Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 6:2-6
Hebrews 7:23-28
Mark 12:28b-34

Reflection:

All-Inclusive Love

The scribe in today’s Gospel selection puts an interesting question to Jesus:  Which is the 1^st of the commandments?  No doubt the scribe knew the many regulations in the Hebrew Scriptures, some 613 distinct commandments; the scribe was truly seeking insight and direction by asking which commandment is the greatest.

Jesus did not hesitate!  He quoted from the Book of Deuteronomy our 1^st reading:  "…you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…".  He didn’t dismiss the other regulations; rather Jesus taught that they were all summed up in the one great commandment of love of God.  And, Jesus then took the scribe’s request one step further:  the 2^nd commandment is to love your neighbor as you love yourself…a quote he took from the Book of Leviticus.

There’s also one serious "catch" in the statements of Jesus:  a tiny, three letter word…"all" your heart…all your soul…all your mind…all your strength":  a serious challenge!!  Then, we are to love our neighbor as ourselves… Jesus implies a total love, giving myself completely to God — nothing left out, no holding back…as He Himself loves!

Today, Jesus challenges us to take his words to heart and love without holding back:  to love God, neighbor, and self.  We hear this commandment as we gather as a worshipping community this Sunday in later Ordinary Time.  We are human; we proclaim our need of God’s Love and Life, and we promise to carry this selfless, Godly-Love to our sisters and brothers in our needy 21^st Century world. 

Let’s be grateful for our faith and fellowship this day.  May Jesus look at us with love and understanding and encourage us that we are not far from the Kingdom of God.

 

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

Scripture:

Philippians 1:18b-26
Luke 14:1, 7-11

Reflection:

"The one who humbles oneself shall be exalted." In this Word, I intend that I will pay attention to those who are wanting to get through to me.

"Listen, please."

Jesus makes his point with the incident of my having to take a lower seat to make room for someone of higher status than I. "Making room for this man" is the act of paying attention to whomever "this man" is today. It has been said that "humility means being at peace with the truth. The "truth" in us is Christ. In some way, shape, or form, Christ is being "exalted" insofar as we welcome the truth. That "welcoming" could be a dying for us. Is that what Paul means when he writes, "I have full confidence that now, as always Christ will be exalted through me, whether I live or die."  

A spiritual director once instructed me to identify one way of acting in my day-to-day situation that seems to be based on a different way of seeing things than Jesus teaches. Then, I ask myself, is there anything I can change about that?

 

 Fr. Alex Steinmiller, C.P. is president of Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School, Birmingham, Alabama.

The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls)

Scripture:

Wisdom 3:1-9
Romans 5:5-11 or 6:3-9
John 6:37-40

 

 

Reflection:

The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed occurs each year on November 2.  For most parish priests and deacons, it must seem like one more funeral liturgy, without a particular, named person to be commended to the love and mercy of God.  This is understandable because in some, big-city parishes, four or five funerals in a week is not unusual.

There is a paradox in the celebration of Christian death, it is that death is a universal experience of humanity, nevertheless, each and every person will experience his and her death as the singular event of one’s lifetime.

There is nothing theoretical about death and dying: It’s always individual, in-the-moment, and unique. Theorizing about it may be appropriate for academicians, philosophers, Priests, Rabbis, Mullahs, Ministers, Buddhist Nuns and Monks, and those whose belief in a religious or spiritual tradition is unassailable.

But if you want to know, really know about death and dying, spend time with someone who is experiencing it. Not quite the same level of knowledge as being directly involved in it, but significantly more relevant than theorizing.

–Stan Goldberg, November 16, 2010, End of Life blog.

We, who call ourselves Passionists, embrace the paradox of a death common to all humanity, yet uniquely individual.  We do so because the death of Jesus, the Christ, as reconciliation overcomes the separation we experience in our individuality.

As Paul writes in today’s second reading, Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life. (Romans 5,10)

We have been reconciled with God through the death of Jesus, and this reconciliation occurs even among those who are at enmity with one another, while we were enemies, we were reconciled.

Jesus embraced his death in order to embrace our dying.  He rose so that we might rise with Him to an eternal life of reconciliation with God, spared of the burden of our sins.  For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day. (John 6:39)

Therefore, let us also seek the real reconciliation with those with whom we are at enmity.  Jesus has called us to a common destiny, may we be able to realize a common interest in living our lives as a reconciled humanity.

We are celebrating this feast in so many of the traditions of our families…we will visit our cemeteries, we will retell the stories of our loved ones, we will place candles on family altars and before the pictures of our loved ones, and we will remember them with the attendance at a parish Mass.  Many parishes will have distributed envelopes upon which we can inscribe the names of those we wish remembered at the parish Masses for the dead.

Let us remember those whom we loved most in our lifetimes, and let us seek reconciliation with anyone with whom we have not yet realized the bond of reconciliation given us by the saving death of Jesus.

