Daily Scripture

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Advent

Scripture:

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

Reflection:

I am sitting in my living room looking at our Christmas tree. It is our 35^th Christmas and I love to look at each ornament as I hang it on the tree. They bring back so many fond memories. My favorite ones are the ones with pictures of the kids at different ages, and ones of our family who are already in heaven. Our tree is a mini-history of our lives so far and it helps me to treasure all of my blessings.

Advent and Christmas is a good time to look back over the year and see how we are doing with our lives and especially with our gifts of family and friends and faith. It’s good to reflect on our blessings and thank God, but also let our loved ones know how precious they are to us.

My daughter-in-law was in an accident last week with two of her children. When I heard about it, all I could do was thank God over and over that no one was seriously hurt and that we still have them with us!!! It’s so easy to take the people we love for granted. And sadly, many people even let small problems grow to large problems until they aren’t even speaking to someone they love.

Let’s all take time this week to look at our lives, to thank God for our blessings and to be sure that we mend any broken fences so that we don’t waste another day estranged from someone we love. They may be gone tomorrow. Don’t let anything stand in the way of making amends and of making your relationships the best they can be. Make time to see your grandchildren. Take time to call your sister. Make time to write a nice long letter to your Mom. And take some quiet time to sit with the Lord and invite him once again into your heart of hearts. Have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

 

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 4. Visit Janice’s website at http://www.jcarleton.com/ or email her at janice@frcedric/org

 

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Scripture:
Isaiah 7:10-14
Romans 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-24

Reflection:
"Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God; let it be deep as the nether world or high as the sky!" (Isaiah 7:10)

I don’t know how many times I have asked God for a sign. I usually do this when I can’t decide what to do. Sometimes, my confusion of what to do is over small decisions. For example, should I take on a good work that is being asked of me or should I do another kind of good work, one that I feel more able to do? What is good and what is better? There are certainly good reasons why you should choose one good work over another. In cases like this, asking God for a sign is like flipping a coin to see what I should do.

Other times, the decisions I face are big ones. Some decisions have major, life-changing consequences. Some decisions that people have shared with me are truly major ones. For example, should I ask this woman to marry me? Should I accept this proposal for marriage? Should I change careers, move away and begin over again, should I give up my job and work for the Church? These are decisions that will affect many people in our lives. Also, once the decision is made, it becomes very difficult to undo what is already done. So asking God for a sign seems to be a helpful way to guide us in making good decisions.

However, the signs that God gives us are not always so clear at first glance. For one thing, once we receive a sign from God, we are expected to understand it and follow it. In our first reading, Ahaz, the King of Judea, did not want to ask for a sign from God, even thought God had told him to ask for one. Ahaz wanted to remain in the dark. He may have been afraid that God would require much more faith from him than he wanted to give. So he said, "I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!" But God would not take "no" for an answer. God gave him a sign anyway: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel." Later on, when Jesus was born of the Virgin, Mary, Matthew was able to say in our Gospel reading: "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us’."When God gives us a sign, God does not disappoint us!

The old saying, "Be careful for what you ask for, you may just get it" applies when we ask for a sign from God. So many times, signs from God appear to be difficult to understand, and even more difficult to accept. Why should Mary say "yes" to God’s invitation to become a Virgin-Mother? Why should Joseph receive Mary as his spouse when he clearly did not father Mary’s baby? Why does God always seem to ask us to do the impossible?

Advent is all about recognizing the signs that God has sent us and saying "yes" to God’s invitations to do the impossible. The Angel Gabriel told Mary, "Nothing is impossible with God." Too many of us want God’s signs so that we can choose the easy path, to make the easier choices. But God does not work that way. God wants only the best for us, and sometimes the best for us is discovering the Divine in our midst. So, let us sing with all our hearts and all the faith we can muster: "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel."

 

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

Saturday of the Third Week of Advent

Scripture:

Jeremiah 23:5-8
Matthew 1:18-25

Reflection:

"Justice shall flourish in His time, and fullness of peace forever."

During this season of Advent we have been reminded again and again by the prophet Isaiah of God’s promise of the gift of justice and peace.  The word "justice" seems to be a bit distant and even a bit cold.  I guess it’s because it is associated so closely with the law.  But if the truth be told, justice is interested in promoting and defending the dignity of every human being.  As to peace we can cozy up to it without much of a problem.

I believe that the gift of these two promises can get anchored realistically in the gifts that we will receive at Christmas from family and friends.  Quite nice to look at the names of our givers.  So touching to know that they kept us in mind.  Gifts have a way of letting us know that we are loved and appreciated in so many ways.  So how does justice fit in? 

