Daily Scripture

Scripture:

1 John 2:18-21
John 1: 1-18   

Reflection:

"In the beginning was the Word."

It’s the last day of the year and the eve of a new one.  For many of us, this means it’s a time of reflection–a time to look back and a time to look forward.

Words are important.  Words have power.  Words help us express our feelings and emotions, our hopes and our dreams.  Words enable us to communicate ideas and thoughts.  Words can unite us with others or separate us from one another.  Words are significant.

Our Gospel today is about beginnings.  God is good at beginnings.

In the beginning, God spoke and the world was created.  The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.  Somehow, before the beginning of time, this Christ child existed, not as a human being, but as God himself, as what we call the Word. 

This Christ had something to do with the creation of every single thing that we have in our lives.  And also, He had something to do with the creation of you and of me. 

Sometimes, when we consider the vast expanse of the universe, we might think that you and I are very insignificant.  But then we learn that this Christ-God, became just like you and me. He became a little child, a person just like us in all things except sin. "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us."  

This Word has graced us with many blessings:  the gift of power, God’s power; the gift of light, a light that shines in the darkness, but will never be overcome by the darkness; and the gifts of perfect grace and truth, gifts that we receive every day of our lives.

Words are important.  Actions are also important.

As we cross the bridge into 2012, let us walk humbly with our God, trusting that He will help us to: care deeply, give freely, think kindly, act gently and be at peace with the world. 

Happy New Year to all!

 

Deacon Brian Clements was formerly a member of the staff at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center in Sierra Madre, California.

 

Feast of Saint John the Apostle

Scripture:

1 John 1:1-4
John 20: 1a, 2-8

Reflection:

Maybe it’s just me, but I sure could use a few miracles in my life.  That’s the word that keeps going through my head as I contemplate today’s gospel-miraculous.  Of course, this isn’t any great revelation.  If you’ve read my past reflections, you know how I like to dig around in the reading  and maybe ask you to look at it in a way you haven’t before.  But, today, I am struck simply by remembering the miracle of the Resurrection.  And here’s why; If God, our Father, gave His only son for us, and rose Him from the dead, then what isn’t possible with our Lord?

The answer of course, is nothing!  But, it sure doesn’t feel like there are many miracles to go around these days, does it?  How about a government that puts the needs of its constituents first?  Is that possible?  Affordable healthcare?  How about families not going to bed hungry?  A surplus of good jobs? An end to gun violence? Peace in the Mideast?  I can almost hear the disbelief!  Seems impossible, I agree.

But, remember how Mary Magdalene and the other disciples must have felt after Jesus’ death.  They watched the man they loved suffer and die on a cross.  Not only had they lost Jesus, they had to fear for their own safety as known friends of Christ.  And then, just when all hope seemed lost, they found the empty tomb.  All that had been promised was true!  Jesus rose!  He conquered death and sin!  In their darkest hour came the miracle of salvation. 

When I was a kid, I can remember my prayers.  They were big.  I brought all my worries and all my dreams to Him.  There wasn’t anything I thought He couldn’t do.  Is that still how we pray?  This is the God of creation!  Our Father in heaven who gave His only son.  Let us remember the miracle of the Resurrection.  There is nothing that can’t be done without His help.

When Mary Magdalene and the others arrived at the tomb in John’s gospel, there wasn’t a choir of angels.  Jesus wasn’t standing there with open arms to show them that he was alive.  It was just an empty tomb with used burial clothes rolled up in the corner.  Mary Magdalene’s first thought is that Jesus had been taken.  But the "beloved" disciple "saw and believed."

I wonder what miracles are present in our own lives that we don’t even recognize?   I have eyes that see and legs that walk and a heart that beats.  There are three miracles right there.  When the disciple reached the tomb, what was it that allowed him to go from seeing an empty tomb to believing in Christ’s Resurrection?  The answer, of course, is faith.   

I hope that as we prepare to welcome the New Year that we can see with the eyes of faith.  That we can dream to ask God for all the beautiful things He wants us to have in life-health, love, friends, truth.  And I hope that we can see all the miracles walking around in our life already, the ones we don’t recognize as miracles because we aren’t seeing with the eyes of faith.

