Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Revelation 21:9b-14
John 1:45-51

Reflection:

Jesus liked Nathanael!   "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!"   John 1:48  I remember Bishop May of St Louis when he was alive would go out of his way to pass on a compliment he heard about you.  As a young priest this meant a great deal to me.  It was an assurance of a gift from God and a shared joy of recognition. 

Jesus praises Nathanael for his faithfulness and openness and wins him over for life.   He recognized the gift of His Father in Nathanael and shares in the joy of confirmation.   What an example for us.   How often do I attest the gifts of another?  It has always struck me as a mark of spiritual immaturity not to be able to confirm the gifts of another.  After all, they are the wonderful works of God.   We fail to praise God when we fail to acknowledge the gifts of others.   C S Lewis said when God commands us to praise Him He is inviting us to join in His joy over His creation.

I fear too often we see the gifts of others as some form of a threat to us.   We can easily forget that in His Body, the church, we deeply depend on the gifts of others.   We cannot exist spiritually as isolationists but as members of the great Body of Christ.   Paul tells us: ^"For the body does not consist of one member but of many. ¹⁹ If all were a single member, where would the body be?  ²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." ²² On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are  indispensable". 1Cor 12:19

In summary, we would  be wise to imitate Jesus in praising the gifts of God in others.   It certainly will make their day!   It will also make our day in rejoicing in seeing our brothers and sisters as part of myself in Christ!

 

Fr. Bob Weiss, C.P. gives parish missions and retreats.  He is a member of the Passionist community in Louisville, Kentucky. 

The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Scripture:

Judges 11:29-39a
Matthew 22:1-14

Reflection:

I apologize for not writing about today’s readings – I hope you don’t mind, but I’d like to go deeper with the reflection I quoted last month:

"Be still and know that I am God."

In the stillness, ponder afresh who I am. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the one true God, your Shepherd and King. I see all, know all, and give you every good thing. I am the God who made the universe and I love you! I alone am totally worthy of your trust. Let me help you each day, let me be your Father, let me comfort you, let me teach you. I long to spend time with you letting you know just how much I love you!

"Be still and know that I am."

I am now, I always was, and I always will be. When you let me be your Lord and King, your life will take on new depth and meaning. All that I have said is true and one day when the battle between good and evil is over you will triumph with me and share my glory! We know the end of the story!!!

"Be still and know."

The world distracts you with so many things to know, but I can show you the secrets of abundant life and eternal life, the secrets to joy on earth and joy forever. Let me teach you the things that really matter.

"Be still."

Daily life is usually crazy busy. Take time from the hustle and bustle and be still. Let the stillness renew you and energize you. Meet me in the stillness and let me speak to your heart.

"Be."

I created you as human beings not human doings. So be! Be all that I created you to be. Be loving, be kind, be an example of my love to others. But most importantly, be mine. Will you be mine – now and forever?

 

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].

Memorial of St. Pius X

Scripture:

1 Thessalonians 2:2b-8
Matthew 20:1-16

Reflection:

As we approach the Labor Day celebration for 2013, we do so, mindful of the important role labor plays in our lives.  We regret the continuing, large unemployment, or underemployment, rate in our nation, and we thank our fellow citizens on whose labor we rely, as it contributes to our own well-being.

We listen with interest to our biblical readings for this day, since they are so much in step with the Labor Day holiday.  We note the defensive stance of St. Paul before the Thessalonian community that he had evangelized, and wonder what has gone on between them  to account for Paul’s "apologia pro vita sua", so to speak.  Apparently his motivation is impugned by some among the Thessalonians, who criticize some hidden motivation with which he labored among them, as if he did so for his own self-aggrandizement.  This resembles the criticism at times leveled against certain labor union leaders, that they are in "it" for their own self-serving motives.   And sometimes, of course, this has been the case.  But the question always is: how much so?  Enough to indict unions themselves?  In Paul’s case, of course, it is difficult to accept the truth of such accusations.   He seemed to profit very little by the intense labors he underwent on behalf of his converts.  Indeed, just the opposite was the case: he paid a heavy price for his work among them, enriching them rather than himself.

