Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Ezekiel 37:1-14
Matthew 22:34-40

Reflection:

How discouraged and desperate Ezekiel must have been!  For months he had been prophesying to the people of Israel about the dire effects their behavior was having on their future.  Their greed, neglect of the poor, abuse of the weak and worship of false gods were destroying their society and sapping their national identity and strength.  Most of the people resisted listening to Ezekiel’s warnings but his deepening awareness of how desperate the situation had become was driving Ezekiel himself to despair, as well as those few who were listening to him.

And thus, today’s prophesy!  God gives Ezekiel a vision of a great plain covered with human bones, dry disjointed old bones scattered across the plain.  God asks Ezekiel whether these old dry bones can come back to life.  Ezekiel wisely responds that only God could possibly know that.  Then God instructs Ezekiel to prophesy that God will indeed, bring these old bones to life.  As Ezekiel makes the prophecy, the bones do come back to life, human life with warm flesh and renewed spirit.

God tells Ezekiel that all is not lost.  Just as God brought new life to the bones in his vision, so God will bring new life to the people of Israel.  Ezekiel need not despair, he can trust God’s fidelity to His people.  "I have promised, and I will do it, says the Lord."

What a great vision!  The message God gave to Ezekiel is for us as well.  And we certainly need it.  Just think about how many old dried bones there are in our lives.  We can look around and be so discouraged by the scandals in the Church, the injustice we witness and even experience, the violence in our world, the disappointment, anger and darkness that may even be in our own hearts.  So many dried dead bones all around us and perhaps within us.  It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the dead bones that surround us.

Through Ezekiel God reminds us that even dead bones can be brought back to life by the power of God.  And that power will prevail because God will be faithful to us, just as God was faithful to the people of Ezekiel’s time.  So we can take heart and trust in God’s love and compassion for us and for our world.

 

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 36"23-28
Matthew 22:1-14

Reflection:

"I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts." Ezekiel 36:26

The other day, I watched a "good news" story on television. A family had lost everything, jobs, savings and even health. They were struggling to make ends meet while taking care of a cancer survivor. Their home was in need of major remodeling. Some friends got some businesses to give their home a major "make over." The family home got a new paint job, new windows, new kitchen and appliances, new everything. And the family spokesperson said through all the tears, it was time to make a new beginning.

If new beginnings were only that easy, then many more people would be able to make new beginnings. Changing appearances would be all it would take to begin life anew. Many people have changed their appearances. They change hair styles, grow beards, go on diets, have plastic surgery, buy new clothes to signal a new beginning. But soon they find themselves doing the same old things, behaving badly with others, cheating when they can get away with it, hiding addictions thinking that they are fooling everyone around them and feeling just as terrible, just as empty and just as desolate as before. Make-overs do not begin from the outside. They begin from the inside, from our heart and from our spirit.

The readings for today’s Mass are all about God’s invitation to be in full communion with God and with God’s people. God wants us to be part of God’s family and celebration. God’s invitation has always been to come and enjoy the good things in life, that is, to belong fully to God. In the first reading, taken from the prophet Ezekiel, God is calling a sinful people who have turned their backs to a God who has given them everything they needed for a good life to begin anew. And Ezekiel tells them exactly where they need to start: with a new heart and a new spirit, putting away their stony hearts and replacing them with natural hearts that love, forgive, have compassion, hearts and spirits that truly belong to God: "You shall be my people and I will be your God."  It all starts from within. We can change the outside all we want, but if we do not change our hearts and spirits, then very little changes.

The Gospel reminds us that God’s invitation is just that, a freely given invitation to join God in the greatest celebration of all time. For sinful reasons, we refuse, we refuse to attend the celebration, we refuse to accept the messengers who invite us to the celebration, and we even kill God’s messengers, believing that God will not do anything to us. But God will not be denied. God continues to invite, continues to bring in the outcasts, the "good and bad alike." We need, however, to have a change of heart. We need a wedding garment to get into the celebration and to belong to the Kingdom of God. We need God. We need to say "yes" to God’s invitation. We need to pray for that grace. It is not an easy prayer to pray. But God will help us.

As the Alleluia verse says: "If today you hear God’s voice, harden not your hearts!"

 

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

 

Scripture:
Ezekiel 34:1-11
Matthew 20:1-16

Reflection:
"Woe to the Shepherds who have been shepherding themselves."  Ez 34
"Are you envious because I am generous?"  Mt 20
The Lord is my shepherd there is nothing I shall want."   Ps 23

Who among us has not been recently overwhelmed with the kindness, the generosity and the attention to our needs?  None of these gifts are given without someone paying attention, without noticing and taking time to tend to us. 

