Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 10:12-22
Matthew 17:22-27

Reflection:

Surprising Graces

I remember walking down the first-floor corridor of the monastery one morning a few years ago, where the men who use wheelchairs have their rooms. I had a prayerful experience. From one room, I heard an aide say, ‘It’s a lovely morning. Yes, God wants us to be fully alive.’ As I moved out of hearing range of that conversation, my ears locked onto a televised mass, ‘This is my body which is given for you’, followed by a litany.  Even before reaching the chapel for morning prayer, I thought, what a wonderful orientation to begin the day.

Graces were being scattered that morning. I sometimes avoid the first floor because of feeling helpless when I hear someone calling for help or for an aide. There are graces there too, of course. It seems sometimes God shouts out to us, so we don’t miss something important, that our sail catches the breeze or our little boat doesn’t miss a current.

But we do get used to beautiful things, we can miss the cues. Matthew has told us often to get used to parables, be ready for the surprises. Our ears and eyes and lips were touched at baptism and primed for the wonders of God. We need to remind them of their joyful task.

It is a question can we always be attuned to the graces around us or are these simply special graces, gifts, that pop up? Can we cultivate them like a farmer or be like an astronomer ready to catch them when they shoot across our horizon?

Strolling through the lectionary these days we celebrated the Transfiguration last week, the anniversary day that the first atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, we remembered St. Theresa Benedicta of the Cross, Edith Stein, who died with her sister and several men and women religious in Auschwitz, and the 14th of this month we celebrate the Martyr, Franciscan Father, Maximillian Kolbe, also a victim of Auschwitz. These feast days bring the shadow of war and the destruction of life to our prayer. The same is set before us in the daily news with its litany that calls out for forgiveness, hope, help, and compassion. God’s grace speaks to us.

Today’s gospel gives us the last word. Who is going to find the money to pay their taxes in the belly of a fish? As unexpected as the appearances of God’s grace can be, and our need then to be on the lookout for grace, as coins in a fish’s belly, so comes this prayer from the women’s concentration camp in Ravensbrook, Germany. It is appropriate as we look for grace, and as we celebrate the startling appearance of grace in the holy life and death of Theresa Benedicta of the Cross, Carmelite.

“Lord , remember not only the men and women of good will but all those of ill will. Do not only remember all the suffering they have subjected us to. Remember the fruits we brought forth thanks to this suffering – our comradeship, our loyalty, our humility, our courage, and generosity, the greatness of heart that all of this inspired. And when they come to judgment, let all the fruits we have borne be their reward and their forgiveness.”

Fr. William Murphy, CP, is a member of Immaculate Conception Community in Jamaica, New York.

Scripture:

Wisdom 18:6-9
Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19
Luke 12:32-48

Reflection:

I’ve worked with thousands of grieving people. It’s not universal, yet the majority report seeing “signs” from their deceased loved ones. These take myriad forms, and everyone agrees on how easy it is to miss the signs if they aren’t alert, open, and watching for them.

There are numerous strong warnings in scripture to be awake, alert, and ready because the Lord will come when we least expect it. Unlike the attitude of mourners, most of these warnings seem to be based in fear of retribution or punishment. I confess that I can be resistant to watching for God’s signs, afraid that if I pay attention to God I might be asked to give up the “treasures” I rely on for a sense of security – the home, possessions, job, people, and places that are the very things Jesus says we must release in order to build up heavenly treasure. I don’t want to be open to God’s messages in my life if it means I have to change. Besides, it’s so much easier to walk through life “asleep.” I get caught up in my responsibilities, task list, work, and desires. I put off prayer or get so distracted in prayer that I lose focus. Even at Mass, my mind wanders to my to-do list.

In my heart, though, I know it isn’t right for fear to drive us away from God instead of into God’s arms. It ultimately doesn’t make sense to put our trust in the treasures and comforts of this world rather than in the working of the Spirit. I do long for a deeper relationship with the Source of all love.

The psalmist upholds the attitude we need to take: “Our soul waits for the Lord, who is our help and our shield. May your kindness, O Lord, be upon us who have put our hope in you.”  What if, then, the admonitions to be alert and awake, instead of being inspired by fear of what will happen when the judgmental God shows up, are actually promises of God’s constant presence – God’s hope-filled, kindness-infused inbreaking action in our lives? What if we’re called to be awake, alert, and ready so we don’t miss the powerful and healing movements of the Spirit? What are we lacking because we’re not opening the door when the knock comes at times we least expect?  In what ways are our lives less joyful, peaceful, fulfilled, and centered because we’re not watching for and seeing God at all times?

Maybe we all should listen a little more carefully to the grieving people and follow their example, working to become ever more alert, awake, and open. Only then will we see the wind of the Spirit, embrace the molding of our hearts, and stand in awe and wonder at all the signs of the loving, wise, and faithful presence of God in our daily lives.

