Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Philippians 4:10-19
Luke 16:9-15

Reflection:

Jesus teaches that those who prove untrustworthy in small things will be untrustworthy in greater ones, while those you can trust in small matters are trustworthy all the way around. This simple statement points out that no one becomes a disciple nor a cad in one easy step. It is always a series of small choices, each of which create patterns that form us and determine our character.

An illustration: As I was growing up I often told "white lies", whether to spare someone’s feelings, save my own hide when I’d done something wrong, improve someone’s perception of me, or invent an excuse to get out of doing something I didn’t want to do. Yet I still thought of myself as an honest person. After all, everyone around me, even the people I admired, did the same thing on a regular basis. And how could an occasional little lie hurt, especially if it made my life easier?

But where does the line get drawn? When is it OK to stretch the truth or to lie a bit, especially given the reality that telling little lies made it so much easier to tell slightly bigger ones? Telling Nazis I am not hiding Jews when I actually am is sufficient justification to lie, but does my comfort or my avoidance of conflict meet the standard? I always know that if something about my behavior causes me to rationalize it or to cringe before God when bringing it to prayer, I need to change.

I decided not to allow myself to lie at all. If I didn’t want to do something, I could say "No, I have another commitment" even if that commitment was to my own time off, but I could not invent an excuse. If a friend asked whether I liked her dress and I didn’t, I’d say it was not my first choice and she had others that I liked better.  If I was asked about something I had done, I needed to fully admit my part in it without deflecting the blame. I could go on with infinite examples, but suffice to say that this proved to be exceptionally difficult. I didn’t realize how many times I was telling little "harmless" lies, or how much those lies were supported in our society.

Even more disturbing was the level to which the principle behind it was creeping into my life. Cutting the hardest part of my workout short on one day made it so much easier to cut it out on another day. Allowing my schedule to get in the way of prayer time for a week made it infinitely more difficult to get back to my regular prayer time. I thought of all the business CEO’s and managers who made small and seemingly harmless choices in order to line their own pockets or artificially increase profitability, and when they got away with it, making bigger and bigger ones until the company or even the system collapsed. The higher the stakes, the easier it is to slide down that continuum. It is far better to not even venture onto the slope. 

Although no one would have called me a dishonest person at any point, I am living with more integrity since I decided to stop those little white lies. The temptation remains, and I still fail on occasion, but Jesus taught me a lesson. I hope I can apply that lesson to every aspect of my life so I can stand tall before God and others as a trustworthy person in all ways, big and small.

 

Amy Florian is a teacher and consultant working in Chicago.  For many years she has partnered with the Passionists.  Visit Amy’s website: http://www.amyflorian.com/.

Scripture:

Philippians 3:3-8a
Luke 15:1-10

Reflection:

During his public ministry Jesus reached out to sinners – and provoked the Pharisees!  Jesus proclaimed that he had come to call sinners, and not the self-righteous…and so the Pharisees made their judgments and murmured about the kind of company Jesus was keeping – complaining that Jesus even eats with sinners (if Jesus had not eaten with sinners he would have had to eat alone…)!

God values each human being, saint or sinner.  God doesn’t want to give up on any of us; we’re worth more than a single sheep or a single coin.  That message of Jesus touched St. Paul the Apostle and motivated him to change from being a persecutor to a zealous apostle preaching the Gospel to as many as possible…a living witness that God loves each human being!

As we hear Jesus preaching about the preciousness of a single sinner, we should not be passive spectators wondering whom Jesus is talking about…he is talking about us!  We each have been a lost sheep, but a very valuable lost sheep; Jesus the Good Shepherd diligently searches for each of us, calls for a change of heart – and then joyfully puts us on his shoulders and leads us back to the fold which is the Church. 

The value of all humans is witnessed by St. Charles Borromeo, a 16^th century disciple of Jesus / man of the Church who devoted himself to the people of God and the reform of the Church about the time of the Council of Trent.  He was called to utilize his youth, his education and influence to become a leader who taught as much by example as by learning and words.  He reached out to the poor and needy of his day, sacrificing wealth, honor and influence to serve them – even in the challenges of the plagues and famines of his day, ministering to the sick, the hungry, and the dying.