Time, sharing and attention…where have these gifts gone?  This is not to attack or ridicule anyone for lack of these gifts.  I guess the main point of this observation is to recall the many, many times we have been the recipient of the goodness of family, friends and even strangers. 

The prophet Ezechiel has lost his "cool" as he addresses the official shepherds of the people.  Maybe I should have said, God has lost His "cool."  God minces no words as he challenges the shepherds face to face.  It seems that the good things that should have been shared with the "sheep" got lost.   The protection that they needed was not given.  The shepherds kept all the good things for themselves.  "You did not strengthen the weak nor heal the sick nor bind up the injured.  You did not bring back the strayed nor seek the lost, but you lorded it over them harshly and brutally.  So they were scattered for the lack of a shepherd, and became food for all the wild beasts.  My sheep were scattered and wandered over all the mountains and high hills; my sheep were scattered over the whole earth, with no one to look after them or to search for them."

If you are like me, (God forbid!) I get preoccupied with tasks, I hurry by people at times and miss what is really going on.  Or I put my expectations on others, forgetting that they have their own concerns or worries or stresses or sorrows: all of which can be a heavy burden that often times is overlooked.  My compassion has flown out the window.  How can I forget so easily that I too have concerns or worries or stressful situations or sorrows that can affect my ability to take care of my needs.  What a joy it would be to have someone ask, "Can I help you?"

Jesus, in Matthew’s gospel, points out another lack of goodness.  "Are you envious because I am generous?"  Oh, it happens too often as I forget the generosity extended to others including me.  But what has happened to my memory of all the good that God has done for me?!  "The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.  He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake.  Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.   With your rod and your staff that give me courage."

None of us need to wear a badge or other form of identity to indicate that we are a shepherd.  But, oh, how often the opportunity presents itself to reach out in loving concern for our sisters and brothers.  Will you and I never let a day pass without thanking God and our sisters and brothers for being our Shepherd.  And will this spur us on to notice a sister or brother who is in need of a shepherd: you and me.

 

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

Scripture:
Ezekiel 12:1-12
Matthew 18:21-19:1

Reflection:
Forgiveness is unglamorous courage. It doesn’t seem particularly heroic. It’s an interior shift which hardly anyone outside the forgiver notices. Yet William Shakespeare was precisely correct when he wrote:

The quality of mercy is not strain’d,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.

Mercy is twice blest, resulting in a double blessing. Obviously, forgiveness benefits the one who receives it. The offender is let off the hook. The revenge or the penalty which might rightly befall them is relinquished. But forgiveness also brings enormous benefits to the forgiver.

When someone offends or insults us, it hurts. They hurt us and made us miserable. However, that doesn’t seem to be enough. Often we continually replay and restage the injury on the platform of our minds, churning up the misery again and again. In so doing we perpetuate the hurt. No one else can be blamed for the misery which we inflict upon ourselves by holding onto the transgression.

Once we understand that most of the miseries in our life are self-inflicted (and this can be realized by simple observation of the mind and our mental processes) freedom is possible. Forgiveness makes immeasurable sense. It becomes a blessing for the offender as well as for us. Jesus offered practical wisdom and spiritual guidance to liberate us in this world from the bondage of our misguided ways.

 

Fr. Joe Mitchell, CP is the director of the Passionist Earth & Spirit Center in Louisville, KY.

See his website: http://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/  

Scripture:

Ezekiel 9:1-7; 10:18-22
Matthew 18:15-20

Reflection:

This is the day of the death of Blessed John Henry Newman, a day to celebrate the life of a man who revitalized Catholicism in England.  He was a 19^th century Anglican priest and intellectual, who became the leader of the Oxford Movement, an effort to restore the Church of England to its catholicity.

Newman began a study of the development of Christian doctrine to prove that the Anglican Church had maintained the faith in contrast to the doctrinal distortions of the Catholic Church.  Instead, in his classic text, "An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine," published in 1845, Newman concluded it was the Catholic Church that was faithful to its primitive origins.

Shortly thereafter, on October 9, 1845, Fr. Dominic Barberi, a Passionist, himself beatified a few years ago, received Newman into the Church.  In1879, at the age of seventy-nine, he was made a cardinal by Pope Leo XIII.

