Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Acts 11:19-26
John 10:22-30

Reflection:

In our first reading from Acts, Luke tells us that "it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians." What does it mean to be called "Christian?" Obviously there is not enough space here to go into a complete answer to that question. But our Scripture readings point to a few aspects of what it means to be Christian.

One thing that comes to mind is that to be Christian is to be open to God’s transforming love and power in Jesus Christ. We believe that in the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, God transformed a sign of defeat and destruction into the sign of our salvation. In our reading from Acts, many of the disciples scatter after the martyrdom of Steven. And yet, look at what happens! The Good News of Jesus Christ now reaches Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch! God transforms the persecution of the disciples into an opportunity for evangelization!

Another thing about being Christian is that to be Christian is to be a person of hope. We are an Easter people. This is so important in our world today. In the aftermath of the bombing in Boston, and with all the senseless acts of violence in our world, Jesus’ words in our Gospel reading are especially meaningful: "My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand… and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one." It is true that too many people have been taken out of our hands through war and terror and violence. But they have not been taken out of God’s hands! And because of this, our loved ones who have gone before us have not been taken out of our hearts or out of our lives! Death does not cut us off from each other! As Christians, we comfort those who grieve. We work to help build a world where senseless violence will be a thing of the past. And we wait in hope for Jesus to come again and bring the fulfillment of the kingdom of God.

May God give us the grace to live up to the name "Christian."

 

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

Scripture:

Acts 11:1-18
John 10:1-10

Reflection:

‘John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ Acts 11: 16

The first time I heard about baptism in the Holy Spirit was when we moved to Chico, California in 1977. I met some people at our new parish who seemed to have a more vibrant faith than I did, and I thought I was a pretty good Catholic! They talked about Jesus like they knew Him. . . I wasn’t even comfortable saying His Name out loud. As I got to know them better, I learned that they had all been baptized in the Holy Spirit, meaning that they simply invited the Holy Spirit they had received at Baptism and Confirmation to work in their lives.

Well, I wanted what they had, so one night when Jim was out of town and the kids were in bed, I asked the Lord to baptize me in His Holy Spirit too. I invited Him to take over my life as I surrendered to Him. I wanted to get to know Jesus as a person and grow in my faith. No bells or whistles went off, but when I look back, I know that a new chapter in my journey of faith began that night.

The Mass came alive for me after that. I started really noticing the words that I was saying and hearing, and realized that it is the best prayer you can pray – the words of the prayers during mass are incredible! Another thing that happened was that Scripture also came alive for me – it wasn’t just an old book of old stories anymore, but through it God was speaking directly to my heart  and I couldn’t get enough. I began to notice that the Spirit was nudging me to do and say things, correcting me and bringing certain scriptures to mind when I needed them. After yielding to the Spirit, my faith went from a religion to a relationship with a living, loving Lord.

Scripture tells us the many ways the Holy Spirit can help us, but we often don’t take advantage of it, because we don’t know how. I think it would be awesome to have a sacrament called "Baptism in the Holy Spirit" for adults! Then we all could experience the fullness of our faith just like the disciples did at Pentecost, and we could affirm what our parents did for us when they baptized us as infants. Thanks Mom and Dad. I am forever grateful! And thanks Holy Spirit for the gifts you give us and the ways you teach and guide us.

 

Janice Carleton and her husband Jim live in Portland, OR and partner with Passionist Fr. Cedric Pisegna in Fr. Cedric Ministries. Janice also leads retreats and has written her first book called "God Speaks to Ordinary People – Like You and Me". She is the mother of 4 grown children and grandmother of 6. Visit Janice’s website at http://www.janicecarleton.com/ or email her at [email protected]

Scripture:

Acts 13:14, 43-52
Revelation 7:9, 14b-17
John 10:27-30

Reflection:

Mary Tallchief was a famous ballerina, recently deceased, noteworthy for her achievement, given her background as a Native American: a member of the Osage tribe that counted Kansas and Oklahoma as its homeland.   This was also part of the territory, especially around Coffeyville, where the Dalton gang, contemporaries of Jesse and Frank James, hunted down and robbed trains, just as the James boys were doing.  I grew familiar with this area during my novitiate year with the community of Passionist religious, in the small town of St. Paul, in southeast Kansas.   The Passionists succeeded the Jesuits in this area at the end of the 19^th century, during which the Jesuits had established Osage Indian mission there.  This transaction cost $1.00, and the Passionists subsequently complained they had been cheated.

