Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Romans 8:18-25
Psalm 126
Luke 13:18-21

Reflection:

In today’s passage from Luke Jesus answers the question "What is the Kingdom of God like?  To what can I compare it?"  Jesus then compares the Kingdom to a tiny mustard seed which grows into a large bush, sheltering the birds of the sky in its branches.  Let’s reflect on this comparison.

The Kingdom of God is Dynamic

The Kingdom of God, like the mustard seed, is constantly evolving and growing, it is not static.  It is not rigid and is very responsive to its environment, to the signs of the times.  We can’t make the mistake of trying to codify or envelop the Kingdom of God with our own definitions, terms and restrictions.  The Kingdom of God is full of surprises!

The Kingdom of God is Systemic

The Kingdom of God, like the mustard seed, is an inter-connected reality.  Any one part of the Kingdom is connected to and impacts every other part.  This is why one Kingdom-building action from me will result in a favorable impact on our growth as a whole Kingdom.  My smile, touch, word of encouragement will impact the entire Kingdom of God!  We suffer, triumph and pray together as one and nothing can separate us from each other and the love of God.

The Kingdom of God is Sensitive

The Kingdom of God, like the mustard seed, is easily impacted by our every thought, feeling and action.  Remember the physicists’ favorite reality; the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in one part of the world can lead to a hurricane in another part.  The Kingdom of God is sensitive to initial conditions.  Like "paying it forward", one small action such as a kind word, a simple gift of time or an earth-friendly gesture can provide a place for others, like the birds of the sky, to have shelter and peace.

Today as we reflect on the mustard seed and our role in building the Kingdom of God, we proclaim with Psalm 126, "The Lord has done marvels for us"!

 

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

Feast of Saints Simon and Jude

Scripture:

Ephesians 2:19-22
Luke 6:12-16

Reflection:

In Luke’s gospel today, we hear how Jesus went up to the mountain to pray.  Taking time for quiet and meditative prayer can help us regroup and come away refreshed for the task at hand.  I was privileged to have the opportunity over the past year to participate in two nature retreats at Living Waters Retreat Center, Maggie Valley, NC  I spend one week in the Fall and another in the Summer in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains.   Each day we took time to hike the trails, sit by mountain streams, observe wild life near and far and in the evenings enjoy the warmth of a campfire, watch the sunset go down as the moon and stars brought forth a dazzling carpet of brilliant light and quiet solitude.  TO BE one with God’s creation in nature is an awesome experience.  I experienced prayer in many different ways, all of them nourishing.

Jesus often spent time in prayer before making tough decisions or entering into difficult and challenging situations.  In this case, it was choosing the apostles who would carry on the Good News of the kingdom.  This was a daunting task requiring wisdom and courage.  Two of these apostles, Saints Simon and Jude, we celebrate with today.  Simon and Jude traveled throughout North Africa and the Middle East spreading the message of salvation.  Undoubtedly they spent a good time in prayer and reflection asking for courage and strength for the journey.

It is an honor as well as a challenge to be a follower of Jesus Christ.  We encounter many joys and sorrows along the way.  The past will be less troublesome if we remember to follow the model laid out for us by Jesus and Saint Simon and Jude.  May we be attentive to the Spirit of God found in the stillness of our mountain top moments.

 

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

 

Scripture:

Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
Luke 18:9-14

 

 

Reflection:

The Problem with Religion

During this season it’s not uncommon to spot a few pint-sized mummies walking the neighborhood in search of Hershey bars or Gummy-Bear-treats. But not long ago scientists reported finding some real mummies.

They were mummies of three young people who were sacrificed by the Incas five hundred years ago.  Anthropologists speculate that the Incas worshiped gods, who, they believed, lived beyond the clouds in the mountains of Peru. The bodies were young girls and a boy – bludgeoned to death by Incan priests in order to appease their gods. We might be tempted to dismiss this as a grotesque and hideous ritual of a primitive people… But would it be inaccurate to label it "the problem with religion"?

In looking at today’s’ Gospel, we might, in a parallel way, call it "the problem with religion." "Why does the Pharisee get such a bum rap?" one might question. To be sure, he’s arrogant – but this is hardly a fatal flaw deserving eternal punishment. The Pharisee is rebuked because he allows religion to get in the way of God.

