Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Joel 1:13-15; 2:1-2
Luke 11:15-26

Reflection:

There is something about the human condition that compels us to judge, define and separate "them" from "us".   This happens among nations, within countries, communities and churches where decisions are made based on who is with us, who is against us, who supports what is good and who fosters what is evil.  Sadly even within families there are arguments and alienation over who is getting more or less and who is favored by mom and dad.   Where there are divisions, fear and hostility are inevitable and history has shown that suspicion and fear of the other is the direct cause of war,  destruction, killing, and the resulting death of innocents.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is being judged by people in the crowd and accused of being one of "them", the devils who torment the Jews with sickness and brokenness.   Others wanted him to prove by a marvelous sign that he was one of "us".  But Jesus refused to be drawn into the them/us dichotomy by defining his "side" for the crowd.  He challenged them to look at the results of what he was accomplishing and to be honest in their assessment of what they were experiencing.  Was he from Beelzebul or was he from God?  They were not to let the fear of who they thought he was  distort  their recognition of his true identity.

Separation of what should be unified brings the destruction that has been with us since the Garden of Eden.  Jesus states the obvious to the crowd: A kingdom divided against itself is laid waste.  A house torn by dissension falls.  These were realities from the peoples’ experience.  And the cycle of fear and the quest for ever greater power led to an arms race even in biblical times in which one strong man was overpowered by a stronger man and on and on.  Divisions based on fear lead to disaster for all.

Yet the whole purpose of the incarnation of God in Jesus was to reconnect and to bring unity between God and humanity.  The healing miracles brought wholeness to bodies and lives that had been torn apart by illness.  The miracles of forgiveness returned unity to relationships what had been split by sin.  And today we are even more aware of the reality of the interconnectedness of all creation and the fatal danger of separation from and abuse of, what was perceived to be objective "others" of earth, water and air.  When tempted to make divisions into sides of "them" and "us" and make enemies of the "other",  may we all keep in mind the picture taken on one of the early space flights of the planet earth and the absolute wholeness and unity of all of God’s creation.

 

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

Scripture:

Malachi 3:13-20b
Luke 11:5-13

Reflection:

We just have one reading from the Book of Malachi, and it comes from the final verses of the last chapter. It could be described as a warning about the Day of Judgment. Malachi is encouraging the people to be upright and faithful to the Lord, knowing the great temptation they face. As the people look around, they see the good person suffer and the evil person succeed. They feel like mourners at a funeral. Why do the proud and arrogant seem to prosper, or those who practice immorality do well in life? Why do those whose behavior is contrary to the law of God get away with that kind of behavior; nothing bad happens to them. What is the point, then, in trying to live a good life?

Times and people do not seem to change very much; what Malachi describes is still true in our own time. We, too, can be easily tempted to go the way of those who seek the good life and get carried away by the materialism, consumerism and individualism that wash over us day after day. We, too, can feel like mourners at a funeral with a sadness in our heart because we too experience that the greedy and pushy people enjoy the "good life" and the ones who try to do good get pushed away. What is the point, then, in trying to live a good life?

I don’t think we like the answer to the question. We need patience! As desirable as patience may be, it is not easy to develop. For instance, developing patience is difficult because it goes against human nature. We aren’t born patient, are we? When a baby wakes up in the middle of the night and is hungry, or its diaper is wet, it doesn’t lie there and think, "I know Mom and Dad are tired. So I’ll just wait until a more convenient time to let them know that I need something to eat or my diaper changed." Also, patience is difficult to develop because it’s contrary to our culture. We don’t live in a relaxed culture. We live in the fast lane surrounded by fast food stops, want a 10-minute oil change, enjoy our microwaves and quickly email our latest photos.

The definition of patience that I like is, "Patience is a calm endurance based on the certain knowledge that God is in control." It might not look like God is in control today. We say to ourselves, why hasn’t God intervened? Why doesn’t God send a lightning bolt? Why doesn’t God knock that evil person off the face of the earth? Why doesn’t God intervene when injustice seems to run rampant? For one reason, God is patient with us and wants everybody to be saved. Every day that God waits is just one more day for people to come into the Kingdom.

The story is told of a young Christian who went to an older Christian for help. "Will you please pray for me that I may be more patient?" he asked. So they knelt together and the old man began to pray. "Lord, send this young man tribulation in the morning; send this young man tribulation in the afternoon; send this young man…" At that point the young Christian blurted out, "No, no, I didn’t ask you to pray for tribulation. I wanted you to pray for patience." "Ah," responded the wise old Christian, "it’s through tribulation that we learn patience." As I said, "patience" is not the reply we want, but it is the answer of Malachi in the first reading and Jesus in today’s parable.