Even more to the point is the parable presented in St. Matthew’s gospel for the day about the landowner seeking laborers for his vineyards.  He was obviously obsessed with concern that enough workers get into the field to get the picking of the grapes over and done with, so we hear of him going into the marketplace numerous times in the course of the day seeking ever more laborers, even if it be only for an hour.  Early on he promises to pay "the usual daily wage", but later on he indicates he will pay them "what is just".  The first arrangement refers to an established amount of money.  The second depends on his interpretation of what is just.  As we hear, at the end of the day the usual squabble develops over "what is just", and we see two standards at play here in computing this: the owner claiming his prerogative to do as he likes ("Am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?").  Unfortunately, his defense that he is being generous, at least with some, rings hallow with  those expecting more for having worked more.   But, as the owner rejoins, they had agreed to the usual daily wage, which is apparently what they received from him.

We hesitate to barge into this argument here since it seems God is very definitely identified with the owner, and we don’t want to be found disagreeing with Him.  But we find this dispute all too familiar with labor-management relationships over the years.   Money issues are foundational ones, not to be lightly brushed aside.  But at times there are work-related issues that do not involve money.  They are found even in the realm of papal activity, or "work", such as emerged in the pontificate of Pope St. Pius X (1903-1914).  This may not be work in the usual sense of the term, but it is so, by extension.  During his pontificate, Pius X made important liturgical decisions centering around the sacrament of the eucharist, urging access to the eucharist for younger children than was the accepted practice of his day and also encouraging adults to approach this sacrament more frequently than they were accustomed to do.  And for this, like St. Paul, he was criticized by some.  On the other hand, he wrote two blistering encyclical letters against the then current inroads of Modernism which he called "the synthesis of all heresies", and for this he was criticized by others.  So even popes encounter problems in their work situations, though usually not with the finances involved (until recently).

This all started in the Garden of Eden when an upset God berated a contrite Adam: "Cursed be the ground because of you!  In toil shall you eat its yield all the days of your life." (Gn 3.17).  Should we be surprised it carries over into our day?

 

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

Memorial of Saint Bernard,
Abbot and Doctor of the Church

Scripture:

Judges 6:11-24a
Matthew 19:23-30

Reflection:

"Who, me?  I can’t do what you ask because I’m a nobody.  I’m just another very ordinary person at the bottom of the society.  You’ve got to be kidding!"  Those aren’t the exact words but that’s what Gideon is saying to the angel who, in the first reading today, just asked Gideon to lead the Israelites out from under the oppressive rule of the Midianites.  "How can I save Israel?"  The response from the angel who speaks with the voice of God responds, "I shall be with you…."  Gideon believes in his call and as we read in the rest of the story, does exactly what the angel had asked.  Gideon becomes one the great liberators of Israel.

How about us?  Through our baptism we are called to live in Christ, to witness to Christ’s presence in the world, to be Christ for others.  Now that’s a huge challenge!  When we come to understand that’s our baptismal call, we tend to respond much like Gideon, "Who, me?  I’m just another very ordinary person and certainly can’t be expected to live up to that baptismal call.  That’s for the great saints…not for ordinary people like me."  Gideon was able to fulfill the call of the Lord because he believed God when God promised to "be with you."  God promises the same to us.  In fact, God has fulfilled His promise through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Do we believe that God is with us?  That’s the question.  In remembering Gideon’s experience today, we ask God to strengthen our belief that in every situation in our lives, God always goes before us, so that we can be His presence in the world.

 

Fr. Michael Higgins, C.P. is the director of the Development Office for Holy Cross Province and is stationed at Immaculate Conception Community in Chicago.

Scripture:

Judges 6:11-24a
Matthew 19:23-30

Reflection:

"Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?" Matthew 19:16

The readings for today’s Mass contrast expectations and experience. The first reading is all about the experience of God’s chosen people and their inability to hold fast to the expectations of being faithful to the One True God and God’s Covenant. The second reading is about the expectation of gaining eternal life and the good that one has to do to gain eternal life. This is the story of our lives. This is our faith journey. We expect to do better each day. Sometimes, we experience failure. We are unable to live up to our expectations to do the good that we need to in order to gain eternal life.

