Daily Scripture

 

Scripture:

Haggai 1:1-8
Luke 9:7-9

 

 

 

Reflection:

"The Lord takes delight in his people."

Jim and I just got back from Newport where we went to my 40th high school reunion. It’s hard to believe that 40 years have gone by since I graduated! We’ve already lost 23 of our 160 classmates – mostly to cancer. Those of us who came felt very fortunate to still be here and to be able to reconnect with old friends.

Many have suffered greatly since high school. One of the most touching was a man who lost both of his adult children to Hodgkin’s. One at 28 and one at 30. They were told after their daughter died that their son wouldn’t get it too. But he did. I can’t even begin to imagine losing one of my children, let alone losing all of them. I asked him how he has managed and he said "by faith". He knows he will see them again one day, and then he said "so many have suffered much more than I have." Wow. I believe God delights in Owen’s testimony.

Two of the people in our class dated all through high school and got engaged the year after we graduated. Eventually, they broke up and each married another. But these 2 couples now enjoy each other’s company, attend the weddings of each other’s children, and pray for each other. The world says they shouldn’t be friends, but God’s ways are different than the worlds’. I believe the Lord delights in their forgiveness of each other and in the witness they give to the rest of the class showing what God’s love can accomplish.

On Sunday morning 9 of us showed up early to share a time of praise and worship and to pray for each other. The prayers were beautiful and anointed. What a joy and privilege to share with other believers!!! And again, I believe that the Lord delights in his people whenever they gather to worship and to lift each other up, especially when they all belong to different denominations!

May we all be a cause of delight for the Lord in our thoughts, words, and actions.

 

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 5 (almost 6!). Visit Janice’s website at http://www.jcarleton.com/ or email her at janice@frcedric/org

Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist

Scripture:

Ephesians 4:1-7
Matthew  9:9-13

Reflection:

During  the last few years, especially  with the pontificate of Benedict XVI,  there has been considerable discussion about the continuity of  the Second Vatican Council with the councils preceding it.  It is a matter of harmony of doctrine.  This converges with similar concern about the faith-cohesiveness of church membership, that is, whether  the body of beliefs to which all Catholics should adhere is becoming diluted.  Is the faith understanding of the contemporary Catholic  in continuity with the belief of earlier generations   of Catholics?

As we recall the memory of St. Matthew today, the church suggests some biblical references for us, that  suggest  he has relevance for us, in view of the above remarks.   One set of these comes from a letter  of St. Paul to the church in Ephesus, in which he urges its membership to bear with one another, to preserve its unity, to recognize the diversity of graces given by God to the church membership, to see this working out in a variety of vocational activities such as those of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, etc., until, as he says, all attain the desired unity, thereby indicating that it hadn’t been achieved yet.  Not everyone saw eye to eye in Ephesus.

And then the church has selected a few biographical snippets from the life story of Matthew, recalling that he had been employed as a customs official (presumably working for the Roman authorities), and that, having accepted Jesus’ invitation to be His follower, he threw a banquet at his home, probably to celebrate his good fortune at this honor conferred on him by Jesus, with its potential to counteract his unsavory reputation among his Jewish compatriots because of his previous occupation.   And whom does he invite to this meal (together with Jesus) but his long-standing friends and companions (tax collectors and sinners, which were apparently interchangeable terms), thereby provoking criticism from tax-paying Pharisees: why does Jesus (and Matthew), eat with these folk?  So Jesus used this occasion to clarify His mission: "I did not come to call the righteous but sinners".   There was an inclusion problem that concerned Matthew:  early on, his inclusion in the Jewish community, later on, his desire to show a certain continuity and similarity between the Jewish and Christian communities.

The gospel of Matthew preserves this snippet in the gospel bearing his name, highlighting that he had been one of those less than desirable people.  More to the point, the author decided to record this incident  with an eye to those Jewish persons who had their problems with Matthew in his wayward days, trying to account for the growing opposition between what Jesus was about, and what traditional Judaism stood for.   Perhaps he wanted to save his Jewish associates of earlier days from experiencing disapproval from the new Christian way that Matthew had earlier received from them.  If so, this would be  a helpful lesson for us all.

 

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

Memorial of Saint Andrew Taegon and Companions

Scripture:

Ezra 6:7-8, 12b, 14-20
Luke 8:19-21

Reflection:

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Andrew Taegon and Companions.  For many of us St. Andrew is a "new" saint, canonized by Pope John Paul II.  Though new to the liturgical calendar, St. Andrew and his companions are fellow Christians that we need to know because they are powerful witnesses to living the Gospel in real life.

