Daily Scripture

The Feast of St. Alphonsus Liguori

Scripture:

Jeremiah 26:1-9
Matthew 13:54-58

Reflection:

Today’s church calendar focuses attention on St. Alphonsus Liguori, the 18the Century founder of the Redemptorist Congregation.  Stark, challenging Scripture readings for today’s liturgy illuminate the spirit of St Alphonsus.

The Old Testament reading is a reminder of how costly obedience to God’s Word can be!  The prophet Jeremiah must deliver a difficult message. Not caring for his summons to fidelity, the people seize him with death threats on their lips!  The reading from St. Matthew’s Gospel voices the same theme.  Matthew recounts that Jesus’ own friends and neighbors "found him altogether too much for them."  This resistance, sadly, would grow into the terrible fear and hatred that ensnared Jesus in the Passion.

St. Alphonsus and his Redemptorist Congregation are noted for their zealous concentration on the love God has for us.  Of noble birth and high social standing, Alphonsus received excellent education and began a legal career.  Spiritually unsatisfied, he abandoned this path to the consternation and vigorous disapproval of his family.  Yet, in this rupture, he found peace and knew God’s guiding hand.  The more he gave himself to God’s inspirations, the more his spirit soared.

St. Alphonsus worked among the poor and forgotten of his time.  Their need for spiritual reassurance and practical moral guidance led him to fashion a new moral approach that echoed the Gospel practicality of Jesus himself.  Suspected of being wishy-washy and heretical, Alphonsus clung to the lights God gave him.  He is revered in the church today as the patron saint of moral theologians and confessors.

We pray today for courage to walk in fidelity to God’s summons.  Let no price be too great to pay in this great quest!  May the life witness of St. Alphonsus Liguori be comfort and reassurance for us.

 

Fr. Jim Thoman, C.P. is director of St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat Center, Detroit, Michigan.

 

Scripture:

Jeremiah 15:10, 16-21
Matthew 13:44-46

Reflection:

Have you ever had a "Jeremiah Day"? We catch a glimpse of Jeremiah’s personal turmoil in today’s reading. God called Jeremiah to be a prophet, to warn the people that their ways were leading them to destruction. The people didn’t like hearing this and set themselves against the prophet, quarreled with him and desired to stop him. Jeremiah attempted to do good, yet the people were incensed against him and saw him as the enemy. Jeremiah begins to feel that it would have been better not to have been born. Then he complains to God that life is unfair.

I am sure we have had a "Jeremiah Day" or two. We try to do what is good, but it is misunderstood, made fun of or ignored. We wonder if doing good is worth it. We find ourselves getting ill-tempered. We wonder where is God; why doesn’t God do something? What can we learn from Jeremiah?

First, Jeremiah directed his affliction directly to God. Because he had a strong relationship with God (the treasure of the Gospel reading), the prophet could boldly and honestly admit his discouragement and tell God how God should  act:  "God, you need to change the attitudes of the people of Jerusalem."

Second, Jeremiah listened to God’s response. What did he hear? God did not say that the people needed to change, but that Jeremiah needed to change. "If you repent . . . and bring forth the precious without the vile you will be my mouthpiece." Jeremiah was becoming like the people: angry, resentful and contentious. If Jeremiah was to be a faithful prophet, he would have to let go of the "vile" and "bring forth the precious" (God’s love for the people).

When I feel life is unfair, can I be honest with God in expressing my despair, anger, resentment or desire for revenge? Can I keep my heart open to hear God’s response that maybe I am the one who needs to change my attitudes?  Then I can hear God’s words: "I am with you to deliver and rescue you…"

 

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

Scripture:

Jeremiah 13:1-11
Matthew 13:31-35

Reflection:

Sometimes the little things in life do matter! A loincloth, a mustard seed, a particle of yeast…seemingly insignificant items that reveal a most significant message!

The Prophet Jeremiah is one of the Hebrew Bible’s greatest and possibly "strangest figures." Although born to an educated priestly family, Jeremiah’s career as a prophet was fraught with disappointment, despair, deportation to Egypt, and most possibly, at his life’s end, betrayal. Often called by God to perform ridiculous acts in public in order to capture the attention of King and court; his use of poetic language and imagery nonetheless captures God’s enduring love for Judah and continued faithful call to be in covenant relationship with Israel’s God.

In this passage, God tells Jeremiah to use his loincloth (yes, a traditional undergarment) as a sign of God’s current relationship with Judah gone bad. This was an illustration of King Johoiakim’s attempt to play politics with the area’s two superpowers Egypt and Babylonia. Ultimately that policy game would fail. The nation of Judah along with the King’s son and successor would be captured, dragged in chains and die in exile in Babylon. Jeremiah tries to warn the King that just as a loincloth is worn close to the body and protects it, so too does God’s Covenantal love protect God’s people, if it is adhered to. Discarding the loincloth, like discarding the Covenant, only results in failure and despair.

