Daily Scripture

Feast of the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary 

Scripture:

Genesis 3:9-15, 20
Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12
Luke 1:26-38

 

Reflection:

When I was a student at Catholic Theological Union, I decided to do a Scripture research paper about the Immaculate Conception since I was weak in Marian theology. I won’t give you all my findings and history, but I want to proclaim the central idea that ran as a thread throughout the paper: God’s original grace is stronger than original sin. God’s grace in us supercedes and helps us overcome the effects of the fall with which we are all so familiar.

I want to describe grace as "God’s initiative." We heard in the second reading that God "chose us before the world began." Notice, it was not when we were baptized or ordained or surrendered to Jesus. No, it was long before all of that. God had us in mind and chose us before we were born. The emphasis is on his election not our actions or any deeds we have done.

We are celebrating today that God chose a humble handmaiden from all eternity. Her song is ours. The opening prayer asked us to trace her love in our lives. She is the first disciple and shows us how to follow Jesus.

I’ve led pilgrimages to Rome and studied there while on sabbatical. In Rome, I saw many churches as well as works of art.  Many churches have mosaics in their apses. For example, there are four major basilicas in Rome: one dedicated to Peter, one to Paul, one to John, and one to Mary. The one dedicated to Mary is the Church of St. Mary Major (where St. Paul of the Cross went when rejected by the Vatican). 

When I visited the Basilica of St. Mary Major, the glittering mosaic in the apse of the church struck me. It shows Christ the King and on his right hand sits Mary, his mother. He is putting a crown on her head: the coronation of Mary. Another famous artist, Michelangelo, painted The Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel. He shows Christ as judge, raising his right hand in stern judgment. Just to his right is the Virgin Mary with her face turned from the damned since not even she can intercede for them now. My point is that many churches include Mary in a predominant place.

This brings to mind the story of James and John, the sons of Thunder, as Jesus named them. They were seeking to sit at Jesus’ right and left when he came into his glory. Jesus replied that it is not his to give but is for those "whom the father has prepared it for beforehand." My personal opinion, like many artists, is that Mary will sit on Jesus’ right for all eternity, and Moses will occupy the place on his left.

Eucharist is all about celebration and surrender. At Mass today, like Mary, we celebrate the wonderful love of God at the table of the altar. We rejoice that original grace is more powerful than original sin. Because God has chosen and handpicked us from all others in the world, like Mary in the Magnificat, "our souls magnify the Lord and our spirits rejoice in God our savior!" With Mary, we offer ourselves to God, as we also do in the Kyrie. We surrender ourselves again, now, united with the self-emptying of Jesus on the cross.

 

Fr. Cedric Pisegna, C.P.
is a missionary preacher, author of 15 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:

Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11
Matthew 17:9a, 10-13

Reflection:

We live in a society that
worships fame and wealth.  Perhaps the
words of the first reading could be amended to: "How awesome are you, Warren
Buffett, in your wondrous deeds!  Whose
glory is equal to yours?" Insert any of the 50 wealthiest people of the world,
or the top movie stars, or the most famous and/or beautiful personalities, and
let the adulation begin. We long to be in their shoes, or at least in their
bank accounts.

Unfortunately, I have encountered
far too many people (both in person and in the news) who hold fast to a sense
of entitlement about their wealth – a sense that money, possessions, and
privileges are mine solely because I earned them, and I am therefore entitled
to keep them for myself.  I own them, I
control them, and if you want them, then you should work hard and earn them,
too.

Please do not think I am
condemning the rich.  Many people of
great wealth are humble, generous, and grateful for the abundance they have
been given. I am calling into question the attitude
that people have more because they "deserve" it, and they have no
responsibility for those who have less. I protest the attitude that we should protect
the wealthiest people, corporations, and investment firms, but let the poor
fend for themselves. I protest the attitude that financial gurus "deserve"
million-dollar bonuses while the working poor who often labor for longer hours
in far worse conditions cannot earn enough to put sufficient food on the table.
I am scandalized that some in our country
believe it is better to allow people without health insurance to die in the
emergency room, branding them as less deserving than the certainly smarter,
more virtuous, and harder-working folk who have insurance.

