Daily Scripture

Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent

Scripture:

Jeremiah 18:18-20
Matthew 20:17-28

Reflection:

When I was a kid in Chicago, my Dad had a humus pile in the back yard – long before composting was popular. We would throw coffee grounds and grass clippings, egg shells and potato peelings on top of the dirt, and Dad would keep turning it over, producing the richest, blackest soil you can imagine. The word "humility" comes from that same origin, humus, and it means earth. Out of the woundedness and brokenness of our earthly lives come the fertile signs of spiritual growth… our call to humility.

Each time we begin the forty days of Lent, we are reminded that "we are dust, and unto dust we shall all return." But like the fallen angels or Adam and Eve, we often rebel. We don’t like to be reminded that we come from the earth.  I am told that 75% of the American population does not accept the evidence of evolution. By that I mean something far more significant than that you and I share common ancestry with today’s monkeys! It has to do with our world view.  We are reminded that the human species wasn’t inserted by God on to this planet in some dramatic and triumphant way. Rather, we came from the earth, or, as the Book of Genesis tells us, out of clay we were formed. Therefore, planet earth is not something we are to dominate, to use and abuse. We are the planet earth, we came from it…

Today’s Gospel says it powerfully: if we wish to be great, we must be the servant of all. That’s humility. And slowly, perhaps, we are evolving into understanding this virtue of humility.

Another metaphor from Sacred Scripture tells us that Adam and Eve were told to stay away from tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Perhaps God knew how tempting the sin of pride would be for our human race. When we begin to dictate to creation what is good and evil, black and white, we begin to form dualisms. And those black and white categories become boundary lines, and soon boundary lines become battle lines. It is clear from the world of politics and church and family systems today how destructive these battle lines can be. The curse of our age is fundamentalism; the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, black and white. We grow more polarized and divided as the days unfold, and we spend more energy entrenching ourselves into our ideologies than building the Kingdom of God.

Maybe I need to get some rich, black soil under my fingernails, and spend some time in the garden. Humus.

 

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.

Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent

Scripture:

Isaiah 1:10, 16-20
Matthew 23:1-12

Reflection:

In two days’ time the Catholic Church will begin a journey at once familiar and uncharted.  Pope Benedict XVI will lay down his ministry as Bishop of Rome and leader of the universal church, and entrust the work of selecting a successor to the Holy Spirit working through the collective wisdom of 116 elector cardinals.  Not that having a new pope is a new experience for most of us-this will be my seventh.  But the election of a new pope while his predecessor is still living is new for us all and is giving those fascinated by Vatican protocols lots to brood over.

Reactions to Pope Benedict’s decision range from the incredulous "Pope’s don’t resign, they die," to the humorous like the cartoon that depicts a Vatican official asking the Pope, "You’re giving up WHAT for Lent?"  But most have used words that echo throughout today’s readings: humility, courage, service, and love.  Being pope is never about being pope, but about always pointing us to God and encouraging us to live a life infused with the love of Christ.

Lent seems to be a most natural time for this unprecedented handing on of the role and responsibilities of being the Servant of the Servants of God.  In today’s gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus extols his friends, "The greatest among you must be your servant.  Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."  The papal ministry is not about the person who is pope but the ministry of being our universal pastor, the one who loves and cares for us all, but most of all those unloved, unwanted, poor, hungry and abandoned.

One of those who will gather in March to elect a successor to Benedict XVI is the Cardinal Archbishop of Manila (Philippines), Luis Antonio Tagle.  Reflecting the straight talk of Jesus in today’s Gospel, Cardinal "Chito," as he called in his homeland, once told an audience, "Like those who opposed Jesus in the name of authentic religion, we could be blind to God and neighbors because of self-righteousness, spiritual pride and rigidity of mind."  He went on to say, "[Church] customs and persons, when naively and narrowly deified and glorified, might become hindrances to true worship and compassion."