 

Marlo Serritella is on staff at the Holy Cross Province Development Office in Chicago.        

Feast of Saint Stephen, first martyr

Scripture:

Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59
Matthew 10:17-22

Reflection:

The celebration of the feast of the Church’s first martyr, St. Stephen, on the day following Christmas always struck me as a real "downer."  The wonderful images of the nativity and shepherds hearing angel hymns and kings following a distant star all seem to come to an abrupt and shocking end in today’s scripture readings.  From the Acts of the Apostles, we read of the violent response of those who simply could not accept the preaching of Stephen, which is exactly what Jesus warned about in today’s Gospel: "Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts  and scourge you in their synagogues….’" 

But if we take seriously the Incarnation – God made human – then this feast coming on the heels of Christmas makes more sense.  The Incarnation matters. It has consequences in our lives if we truly believe the Christmas story.  It calls us to live our faith in concrete ways that will not always be understood or appreciated.  Stephen was a man of deep faith.  He was one of the first seven deacons appointed by the apostles to serve the community, especially those who were poor and neglected.  He took seriously the Incarnation.  

While the image associated with this feast is the gruesome stoning of Stephen, his was a life of service, even to the very end when he prays the Lord to receive his spirit.  While few of us will be asked to give up our lives in martyrdom, we are asked to give up our lives in self-less service, perhaps its own kind of martyrdom.  The traditional Christmas carol, "Good King Wenceslaus" (circa 1850) associates the charitable work of King (and Saint) Wenceslaus of Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic) with this feast day.  We rarely get beyond the first stanza, but the carol ends with a very important message about living our faith (it’s okay to hum along):   

Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even…  

Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing  

Even the traditional "Boxing Day" celebrated in Great Britain and its various commonwealths roots itself in caring for servants and those in need or less fortunate by boxing up needed food, clothes and gifts on the day after Christmas.   

If we celebrate the gift of God’s love made incarnate on Christmas Day, then celebrating the feast of St. Stephen, Deacon and First Martyr, a day later makes sense after all.  He lived his life believing that the Incarnation really does matter.

 

Robert Hotz is a consultant with American City Bureau, Inc. and is the Director of The Passion of Christ: The Love That Compels Campaign for Holy Cross Province.

 

Christmas Day

Scripture:

Isaiah 9:1-6
Titus 2:11-14
Luke 2:1-14

 

Reflection:

"Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah, fourteen generations." (Matthew 1:17)

The above Scripture quote is at the end of one of my favorite passages in the Bible, Matthew 1:1-17, which is Matthew’s version of the genealogy of Jesus, and is read at the Vigil Mass at Christmas. Most of the genealogy seems rather boring, as Matthew writes, "So-and-so became the father of so-and-so," but if you look up some of these names in the Bible, you’ll find some very interesting situations. This passage appeals to me because it tells how God uses unlikely people to achieve His plan of salvation. It also tells how God has been with his people from its origins (Abraham to Jacob), through the peak of the Israelites’ power (David and Solomon), through the lowest point of Israel’s existence (Babylonian exile and Roman occupation), all the way to the coming of the Messiah. God has been with us through all the highs and lows and in-between times of our lives.

The genealogy also speaks to me of how the Son of God, in becoming one of us, became involved in all sorts of human relationships, first with Mary and Joseph, and then with the Apostles and others, notably Mary Magdalene, and Mary and Martha and Lazarus, and on to ourselves. At the birth of Jesus, the Son of God entered into a deep relationship with the world, in order to save it. Jesus’ birth challenges us to continue to work on the relationships we have, and be willing to develop new relationships with others. It seems right now that our world is caught up in division – among tribes, among countries, among factions within society and even in the church. It seems more important to separate ourselves from those who are different than to make any effort to work together for a greater good. But God has never separated Himself from us, even at our worst. Instead, He has been faithful, to the point of sacrificing Himself out of love for us!

For relationships to work, sacrifices have to be made. May the love expressed on the holy day of Christmas inspire us to make the sacrifices necessary to help build up the kingdom of God.