 

Fr. Don Webber, C.P., is the Provincial Superior and resides in Chicago, Illinois.

Scripture:

Jonah 4:1-11
Luke 11:1-4

Reflection:

"But the LORD asked, ‘Have you reason to be angry?"

Have you ever been asked to do something you felt wasn’t turning out well or the way that you wanted it to? Or have you ever been in a situation that, no matter how hard you tried, just seemed to keep getting more and more difficult, that seemed to be beyond you but you could’t wriggle out of doing? Welcome to the world of Jonah.

In our first reading today, Jonah has completed the work the Lord asked of him, and, surprise!, it turned out well. At least, according to the Lord. But Jonah is still frustrated. ‘This is exactly what I said would happen,’ he cries, ‘I knew you would relent!’ So he sits to watch and see what will happen. Maybe he will still be justified, and Nineveh will finally get what it deserves. Instead the Lord sends him a gentle lesson using the world of nature. A plant grows over him, sheltering him from the heat, but then quickly dies. Jonah, again disappointed by what is going on around him, says, "I would be better off dead than alive."

The story ends with the Lord explaining to Jonah why his thinking is wrong. But what are we to do when we are faced with situations that we feel are beyond what we are capable of dealing with or turn out in ways we don’t want or expect, when we cry out with Jonah, "I would be better off dead than alive."? We can take the example of Jonah as a starting point and initiate a conversation with God, that is, pray. Is there a better prayer than Jonah’s "take my life from me."?

It took almost 800 years, but God us gave an answer. Joining us in the person of Jesus, God lived through the day-to-day frustrations of life on Earth. Jesus was fully human and so experienced all that we that we do, except sin. This is how He instructed His followers when asked about prayer:

Father, hallowed be your name,
Remember that your relationship with God is as intimate as that of a child and a parent. That your Father’s very name is sacred and that this holiness is your birthright.

your Kingdom come.
Allow God to work through you to create His kingdom here on Earth. Follow His will, not yours.

Give us each day our daily bread
Know that you will be given what you need day by day to accomplish the tasks He sets before you.

and forgive us our sins
Accept His forgiveness for everything you have ever done.

for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
And extend that forgiveness to everyone you meet.

and do not subject us to the final test.
And finally know that there is no challenge that you will be given that you cannot accomplish with His help.

Amen.

 

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

Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi 

 

Scripture:

Galatians 6:14-18
Matthew 11:25-30

 

 

Reflection:

As the month of October unfolds and the lives of many religious founders are celebrated, today’s special scripture selections for the Feast of St. Francis help us celebrate the Franciscan "roots" of our Passionist family, and our Founder, St. Paul of the Cross. 

In writing to the Galatians, Paul the Apostle could truly "boast" in Jesus Crucified and look to the Cross of Jesus as the means of salvation.  Matthew today relates the priestly prayer of Jesus, praising the Father, and inviting one and all to leave everything, come to Him and be refreshed and enlightened.  Saint Francis of Assisi heard that call of Jesus in the 12^th Century, gave himself wholeheartedly to Jesus and began an exemplary life of praise and sacrifice; some six centuries later, St. Paul of the Cross was called to build upon that blessed foundation.

To "boast" of Jesus Crucified; to praise God in all aspects of creation; to "rest" in the Lord and "learn" what it means to really love God and neighbor:  Jesus offers a transformation of life through joyful love, poverty, humility, and simplicity.  A message for our 21^st century!

The Scriptures came alive for Francis of Assisi.  His carefree youth was radically changed by the call of Jesus, and thus he renounced his personal possessions and changed his life to one of evangelical poverty and preaching.  Francis was truly charismatic, compassionate, and in love with all God’s creation; soon others were attracted to his lifestyle.  Francis was blessed to compile a "rule of life" and establish a number of religious communities of both men and women.  In the short 44 years of his life, he sparked a spiritual renewal that thrives centuries later.

Today, Francis invites us to reflect:  how do I respect God’s presence in people, nature, created things?  How are simplicity and humility part of my life?  How am helping build up the Church?

