Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Isaiah 49:14-15
1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Matthew 6:24-34

Reflection:

This Sunday is the last Sunday of Ordinary Time before the Lenten liturgical season.  As Sunday lectionary readings, today’s readings invite us to reflect on some of the universal message of Scripture in the light of the Lent which is about to begin.

The passage from Isaiah 49 is a small text from a powerful chapter of Isaiah.  In Chapter 49, Isaiah foresees the victorious triumph of God’s people over all who would respond to  their fidelity to God by subjecting them to servitude.  However, the passage read at this Mass is the tender and comforting reminder that stronger than a mother’s love is the love of God for the people of the covenant.  " Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb?  Even should she forget, I will never forget you."  This passage, asserting as it does the provident care of God for those who place their trust in God’s fidelity, sets the stage for the longer Gospel reading which will be read on this same Sunday.

That Gospel, from Matthew’s sixth chapter, begins with Jesus’ admonition that a person cannot serve two masters, have divided loyalties, or acquiesce to the values that are opposed to God’s revealed way for us.

Then, in an echo of our First Reading, from Isaiah, the passage continues: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?" 

One is reminded that the origins of Lent in the Church, are as a penitential season to prepare the public penitents for re-admission to the sacramental life of the Church.  These penitents would be fasting, and appearing in sack cloth and ashes.  "…do not worry about…what you will eat or drink…or…what you will wear.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?"

However, the message is not a gloomy or morose one.  Just as Isaiah’s 49^th chapter is about the way God will rescue the people from oppression, so Matthew’s gospel goes on to praise the goodness of God over creation.  "Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?…Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow…not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them."

Lent will begin on Ash Wednesday with the seemingly anomalous reading from Matthew, Chapter 6, verses 16-18, which cites Jesus as instructing his followers to hide their fasting from public recognition.  Yet the Church emphasizes the importance of Lenten penance, especially the historical custom of fasting.  Is this a contradiction?  No, not really, because the attitude with which we undertake our Lenten penances is the attitude that Jesus calls for in the concluding verses of today’s Gospel:  "So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’  All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides."

Let us plan for this year’s Lent to be a time of seeking the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness and justice.

 

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

Scripture:

James 5:9-12
Mark 10:1-12

Reflection:

Here we are on the last day of the shortest month of the year.  Spring is coming on March 20, so the calendar says!  For many people the winter has been way too long and they are looking for any sign of hope that spring may be just around the corner!  The letter of James reminds us to stop grumbling and show more tolerance for one another.  For people who are experiencing ‘cabin fever’ after the long, hard winter, grumbling and impatience has become more often the norm.

Psalm 103 also reminds us that God is kind and merciful and the Giver of all good gifts!  When things aren’t going our way, we sometimes forget this.  We become overwhelmed with the negative and have a harder time seeing all the positives.  James tells us there is a simple but challenging solution to these rough times. If we let our ‘YES’ mean ‘YES’ to being open to God’s great love, mercy and understanding and accept and use the gifts we have been given, our world can be a whole lot brighter and more hopeful.  This can only happen if we also make a concerted effort to making sure our ‘NO’ means ‘NO’!  As faithful followers of a loving God, we are called to say ‘NO’ to all of the ways that cause us to act contrary to the plan our loving God has set before us.  March 20 may or may not bring sunshine, warm temperatures and blooming flowers.  Placing our hope and trust in the God who has given us the beauty of all the seasons plus so many other good gifts, will surely surround us with all good gifts that come from God above.  Did you know that we use many more facial muscles in smiling and saying YES than we do when we frown and say NO!  Smile more, frown less.

Spring and new life is right around the corner!

 

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

Scripture:

James 5:1-6
Mark 9:41-50

Reflection:

Better to enter life with one hand
than enter Gehenna with two!

I suppose we all know someone who believes in a literal interpretation of Sacred Scripture. For some, the biblical text is to be read and understood in the same way we read and study a science book or historical narrative. And if the Bible reads that God created the universe in seven days, then so be it. And if Moses split the Red Sea in two, then so be it. One of our Old Testament professors in seminary once said that Cecil B. DeMille’s movie, The Ten Commandments, impeded Scripture studies by fifty years! Even today, I think many people base their understanding of Judeo-Christian mysteries more on Hollywood productions (e.g., the movie, Ghost, and one’s understanding of the mystery of resurrection!) and Renaissance paintings than good theology or factual history!