 

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P. is the retreat director at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat Center in Detroit, Michigan

 

Christmas Eve

Scripture:

Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16
Luke 1:67-79

 

 

Reflection:

The Look of God 

"Through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high." Luke 1:78

Camping in the high mountains the temperature can be quite cold, even down to freezing.   In the morning before I get up I try to wait in my bedroll till the sun rises to warm myself by this giant thermonuclear furnace.   On this eve of Christmas we anxiously await the sunrise, the "anatolae," of Christ.  It is He who is the warmth and life of our lives in the cold atmosphere of the world in which we live.  

Today’s first reading speaks of the tender mercy of our God coming to us as the dawn.  This is a beautiful passage in the New Testament but it is very hard to translate correctly into English.  The Greek New Testament word for tender is splagchnon, which means our innards, our bowels, our intestines.  It probably is the strongest word in the Greek New Testament for compassion, care, kindheartedness.   It can refer to a mother’s love for her baby. The warmth and kindness of God will shine on us in the Christ child.

Another word that is challenging to translate is the word visit.  The word in Greek is episkeptomai.    This word means to look at someone intensely.  Rather than saying God’s compassion is visiting us, we say His love and mercy is staring at us.  This sunrise of God’s warmth is gazing at us.  It is the look of God.   We think of the famous line in the movie Casablanca: "Here’s looking at you, kid".  This look of God changed our world. 

On this Christmas Eve we pray God will continue to gaze lovingly at this old world of ours.  This wonderful loving look brought his Son in human flesh and blood to us.   We often ask a friend to "look in" on someone we love to make sure they are OK.  Our God is "looking in" on us in an astonishing way this Christmas!

 

Fr. Bob Weiss, C.P. preaches Parish Missions and is a member of the Passionist Community in Louisville, Kentucky

Scripture:

Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24
Luke 1:57-66

Reflection:

In today’s Gospel reading, we have Luke’s account of the birth of John the Baptist. For the last few days we have heard about all the remarkable circumstances that led to John’s birth: Zechariah, John’s father, struck mute by the angel Gabriel because of his doubt about what was told to him; Elizabeth, considered barren and too old, conceiving a child; John leaping in the womb when Elizabeth hears Mary’s voice; and all the things we hear today, about Elizabeth telling the relatives that the child’s name was to be John, and Zechariah’s tongue being loosed as he confirms the name among the relatives. When all this happens, the relatives and the townsfolk are wondering what all this means: "What then, will this child be? For surely the hand of the Lord was with him."

There are two things that strike me about this account. The first is that, once Zechariah is able to speak again, he blesses God. I’m not sure I would have done the same thing! I might have complained about being made mute all that time. But Zechariah’s situation does remind us of the value of silence in our lives. When we are willing to listen to God, we may find ourselves singing His praises.

The second thing is the question that the people ask about John: "What, then will this child be?" What are we willing to be? Heralds of the Messiah, like John the Baptist? Those who put their trust in God, like Elizabeth?

Prophets, like Malachi in our first reading? Priests, like Zechariah? Preachers? Teachers? Servants? Even though the circumstances around our birth may not have been as remarkable as the ones around the birth of the Baptist, "the hand of the Lord" is surely with us, too, and we are called to play our part in God’s plan.

As we come closer to Christmas, we may want to reflect on how we are called to proclaim the Good News of our Savior’s birth.

 

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P. is the
retreat director at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat Center in Detroit, Michigan. 

Scripture:

1 Samuel 1:24-28
Luke 1:46-56

Reflection:

In the first reading Hannah brought Samuel to the temple and left him there… too bad that’s not an option today – I know many moms who would love to take their teenage sons and leave them at the temple (hahahaha). Actually, now that Julie is in the convent, I know the joys and sorrows of having your child give their life completely to God. We are so happy for her, but there are many times that we grieve the loss of having her with us. She too is sacrificing much to follow the Lord into religious life.