 

Fr. Arthur Carrillo, C.P.  is the director of the Office of Missions for Holy Cross Province.  He lives in Chicago, Illinois. 

Scripture:      

Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14   
1 John 3:1-3
Matthew 5:1-12a

Reflection:

Today is a feast that we can all rejoice in – All Saints Day, the feast of all those now with the Lord in eternal life and happiness.   

While we gratefully celebrate today all the officially entitled Saints, in particular we celebrate all those "small-s" saints, ordinary people like ourselves, who now rest and relax in love and joy at the heavenly table.  They include persons we knew, at whose death we grieved, and for whom we prayed everyday that God may take them quickly to Himself.  Believing in purgatory, we also believe in the release from purgatory, and there must be many whom we knew who have already been released to see Him face to face.   We include, likewise, the vast majority who had no empirical knowledge of the Lord, but who were drawn by His Spirit to follow their conscience in love.

The first reading, Revelation, speaks of these truths, proclaiming them in symbolic form.  The number of those marked by the seal, for example, is 144,000: 12 x 12 x 1000 = 144,000.  The number "12-squared" indicates perfection, completeness; it is multiplied by a thousand, symbol of greatness – a thousand times the 12 tribes of Israel, times the 12 Apostles and their followers, all sealed and gathered to the Lord.  And after this we see another multitude, this time so grand it is unable to be counted – wearing white robes and carrying palms, symbols of purity, integrity, and victory.

The second reading follows with an additional truth: The letter of John speaks to us about another group of "small-s" saints that is included in today’s feast.  That group is us – you and me -and all others alive today who are with us in the Spirit.  John tells us clearly that God so loves us that He makes us His children.  What John is saying is that God, Father/Mother to us, has given us His Spirit so that we are really children of God; Jesus’s Spirit, the Spirit of God, now dwells in us.  John does emphasize that we are growing children.  What we will look like when we have reached maturity "has not yet been revealed," but we know that "we shall be like him."  John calls us to this growth – more and more becoming Christ to and for others, the maturity of the children of God.  Let us then rejoice today, growing in Christ, for in time "We shall see Him as He is." 

 

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:

1 Ephesians 6:1-9
Luke 13:22-30

Reflection:

"Strive to enter through the narrow gate."

Jesus is walking with a crowd of people. Someone asks; "Lord, will those who are saved be few?"  Jesus doesn’t answer the person’s question. Instead, he says, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able."

Jesus turns the person’s question around. He doesn’t let it stay on the mathematic or theoretical level. He directs it to this individual personally.  He invites this person – and each of us today – into self-reflection.  Are you going to be saved? Yes, there’s a danger that many people will not be saved. But don’t let that happen to you.

What is this "gate" that Jesus is speaking about? It is the gate to eternal life. It is the gate to the kingdom of God, the household of God and the heavenly banquet.  

The question we need to ask is what makes this door so difficult to get through? Jesus says there is only one gate, and it is a narrow one at that. Not everything will fit. This narrow gate has no room for your pride, your power, your property or your prestige. No room for anything you may think will earn your way in.

Many believe the narrow gate is Jesus himself. If we follow Him who called Himself "the way, the truth and the life." we will indeed get through the gate. . Jesus fills that "hole in our soul" that only He can fill. Once we commit to following Jesus, then we will understand what can go through the door and what can’t.  But following Jesus is not easy.

The gate may be narrow, but it is open. It is open NOW, for you and for me.  Right now, as you are reflecting on the words of the gospel, God is opening His gate to you. God is speaking to you, inviting you in, and encouraging you to open your hearts to the Word of God AND TO LIVE YOUR LIVES ACCORDING TO THAT WORD. 

 

Deacon Brian Clements is a retired member of the retreat team at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

Jeremiah 31: 7:9
Hebrews 5:1-6
Mark 10:46-52

Reflection:

Today’s readings highlight the fact that God answers prayers and that he is always aware of our needs..  Whether it’s gathering the lame, blind and suffering people of Israel and bringing them home or Jesus’ curing the blind Bartimaeus, we once again meet our loving and caring God.  And along with the psalmist, we can all sing out:  "The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy."  We know that when one of us suffers, in some way, we all suffer, and when God heals one of us, we all share in the healing and hopefully, then, we are all filled with joy!

But it often takes us awhile to get there.  The natural feeling on the way is often a sense of hopelessness.  It’s easy to just see the suffering and give up on God. We may well ask, why does anyone we have to go through all the suffering.  It’s pretty easy to feel compassion for the Israelites described in the first reading – the blind, the lame and all those who are suffering and to understand how they must have been tempted to give up on God.   And in our own lives, we are tempted to ask, well If God is going to transform our pain into joy anyway, why not now?