Francis invites us to join him today in "boasting in Jesus Crucified", and praising God in our simplicity and respect for God’s life in all its manifestations.  We pray:  O Brother Sun and Sister Moon, Brother Francis, Paul Daneo:  let us rejoice in the Lord — and boast of the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ! 

 

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

 

Scripture:

Jonah 1:1-2:2, 11
Luke 10:25-37

Reflection:

Today the church gives us two complementary readings which
when we hold these readings juxtaposed, they highlight each other in unique
measure. 

First is the beginning of the reading of Jonah where Jonah
is asked by the Lord to go and preach. 
We are all familiar with this story and may even know the details by
heart.   Johan’s fear gets the best of
him and he runs away.   It is a story of
disobedience.   It’s the story of one who doesn’t trust.  It is a story of one who runs away. It is a
story of a heart of fear.   It is
included in scripture because it is our story too.  For all of us have been in places where we
didn’t trust, we  purposefully chose to
be disobedient, we chose to run away.  We
have all had times where our hearts were filled with fear. 

Frequently with this story,  we focus more on Jonah’s  running away from the Lord and that is why he
gets in the boat.  But which task is
bigger, preaching against an entire city or being thrown out of a boat at sea
in the middle of a storm without a life jacket? 
Jonah is actually the one who
says "Pick me up and throw me into the sea, that it may calm down for you."  He is the one who has mercy on the men in the
boat.  He is willing to die at sea so
that these strangers can continue on in safety. 
He wasn’t quite so willing to die
for the people of Nineveh.   The fact is,
in the face of death Jonah displays greater mercy.

In the gospel, it begins not with a parable  but with a fact.  The scholar is putting Jesus to the
test.   Jesus immediately turns it around
and now the scholar is answering  Jesus’ question
by quoting the law back to Jesus .  The
scholar doesn’t let up.  But his next question
isn’t  so pointed.  "Because he wished to justify himself",  was his motivation for asking Jesus the "Who
is my neighbor" question.   What happened
to the test this  "scholar of the law"
started with?  Jesus has diffused his
test and does so by showing mercy to  the
one who started all this testing.  It is
the scholar himself that uses the word "mercy".    Jesus simply commands him to exercise the
authority and power of this gift. 

This past weekend, a teacher was sharing with me about the
need to be strict with the students in her class.  Many of her 
fellow educators are very strict in enforcing deadlines and rules.  This particular teacher was saying she has
gotten much farther when she shows her students a little bit of mercy.  She  was saying that instead of being so strict to
the rules, she finds most of her students rise to new levels of responsibility
and work harder at grasping an understanding of the material when she is more
merciful. 

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

 

Fr. David Colhour, C.P. is on the staff of Christ the King Passionist
Retreat Center, Citrus Heights, California. 

 

 

 

Scripture:

Isaiah 5:1-7
Philippians 4:6-9
Matthew 21:33-43

Reflection:

In our Gospel reading for Sunday (Matthew 21;33-43), Jesus tells another parable to the chief priests and elders of the people. This one is about a landowner and a vineyard. In the parable, there are tenants of the vineyard who refuse to give the landowner the produce that is due to him. They beat and even kill the servants the landowner sends to them. When the landowner sends his son, they kill him, too. Jesus asks His audience, "What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?" They answer, "He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times." Then Jesus turns the parable on them: "Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit."

It’s obvious that the parable is a criticism of the Jewish leadership of the time. But it’s also a warning to us, who are supposedly "the people that will produce its fruit." As Christians, we do believe in the Son of God, who came to save us. In terms of the parable, we do not see ourselves like the tenants who kill the son of the landowner. Perhaps we are not like them, but I think we need to ask ourselves if we don’t participate in killing His message?

At times it can be incredibly easy to let the wisdom of the world influence how we live the Gospel, instead of letting the wisdom of the Gospel influence how we live in the world. When we carry resentments, or condone violence, or hold prejudices, or refuse to love, we contribute to the hindering of the Gospel. When we don’t take the demands of the Gospel seriously, because we find them inconvenient, we, in the language of St. Paul, put up "stumbling blocks" to the Gospel being heard. People can’t hear the Good News if all that they see is Jesus’ followers living according to the ways of the world like everyone else. 

This is not to say that following Christ is always easy. Very often, it is not. Showing forgiveness, compassion, and mercy, even to those we may consider enemies, can be extremely difficult. But again, we are reminded of all that Jesus has done for us, so that we might be saved from slavery to sin and fear of death. If we can be open to God’s love for us in Jesus Christ ("Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God." – see our second reading from Philippians 4:6-9), and be open to sharing that love (producing "good fruit"), we will receive "the peace of God that surpasses all understanding."

