Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Hebrews 10:11-18
Mark 4:1-20

Reflection:

Some years ago there was a movie called Pay It Forward.  The message was:  When someone does you a good deed, don’t pay them back.  Pay it forward.  Do two good deeds to someone else, who hopefully will then do two good deeds to someone else, who will then do two good deeds…  Paying it forward multiplies and multiplies until everyone benefits.

In today’s gospel we have the sower sowing seed.  We who have received the seed should not just thank the sower, Jesus.

We should "sow it forward."  We should sow the seed of good news to two (or more) others, who hopefully will sow the seed to others and on and on.   In time the whole world will hear the Word of God!

A smart sower prepares the ground before he plants the seed.  That is why missionaries will first set up hospitals, schools, food lines, etc., before they preach the gospel.  If people feel loved, cared for, respected and treasured by another human being, they will be well prepared to receive the Word of God.

The sower in our gospel didn’t just sow one seed or a handful of seeds.  He sowed lavishly, throwing seeds everywhere.  We are called upon to not love just one person or a few persons, but to lavish our love unconditionally upon all.  If we hold all people in our hearts, we proclaim in word and deed that the God we serve is the God of love.

 

Fr. Alan Phillip, C.P. is a member of the Passionist Community at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.   http://www.alanphillipcp.com/

Scripture:

Hebrews 10: 1-10
Mark 3:31-35

Reflection:

"Here I am Lord; I come to do your will."  These words from today’s responsorial psalm speak to the heart of the day’s readings.  Each of today’s readings center on the importance of doing God’s will.  Jesus underlines this message in our reading from Mark.  "For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother."  I am left with questions for my self-reflection.  How do I do God’s will?  How do I know what God wills for me?  It seems like I’ve been struggling with these questions all my life.

Dorothy Day, benefactor of the poor and tireless advocate for peace, wrote about these questions in her diaries, "The Duty of Delight: The Diaries of Dorothy Day."  "Who we are-a creature of body and soul and the will and mind are evidences of the soul; a creature, what a tender sound that word has.  And God created us to return to him.  We owe him reverence, and obedience to his will.  To obey the will of another is to enter into his life."  I like this last sentence.  I have been thinking about it the past few days in light of my own questions about God’s will for me.

In one of these reflective moments last week I was watching the late afternoon Louisville winter sky turn into a mosaic of rose, blue and gray.  The wintry limbs of trees in the foreground seemed to be the perfect frame for a stained glass sunset.  I experienced the moment as a collage affirming the presence of God; or as Dorothy Day put it, the "life" of God.  I felt a strong connection to what was unfolding in the sky around me.  The words of the psalmist came to mind.  "How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord God of hosts."  Indeed I felt very much as though I was a part of the life of God.  Just being quiet in the presence of God was doing His will!

Maybe I need to spend a little less time on trying to work out the details of God’s will and more time just sitting in the presence of God, experiencing the wonders of what I am connected to already, the life of God.  Then maybe I can simply pray the prayer of the responsorial psalm without distraction, "Here I am Lord; I come to do your will."

 

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

Scripture:

Hebrews 9:15, 24-28
Mark 3:22-30

Reflection:

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, the great theologian and Doctor of the Church.  St. Thomas is remembered for his great intelligence, his philosophy and his writing, The story of his life is fascinating reading.  Born to a relatively wealthy and devout family, he was the youngest of  9 children.  He was sent to a Benedictine Monastery at the age of 5.  Later, he found himself drawn to the religious orders that focused on spiritual service rather than a more isolated monastic life.  Because his family felt strongly that he should join the Benedictine Order, and he was attracted to the Dominican order, he decided to join the Dominican Order in secret.  When his family learned what he had done, they kidnapped him and for over a year, kept him in captivity, trying to change his thinking.  Eventually Thomas returned to the Dominicans, continued with his studies and became one of the world’s most recognized philosophers and theologians.

In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus speaking about driving out Beelzebul and the scribes accusing Jesus of being from Beelzebul.  Jesus refutes this thinking of the scribes by telling them that Satan can not rise up against himself or he will not stand.  In the lines just preceding today’s readings, we hear how Jesus’ family, like Thomas Aquinas’ family sought to seize him and stop him from what he was doing.  Jesus’ family thought he was out of his mind – speaking to demons and defying the religious leaders.  Perhaps they thought he was becoming a religious fanatic; perhaps they were fearful that he would suffer physical harm because of the ways he was speaking out.

