Daily Scripture

Presentation of Mary

Scripture:

1 Samuel 3:1-10
Luke 11:27-28

Reflection:

The Presentation of Mary in the Temple has been commemorated in the Passionist Community from the very beginning. It is likely the earliest Marian devotion among us, even though it is not a major devotion on the calendar of the church universal. The first community residence of Passionist men was named Presentation, as also of Passionist women.

The reflection offered in the first of today’s liturgical readings provides some hints why this is so. We recognize, of course, that neither of these directly addresses the Presentation of Mary in the temple. We have no direct biblical reference to this event and, at times, we confuse it with the biblical episode of Jesus’ presentation in the temple.

But presuming that Mary’s devout parents, Joachim and Anne, carried out this practice, we gain an appreciation of this event from the day’s biblical readings. For instance, in the Book of Samuel we note the similarity between the notable event happening to the young Samuel and the similarly young Mary. Samuel too was presented in the temple by his parents, Elkanah and Hannah, and he spent his young life there. It was in the temple that he heard the voice of God addressing him.

We note the significance of this event: it happened in the temple. If Samuel had not been in the temple, likely he would not have received his vocation to be a prophet. In other words, place was very important in hearing God’s voice. Is this not why the two first places in the histories of Passionist men and women were named Presentation, because this is where the voice of God is heard? Place is important in hearing God address us.

 Having access to God’s voice is important in helping us put our lives together. So when Jesus speaks in today’s gospel, He prioritizes the importance of having the same access to the Word of God that the young Samuel had. And in doing so, He highlights what is truly remarkable about Mary, His mother-not just her mothering of Himself by her, but her opportunity, like that of Samuel, of hearing God’s word and keeping it. This hearing God’s word, for her, occurred not only in the synagogue but also in her own home, close to the young Jesus-the very Word of God not only in what He said, but in Who He was: the Word of God made flesh.

So we recall a remarkable message today: access to the word of God is something to celebrate. The question for us is how to gain access to this. The answer is: the place is important. And among the places we treasure is the one where we most frequently hear the Word of God and receive Him bodily into our minds and hearts.

 

Fr. Sebastian MacDonald, C.P. is a member of the Passionist formation community at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago. 

Scripture:

2 Maccabees 6:18-31
Luke 19:1-10

Reflection:

"Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house." Luke 19:5

When was the last time you had an unexpected visitor drop in on you? I’m not talking about those door-to-door solicitors who come knocking on our doors for all kinds of reasons. From the Girl Scout selling cookies to religious missionaries to the occasional Politician who knock on our door, we find it easy to keep them standing on the outside. Unexpected visitors are not usually welcomed into our homes with open arms.

Over the years as a priest and a Passionist, I have had the opportunity to knock on a few doors, to gather parish census information or to invite people to be more committed Catholics. In my early years, I was part of a Passionist parish mission program that lasted for four months. One goal of these parish missions was to have all of the parishioners visited by someone representing the parish mission team. We priests often went on these neighborhood visits and knocked on doors. The response was overwhelming. Most parishioners welcomed our visit, many of them even opened their doors and served us coffee and cookies. As we sat and chatted, they would open up and share with us their pains and sorrows, their challenges and problems and their hopes and dreams. While we were not there to offer the parishioners the sacrament of penance, so many began to share with us the sense of regret for having made wrong decisions and living wasted lives. For some, this was the first step towards turning their life around.

The gospel for today’s Mass strikes me as one of those moments for Zacchaeus, a public sinner in the city of Jericho. Whatever Zacchaeus’ motivation was for seeing Jesus on that particular day, he never expected to hear Jesus invite himself into his home. Instead of being taken aback by this bold move on Jesus’ part, Zaccheaus was filled with joy and began taking his first steps toward becoming right with God and his community. He made a public announcement of how he was to make restitution for all the wrong-doing he had done in his life.

I think about the times when I have not allowed Jesus to come into my home and my heart. I also think about the times when I have resisted representatives of Jesus when they come to me, giving me good advice, helping me make good decisions, challenging me when I have made wrong and hurtful choices. Many times, I do not respond with joy, I do not open my door to them and some times, I find reasons why I did what I did and said what I said.