Doing God’s will gives us a peace that the world cannot give. May we not be like those who kill the message of the Gospel by hostility or indifference. Instead, may we be good tenants, faithful stewards of the many gifts that God has given us, and live the Gospel to our utmost.

 

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P. is the director of St. Paul of the Cross Retreat and Conference Center, Detroit, Michigan.

Memorial of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

 

Scripture:

Baruch 4:5-12
Luke 10:17-24

Reflection:

In today’s liturgy we celebrate the feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, virgin and doctor of the church.  This young saint entered the Carmelite cloister of Lisieux at fifteen years of age and after only nine years there, died a victim of TB.

We tend to forget about it now, but tuberculosis, TB, was the scourge of the nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth, attacking young and old, rich and poor.  In the 1930s when I was a child, nearly everyone had a relative who had died of TB. Then during the 1950s the United States and Europe became dotted with closed buildings–long enclosed porches with many windows all in a row, all facing the sun.  These empty sanitariums were the sign of the triumph of penicillin and the mycin drugs over this dread disease.  Through the years as these empty "sans" disappeared, so the memory of this killer of millions slipped from our minds.  

In the l890s, however, this plague was at its height, and Therese spent the last two years of her life in and out of the cloister infirmary as a tuberculosis invalid–with diminishing strength, constant fevers, and increasing hemorrhaging and coughing up of blood.  During these two years, under obedience, she wrote her life story–The Story of A Soul.  The theme was simple.  We are all God’s children, children of love, flowers in His garden–for God so loved us that He gave His only son to bring us to Him.  Let us go then as children to the Lord, loving Him as a simple child, pleasing Him by love in everything we do.  We don’t have to do big things or great things–just our ordinary everyday things, doing them with love.  To do them as best we can because we love the Lord: this is all we need do to please God.  And God in His great love gives us His Spirit–His Spirit of Love–to enable us to do just that.

Luke’s gospel today shows us Jesus breaking into joyful praise over this message of St. Therese: "At that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I give you praise Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, you have revealed them to the childlike.  Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.’"

While writing her autobiography, Therese wrestled with more than her disease.  In later writings, after The Story of A Soul, she tells about her prayer life–how for these two years she struggled with her faith without any feelings of affirmation or support, without any spiritual consolation, completely dry and cold.  Her great love informed her faith and held her fast; these trials took her more deeply into the great Mystery of God, the Mystery of His Love.  As a young nun she had asked God that at her death He would let her spend her heaven doing good upon earth. Let us in faith and love go to St. Therese and avail ourselves of the fruits of that blessed wish.

 

Br. Peter A. Fitzpatrick, CFX, a Xaverian Brother, is a Passionist Associate at Ryken House, St. Xavier High School, across the creek from Sacred Heart Passionist Monastery in Louisville, KY.

Memorial of Saint Jerome 

Scripture:
Baruch 1:15-22
Luke 10:13-16

Reflection:
Today is the feast of St. Jerome.  From what I read he could be described as a person who was 90% intellect and 90% emotion. There was nothing half-way or wishy-washy about Jerome.

His first passion was learning.  He was enamored of classical poetry.  But after a dream that challenged his faith, he decided to switch his enthusiasm to Scripture.  This was fortunate for the Church because this enthusiasm turned into a lifetime of studying and translating the bible.  His translation, known as the Vulgate, was the official text of the Church for the next fifteen hundred years.

Jerome seemed to delight in controversy.  For this he had a sharp wit and a sharp tongue.  In one instance of overkill, he gave this opinion of an antagonist: "If he could only conceal his nose and keep his tongue still he may be taken to be both handsome and learned." 

As devoted as he was to study and his work of translating, Jerome’s heart was also in tune with the needy.  After the sack of Rome many refugees descended upon the Holy Land where Jerome lived.  He said, "Today we must translate the words of the Scriptures into deeds, and instead of speaking saintly words we must act on them."

In whatever he did, whether intellectual pursuits or serving the poor, Jerome was a man of enthusiasm. "En" – in.  "Theos"- God.  Jerome was in God and God in him.  Great things happen when we are in God and give God all the credit.

    

Fr. Alan Phillip, C.P. is a member of the Passionist Community at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.   http://www.alanphillipcp.com/