Daily Scripture

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi

Scripture:

Galatians 6:14-18
Matthew 11:25-30

Reflection:

During this month of October the lives of many religious founders are celebrated; today’s special scripture selections for the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi help us celebrate with our worldwide Franciscan sisters and brothers – and help us acknowledge the Franciscan "roots" of our Passionist family and our Founder, St. Paul of the Cross. 

In writing to the Galatians, Paul the Apostle could truly "boast" in Jesus Crucified and look to the Cross of Jesus as the means of salvation.  Saint Matthew’s gospel selection shares the priestly prayer of Jesus — praising the Father, and inviting one and all to leave everything, come to Him and be refreshed and enlightened.  Saint Francis of Assisi heard that call of Jesus in the 12^th Century, gave himself wholeheartedly to Jesus and began an exemplary life of praise and sacrifice; some six centuries later, St. Paul of the Cross was called to build upon that blessed spiritual foundation.

To "boast" of Jesus Crucified; to praise God in all aspects of creation; to "rest" in the Lord and "learn" what it means to really love God and neighbor:  Jesus offers a transformation of life through joyful love, poverty, humility, and simplicity.  That’s a special message for our 21^st century!

The Scriptures came alive for Francis of Assisi.  His carefree youth was radically changed by the call of Jesus; he renounced his personal possessions and changed his life to one of evangelical poverty and preaching.  Francis was truly charismatic, compassionate, and in love with all God’s creation; soon others were attracted to his lifestyle.  Francis was blessed to compile a "rule of life" and establish a number of religious communities of both men and women.  In the short 44 years of his life, he sparked a spiritual renewal that continues to thrive over the centuries.

Today, Francis invites us to reflect:  how do I respect God’s presence in people, nature, created things?  How do I reflect simplicity and humility in my life?  How do I help build up the Church?

Francis invites us to join him today in "boasting in Jesus Crucified", and praising God in our simplicity and respect for God’s life in all its manifestations.  We pray:  O Brother Sun and Sister Moon, Brother Francis, Paul Daneo:  together we rejoice in the Lord and boast in the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ!

 

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

Scripture:

Genesis 2:18-24
Hebrews 2:9-11
Mark 10:2-16 or 10:2-12

Reflection:

Riding the number 36 Broadway bus in Chicago can be quite an adventure. It winds its way through some gentrifying neighborhoods as well as some of the most affluent. I usually board on the edge of the developing neighborhood. Unlike the bus routes along Lake Michigan where I love to just sit and watch the passing scenery, on the 36, I usually open a book or work a crossword puzzle, avoiding any contact with my fellow passengers. That’s often not possible. One morning about 11:00 a.m. I boarded the number 36. It was crowded as usual with passengers boarding and getting off at every stop along the way. A couple of young mothers with strollers sat in the front seats reserved for people with disabilities blocking the aisle making all boarding passengers maneuver carefully around them to proceed to the back. At one stop an older gentleman got on with his walker. He wasn’t willing or able to get around the strollers and so he gruffly asked one of the women if they would move and allow him to sit in the seat he thought he deserved. Evidently, the woman didn’t hear or understand, so the gentleman spoke louder and louder.  As he raised his voice I and the rest of the passengers started noticing. The woman with her stroller continued to ignore the man, so he started moving the stroller with the baby in it himself. He got the woman’s attention now along with every other woman on the bus and they let their voices be heard. It was beginning to look like a riot was brewing and I started looking for a way out. There was no easy way. This yelling and screaming, the old man with the walker vs. the women on the bus continued until finally, the police arrived and took the old man and the woman with her child off the bus, and we were allowed to proceed.

Often a woman with a child or two or three will be on the bus and the youngest one will become the center of attention for all those near by, catching passengers eyes, giggling, saying hi as well as waving goodbye to all on their way out.