Have you noticed that when a gift is given to you on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day it is usually preceded with "Merry Christmas.  I love you!"  And often, sealed with a kiss. We know that many of our gifts do eventually wear out or that the box of candy gets eaten!  But that love continues to circle around within us. "Look at what I got for Christmas!  Isn’t it beautiful?  And, here…have some of these delicious chocolates!"  How does one feel throughout all of this?  Put simply, just wonderful, just great!  You have been graced with justice.  You have been singled out.  You have that sense of being noticed and loved for who you are.  So often gifts will be carefully chosen to please the individual, because you are special.  Ah, now we have some sense of that word "justice" and it fits so well with "peace!"  Justice has a goal of noticing the individual as a unique gift and loved for who one is.  Justice works to remove the obstacles that get in the way of one’s ongoing growth.  Justice works to bring to the individual what will help.

One of the deep and touching truths of Christmas is that Jesus, your precious Christmas gift, loves you as you are.  Oh, don’t say you are not perfect because you’ve made some mistakes.  True!  But you’ve also done some wonderful things in the course of your life up to this point.  Friendship reaches out to the person, loves the person and frees the person to grow into the unique individual one is.  Love does not want to control anyone.  Love sticks with a friend when things are not going right.  Love also encourages a friend,

And so, as we wait the celebration Jesus’ birthday are you and I open to the precious gift of His love?  Many of us in our teens, young adult years or older will realize that Jesus will not remain a tiny baby.  He will grow into an adult.  As you kneel before the nativity scene, can you just be quiet within and hear Him saying, "Let’s continue to be friends, let’s love each other.  If you are in your teens or young adult years or are now moving along into your later years or into your senior years, I am with you."  And with a smile on his face He will hand you back your baby picture and, looking you directly in the face, will say, "I love you as you are now." 

 

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

 

Scripture:
Genesis 49:2, 8-10
Matthew 1:1-17

Reflection:
During this past year I felt called by the Lord to purchase some video equipment and begin producing some videos, of myself and others, that I can publish on the Web or on the different Social Sharing sites.

From the beginning I wanted to learn how to use the "green screen" method of producing.  This is where you put up a green screen, light it evenly and have your talent stand about ten feet in front of it.  You then videotape the talent with the green screen behind them.  When you put this in the computer, using one of the movie making programs, you can insert behind your talent, replacing the green screen, just about any video or picture you want.  I can put myself preaching in the cathedral here in Houston or even in St. Peter’s in Rome.  If I am clever enough, I can even have the Holy Father in the congregation.

How difficult it can be to make the foreground (talent) merge with the inserted background.  You need to use video controls and make the edges of the religious habit look normal.  Human hair is a real challenge to look sharp and crisp.  Even when you have it looking very good and then "render or publish" it, put it together for use, the two different layers of video retain a life of their own.  You can begin to play the finished product and for some reason the background (inserted video) become pale while the upfront talent looks good.

Our Christian faith grew out of the Jewish religion.  Judaism had a long journey before Christ came along.  We are told in today’s gospel that it was often challenged to incorporate non Jews into its ranks.  The genealogy of Jesus that St. Matthew gives us today, tells how three foreign women, Tamar, Ruth and Bathsheba,  became grafted to the Jewish Church. This inclusion probably did not come easily.  But when the dust of time settled, there they are in the genealogy, listed with all the Jewish greats.  How difficult it can be to get two different realities to come together as one. 

We know of the conflict in the early Church when Paul the Apostle began bringing the Gentiles, non Jews, into the community. 

One of the problems in the American Catholic Church today, is not getting non Catholics or non Christians grafted but our big problem is getting Catholics of different national backgrounds to merge and become one parish.  Like the two layers of video in the green screening project, unity will take quite a while, but the Holy Spirit will pull it off sooner or later. 

Like myself, setting at my computer, working with the video controls I have, trying to get the two layers of video of cleanly merge, parishes and dioceses today are trying different things to create more harmony where there can be frustrating, even embittered, division.  The season of Advent tells us to be patient, to wait, to be open to the surprise that Christ will bring us at Christmas. 

 

Fr. Blaise Czaja, C.P. gives parish missions and retreats.  He is a member of the Passionist Community in Houston, Texas.

 

Thursday of the Third Week of Advent 

Scripture:

Isaiah 54:1-10
Luke 7:24-30

 

 

Reflection:

When I have had a significant disagreement with a friend or a quarrel with a loved one, there is nothing so unsettling as the aftermath, the intervening time before a resolution and return to peace (hopefully) takes place.

During that time, my thoughts return often to the disagreement.  I concoct phantom rebuttals in my head or nurse my psychic wound, making myself even more upset. My nerves are jangled. And then…one of us phones or we talk things out face to face. It literally feels like a wall is crumbling and suddenly fresh air streams in! The tension subsides and life feels right again. I can breathe!

