Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Revelation 11:4-12
Luke 20:27-40

Reflection:

Have you ever made an assumption about a situation or person only to learn later that your assumption wasn’t right?  If you haven’t done this, I want to meet you for you are very unique!

When one of my nieces was a senior in high school, she was in the process of selecting a college.  During one of our conversations about her college plans, she confided in me that she was afraid that she was going to disappoint her parents.  I asked why.  She said that her parents wanted her to choose a college that had a strong soccer program since she was such a fine soccer player.  Throughout high school she had played soccer and it was a big part of her life.  But, she told me, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to play soccer in college.  But, she didn’t want to disappoint her parents.

As we talked I suggested to her that the main reason her parents were so enthusiastic about soccer was their belief that she wanted to continue to play when she went to college.  I assured her that they would support her in whatever decision she made about soccer, and that it was highly unlikely they would be disappointed in any way.  So, she took the risk and told her parents what she really wanted.  And, of course her parents were fine with it.

Assumptions that aren’t accurate can really blind us to possibilities.  Such was the situation in today’s Gospel when the Sadducees were blind to the possibility of life after death.  They assumed that if such a life existed it would have the same limitations our current life has.  Jesus refused to accept their assumptions and opened a whole new vision for them.

Sometimes I wonder what possibilities we don’t see because we are limited by the assumptions we make.  In today’s Gospel we are encouraged not to be limited to our ordinary assumptions.  We pray today for the grace not to be trapped by our assumptions but to be open to hearing the freeing words of the Gospel. 

 

Fr. Michael Higgins, C.P. is the director of the Passionist Development Office and lives in Chicago, Illinois. 

 

Celebration of Thanksgiving
in the United States 

Scripture:

Sirach 50:22-24
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Luke 17:11-19

 

Reflection:

Thanksgiving Day, 2012, what am I thankful for?
I’m thankful for the gift of faith, for love and so much more. . .

I’m thankful for a husband, who loves me oh so much;
For food and shelter, light and warmth, for sight and sound and touch!

I"m thankful for our children – such gifts from God above;
For all the times we get to share and celebrate our love!

For Mass, God’s Word, for living faith; for walking in the Spirit;
For hope and joy and God’s sweet peace; for mercy with no limits!

For beauty all around us, for the blessing of this day;
Each breath we take a gift from God, we never can repay.

But most of all to know the truth that Jesus paid the price;
He conquered death and rose again and we will never die!

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!

 

Janice Carleton and her husband Jim live in Portland, OR and partner with Passionist Fr. Cedric Pisegna in Fr. Cedric Ministries. Janice also leads women’s retreats. She is the mother of 4 grown children and grandmother of 6. Visit Janice’s website at http://www.jcarleton.com/ or email her at [email protected]

The Presentation of Mary

Scripture:

Zecariah 2:14-17
Luke 11:27-28

Reflection:

St. Paul of the Cross fostered a special devotion to this feast commemorating an event in the life of Mary.  He manifested this by naming his first community residences for both Passionist men religious and Passionist women religious in honor of Mary’s Presentation as a child in the temple, by her devout parents.  Paul did this so as to indicate the sense of mission that impelled him to begin the Passionist community, in the first place.

We know his mission orientation was centered on the preaching of Christ Crucified to those in need of appreciating God’s outreach to them.  As he often remarked, the Passion was the greatest manifestation of God’s love for us.  It is this same notion of God’s care for us that underlies this feast of Mary’s Presentation.  Presented to God (in the temple) by her devoted parents, she became a sign and a major instance of all those presentations of God’s presence that can occur in life to open peoples’ eyes to His loving concern for us.  This is mission, alerting us to God acting on our behalf.

So when Luke, in the day’s gospel, records the event in which a woman admirer of Jesus praised his mother for bringing Him forth and nourishing Him, to the benefit of so many like herself, Jesus moves beyond that testimony to recognize all those who hear His preaching and follow His direction.  In other words, Jesus extends the witness His mother provides, to God’s activity on behalf of the rest of us who cannot bring Him into the world as His mother did through birth and upbringing, but who can imitate that broader witness she provides of  hearing God’s word and acting on it-a witness that can engage us all.   We see Mary thereby initiating a way of witnessing  God to others, that is available to us: not a physical accomplishment, but the way of discipleship .   By her presentation Mary is on mission to us, so that we in turn can go out on mission to others by presenting our way of encountering God to them. 

A similar message is found in the prophet Zechariah today.  He foresees the city of Jerusalem emerging in significance before God, because it so clearly manifests God’s predilection and favor among the peoples of the world.   In this way Jerusalem goes out on mission to other places, as they become aware of God’s presence within it.  This is very apropos of Mary, in the way she manifests to others God’s favors to her.  She is a presentation of God to them in the same way Jerusalem is a presentation of God to others.

