Daily Scripture

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.

First Sunday of Lent

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 26:4-10
Romans 10:8-13
Luke 4:1-13

Reflection:

This Sunday is the first Sunday of Lent, and our Gospel reading is Luke’s account of the temptation of Jesus in the desert (Luke 4:1-13). Luke tells us that the devil offers three temptations to Jesus. For me, these temptations all have something in common. They are temptations to control. The first temptation has to do with control of creation. The devil says to Jesus: "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." Jesus, hungry from fasting, is tempted to make the stone something it’s not in order to satisfy His desires. Very often, we look at creation as something to satisfy our desires. We may not think in those terms, but it sure is easy to act in those terms. It can be easy to not think of how our everyday choices affect the environment. After all, we want what we want, when we want it.

The second temptation has to do with control of others. The devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and says,"I shall give to you all this power and glory…if you worship me." I always wonder how tempting this might have been to Jesus. To think He could make everyone do the right thing without suffering and death could have been very seductive. At least it would have been for me. Do we not find ourselves frustrated at how others, at home or at work or at school or in office (or at the parish) do not do things the way we think they should (which really means our way)? Too many times in human history have there been attempts of one group to dominate another. The desire to control others is where relationships, either between individuals or communities or nations, break down.

The third temptation has to do with control of God. Here the devil takes Jesus to the parapet of the temple, and says, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ and ‘With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’" The devil is tempting Jesus to force His Father’s hand. This, too, is a great temptation for us, and the tragic thing is that it shouldn’t be. But we can have so much trouble trusting that God knows what we need that we feel that we have to try to manipulate God somehow into taking care of us, or answering our prayers. But that is the least thing we need to do! In our first reading from Deuteronomy (26:4-10) Moses tells the people to offer their first fruits to God. They are to acknowledge what God has done for them, saying among other things: "He brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand and outstretched arm, with terrifying power, with signs and wonders; and bringing us into this country, he gave us this land flowing with milk and honey." God has freed us from slavery to sin in Jesus Christ! True, we may not feel that we have arrived at the Promised Land, but that is not an indication that God has stopped loving us, or that we need to make sure God knows what we need. God knows what we need more than we do! He doesn’t always give us what we want, because what we want can be the worst thing for us.

We need not try so hard to control things. We are called to do what we can, with the gifts God has given us. But at the same time, trying to control abuses our relationships, with creation, with others, and with God. Instead, we can put our trust in God, and follow Jesus. Jesus did not tell us to "control one another," but to "love one another." I think the thing I admire most about Pope Benedict’s stepping down is that he showed humility and trust in God and let go of control. 

When the temptations to control come upon us, we need to come to God and surrender to His will. As the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert, but then out of it again to begin His ministry, so will the Holy Spirit guide us. May we not try to build the kingdom according to our plans, but to seek the kingdom according to God’s.

 

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

Scripture:
Isaiah 55:10-11
Matthew 6:7-15

Reflection:
"This is how you are to pray:" Matthew 6:9a

We are beginning the first full week of Lent. The Gospel for Ash Wednesday (Matthew 6:1-18) gave us three practices that will deepen our relationship with God: giving alms, praying and fasting.

Almsgiving is based upon the tradition of sharing your goods with the poor, found in different texts within the Old Testament. However, it was Jesus who insisted in making the giving of alms as one of the cornerstones of his Gospel.

Fasting also has a rich history in our Scriptures. Fasting prepares the person to receive God’s loving mercy. Fasting is a personal expression of contrition for infidelity to God’s Covenant.

Jesus adds prayer to this list of penitential practices. These Scripture readings for today’s Mass challenge us to ask the question: how do you pray?

Like so many of us, I learned to pray at my mother’s knees. We were a praying family. We always began our prayers by making the Sign of the Cross. We prayed when we got up in the morning, sometimes going to daily Mass; we prayed before and after meals; we prayed a family rosary and we prayed as a family at holy hour. More often than not, we prayed the Our Father and the Hail Mary the vast majority of the time. So, when I began reflecting on this passage as a seminarian and as a preacher, I was personally challenged by this Gospel. Much of my prayer was repetitious prayer. Much of my prayer was for some intention, for example, asking for healing, for helping someone who was in trouble and for a benefit for me or my family.

Then I began to reflect upon the "Our Father" as the model for all prayer. Jesus begins the Our Father with a stream of praise to God as Loving Father. Then we get to the heart of the prayer: "Thy will be done" on earth as it is in heaven! This prayer is all about God’s will and not my will. This is the prayer we find on Jesus’ lips the night before he died, pleading for his life before his Loving Father. Ultimately, his prayer was: "Not my will but Thine be done!"

The next phrase is a petition for daily bread. We ask for what will keep us alive day in and day out. That is the only petition that we find in this prayer. Then, we make a plea for the forgiveness of our sins but only on the condition that we forgive others. This is part of the prayer that is the most difficult to say with conviction and meaning. Yes, I want my sins forgiven. I am not so sure I am willing to forgive that other miserable scoundrel that hurt me and my family, that lied about me, that defrauded me, that laughed in my face when I was trying to be honest and sincere. Finally, we pray to keep us far from walking that path which leads us to sin and a destructive way of life. We need the grace to walk away from the near occasions of sin, the parties that lead to drunkenness and sexual misconduct, the companions that teach us how to lie and how to be dishonest, the websites which draw us into worlds of gambling and promiscuity.

So whether we pray the Our Father in silence or we pray it aloud, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we pray it with fervor and conviction of a follower of Christ. Every other way we pray it would be babble!

 

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

Ash Wednesday

Scripture:

Joel 2:12-18
2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Reflection:

As we begin our journey into Lent, we should not be thinking, "What are my personal goals for this Lent?  How do I want to change my life?  What problems do I want to deal with?"  Now, I am not saying that we cannot have some personal goals, but Lent is about the Church, the whole human family, and not just me.  It is possible that someone might say, "I have done quite well this past year.  I have my life in order.  My faith life is humming along.  I will not enter into Lent too much this year.  Maybe next year I will need it more." 

We are told that Jesus became sin for our sake.  He could have said, "I am without sin.  I will stay away from that mess."  Rather, he wrapped himself in our flesh and blood, taking upon himself our humanity.  Though born without sin, he covered himself with our sin, or as St. Paul would say, "The Father put our sins upon his son".

Lent is a season when we declare our oneness with the entire Church, even the whole human family.  We seek to cover ourselves with the fears, struggles, anxieties, even sins of all our brothers and sisters.  Many are starving to death.  Others are near despair because of the mess of the world economy.  How many there are caught in an addiction to drugs, to pornography, alcohol, etc.    We believe that our God is "gracious and merciful… and relenting in punishment."   Covering ourselves with the ashes, a reminder of our frailty and finality, we bow before God in prayer and penance, begging him to relent, and bestow great compassion on this suffering, struggling group of people.

Lent takes on a depth of meaning and a much greater emotional experience if I see it as the whole world, myself included, crying out for a great outpouring of God healing, love and compassion.

Scripture scholars speak of Jesus as a "corporate personality", one who represents all of us, taking us through death and resurrection.  During Lent, we should develop a sense of being a "corporate personality", a person who represents the whole human family.  We put that great grouping of people, in all its hurts and needs, before the flow of God’s blessings, streaming from the pierced side of his son, Jesus Christ.  You might be surprised how special this Lent will be if you approach it with this focus.

 

Fr. Blaise Czaja, C.P. gives parish missions and retreats.  He is a member of the Passionist Community in Detroit, Michigan.