Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14
1 John 3:1-3
Matthew: 5:1-12a

Reflection:

Today we honor ALL SAINTS… women, men, girls and boys who come from everywhere… people whose lives are seemingly ordinary, but who daily live… now and in the past…  the faithful way of discipleship.   I suggest that describes many of us who read, reflect and pray these daily readings. 

Take a moment to reflect on and name the "Saints" in your own life. Who taught you the love of God?  Who trusted that love in the midst of their own sufferings?  Who assisted God in bringing you to life and deeper living, even through life’s crosses?

Are we not alive with faith and goodness because of them?

Our first reading today is from the Book of Revelation – like all apocalyptic literature, there is disclosure about something hidden; it was written to encourage the faithful in time of great suffering and distress.  The theme is centered on hope and trust.  The sufferings of the present lead to brighter future.  Communities under harsh conditions need encouragements both from within and outside the group.  Here is where this reading gets its importance and power.

Our Psalm Response reminds us that WE are the people who long to see the face of the Lord… and as we do, we shall receive a blessing from the lord… because we are the people that seek the face of God…."

Our Second reading from the first epistle of John  invites us to prayerfully ponder on the love that the Father has bestowed on us, so that we may be called children of God…. for we ARE God’s children…NOW… and we will be like Him for we shall see God  as God  is!

And how shall we LIVE like God’s Blessed children?  Today’s Gospel of Matthew

presents us with the spiritual platform Jesus stands upon and to which He invites us to join Him there.  These are basic invitations for real living, characteristics of those who desire a participation in the life He would live and for which He would die. 

Our blessedness is described as something of God’s holiness being shown through our human actions.  We are inside-outside people.  Being blessed is based on God’s sharing part of the essence of God with us and then our doing something from that inside gift by sharing it in small or large deeds.  We are not holy by what we do. We are holy because of the very essence of God shared with us.  And so we are blessed, holy.

How and where are you blessed today?

 

Sr. Marcella Fabing, CSJ is on the staff of Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center, Citrus Heights, CA.

Scripture:

Romans 11:1-2a, 11-12, 25-29
Luke 14:1, 7-11

Reflection:

"…..For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

 

Today’s gospel takes place at a dinner banquet to which Jesus had been invited – presumably a banquet that was quite exclusive.  He was certainly no stranger to festive get-togethers: the wedding feast at Cana, the parables of the great banquet and the prodigal son.

At this particular gathering, Jesus makes a strong statement about the virtue of humility, as he watches the invited guests scramble for the seat of honor and he gently chides them for their imprudence while teaching them perspective.

Humility accepts who I am, what my gifts are and uses them for the betterment of the community and the world.  It’s not about power, position, or prestige.  It does not need to control others or situations.  It is about recognizing my gifts and putting them at the service of others:   not because of the benefits I will receive, but because they were given to me to be shared.

Humility has also been misunderstood to mean that I must not take credit for what I do well.  There is a difference between being self-assured and having positive self-esteem, and being arrogant.  True humility is knowing that I have certain gifts and using them in such a way that does not judge and put down others, but accepts everyone exactly where they are at on their journey.

In God’s eyes……………. WE ARE ALL GREAT !!

 

Deacon Brian Clements is on the staff at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.  B[email protected].                                                                                                                                                      

Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles

Scripture:

Ephesians 2:19-22
Luke 6:12-16

Reflection:

Today’s readings are wonderfully appropriate for this year of the Priest.  The Gospel emphasizes the importance of the priesthood, telling us of how Jesus chose his Apostles to be the special twelve and predecessors of the ordained. 

And the First Reading tells us that we, as laity, are all also chosen – fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the house of God. 

The documents of Vatican II state,

"The laity derive the right and duty with respect to the apostolate from their union with Christ their Head. Incorporated into Christ’s Mystical Body through baptism and strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit through Confirmation, . . . they are consecrated into a royal priesthood and a holy people." (n.3)

Since Vatican II, theologians and church leaders have emphasized this priesthood of all the baptized.  In realizing our baptismal role as members of a royal priesthood, it is easy to focus on the rights and forget the duties part.  We are the Church, and that means that we not only have rights, but we also are responsible for what happens within the Church.  It means that we have an obligation to see that our local church community has the resources to pay the bills, but it also means that the growth of our church, the evangelization, the spiritual vitality rests with all of us.

We’ve moved past the day when it is up to the Pastor to determine whether or not "this is a good parish" – We can no longer opt for just saying, "Father will take care of it, let’s ask Father" – and then when things go wrong, it is Father’s fault – not mine.  And if we don’t like the priest, we just worship at another church.  Isn’t it time that we completely accept our role as fellow citizens with the holy ones? 

Perhaps now is the time for all of us ordained and lay to remember that we are united in Christ, all members of God’s family and as such we are all called to love and care for one another.  This may mean taking some time to access our roles in our local parishes. 