In our public sphere and
especially in our politics today, where is the sense of "common good" the
Catholic Church professes to believe? 
Where is the gospel challenge to care for the least of these?  And where are our voices? Have we abandoned our responsibilities to those
political pundits and powers who profess to be Christian but whose positions,
actions, and strategies contradict the message of Jesus?

I shame-facedly confess that
I have not been vocal and active, in part because my own family is weathering
the storm in decent shape and the issues of joblessness, hunger, foreclosure,
and desperation have not directly impacted me. I have increased my donations to
food pantries and non-profit organizations that try so hard to provide a safety
net, but I need to do more. We all do.

One "think tank" has secured
pledges from every Republican that no matter what happens they will never vote
to raise anyone’s taxes. What if we fought and worked just as hard to get pledges
that committed the signers to work for the common good, or to decrease the
levels of poverty in our country, or even simply to leave partisan politics
behind in order to enact legislation that is truly good for the whole of the
American people?  In fact, what if we
made that pledge ourselves?

If we are to call ourselves
followers of Jesus Christ, we need to do more than sit back and watch as the
rich get richer and the poor die of starvation. The psalmist today cries out
"Lord, make us turn to you."  Does God
have to "make us" turn our faces to the gospel? I pledge today to do more. Will
you?

 

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/. 

 

Feast of Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin 

Scripture:

Isaiah 48:17-19
Matthew 11:16-19

 

 

Reflection:

Juanito,
My Little One

An inappropriate response can be embarrassing as well as
opening a door to serious trouble. The Spanish conquistadors came to the Aztec
people of the New World with the sword and the cross. Enslavement would follow,
disease decimated the native population, an ‘old world’ was destroyed. While
the sword was mighty, the cross did not bring a people to conversion. The
message of God’s love was not in evidence among a crushed people.

Juan
Diego was 55 when Mary appeared to him on his way to Mass. She called him her
‘little one, Juanito’. She asked of him what Francis of Assisi heard in his
prayer, ‘build my church’. For Francis it would be rebuilding, for Juan that he
bear the message to the bishop that a church be built on Tepeyac Hill, the
sight where the mother goddess of the Aztecs was worshiped. Mary would appear
again to Juan as he hurried to summon the priest to the bedside of his dying
uncle. The uncle would be cured immediately, and Juan was directed by Mary to
go to the bishop with her request to build the church. Juan asked for a sign,
this was what the bishop had asked him to secure from the beautiful woman who
had appeared to him. Mary told him to go gather roses and carry them to the
bishop as a sign from her. The mantle of Juan overflowed with roses when he
stood before the bishop. Beautiful flowers that should not have been found in
December. But even more startling was the image of Mary imprinted on Juan’s
mantle that had surrounded the flowers. If the bishop did not recognize the
symbolism it would proclaim a profound message to the native people. Mary was
dressed in the colors of Aztec gods, the black band around her waist showed
that she was pregnant. Everything in her revelation to

Juan
Diego spoke of a new mother for these people. She knew the old, but she brought
with a mother’s love something new for them. In the church to be built they
would come to know the love of God though her son Jesus. It was only with the
appearance of Mary that the hearts of the native people were won to come to her
son. To this day the affectionate love of Mary conveyed in her words to Juanito
is felt by the people of Mexico and beyond.

Isaiah
calls for an appropriate response to the Ten Commandments, the pledge of the
covenant. God’s gifts of abundance and countless descendants will follow. But
Matthew shows us a picture of inappropriate response. As the children playing
in the square are not following the invitation of the music in their game, so
the invitation of John and Jesus have fallen on deaf ears. John is dismissed as
being mad; Jesus as a lover of sinners.

The
Christian message that accompanied the conquistadors was not warmly embraced.
That rejection seems appropriate. But God’s creative love appealed to the Aztec
people in a miraculous way that won their hearts. On this Advent day we might
remember the darkness that surrounds us of racial prejudice, dominance over the
powerless, life affecting issues of immigration, our vision of unity in the
Body of Christ. May our responses be appropriate in the eyes of Isaiah.
Appropriate also when viewed in light of the warm and compassionate love of
Mary for her children, and the love of Jesus, rejected inappropriately because
he was a lover of sinners.