In the scripture readings lately, Jesus has been telling us we must become like little children. In today’s readings this admonition follows St. Paul’s recommendations to married couples. I wondered what’s the connection? "It is a puzzlement" I thought, to quote the king in the King and I.

Maybe, I’m not sure, it’s the child’s seeming inability to see themselves as anything but part of the life around them. They don’t seem to discriminate. They smile, say goodbye and connect to everyone and anyone. And maybe that’s the married couples goal, to stay connected as well. Lord, help me to bloom where I am planted today, being totally connected to the people and places you bless me with today, even the ones on the number 36.

 

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

 

Scripture:

Job 9:1-12, 14-16
Luke 9;57-62

 

 

 

Reflection:
One day I took part in a discussion with a group of high school seniors.  The leader of the discussion asked the question, "How do you guys evaluate your class spirit this year?"  One of the participants spoke up.  "I think there is too much apathy in our class."  The young man sitting next to me mumbled, "So what?"

What drives away the "So what?" attitude and generates an attitude of joy is commitment.  Those who feel committed to a cause, a purpose, or a person are excited to get out of bed in the morning.  They are energized for hard work.  They are stimulated to learn and grow.  They are prepared to deal with obstacles.  They inspire others to join in.  People lacking in commitment wallow in cynicism, don’t see much meaning in their lives, are unfocused in their thinking and disorganized in their activities.  As a result they flounder about, don’t accomplish much, and get depressed.

It has been wisely noted that little people have wishes, while great people have a purpose.  Great people pursue that purpose with their chin firmly facing the wind, their eyes never looking back.  Committed people are stickers and fighters, not escape artists.  They keep focused at all times. Those who signed the Declaration of Independence said "We pledge our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor." Patrick Henry proclaimed, "Give me liberty or give me death."  These people were totally and unconditionally committed to the cause of freedom, and they got the job done…

In today’s gospel Jesus is asking for that same dedication.  He declares that even the most sacred obligation of burying our parents comes after allegiance to him.  He knew that his followers would one day see him hanging on a cross.  They must be prepared for the worst of days.  But with committed hearts, they will endure.  With trust in him, they will hang on.  And with faith in his love for them, they will be able to go forth and shepherd his people.

Jules Ellinger said, "There has never been a statue erected to the memory of someone who let well enough alone."  The problems our world faces today challenge us to recommit ourselves to the Lord Jesus and to proclaim his message with unwavering hearts.

 

Fr. Alan Phillip, C.P. is a member of the Passionist Community at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Memorial of the Guardian Angels

Scripture:

Job 3:1-3, 11-17, 20-23
Matthew 18:1-5, 10

Reflection:

As I write this reflection, I am finishing a month’s duty in Rome, as interpreter for our Passionist General Chapter.  This morning, Sunday, I took a walk to the Vatican, and stopped at a Roman parish church for Mass.  There were about 40 Scouts present for mass, most of them around 10 years of age.

This Sunday gospel was about millstones around the neck and being tossed into the sea, lopping off hands or feet, and plucking out eyes.  Faced with the young Scouts, the celebrant of the Sunday Mass must have felt a little like Job in today’s reading.  There are some frightfully tragic realities in our world, and many times, they involve the innocent and the young.  Being a child in many countries exposes children to hunger, thirst, warfare, exploitation, illiteracy, and chronic illness.

How does one reconcile belief in a loving Creator, who sent his Only Begotten Son for our Salvation, with the power of evil in our lives and in our world?

The story of Job is a "story", a drama in poetry that begins with a cosmic debate between God and Satan.  Job is a faithful man, and clutches onto his fundamental belief in God’s providence, come what may.  The relevance for today’s Memorial celebration is not quoted in the selected passage, but lies in the sixteenth chapter, verses 18-21.  There, Job expresses his confidence that he will be justified by an advocate who will plead his cause before God.  "Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high." (Job 16:19).  This intercessory role, not the role of Savior, but of intermediacy, is what the Church celebrates in its celebration of "Guardian Angels."

