Daily Scripture

Scripture:

1 Kings 19:4-8
Ephesians 4:30-5:2
John 6:41-51

Reflection:

Elijah was afraid.  He was literally running for his life.  He had just accomplished great things for God and had done what he thought was required by God, namely slitting the throats of 450 priests of Baal.  But now that Jezebel was determined to inflict the same fate on Elijah he was deathly afraid and running  away.  Elijah also felt betrayed that God was not protecting him and he even was at the point of admitting his own sinfulness and that he was "no better than his fathers".   Elijah was basically just plain tired.  Doing the will of God was not easy and then suffering deep fear and the threat of death because of it was just too much.  Elijah sat down under a broom tree in the desert and prayed for death.  The burdens of life were too heavy, not worth it and he just gave up.  Why bother any more when I do what God wants and suffer anyway?  Elijah gave up on life but God did not give up on Elijah.  An angel of God brought hope and renewed energy in the form of bread and water and Elijah was able to get up to continue his journey even without knowing the final destination.   He was given just enough to keep on keeping on.  Despite his fear he was moving closer to his own personal encounter with his God whom he was trying to serve. 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is not afraid but he is experiencing the hostility and rejection of the very people he has just so abundantly fed.  Jesus is trying to move the Jews beyond the desire for food that would satisfy their physical need, but returns  daily  to the realization that their fundamental hunger is for the food that provides  life in unity with God.  And Jesus, the incarnation of the great I AM, names himself as that food.  Despite the miracles they have witnessed accomplished through Jesus, this assertion of his identity with God defies comprehension and they turn away.

Many people today are just plain tired.  Men and women who have tried to live a good life are worn down struggling with joblessness, financial worries,  medical issues, concerns about  the future of their children,  their parents and their own retirement.  They are hungry for an inner peace and some sense of security about the future.  For many, the fear and weariness can just be overwhelming.  The temptation is to give up and just live for death, to run from the struggle and take refuge in drink or drugs or anger and bitterness.  There is no answer that will bring in cash or provide absolute certainty about the future no matter how prayerful one might be.  Maybe to only answer is ultimately to give oneself over to the incomprehensible and to keep on keeping on knowing and believing that Jesus, the incarnate God, is with us in the struggle.

Cathy Anthony is on the staff at St. Paul of the Cross Retreat and Conference Center, Detroit, Michigan. 

Scripture:

Hebrews 1:12-2:4
Matthew 17:14-20

Reflection:

Jesus had just given Peter, James and John a glimpse of his glory when he was transfigured and spoke with Moses and Elijah of his destiny on Calvary. And now as they join the rest of the Apostles at the foot of the mountain, they find them engaged in argument with a crowd, who want to know what has happened with their power to cure and drive out evil spirits.

A father had brought his boy to the Apostles and no one of them and not all of them together had been able to bring about a cure.

So the father kneels down and appeals to Jesus:  "take pity on my son, who is demented… He often falls into the fire and frequently into the water.  I have brought him to your disciples and they could not cure him."

Jesus drives out the evil spirit and the boy is cured.  But now the Apostles want to know,  "What happened to  the power you gave us?"  In Matthew’s account, Jesus tells them:  "Because you have so little trust, I assure you if you had the faith the size of a mustard seed, you would be able to say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move."

The faith, Jesus is talking about here, is not faith in God and the word of God.  It is the faith that works miracles–a special gift God still imparts to specific people. 

Jesus pointed out the need of faith in those he endowed with a share in his power.  That same faith is required of those seeking God’s help.  In Mark’s account Jesus demands the same faith from the boy’s father, who happily replies:  "I do believe, help my unbelief."

We can utter that prayer for belief in answers to our prayers as well as our belief in the grace that saves our souls.  The faith that Martha expressed to Jesus: "I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into this world."

God is still with us. His healers are still with us.  When St. Augustine claimed the age of miracles had passed, the numbers who assured him they had experienced God’s power in their lives made him change his opinion.  What happened at the base of Mt. Tabor happens now with same requirement of faith.