Today’s Gospel demands a broader knowledge of several disciplines. When Jesus says we are to gouge out our eyes if they cause us to sin, or sever a hand in the face of temptation, his words are not to be taken literally!  But for some people, the metaphors of Scripture are a precarious minefield, and we’re frightened because we are not trained to interpret, so we simply ignore God’s Word altogether. In St. James’ letter today, for example, does the author literally mean that the rich are to weep and wail over impending miseries?

No, but from a broader context we realize that the Scripture challenge is to recognize Jesus proclaimed a loving God whose dream envisioned a level playing field. Thus, Jesus raises up the woman bent over (Luke 13:11), and he pulls down the wealthy and powerful tax collector, Zacchaeus. Our Blessed Mother, in her great Magnfiicat prayer, praises a God who tears down the mighty, and lifts up the lowly, a God who feeds the hungry and sends the rich away empty-handed.

To benefit from the profundity and richness of Sacred Scripture, we must, like our Blessed Mother, "ponder these things in our hearts," i.e., bask in the grandeur of God’s Word – with all its mystery and ambiguity and paradox – in prayer and solitude.

 

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:

James 4:1-10
Mark 9:30-37

Reflection:

In our society, we see that becoming a success in life requires some kind of ambition. And as a society, we respect people who have ambition. On the other hand, we know the truth of the words we find in our second reading from James: "Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice."

Can we make a distinction between "good" and "bad" ambition? I think we have some answers in our Scripture readings for today. As James says, "jealousy and selfish ambition" lead to evil. In our Gospel reading from Mark, the apostles show us how easy it is to fall into that "jealousy and selfish ambition." After Jesus has told them that He is going to suffer and die and then rise from the dead, they get into an argument about who is the greatest. And so, Jesus teaches them that if they aspire to greatness, they must be willing to be the least and the servant of all. It’s not about having more than others. It’s not about being considered more important than others.

Perhaps our ambition is not to have more, or be thought of as more, but to be more. The U.S. Army had a famous advertising slogan not too long ago: "Be All You Can Be." I think the Gospel asks us to go a bit further and ask ourselves, "Be all we can be, for what?" Our ambition is not to be more than others, but to be more than who we are, in God and for God. What was Jesus’ ambition? To save us!

If the realization of our dreams leads to success, fame and fortune, then perhaps we need to take the time and discern what God wants us to do with our success. Is it just for us, or is there another purpose for it?       If we are not all that famous or wealthy, do we become jealous of others, or do we recognize what God has given us? This does not mean that we accept injustice or poverty. It may mean that we all have the ambition to help bring about a world in which no one is starving and creation is not abused, and people live to their full potential.

To discern an authentic Gospel path through what some of us might call the American Dream is not easy. But we are not alone. The One who chose something different from worldly ambition is still with us, and has given us the Spirit. May we follow Him, with an ambition for the building up of the kingdom.

 

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

Scripture:

James 3:13-18
Mark 9:14-29

Reflection:

Prayer the Desire of God

"Why could we not drive the spirit out?"
He said to them, "This kind can only come out through prayer."

Life’s great problems can only be dealt with in prayer.   Prayer should be the most wonderful embrace of our lives!  The Greek New Testament word for prayer is pros-yü-khā’  which is used 39 times.   The verb form is pros-yü’-kho-mī  which is used 90 times.  These are not the only words for prayer in New Testament but the most frequently used.  Because this word as a noun and verb is the most repeated one in the New Testament we can see how important it is to understand it if we hope to grasp the meaning of prayer.

The etymology of pros-yü’-kho-mī  basically means  desire  euchomai.    St Augustine said "the desire to pray is prayer itself".  The verb form of the word for prayer is in middle voice.   With the desire for the other is the notion of a personal response of the beloved.   In simple terms when I pray not only must I desire God, but He first must desire me.  It is a two way street.  God must want my company before I can make any contact with Him.  I must pray that I can pray.  "O God, open my lips and my mouth shall declare your praise" is first thing we say as we begin the official prayer of the Church.

In grade school I really was attracted to a very pretty girl.  But I don’t think she hardly noticed that I existed, and I was too afraid to say anything to her.   It was my first failure in communication.  So it is with God.  No prayer will ever happen if God does not make the first move towards me.  Of course I must respond.  It takes two to pray!   Prayer is that ultimate embrace of  two desires.   It is the incredible hug of infinite love!

 

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

Scripture:

Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18
1 Corinthians 3:16-23
Matthew 5:38-48

Reflection:

As we continue to hear the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel, today we come across some of the most challenging parts of Jesus’ discourse: "You have heard that it was said, "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one as well. … You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

Is it possible to love people who are against us, or who are actively seeking our destruction? Doesn’t turning the other cheek invite aggression, or in more individual terms, abuse? Doesn’t it make more sense to keep fighting, to use overwhelming force so that our enemies pose no threat?  Don’t we need to be aggressive in order to insure that people don’t walk all over us?  