In his day, Newman was frequently misunderstood and misinterpreted.  In our day, however, he is seen as a man ahead of his time.  The issues he wrote about became the subjects of discussion of Vatican II, such as the question of ecumenism, the relationship between Christianity and the world, and the role of the laity in the Church.  His ideas so much anticipated those of our time that he has been called "The Father of Vatican II."

Pope John Paul II praised him saying: "John Henry Newman belongs to every time and place and people."  And Pope Benedict XVI honored him by traveling to the United Kingdom to beatify Cardinal Newman on September 19, 2010.

 

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

Scripture:

2 Corinthians 9:6-10
John 12:24-26

Reflection:

I grew up in Midwest farm country, where the farmer readily acknowledges there is only so much that can be controlled by human effort.  Despite this fact, I witnessed firsthand the sweat, energy, and hope poured into the fields, and the immense delight when they produce fruit.  Decades later, as I maintain a tiny strip of a garden next to my house, I am constantly reminded that producing a harvest is hard work, and no matter how much I put into it the end result is not entirely my doing.  Yet the rewards of biting into a juicy tomato or crunching on a sweet pea pod are indescribable.

We are told today that God is the ultimate gardener, sowing widely, playfully, and freely across the breadth of the universe and laughing with joy when a harvest is produced.  God invites us to be co-gardeners, anticipating a great harvest when we allow ourselves to be opened and grown while helping those around us to do the same.  Unfortunately, the obstacles are no less great in this invitation to the garden of life than they were in the fields of the Midwest, and producing a harvest is no easier nor is it more assured. 

In my own little garden, the obstacles include storms, insects, rabbits, and neighborhood children.  Though I don’t want to admit it, sometimes the greatest obstacles in the garden of my life come from within me.  In fact, as I struggle to continually be born from the seed God planted, and as I struggle to become seed for others, I am often my own worst enemy.  For instance:

1. I sometimes get caught in a mindset of scarcity, as if there is not enough to go around and I’d better make sure I get my share. Can I trust the God of abundance to shower me with whatever I need? Can I live more simply, letting go of material possessions that I cling to like a security blanket? Can I give love freely, without holding back pieces of my heart to protect myself from hurt?

2. I sometimes get caught in a mindset of competitiveness, wanting to be recognized as the best.
Can I nurture an abundant community instead of seeking to secure my own position? Can I look first for how I can help someone else grow instead of letting them fall by the wayside if they cannot help me?

3. I sometimes get caught in a mindset of self-denigration, as if I need to be perfect or else I’m not good enough. Can I believe that lack of perfection is not failure? Do I know in my heart that complementing the gifts of others is a higher calling than individual achievement, and that the communal sharing of imperfect gifts can create a better overall garden? Will I allow myself to trust that when I am lacking in something, God gives what or who I need to fill the gap?

4. I sometimes get caught in a mindset of unrealistic expectations. As a finite person in this finite world, I cannot possibly grow or tend everything. How can I gain wisdom to discern the garden God intends for me to grow? Can I also remain open and flexible enough to adapt as God calls me to different plantings?

5. I sometimes get caught in a mindset of pain avoidance. Can I allow myself to be broken open by God, trusting that the pain will result in a worthwhile harvest? Can I die to my comfortable little shell, shed the barriers that enclose me, let go of all I think I own and all I think I am, risking everything to break through to the light? Am I willing to face the pruning shears, storms, and attacks from places known and unknown? Can I accept that sometimes I will be blown over or lose parts of my very self in the process of becoming who God created me to be?

God does not want us to sow or reap sparingly.  I look over my list of self-imposed obstacles, and I realize I have a lot of work to do in order to produce the harvest God desires.  I am reassured by the knowledge that God makes every grace abundant for me, and is not only cheering me on but is actively providing what I need. Neither God nor I totally control this venture, but together perhaps we can create a beautiful and fruitful garden nonetheless.

 

Amy Florian is a teacher and consultant working in Chicago.  For many years she has partnered with the Passionists.  Visit Amy’s  website: http://www.amyflorian.com/.

 

 

Scripture:

Ezekiel 1:2-5, 24-28c
Matthew 17:22-27

Reflection:

Edith Stein, brilliant philosopher and Jewish woman who would become a Carmelite Nun, is most familiar with the Cross. She echoes Passionist spirituality. Edith’s religious name is Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Her journey to religious life took her from a mother and family she deeply loved, through years of prominence as a foremost disciple to the philosopher Edmund Husserl, months of caring for the wounded during the First World War, and then becoming a Christian in 1922, a Carmelite in 1933.