Amy Florian is an author and consultant in suburban Chicago who travels the country teaching about spirituality, grief, and healing. She has partnered with the Passionists in various ways for many years. Visit Amy’s website: http://www.corgenius.com/.

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 6:4-13
Matthew 17:14-20

Reflection:

A Little Faith is Like a Mustard Seed

In this section of the gospel, Jesus journeys to Jerusalem, teaching those closest to him, his disciples. A father has enough faith in Jesus and his disciples to approach them and ask for healing. The disciples were unable to do this healing. Why? “Because of your little faith,” Jesus answers.

The father, who slides off into the background, has faith, but our story is not about him. We focus on the disciples. Jesus tells them that they have little faith, yet even faith as tiny as the mustard seed can do what seems impossible. We might want Jesus to explain faith more. Could it be that our little faith needs to be joined to the power of Jesus, and that will make a difference? Like a parable, we look closer and ponder….in this case, the little faith of the disciples doesn’t do anything. What is missing?

In our Sunday readings, we are following the Gospel of Luke, where Jesus also is teaching as he journeys to Jerusalem. Jesus has taught recently that we must ask, seek, and knock; we must persevere in our prayer. While we may not seem to receive what we ask in prayer, for instance, world peace or healing, our perseverance may be at work, making us persons of peace or growing in us healing, compassionate hearts. In the void of a prayer offered where we find ourselves like the man in the gospel repeating our prayer, “Lord, have pity”….Luke says that here the Holy Spirit, God’s greatest gift to us, will be with us.

May we cling to our faith. We can become angry with God, put distance between ourselves and God, because our knocking and asking go unanswered. Does it? Like the little child whose small hand (why am I thinking of sweaty and dirty?) grasps a tiny, precious treasure, we reverence that. So, our little faith. God certainly reverences that.

Today is the feast of St. Benedicta of the Cross, born Edith Stein. A daughter in a loving Jewish family, her journey of life would lead her to faith in Jesus, and her becoming a Carmelite religious. How contrary is the way things can happen in life – Edith chooses to follow Christ. She, who was one of the Chosen People of Israel, makes herself one with Christians, and Christians who put her to death because she was a Jew. It makes no sense. The American author Flannery O’Connor, whose characters are often people of faith who knock at the door only to have the door fall off its hinges on top of them, says, “[some] think faith a big electric blanket when of course it is the Cross”.

Edith’s final book, being written when she was arrested by the Gestapo and sent to execution in Auschwitz, is entitled, “The Science of the Cross”. Her hand grasped her faith; she was a star of David shining so brightly in the darkness. She saw the Cross being laid upon her Jewish people and was willing to carry it, if God would show her how.

Let us cling to our ‘little faith’, a big mystery, a heavy cross. As the disciples accompany Jesus on his journey, Jesus accompanies us on ours. He is the Way, who enlightens and give us life.

Fr. William Murphy, CP is a member of Immaculate Conception Community in Jamaica, New York.

Scripture:

Numbers 20:1-13
Matthew 16:13-23

Reflection:

Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,
‘God forbid, Lord!  No such thing shall ever happen to you.’
He turned and said to Peter,
‘Get behind me, Satan!  You are an obstacle to me.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.’
-Matthew 16:22-23

Today I am off to a community meeting where we will hear from a speaker about our human rights. As one of the organizers of this event, I will try to create an environment where true dialogue can take place, where each person, whether online or in person, is respected and has an opportunity to voice their opinions. Together, we hope to draw up a plan of action that reflects a way that is healthy for all of God’s creation: for Mother Earth, for all women and men, and for life we are not yet aware of. My job will be to set up the room and manage the technology. I will report on that experience, sharing it on YouTube, and hope that Jesus will say: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” 

When I was younger, I dreamed of doing great deeds. Someday I would make lots of money and then with that money, I would solve the problems of homelessness, hunger, making sure every man, woman, child, Black, Brown, Yellow, Red and White would be recognized for the beautiful gifts they are. Today, at the end of each day, I am just happy if I didn’t get in the way of God’s action in the world, and that Jesus wouldn’t say to me as he did to Peter: “Get behind me, Satan!”

God, help me proclaim Your Good News today. Deliver me from self and help me follow You on the road of transformative suffering.

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

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

Scripture:

Daniel 7:9-10,13-14
2 Peter 1:16-19
Luke 9:28b-36

Reflection:

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan recently distributed a photo taken by an American military photographer in 1945, days after the bombing of Nagasaki. It shows a child awaiting his turn at the crematorium with his dead baby brother on his back. “The sadness of this child is only expressed in his bitten lips oozing blood,” the bishops wrote.

On the back of the picture is written a simple quote by Pope Francis: “. . . the fruit of war.”

