Daily Scripture

 

Scripture:

Hebrews 13:15-17, 20-21
Mark 6:30-34

 

 

 

Reflection:

The Great Shepherd of the Sheep

In of our readings and the twenty-third psalm today we meet Jesus the Shepherd.

We conclude our reading of the Letter to the Hebrews. For the past month we have been with an early community of Christians who have struggled with their Jewish brothers and sisters, and must leave behind the temple and synagogue. They suffer this loss but now build upon the faith they have received in Jesus. The letter to these Jewish Christians encourages them. Remember your history. Abraham, Joseph and Moses; Rahab and Gideon, the legion of unnamed men and women whose faith in God you know about. We are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. Draw upon their strength and example and persevere in your faith as they did.

These dispossessed have a new creed: having turned away from dead actions they turn their faith toward God; they have the teaching of baptisms and the laying-on of hands; they believe in the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgement. "God permitting, we shall advance". (6:2-3).

Today’s reading, the final verses of the Letter, is a beautiful blessing, "May the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep in the blood of the eternal covenant, Jesus our Lord, furnish you with all that is good….".

In Mark’s Gospel Jesus steps off the boat in which he and the apostles have set off to find an out-of-the-way place. Instead of solitude a crowed awaits them, and Jesus is moved with pity. They are like sheep without a shepherd. He begins to teach them at great length. Mark does not describe the people nor what Jesus teaches them. We can imagine a crowd hungry for the ‘Good News’. Our Lord will go on to feed them. The shepherd cares for is sheep.

Any of us, all of us, can find ourselves like our brothers and sisters addressed in the Letter to the Hebrews, feeling unwelcome in new situations of change, or when the tried and true of our routines and foundations are questioned. Hebrews says: draw strength from the ‘cloud of witnesses’ who have gone before us. Raised from the dead the Great Shepherd of the Sheep gives us a new and eternal covenant. In his sacrifice we see the love of the Son for the Father, a tender love like that of Abel for God. The love of the Father invites Jesus to sacrifice himself for us, making the eternal covenant, through which we are invited to embrace that love and follow Jesus.

Not only do we need the encouragement of the Hebrews but we need to know Jesus sees our ‘showing up’. How often we come before Our Lord, we await his coming to be with us and his word in our prayer. We look for him in daily life. And the Lord looks upon us with compassion. Sheep need to eat and Jesus will feed us with his Body and Blood.

Encouraged and knowing God’s love in Jesus, we advance. Tired, perhaps, but faithful, Jesus’ compassion accompanies us. This Great Shepherd of the sheep raised up from the dead is a Good Shepherd. In darkness he is by our side; where there is evil we need not fear. A banquet, anointing oil and overflowing cup, the Shepherd’s house all await us.

 

Fr. William Murphy, CP is the pastor of St. Joseph’s Monastery parish in Baltimore, Maryland.

 

Solemn Commemoration of the Passion 

Scripture:

Hebrews 13:1-8
Mark 6:14-29

 

 

Reflection:

May the Passion of Christ be always in our hearts!

Today we celebrate the title-feast of our Passionist Congregation – an annual celebration on the Friday before Ash Wednesday and the renewal season of Lent.  Today we join Passionists around the world in glorifying God through the vivid story of Love Personified in the Passion of Jesus.

The words from Scripture bear the deep reality of God’s love for each of us, encouraging us to open our hearts and "feel" the embrace of Jesus Crucified as he reaches out to each of us from the Cross.  Drawn in to the divine reality and nourished by Jesus’ Life in the Eucharist, we are sent with other members of the Passionist family to "preach Christ Crucified" by both word and deed…the power of God and the wisdom of God.

We Passionists follow in the footsteps of Jesus Crucified and share in the contemporary Passion so evident in our world.  We are called to share in the suffering of our sisters and brothers worldwide as they struggle with violence and war, as they strive for justice and a share of the basic goods of the earth, as they deal with natural disasters of earthquakes and floods and fires, as they bear the cross of sickness and loneliness, etc.  Along with our sisters and brothers, we find meaning and a new perspective in Jesus’ ‘’greatest love", and pray along with St. Paul of the Cross:  "…when you feel yourself on the cross, stripped of everything, gently stir up your faith in God’s presence, and abandon yourself in the immense sea of God’s love."

In union with Jesus Crucified, today we boldly proclaim God’s Love in the Passion of Jesus.  St. Paul of the Cross speaks to our hearts:  "…the world lives unmindful of the sufferings of Jesus.  We must arouse the world from its slumber.  His Holy Spirit will teach us how."

