Daily Scripture

Tuesday of the First Week of Advent

Scripture:

Isaiah 11:1-10
Luke 10:21-24

Reflection:

I am clear about what matters during Advent. I believe in the sacred seasons of the Church year as God’s redemption at work. Yes, such times, like Advent, are effective in my life if I believe (assume) that God is working, if only I be attentive, (be awake) to what is going on inside of me and what is happening around me to indicate what God asks of me, and I follow through. The follow through is most important, otherwise, what God is doing (at least, through me) may be stunted, because I didn’t follow though. My faith is at work when I let go of what I want for results of my follow through, and I allow God to work with what I have done. The blessing is in "seeing through" with what I have intended. Is this what Jesus means when he tells his disciples (who have just returned from following through with that which he asked them to do), "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it." (Luke 10:24)

Even if my life’s perspective, future possibilities of real change, appear to be dead as a stump! (cf. Isaiah 11.1)

I am inspired by the lives of the saints. Three qualities, among many, stand out among the saints. They are the characteristics of being centered (focused), zealous (apostolic), and, committed (determined). And I pray to the saints for such characteristics to build up the kingdom of God on the planet. 400 years ago Francis Xavier met Ignatius Loyola at University of Paris. He became one of the first members of this new community of Jesuits. He spent many years in Goa, Southeast Asia and Japan. He had excellent organizational skills proven by the fact that the communities he establish continued to flourish long after his departure.  He died at 51 years of age while on his way from Goa to China in 1552. The Advent season calls for self-examination and reflection. The language of Advent stresses the discipline of attentiveness, vigilance, and a willingness to be alert and on guard. "It is a call," as Catherine Mulroney, editor of Living With Christ puts it, "that prompts me to examine how I have been preparing the way of the Lord and whether I have, in any way, contributed to making straight his paths." Let us, today, recommit to the discipline of Advent, and like the seventy returning disciples tell Jesus about what you have done. It is all about follow through.

 

Fr. Alex Steinmiller, C.P. is president of Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School, Birmingham, Alabama.

Scripture:
Isaiah 4:2-6
Matthew 8:5-11

Reflection:
At yesterday’s Eucharist, we prayed that our hearts desire the warmth of God’s love and our minds search for the light of God’s Word. It is good to know that the first Sunday of Advent sets the tone for the rest of the week to come.

This Monday in Advent clarifies even further, "what" we desire and for "whom" we search!

In an incredible passage from Isaiah , God’s word makes clear that we wait for a kingdom that is not yet here, but one which we can catch glimpses of even now. It is kingdom where all of us will be called "holy" – that is "set apart for the Lord." We will all gather on the site of Mount Zion – God’s holy place- led by a smoking cloud by day and a flaming light by night, just like the ancient Israelites of old. The Lord’s glory will cover us so that we will not know heat or storm, but only God’s protection and shelter. It is truly a magnificent image of what we are hoping for and one that wonderfully encompasses all of us, not just some of us!

In this incredible new existence, all will see this Kingdom – this power of God as personified in Jesus. It was not by chance that in the Gospel today Jesus encounters a centurion. He is an unabashedly a non-Jew, a non-believer, an officer of the Roman army of oppression, someone typically and traditionally despised. Yet even he can glimpse something of this kingdom in the man Jesus. He detects in Jesus the power of this kingdom where wrong will be made right, where darkness will be made light, where sickness will be healed.  It is a faith that astounds even Jesus! A faith that makes Jesus reiterate one of the pivotal truths of the kingdom for which we wait…that "many" will come from east and west and will recline with the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the heavenly banquet. Yes, even this centurion, this instrument of Roman oppression, will be welcomed at the holy table!

The older I become, the more I realize that the labels we use to divide us one from the other – whether religious, political, psychological, economic… you name them – have no place in God’s kingdom. Moreover, amazingly, like Jesus in today’s gospel, we can often catch glimpses of the kingdom in the people and places we least expect it.

As we begin this workweek, may we have the grace to look…

 

Patrick Quinn is the former director of Planned Giving at the Passionist Development Office in Chicago.

First Sunday of Advent

Scripture:

Isaiah 2:1-5
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 24 37-44

Reflection:

Today is the first day of December.  Here in the U.S. we are just coming out of the Thanksgiving holidays.  We may feel that the Christmas season is suddenly thrust upon us before we have had time to catch our breath.  For today, Dec. 1st, is the last day of the Thanksgiving weekend, and yet it is also the first Sunday of Advent.  It is the beginning of the new liturgical year, the season that will welcome the infant Christ into our world.  But could it be then that this Advent is the ideal time "to catch our breath" – to slow down, to sit and rest a while, to ponder what really we are all about, and just where we and our world are headed?

