Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Proverbs 30:5-9
Luke 9:1-6

Reflection:

"And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing everywhere."
Luke 9:2,6

 

Despite the many sobering and fearful statements in the New Testament, the overriding mood is one of joyful news and healing. Gospel or jubilant news becomes an essential word to describe the message of Jesus. Hollywood loves to protray religious people as either hypocrites or morose. They think the ideals are too high so that it is impossible to live up to them, so people must be acting or wearing a mask. This is what the Scripture calls hypocrisy. They think they must be sad or morose because the followers of Christ often reject the only things that secular people think make you happy.

There is an astonishing number of different words for joy in New Testament. At the Annunciation Mary dances with joy {ag-al-lee-ah’-o} in God her Saviour. The unborn John the Baptist leaps for joy in the presence of the unborn Jesus: "the babe leaped {skeer-tah’o} in my womb for joy." Luke 1:44 The angels tell the shepherds: "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy {khar-ah’}!" This word for joy or {hkarah} appears some 59 times in Scripture. When the Magi "saw the star, they rejoiced {khah’-ee-ro} with exceeding great joy." Mt 2:10 This word khaheero appears 74 times in SS.  In the story of the prodigal son the father says: "It was right that we should make merry {yoo-frah’-ee-no}, and  be glad: for this your brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found." Lk 15:32  Yoofraheeno (make glad) is used 13 times in New Testament. Joy is but a reflection of Our Father’s life in Heaven.

The Gospel comes to its culmination in the presence of the Risen Christ. The first words of Risen Jesus in Mt Gospel: Rejoice! {khah’-ee-ro} And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Mt 28:7 In Your presence is fullness of joy; Ps 16:11

 

Fr. Bob Weiss, CP, is an Itinerant Preacher who resides at St. Paul of the Cross Residence in Detroit, Michigan.

Feast of St. Matthew

Scripture: 

Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13
Matthew 9:9-13

Reflection:

Accountants and auditors don’t sound like very exciting people.  Nor do tax collectors.  They seem to be the self-effacing type who wear inconspicuous clothing and prefer to be unnoticed.  They work away behind piles of books and papers, shying away from the limelight.  They need quiet time to cull "the books" and try to reconcile the facts of the case with the prevailing statutes and laws.  Their hope is to make as few waves as possible to avoid calling attention to themselves.  Colorless anonymity suits them fine.  Matthew probably fitted this description, since we’re not even sure about his name, given that at times he apparently went by another name-Levi (Mk 2.14).

Nonetheless, Matthew, a professional tax man and likely an accountant, still stands out:  he received a special call from Jesus.  Along with Peter, John, James and Andrew, his recruitment by Jesus merits attention.  Perhaps Jesus felt someone like him was needed to keep an eye on Judas, who apparently was not beyond purloining a few shekels (Jn 12.6) from the money bag.  But still, Matthew probably would have preferred that the banquet he gave after his call by Jesus remained low-key, but unfortunately it grew into a bit of a row as the Pharisees attacked his shady background, and that of his companions.

Matthew was quite a bit different from the other disciples-a company man with some professional credentials.  But his calling by Jesus served to highlight a major theme apparent in his later life: that of unity.  Already on the occasion of his calling, this unity theme was apparent because it gave Jesus the opportunity to clarify what He was about: calling sinners (as well as saints) to His discipleship.  He was pursuing the bad as well as the good, breaking down the wall of division between them, and unifying them in the great privilege of being companions of Jesus.

St. Paul picked up on this characteristic trait of Jesus in his words to the Ephesians where he clearly states that he is "…striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace:…"  Paul spells out that unity in terms of one Lord, one faith, one baptism.  And he further describes it in terms of the diversified tasks in the early community: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers.  He doesn’t mention tax collectors, but Matthew slips in under the category of apostle.

Matthew was to live out his life pursuing this unity theme, trying to reconcile the implications of following Jesus Christ, with the Judaism that was so dear to Matthew and many of his converts.  He wanted no part of the ostracism he experienced earlier in life,  later on in life, whether for himself or for his converts.

 

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

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 42-49
Luke 8:4-15

Reflection:

"I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living. "(Ps. 56:14)

The apostle Paul certainly was on a search for truth in his letter to the Corinthians that will explain what happens after we die.  Paul doesn’t have all the answers. Jesus makes us face up in the gospel to the fact that growth in each of our lives is going to be challenged on a daily basis.  All of us eventually come to grips with the whole purpose of life as we face the reality of death.  Unfortunately some of us wait too long to face the reality of death by putting all our attention on the present life.  We are bombarded by the advertisement industry to consider clothes, food, cars, vacation spots, front row seats, a pocket or handbag filled with money, etc., etc., etc.  Truly, we all need clothes, food and time off, along with some money to take care of personal and family needs.  But we can find our focus narrowing down.   We don’t want to look at the whole picture and highlight what really matters.  Do you recall the saying, " Do you eat to live, or live to eat?!"  A nice reminder as to "why do I do what I do?"  What grabs my attention, what do I really want in life?  Does sickness or handicaps separate me from the living?  Who is really a friend of mine?