Against that Old Testament belief, we can read the New Testament passage from Matthew.  There Jesus connects the care that children need, their innocence and their closeness to God, with their "advocates", the Angels in heaven.

Whether or not we consider Scouting a timely environment for raising our children, the investment of time and talents which it represents is a response to the Gospel’s appeal that we look after the good of our children.  So are athletic programs, and after-school activities.  Let us not forget time spent together at home, with one another and not in front of an electronic diversion.  Youth activities at Church could benefit from greater parishioner support and creative energy.  When it comes time to make your political decisions at the ballot box, think about your vote as a statement of your commitment to help children and their families to be less insecure and more confident that ours is a Godly nation.

 

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

Scripture:   

Job 1:6-22      
Luke 9:46-50

Reflection:

Our readings open with the story of Job.  At the very beginning the narrator cleverly draws us into this ancient epic tale.  Opening with the Lord calling the angels together,   the story-teller then presents Satan not as the demon of later writers, but as a sort of black sheep of the family, who manages to get to the gathering and present himself to the Lord.  What ensues is like a conversation on a boardwalk bench in Brooklyn’s Coney Island. 

With his elbow the Lord nudges Satan, "Have you noticed my boy Job?  How good he is, how exceptional he is?  No one like him, eh?  Have you noticed?" 

"Is it for nothing that he’s so good?" scoffs Satan.  "Haven’t you lavished him with every blessing, and protected him and his from the slightest breeze?  In these conditions he’s to be congratulated?  Let me have him for a week – then we’ll see how good your boy is.  Exceptional?  Just a week, we’ll see." 

The Lord agrees – the contest is on.  That first day Satan delivers four swift blows to Job, one right after the other.  The Sabeans steal his cattle and kill his herdsman; a lightening storm kills all his sheep and shepherds; the Chaldeans carry off his camels and put the tenders to the sword; and finally a tornado kills all his sons and daughters.  Job is forced to his knees; prostrate, he says, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord!"  "In all this, Job did not sin," the narrator tells us. (The Book of Job is read all this week.  Tune in tomorrow for the next chapter.) 

In the second reading we move into a very human factual story about the disciples and Jesus.  The disciples are arguing among themselves about which of them is the greatest. We can try to imagine how Jesus must have felt: how tired, how disappointed, how frustrated with their failure to grasp what his mission was all about.   Teacher that he was, he didn’t reprove them, didn’t rebuke them.  He simply placed a child by his side, and looking at them, told them that whoever receives this child, receives him, and further, that whoever receives him, receives the One who sent him.  The message is both clear and profound – something for them to ponder quietly, alone, in prayer . . . and something for them to discuss among themselves after they have pondered it.  "For the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest."

An undercurrent of how much God truly loves us runs through both these readings.  Today is the feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, who died at 24 of tuberculosis in a small Carmelite convent.  Through her "Little Way" she lived her short life with the loving simplicity of a child who knew in faith, often without consolation, that God loved her.  May she now obtain for us the grace of becoming more and more like that small child. 

 

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:

Numbers 11:25-29
James 5:1-6
Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

Reflection:

I don’t have more recent statistics.  But I offer the following stats from the year 2000 for reflection on today’s second reading.

     Mississippi: Rank in average gross income: 49th

                              Rank in average itemized charitable contributions: 1st

     Massachusetts: Rank in average gross income: 4th

                                     Rank in average itemized charitable contributions: 50th

Today’s gospel sounds like a lecture in radical surgery.  Fortunately, I think we can assume the Lord was exaggerating a bit to make a point.  But what was the point?

Maybe we can take a lesson from the Olympics.  If you want to obtain the gold, you have to be focused.  You can’t let anything distract you.  You have to study, train, practice, eat right, sleep right, sacrifice, stay in shape, — in other words, don’t let anything get in your way of reaching mastery.