Both Jesus and St. Thomas could have chosen the less controversial path, avoided upsetting their families, avoided any physical harm.  Although not likely, we can’t know for sure if  St. Thomas would have still been a great Doctor of the Church without studying with the Dominicans, we do know that it was necessary for Jesus to follow the difficult way and that what seemed like foolish choices actually was the path that made him our Savior.

Every day of our life, we are called to make many decisions – for ourselves and for others.  It is so tempting to make decisions that will cause us the least stress and pain.   Let us pray in humility to the Holy Spirit for strength, wisdom and understanding in all our decisions, that we may never adopt a course of action just because it’s the easier way.

 

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

Scripture:

Acts 22:3-16 or Acts 9:1-22
Mark 16:15-18

Reflection:

Conversion of St. Paul

Today is the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul.  This great apostle, formerly known as Saul of Tarsus, is one of the most important saints in the early Church.  Were it not for what happened that day on the road to Damascus we would be missing 13 of the 27 books of the New Testament canon and there would not have been Christianities early, dramatic expansion to the Gentile world. 

A while ago I read something that caught my attention. A number of years ago there was a survey of academics from a number of disciplines trying to compile a list of people who had the greatest influence on Western civilization. Who was number one? I was surprised to see it wasn’t Jesus. Actually number one was Alexander the Great because it was he who spread the Hellenistic culture throughout the known world and in the minds of those scholars that had a profound influence on the way we view and understand our natural and metaphysical world. In this survey Jesus was actually tied with St. Paul the Apostle for fifth place! The point is not that Jesus came in so far back.  Most people, in fact, would surely argue with that ranking. No, the point is that in the eyes of the academic community in this survey Paul was so high on the list. The impact of his important life and work lead directly to the spread and eventual success of the early Christian Church. With his dedicated evangelism of the gentiles, this small sect within the Judaism of Jesus became instead the major world religion that it is. 

Academicians aside, people of faith know that something powerful and of God’s Spirit was at work here.  Paul’s life took a new direction and so did the Church.  The words of Jesus in today’s Gospel tell his followers: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature!"  This has happened over the past two millennia and with the grace of God it will continue until all is accomplished. 

In 2009, we completed "The Year of Paul," marking the 2000^th anniversary of his birth.  From June 28, 2008 to June 29, 2009, there were numerous celebrations, courses, workshops and study groups that took special note of this great saint and apostle.  Although the special year is over, the spirit of Paul remains. And so does the work that Jesus called us to:  Go out to all the world and proclaim the Good News!  

Fr. Jim Strommer, C.P. is the local superior of Christ the King Passionist Community in Citrus Heights, California. 

Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales

Scripture:

Hebrews 7:25-8:6
Mark 3:7-12

Reflection: 

St Francis de Sales had a wonderful devotion to the Providence of God.  He would say that if something happens to you that you cannot change, that is the will of God.   Even if it is something that hurts us, He will bring something good from it.   God’s Will is His love for us.   In the last analysis we should never be afraid of his will.   God is love and the only thing he can do to us is to love us.   Our sins punish us, but we never have to be afraid of God’s plans for us.    God is in control of all reality.   "In whose hand is the life of every living thing" Job 12:10 

One of the beautiful images of God’s providence is taken  from Gen 22.  This is the story of God asking  Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac.  "And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here am I, my son." He said, "Behold, the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"   Abraham said,  God will provide it himself."   Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide.

Our Good shepherd will see to it that: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." Ps 23   There is a Native American tradition that a young man is to be lead out of the village with a blindfold on dark night to a remote area and is expected by his father to remain alone with blindfold all night.   He thinks he is there all alone with wolves, mountain lions, bears and creatures of the night.  But unknown to him the father is close to watch over him.   We also live in a scary world, but unknown to us Our Father is close at hand to watch over us.   He gives us the opportunity to grow in faith. We call to mind the beautiful last words of Matthew’s Gospel: "behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

"Each new today is a gift.   That is why we call it the present!  And each tomorrow is another present we have not yet unwrapped!  I don’t know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future."  