As the wheels of change gain speed in the weeks ahead, those given the enormous responsibility of electing a new pope will exercise their role in the midst of Lent when, as Isaiah the Prophet says in today’s first reading, we are all to hear again God’s word:  "Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow." 

 

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.

Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle

Scripture:

1 Peter 5:1-4
Matthew 16:13-19

Reflection:

He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Matthew 16:15

I was raised in the Church, and loved going, but I was very uncomfortable saying the name of Jesus. It all changed when I surrendered my life to the Lord when I was 25 years old; when I asked the Holy Spirit to teach me and guide me and reveal Jesus to me. Since that time, I am now comfortable not only saying "Jesus", but wanting to share His awesome love with others. Now my answer to the question above isn’t just a list of catechism answers stored in my head, but comes from experiences of the heart – it’s more like a prayer thanking Jesus for revealing Himself to me in so many ways:

You are Jesus, my Savior, my brother, my friend. You are the long-awaited Messiah, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. You are the Lamb who was slain. You paid my debt by dying on a cross so that I could go to heaven someday! You are the Way, the Truth and the Life. You show me how to live here on earth, and you show me the way home to the Father. You are my hiding place, my shield and my fortress. You are the lifter of my head. You breathe life into me every morning and walk with me through the day. You call me to follow you and to learn from you. You give me your sweet Holy Spirit. You are my hope, my song and my peace. You are the bright morning star. You are the same yesterday, today and forever. You are the Alpha and the Omega. You are the King of kings and the Lord of lords! You alone are worthy of my praise. You are the Bread of life, and I am privileged to receive you every day in communion. You are the Word made flesh. And as today’s 1^st reading and responsorial psalm remind us, you are the Good Shepherd. When I get lost you come to find me and you don’t scold me all the way home, but you carry me on your shoulders and remind me that you love me. Thank you Lord for being such an awesome God! And thanks too that there is always more of You to discover.

Now it’s your turn… Jesus is asking you, "Who do you say that I am?"

 

Janice Carleton and her husband Jim live in Portland, OR and partner with Passionist Fr. Cedric Pisegna in Fr. Cedric Ministries. Janice also leads women’s retreats. She is the mother of 4 grown children and grandmother of 6. Visit Janice’s website at http://www.jcarleton.com/ or email her at [email protected].

Scripture:
Daniel 9:4b-10
Luke 6:36-38

Reflection:
Jesus knew human nature – the best and the worst of it, the noblest side and the basest side.  And Jesus was willing to meet people where they were in their personal and spiritual development, in their relationship with God. 

In the first line of today’s Gospel, Jesus appeals to the altruistic, self-giving side of his disciples. "Be compassionate, as your Father is compassionate."  He was encouraging them to love unconditionally, to identify with others, to be like God.   Perhaps he was met with a response of quizzical looks, with expressions of incredulity.  God is God and human is human!  How can I be like God?  I’m just me.  You can’t be serious asking ME to be like God!  So Jesus changed tactics.  OK, if you can’t act out of empathy and compassion for another, at least start with your own self-interest.  "Don’t judge so that YOU will not be judged.  Don’t condemn so that YOU will not be condemned.  Give and it will be given to YOU." 

Self interest is hardly the highest of Christian motivations and actually little better than the attitude of "What’s in it for me?"  Doing good to avoid punishment or personal harm is not what we would identify as a primary Gospel value.   But Jesus recognized, as should we, that at least it was a starting point to changing behavior and broadening perspective.  Self interest can be the beginning of consciousness raising, of challenging people to expand their personal interests to include others.  For those who are open to becoming aware, the needs of others may actually become primary and they will be growing in compassion. 

Maybe a real challenge to those who are compassionate, is to feel compassion for the uncompassionate.  We all need conversion!

 

Cathy Anthony is on the staff of St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center, Detroit, Michigan. 

 

 

 

Scripture:

Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25
Matthew 7:7-12

 

 

Reflection:

Asking for directions?