Amen!

 

Fr. John Schork, C.P. is the local leader of the Passionist community in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Scripture:

Hebrews 12:18-19, 21-24
Mark 6:7-13

Reflection:

Fashion has never been my forte. I learned that at an early age when my mother used my underwear as exhibit "A" demonstrating to my siblings on what not to wear when going to the hospital. Of course, I didn’t know I was going, I was hit by a car and without warning or any say in the matter was taken there. 

Fashion was easy as a child in grammar school. We wore uniforms. The boys wore a tan shirt, a blue tie and khakis or corduroys. Ah, life and fashion were simple then, just the way I like it.

While in grammar school, I noticed the Confraters’ (Passionist seminarians) clothes when we’d be going home for lunch. They would be out walking in their black habits, with capes in the winter and sandals in the summer. That seemed to be to be very practical and efficient. No need to worry about what goes with what. Just put on the same clothes every day, just like school uniforms. Also, with sandals you don’t have to worry about getting two socks that match-you just don’t wear socks. While, sandals were not the main draw attracting me to the seminary, I was a bit miffed when I got to the Novitiate and they decided to do away with them. They did keep the simple garb however and everyone wore the same thing, from the newly professed to the superiors and those highest in deanship (length of time with the community). I would learn later that some clerics in the church wore clothing such as buskins (red slippers), red watered silk and cappa magnas. These told the world how important they were. That wasn’t a problem in the monastery. Everyone was equally important. A few Passionists wore these clothes when they were asked to serve as Bishop. Women religious avoided it all together. That’s probably why they are in trouble today. They do seem to know something about caring for the sick and educating those with the demon of ignorance though, something the gospel tells us about today.

It’s too bad Jesus didn’t know about the role clothes can play, or maybe he did.

 

Dan O’Donnell is a Passionist Partner and a longtime friend of the Passionists.  He lives in Chicago.  

Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions

Scripture:

Hebrews 12:4-7, 11-15
Mark 6:1-6

Reflection:

It was early Friday evening and people were headed to the local synagogue. The space was packed, standing room only. Extra benches were needed along the walls. Jesus was coming back to his home town and home sanctuary, and he was going to be the preacher that evening. The people heard about his popularity, his preaching skills, his miracles, and now they wanted to see for themselves. Mark tells us that some were astonished by what they heard. However, many were offended. They complained, "Isn’t this the son of Mary who lives down the road? Isn’t this simply the carpenter’s kid? And aren’t those his brothers and sisters standing there? He is just a familiar kid from Nazareth. You know, the kid who helped feed the donkeys and drew water from the well. Nothing special about him!"  Because Jesus was so ordinary in their eyes, "they took offense at him." That is the key word: offense. In Greek, it is skandalon, from which we get the word, "scandal" or "stumbling block." Jesus was a stumbling block because he was so ordinary.

The hometown folk couldn’t believe that one of their own children could actually be a special person, a prophet. The people weren’t ready to accept him. "Come on. No way could he be a prophet. Not little Jesus of Nazareth. Not the little Jesus boy that we used to go fishing with and swimming with and hiking with. Not the little neighborhood boy who delivered our papers. How could God come to us in such a common and ordinary way?"

Perhaps this is a case of "familiarity breeds contempt." Unfortunately, we, too, can find it difficult to receive the truth from those who are closest to us: parent, spouse, friend, coworker, brother or sister. We are "offended" that God would come to us through such common and ordinary people. It would be better and more effective, we say, if God came in obvious and miraculous ways.  If only the hand of God were obvious in our lives, everything would be clearer and simpler.  We would all believe in God.  Gone would be the doubts of faith. But God consistently talks to us in common ways and through ordinary people, so much so, that we often don’t hear the voice of God.

The Incarnation: that God would come in the flesh of a man they knew, a man by the name of Jesus, was offensive! That is pushing it. And that is what so deeply offended the people of Nazareth. So hostile is Nazareth’s opposition that Jesus "marveled because of their unbelief."

Let us pray today that we seek God in the everydayness of our lives, that we can discover holy places in the ordinary. Thérèse of Lisieux expresses the ordinariness of God’s presence in the words: "Everything is grace."

In February of 1597, a group of native Japanese Catholics and foreign missionaries were a stumbling block to local government officials. These martyrs saw the world differently because they believed God was present to them in their ordinary lives. With the Catholic Church we honor the memory of the twenty-six Martyrs of Nagasaki.