What a timely scripture this is for us. Tragedies call us to be generous to those in need, the path to peace calls us to give up weapons and attitudes of violence, the poor are becoming poorer because of greed and an unwillingness to share what God has given us as stewards. Is not Jesus standing at our door? Is He not calling us to share what we have with those in need? Are we courageous enough to do what is right before God and our community?

God, give us the courage to welcome you into our hearts and homes. Help us make restitution for our wrong-doing. Grant us a loving, caring heart!

 

Fr. Clemente Barrón, C.P. is a member of Immaculate Conception Community in Chicago, Illinois. 

Scripture:

1 Maccabees 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-63
Luke 18:35-43

Reflection:

Today’s first reading speaks to me of those times in my own life when the going got tough and I wanted to, or did, let go of ways of living that I knew were right for me in favor of the "easy fix" that felt good in the moment.  For the sons of daughters of Israel, when they felt beset by evil, they abandoned their authentic relationship to God and assumed the identity and foreign practices of the Gentiles in the hopes of paving their way to a more agreeable life.

And isn’t that really what any of us does when we worship false idols – whether it’s the golden calf or the more modern version – the goods we desire, the romance we yearn for, the guarantee we seek, the recognition we crave – aren’t these also the ways in which we become distant from our deeper selves, distracted by the promise of a magical cure that exists outside of us rather than within?

It didn’t work for the Israelites and it doesn’t work for us.  

In the Gospel, a radical spiritual reality is revealed. All the blind man needed to do to find healing was simply to come to Jesus in faith and with an open heart.  All the worship in the world, all the proper religious observance in and of itself, devoid of love and humility, could not guarantee the restoration of his sight.

Being willing to come before God in our brokenness-sightless, wounded, wandering in the mystery of our own lives-in other words, vulnerable and real-is to stand spiritually raw before our Creator and allow His love to make us whole. Jesus gave Himself on the Cross so that we could know in our own hearts the love and hope there is in being human despite its frailties and failures.

Perhaps today there is a sacrifice we can authentically make out of our real relationship to God, not as an entreaty for a wonderful future, but as an expression of love and gratitude for being cherished by Him so dearly.

 

Nancy Nickel is director of marketing and communications at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Illinois.

Scripture:

Malachi 3:19-20a
2 Thessalonians 3:7-12
Luke 21:5-19

Reflection:

As we come closer to the end of the Church liturgical year, our readings have more and more to do with the end times. And so, in Sunday’s Gospel reading from Luke (21:5-19), Jesus predicts the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, and when the people ask about when and what signs will there be, Jesus tells then that there will be news of war and insurrection, but they are not to be afraid. He says, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place: and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky. Before all this happens, however, they will seize and persecute you. … You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives."

As we hear Jesus speak of "wars and insurrections," of "earthquakes, famines, and plagues," it’s only natural to think of the vast devastation that Typhoon Haiyan wrought as it swept through the Philippines a few days ago. It’s only natural to think about the wars that are still going on, and the violence that is too often a part of people’s lives. Here in Detroit we have seen a shooting of a young girl not long after the death of a promising young graduate student.

In the light of all this suffering, we remember Jesus’ words at the end of our Gospel reading: "By your perseverance you will secure your lives." How do we, how can we persevere? By the grace of God in the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. We persevere with the help of others. And we are to help others persevere. And so, aid is enlisted for the victims of the typhoon; supplies are sent to refugees from war and terror; and comfort is given to mourning families.

Giving aid and comfort is what we are called to do in times like these. At the same time we should look for ways to work for peace and justice. In the midst of tragedy and upheaval, we’re called to do the same that we’re called to do at other times: to love God and love our neighbor. Very often the temptation is to seek to put blame somewhere, or find a convenient scapegoat. I think this is akin to St. Paul’s words from our second reading in 2 Thessalonians (3:7-12): "We hear that some are conducting themselves among you in a disorderly way, by not keeping busy but minding the business of others." In good times or bad, we need to keep busy about doing what Jesus demands of us. The ultimate commandment remains the same – to love.