     

Fr. Fred Sucher, C.P. is retired and lives at the Sacred Heart Community in Louisville, Kentucky.  For many years he taught philosophy to Passionist seminarians.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Scripture:

Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab
1 Corinthians 15:20-27
Luke 1:39-56

Reflection:

Once again we encounter these powerful readings for the feast of Mary’s Assumption into heaven.  The image of a women clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars is applied to the humble wife of Joseph the carpenter and the mother of Jesus. She is pictured as laboring to bring the Christ into the world and being confronted by a flaming red dragon who would attempt to destroy her Son. But He is rescued from the dragon and snatched up to heaven.  We can only echo the cry of the loud voice from heaven: "Now have salvation and power come, the reign of our God and the authority of his Anointed One". The Church stretches the scriptures to understand the role and dignity of this servant of the Lord in her lowliness. Our hearts are moved as Mary proclaims to Elizabeth the greatness of the Lord and as her spirit finds joy in God her savior.

For Mary there is no glorious ascension with awe struck disciples watching, but a hidden and quiet assumption. The Eastern Church speaks of the Dormition of Mary. One night she goes to sleep and awakens bodily in heaven to be greeted and embraced by her Son. What a tender reunion that must have been. May we appreciate all that Mary has done for her Son and how she mothered and sustained the faith of the disciples after the awful death of her Son. She was there for Him and for them and now is there for us. "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death."

 

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

Scripture:

2 Corinthians 9:6-10
John 12:24-26

Reflection:

I’ve heard the scripture passage so many times – "God loves a cheerful giver". It is easy to be a "cheerful giver" when I freely choose what, when, and to whom I give, and especially when my offering is visibly appreciated. I love it, for instance, when I take time to bake cinnamon rolls from scratch, and then watch my sons’ joy as they devour them one by one. I cheerfully join my sons in sponsoring a child living in poverty, especially since the monthly donation makes not a dent in our family’s budget and we receive heartfelt letters from the child. For the parish’s clothing collection, I happily box up outdated fashions, clothes too small for our grown offspring, and items we never wear anyway. I have made it a habit when I travel to compliment people in the airport, allow them to go in line ahead of me, offer a mint to the person sitting next to me, and generally try to make a few people’s lives a little better amidst the hustle and hassle of air flight. See God? I am a cheerful giver!

Yet I am often put to shame by others I encounter on the journey. For instance, there was a young Muslim woman in the airport restroom. When I admired the scarf that covered her head and hair, she said, "Oh if you like it, you may have it; I have another." I kindly declined her unexpected offer, and wondered how often I would be willing to so readily give my sweater, shawl, purse, or other item to a stranger who liked it. Am I a cheerful giver when it’s not something I would have chosen to give?  

Arriving on a delayed flight into a huge airport, I frantically ran toward the gate for my connecting flight, my face contorted as I gasped for each breath. A woman with a burn-scarred face gently touched my shoulder and said, "Peace." I whirled around, exasperated by the interruption, and protested, "But my flight leaves in 20 minutes from the other terminal."  Her response calmly flowed: "It’s OK. Take a minute to breathe. You will make it, and all will be well." In spite of myself, I paused and took a deep cleansing breath. As I took off again, I heard her voice calling to me from behind, "God bless you." I continued on, no less quickly but far less frantically, and I did indeed make my connection. Sitting on the plane, I thought of this angel who despite her own pain acted with profound compassion. Ashamedly, I realized I didn’t say thank you or even take a moment to truly look into her eyes. My offer of a mint to a fellow passenger paled in comparison. Am I a cheerful giver who can set my own needs and pains aside to minister to another?

A young girl’s liver was failing rapidly. Her grade-school teacher was a match and volunteered to be the donor. The girl received a portion of her teacher’s liver, and she is alive today. What would it take for me to undergo the risk of major surgery and give an organ from my body to another person – especially someone not even in my own family – in hopes that they might live? Am I willing to cheerfully give my own body, blood, and life for another?

The challenge offered by scripture is an expansive one, calling me to go beyond my comfort zone and my familiar modes of "giving". God calls me to detach from my possessions, be generous to all those in need (which includes learning to see them when they are right in front of my face), be willing to lose my life, and live in such a way that when people see me they see Christ. That is a tall order indeed, and I have a long way to go to measure up to it.

Help me, God, to truly and cheerfully give without reservation – of my time, my gifts, my treasure, and my very self. Mold my heart and my life so that people I encounter may speak of me in the words of Rabindrinath Tagore: "After you had taken your leave, I found God’s footprints on my floor."