My yearly retreat at Christ the King in Citrus Heights is coming up in January and many of my friends from Chico will be there. Last year we decided to invite our daughters to this years’ retreat. I just found out that a close friend is indeed bringing her daughter this year, and she happens to be one of Julie’s closest friends. I was very sad as I realized that Julie can’t come with me this year, and that she may never get to go on a retreat with me. But if that’s the case, I also know that the Lord will help me in my sadness and even help me to be happy for my friends who do get to share the retreat experience with their daughters.

And what about Jesus’ mother? Mary stood by and watched her only son go through so many difficult and even horrible things. Years ago I felt that Mary was so perfect and holy that we had nothing in common, so I didn’t try to get close to her. But one day I had my own little "vision" where I saw her playing ball with Jesus. She wasn’t just playing catch with him, but she was the pitcher with her baseball cap on and she was pitching to him saying, "Hey batter, hey batter!" That helped me see her as someone more available to me, someone I wanted to get to know.

When my mom died, I thought of Mary, and remembered that she is my heavenly mother and that I could turn to her, especially now that Mom was gone. One morning I was taking a walk and praying the rosary asking her to help me to know her better. Just then I smelled fresh cut roses. I looked around and saw some rose bushes, but it was dead winter, and there were no blooms. I took that as a sign of her presence with me, and have enjoyed her love in a more personal way ever since.

Mary is available to everyone. There is so much we can learn from her. Even if we just take more time to ponder things in our hearts as she did, we will learn much. Thanks Mary for your yes to God. Thank you Julie for your yes to God, and Lord please help each of us say yes to You everyday.

 

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 janice@frcedric/org

 

Scripture:

Zephaniah 3:14-18a
Luke 1:39-45

 

 

 

Reflection:

"Satchel" Paige was a pitcher in the Negro League during his prime, pitching 50 no-hit games during that time before finally, at age 42, gaining access to the Major Leagues, with both the Indians and the Browns.  He was also famous for his aphorisms, as on the occasion when he opined: "Never look back; they might be gaining on you."

This was good advice, from one point of view.  It implies that, when adversity is creeping up on you, it’s better not to know about it; otherwise, you might get frightened, lose your cool, and succumb to a very unpromising situation.  This probably proves true in many situations.

However, there’s another way of looking at the downside of life: its unpleasantries, its frightening scenarios, its ugliness.  It’s comparable to visiting the great American west, with its desert terrain.  For city people seeing the desert for the first time, especially in the "dead" time of the year, it’s a real "downer".   Nothing to take one’s breath away: just barren wind-swept sand, with a few dead limbs sticking out of the ground, and the rugged, ungainly, colorless cacti dotting the surface, as if to convey the message that they’re too ugly and shapeless to raise the question as to their value or worth.  Who cares?

There’s another way of viewing this forsaken piece of territory, however, and that is to revisit the desert at another time of the year, after the seasonal rains have fallen.  Then, lo and behold!  What a changed spectacle.  Flowering cacti decorate the desert floor, a blooming parade of bright colors carpets the ground.  Beauty has arrived, pushing ugliness into the realm of forgetfulness.

This happens in areas than just the desert; it also occurs in human life.  A personal history riddled with what the prophet Zephaniah portrays in today’s reading: subject to negative  judgments against us, surrounded by enemies, frayed by misfortunes, weighted down with discouragement, submerged in disasters: ole’ Satch Paige must have read this prophet and wondered: "why look back at this?".

But wait!  Zephaniah hasn’t finished with his prophecy!   He goes on to encourage shouts and songs of joy, gladness and exultation as he depicts the Lord supporting us in such trying times.

And this works itself out in the lives of the two women whom Luke’s gospel describes today: Elizabeth and Mary.  We catch these women at a happy moment, taking to heart Satch’s advice about not looking back, since they’re coming out of some searing moments: Elizabeth’s long infertile marriage to Zechariah, undoubtedly the butt of catty remarks from her fertile neighbors boasting of their children; Mary, on the verge of pregnancy before living with Joseph.  They both travelled paths of thorns.  But now they’re blossoming with joy, about to experience the joy of childbirth: a Christmas event for them.  

This scene sets us up for the joy of Christmas, on this the shortest day of the year, but long enough to catch the cacti bursting into bloom.

 

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