A novitiate year is the equivalent of boot camp in the military: it’s the beginning stage, where one learns the basics of the new way of life one is entering.  My year of entry (1950) was memorable for me because a fellow novice, Richard Osterberg, drowned while swimming the nearby treacherous floodwaters of the Neosho River, despite his skill as a swimmer, being a US Navy veteran during WW II.

This is the context for appreciating the achievement of Mary Tallchief, (and the Dalton boys), in earning credentials with a grudging American society against this kind of background, which she did with aplomb.  After all, was she not a Native American?

A similar scenario plays itself out in today’s liturgical readings.  There we hear of another social division brewing between the early Christian community in Antioch, and the Jewish community there.  Sts. Paul and Barnabas were there, preaching Jesus Christ as Savior to an unfriendly and unreceptive Jewish group, who ultimately forced Paul and Barnabas out of their territory.  This was not the first instance of rivalry between Jew and Christian.

But there is a happy ending to this mutual antagonism, spelled out for us in the book of Revelation as it presents the final outcome and destiny of Jew and Gentile/Christian: an assembly of every nation/tribe on earth gathered together before the throne of God, at the end of time.  At that point (the end of time) we are to be all gathered together, Jew and Gentile, as well as late arrivals in America, and native Americans such as the Osage, Apache, Iroquois, Sioux, Mohawk nations, hopefully to take our place in the great liturgy of praising God.

The gospel too captures this scene in terms of the Good Shepherd gathering together and protecting all His sheep, none of whom He overlooks, loses or forgets, whether Jew or Gentile Christian.  We hear the consoling message that no one shall take any of these out of the Good Shepherd’s protecting hand; He will allow none of them to perish.   Perhaps Mary Tallchief’s success in the eyes of her fellow Americans is a sign that all her fellow tribesmen will experience the same acceptance from us subsequent settlers, both now and hereafter.  After all, was she not the child of an impressive Osage warrior/father and a Scotch-Irish mother?  Divisions among us are destined to disappear at the end, as we assemble before the throne of God, Who gathers us together.

 

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

 

 

Scripture:

Acts 9:31-42
John 6:60-69

Reflection:

In the First Reading today, Peter heals the sick and raises Dorcas from the dead.  I wonder what Peter’s thoughts were when miracles started happening at his hand.   Perhaps he thought, "I can’t believe this – I denied Jesus, I tempted Him, I didn’t understand his message and still he uses me to do his work."    Or perhaps, Peter thought, "Well, Jesus chose me to do his work, I must be pretty special!"  This reading offers us an opportunity to remember that all that we do – our accomplishments, our triumphs, our successes, and our achievements – are not our doing, but rather gifts God has given us to be used for God’s work.   We know also that God considers each of us to be special – and calls each of us to do His work.

In today’s Gospel, many disciples who were following Jesus leave Him, saying, "This saying is hard…."  They were talking about Jesus’ instruction to "eat my flesh and drink my blood." For us, as Catholics, this, the Eucharist, is usually not an obstacle to our Faith but rather as the very heart of our belief a source of great strenth.  But maybe this Gospel reading can also be a reminder to us to look at where we are tempted to echo the words "this saying is hard" when we hear Jesus’ message.  Often this happens when we move past talking about Jesus’ message, and begin "walking the talk."   Often we speak loudly about those very things that don’t really cost us much and aren’t much of a sacrifice and ignore doing the things that would be "hard" for us.

It becomes a different story when our actions begin to speak louder than our words.  When we live the Gospel message instead of just talking about it – then it isn’t so easy.  Often it is truly a difficult road that Jesus asks us to follow.  It may be hard, but we live the Gospel message when we choose to go without in order to share our resources with those in need, or when we sacrifice our time to visit the sick or those in prison and it is difficult when we choose to go against popular opinion to work for peace and justice even when that means being rejected by family, friends, and community. 

Our challenge is to walk the path that Jesus followed; to work to serve others in His name and to remember to be grateful for the skills and gifts God has showered on us.

 

Mary Lou Butler is a long-time friend and partner in ministry to the Passionists in California. 