Today’s first reading describes the wonderful lushness of life that unfolds when things are made right with God. Jerusalem and her people, likened to a barren wife, have been forgiven their wrongdoings and swept up with great tenderness into the loving arms of God. Suddenly, where there was painful desolation, life bursts forth!  A promise of fulfillment, a covenant of enduring love is made with these prodigal sons and daughters.

Just as it was for them, it is a painful thing for us, too, not to be right with God. Isn’t that what "sin" really is? We feel lost, burdened; our relationship with God has been wounded and our spirituality may be on life-support. But as the Gospel reveals, in that barren place, that desert of isolation, there is a prophet urging us to look to the One who is coming, who has come to bring us Life everlasting.   

As we celebrate this season of Advent, let’s await the birth of the baby Jesus with great joy. He is the covenant of God’s love made flesh! In seeking out the manger, we are acknowledging our trust that there is a way back from the desert of our separation from God and all that is good. So small, so tender, so full of life, the child opens wide our world and our hearts. He confirms with his presence God’s enormous love, and, Alleluia, we can feel right with God, ourselves and our neighbor once more.

 

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

 

Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent 

Scripture:

Isaiah 45: 6c-8, 18, 21c-25
Luke 7: 18b-23

Reflection:

The first reading is part of a longer section which began in chapter 43: 44ff which praises King Cyrus, the Anointed of the Lord, who will free the Hebrew people from their captivity in Babylon and send them home to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. The sovereign God has freely chosen Cyrus as his instrument. This is the God who is the creator of all things. By the power of this God justice will descend like gentle rain from the skies and salvation bud forth. This is the undying hope of Advent: that the just and saving God will do now what he has always done. Therefore, let every knee bend and every tongue swear that the Lord brings justice and salvation. Yes, for us, as for the people of Second Isaiah’s day, the Lord is the vindication and the glory of all the descendents of Israel!

Jesus is our Advent hope. May the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers be cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead come to life. And to the poor and the oppressed may the good news be proclaimed that Jesus is Lord.

When Jerome translated Isaiah 45:8 he made explicit what the hope really is: "Let the clouds rain down the Just One, and the earth bring forth a Savior!"

As we look out on our world today we need the hope more than ever. Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!

 

Fr. Michael Hoolahan, C.P. is on the staff of Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13
Matthew 21: 28-32

Reflection:

There are several passages in the readings today that strike me. But there are a few in particular that are very powerful to me:

 

When John came to you in the way of righteousness,
You did not believe him;
But tax collectors and prostitutes did.
Yet even when you saw that,
You did not later change your minds and believe him.

Conventional wisdom might say that if tax collectors and prostitutes believe in someone – run in the other direction! But Jesus, who lives and breathes beyond the confines of all that is "conventional," challenges the chief priests and elders to get beyond their own egoistic judgment which keeps them from the true source of love and peace. The first reading, too, mirrors the sad isolation that comes from such headstrong, spiritually immature and destructive behavior:

She hears no voice,
Accepts no correction;
In the Lord she has not trusted,
To her God she has not drawn near.

We have been given the incredible gift of a God who will love us even when we doubt, even when we err, even when we are foolish, childish and obstinate for a time. In order to "draw near to our God," which is where our ultimate peace lies, we’re not expected to be anything close to perfect; we just have to be willing to bend, to trust, to believe, to surrender. And we can mess it up and still have a chance if only we will try again!

There is a beautiful passage at the end of the first reading that captures, so simply, the gift that awaits the humble people who take refuge in the Lord:

They shall pasture and couch their flocks with none to disturb them.

Amen to that.

 

Nancy Nickel is Director of Communications at the Passionist Development Office in Chicago.

Scripture:

Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17a
Matthew 21:23-27

Reflection:

As Christmas rushes closer we are brought up short by the introduction of the mysterious prophet Balaam, son of Beor.  What he has to say is first of all a blessing on the tribes of Israel. Balaam sees the future power and glory of the Davidic kings and more especially one king. He dimly foresees him, but he says that he will come as a star rising out of Jacob and as a staff rising from Israel. For many centuries the Israelite people thought that this prophecy was fulfilled in David who firmly established the kingdom. Yet God had a greater plan in mind, His Son, Jesus Christ. The gospel passage today presents us with Jesus coming into the temple and teaching with authority. His enemies challenge his right to teach and ask him, "By whose authority are you doing these things?’  Jesus confounds them by asking his own question about the authority of John’s baptism. When they refuse to answer, he does not answer them. As we look forward to Christmas we sense the power of Jesus’ coming into our world. He is a person with quiet authority. May we accept the gifts he brings, especially his message of hope and peace.

 

Fr. Michael Hoolahan, C.P. is on the staff of Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.