Describing In this way Mary’s function in our lives, these scriptural readings open up new avenues for appreciating her capacity to present God to us, and, in the process, they alert us to the fact that, in our own way, we can do much the same thing.  For example, we can illustrate for others, from our own enrichment by the word of God, that they too can be similarly favored, and we can also model for others the way we try to center our lives on God.   We thereby go out on mission to them, presenting them ways and means of coming to terms with God by their observation of the way we lead our lives.  By absorbing the meaning of Mary’s presentation in our lives, we become a facsimile of her presentation, and carry on the mission St. Paul of the Cross that he had in mind by naming two important foundations of his nascent community after the feast of Mary’s Presentation.

 

Fr. Sebastian MacDonald, C.P. is a member of the Passionist formation community at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago. 

Scripture:

Revelations 3: 1-6, 14-22
Luke 19: 1-10

Reflection:

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me."

 

Have you ever felt left out?  Many of us have had this experience during our lives.  It can even happen in our experience of family.  We believe that our parents favor one or more of our siblings over us.  High School seems to be a rich environment for feeling excluded.  There are so many groups and cliques in our high school years, few of us don’t carry a few scars from that time in our lives.  Even at work, we often find there is an "in group" that has the greatest influence in the work environment.  Yes, in almost every aspect of our lives there seem to be favorites…and the "not-so-favored!"

Given that oh-so-common human  experience, it’s not all that surprising that we can transfer that same sense of inclusion-exclusion to our relationship with God.  We wonder whether God loves us, hears us, or cares about us.  We find ourselves saying such things as, "I hope I’ll get to heaven, but…"  I suppose it’s a natural reaction because most of us are so aware of the sin and selfishness that lies deep in our hearts even though others may not even see it.  This uncertainty can become a deep fear that somehow we just don’t measure up and so we are not worthy of God.  And, we feel quite helpless in the face of this fear. 

The Scripture readings today stand firmly on our side in this debate!  The reading from the Book of Revelations speaks clearly, and uncomfortably, about the reality of our vanity, self-delusion and sinfulness.  Yet it concludes that Christ will enter and be with "anyone (who) hears my voice and opens the door,…."   We don’t have to be perfect, we don’t have to be in the favored group, we need only open the door to Christ and He will enter and be with us.

Today’s Gospel certainly confirms the message from the Book of Revelation.  Jesus Himself tells his disciples that, "the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost."  Clearly, to be included in the "in-crowd" around Jesus is well within our own hands.  We need only open ourselves to Him and welcome Him into our lives.  May we all receive this grace today as we invite Christ into our lives.

 

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:

Revelation 1:1-4; 2:1-5
Luke 18:35-43

Reflection:

Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" He replied, "Lord, please let me see." Luke 18:42

Blindness is a challenge both to the blind person and to the community in which he or she lives. I would venture to say that not too many of us have been around blind people for extensive periods of time. I haven’t. My experience with the blind is limited. There was a blind woman that I attended theology classes with several years back and we were all impressed with her insights into her experience of God. She had clarity of vision that enabled her to see God even in the dark places of this world. Her faithful husband was ever at her side and her Seeing Eye dog never left her by herself. She had a sense of humor that put you at ease right away. She was an inspiration.

The last time I met a blind person was in Vietnam, not too long ago. She was a young woman, maybe not even twenty years old. She was being tutored in English by one of our Passionist missionaries there. I sat with them for a short period of time as they struggled with her reluctance to speak, to learn new words and to review lessons learned in the previous weeks. Another blind person joined us, a young man, who was a good student. He also tried very hard to help her. When I spoke to the missionary afterwards, he shared that he didn’t have much hope for her. Unlike many of the disabled students he had tutored over the years, she had no inner drive to overcome her disability.

Today’s gospel is not just about a blind beggar living near Jericho at the time of Jesus. It is about us. It is about our own blindness. It is about us when we try to prevent those who are trying to approach Jesus to be cured of some incurable disorder. It is about perseverance and faith. It is about us and our desire to approach Jesus even when we find people making it difficult for us to approach him. The Evangelist Luke packs so much into this simple account that it will take us a lifetime to unpack and savor the many graces that are contained in Gospel passage.

When was the last time we prayed for sight? Maybe just because we can see with our eyes, we may have never taken the opportunity to ask for sight, especially for insight into our many limitations we carry within our person or we find deeply embedded in our family, our workplace or community. And having been granted our insight, how many of us have given glory to God and began following Jesus more closely? At the same time, have we ever considered the times when we have prevented someone from approaching Jesus when he or she was in pain? There are times when we just give up on people just because they don’t seem to be able to be cured.

The Gospel passage also invites us to explore our own blind spots, our own blindness. This is not an easy task. Like the young blind woman in Vietnam, we may not even be aware that blindness is not the fundamental reason why she is having trouble learning. She lacks confidence in herself. She is reluctant to depend upon others. She is afraid to bump into her surroundings because she is blind. I found myself identifying with her. I found myself thinking about the times I failed to risk because I may fail, to depend upon others because I would look weak, and to put my faith in God who gives sight to the blind.

May we deepen our faith so we can ask Jesus for the gift of sight!