Jumping ahead to 1942, Edith has moved to the Carmel of Echt in Holland where the sisters thought it safer because of her Jewish background and growing Nazi threats. The Dutch bishops had a pastoral letter read at all the Sunday Masses condemning Nazi practices. As a reprisal priests and religious of Jewish background were rounded up and sentenced to die in Auschwitz. No appeals would be permitted. With her Jewish brothers and sisters, this contemplative was put to death.

Matthew’s gospel today reverberates with Passion themes. To the 2^nd prediction of the Passion Matthew gives us the reaction of the disciples, simply, "they became very sad". To be very sad is the feeling that comes from reading of the meaningless deaths of Edith Stein and all innocent victims of the holocaust. But Edith might direct us to look for meaning in the Cross?

Edith knew the Cross. Her final writing, entitled, "The Science of the Cross" comments on St. John of the Cross, as he explores the marriage of God and the soul, the surrendering of each to the other. She writes "There is no other way to union than that which leads through the Cross and night, the death of the old self…. The bridal union of the soul with God is the goal for which she was created, purchased through the Cross, consummated on the Cross and sealed for all eternity with the Cross."  pp 217, 273  

Matthew then shows us Jesus as the Son of God. No need not pay the Temple tax, this is his father’s house! Our Lord speaks knowingly he is in charge, but to avoid scandal we will pay. There is a scene shortly before she dies that shows Edith in charge, Christ like in stature, and I believe drawing strength from what is so close to her, the Cross.

She is taken by train to the "east" on August 2^nd. The train stops in Westerbork on the 6^th. (Etty Hilesum, "An Interrupted Life", a Jew and mystic who helped in the camp of Westerbork in Holland until she would go to her death in Auschwitz herself, makes reference to what seems to be Edith’s passage through the camp). Then late one night in a railroad yard closer to Auschwitz, a man who seems pressed into service, perhaps some military duty, smells the awful odor coming from the cars of a stopped train. It is full of those heading to the death camp. He looks up and sees a woman standing in the open door of one of the cars… She asks if he would get water for those on the train. It seems this was the train of Edith Stein and that it was she who stood there seemingly in control of this hopeless situation, protectively standing between her suffering brothers and sisters and the dark night, and all that awaited them. We can imagine Edith drawing strength from the Cross even as she moved toward it.

The witness is startled to see her, he feels her helplessness, is aware of a horrible situation. One wonders if he might even have helped had she tried to escape? Edith Stein, Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, O.C.D., is a witness too. She shows us herself as one whom Jesus invites to stand before the Cross, even such a cross as the meaninglessness of the holocaust; and like her we are invited to draw strength from the Cross to help and protect our brothers and sisters.

 

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

Scripture:

Wisdom 18:6-9
Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19 or 11:1-2, 8-12
Luke 12:32-48 or 12:35-40

Reflection:

These readings present us with a taste of Advent in August. We are taught to live by faith with expectancy and vigilance.

I write this as I am flying back to Houston from Louisville and a diocesan-wide morning of recollection I preached at a parish there. I stayed at our monastery and enjoyed the hospitality of our men. While walking around the grounds I lingered at the cemetery. I discovered that I knew quite a few of the men who are buried there. For example, Fr. Michael Joseph was the provincial when I was ordained and he gave me my first assignment in Citrus Heights. I was surprised to see that it had been some four years since our Fr. Jim DeManuele had passed. Staring at his headstone that gave the significant dates of his life was sobering.

It is hard to get away from Jim’s influence in Louisville. I preached my heart out at the morning of recollection. Many were there who have a history with the Passionists and know us well. I heard comments about many of our men. One woman came up to me and said, "Did you know Fr. DeManuele? He was so animated with those long arms and a very good preacher!" Then after a moment, "Oh, by the way, you were good too." (Thanks!) I was even taken to the airport in Jim’s former car.

Staring at the graves of our men was sobering in that I was reminded of my own mortality yet again. "One day," I thought, "that will be me." We tend to forget. The readings remind us that this reality is not our true home. We are to be vigilant and live by faith in God and longing for what God has in store for believers. As good and as beautiful (and tragic) as life is now, we were made for more: a "better homeland." We are sojourners and this is not our true home, lest we forget. These are sobering summer readings. They give us pause to think and reflect. No one knows the day or the hour.

The first reading from Wisdom about Passover would have been near and dear to Jim’s heart. He loved liturgy and imbued a great appreciation for the paschal mystery in me. Like the Hebrews waiting in secret, we are a people with "inside knowledge." We worship God in the midst of a culture that is lost and confused. We know as we worship and live by faith that God has prepared a city for us.

 

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/