Take a look at the responsorial psalm for today.  "I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the light of the living."  Give me a good, close friend, someone who truly waits for an answer to, "How are you doing?"    What a gift!  Some wouldn’t want to know.  Some really wouldn’t want to get involved.  They were being polite with their question.  I think that we are all aware of this and are not offended.  On the other hand, the Psalmist is reminding us that we do have a Friend in God who definitely wants to know how things are going and walks with us throughout our day.  Isn’t it also interesting that the Psalmist puts us "in the light of the living."   A true friend isn’t trying to dim the light that reveals who we are at any giving time.   What comes through loud and clear is that a true friend offers us their love first and foremost.   Being recognized as a person is so important.  Knowing that we are loved is likewise important.  Our answer to their question might reveal that things are going along okay especially in certain areas of our life.  But we don’t stop there.  Sometimes we also add that we are facing some real challenges or hurts.  These can be coming from God, from our loved ones, co-workers, strangers who know us, or from our very selves as we face personal challenges to continue to grow and not just vegetate.  And that is what is involved in living life in the present light: dealing with the whole truth.

Are you and I continuing to walk in the presence of the Lord, of our friends, and of being true to who we are as a unique person?   Are we truthfully facing persons, situations, lack of things, or challenges that can be a bit scary?   Are we so focused on the negative that we are truthfully missing the many good things we actually have?  Have we bought into the advertising industry that has sidetracked us into thinking that what we possess by way of material things is going to make us happy? 

 

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

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 15:12-20
Luke 8:1-3

Reflection:

When reading this section of St. Paul’s letter to Timothy, a memory of years gone by when I was working as an assistant pastor with Fr. Denis McGowan, C.P. at our parish in Ikeda, Japan, came to mind. Every Thursday evening we would go to visit and have supper with our Retreat House Community in Mefu. In the midst of our busy lives in the parish, it was a chance to have some peace and quiet together.

When we went through the main gate and continued up and around the long shaded driveway leading up to the monastery entrance, we passed a simple statue of the Sacred Heart that was covered with a blend of soft green moss and the chalky white of the stone. It was a natural place to stop and rest, with perhaps a quiet sigh of relief. Often as not there would be a Japanese couple, young or old, a family or an individual, quietly standing in front of the statue in quiet reflection with head bowed. This presence continued year after year, season after season.

As time passed I came to realize that the people I saw at the gate were almost never Catholics or Christians. Sometimes they didn’t have any particular religion at all. Like St. Paul mentioned to Timothy, they seem to have found great contentment and gain, in a moment, a presence that they identified as holy and peaceful. In one sense they hoped to hold onto that solitude for awhile and yet in another sense they brought it with them in the disposition of their hearts.

Sometimes we become too focused on our position in, or our relationship to, the turmoil that we find ourselves surrounded by. The nature of the commotion might be political, religious, or social. In any case it can be easy to be distracted by what is on the surface or by what is really optional rather than essential. Many of us would surely benefit by avoiding the squabbles of daily life in whatever the area of distraction might be. Pausing long enough in the quiet solitude within the presence of God just may bring us the faith, love, patience and gentleness to recognize who we are with and who we really are.

 

Fr. John Patrick Day, C.P. is pastor of Holy Martyrs of Japan Parish, Sullivan, Missouri.

Scripture:

Amos 8:4-7
1 Timothy 2:1-8
Luke 16:1-13 or 16:10-13

Reflection:

"The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones." 
                                                                     -Luke 16:10

It seems to me that everyone has those moments of betrayal when growing up. I once felt betrayed by a classmate who decided not to work with me in a project. Not only did I lose trust that one person, I also began to wonder if other people felt the same way about me. That experience did stir up within me the desire to be trustworthy in all things, but it also left me wondering if maybe others did not think of me as trustworthy. To live a life worthy of trust is not an easy in today’s world. Neither is it easy to learn to trust others, especially when those others have betrayed our trust.

There is no doubt that the readings for today’s Mass challenge us to be trustworthy in all of our dealings with others: God, our family and our neighbors, which includes every living person on earth. If we are not worthy of trust, then we will never be able to enter into loving relationships with anyone else. And others will not be able to enter into lifelong loving relationships with us. Trust is the basis for our faith.