 

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/.

 

Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

Scripture:

Jeremiah 31:31-34
Matthew 16:13-23

 

 

Reflection:

Let Us Go to Die with Our People

There are three Carmelite saints who share the name Teresa. Today we celebrate Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Saint Edith Stein. Born Jewish, she became Catholic and a Carmelite religious. She is a martyr who died in Auschwitz on this date, August 9, 1942.

Sr. Catherine Fitzgerald of the Carmel in Baltimore, MD speaks of ‘spiritual generativity’ quoting from a writing of Edith Stein: "[people] bear fruit by nature of the atmosphere which radiates from them on their environment…" (From Impasse to Prophetic Hope, CTSA Proceedings 64/2009). We say that the blood of the martyrs nourishes the faith. This spiritual generativity of martyrdom is fleshed out in Edith Stein.

Edith had many experiences that are far from life giving. A renowned and brilliant philosopher she was dismissed from her field of study because she was a woman and a Jew. She found life in her faith in Jesus and then the Carmelite vocation. An event at the end of her life that captures the sense of ‘spiritual generativity’, is related by a man serving in the German army. He is in the railway yard at night when a train of boxcars arrives. It is en route to Auschwitz. The prisoners are listed as mentally deficient and will be ushered to the gas chambers upon arrival there. For those aboard, no appeals are to be permitted. As he listlessly wanders among the trains he sees a boxcar with its door open, reeking of unwashed people. He describes a woman standing in the open door. She asks him to get water for those with her. From his account I see a woman very much in charge, her request is compelling, she places herself between the suffering victims behind her and those on the outside who would harm them. She bears fruit by nature of the atmosphere that radiates from her on her environment.

This week of Edith Stein’s feast we have celebrated the Transfiguration of the Lord.   Moses who embodies the People of Israel talks with Jesus. Elijah, the greatest of the prophets, whose ministry included those outside the Chosen People, is also in the dialogue. Elijah captures that part of Israel’s vocation to be the light of the nations. Edith’s words to her sister Rosa, as they go to their death, "Let Us Go to Die with Our People", are words of spiritual generativity. Moses and Elijah respectively bring the Chosen People and Israel’s vision fulfilled to the overshadowing light of Christ’s Paschal Mystery foreseen in the Transfiguration. Edith carries that Paschal Mystery with her into those gathered in the horrors of the shoah, her people.

Sister Teresa Benedicta has as her religious title, ‘of the Cross’. Planted in the earth it blossoms. How much this philosopher must have pondered the Cross. Her final book is ‘The Science of the Cross’. The second letter of Peter calls us to keep our attention on the experience of the Transfiguration, "Keep your attention closely fixed on it, as you would on a lamp shining in the dark place until the first streaks of dawn appear and the morning star rises in your heart." The Exultet of the Easter Vigil proclaims that Christ is that Morning Star come back from the dead who will shed his peaceful light upon us.

Edith Stein, Sr. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, pondered the Cross in the light of Jesus Resurrection, his victory over the Cross. She is a woman of spiritual generativity for us.

 

Fr. William Murphy, CP is pastor of St. Joseph’s Monastery parish in Baltimore, Maryland. 

Scripture:

Jeremiah 31:1-7
Matthew 15:21-28

Reflection:

The O.P.s (Order of Preachers) and the C.P.s (Congregation of the Passion) get confused sometimes. Both are communities founded to preach. St. Dominic loved to proclaim the Gospel and founded a community that centers on preaching. His community’s motto is, "To praise, to bless, and to preach."

I was asked to preach at our diocesan "Café Catholica" on Monday, July 30^th. That night I spoke to some 600 18-35 year olds about living with passion. I was worried that cell phones would be ringing and other distractions would ensue. What I encountered was one of the most open, hungry, and enthusiastic crowds I have ever come before! I was touched by the glow of goodness emanating from this group of young people. A recent Barna survey said that some 3 out of 5 young people lose touch with their religion at some point in their journey. Fewer may be coming to Church, but the ones who are coming are hungry for something more and deeper.

I was so encouraged by these young people. I continue to be encouraged by those who attend my missions and by the people who support my media outreach. As Passionists, we are on the cutting edge of the new evangelization. Young and old alike hunger for God’s life-changing message of truth. God has anointed us to inspire others with his mercy and "age old love."