Scripture:
Acts 9:1-20
John 6:52-59

Reflection:
"So Ananias went and entered the house, laying his hands on him; he said, "Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me, Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came, that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Acts 9: 17

There is no doubt that our country is traumatized once again by the senseless bombings that took place in Boston earlier this week. Such violent acts create a broad range of emotions within us as individuals and as a community. We are filled with so many mixed emotions that challenge our humanity and our Christian heritage. We become fearful and want to hide in a safe and secure place. We are compassionate towards those who have suffered greatly in the violence and want to help. We get angry at those responsible for such heinous acts of violence but our anger and rage has no target, since no one is caught. The tendency is to blame everyone who is on our list of violent trouble makers, regardless of guilt. By the time the one or the ones responsible are identified, we have already spewed our hatred and condemnation to anyone who will listen. These are the times which define us as human beings and as Catholic Christians.

The early Church was certainly traumatized by the Passion and Death of Jesus. This heinous act was the result of many, many people who came to hate Jesus. It was not just one group of people who turned against him. Those who wanted Jesus to suffer a horrible death included people who once walked with him, listened to him and even benefited from his generosity and goodness. In today’s Gospel, we see people walking away from Jesus. One of his followers betrayed him with a kiss. Others fled. Peter denied him. Jesus’ violent end put great fear into the hearts of his most faithful followers, so much so that they began to run away or to gather behind locked doors.

Jesus’ resurrection began to change all of that, little by little. However, it did not happen overnight, instantaneously. The women were the first to believe. The men did believe them. Jesus had to appear to them two times before they all believed. But this faith did not remove their fear. Their faith challenged them to overcome their fear and urged them to be more like Jesus, praying and preaching openly, curing the sick, even bringing back to life those who had died.

Those opposed to Jesus and his message did not go away. Saul, as we read in today’s first reading, was committed to bringing the followers of Jesus to justice, even to death. As the Christian community learned more about Saul, the more fearful they were of him. But Saul had a conversion, and the followers of Jesus were called to overcome their fear of him. It was the Christian thing to do.

Once again, we, as individuals and as a community, will be called to do the Christian thing, namely overcome our fear and prejudices with faith. We are called to let go of our hate and rage toward those who have done us evil. We are called to the Peace-makers in the midst of violence and death.

May the Risen Lord appear to us and make us strong in our resolve to follow him!

 

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

Scripture:

Acts 8:26-40
John 6:44-51

Reflection:

In the early 19^th century, Rev. Dr. John Scudder, missionary and physician, was the first medical missionary in India.  He became convinced that he was called to be a missionary. Then, he became thoroughly committed to serving God through medical missions.  First he went to Sri Lanka and then to India to proclaim the gospel. He established a large hospital, founded several native schools and churches. He and his wife Harriet had six sons and two daughters, all of whom became medical missionaries and worked in South India.

In the first reading, Philip explained the scripture passage of the prophet Isaiah to the Ethiopian eunuch. His reading from a scroll of Isaiah affirms his interest in Judaism. When he struggles to understand the passage from Isaiah, Philip obviously preaches to him about the passage’s fulfillment in Jesus, especially his death and resurrection. Then, the Ethiopian desires baptism and he gets baptized and goes on rejoicing. As the Ethiopian is anxious for baptism, so Philip is anxious to move on because he is a man with a mission!

Jesus too had a mission; mission of his Father. "For no one has seen the Father except the One who comes from God; he has seen the Father"(Jn 6:46). In the Gospel of John, the Father now teaches anew through Jesus about living bread. The familiar manna language from Exodus takes on new meaning and finds its fulfillment. Jesus has given himself for us our food in the Eucharist that gives eternal life.

As Christians, we too have a mission – the mission of Christ. We are all called to be missionaries either directly or indirectly in proclaiming the good news that Jesus has brought to us. As the body is broken and shared in the Eucharist, so our lives be broken and shared with others. As Mother Theresa beautifully said, "We all have a mission, a mission to love."

 

Fr. A. Justin Nelson, C.P. is a member of our Indian Vicariate and temporarily stationed at St. Mary’s Parish, Fairfield, Alabama. 

Scripture:

Acts 8:1b-8
John 6:35-40

Reflection:

"Play it again, Sam" (from the film, Casablanca) aptly describes the representation of events we hear about in our bible readings for today’s eucharist: play it again.  For we have a recapping of significant events in the Jesus story, as well as a capsule formulation of a "typical day in the life of the church".