 

Fr. Don Webber, C.P., is Provincial Superior of Holy Cross Province and resides in Chicago.

Scripture:

Hebrews 12:1-4
Mark 5:21-43

Reflection:

"Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us…"

I’ve never been much of an athlete. Although I played sports as a young man, it never seemed to ‘take’ as an activity I enjoyed very much. But I’ve always been impressed with athletes and those who stretch themselves to their physical limits. For me, this is most evident in the Olympics. The preparation, training, and continued discipline needed to perform at one’s peak is incredible.

St. Paul, in today’s readings, uses the analogy of running a race for the path of discipleship. But the phrase ‘cloud of witnesses’, seems to stand out. Who are these witnesses that Paul speaks of? I imagine witnesses as calm and cool observers. If we go back and look at the original Greek, the word that Paul uses for witnesses can be translated as a witness in court or a witness to a historical event. However, it can also be translated as spectators or supporters at a sporting event. What a wonderful picture of the communion of saints! I can just imagine all of those blessed people who’ve gone before us, lining the course like at the Olympics, ringing cowbells, holding up signs of encouragement, shouting with all their strength, urging us on to ever greater effort.

Then there is the idea of sins as burdens, handicaps, those things would slow us down in the race. The realization that we can just set those down, leave them behind us as we continue on is both surprising and inspiring. I have often found that all it takes for me to move forward is to let go the past. And yet sometimes that is so challenging. It is those times when I need to listen for those "witnesses" shouting from the sidelines, encouraging me.

Talib Huff is a volunteer at Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center in Citrus Heights, California.

Scripture:

Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19
1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13 or 13:4-13
Luke 4:21-30

Reflection:

In Sunday’s Gospel reading (Luke 4:21-30), we take up where we left off last week. In a synagogue in His home town of Nazareth, Jesus has just read an inspiring passage from the prophet Isaiah and has declared to the people, "Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing." Luke tells us that the people all spoke highly of Him and were amazed at how He spoke. But at the end of our reading, the people have turned on Jesus to the point of trying to kill Him!

What happened? If we read what Jesus said to set them off, it does seem somewhat provocative. After saying "no prophet is accepted in his own native place," Jesus reminded them of various times when God’s blessings were extended to people outside of themselves. Jesus said these things in response to their question: "Isn’t this the son of Joseph?" It seems that after their initial approval, many of the people there began to limit Jesus to their own perceptions of who He was. He was the carpenter’s son. He never showed any indication that He was something more than that! Besides, if He could really do all those wonderful things that we heard about, how come He hasn’t done them here? And so Jesus tells them that God is not limited to loving just them, which got them very angry.

We live in a society that seems unlimited. Anyone with access to a computer can write a blog or sound off about anything they want. People seem free to do whatever they want. Everything is acceptable. Or is it?  If we look at what is going on, there are people who are still not heard – those who are poor or are considered unimportant, or are considered threatening simply because of their race or creed or orientation. When people try to break out of the perceptions we have of them, we can get as angry as the people who heard Jesus in the synagogue. I remember watching a documentary about Louis Armstrong. In the 1950’s, he showed his support for the Civil Rights Movement, and was almost immediately castigated for it. He went beyond the limitations many white people tried to put on him. And this, of course, was mild compared to the fire hoses and the dogs used on those who marched.

Sometimes we limit others to what they can do for us, or how they can satisfy our desires. We can even do the same to God. God is only as good as what blessing we perceive He has given us.

Some may be saying to themselves, "Don’t we need limits? Society is too loose. People shouldn’t feel they have a license to do anything they want." That is the challenge in a pluralistic society like the U.S. Paradoxically, the limit we Christians have is the Gospel, which tells us to love without limits. As St. Paul says in that beautiful passage from 1 Corinthians (12:31-13:13) which is our second reading, without love we gain nothing.

For me, loving without limits means that we listen without preconceptions. We are to listen to those who usually are not heard, even when that listening provokes fear or anger. We are to love even those whom we may feel are beyond redemption. We may need to stop associating with some people, in order, for instance, to protect our recovery, but even in those situations, we’re still called to love them. When we love as we are commanded to do, we begin to see others not in terms of how they fit into our plans, but how they are loved by God. We seek to build each other up, not keep some people down.

When we think about it, God has not limited us to the human condition. He has given us a way to be with Him forever. He has given us grace to go beyond selfishness and greed. He has given us Jesus, who opened the way to reconciliation and redemption for all of us!

