Daily Scripture

 

Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross

Scripture:

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

 

Reflection:

On this feast of the Holy Cross we are once again invited to remember how even in the Cross of Christ, once a symbol of defeat, ignominy, and death, we are called to hope and trust in the Lord.

What fills my heart this day is the memory of attending the funeral Mass just two days ago of a young woman I had the privilege of knowing while journeying with a group on pilgrimage to the shrine of our Lady of Lourdes.  The young woman, Wendy, a mother of three children, ages 7, 5, and 3, and wife of a great man, Orlando, was suffering from a rare cancer that caused the development of tumors inside the body.  For Wendy it was a three year long process that ultimately took her life after the chemo became toxic and the tumors simply filled her lungs until she was unable to breathe on her own.  Isn’t it so very sad that this young woman, so beautiful, vibrant, and loving should have to leave her family that still needs her so very much?  Even more piercing was the moment at the end of the Mass when we were preparing to process back to the Church entrance.  I was standing on the aisle just next to Jacob, Wendy and Orlando’s 3 year old little one, so beautiful to look at with dark hair and even darker eyes.  Jacob leaned up to me and cried, "Where’s my mommy?"  How the Cross of Christ comes even into the lives of God’s littlest ones.

On the feast of the Holy Cross we are invited to remember that it is in dying that we are born to new life.  Life dares us to believe that even when it deals out its worst, we are still mighty in our faith and not defeated.  The Cross of Christ has won the ultimate victory for us and all we can do is to imitate the Lord who emptied himself in obedience to the Father’s will and who now sits at God’s right hand.  Wendy knows this great truth this very moment.  What a joy for her!  What peace and happiness dear Wendy has now and forever!  And for Jacob and all of us who still know the sadness of a life snatched away through the horror of cancer, well, we too must empty ourselves of doubt and grief by trusting that God will raise us up too.  He will be faithful to us just as he was with his beloved Son.  Jacob will see his mommy.  He will hear her sweet voice once again!  So shall we all!

 

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

 

Scripture:

Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Luke 15:1-32 or 15:1-10

Reflection:

In Sunday’s Gospel reading from Luke (15:1-32), we hear Jesus tell three famous parables: ""The Lost Sheep," "The Lost Coin," and "The Lost Son." Jesus tells these parables to the Pharisees and the scribes who complain that He "welcomes sinners and eats with them." In the parables of "the Lost Sheep" and "The Lost Coin," Jesus is trying to show the Pharisees and the scribes that "there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents." He is trying to show them that He, in the words of our second reading from 1 Timothy, "came into the world to save sinners."

The same can be said of the parable of "The Lost (or Prodigal) Son." In that parable, a father rejoices over the return of his younger son, who goes away with his share of the inheritance, spends it all on a "life of dissipation," finds himself in "dire need," when the country he is in suffers a "severe famine," comes to his senses, and comes back home. When the older son discovers that the father celebrates the return of his brother, instead of punishing him or rejecting him, he gets angry, and will not join in the celebration. The father pleads with his older son, but Jesus does not include in the parable what the older brother ultimately does. All Jesus tells us is that the younger, or prodigal, son repents of his sin, comes back to his father, and is welcomed back with open arms.

In the parable, the younger son recognizes that he is indeed, "lost." He realizes that his selfishness and his desire for self-gratification has led him astray from where he was supposed to be. The older son, however, even though he did not leave home, is "lost" but does not recognize it. He is lost because he cannot see the love the father has for him. His lack of trust in his father’s love has led him astray. And the Pharisees and the scribes, for whom these parables were intended, are also "lost," but do not acknowledge it. They have been led astray by their arrogance, which has led them to deny their own need for mercy and forgiveness, and to look down upon others, whom they consider "sinners.".

Are we willing to acknowledge that we are in need of God’s mercy and forgiveness? Are we willing to concede that there are times when we have been "lost?" We can see from the example of the Pharisees and the scribes who complained about Jesus, and from the parable of "The Lost Son," that there are many things that can lead us astray, such as pride and lust and lack of trust in God. The remarkable thing, however, is that no matter how far we have gone astray, we can always go back! We can always repent and turn back to the God who loves us so much!