Today in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus uses the example of a mustard seed and a bit of yeast to tell his listeners what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. These seemingly small, insignificant items reveal a much larger truth beyond themselves! As part of Jesus’ Kingdom teaching, what is hidden will ultimately be revealed; what is cast aside will be redeemed; what is dead will be brought to new life.

We live in a world today which is addicted to grandiosity and sensationalism. "The bigger the better" we often think…However the small, everyday events of life go by without notice or attention. Yet Jesus makes it clear that God uses such small, ordinary, seemingly insignificant things to bring us into contact with the reign of God. Jesus reminds us, just as Jeremiah reminded King Johoiakim, that it is our faithfulness, our love of God and our commitment to one another in the Lord that allows God’s redemptive power to transform, insignificantly at first, our personal lives, our communities and our world.

 

Patrick Quinn is the Director of Planned Giving for the Holy Cross Province Development Office.

Scripture:

Jeremiah 7:1-11
Matthew 13:24-30

Reflection:

Today’s Gospel is another of Jesus’ well-crafted parables:  interesting stories with a deeper meaning.  Here and now, in the heat of mid-summer, many of us can identify with weeds in our gardens – be it our backyard gardens or a large farm field.

Jesus’ parable recognizes the potential for a good yield, and the problem with an overgrowth of weeds.  He wisely suggests patience with the encroaching weeds:  let them grow together with the crop, and then separate them before the harvest.  Patience, leading to definitive action that yields the overall best results… 

We seek to grow in our lives of faith, to be fruitful and productive people.  The "weeds" of sinfulness (both personal and social) try to choke off the growth:  laziness, greed, lust, dishonesty, selfishness.  Jesus encourages both a patience and a persistence that will effectively deal with the sinfulness — a patience and persistence that He witnesses in His earthly life and ministry, and His ongoing presence in both Scripture and Eucharist.  A patience and persistence rooted in Love.

Two people likewise held up to us today for our encouragement are Sts. Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  They were people of great faith and love, who helped the Blessed Virgin to grow and ultimately say "yes" to her special vocation. 

May we accept the help and encouragement God offers us in dealing with the "weeds" of life, and thus may our lives yield a great harvest for God’s glory, and the good of our brothers and sisters.

 

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

 

Scripture:

Micah 7:14-15, 18-20
John 20:1-2, 11-18

Reflection:

Today’s gospel tells us Mary Magdalene is the first disciple to proclaim the Resurrection.   This passage also helps us understand some come to faith through the experience of the empty tomb.  The Gospel of John tells us Mary Magdalene was the first disciple to discover the empty tomb.

In John’s Gospel Mary Magdalene came to the tomb while it was still "dark."  She sees the stone rolled back.  She shares this information with the other disciples.  Mary Magdalene returns again to the empty tomb and this time looks inside to find two angels.  They ask her why it is she is weeping?  Jesus then appears to her, and also asks her why is she weeping?  She does not recognize Him and mistakes Him for a gardener.  The gospel tells us she turned twice to look at Him and did not recognize Him.  Only when He speaks her name, like the Good Shepherd, does she recognize Him.   

Mary responds by calling him "Rabbouni" i.e. master or teacher.  He instructs her He has to return to the Father.  Go and tell His brethren He has risen.  She does.  One lesson to be learned from this feast and the gospel is that sometimes it is in our darkest moments that we find the Risen Christ.  Sometime we have to weep and experience desolation and out of that Easter joy is given.  Sometimes we have to look twice before we recognize God’s presence in our sorrow.  If we are persistent in our faith resurrected life is given under the condition that it is to be shared with others.  It cannot be confined to an empty tomb.  Like Mary Magdalene we are encouraged to live through dashed hopes, misunderstandings, and tribulations.  If we stand at the foot of the cross and the empty tomb like Mary Magdalene we too will experience the joy of the resurrection. 

 

Fr. Kenneth O’Malley, C.P. is a member of the Passionist theologate formation community and archivist at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, Illinois.

Scripture:

Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10
Matthew 13:1-9

Reflection:

The theory of evolution has again emerged as a topic of conversation, and disagreement.  There are those who revive an older position that evolution establishes the autonomy of our universe, and its capacity to self-beget and self-develop without any divine help.

But there are others committed to evolutionary theory (or hypothesis), and who see in it added commendation of the power and wisdom of God Who has subtly embedded within the universe His own design, as an unfolding witness to His sublime grandeur.  How clever God is, to work in so unobtrusive a manner!

