance services, and additional prayer services.  It’s always a challenge to remember that it isn’t about what we do for God.  It is far more important to know what God has done for us.  We must allow God’s grace and redemption to be first.  That is why we tell the story, to keep the Passion of Jesus Christ always in our hearts.

 

Fr. David Colhour, C.P. is the pastor of St. Agnes Parish in Louisville, Kentucky.