Those who study the mind tell us that reason, logic, and facts seldom move us to action. Why? Because these are non-feeling left brain functions. The right brain, where affect, poetry, passion, and art percolate, is also the place where we are motivated to act.

Jesus knew this, even though the science backing him up was unknown two thousand years ago. That is why he told human stories, which is the greatest way to help us identify with another’s joys and sorrows. His stories, the parables, motivate us to act, to build the Reign of God.

Eighty years ago today the history of humanity was forever altered. An American president decided to drop the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, instantly killing an estimated 140,000 fellow human beings. More premature deaths came from cancer and chronic diseases in the months and years that followed. A second atomic blast on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, killed another 74,000 of our brothers and sisters, including the baby brother in the bishops’ photo.

These are statistics. But, as Setsuko Thurlow, a survival of Hiroshima, said in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in December, 2017, “Each person had a name. Each person was loved by someone.”

To rattle our right brains about these horrible acts, the noted author John Hersey penned the classic Hiroshima, which eloquently tells stories of the cruel deaths of people with names and people who were loved. The best-selling 1946 book should be required reading for every person of faith so what was done will never happen again.

Tragically these two bombings are tiny examples of what world leaders are preparing. The New York Times earlier this year detailed how, with little citizen oversight or resistance, the United States is rebuilding and expanding its nuclear arsenal, making the planet more dangerous than ever. These leaders’ god is the bomb. They adhere to the long-held illusion that the bomb will “save” us. As people of faith we recognize this as idolatry.

The Catholic Church in Vatican II condemned the use of nuclear weapons. But Pope Francis went much further. He declared it a grave sin to even possess a nuclear weapon.

This important feast day, The Transfiguration, is a memorial to all we are called to be. We are the Body of Christ. On this feast, Christ was transfigured into the magnificent glory promised us. The events 80 years ago are the work of our worst impulses which, left unchallenged, risk the destruction of all human life. This is the opposite of the Transfiguration.

As Jesus’ followers, we want to unleash God’s love on the earth, not nuclear fire and fallout. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) is committed to what Pope Francis called all of us to do. We can reverse course, with the Holy Spirit’s guidance. More information at www.icanw.org.

Today let us pray for peace, keeping in mind the stories like the ones John Hershey told and the touching photo of the grieving big brother of Nagasaki. Let these liberate the Spirit in us to act.

Jim Wayne is a member of the Passionists parish of St Agnes in Louisville, Kentucky. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives for 28 years, is the author of the award-winning novel, The Unfinished Man, and chairs the Sister Thea Bowman Society for Racial Solidarity at St Agnes. He also serves on the Passionist Earth and Spirit Center Board in Louisville.

Scripture:

Numbers 12:1-13
Matthew 14:22-36

Reflection:

Moses had a very special place in God’s eyes.  It is said that he could speak face to face with the Divine.  A privilege that no other had until the New Testament.  And for many traditions including Islam, Moses is still given a prominent and respectful position even after thousands of years.  So, we hear in this first reading that Miriam begins speaking against Moses. It seems she felt she wasn’t getting what she thought should be a fair voice with God.  Her critical nature gets the best of her, and she begins criticizing God’s unique friend not honoring the relationship Moses and God held.   Simply put, you don’t want to criticize God.  That is a mistake that is made too frequently in today’s world. 

When things don’t go the way we want them to, when suddenly it feels like the forces of the universe are opposing us, do we actually listen and discern?  I find a serious lack of pausing and discerning.  I find too many people getting out their hammers and sledgehammers to pound their point home. Thought-provoking to me, Mirriam tried that, and for a time, she was ostracized from the community. 

The Gospel is that popular story of the disciples in the boat, heading across the sea in the middle of the night.  Catching sight of Jesus coming to them, they are frightened.  Their first interpretation is that it is a ghost.  Do you find it strange that no one in the boat is quick to recognize Jesus?  After Jesus announces himself, Peter, of course, decides to get out of the boat and walk toward Jesus.  Some scholars question the historicity of this scene in that Jesus didn’t go around doing supernatural things merely to show that he transcends the physical world.  Yet when this scene is interpreted in light of the early Christian community, it is a perfect image.  It is Peter trying to lead a church that is being tossed around by all kinds of waves and torrents and as Peter tries to keep his eyes fixed on Jesus, they all discover that they haven’t been left behind and that Jesus isn’t that far away.  Stretching out his hand, he is there.

I join today with thousands of people in roles of leadership who on a daily basis deal with the heart of these two readings. How many of us are frequently dealing with voices that choose to see negativism and complaints?  I learned a long time ago those who spend their days looking down into a dark abyss will find themselves in a very dark place.  Jesus’ answer to Peter was to get out of the boat and look at me.  Jesus’ ascension left the disciples not looking down, but looking up.

Fr. David Colhour, CP, is the Provincial Superior of Holy Cross Province. He resides in Chicago, Illinois.