When Jesuit journalist Antonio Spadaro, S.J. interviewed Pope Francis a couple of months ago, he asked the pope what the Church is in need of most at this moment in our history. Pope Francis responded that the church has become "obsessed" with some issues to the detriment of its larger mission to be "home for all." And our Holy Father continued with a wonderful metaphor, "…what the Church needs most," he said, "is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity. I see the church as a field hospital after battle."         

Throughout our history, we’ve come to realize that religion can be a dangerous thing. I dare say that the BIBLE, more than any other book, has been used to imprison and to oppress… to justify hatred, slavery, torture and even murder. But Jesus speaks of the possible "danger of religion" to me, today as well, because I can allow the insignificant to get in the way. No wonder piety sells. It’s a great bargain. Join, attend, perform, obey here and there, and I can basically live my life unchanged. It can give me just enough of God to quite effectively inoculate me from any need or search to go deeper, i.e., for the real thing: conversion, a change of heart. If we have enough outer experience we won’t need inner experience, …and that’s why Jesus condemns the Pharisees. That’s why Luke’s technique is always having Jesus turn the tables, not just on the Pharisees, but on me.

This "reversal of fortune" – the rich man and Lazarus, the Prodigal Son and Elder Brother, the Pharisee and the tax agent – is the Good News. And maybe that’s why Jesus also speaks for the other Lazarus, Lazarus the mummy: "Untie him, and let him go free!"

 

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:

Romans 8:1-11
Luke 13:1-9

Reflection:

Today’s  Gospel story of the gardener’s plea to the landowner to give more time for the fig tree to bear fruit is unusual in that we don’t know what happened to the tree the next year.  Did it or did it not bear fruit?  So if not about the fruit, the parable appears to be pointing to something more fundamental and important.

There once was a remote monastery that thrived in years past.  Its joy and life were renowned far and wide. But over the years it had lost its way and now drew few who wanted to join the community or visit.  The abbot, sad and confused, went for a walk in the nearby woods and encountered an old, wise hermit.  The hermit, sensing the abbot’s sadness, said to him, "The messiah is in your midst.  Go find him."

The abbot returned to the monastery and called together the small remnant of the monks.  He told them what the holy hermit said: "The messiah is one of us."  Incredulous, they each looked at one another wondering who it could be.  As the days, weeks and months passed, slowly a new joy returned to the monastery.  The monks began to treat each other with care and their prayer found new life. Soon, more and more visitors found their way back to find a place full of peace and God’s presence.  Some asked to be received into the community, saying they had been seeking the messiah and they found him in their midst.

In today’s Gospel, the gardener sensed there was fruit hidden in that tree; it just needed some pruning and nurturing. This is the truth about repentance to which Jesus calls us.  God dwells within us even if buried at times by our own selfishness, doubt, fears or cynicism.  The call to repent is more than just feeling bad about what we’ve done.  To repent is to take on a new perspective, a new orientation, to see God at work in our world.  Like the monks, we need to believe that the messiah is in our midst, is within us.

"The world is charged with the grandeur of God," is the opening line of Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins’ God’s Grandeur. To repent is not to run and hide in shame.  To repent is to uncover our eyes that we might see that the messiah is in our midst, all around us and in us.

 

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.

Scripture:
Romans 6:19-23
Luke 12:49-53

Reflection:

"Brothers and sisters:  I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your nature… For the wages of sin is death…"  Romans 6: 19a & 23a

Years ago the Lord showed me that I was putting food before Him. I would run to food when I was sad or lonely or mad. He wanted me to run to Him instead. So I went to confession and the priest said to me, "If that’s all you’ve got to confess, quit wasting my time." I know others who have been told the same thing. His comment weakened my resolve to try to control my eating, even though I knew I needed to change.

Often the "hunger" we experience isn’t for food, but for comfort or companionship or conversation. We don’t like the empty feelings, so we eat something to try to fill the emptiness. But food can’t satisfy that kind of longing, so all we do is gain more and more weight and we often we feel worse after eating because we weren’t really hungry.