St. Andrew is tied closely to the foundation of Christianity in Korea.  He wasn’t the first Korean Christian by a long shot.  By the time he was born in 1821, Christianity had been growing in Korea for about fifty years.  It is believed that Christianity had been brought into Korea by some Christian Japanese soldiers in the latter part of the 18^th century.   The Christian Japanese soldiers baptized the first Korean Christians and the Christian community began to grow quickly.  By the time the first foreign priest arrived in Korea in 1836 there was already a substantial Christian community flourishing there.  It’s the only known Catholic Christian community that first developed completely from the witness and work of lay Christians.

The rulers in Korea were not at all pleased to have this foreign religion thriving in their country.  At first they just discouraged it but soon enough outlawed this practice and began to actively persecute anyone who took it up.  As Christians were arrested, tortured and put to death the Church quickly moved underground

St. Andrew’s parents, members of the Korean nobility, were an important part of that early community and secretly remained faithful to their life with Christ.  Andrew was baptized at fifteen and soon expressed his desire to become a priest.  He traveled to Macau to attend the seminary and was ordained in 1845.  He was the first Korean to become a priest and returned home shortly after his ordination to help organize the Church and bring the sacraments to the faithful.  He ministered in Korea only a year before he was arrested and put to death.

There were intense persecutions of Christians in Korea in 1839, 1846, 1866 and 1867 and 103 Christians were martyred for their faith.  We celebrate these heroic martyrs on this day.

May their faith and courage inspire us to live our lives faithful to the Gospel and have the strength to be fearless witness for Christ in our everyday lives.

 

Fr. Michael Higgins, C.P. is the director the Development Office for Holy Cross Province  and is stationed at Immaculate Conception Community  in Chicago.

 

Scripture:

Ezekiel 1:1-6
Luke 8:16-18

Reflection:

For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light. Luke 8:17

 

It seems that all of us have our "little" secrets. I certainly do. And most of us believe that it is absolutely essential that no one ever finds out what our secrets are. Yet, today’s Gospel tells us that none of our secrets will remain secret forever.

As I reflected on this Gospel for today’s Mass, I was struck by the clarity of its message and the anxiety that it caused within me. I don’t want anyone knowing my secrets. I don’t want the world to know my inner faults and defects, much less my most grievous sins. I think that I would die of shame if that were to happen. I want people to have a good opinion of me, even though I know that there is a "shadow side" to my life that very few people know about. I want to keep that "shadow side" hidden from the world.

Yet, the Gospel clearly tells us that our secrets will not remain secret. What is hidden will be announced on the rooftops. This revelation should cause us to pause and to take a good, hard look at how we deal with our deep, dark secrets. There are two paths that we can take. We can disillusion ourselves into thinking that we are in control our lives, our thoughts and our deepest desires. If we think this way, then we believe that we are in charge of who knows and who doesn’t know our past, our innermost feelings and our greatest faults, failings and sins. But nothing can be further from the truth.

The other path we can take is the one that Jesus is suggesting that we take, the one that acknowledges our deep, dark secrets and allows God’s grace to transform us into children of God and Christ’s brothers and sisters. This happens when we allow the Spirit of Jesus to cleanse us from every fault, failing and sin we have ever committed, and acknowledge that God has known us from the first moment of our existence. There is nothing hidden from our God, and yet our God’s love for us is so overwhelmingly purifying that nothing can truly shame us. Nothing can stand in the way of that love. But it takes a great amount of faith to risk that kind of self-knowledge.

Our church offers us so many opportunities to make known our darkest secrets in safe places. The first one is our intimate relationship with God. We have to name our sin before God, which means that we need to be absolutely honest with ourselves. A shamed-filled life is sustained by self-deception. When we deceive ourselves that no one really has to know who we are, then we begin to live lonely, alienated lives. Our lives become superficial. No one can really get to know us intimately and therefore, really come to love us for who we are.

The second opportunity is when we dare to share our deepest, darkest secret with the ones we love the most. The first on this list should be Jesus in the sacrament of reconciliation. There is no sin that Jesus will not forgive. And we have his word for that. Besides Jesus, there may be a few other people whose love for us is so great that our shameful past will not be a stumbling block to love. Yes, care must be taken. So many times, it’s the little revelations that lead to more trust.

Letting others know who we are will begin to heal the shame that we have and absolve us from the guilt that we experience, and more importantly, allow us to be loved unconditionally. Then, we will be truly freed from our past and our true light will shine before all to see! This is truly a grace to ask for and to live out!