At this time of Advent we are called to prepare for the coming of the Christ: to celebrate the Incarnation, when the Second Person of God was born a fully human baby in the stable of Bethlehem on Christmas Day.

At this time of Advent we are called to prepare for the coming of the Christ: to celebrate the new liturgical cycle of his life through his birth, ministry, passion, death, resurrection, and ascension to his Father, resulting in the sending of their Holy Spirit.

At this time of Advent we are called to prepare for the coming of the Christ: to celebrate his Second Coming at the end-time, when he shall make all things new – ourselves, all who have gone before us, all who will come after us, and the world itself.

At this time of Advent we are called to prepare for the coming of the Christ: to celebrate, rejoice, and welcome him each day into our hearts to form us into himself. 

The first reading from Isaiah helps us to look forward to that glorious end-time, when we all shall dwell in peace and love in the light of the Lord.  Paul in his letter takes up the same theme, the second coming of the Lord (though he saw it as much sooner than it has turned out to be), and cautions us to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ," for our salvation is near.  Jesus himself gives the same message to his disciples, reminding them of the time of Noah and the flood, and using the parable of the thief in the night to tell us that we also must be prepared.

Each day of this Advent season could we ask Jesus to make a manger of our hearts where he can come to be born anew, he in us and we in him.? Amen

 

Br. Peter A. Fitzpatrick, CFX, a Xaverian Brother, is a Passionist Associate at Ryken House, across the creek from the Passionist Monastery, in Louisville, Kentucky.

Feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle

Scripture:

Romans 10:9-18
Matthew 4:18-22

Reflection:

The Lord Jesus said to Andrew, "Come!"  And Andrew came.  Peter and the other twelve soon heard the same call and they too came.  They came with their gifts and successes.  They came with the faults and failures. They came to listen to Jesus and to watch him in action.  They came to learn about him and grow in his friendship.  They came to experience his wisdom and patience.  They came to see his compassion and power.

And they came as a group so they could support one another and cheer each other on.  Yes, for three years they were disciples in training.  Then they saw Jesus suffer and die.  And together they cried.

After his resurrection these disciples experienced Jesus’ forgiveness.  They were nourished in the breaking of the bread.  They began to understand his love.  And together they rejoiced.

Then Jesus told them, "Go!  Now you are ready.  Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel.  Go feed my lambs.  Go feed my sheep.  And when the going gets tough, remember that I love you."

 "The liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the church is directed; it is also the fount from which all her power flows." (Sacrosanctum Consilium #10)

Each Sunday we are called to "Come" to the summit, come to Mass.  Come with our gifts and successes.  Come with our faults and failures.  Come to listen to the Lord and watch him is action.  Come to learn about Jesus and grow in his friendship.  Come to experience his wisdom and patience.  Come to experience his compassion and power.

And come as a Christian community to support one another and cheer each other on.  Come to cry together and to rejoice together.  Come to be transformed by remembering and taking part in his death and resurrection.  Come and be nourished by his body and blood.

At the end of Mass Jesus says to us, "Go!  Go forth from the fount.  Go feed my lambs.  Go feed my sheep.  Be my presence in the world.  Bring about my kingdom more fully in your time and your place.  And when the going gets tough, remember that I love you.

     "Come.  Do this in memory of me.  Go."

Fr. Alan Phillip, C.P. is a member of the Passionist Community at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.   http://www.alanphillipcp.com/

Scripture:

Daniel 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28
Luke 21:12-19

Reflection:

Hated by all because of my name…

A psychologist I know recently spoke of the majority of his patients, saying, "Most really don’t want to be healed, they just want me to take away the pain."  By that he meant that most of us don’t want to invest in the hard work of human growth or spiritual development… so, instead, we choose to over-indulge in a variety of self-satisfying ways.

Our temptation is to condemn Belshazzar for irreverence, desecration, or blasphemy. By profaning the sacred vessels that his father, Nebuchadnezzar, had taken from the Jerusalem temple, Belshazzar reveals how more broadly despicable he had become. And then he expects religion to enable him to feel better, asking Daniel to interpret his inner voice.

Today’s readings remind me of how often lately I’m embroiled in the discussion about spirituality and religion; you know, the folks who assert, "I’m very spiritual, I’m just not religious." I don’t think organized religion is the problem. The problem is that most of us don’t want to hear about the requirement (not a suggestion or an option!) to love one another – as God loves us. That’s religion. That’s the stuff of washing other’s smelly feet, embracing the leprous, loving enemies, forgiving others seventy-time-seven, and so on.