Sometimes we find it hard in our lives to ask for help from others. Whether it be asking for directions, guidance or assistance, our selfish pride can sometimes get in the way from asking others for what we need. But, we are true fools if we think we do not need help in this life. From the moment that we can speak we ask questions and by asking these questions we begin to learn and to grow. In the same way, we are foolish to think that we should not continuously seek God’s help and guidance. These readings today show us that we should and could ask God for help.

In the first reading, Queen Esther asked for help during her time of great anguish and she showed her faith that she would be delivered from the hands of her enemy by God, and put her faith solely in him. Like Esther, we should come to our knees and ask for what we needs. That we are not above anyone else, we are equally human and are in need of divine assistance. 

Do we take that time daily to ask for help, to ask for guidance?

In the psalm, we see the Lord has answered the prayers of the psalmist and they are praising Him. At all times we are to give joy unto the Lord, in good times and in bad. We see that possibly what the psalmist has asked for has not been completely given because he says that the "Lord will complete what he has done for me." And again we see that great faith, that the Lord will return and help the psalmist once again.

Do we take the time to praise God for the wonderful things that happen in our lives and to ask for grace to suffer through the hard times?

And finally, the Gospel reminds us that all we have to do is ask for His help. As Christians we are called to have an active faith life. To always ask, seek, knock, not to be dormant but to be alive in Christ. And for those who do those things this Gospel reminds us that God gives good things to those who ask Him.

In what ways do we ask, seek, and knock? Is our faith life a constant movement or has it become stagnant?

So as we can see, the readings today are not just about asking and receiving, they are about faith–the constant need to have faith and strength for our God, in every step that we take and every prayer that we make. We have faith that God is here to answer our prayers and tend to our needs. All we have to do is ask.

During this time of Lent, we have the opportunity to take stock of our faith life and to call out to God in the desert. Are we asking, seeking and knocking? Let us take this time do those things and be open to what goodness He will bring.

"Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me." Psalm 138:3a

 

Kim Garcia is the Pastoral Associate at Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center, Houston, Texas.

 

Wednesday of the First Week of Lent

Scripture:

Jonah 3: 1-10
Luke 11: 29-32

Reflection:

Our first reading today from the book of the prophet Jonah, tells a strange story.  At God’s instruction, Jonah goes to Nineveh, a major city, and walks across the city proclaiming a terrifying message, "Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed!"  The reaction of the people was immediate and dramatic.  They began to fast and dressed themselves in sackcloth.   The king of Nineveh reacted in exactly the same way.  He took off his crown and royal robes, declared a fast, put on sackcloth and sat in the ashes.  They all believed that God was, indeed, going to destroy them and their city.  But they did not despair or flee, they changed their lives.  The king told the people, "Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath, so that we shall not perish."  And, they were right.  Seeing their change of heart and deep repentance, God did relent.  He chose instead to forgive them and give them new life.

It seems a strange story to me for several reasons.  Though given a clear message of condemnation and destruction, the people of Nineveh didn’t make excuses or try to justify their lives or hide or flee the city.  Rather, they admitted the evil in their lives, repented and actually took steps to change the way they were living.  And, perhaps most remarkable of all, they took the risk of trusting in a merciful God.  Their trust was not in vain.

It is no accident that we hear this wonderful story right at the beginning of the Lenten Season.  It’s a vivid reminder that no matter where we are in life, nor what evil we have done, nor how strong a grip sin may have on us, God wants to forgive and make us whole.  We only need to let God know that is our deepest desire.  We pray that we can find ways to let God know that we trust completely in his mercy.

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:

Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18
Matthew 25:31-46

Reflection:

How vivid are my memories as a child after reading the life of one of the great saints of the Church!  How often I would find myself thinking, "O Lord, I want to be holy too.  Help me to be holy Lord!"  And so would go the musings of an idealistic young fellow who believed that it could really and truly happen.  "If I really try, then one day I will be holy just like the saints are!"  I never doubted that this could happen, not for a moment.  And I still believe it to this day.