The one notion that stood out in the first reading is the idea of abandonment. Abandonment is used three times in the first reading. The people of Israel had crossed over the Jordon and had established themselves as a nation. They began to believe that it was their doing that made them successful. So fidelity to God, fidelity to the good was abandoned as a way of life and many people fell away from the Covenant that God had made with them. They abandoned God by following "the other gods of the various nations around them.  .  ." (Judges 2:12) But God did not abandon them, even though he disciplined them for their wrong doing. God sent them judges, men and women who brought justice and integrity back to the People of God.

I think that most of us ask ourselves the question, what makes us stray from God and the good God wants us to do? Our experience tells us that abandoning God will ultimately bring despair and hopelessness. We sometimes allow the bad things that happen to us to change our faith in God. Because bad things happen to us we think that God has abandoned us. Just because we experience hard times and personal suffering, we begin to believe that God is not found in the pain and suffering that we have. We begin to measure God’s presence by the absence of pain and suffering.

It is then that we are asked to learn from our experience. Our experience tells us that the more we abandon God, the less we are able to do the good required of us. We can pretend that life is good or that we are good, but we also believe that God will have the last Word. We forget that Jesus held on to God’s Love on the Cross. God did not abandon Him. We too can find God in our in our pain and suffering.

Sometimes we are tempted to measure our lack of personal success with the world’s standard of success, fame and money. We ask, "how come God doesn’t strike public sinners down?" We judge these people to be so bad, so public with our sense of sin that God should strike them down. Is it our role to be God and judge others? Or are we called to be faithful to the Covenant that we have made with God through our baptism and live in a manner that is faithful to God?

So, what good must we do to gain eternal life? Love God and love our neighbor without condition. We cannot do this on our own. Let us ask God daily to do the good that we need to do in order to gain eternal life!

 

Fr. Clemente Barrón, C.P. is stationed in San Antonio, Texas. 

Scripture:

Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10
Hebrews 12:1-4
Luke 12:49-53

Reflection:

In Sunday’s Gospel reading (Luke 12:49-53), Jesus says some words that have always been challenging to me, but at this moment I find them downright disturbing: "Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division." These words are downright disturbing because I am tired of division. I see distrust in our own country between political parties, which leads, I think, to little getting done in Washington. But the distrust and division are not just in Washington. There is distrust between different levels of government. There is distrust between cities and suburbs, and I could go on and on.

If we take our attention away from the U.S., we see again a seemingly intractable impasse between Israelis and Palestinians. We see an outbreak of violence in Egypt. And there are many other places around the world in which hatreds and fears seem to be winning the day. So when I hear these words coming from Jesus, who is in my mind the Prince of Peace, and the One who can bring us together, I struggle to understand what it all means.

So what are we to make of Jesus’ words? I think part of what Jesus says has to do with discipleship demanding choices of us. If we are faithful to following Jesus, there will be times when we come in conflict with worldly wisdom. There may be times when we are in conflict even with the ones closest to us. As Christians, we do not simply "go along to get along." As Martin Luther King, Jr. and others have reminded us, true peace is not simply an absence of conflict, but comes about through justice. And so there are times when our stance brings us into conflict with others.

But before we saddle up on the horse of Righteous Anger, eager to do battle and destroy our enemies, we need to look at two people. One is Jeremiah, who is featured in our first reading (Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10). The princes of Judah tell King Zedekiah that Jeremiah needs to be killed, as he "is not interested in the welfare of our people, but in their ruin." The king lets them have their way, and they throw Jeremiah into a cistern to die. But Ebed-melech, a member of the court, pleads with the king on behalf of Jeremiah, and is sent to pull the prophet out of the cistern. Why are the princes so eager to kill Jeremiah? Because they didn’t like what he was telling them. They were the ruling elite. They knew best for the people. And they were in Jerusalem, God’s city, so anyone who told them something different from what they wanted to hear was obviously evil and a traitor. Sound familiar? But we know Jeremiah was sent by God, and God had already warned him that this was the response he would get (Jeremiah 1:17-19). In our righteous anger, we need to be careful about whether we are really following God or not.