The prophet Jeremiah, in today’s reading, apparently thought himself as very unpromising material for God’s plans.  If God thought that he, Jeremiah, could develop into a promising spokesperson for Him, by dint of his own unaided powers, then God was sadly mistaken.  But wait!  God had no such idea.  For He had planted deep within the prophet His own divine call and planned for it to evolve into a great prophetic voice!  Not to worry, Jeremiah would witness handsomely to God.

Somewhat similarly, the sower of seeds, in the day’s gospel, grabbed a sack-full of seed for planting in the soil.  What were the prospects of a hundred percent return on his efforts?  Surely the sad results accompanying most of the seed falling into the earth would prove the incompetence of the farmer.  No such thing.  This particular sower (God) knew from the outset how things would evolve.  He programmed the return of a hundred, sixty or thirtyfold, which, far from disproving His role, established it.

When we reflect on our own lives, we may initially see no sign off God active there.  But, not to fear!  Let things evolve.  Out of our unpromising lumpishness will emerge signs of God alive and at work, producing the hundred, sixty or thirtyfold–perhaps even a prophetic voice.

 

Scripture:

Micah 6:1-4
Matthew 12:38-42

Reflection:

Have you ever been summoned for jury duty in Superior Court?  If so, then you probably remember sitting in the jury room waiting for your name to be called and possibly hoping against hope that you won’t be called for a long trial because of your busy schedule!

Sure enough the bailiff calls your name and you and the other potential jurors leave for the court room. As you enter, all the court officials, the attorneys, and defendants are there and together we all await the judge.

Today’s reading from the prophet Micah invites us to enter into this scene in prayer.  Be prepared, we may find some role reversals in this courtroom!

The prophet calls us to listen, to hear the cosmic dimensions of the trial… mountains, hills and the foundations of the earth.  Yahweh is both judge and accuser, while Israel, God’s chosen (and each of us who enter into this reading today in prayer) are the defendants!

The Lord calls us to attention. "Arise!  Present your plea before the mountains and let the hills hear your voice! " Then the Lord appeals to the mountains to hear Yahweh’s plea…  to pay attention along with the foundations of the world;  For the Lord has a plea against the people and enters into trial with Israel.

Addressing Israel, and each of us who enter into this reading today in our own lives, Yahweh asks:  "What have I done to you, or how have I wearied you?  Answer me!….

Then the  Lord gives examples of all God had done for the people… 

Take a some time for your own reflection.  What has the Lord done for me? Let us be reminded of our daily call to do what Yahweh requires of us:  Ongoing internal conversion and a proper attitude of spirit – the same spirit that Hebrew Prophets proclaimed:

"To do justice, to love with God’s love-"hessed" – with God’s mercy, kindness… that expression of love, our daily response to God’s love in our everyday lives. All summed up in the familiar conclusion of this reading:

      "You have been told, O man and woman, what is good and what the Lord requires of you:  "ONLY DO THE RIGHT AND TO LOVE GOODNESS, AND TO WALK HUMBLY WITH YOUR GOD".

The judge looks at me, at each of us and speaks:  " Will the defendant(s) please stand. 

What is the verdict of the jury?" 

 Sr. Marcella Fabing, C.S.J. is on the staff at Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center, Citrus Heights, California.

 

Scripture:

Isaiah 26:7-9, 12, 16-19
Matthew 11:28-30

Reflection:

Upon first glance, it might seem that the Old and New Testament readings are making very different points today.  Isaiah tells us that judgment is coming, that we have suffered often in vain and that the Lord does punish the unjust: "Oh Lord, oppressed by your punishment, we cried out in anguish under your chastising."  This may seem like a lot to consider for a Thursday morning! 

The key to unlocking this passage, I believe, comes at the end, "we conceived and writhed in pain, giving birth to wind."  In other words, when we act as if we are alone, when we struggle and strive and work separately and distant from God, our suffering bears no fruit.  Such independent efforts are wasted.  Simply put, we alone cannot bring forth our own salvation.  But faith in God brings deliverance from sin and death; "your dead shall live."  This we can be sure of, those who live in the Lord will have eternal life.

Perhaps Christ shares his message a bit more gently than the prophet Isaiah.  "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest."  (As Isaiah tells us, "Oh Lord, you mete out peace to us.")  In today’s world especially, doesn’t this sound like an irresistible offer?  I’m sure you can think of many burdens in your own life-anxiety, fear, self-doubt-that bring you much unrest.  These are all burdens that distance us from God, that make us feel alone.  But, we are not alone.

Jesus offers us rest from sin and all the conflict and instability that sin brings into our lives, "for my yoke is easy, and my burden light."   His offer is not one of an easy out.  Yes, there are obligations and responsibilities that come with accepting Jesus’ offer and following him.  How much more burdensome though is a life lived under the pain of sin?  Christ’s offer is one of lasting peace.  May we have the courage to take up his yoke.