Truly the wages of gluttony is death – we can kill our physical bodies, but also our sensitivity to the Spirit when our eating is out of control. Food is meant to fuel our bodies, but for many of us it has become an idol we worship. We don’t even think about it anymore; we just eat whatever we want whenever we want, and once we lose self-control in this area, it’s very hard to get it back. God doesn’t love us any less when we do this, but our quality of life and our self-esteem suffer. And when that happens, we aren’t as eager or able to live our lives to the full and to help build the kingdom. The good news is that it’s never too late to change and God will help us when we finally decide to obey Him rather than our flesh.

My point today is two-fold. First to our clergy – please listen when we need to confess the sin of gluttony – you can help us to get right with God in this area. And secondly, if you need to put food back in it’s proper place in your life, I encourage you to ask God to help you. Eat balanced meals, stay away from processed foods, drink plenty of water and find a buddy who you can be accountable to as you restore your temple. We can enjoy food without letting it control us. Let’s "eat to live, not live to eat."

 

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:

Romans 6:12-18
Luke 12:39-48

Reflection:

During one of my talks during the retreat weekend, I reflect on the fact that forgiveness is one of the hardest things we are called to do as Christians. Being humble may be another. After telling the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Sunday’s Gospel reading (Luke 18: 9-14), Jesus says, "I tell you, the latter [the tax collector] went home justified, not the former [the Pharisee]; for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted." Even with a promise like that, it seems that we struggle mightily with humbling ourselves. Perhaps we struggle with humility simply because we just don’t like it!

But if we remember what our faith tells us about God, and about what Jesus did for our salvation, and how the Holy Spirit enables us to follow Jesus and do God’s will, it seems fairly obvious that humility is a most appropriate attitude to have. When we remember that it is by God’s grace that we can do the good that we do, what else can we be but humble?

A sense of humility helps us understand ourselves and our world. When we look at the beauty of creation and the vastness of the universe, we recognize that the universe did not come about by something we did. We also realize that creation is not something for us to conquer, but to respect, and to care for. While we are called to nurture the gift of creativity within us, and to help build up the kingdom, it is not as rulers or destroyers, but as servants. When we witness the miracle of life when a child is born, or when an elderly person continues to give of him or herself, we know that we are called to promote life and not death.

When we experience success, we recognize that the gifts that we use to achieve that success have not come from us, but are gifts from God, and so we are to share the fruits of our success with others. There are some who say that sharing our success with others causes them to be less motivated to achieve success themselves. But when we are humble enough to realize that all is gift, we see that we are to give in return.

When we experience failure, that is often the time when we can finally accept the help that we need. When we are able to confront our own sin, that is when we let God in, and find out that He can and will lift us up! Jesus died and rose again to free us from the power of sin! The Pharisee’s sin was not that he fasted and tithed. His sin was his refusal to see his sin while looking down on others. Addicts in recovery often talk about the time they hit "rock bottom," and surrendered to their Higher Power, Who enabled them to get clean and sober, and help others who were still suffering.

We need to remember that humility is not the same as humiliation, in the way we commonly understand that word. Being humble does not require that we accept injustice. We are called to bear our crosses when they come, but we are also called to help alleviate the suffering of others. As Sirach points out in our first reading (Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18), "Though not unduly partial toward the weak, yet he hears the cry of the oppressed."

We also need to remember that humility is not the same as false modesty of lack of self-love. In our second reading from 2 Timothy (4:6-8, 16-18), St. Paul writes: "I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day…"  There are times when I feel that Paul is bragging as much as the Pharisee in the parable! But he is only speaking the truth. Throughout his letters we see his reliance on the mercy and grace of God, acknowledging his past sins. But like him, we cannot let false modesty or lack of self-love enter in, because we have things to do, such as proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ (not the Good News of Phil, by the way).

Humbling ourselves before God leads us to gratitude, generosity, and service. May we let God in, accept His love, and do His will.

 

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

Scripture:

Romans 5:12, 15b, 17-19, 20b-21
Luke 12"35-38

Reflection:

"Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival." Luke 12:37

I’m always amazed that people can spend so much time and effort trying to figure out when the world is going to end; when Jesus will come back to usher us all into eternity. Especially since scripture tells us that "No one knows the day or the hour." In reality it doesn’t matter, because He could come today for any one of us! The question is not when He will come back, but are we ready?