May we seek not to limit others, but to love them.

 

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

Scripture:

Hebrews 10:32-39 
Mark 4:26-34 

Reflection:

February – half way through the work year, half way through the school year.  The dead of winter.  Cold and tired, I sometimes feel like burrowing into a cave and hibernating until spring calls me forth.  Instead I must face the February "blues."  And I find that the readings of today may have been chosen to help us to do just that.  

The author of Hebrews encourages his listeners to brace themselves.  He calls on them to remember times past, when in the joy of their conversion they lived in delight and happiness.  He reminds them, however, that those times were followed by periods of suffering, even of public abuse and affliction.  And at other times they joined in the sufferings of others, joyfully accepting the losses and pain that such sharing brought to them, for they knew that they "had a better and lasting possession"- their faith and trust in eternal life with Jesus Christ.  So now, in this time of their present weariness and discouragement, he urges them to recall that faith and trust:

           "Therefore, do not throw away your confidence;
                  It will have great recompense.
             You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what He has
                  promised."

Today I think our times too can often weary and discourage us.  We experience crises and scandals in our church that seem to be without remedy and without end.  Moreover, when I look at myself, I get even more discouraged.  I ask myself what have I really done to help resolve these issues.  Yes, I have stood publicly with some of those suffering at the hands of the hierarchy and the Vatican – our Sisters, for example.  But have I done enough for our priests and theologians threatened with excommunications?  Have I tried to dialogue with authorities on these issues; not in defiance, but in the spirit of St. Paul: "Speak the truth to one another, honestly, in love"?  In these past months I have witnessed many lay people speaking openly in ways that both put me to shame and call me forth, like the author of Hebrews, to renew my confidence and trust.

Then in the Gospel, with His parables on the Kingdom of God, Jesus Himself renews our confidence and trust.  First, He assures us that the seed of faith planted in our hearts grows quietly in us each day, even while we sleep.  We can trust that it will be full and ripe at harvest time.  Secondly, the Kingdom of God is like the tiny mustard seed.  Once sown in our hearts, it enables us to become sisters and brothers of Jesus Christ.  Through us, it spreads His love and truth to all whom we meet each day, building the Kingdom of God.  So strengthening me, Jesus Himself calls me forth not only to meet and but even to embrace the February blues.  

 

Br. Peter A. Fitzpatrick, CFX, a Xaverian Brother, is a Passionist Associate at Ryken House, across the creek from the Passionist Monastery, in Louisville, Kentucky.

 

 

Scripture: 

Hebrews 10: 19-25
Mark 4: 21-25

 

 

 

Reflection:

"…Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear…" 

When I was studying to become a Deacon, Fr. Frank, the instructor in our final year, would periodically say "This is important, listen up" (which translated meant: this information is going to be on your final!). 

Throughout Jesus’ public ministry, as mentioned in today’s Gospel, Jesus repeats this same message; "Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear…"  He is saying,"This is important, listen up".  I have found in my own spiritual journey that indeed Jesus continues to speak to me in many different ways, but especially through Scripture.  Jesus’ words give us a design for living that, if followed to the best of our ability, brings peace, serenity and joy to our lives.  That doesn’t mean that we won’t face challenges and failures.  We will, but our ability to "listen up" will always help us to walk through those experiences with grace and dignity.

For many years, my prayer life was about my talking to God and asking for things; I wasn’t much of a listener.  I have come to learn that I need to put on my "spiritual ears" each day and spend time in quiet and solitude in order to discern God’s will for me today.  God’s will for us each day involves action – being of service to those in need.

In today’s Gospel,  Jesus invites us to let His light shine through us and to use the gifts, talents and abilities He has given each of us in order to help  build up His kingdom.   Jesus reminds us that we will be forgiven for our shortcomings only to the same degree that we are willing to forgive others.  When we practice forgiveness, we learn to trust in Christ.  We no longer have anything to hide and we are able to live in truth ("listen up…this is important").

The Gospel becomes more valuable and meaningful to us as we give it away to others.  The more we share the truth with others, the more the Lord seems to share His truth with us.  As we share our faith, we are making an investment in our own spiritual growth. 

I am reminded of a spiritual truth which says that God gave us two ears and only one mouth, so maybe He wants us to do more listening than talking.  "Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear…"

 

Deacon Brian Clements is a retired member of the staff at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center in Sierra Madre, California