I think one way to help us discern whether we are following God in our righteousness is to look at Jesus Himself. In our eagerness to do battle and vanquish all those who disagree with us, we may be willing to sacrifice ourselves for the cause. We may be willing to sacrifice ourselves for those who are with us. But are we willing to sacrifice ourselves, out of love, for those who are against us? For those who believe that we are the unrighteous ones? Because that is what Jesus did! Even though Jesus seemed to provoke some to conspire against Him, He did not choose to destroy them, but to live and die and rise again for them as well as for us.

Being faithful may lead us into conflict, but I am not quite sold that it is meant to lead us into violence against others. If I am called to fight in a holy war, I am not sure that it will be all that holy. At the same time, I hope that I will be faithful enough to stand up for what is right, even though it may go against the grain of everyone else. May God give us all the grace to discern His will!

 

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

Scripture:

Joshua 24:14-29
Matthew 19:13-15

Reflection:

It is in keeping this over-riding theme in mind that the first reading today is then a bit easier to understand. God’s faithfulness should be Israel’s faithfulness, both collective as a nation and personal as individuals. And while faithfulness is not a transferable trait from father to son like blue eyes or brown hair, it can be learned, it can be communicated by example. Moral responsibility to God applies both to nations as well as individual persons.

The coming of Jesus inaugurates the new messianic age. More than words, God’s faithfulness takes flesh in Jesus. That faithfulness has a body, legs and arms, head and heart, hands to touch and bless. Children, a symbol of the Kingdom due to their innocence as well as their defenselessness, are brought to Jesus to have "hands laid upon them" and prayed over. Normally we think of Jesus just blessing children, but perhaps he was doing more than that…perhaps he was healing them or loving them or even just acknowledging their presence. As a modern society we acknowledge the power that touch can bring to any relationship…how much more the touch of God? Would that not perhaps open them up to the coming Kingdom in their midst?

God’s enduring faithfulness, personal as well as collective moral responsibility, the power of reaching out and touching others in the name of God, food for thought as we go about our daily routine.

Solemnity of the Assumption
of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Scripture:

Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab
1 Corinthians 15:20-27
Luke 1:39-56

 

 

Reflection:

These readings may take on a little more significance in the light of Pope Francis’s comments to a question on his flight back to Rome after World Youth Day. He was asked about the role of women in the church. His thoughts immediately went to Mary and her role as the Mother of Jesus and her place in bringing about the foundation of the early church. He went on to say that the church needs to develop a theology of women that will give them their rightful role in the life of the church. Do we really understand the implications of the church as the bride of Christ and Mother of the Church?

The scriptures for this feast of the Assumption is a place to start.

As the ark contained the tablets of the Commandments, so Mary’s body contained the Savior of the world, the Son of God. In a vision of transfigured glory John sees a woman with child surrounded with the lights of heaven: the sun, the moon and the stars. She gives birth to a son destined to rule the nations. The reading concludes with the resounding proclamation that salvation has come and God’s kingdom is firmly in place.

Paul notes that Jesus’ resurrection is the foundation of our hope for eternal life for our whole person, body and soul. The Church believes that Mary’s assumption is the first realization of the full impact of Jesus’ resurrection.

Luke recounts the visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. Among the riches of this familiar passage we have an answer to why we call Mary blessed. Ordinarily we think Mary blessed because she is the Mother of God.

She has been assumed body and soul to heaven where her son has crowned her queen. But Elizabeth puts it at a more fundamental level, before Mary conceived Jesus. "Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."  Mary believed in God’s promises to her and to her people.   May we have that same faith ourselves, faith that God’s kingdom has come and faith that we are destined for glory body and soul. May we proclaim as Mary did that "… the Almighty has done great things for us…"

 

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