On this Monday of the first week of Lent we are given a profound lesson from the Lord himself who teaches us what it means to be holy.  Perhaps this kind of holiness is not quite like the fasting and prayer of St. Paul of the Cross who preached to the poor in dark and swampy places, or not the same as the gentleness and soothing touch of a St. Francis as he reached out to the poor and infirm.  But in our readings today we discover that this kind of holiness is offered to us all, even though it may not be so easy to attain.

In the Book of Leviticus we read the immensely challenging words of Yahweh himself:

"Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy."

The words are firm, almost a demand rather than an invitation.  And then it becomes so very clear what we must do to achieve such holiness.  We must not steal or lie; nor should we speak falsely to another.  We cannot profane God’s name and we dare not defraud or steal from another person.  And how could we ever curse a deaf person or even put a stumbling block to trip the blind one?  We are to act with justice in all things whether it is with a powerful or a weak person, all are to be treated with justice and dignity.  As if this is not enough the Lord tells us we may never slander another person and never stand by when our neighbor is in need.  And to bring it all to a conclusion, we dare not ever hold hatred in our heart for a brother or sister but must love them as ourselves, even as we must love God above all else.  So does God reveal this message to us, stamping the lesson with final words: I am the Lord."

The Gospel passage from Matthew is even more powerful as we have another lesson in what holiness is all about.  Holiness is when we give food or clothing, comfort and compassion, to another because, in so doing, we indeed do it to the Lord himself.  As long as we do it to the least of our brothers and sisters this act of holiness is one that is bestowed upon the Lord himself.  Such is holiness.  This is what it means to be a saint!  Let us learn well from the colorful readings on this Monday of the first week of Lent.

 

Fr. Pat Brennan, CP is the director of Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

 

Saturday after Ash Wednesday

Scripture:

Isaiah 58:9b-14
Luke 5:27-32

Reflection:

We continue reflecting on Isaiah’s discourse on selfless fasting, the behavioral abstinence that allows us not only to reach out in love and compassion to our afflicted, oppressed, and needy sisters and brothers, but also to please God who wants us to live in communion with one another and thus "delight in the Lord." But, because self-centeredness is a common human tendency, even at a divine-human-relationship level, we often fail to reach out to others and please God in our fasting. For we either disregard or manipulate God’s commandment, that is, to "love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself" (Luke 10:27). That is why we end up pulling away from each other, feeling lonely and guilty before God, and crying out with the Psalmist: "Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth."

As I reflected on today’s thought-provoking readings, the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi came to mind, for I suddenly began to pray: "O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love." I indeed pray to God that we all be capable of reaching out in love and compassion to one another, for it is worse to be incapable to loving than not to be loved. In other words, the incapacity to love is synonymous with the incapacity to respond to our God-given vocation, because we are made in the image of God who is love, which means that we are meant to love God and one another.

In today’s gospel, once again Jesus fulfills the Law and the prophets, especially as it is stipulated in Isaiah’s teaching on selfless fasting. By calling Levi, the tax-collector, and sharing a meal with "a large crowd" of his kind, Jesus not only infuriates the judgmental, self-righteous Pharisees and scribes, but also tells them their incapacity to reach out in love and compassion to sinners. For they show themselves, as many of us can do, incapable of removing "oppression, false accusation and malicious speech" from their midst, as well as of bestowing "your bread on the hungry" and satisfying "the afflicted." It is for the latter group, the unloved, the outcast, and the oppressed of our world, that Jesus came to die and rise as "light in the darkness." For they show themselves needed of and open to God’s love and mercy. Hence, let us pose and reflect on the meaning and value of selfless fasting, and ask ourselves how capable we are of pleasing God as we strive to reach out in love and compassion to others.

 

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