Perhaps it is a good time, then, to examine where we are in our lives. Are we lost? We need not be afraid to admit it. Are there attitudes and behaviors that lead us astray from where we’re supposed to be? By the grace and love of God in Jesus Christ, we can let those attitudes and behaviors go. We don’t have to be stuck where we are. Instead, we can follow Jesus, and be "found," once again, awash in God’s grace.

 

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

Scripture:
1 Corinthians 10:14-22
Luke 6:43-49

Reflection:
The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish.

Then I called on the name of the LORD: "O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!"

Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.
For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling;
I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.   Ps. 116: 3-4,7-9

A day to remember and pray for all who died on 9-11.

 

Deacon Manuel Valencia is on the staff at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

 

Scripture:

1Corinthians 8:1b-7, 11-13
Luke 6:27-38

Reflection:

It is exactly 400 years since Peter Claver, SJ arrived at his mission assignment in Cartagena, Columbia in 1610. His discernment to minister in the New World was helped by the urging of Alphonso Rodriquez, a Jesuit lay brother, who would be canonized on the same day as Peter, in 1888. Cartagena was a slave trade center. Peter would meet the boats and care for the ill, and disoriented, he would follow them to the salve pens with food and medicines, and when possible, visit the mines or farms where they toiled. He ministered for 44 years, then disappears from public view the last few years of his life due to illness. But in death his good deeds were remembered and his funeral became a state funeral. His goodness has been remembered ever since.

Peter is an icon of today’s gospel. Jesus has given us the Beatitudes, now he addresses his followers about how to love. Love your enemies and those who hate, bless those who curse and pray for those who look down upon you. Followers are called to go beyond the norm. Peter Claver desired to do this. Perhaps it was the Latin word, ‘magis’ (more) familiar to the Jesuits that inspired Peter, because he strove to do ‘more’ for the Glory of God. 

Luke’s teaching on love is drawn from the love of God that we see in the Covenant. God first loves us; this love we do not earn, it is freely given, it is Gift. It is a love that we see revealed in many ways, and so a love revelatory of the mystery of God’s love for us. God loves the unjust and the wicked. This is the love we are given, the gift we are called to give to others. When we do this we will be known as children of the Most High, daughters and sons who exercise their inheritance of love in daily life.

"Be compassionate as your heavenly Father is compassionate." Peter when a young priest was heard to say that he would be "a slave of the Negroes for ever." He taught the slaves to pray, "Jesus Christ, Son of God, you will be my father and my mother and all my good. I love you much. I am sorry for having sinned against you. Lord, I love you much, much, much". So the man who lived the "more" as a Jesuit, taught the poorest whose bodies were taken from them in this life to say, "Lord, I love you much, much, much."

The gospel ends today: by the measure you use to measure you will be measured in return. Peter you gave more and taught others to love much. What a magnificent way you show us to go against the norms that hold us back from true freedom. And it was ‘true freedom’ that was the gift given you by God through your work with those who had no freedom!

 

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

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary 

Scripture:

Micah 5:1-4a or Romans 8:28-30
Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23, or 1:18-23

Reflection:

I write this at a retreat center in Lake Charles, LA. I am here creating my new talks for the fall season of missions. On my bedroom wall hangs a portrait of the annunciation. A radiant angel stands before Mary. Her posture is one of humble submission. It is the moment of surrender. She says "yes" to God’s plan for her and humanity.

I believe surrender is the fundamental act of the Christian life. More than praying a prayer, it is a posture from which we can live our life. Surrender is an abandonment of our person and will to God who always wants the best for us. Living a surrendered life is far from being passive or resigned. It was because of Mother Teresa’s daily surrender that she ministered to the poorest of the poor. Maximillian Kolbe’s surrender impelled him to give his life in the place of a married man in a concentration camp’s starvation bunker. It is through surrender that people who are bound come into recovery. People who live surrendered lives are among the most proactive, passionate people alive.