We are all part of sinful humanity, needing redemption by our loving Savior, Jesus.  Despite our unworthiness, Jesus seeks us out, lights the lamp, sweeps the house – and rejoices with us!  A simple meditation on the Cross of Jesus puts it all into perspective:  Jesus’ arms lovingly embrace us all.  Thanks be to God for St. Charles Borromeo, St. Paul of the Cross, and all those "official" and "everyday" saints who call us deeper into God’s Love.

 

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

 

Scripture:

Philippians 2:12-18
Luke 14:25-33

Reflection:

Looks can be deceiving, Take for instance, Fr. Randal Joyce, C.P. On the outside, he looks like the perfect monk, quiet, reflective and obedient to his superiors. He even looked that way in the 60’s when I first met him. He was my first spiritual director. That’s when I learned what he was really like though. He gave me subversive books to read that modern day terrorists could learn from, about people who changed their worlds.

One book told of a guy who had a plush job with those in power. When they suggested that he had to go against his beliefs, he told them to get lost. They legally (today we don’t always bother to make it legal) beheaded him because he refused to accept their authority. Then there was the book about a well-respected scholar of his day who was drawn and quartered for his beliefs that happen to be contrary to his accusers’. Unlike modern day terrorists who cause suffering on others, he did not physically cause anyone violence but went to his death singing God’s praises and praying for those in power. Those are just two of the many books he gave me to read over the four years that I knew him.

Then along came Vatican II and another great imposter.  He was a 77-year-old has-been who was elected Pope, probably because everyone figured he couldn’t do much harm. Hum? He was inspired to call for a council and he invited not only Roman Catholic Bishops but also people of different faiths and even lay people. OMG! He told those gathered there that they were to listen to the Spirit among them and come to consensus in resolving the issues of the day. He would not give them any easy answers. Wow! There were probably many, then and now, who would have like to do away with this humble, compassionate man for his beliefs.

Thank you Father Randal for introducing me to so many great men like the above St. Thomas More and St. Edmund Campion. Thank you Blessed John XXIII for showing us a new way of being together, not only with those who believe like us, but also with those whose beliefs are different. Thank you Jesus for warning us in the scriptures we read today, that this following you wasn’t going to be easy. At the very least it would probably mean going against the main stream, accepting the consequences and yes, changing the world in the process.

 

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

Scripture:
Philippians 2:1-4
Luke 14:12-14

Reflection:
"Complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love," Paul writes.  Have you noticed how much joy can be participated in merely by staying in God’s will?  Paul takes it a step farther.  Somehow, as other people do this, he finds joy. 

A few weeks ago in an evening RCIA class, the instructor, a professional therapist, was talking about images of Christ. He mentioned his own personal image of how frequently Jesus chooses marginalized people and those who society had rejected.  Additionally, he shared how he was at his best when he was doing what Jesus has always done.  I thought back to our founder, St. Paul of the Cross, who talks about aligning our will with the divine will of God.  It seems that if we find ourselves doing what Jesus did, that should be a good definition of holiness.   

As this instructor was speaking about the poor and the marginalized and how he personally felt called by the Lord to this work, I couldn’t help but think about John 12:8.   "The poor you always have with you, but me you will not always have."  Some have interpreted this as a judgment back to Dt. 15 especially verse 11 with the covenant relationship the people made with the Lord.  However, this particular night, this statement inspired me in a new way.  For if someone finds fulfillment in helping the poor, and Jesus promises to have the poor with us always, then there’s also not only a lot of good work to be done, but also a lot of joy in that there will be plentiful opportunities to be in God’s will. 

In the Gospel, when Jesus instructs us to throw parties for people who cannot repay, then there is truly something there that is not self-serving.  Those who are always seeking a quality return on their investment won’t be able to find joy or delight in a one way gift or an un-repayable act of generosity.  God will NEVER be outdone in generosity.  So by inviting those who can’t pay you back, they can only share with you something beyond material possessions, they can share with you their gratitude and their joy.  And as the commercial says, "That’s Priceless!"

 

Fr. David Colhour, C.P. is the pastor of St. Agnes Parish in Louisville, Kentucky.

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.