 

Fr. Clemente Barron, C.P. is a member of the General Council of the Passionist Congregation and is stationed in Rome. 

 

Scripture:

Isaiah 55:6-9
Philippians 1:20-24, 27
Matthew 20:1-16a

Reflection:

"Are you envious because I am generous. "

I am sure that we have all had a smile and a chuckle at watching two youngsters arguing over the fact that one received more candy than the other.  "That’s not fair!"  Well, the complainer is looking more at the amount of candy given rather than being gracious and grateful just for the actual generosity shown to them.

The gospel for today’s Mass has a parable about a landowner who is criticized by his workers.  They have put in a full day’s work.  The landowner had spotted other men who were not working and offers them a job working alongside his regular crew.  This offer is made several times with the resulting time spent in working gets less and less for the late hired men.  Then comes the payment.  The regular crew gets their usual amount of money.  But surprisingly, those men who worked only a few hours get the same pay!  That causes some hard feelings.  But the landowner does not back down.  He reminds the regular crew that they got what their contract called for.  And then he adds, "Are you envious because I am generous?"  Both justice and generosity are realities.

I wonder, in order to help you and me, what your answer would be to the question: Can you recall actual examples of the generosity of Jesus? 

I can think of the blind man who heard that Jesus was coming down the road and begins to shout his name and to seek a cure.  The crowd tells him to be quiet!  But Jesus hears him and asks that the blind man be brought to him…Jesus generously cures him.

Another example occurs when Jesus is on the cross.  There are two criminals who have been crucified and are hanging on either side of Jesus.   One of the men is criticizing Jesus.  "So you are the Messiah?"  Save yourself and us as well."  The so called "good thief" speaks up.   "This man has done nothing wrong.  We are getting what we deserve."  Then the "good thief" turns to Jesus and asks, "Please remember me when you come into your kingdom."  Justice is done to both thieves by way of the crucifixion, but it doesn’t stop there.  The good thief hears Jesus say, "This day you will be with me in paradise."  Honesty wins the day.  Justice and generosity are accomplished.

And now, how would you and I answer the question: "Are there any memories that I have of not being receptive to generosity shown to someone?"  If that has happened to us, it provides us with a moment to reflect.  Justice calls for a /black and white/ clean cut attitude.  Promise given, promise fulfilled, reward is given.  It can also put me in a position of authority which need not be bad. 

Generosity doesn’t quite work that way.  Remember the motorcycle accident that was featured on T.V. these past two days.  A college student riding along on his motorcycle had a car turn in front of him and chose to tip his motorcycle on its side to avoid a direct collision.  He hit the car anyway and slid under the car.  In the meantime the front of the car and his motorcycle burst into flames.  Some workers nearby and some passersby’s see the critical situation.  A number of them gather on the side of the car and lift it high enough for another person to pull the injured college student to safety.  Talk about generosity!  The burning car could have exploded. 

 

Fr. Peter Berendt, C.P. is on the staff of Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center, Houston, Texas.

 

Scripture:

1 Timothy 6:13-16
Luke 8:4-15

 

Reflection:

Proclaiming the Gospel is intregal to sustaining the Kingdom of God.

We are all capable of hearing the Word of God, it is what we decide to do with that knowledge that seperates us. Notice in the Gospel that although the seeds have fallen in different places, they are still the Word of God, and all have heard.

Are we the seed that fell on rocky ground and are fair weathered believers? Are we the seed that fell on the path who allow temptations to remove the Word from our hearts? Are we the seed that fell among the thorns, although we believe, who are suffocated and fail to spread the Word? We must first identify who we are, which situation we are in and where can we go from there.

Those seeds which are fotunate enough to fall on rich soil, those who can hear the Word of God and embrace it with their whole hearts, are truly blessed. Yet, should it stop there? Those who received the Good News and are able to understand it, like the discipes, are they meant to keep it amongst themselves? We know that this not true, that we are called to spread what we know to others who may not know God in the same way. Those who have the ability to bear great fruit must tend to that seed that has no root, is being choked or has great temptation.

We have all seen God in our own experiences and ways and we must share that with each other. You never know who will be impacted by what you say or who will be drawn closer to God through your experience. Retreat ministry is the same, while the facilitator, director or speaker can get up and list off a number of experiences that brought them closer to God, you may not necisarily relate to them. Yet you may relate to that other retreatant that you had a passing conversation with which opened your eyes more to God’s great glory.This is why we must preach the Gospel to each other, through actions, expericences and conversations we can bring each other closer to God. We must be the caretakers of our earthly garden by tilling the land, watering the soil, and removing the thorns, so that each seed will know Him.