There were two memorable moments of surrender in my life. One was lying prostrate in the sanctuary at Immaculate Conception Church as the litany of the saints was being sung. That occasion was my ordination to the priesthood in 1991. The other was proclaiming my vows to the passion, poverty, chastity, and obedience to God on this day 25 years ago. Peak moments of surrender help shape our lives and define the way we live each day. 

God is so worthy of all that we are. As we heard in the readings, God chooses the lowly. He predestines us for glory in love. God works through our family tree to bring about good. God is gracious, kind, and merciful. God never forces our surrender but captivates us and allures us to freely give ourselves fully in the context of a love relationship.

Today we celebrate the birth of the one who’s "yes" would change the destiny of humanity. Our daily "yes" will affect people too.

 

Fr. Cedric Pisegna, C.P. is a missionary preacher, author of 14 books and creator of the TV program Live with Passion! airing in many cities. You can learn more about his ministry at: http://www.frcedric.org/

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 6:1-11
Luke 6:12-19

Reflection:

The Son of God became the son of Mary in order to bring the human race back to the love and friendship of God.  The gospels give us glimpses of his divinity and his humanity.  He reveals his glory to Peter, James and John in the Transfiguration where his glory bursts forth.  We see him as a weary, thirsty human traveler exhausted under the hot sun asking the Samaritan woman to give him a drink of water. 

In today’s reading we see another aspect of his humanness, as a human being he turns to the Eternal Father in prayer.  He has become aware of the immensity of his mission and perhaps aware of the short time allotted him.  He cannot accomplish the greatest work of God’s love alone, he needs helpers close to him, helpers he can train,  instruct even sanctify.  Whom will he choose?

Will they be learned scribes, students of Gamaliel, such as one Paul of Tarsus?   Learned men of good-will such as Nicodemus.  Or will he find devoted followers among the common, mostly illiterate people, the despised: fishermen, a tax collector, a Zealot.   What gifts, what powers can he give them?

He takes his questions, his needs, his plans, to the Father who sent him, he spends a whole night in prayer.

In the morning he calls to himself, Peter and Andrew, James and John, Philip, who had wondered about the Baptist and were told that this Jesus was the Mysterious Lamb of God.  And now they along with Bartholemew, Thomas, James of Alphaeus Judas, son of the Iscariot, were given a mission. 

They were to proclaim the advent of the Kingdom of God, in this Jesus of Nazareth.  They were empowered to anoint and cure all ills, they could command evil spirits to depart.  They gloried in their work!

Their full education would come with the Last Supper, the dread Good Friday and Sun Burst of the Resurrection.  Jesus would leave them, but send the fullness of the Spirit – they were now messengers to all nations, the foundations stones of the Church.  On them would rely future apostles, Luke, Appolos, Ignatius of Antioch, Athanasius, Chryhsostom, Augustine,  Gregory, Miznenty, Romero, as well as the religious and lay woman slain because of fidelity to their apostolic mission. For in our day the cloak of the apostle is given to the laity as well.  Vatican II had the official successors of the 12 declare, "Lay people’s right and duty to be apostles derives from their union with Christ their Head.  They are in the Mystical Body of Christ by baptism.  It is by the Lord Himself that they are assigned to the apostolate."

 

Fr. Fred Sucher, C.P. is retired and lives in the Passionist community in Chicago.  For many years he taught philosophy to Passionist seminarians.  

Scripture:

Wisdom 9:13-18b
Philemon 9-10, 12-17
Luke 14:25-33

Reflection:

Last week I had the opportunity to visit the battlefield of Gettysburg.  Most of the people there, as they looked over the terrain, were attempting to visualize what happened in those three days of that epic battle of our country’s civil war.  I noticed all of the guides had the ability to bring to life the story again through their articulation and skills of storytelling.  They could speak not only about what happened and how it happened, but they colored it with imagery and words so as to bring it so alive with all the senses.  They were describing not only the visual but they articulated what it sounded like and how it smelled.  They crafted in their own unique way an invitation for you to have an experience.  And people paid money for this!