 

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

Scripture:

Daniel 12:1-3
Hebrews 10:11-14, 18
Mark 13:24-32

Reflection: 

We have to be a bit surprised at the readings for this Sunday.   Seems to be some negative, scary stuff.  "A time unsurpassed in distress.  Some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.  The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken."   We recognize, of course, these are apocalyptic readings from the Old Testament.  We notice the pain, the suffering.  Even in the Gospel we find that Jesus’ words contain that same darkness.  In both what the prophet Daniel and Jesus have to share the whole picture also includes the positive.  In Daniel we read, "The wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever." And in Mark we read Jesus saying, "And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky."

We must take in the whole teaching, both the dark and the bright side in both sources: Daniel and Jesus.  Eleonore Stump comments: "So what happens to Christians in bad times? Do they lose and lose and lose, as the Gospel of Matthew says?  But what is losing? Is losing a matter of being hated, afflicted, and killed? Christ was hated, afflicted, and killed, too. And yet Christ did not lose on the cross, did he? He won."

"In this world there is the end of the story, when Christ’s true disciples will be hated and afflicted (here on earth). And then there is the real and final end of the story, at the last judgment (in heaven), where each person will see himself as he really is."

"At that last chapter of each human story, the First Reading says, some people will be perceived as the horror and disgrace that they really are. Others will shine like the splendor of the stars."

"The winners in the battle of life, those who shine like stars, are those who have turned many to justice, the First Reading says. Acting with courage and integrity for justice, goodness, and truth can get a person hated, afflicted, and even killed, can’t it? "

"And now we can see what it is to escape bad times. Escaping is not a matter of living at ease in prosperity, honored by the world around you. Escaping is managing not to be turned into a horror and a disgrace by your own cooperation with the evil all around you that masquerades as good. "

"This is an escape that God will give anyone who is willing to take up his cross daily."

"And so the losing of the cross, the willingness to be hated and afflicted for the sake of justice – that is the way to the final winning where God’s people shine with the splendor of the stars."  (Sunday Website of St. Louis University)

You and I, it seems rather clearly, need to pray that we grab hold of the whole picture and make sure that Jesus is part of that whole picture of our lives.  Carrying our cross alone could weigh us down physically, psychologically and spiritually.  Jesus will never abandon you and me.  "Take up your cross and come, walk with me." 

 

Fr. Peter Berendt, C.P. is the associate pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Chicago, Illinois.

Scripture:

3 John 5-8
Luke 18:1-8

Reflection:

"But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"  Luke 18:8

Today’s readings call us to live a greater faith life outside of the church walls. Jesus calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Not just our next door neighbor, but also the strangers. A faith outside of us that is drenched in concern for the other. As it says in the James, What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well," but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. He says plainly, that our faith is nothing without good works.

During this Year of Faith we are given the opportunity to exhibit our faith in our actions. Through good works we are called to evangelize, to spread the message of God’s love and mercy through social justice. To recognize our social responsibility in that we are not independent of each other but one body and spirit in Christ. A society will be judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members and among the most vulnerable are surely the unborn and the dying," Blessed Pope John Paul II

Today is the feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary who is a shining example of a lay woman who put her faith into action. Of the Third Order of St. Francis, she devoted herself to works of charity and built a hospital where she cared for the sick until her death at the age of 24. She is the patroness for homeless people, widows, and dying children. St. Elizabeth cared for the most of vulnerable of her community. She is a guiding light to us on how to live our lives in service of each other.

The end of the Gospel poses a question to us: "But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"   As we reflect today, let us think about what kind of faith others find in us. We are called to have an authentic commitment to God in faith, and then to go forth to live a life of love and generosity.

 

Kim Valdez is a Pastoral Associate at Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center in Houston, Texas

Scripture:

Philemon 7-20
Luke 17:20-25

Reflection:

Paul’s letter to Philemon is unique in the New Testament.  It is a personal letter about a personal matter of concern to Paul. He must have been a prolific letter writer, but this is the only such letter to survive. It concerns a slave, Onesimus, who ran away from his master and possibly even stole from him. It is estimated that there were sixty million plus slaves in the Roman Empire. The economic strength of the empire was built on slavery. What Onesimus has done is punishable by death.

Onesimus flees to Rome to lose himself in the big city. Paul is under house arrest there, waiting for his trial. Somehow the runaway slave meets Paul, is converted and baptized, and begins to serve Paul’s needs. Then the full story comes out. Paul finds out that Onesimus is a runaway slave of Philemon who Paul himself had converted and baptized! It’s a small world.

With a fine sense of justice Paul decides to send Onesimus back to his master, Philemon. He carries with him a letter written in Paul’s own hand.  Paul asks Philemon to accept his slave back as "a brother…in the Lord" and to "welcome him as you would me".  Isn’t this the challenge each of us has when someone has harmed us? To forgive and to remember that the other person is my "brother in the Lord" is the hallmark of a faithful Christian. Philemon remains the master and Onesimus remains his slave, but the quality and tone of their relationship is forever changed. They are "brothers in the Lord".

 

Fr. Michael Hoolahan, C.P. is on the staff of Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.