So far we have been talking about what happens to people from something outside themselves, but often there is upheaval within as well. Sometimes that is for the good. Sometimes our perceptions, attitudes, or ways of doing things need to be dismantled "stone" by "stone" so that God can come in and guide us in the way we should go. At other times it’s harder to understand how God may be working in what is going on. In either case we need to persevere, knowing God’s love for us, and willing to surrender to His will.

Jesus promises us that perseverance will secure our lives. In our first reading the prophet Malachi (3:19-20a) tells us that those who fear the Lord will see the "sun of justice with its healing rays." If we stay busy about the work we’ve been given to do, we need not fear the coming of the Lord.

May God continue to bless us all, and may we persevere in His grace.

 

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

Scripture:
2 Maccabees 7:1, 20-31
Luke 19:11-28

Reflection: 

In the midst of the indescribable horror of seeing her seven sons mercilessly slain by the tyrant king because they would not deny God’s law, the grieving mother speaks to her one remaining son with a grace and acceptance that is staggering:

I do not know how you came into existence in my womb;
It was not I who gave you the breath of life,
Nor was it I who set in order
The elements of which each of you is composed.
Therefore, since it is the Creator of the universe
Who shapes each man’s beginning,
as he brings about the origin of everything,
he, in his mercy,
will give you back both breath and life,
because you now disregard yourselves for the sake of his law.

Who could make this sacrifice, trust so completely, except someone who has turned over her own life-body, mind and soul-so fully to the Mystery that is God? And just as the mother has chosen to let go of her sons rather than ask them to deny the One who truly created them, they, too, have chosen to honor their God, even though it will cost them their very lives. Yes, all are making a choice: the mother to endure immeasurable pain, and the sons to embrace death. Each will lose life as they have known it, but they will not lose their souls.

It is a powerful truth to know that God has given us this beautiful gift called life, but we are called to be one with the Giver rather than the gift. This doesn’t mean, as the Gospel’s parable reveals, that how we live our life is unimportant; that we can simply play it safe, or not nourish and grow what God has given us. Jesus tells us very clearly that in our relationship to God, out of our faith, we must take a chance.  Only we can multiply those "gold coins" that have, by the grace of God, come into our life.

In 1989, six Jesuits were killed in El Salvador.  It was a time of terrible political bloodshed in that country; certainly the priests could have fled to safety. But like many religious and courageous lay people, too, they stayed in solidarity and service, and paid for their goodness with their lives. They lived life bravely, using their talents for good, but in the end, they could not hold onto life; it was not theirs, but God’s.

The Gospel’s parable ends with the king slaying those who did not believe in him, as kings of that time might do. But in a metaphoric sense, to have no belief in God is to risk spiritual death. We walk away from God at our peril. When we believe, as the mother and sons did from Scripture, as the Jesuits did in contemporary life, we are promised a different kind of life, one that does not end but lives on through eternity.

 

Nancy Nickel is the director of marketing and communications at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Illinois.

 

 

Scripture:

Widsom 18:14-16; 19:6-9
Luke 18:1-8

 

 

Reflection:

The Need to Pray with Faith

God’s call to fidelity is a call to remember; and a call to remember is a call to trust in God; and a call to trust in divine providence is a call to pray unceasingly.  In effect, today’s scripture readings invite us to "remember the marvels the Lord has done" for us (psalm) and to be faithful to his "all-powerful word" (first reading).  For we, who are people of faith, are a people who are called to live our covenanting relationship with our Creator and Savior by remembering and celebrating his abiding and delivering presence in our midst.   

To live a life of unfailing and unhesitant prayer is the human way to trust in divine mercy, for the more we call out to God in prayer, the more we come to trust in God’s ways and accept God’s will in our lives.  It is when we remain and trust in God’s all-powerful word that we come to "know the truth," and the truth sets us free (John 8:31-32) from our fears of the spiritual and human evils of oppression, injustice, segregation, and hatred. That is why in today’s gospel Jesus encourages us to "pray always without becoming weary," for God secures "the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night." In other words, Jesus is telling us that a life of unfailing and unhesitant prayer is necessary to confirm us in our faith in the Son of Man, precisely because our Christian faith leads us to pray to God in Jesus’ name.