One of the easiest ways to lose other people’s trust is to cheat them of what is their due. Many of us have come across people who are very good at cheating others of what rightly belongs to them. And the poor are easy targets. Over the years, we have had scandals involving Saving and Loans institutions, Banks, Fortune Five hundred companies, Wall Street Firms that have robbed billions and billions of dollars from ordinary people, only to see very few wrongdoers go to jail. The Prophet Hosea could have very well taken his script from Congregational records or court cases.

Some of us may be surprised by Jesus’ example of what some texts call the "unjust steward." That’s because we didn’t live during Jesus’ time. Administrators, tax collectors, stewards and managers would set their own price for the goods they sold on behalf of their bosses. These people would charge much more than what the product was worth. They would keep as much of the profit as they could, and then give the rest to the owners. Apparently, his boss caught him charging too much money. What the unjust steward did was to reduce his profit considerably so that the buyers could come back to buy from his owners. Like Zacchaeus, the tax collector, it seems that this dishonest steward was beginning to make restitution. I think this may be why Jesus praised him.

Jesus’ words about serving God or serving mammon leaves us all re-examining our lives and our priorities. In our desire to become more secure, to gain more wealth or to become very rich, we can trample on the poor, the less fortunate and the powerless of our society. We sometimes do this by actually cheating them when we do not pay our taxes, look for loop holes that favor us or provide a very poor service. Other times, we harden our hearts to the plights of the people who have less than we do or who have suffered great tragedies for no fault of their own. This is when we know that we have allowed our love for money to be dishonest with our brothers and sisters in need. We have, in that very moment ceased to be trustworthy. It is when we remember that no disciple can serve two masters that we can be transformed into trustworthy people!

 

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

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Luke 7:36-50

Reflection:

What must it have been like in Jesus’ time to be "the sinful woman?" Can you imagine how painful it must have been to have your worst action, the most vulnerable part of your humanity, be the name by which you are known and called? You are not Judith or Rachel or any other name, but the whore, the prostitute, the sinner.

The shame must have been indescribable. Perhaps the sinful woman hardened herself in order to withstand the judging looks and spiteful comments; maybe she protected herself with cynicism or feigned arrogance or even aggressiveness. Maybe she hid in the shadows.

We don’t know any of that for sure, but we do know that in the presence of Jesus the woman wept like an innocent child. A world of hurt poured out as she bathed his feet tenderly with her tears, wiping his feet dry with her hair. How much she must have cherished the one who did not judge her, did not objectify her, did not view her as a "thing" to be cast out, but as a person who is loved-and forgivable-in God’s eyes.  

This is the Savior we believe in; the One who does not recoil or remain remote from us in our brokenness, but who looks into our hearts with compassion when we approach. Our life may be in tatters; we may be holding onto our faith by a fingernail, but we are welcomed by a God who is intimate and loving and unaffected by the world’s harsh judgments.

Which brings me to "a certain Pharisee." Ultimately, reflexive judgments, harsh criticisms and growing fears are isolating, damaging and painful, too. May God help us trust and find in others the same goodness we want God to see within us.  May we be forgiving and forgiven. May we all go in peace.

 

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

 

Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows

Scripture:

Hebrews 5: 7-9
Psalm 31
Stabat Mater
John 15: 25-27 or Luke 2: 23-35

 

 

Reflection:

Once again the Church gives us great scriptural riches to nourish our appreciation of Mary. This particular feast finds its roots in the Middle Ages in Europe. It is not a devotion that is found in the eastern churches. The first liturgical texts go back to the early fifteenth century. Up until the reform of the liturgical calendar after Vatican Council ll there were two feasts dedicated to the sorrows of Mary: one on the Friday before Holy Week and the current feast that was originally granted to the Servites in the 17^th century. When the Passionists were founded in the 18^th century they too celebrated the feast in a special manner. In the early 19^th century the feast was extended to the whole Church.

The first reading from Hebrews and Psalm 31 center us on the suffering of Jesus.  The moving hymn, Stabat Mater, and the gospel from John or Luke

focus us on Mary. The obvious conclusion is that what Jesus suffered in mind and heart were suffered by Mary his mother as well. This is also the rhythm of the liturgical calendar. Yesterday we celebrated the Triumph of the Cross. Of course the Passion of Jesus goes on in the world today. Like Mary we need to let it change our minds and hearts.

Psalm 31 is a prayer for hard times. Maybe you are experiencing one of those times now. Financial hardship or a serious illness might be weighing on your spirit. Sometimes all we can do at such times is to pray as the psalmist and Jesus prayed: "into your hands I commit my spirit". So if you are in trouble pray this psalm. As you do, you will notice how the final four verses express complete confidence that your prayer will be heard. 

 

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

 

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.