I found myself wondering, do we give people this experience with our proclamation of the scriptures?  Or even, do we add any intensity to the senses of our faith?  Perhaps this is why certain shrines, and pilgrimages to the holy land are popular.  They strive to do this as they attempt to re-create an event or experience.  But in common daily events, or even common readings in scripture, I suspect we don’t colorize them, if words can be colorized, I frequently hear even the Gospel proclaimed in flat grey.  And that is one reason today’s gospel is so challenging.  For me, it is hard to add any beauty or color to the harshness of Jesus’ message today.  It leads itself to sounding more legalistic and quite burdensome.  For the Gospel invites us into discipleship and to look at our role as disciples of Christ.  Three times Jesus will speak about a particular condition and then say that if you fit this condition, "you can not be my disciple."  And the conditions have to do with things that we put high precedence on: family,  possessions,  dreams for our future, and our ability to accept those things which life gives us.  I don’t know a single person who doesn’t struggle with these core themes in life.  And the struggle usually has to do with attaining, controlling, and surrendering.  

Our founder, St. Paul of the Cross was quite insistent in his ability to guide people to surrender into God’s will.  He was keen on recognizing that God’s will was much larger than any human person and yet it was profoundly personal.  He believed a certain amount of human suffering was caused merely because people hadn’t aligned themselves with God’s grace.  I think Paul of the Cross was similar to the guides at the Gettysburg battlefield because he had a unique way of trying to get people to see more than the landscape which lay before them.  Metaphorically, he invited people to smell, hear and see again that many times their own pursuits were simply leading them into their own frustrations.

As was said, the gospel can be pretty harsh today, especially when it speaks about hating your family.  But notice who Jesus is speaking to.  It was a great crowd who was traveling with him.  Will this great crowd travel with him to Jerusalem?  Will this great crowd be there to testify on his behalf?  Will this great crowd gather around him while he hangs from the cross?  Yes, conditions for discipleship can be steep.    But the message for us is reiterated here as we heard it more gently a few weeks ago. Recall how Luke encourages his community to not worry about such little things.  He says in 12:31, "Seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you."  Jesus is inviting and prophesying as he speaks to this crowd.  It is an invitation to be disciple, and he will conclude in verse 35, "Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear".

What does seeking God’s Kingdom look like?  The First Reading from the book of Wisdom, written hundreds of years before the gospels, suggests that people twist up their life by not seeking the Counsel of God.  Isn’t that true for us today?  If you begin to see this Kingdom, can you allow it to impact your other senses of hearing and smelling?  Because if a guide from a National Military Park can daily awaken an awareness of our American history to people who come and pay for their services, then certainly the spirit of God can awaken our small-mindedness, our complacency, and our stingy hearts.  As today’s psalm reminds us, "In every age oh Lord, you have been our refuge."

 

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

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 5:1-8
Luke 6:6-11

Reflection:

Today is Labor Day in the United States. Different readings can be used for today’s Mass. I will reflect on the readings for ordinary time.

 

In the first reading Paul is reminding the Corinthian Christians about an obvious dynamic: one bad apple can spoil the whole barrelful. Yes, we are to be merciful and forgiving. But if the forgiveness is simply a cover up, pretending all is well, or turning a blind eye and ignoring what is wrong and immoral, then Paul’s criticism of the Corinthians to clear out the old yeast is appropriate.

On the other side of the coin of morality, Jesus infuriates the scribes and Pharisees because he heals a man whose right hand was withered. They accuse Jesus of being immoral since he healed (worked) on the Sabbath. For Jesus the Law was relative to what is good. Sometimes doing good can go against the letter of the law. What is legal is not always moral. In fact, in some situations following the law can be immoral for a Christian. To do the good sometimes transcends the law and may even contradict it.

In 1956, the Post Office made the first Labor Day commemorative-stamp. It was an image for that period of time. It showed the image of a large muscular man carrying a sledgehammer, a pick, a hoe, and an ax over his shoulder. His wife sat nearby showing a small child how to read. The words of the poet Carlyle in the lower left of the stamp announced, "Labor Is Life."

Labor is life!  For the apostle Paul and for Jesus their work brought forth life. As we stand against what is immoral or have the courage to transcend the law for what is good and just, we labor for life. We continue the work of God’s creation today. Happy Labor Day.

 

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