 

Fr. Cedric Pisegna, C.P. is a missionary preacher, author of 16 books and creator of television and radio programs airing in many cities. You can learn more about his ministry at: http://www.frcedric.org/

Scripture:

Jeremiah 30:1-2, 12-15, 18-22
Matthew 14:22-36, 15:1-2, 10-14

Reflection:

I carry what looks like a large coin and is really a token to remind me of how grateful I am for an organization I reluctantly joined and have continued to participate in these past twenty-nine years. I carry it with my change and sometimes when I go to pay for something, a clerk will notice it and ask what it is. This happened yesterday when I went to McDonald’s for what has become my daily indulgence (not religious) of a hot fudge sundae.  I gladly shared with the clerk my twenty-nine year involvement and he in seeming awe of the length of time, responded: "Wow, I was only three then." I laughed and said I was thirty-eight when I first joined. This really seemed to surprise him and he said: "You don’t look that old."

The next morning, I got up as usual and after a little internal wrangling, I did my yoga exercises and meditation. That young man’s comment, "You don’t look that old." was the deciding argument in favor of doing my yoga and hopefully of my continuing to do it each day now for the rest of my life. LOL

In today’s scripture passage from Matthew, we read about Peter walking on water. I believe it was Jesus’ encouragement that allowed Peter to walk on water, just as it was the young man’s encouraging words to me that got me to resume my, miracle of miracles, yoga.

Back in the ‘70’s we used to sing a song that went:

"Easy come, Easy go; through summer and through snow,
Up and down, all around, this universe I’ll go.
I’ll walk upon your waters, move mountains from your path,
With a smile for my companion, I’ll teach you how to laugh."

Jesus encouraged Peter and those he loved to perform miracles. Help me Jesus to encourage everyone I meet today to be the walking miracles they truly are.

 

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

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

Scripture:

Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 2
Peter 1:16-19
Mark 9:2-10  

Reflection:

Peter, James and John must have felt like they won a gold medal when they were invited by Jesus to accompany him up a high mountain "apart by themselves." To be with Jesus without the crowds pressing in, without religious leaders trying to cause confusion, and without people crying out or demanding miracles must have felt like being gold medal winners. This was going to be some peaceful, quality time with Jesus. What could be better? Well, better was the fact that they were going up a high mountain. Throughout the Old Testament, amazing things happened on mountains: Abraham and Mount Moriah, the Ten Commandments and Mount Sinai, Elijah and Mount Carmel, and one of the temptations of Jesus took place on a high mountain. The apostles were thrilled as they hiked up the path with Jesus in the lead.  

On the mountain Jesus "was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white…" What does that mean?  The Greek word for transfigure is meamorphoo. In English we use the word "metamorphosis" or transformation, rebirth, change. We commonly understand activity in terms of a caterpillar going through a transformation to become a butterfly. Peter, James and John are witnessing a transformation that is happening to Jesus. To communicate this event, Mark says "his clothes became dazzling white." It wasn’t that Jesus was changing clothes. Transformation means that the inside changes the outside. The glory of God was revealing itself through the human body of Jesus. In the first reading, Daniel describes the presence and glory of God as brightness and fire, and he tells us this glory was given to the "Son of man." Fire, light, dazzling white are images used to express divine glory or presence. The glory of God that was contained or "housed" in Jesus reveals its presence to the three disciples. This transformation tells us that within the person of Jesus was the very presence of God, so complete and overflowing, now bursting forth.  

The word "transform" appears in Romans 12:2. "And do not be conformed to this word, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." We too are to be transformed by a radical overhaul such that the original is no longer seen, like the caterpillar to butterfly image. The old person of sin is put to death. Instead, we are to be new creatures in Jesus Christ. Again, this is not simply changing clothes and putting on virtues or taking on spiritual disciplines. "We all, with unveiled faces, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit" 2 Corinthians 3:18. The glory of God, planted at Baptism, is to grow within us so that it can shine forth. As we fix our eyes on Jesus and "listen" to his word and obey, transformation takes place within our hearts and minds. To be transformed now is to prepare for the ultimate and complete transformation in the end into the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is the gold medal for which we should be single-mindedly seeking.  

 

Fr. Don Webber, C.P., is Provincial Superior of Holy Cross Province and resides in Chicago.