Today the Lord is telling his followers to get focused. Don’t let anything deter you from seeking the kingdom.  Don’t let anything lead you into sin.  Don’t let anything keep you from loyalty to him and his mission.

Does prejudice get in the way?  Lop it of.  Is unforgiveness in your heart?  Remove it.  Does greed have control of you?  Eliminate it.  Is gossip your problem?  Delete it.  Does laziness have the best of you?  Get enthused.  Do riches make you selfish (see above)?  Dump them.

Once these obstacles are removed, then hang on.  The Spirit will do great things through you.

 

Fr. Alan Phillip, C.P. is a member of the Passionist Community at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

Revelation 12:7-12
John 1:47-51

Reflection:

Today we celebrate the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels. 

It’s a great day to sit back and remember how much God loves us.  God loves us enough to have angels like Michael fight battles for us, Gabriel to bring us the good news about Jesus, and Raphael to walk with us through the journey of life!

It’s a great day to experience the "blessed assurance" that God’s love and power will defeat the power of evil.  The battles we fight every day against injustice, poverty, addiction, materialism and hatred will in the end be won by God’s goodness. 

It’s a great day to realize the world is more than what we physically see around us.  God’s angels are standing by us in the integrity of creation.  Our "better angels" can be experienced in the smiles of our neighbors, the helping hands of those who minister, and the comforting prayers of our wise and compassionate seniors.

It’s a great day to just take a few minutes and let God love us more deeply into the beauty of life.  The angels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael indeed are blessed assurance of how much God loves me.  I know this is a simple message, but it may be the most important message I ever hear.  God grant me the humility to accept this message in my heart and share it with others.

From the old hymn "Blessed Assurance"

"Angels descending bring from above, echoes of mercy, whispers of love."

 

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

Scripture:

Ecclesiastes 1:2-11
Luke 9:7-9

Reflection:

Sometimes, I suppose we’re all like Herod the Tetrarch; we keep trying to see Jesus. But like Herod, or like Jesus’ disciples, it’s a Jesus of my imagination and my creation. And the seeking is on my own terms. In the rock opera, Jesus Christ Superstar, Herod sings:

Jesus I am overjoyed, to meet you face to face.
You’ve been getting quite a name, all around the place.
Healing cripples, raisings from the dead.
Now I understand you’re God,
At least that’s what you’ve said…
So, you are the Christ, you’re the great Jesus Christ.
Prove to me that you’re divine; change my water into wine.
That’s all you need do, then I’ll know it’s all true.
Prove to me that you’re no fool;
walk across my swimming pool.
If you do that for me, then I’ll let you go free.
Come on, King of the Jews.
I only ask what I’d ask any superstar.
               
                © 1970 Timothy Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber

 To evolve from a faith in an omnipotent God who protects us and whom we worship and obey and fear –  to faith in a God who becomes like us, human and vulnerable  – is a move too great for some people to make. Like Herod they turn away. Or when Jesus’ demands are too great (following the feeding of the multitude in John 6, e.g.), and he’s wounded because so many turn away, he turns to the twelve and questions, "Do you want to leave me, too?"

Maybe they want magic, maybe power. But adult faith asks more of us. L’Arche founder Jean Vanier says, "People want a Jesus who makes things right for the world; but Jesus wants us to make things right for the world."  In Mark 15:39 the evangelist tells us that when the centurion saw how Jesus breathed his last, he cried out, "Truly this was the Son of God!"  Unlike those jeering Jesus, "If you truly are the Son of God, prove it! Come down from the cross!" the centurion is given the gift of faith precisely as he experiences Jesus’ suffering love.

With all the political jousting going on these days, the polarization in government and church, a mean-spiritedness in some relationships, …todays’ readings invite us to find Jesus Christ – in the goodness of a next-door neighbor, the dedication of my child’s teacher, the compassion of a pastor.

 

Fr. Jack Conley, C.P. ministers as a preacher of parish missions and retreats.  He is a member of the Passionist formation community at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.