 

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

Scripture:
Hebrews 6:10-20
Mark 2:23-28

Reflection:
"We earnestly desire each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfillment of hope until the end, so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who, through faith and patience, are inheriting the promises."  Hebrews 6:11

Do you sometimes grow weary of churchwork and service? Is it a drag to get to mass? Do you do the least you can do to ease your conscience, or are you on fire for the Lord and His Kingdom?

It’s not unusual to get tired of the same old routine. And sometimes with all of the busyness and stress of daily life in today’s world, we have a hard time squeezing in the good that God asks each of us to do.

I think one of the ways to stay excited about living our faith is to make sure we switch things up from time to time. Try a different prayer form; play some Christian music during your prayer time; read a good book about living our Catholic faith, or study the life of a saint you don’t know.

Do you find joy in whatever service you’re doing? If not, maybe it’s even time to volunteer for a new and different ministry? Be sure to pray about that, but if you don’t have a spark for your ministry, you may not be the best person for the job.

Take some time each day just remembering that Jesus went to the cross so that you could enter heaven someday. Whenever I really take time to quiet myself and thank Him for His sacrifice, my heart fills with joy and thanksgiving and I want everyone to hear the Good News.

May the Lord refill each of us with the fire we need to "demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfillment of hope until the end".

 

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:

Hebrews 5:1-10
Mark 2:18-22

Reflection:

In simpler days family weddings must have been really special.  How many times does Jesus in the Gospels compare the best and most important things to a wedding feast?

And look at the first miracle in John’s Gospel.  It was a celebration of abundance, ushering in a new and powerful sense of God’s presence in our world.  Can the wedding guests fast?  Surely not, says Jesus!  It is a time for new garments and new wine! 

The bridal metaphor favored by Jesus is so rich in its implications.  As the husband and wife start life anew, there is before them the adventure of an ever deepening relationship, filled with the promise of new life.  It is a relationship of intimacy and creativity.  It promises a future of fidelity and a long life of happiness. 

The Christian life is meant to be like a wedding feast at any surprising moment, if not all the time.  It is always possible for the spontaneous joy and the surprising love of God to break in upon our ordinary lives and make of them a feast.  We are invited by the Word of God today to take a contemplative stance that has us poised and ready "to meet the bridegroom when he comes." 

"If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts." 

 

Fr. Jim Strommer, C.P. is the local superior of Christ the King Passionist Community in Citrus Heights, California. 

Scripture:

Isaiah 62: 1-5
1 Corinthians 12: 4-11
John 2: 1-11

Reflection:

Could it possibly get any clearer?  St. Paul the Apostle, in his first letter to the Corinthians, tells us that the fullness of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, all the various forms of service for the Lord, and the remarkable "workings" of God all lie in the whole community, not in only a part of it.  It seems St. Paul was convinced that it took the whole Christian community to hold the many rich gifts and the wondrous works that the Holy Spirit showered upon the Church.  While it’s true that he did believe that there was a hierarchy of gifts and service, he nonetheless recognized that all of them were from the Spirit and all of them were needed by the community as they lived their life of faith.    He exhorted them over and over again to honor and value the variety of gifts that exist in every member of the Body of Christ.

I catch myself sometimes narrowing my understanding of the Church.  I tend to value some parts of the Church more than other parts.  For example, right now we all see headlines in the Catholic press about the conflict between the Vatican and the Women Religious in the U.S.  And, we, of course, are encouraged to see one group as "good" and the other group as "evil."  Other times we hear of conflict between the Bishops and some Catholic theologians.  For many, there is a chasm between the "conservatives" and the "liberals," or the "clergy" and the "laity," or the "institutional" and the "charismatic," etc., etc.  There seems to be no end to the differences that are possible to highlight.  And in almost every case, most of us are inclined to value those gifts and forms of service that are congenial to us and to dismiss the others.

The liturgical readings today remind us how blessed we are, "for the Lord delights in (us)…as the bridegroom delights in his bride."  And, of course, it is in all of us that the Lord delights!  Today we are invited to celebrate the wonder of who we are as Church and to open our eyes and hearts to every member, each of whom carries an authentic gift from God, meant to enrich us all.

 

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.