And, above and beyond all of this, we see the church at work in making the scriptures her own, weaving and re-weaving them into the powerful testimony she wants to provide us about the life and ministry of Jesus.

"Play it again, Sam" occurs in the gospel as we hear events reminiscent of another time recalled again, but on this occasion, in a different key.  Periodically, when we hear a melody played in another key from the way we heard it earlier, it sounds like a different song.  And so when we hear Jesus refer to Himself in the gospel as "the bread of life", we not only hear a familiar phrase.  It also strikes us in a different way from how we earlier encountered it during the ministry of Jesus, prior to His Passion and Resurrection.  Back then it sounded strange and odd to us, a challenge to our belief as He proposes that He will satisfy our hunger with Himself.  Especially when He proceeds to say that belief in Him means both eternal life for us, and being raised on the last day.

We encounter all this again today, but now, within the setting of the Easter event.   It is not a future event; it’s behind us.  And we’re better positioned to accept the bread of life as eucharist in the light of the resurrection of Christ that we celebrate during this time period.  The same melody, but in a strange key: it sounds so familiar, yet there’s something different about it, much like the body of the risen Lord, which seemed much the same, but yet with a strange quality about it.

And while we ponder this, we’re presented, in the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, with "a typical day in the life of the church".  We realize, of course, that we’re in a post-resurrection atmosphere where things take on a different hue and tone from what we’re otherwise accustomed to.  This typical day in the church’s life sounds familiar: opposition to the message of the church (especially about the resurrection of Jesus), involving persecution (had not the deacon Stephen just been stoned to death?) that scattered this incipient young Christian community just getting its act together.  But far from subduing them, this hostility just fired up the group, as in the person of the deacon Philip, to spread the word about Jesus in the places where they’ve just arrived.  So enthused are these first generation followers of Christ that their zeal breaks out into miracles of exorcisms and healing cures.  All this is a familiar replay of scenes from the life of Jesus during the days prior to His death and resurrection.

We listen to this symphony of the Christ event all over again-now in the post-resurrection period-thanks to the orchestration wizardry of the church, who trusts that, as it plays out before us once more (Play it again, Sam), we’ll realize, not only that we’ve heard this somewhere before, but, this time, in the light of the resurrection, it imparts new meaning and emphasis to our life-an experience comparable to that surrounding the risen body of the Savior.  And we’re right: it’s the same melody, but in a different key.

 

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

Scripture:

Acts 7:51-8:1a
John 6:30-35

Reflection:

Being a Witness

In the first reading of today’s liturgy we are given the account of the brave witnessing to Christ of Stephen, which cost him his life.    Stephen has the honor of being the first disciple and deacon to give his life for Christ  For all his wonderful gifts by the Holy Spirit no one ever accused him of having  the amenities of political correctness!  "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.^"  Acts 7:51   It is little wonder that ", they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth at him".   

The New Testament uses the word witness or martyr over 400 times to describe discipleship.  It is a key word for understanding what it means to follow Christ.    A witness is one who has firsthand information about an event or even an eyewitness.    Any description of a follower of Christ would have to give serious attention to this New Testament Greek word "martyrion". 

Briefly, there are three characteristics to this word.   First I must have a personal relationship with Jesus like Peter and the Apostles.   For us this relationship must take place in faith.  Stephen is said to be "a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit."  Without a lively and loving association with the living Christ we can hardly ever give adequate witness to Him.   This involvement with Jesus is principally experienced in an intense prayer life.

The second observation is that we must speak up for Christ with the same sincerity as Stephean did.  Admittedly, we might think of using a bit more tact than Stephen.  However the tact must never belie the truth that Christ is everything to us!  "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst." John 6:35   Life without Jesus is a horrendous loss! The popular opinion today that a watered down morality is enough to satisfy the human heart is totally unbiblical! Zeal for the propagation of the faith is becoming a lost virtue in the country.

The third observation is that there is no witness protection program.  We see Stephen had to pay dearly for his witnessing to Jesus.   In a sense if there is no pain in the proclamation of the Gospel we probably are failing in our message!   If we want to be comfortable in the world it would not be a very good idea to take up preaching.  "Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!" Luke 6:22

 

Fr. Bob Weiss, C.P. preaches Parish Missions and is a member of the Passionist Community in Louisville, Kentucky.