What could Jesus be thinking, telling us to do such foolhardy and probably life-threatening things? Ultimately, Jesus is telling us to follow Him. He is telling us to love, as He loves. Jesus does not love us, expecting anything in return. He does not force Himself upon us, nor does he charge us for His affection. When betrayed, and arrested and lied about, then scourged and tortured and nailed to a cross, executed as a criminal without having committed any crime, He did not return violence with more violence. He did not add to the evil already done. And so when we work against injustice, we are not to add to the evil already there.

But maybe the most disturbing aspect of what Jesus says is that He calls into question so many of the things we have done and the attitudes we have had to and about others. Could it be, with all the wars and insurrections, holy wars and crusades, all the retaliations and retributions and terrorist attacks, all the character assassinations and name-calling, all the racial epithets and slurs, all the discrimination and attempts to put others "in their place," all the demonizing and stereotyping, and executions, all carried out in the name of justice, or in the name of God, that we’ve gotten it all wrong all this time? I hesitate to give an answer, but Jesus keeps putting the question before us?

Would we dare do things differently? That’s a scary proposition. It could open us up to God knows what. But when I struggle with this, I often think, where has what we have been doing to each other gotten us so far? Could we not build on the good things that have been done?

All this reminds me, once again, of the need for grace. I am in no way able to follow these commands of Jesus without the grace of God and the power of the Spirit. May we surrender to God’s love instead of to justifications for violence and retribution.

 

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

The Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle 

Scripture:

1 Peter 5:1-4
Matthew 16:13-19

Reflection:

"Tend the flock of God in your midst." 1 Peter 5: 2

 

Don’t you wish sometimes that you could help a whole lot of people or do you wish that your life could make a really big difference in the world? Or maybe we think we’re supposed sell everything we have and move to the slums of India to become holy. But this scripture tells us that there is a flock to tend to right in our midst.

I was a stay-at-home mom for 25 years raising 4 children. All around me women were going back to college and getting jobs outside of the home (even when they didn’t need to financially). Society was telling us that we needed to use our full potential and that to be fulfilled, you had to have a career. My youngest son came home one day from kindergarten and said, "Why don’t you have a job Mommy? Are you stupid?" Actually, I have a college degree, and I could have gotten several jobs, but I felt and still feel that one of the most important jobs in the world is raising children; giving them a firm foundation and providing a stable home life for them. I know that I was most fortunate to be able to stay home, but it was also a choice that Jim and I made to go against the flow at the time.

Some people do go to other countries to minister, but most of us need to look closer to home. Our own family first, but then look around you and you’ll see them: the lonely woman who lives next door to you… the young, single mother of three who goes to the same mass as you… the person at work who makes you crazy… the tattooed teen with all the piercings…your pastor… the neighbor kid who always seems to be in trouble. You may not be called to help each one, but you are called to help someone. We all belong to a flock that needs tending. Let’s pray that we can keep our hearts open so that the Lord can use us to be a blessing to those He places in our midst.

 

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:

James 2:1-9
Mark 8:27-33

Reflection:

In today’s Gospel Peter got it right…almost!  When Jesus asked his disciples who they thought he was, it was Peter who responded, "You are the Christ."  No doubt Peter felt pretty good about his response and well he should.  Apparently, some of the others were a bit hesitant to apply that title to Jesus.  But not Peter.  He stepped up and voiced his belief for all to hear. 

Then Jesus does something a bit strange.  As soon as Peter applied the title "Christ" to him, Jesus begins to teach that he must suffer, be rejected, be killed and rise after three days.  Clearly, these kinds of experiences didn’t fit with being the "Christ" in Peter’s mind.  He pulled Jesus aside and scolded him for talking of such things.  Jesus reacts almost violently.  "Get behind me Satan!  You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do!"

Let’s face it; most of us tend to think as "human beings" do!  Just recall St. Paul’s comment in First Corinthians that the sufferings of Jesus are "a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles…" (I Cor 1:23)  Few of us factor "suffering" into our understanding of a rich and satisfying life, especially if that life is our own or that of someone we love.  Today’s Gospel seems to be inviting us to take a different look at the way we think about our lives.  If suffering is essential to the life of Jesus, it is just possible that suffering is essential to our lives as well.  If suffering is essential to our lives and not just the result of mindless circumstance or accident, perhaps we should look to the suffering in our lives to teach us important truths about our world, ourselves and, of course, God.

 

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