Yes, the end of the liturgical year upon us, and Jesus tells us we’ll be hated by many, but not a hair of our heads will be harmed. The readings around the destruction of the Temple are not about the cessation of this planet, however, or the end of THE world. Rather, we are hearing about the end of MY world, MY ego, MY narrow mind.  And that’s the Good News, the Gospel! And that’s when, as St. Paul says, "it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." (Galatians 2:20)

 

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:

Daniel 7:2-14
Luke 21:29-33

Reflection:

In today’s Gospel, Jesus plainly directs us to open our eyes, look around and see the signs of the Kingdom of God.  "Look around you, open your eyes and see the buds of the fig tree bursting with life; then you will know the Kingdom of God is near."  Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell you where the nearest fig tree is in relation to my own backyard!

However, as I sit here in a hospital waiting room while my wife undergoes a routine test, I can see the signs of the Kingdom!  I see and hear numerous acts of kindness and community. 

I overhear a woman saying "I hate to have you go through all of this, is there anything I can do?"  I hear a lengthy conversation among three women admiring a piece of knitting. They warmly congratulate the knitter and share stories of their common creative efforts.  I hear a woman bonding with a man regarding the "signs of the political times" saying "we’ve seen this before, do you ever get that feeling?"  Then some stories are shared regarding the oncoming winter rigors of shoveling snow.  In all these conversations the distance between our chairs and each other in the waiting room diminishes, decreasing with each moment of laughter, caring and community.

Each person is separate but we are all joined together.  The beautiful diversity confirms our unity in the Kingdom of God.  The moments are joined into a celebration characterized by mindfulness, intentionality and compassion.  Then the summary moment in time arrives; a woman jumps out of her chair, moving toward a man coming from the testing area with a smile, a hug, and a sweet greeting; "There he is!"  In one instance we can all see the love between them. The love is real, palpable and a moving sign of the Kingdom of God.

And I am reminded, "Look around you Terry, open your eyes and see the Kingdom of God!"  Today I pray we all have many such moments.

 

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

Thanksgiving Day (USA)

Scripture:

Sirach 50:22-24
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Luke 17:11-19

Reflection:

As we gather as a nation and a church today to give thanks for the bounty we enjoy, it is good to pause and reflect on all the ways God has blessed us.  The scriptures on this Thanksgiving Day are filled with proclamations of praise and thanks to our God whose goodness knows no bounds.  In the book of Sirach, we read, ‘And now, bless the God of all, who has done wondrous things on earth.’  This day will be filled with family and friends coming together to share laughter and stories, good food and a beverage or two.  For many we will be even luckier to be with folks we haven’t seen maybe since last Thanksgiving.  It is a time for all of us to count our blessings and say thank you.

In the Gospel of Luke we hear the familiar story of the ten lepers who were cured, but only one returned to give thanks.  How often are we like those other nine who did not take the time to return and say thank you.  We live in a fast-paced world whose focus is consumer driven and keeps everyone on the go.  When was the last time you stopped and thanked that person who cleans the locker room you use frequently at the YMCA or the teen worker who packs your order at the fast food restaurant?  I am reminded of a priest celebrant who regularly gives thanks in the intercessions for all those people who serve as support staff and labor tirelessly behind the scenes so that we can enjoy the comforts we do. His actions give me pause to reflect on how important it is to have an ATTITTUDE OF GRATITUDE in our families, parishes and communities.

May we resolve today after feasting to adopt a habit of gratitude as Paul says in 1Thessalonians, ‘in all circumstances, give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.  Let us celebrate every day as a "thanksgiving’ day.

 

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

Scripture:
Daniel 2:31-45
Luke 21:5-11

Reflection:
Advent comes quickly upon the heels of Thanksgiving this calendar year.  The juxtaposition of these two experiences brings to mind this simple prayer:

For all that has been, thanks.
For all that will be, yes.

Dag Hammarskjöld, the United Nations Secretary-General from 1953 to 1961, was also a theologian, poet, and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1961.  He penned this prayer in his journal shortly before his death.  It captures a tender moment of reconciling the past with the future, of all that has been with all that will be.  Really, it is a moment of peacefully reconciling the known with the unknown.

Gathered with family and friends, at least in spirit, on Thanksgiving Day, we look back to appreciate what really matters.  We look back to remember the labor and love of generations before who have brought us to this time and place, and we are grateful.

Then quickly on Sunday we begin the Advent journey.  We move from the known to the unknown.  Oh, we know the Advent story…at least the Bible story.  But that’s just the beginning.  The Advent story for us is an unfolding story not yet fully known.  It begins with Mary’s "yes."  But the story unfolds with our "yes" that we hopefully pray each day.  No roadmap or signed contract.  We say "yes" to the unknown, "yes" for all that will be.

Perhaps you can find a moment to reflect this week on this oft-quoted poem by English poet Minnie Louise Haskins: "I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, ‘Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.’ And he replied, ‘Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!"

On Thanksgiving Day pray, "For all that has been, thanks."  And on each day of Advent pray, "For all that will be, yes."

 

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.