What are some of the things we might need to do to be ready? The first most obvious question seems to be, are you right with God? Do you have any unconfessed sin that you are ashamed to confess? What is keeping you from drawing close to His Sacred Heart and letting Him love you back to wholeness? How about forgiveness? Is there someone you need to forgive but you don’t see how you could ever forgive them? Let Jesus help you so that He can forgive you! Sometimes the one we need to forgive is ourselves. Be kind to yourself and believe that God is ready and anxious to forgive you when you repent. "His mercy is new every morning."

Have you found God’s will for your life and pursued it? A very common question to kids is "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I remember telling our kids over and over, "You can do or be anything you want to be if you work hard enough." The truth is, we will be the happiest when we ask God what He wants us to do with our lives; when we find out what He created us to do. He has given each of us unique gifts so that He can use us to bless others. And in blessing others, we find true fulfillment and joy.

Even if you’re older, it’s never too late to seek God’s will for your life. When we pray and open our hearts to God’s ideas, He can lead us to serve Him in ways we had never imagined. I read a story of a family who started a fair-trade business importing coffee from South America. They got the whole family involved and it has grown into a full-time ministry as they work to help the farmers receive a fair wage for their work.

Is there anything you would regret not doing if you died suddenly? And finally, is there someone who needs to know that you love them or someone you need to be reconciled with? Don’t wait another minute – make that phone call, write that letter, forgive yourself and others. Today may be your last day on this earth – make it your best!

 

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:

Romans 4:20-25
Luke 12:13-21

Reflection:

The search for power has been an ongoing effort down through the centuries.  Military arsenals have often been instruments in this effort, but there are also other avenues to power.  Money, of course, comes to mind, and prestige associated with recognized authority.  In recent times the perception of the kind of power that is sought after has become more technical and scientific, with access to oil, for instance, as a primary goal of power-seekers in the contemporary world.  And, with the diminishment of oil reserves, alternate generators of similar power are emerging in the form of wind-driven resources, surf-energized alternatives, atomic fueled capabilities, etc., along with more traditional coal reserves and dam reservoirs familiar to us along our rivers.

Our biblical readings address power issues in today’s Eucharistic liturgy.  St. Paul’s reflections on the faith we share with the outstanding ancestors in our religious tradition, such as Abraham, remind us of this.  For Paul acknowledges the empowerment factor in Abraham’s adherence to God’s promise to him.  Paul designates this as Abraham’s  faith that what God "…had promised he was fully able to do".  We note the phrase: "he was fully able to do"-a power motif.  What’s especially significant about this is that this empowerment "was not for him alone" but "it was also for us".  In other words, we have here a power source that is not afflicted with the problems of all the above examples of power: gradual diminishment and eventual unreliability.  And what is it?  According to Paul, Abraham was "empowered by faith", which was ultimately traceable to the ultimate power source: Jesus rising from the dead (v. 24).  So faith puts us in the enviable position of linkage to a power source that is ongoing.

Unfortunately, the rich man described in Luke’s gospel today presents a person who also had a certain amount of power at his disposal, land that "…produced a bountiful harvest", but, as the examples above, it was a power source that was unreliable.  Though, for a time, he enjoyed the advantage his land afforded him, saying to himself: "…you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!", leading him to build new barns to store this produce,  yet again, a power shortage was at hand to undo this advantage: "…this night your life will be demanded of you." 

And so it is with all of us.  We may not think of ourselves as power hungry, but each of us searches for someone or something to resource us in our passage through life.  There is nothing wrong with this.  But, from God’s vantage point, He gave us this drive to find a power source , with a very definite arrangement in mind: Himself.  It’s not the search for power that is reprehensible, but the search for it in the wrong places, that ultimately failing to provide what they seem to promise.  The only trustworthy and reliable power source in our lives is what Abraham found to be verified in his life: faith in Him.  Not only is faith a source of power, supplied by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, but it is also an inexhaustible power-point, unlike any other resource on which we might rely. 

This has been declared The Year of Faith.  Let us explore the ways leading to the refurbishing of faith so that we can be empowered "…in what matters to God."

 

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