That is where Bartimaeus teaches us an important lesson.  Although we don’t know too much about Bartimaeus, we can assume that he was blind for some time.  Maybe he was tempted to say, as he dealt with his blindness, if there is a God, how could he let this happen?  Or to just accept his lot and go his way.  But no, not Bartimaeus, he knew that there was hope in Jesus, and he was willing to speak out even when shunned by the crowd.  He was willing against all odds, to ask Jesus for help.  And Jesus answered.

As we begin this year of Faith, may our prayer be that we never shun those who are suffering and that we always have faith in God’s love for us as we call out to Him in prayer.

 

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

Scripture:

Ephesians 4:7-16
Luke 13:1-9

Reflection:

I recently read a blog entitled, "Making No Difference."  Alluding to the closing segment on NBC Nightly News ("Making a Difference"), it is the author’s contention that the news media has it all wrong. Those who really make a difference are not a California group that brings hope to deprived, inner-city children by fostering their appreciation of classical music through a program that offers free violin lessons, nor the middle class couple who respond to the desperate need for water in a remote village in Africa by sponsoring a water filtration plant and implementing its construction themselves. No. According to the author, these actions are very kind, but the broadcasting of such activity simply encourages more government grants like National Endowment for the Arts, or they subtly suggest the need for universal national health care. The real heroes and heroines, those who really make a difference, those who are making the greatest difference in American society, and in global well-being generally, are the millions of employees who report to work every day, striving to produce profits for their company, and, in the course of doing so, produce the goods and services enjoyed by all.  A person who begins work for ExxonMobil or IBM at age 22 and works for 43 years, thereby contributing to the success of one of America’s great corporations and to the wealth of his country, is a hero who should be honored.  Indeed, why is it that capitalism per se is never depicted as making a difference?  "It is well and good to devote one’s energies to a nonprofit organization that spreads holiday cheer," the author insists, but his conclusion thunders, "only a free market will create the sort of wealth that reduces poverty to begin with, and so permanently eliminate the effects of poverty." 

Rather than get caught up in such disparate ideas, today’s readings demand we journey deeper; and how very appropriate are both readings as we prepare for another national election!  Today many of us seem to be hard-wired for polarization. As we ponder the selection from the letter to the Ephesians, we’re challenged to move beyond our dualistic, black and white thinking, right and left positioning. Rather than entrench ourselves more deeply into our own theological or political ideology, we’re asked to acknowledge the fact that all of us, together, form one body, but we have each received different gifts.

When Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God, he always seemed to be saying things counter-intuitive. Jesus is a boundary breaker who turns my world upside down.  He says God’s Kingdom offers a peace and unity that the world cannot give. This is a Kingdom where, although the princes of this world use their power to dominate and control, in His Kingdom we use power to serve. This is a Kingdom where the weeds and wheat grow together, where it rains on the just and the unjust alike, where those hired at the end of the day receive the same wage as those who labored in the hot sun all day. It’s a Kingdom where we wash one another’s feet, and love our enemies.

Sure, we’ll differ with how we are to implement Jesus’ teaching, but let’s not forget that if we do not suffer and celebrate together, struggle and transmit life together, we are like the person whom Jesus warned: "You will all come to the same dreadful end unless you reform."

 

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.

Scripture:

Ephesians 4:32-5:8
Luke 13:10-17

Reflection:

Today’s reading from Luke describes Jesus healing a woman on the Sabbath.  After Jesus heals the woman the leaders at the synagogue become indignant saying Jesus should not have healed her because it was the Sabbath.  In their opinion Jesus broke the rules.  Luke tells us that Jesus won this debate concerning healing on the Sabbath.  According to Luke we don’t need "fact checkers" or an instant poll to determine who was right and who was wrong.  Luke says "all his adversaries were humiliated".

Jesus seems to have a clear bias toward breaking the rules when it comes to compassion and kindness.  Our reading from Ephesians today also emphasizes the primacy of kindness and compassion over all else.  "Brothers and sisters: Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ."  This seems to be so clear.  Yet at times I admit my own attempts to maintain control in situations turns out to be the rule which blocks my urge to be compassionate.

I use the rule of control in my life to moderate my compassion and keep the urgings of the Holy Spirit in the "safe" range.  Perhaps my own need for control could be called the sin of risk management.  I manage the risk in situations which clearly call for speaking out against injustice, poverty and hatred by measuring my words and actions in a way which keeps me safe against the reactions of others.  I’m probably not what you would call a great "risk taker".  You won’t find me joining the courageous man who recently parachuted from a balloon at the speed of sound! 

On the other hand, if I am not ready to take a risk for the sake of the Gospel, am I much different from the leaders who complained about Jesus healing on the Sabbath?  My reflection on today’s scripture readings leads me to a rather humbling examination of conscience, an old but definitively relevant practice in today’s world!

 

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