 

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

Scripture:

Isaiah 40:25-31
Matthew 11:28-30

Reflection:

In our gospel selection for today,
Jesus tells us to "…take MY yoke
upon you." I wonder what he is trying to tell us. Does He mean we do not have
to carry our burdens alone? Could it be that if we hook up with Jesus, we are
free to let ourselves be led by His loving spirit? Are our vocations truly
light, and as Jesus assures us, easy? I believe the answer is yes to all the
above.

I’ve not always found this to be so
however. I used to think my yoke was to have all the answers, and to straighten
out anyone and everyone who seemed to be straying from their given tasks. As a
teacher this was what they told me to do, or so I thought: to control my class
and to make sure each of my students was learning.

After trying this way for a while,
I quickly learned that thinking I was in control of my students was pure
fantasy. I could no more control their learning or behavior than I could assure
them if they did what I told them to do, they would end up successful millionaires
and social butterflies. I learned that if I would be an effective influence in
my students’ lives, I could only witness to the great things that happen in my
life when I meekly and humbly yoke myself to my higher power, my God, who
promises me that His yoke is easy, and His burden light. Yes, that probably
means doing Math and English homework, coming to school on time…but maybe not.

Thank you Jesus for assuring us
that all we need do is yoke ourselves to you by being meek and humble of heart.

 

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

Scripture:

Isaiah 35:1-10
Luke 5:17-26

Reflection:

A highway will be there, called the holy way; …it is for those with a journey to make, and on it the redeemed will walk.

 

Have you ever had to prepare for journey? If so, you’ve probably done the usual things: made a packing list, arranged for the care of your pets, stopped delivery of the mail and the paper, made sure there was enough gas in the car or that you had your plane tickets. But before all that you needed to give thought to what route you would take to get to where you were going.

I’m very lucky when I travel with my wife. You see, she used to be a travel agent. So, once we decide on a final destination, I leave her to plan how we will get there, what connections we will make, what cities we will travel through. I have never been disappointed.

In the first reading Isaiah encourages us to let the Lord be our travel agent. He paints a beautiful picture of what it will be like when the Lord enters our lives to journey with us. Those areas where we feel parched, arid, or fruitless will bloom and be made whole. Where there is infirmity, there will be healing; where there is danger, there will be safety. We will be given a way through the difficult paths we have to travel. And how are we to prepare for this journey? Isaiah says we are to "Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, say to those whose hearts are frightened, be strong, fear not." By comforting and caring for each other we prepare for the journey we are all taking.

Then in the Gospel we are told the story of someone who is looking to make this journey. He is so beset with troubles that he is paralyzed. How could he even begin? His friends carried him to Jesus. When they got there they found their way blocked. Still, they persevered. They took an unconventional route, but one that they knew led to the Lord. Through this, the paralyzed man was healed: body, soul, and spirit. And then, picking up and carrying that which was a symbol of his previous infirmity, he went on his way.

May this Advent find us willing to comfort and strengthen each other for the journey we are on. May we all be willing to find a way to the Lord, even if it is unconventional, even when it seems our way is blocked. And may we all experience the healing of the Lord, body, soul, and spirit. Then we too will say, "We have seen incredible things today."

 

Talib Huff is a volunteer at Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center in Citrus Heights, California.

Second Sunday of Advent

Scripture:

Isaiah 40:1-5,9-11
2 Peter 3:8-14
Mark 1:1-8

 

 

Reflection:

Today’s Gospel features the person of John the Baptist … a man sent by God to prepare the way for the One who was to come after him … Jesus.  Interestingly, another  popular saintly figure at this time is St. Nicholas.

Jolly St. Nick in his bright red suit presents a stark contrast to the austerity of John the Baptist who was clothed in camel’s hair, wearing a rough leather belt and dining on grasshoppers.  Saint Nicholas was the 4^th century bishop of Myra (part of current Turkey), and the popular story about him centers on a poor man of the area who had three daughters.  Unable to provide dowries for them when they married, Bishop/Saint Nicolas secretly left a bag of gold for the father to help take care of each wedding…with Nicholas thus becoming a symbol of the gift-giving which is so much a part of our celebration of Christmas.

The legends about the goodness and gift giving of St. Nicholas have been further symbolized by the Dutch version of his name:  Santa Claus.  This name represents the delights of childhood and the jolliness and good-natured generosity of a man traveling the world in a sleigh with eight reindeer, clothed in a bright red suit (rather than camel’s hair) and sharing many special gifts.