 

Kim Garcia is a Pastoral Associate at Holy Name Retreat Center in Houston, Texas

 

Scripture:

1 Timothy 6:2c-12
Luke 8:1-3

 

 

 

Reflection:

Today’s first reading doesn’t fool around.

No matter how we might like to spin it–many of us being entrenched, as we are here in the United States, in the excessive pursuit of stuff-the reading lays it out clearly:

For the love of money is the root of all evils,
And some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith
And have pierced themselves with many pains.

It distresses me utterly that at the same there are so many on the current political scene who invoke the name of Jesus so routinely, who so assuredly claim that God is on their side, could in the very same moment refuse to reach out to the dispossessed and advocate instead for a way of life that is self-serving and unjust to so many who are struggling.

Make no mistake. I ask myself this question: Am I willing to give up all that I have and follow Jesus?

The answer, truthfully, is no. I’m scared about my retirement, scared about having enough in the bank if I get ill, scared that I may lose my home at some point and have nowhere to go. And so, flawed person that I am, I do my best. I give what I can to good causes, do what I can as a volunteer (although I could always do more), and remain aware that I am called to a greater good with the knowledge that I will never, surely, be perfect in attaining that good.

But what I do not do is fool myself into believing that the answers are easy, black and white check-off boxes for the modern-day Christian. I mourn the tragic loss of life on 9/11, but how do I ever grieve the hundreds of thousands of innocent lives lost in Iraq and Afghanistan? I am horrified by the faces of emaciated children suffering in Africa, and then frustrated at myself as I ponder whether I have enough cash to make that donation to a local organization serving people who are hungry. Maybe I should wait until next month when my cash flow is better?

What the reading, interestingly, says is that in straying from our faith we pierce ourselves with pain. Yes, we are inflicting psychic, spiritual pain on ourselves when we worship at the altar of our false gods, bought with money and lifted high by a false hope of lasting comfort.  But I will be so bold as to add that that pain is nothing, nothing compared to what some people suffer in our world from injustice.

That is the pain whose face we must look at as Christians, and not allow our precious, complicated, heart-breaking faith to be co-opted by callow individuals or self-promoting politicians. There is too much life at stake. And, more importantly, our souls.

 

Nancy Nickel is director of communications at the Passionist Development Office in Chicago, Illinois.

 

The Exultation of the Holy Cross

Scripture:
Numbers 21:4b-9
Philippians 2:6-11
John 3:13-17

Reflection:
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

Today we celebrate the feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross, a feast important to the universal Church and one which is very special to all Passionists and especially those of us who are privileged to be members of Holy Cross Province. In John’s Gospel we find an extraordinary verse that is often flashed on handheld placards at various sporting events as "Jn 3:16".  In this single verse we discover the very heart and summary of the proclamation of our salvation.  We are loved by God and we are saved by God’s beloved Son so that we might not die but live forever.

It doesn’t get any better than that when we speak of the Gospel as being the Good News of Jesus Christ, does it?  Yet, dear friends, in our readings for this wonderful feast, there is another message that we would do well to ponder.  In the Book of Numbers we see how the seraph mounted on a pole is transformed from a symbol of death and misery into a sign of healing and deliverance.  In a similar fashion the Cross itself, that very instrument by which the Savior is to be lifted up, becomes transformed from something that wields death to something new and wonderful, a source of salvation and eternal life.

But one of the things that I always find fascinating on this special feast is the message in the reading from Philippians that we find neatly placed in between the exceptionally graphic events in the Book of Numbers and John’s Gospel.  In this reading we are given a remarkable glimpse of how it is that the suffering and death of Jesus our savior actually brings about healing and salvation.  Paul, who is imprisoned, writes his inspiring letter to the Philippians encouraging them to love more deeply as Christ does.  The heart of Paul’s message is that in order to make love victorious we must empty ourselves of ourselves – just as Jesus the Christ did in his embrace of the Cross and in his obedience to the will of the Father.  Suffering and death is transformed; the Cross is no longer a symbol of death but signifies, instead, a victory over death.  Yet, all of this is accomplished by means of an emptying instead of a grasping; the greatest feat in human history is accomplished by the Lord who does all and accomplishes all in the name of Love and in the name of the God who has so loved each and every one of us. 

 

Fr. Pat Brennan, C.P. is the director of Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.