The aforesaid reminds me of Henry Clay Trumbull (1830-1903), an American clergyman and author, who pioneered the Sunday School Movement and used to say: "Not prayer without faith, nor faith without prayer, but prayer in faith, is the cost of spiritual gifts and graces."  That is to say that faith and prayer are inseparable, for the former brings about the latter, and the latter asks for the former, as St. Paul the Apostle tells us in Romans 10:13-14. No wonder Jesus also asks us at the end of today’s gospel, "When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" Perhaps Jesus suggests that he is expecting to find us living a life-giving faith that abides in prayer.

Jesus’ question may lead us to evaluate our experience of faith and our prayer life by asking ourselves a few questions. On Jesus’ second glorious coming, will we be found faithfully praying to God in his name? Do I persevere in prayer and remain faithful to the gospel even in the face of trials and hardships?  Or do I get discouraged and therefore question my faith and stop praying when things don’t go the way I want or I don’t get the expected results?  Do I stay with Jesus watching and praying to avoid the near occasion of sin, as he asks his disciples (Mark 14:38)? How do I reflect and pray about my experience of life and faith? 

 

Fr. Alfredo Ocampo, C.P. gives retreats and parish missions.  He is stationed at Holy Name Passionist Community in Houston, Texas.

Feast of St. Albert the Great

Scripture:

Wisdom 13:1-9
Luke 17:26-37

Reflection:

I often sit in our small third floor chapel with large picture windows that take in the San Gabriel Mountains that rise right behind our retreat center here in Sierra Madre.  Jones peak climbs to 3,000 feet just behind us. Coming off its flank Bailey Canyon drops precipitously just to the east of our property. One hikes up the Canyon to a trail that rises steeply in switchbacks to old cabin ruins and then more switchbacks to Jones peak. It has been many years since I hiked to Jones peak and its breathtaking view of the San Gabriel Valley and in the far distance the Pacific Ocean. Now I can only make that walk in my memory. 

Our first reading from the Book of Wisdom reminds us that "from the greatness and beauty of created things their original author, by analogy, is seen".  As I sit and gaze out the chapel windows I feel the presence of our great and mighty God who ultimately formed these mountains and my heart is stirred. Yet only a few feet away is the tabernacle in which the Artisan who made all that is resides. A mighty God in a small white host! That is an even more overwhelming a mystery. I am so small when I contemplate the universe God has made. Should I not be even smaller in the presence of the God who has loved me, forgiven me, and invites me to live with him forever.

Truly "the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament declares his handiwork. Day pours out the word to day, and night to night imparts knowledge. Not a word or a discourse whose voice is not heard. Through all the earth the voice resounds, and to the ends of world, their message."

 

Fr. Michael Hoolahan, C.P. is on the staff of Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

Wisdom 6:1-11
Luke 17:11-19

Reflection:

Faith is central to Christianity. It is a fundamental feature of the spiritual life. Yet faith is often misunderstood as an assent to doctrinal statements. When Jesus says to the Samaritan leper, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you," he is not suggesting the mended man has embraced a creedal statement or a philosophical principle. The faith Jesus speaks of is a capacity to affirm life, not a capability to believe a dogma.

Capability refers to a potential aptitude, skill or ability; while capacity indicates the possibility of containing something. A machine has the capability of accomplishing a task; a pitcher has capacity to hold water. Capability may get something accomplished; capacity is availability to receive.

To suggest that faith is a capacity implies that a certain feature of emptiness is necessary if we are to receive Spirit in any of its forms – graces or healings. Emptiness always means empty of something. A cup is empty of coffee. The tank is empty of gas. When we are empty of the ego we are available to be filled with Spirit.

The egocentric ego is full of itself. When in its grip, we take our thoughts, our opinions, our desires, and our self so seriously. The inflated sense of self revels in its capability to achieve and be productive.

Stress reduction programs are not the answer this problem. Ego reduction courses would be much more effective. Then, moving though life with an open mind and an open heart, we would be available for the surprising encounters with Spirit.

 

Fr. Joe Mitchell, CP is the director of the Passionist Earth & Spirit Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

See his website: http://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/