Saint Nicholas and John the Baptist can rightly "share the stage" these Advent days:  By his preaching, John the Baptist encouraged people to move away from their selfish / sinful ways — to lives of selflessness.  Saint Nicholas symbolizes selflessness – a giving person encouraging us to be generous…gift-givers, generous and excited about sharing the Good News of Jesus.

As we prepare for the celebration of Christmas, as we grow these Advent days, we’re encouraged to become what St. Nicholas and Santa Claus represent – and what John the Baptist proclaimed:  "the Kingdom of God is here! … Prepare the way of the Lord! … Change your lives!"  In very real terms, the spirit of Advent and Christmas encourages new lives of justice rather than indifference, love instead of hatred, and peace rather than violence, selflessness rather than selfishness.

Today and throughout this Advent, we celebrate the Hope, the Life that is Jesus.  May we be grateful for our faith, and for those personal "voices in the desert" that in many special ways point out the reality of a dynamic faith in Jesus. 

 

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

 

Scripture:

Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26
Matthew 9:35-10:1, 5a, 6-8

Reflection:

Jesus looked out upon the crowd and his heart was moved with pity. The people were troubled and felt abandoned; like sheep without a shepherd they felt insecure. Today, we look out and see people who also feel troubled and abandoned. Troubled by the economy, mortgage failures, foreclosures, loan rejections, investments and home values falling, cost of living rising, retirement security becoming insecure and cut backs at work. We see people who feel abandoned by the government, corporations, Wall Street, employers and banks. An anxiety pervades the land.

The people in Isaiah’s time felt troubled and abandoned, that things are going badly. Yet God intervenes to give them a message of hope. Rain will fall upon the seed in the ground, mountains will pour forth streams of running water, the moon will be as bright as the sun, the darkness in their lives will fade.

In the gospel, Jesus sent out the twelve to help heal the troubled and abandoned. He instructs them to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers and drive out demons. Maybe we don’t see ourselves performing those particular actions. On the other hand, God is calling us to go out to the troubled and abandoned to comfort the sick, bring encouragement to those whose spirits are breaking and to drive out the demons of fear. We are invited by God to bring light into darkness, to quell the frightened hearts and to help others think bravely and clearly.

Life is not safe, but life is good. Life is good because God is good. We can turn to God, who is with us. No matter where we are, God takes our hand and walks beside us. There is no better news. There is no greater security. Come, Lord Jesus, come!

 

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

Scripture:

Isaiah 29:17-24
Matthew 9:27-31

Reflection:

Darkness into light…It is a mystery which the Church asks us to contemplate and to celebrate every Advent season. 

 

At a recent workshop, our Fr. Ken O’Malley, C.P., who spent the greater part of his Passionist life with books, first as a student, and then as a librarian, shared with us this hint about understanding the dynamics of authoring a book, "It’s in the first chapter that one finds the key to understanding the book and its ending."  This Advent theme, "Darkness into light", is certainly well-established in the very opening of the revelation of God’s word to us.  Genesis, Chapter one, verses one to five, declare:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.  Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.  God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.  God called the light day, and the darkness He called night.  And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

That cosmic perspective, God’s bestowal of warming daylight over the gloomy chill of night, captured in the opening words of Genesis, is also proclaimed in the seasonal transition from the chill and dark of winter into the warming breath of spring and the elongation of the daylight. [Due apologies to the southern hemisphere.]

The liturgy of the Church declares in the symbols of advent, especially the Advent wreath and candles, "God’s light is eternally radiant in the life of Christ, who is born into the night of Bethlehem and will be radiant in the life of His Church, in our very lives."

To be without sight is to carry a burden in a world made by and for the sighted.  But to be without light makes all of us know the same darkness in the same way.  We were all without light before the coming of the sun of God, the Son of God, Jesus Christ.  The blind men of today’s gospel are we.

In the spirit of Advent, let us give thanks that knowing the beginning of God’s book, we know how it will end, not in darkness, but in the light…not in the ignominy of the cross, but in the glory of the resurrection…and at the end of time, not in darkness and chaos but in eternal light.

 

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