In the Gospel, Jesus took the time to pray before choosing the Apostles, may each of us follow Jesus’ example by praying about our role in today’s Church.

 

Mary Lou Butler ([email protected])is a former staff member and is now a member of the Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center Board, Sierra Madre, California. 

 

Scripture:

Romans 8:31b-39
Luke 13:31-35

Reflection:

I recently finished reading an incredible book. It was called "Surviving the Holocaust: The Kovno Ghetto Diary." It was an account of daily life in this Jewish Lithuanian Ghetto written by Avraham Tory. From June 1941 until January 1944, Mr. Tory, the official secretary of the Jewish ghetto council, was determined to record every aspect of life, every interaction with the Nazis persecutors in order to someday bring to justice those men and women who committed such atrocious crimes. Mr. Tory did this knowing that if he was ever found out, if any of his documents leaked out to the Nazis, he would be immediately executed and everything he worked for would be destroyed. Yet almost despite himself, Mr. Tory could not help but write. Not only of the injustice he and his fellow Jews experienced at the hands of their captures, but also to give a witness to the amazing strength, bravery and, at times, cunning, of the Ghetto inhabitants. Having finished the book, I wondered if I would have had such courage!

As I read the gospel today I read about Jesus and his determination to follow the course God laid out for him no matter the consequences, no matter the cost. He was warned by the Pharisees to flee, to run away, to escape. But Jesus knows that it is only in Jerusalem that he can meet his destiny and fulfill his mission. He makes clear that his attitude toward Jerusalem is that of his Father. He loved Jerusalem even though Jerusalem would, in a matter of months, be the place of his execution.

It is often easier to talk about trusting in God than it actually is "trusting" God. Paul’s words resonate over and over again and again, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" "…neither death, nor life, neither angels, nor principalities…nor heights, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Jesus was the living embodiment of "trusting" in the Father even in the face of certain death. He went forward because it was his destiny, his calling, his mission to fulfill.

We may not in our daily lives find ourselves confronting, like Jesus, such overwhelming dramatic issues like that of our life’s destiny and the sort of mission we will fulfill. But how do we act in the small challenges that life asks us to embrace? Do we "talk the talk" but not "walk the walk?" Or do we "will" ourselves to trust in God, in what is right and just, and do what we know we are called to do? If our model of faith is Jesus, who confronted death and was victorious, can we expect to do any less?  

 

Patrick Quinn ([email protected]) is the director of Planned Giving at the Holy Cross Province Development Office in Chicago.

 

 

Scripture:

Romans 7:18-25a
Luke 12:54-59

 

 

 

Reflection:

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus chides the crowds for being able to "interpret the appearance of the earth and sky," but are not able to "interpret the present time." In other words, they could not see that Jesus was the Messiah, and that the kingdom of God was at hand.

How are we to interpret "the present time?" Even though the economy shows signs of recovery, we know that there are still too many people out of work. When Jesus talks about settling with one’s opponent before the matter gets to court, it seems totally out of sync with what is going on. Around  the most difficult issues facing our country, battle lines seem to be drawn, and even when compromise is reached, there is little satisfaction among the participants in the process.

In our personal lives, many of us can relate to St. Paul, who writes in our reading from Romans, "I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want." He also writes, "I discover the principle that when I want to do right, evil is at hand."

What is our response to these things? One response is to despair. Another is to follow along with the trends these things represent. The response to which Jesus calls us is neither despair nor accommodation. In the light of economic difficulty, we are to witness to hope and trust in God. We are to show gratitude and generosity. In the light of division and rancor, we are to share the love we have in Jesus Christ.

You could say that we are to live our lives in such a way that people can look at us and "interpret the present time" as a time in which God is still present and working in the lives of people. We are called to follow Christ in such a way that people will see, at this time, that there is still reason to hope and love and live. May we be such witnesses! In the words of St. Paul, "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord."

 

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P. is pastor of St. Mary’s Parish, Fairfield, Alabama.

Scripture:

Romans 6:12-18
Luke 12:39-48

Reflection:

Slavery/servanthood is a form of existence that has thankfully disappeared from most of western society, though instances of it still seem to perdure in some parts of the world.  While the external constraints that slavery enforces on people are degrading, it is the internal capitulation to these shackles that is by far the worse condition.

This thought comes to mind from the biblical readings presented us in today’s liturgical selections.  They derive from Paul’s letter to the Romans and Luke’s gospel.  They both address the issue of servant/slave.  They do so, however, not in socio-economic terms, but in inner soul-terms of sin.  And they proceed, especially Paul, in a graded or progressive manner.

He presents sin as if it were something outside or beyond ourselves, or, at least, our bodies, as in his remark that "…sin must not reign over your mortal bodies, so that you obey their desires".  He seems to address "you" as over against one’s sin-controlled body.  And he proceeds to admonish his readers "not to present parts of your bodies to sin" as if sin, bodies and "you" were three separate elements, in need of coordination.

Luke’s parable of the servant, especially the wicked one, clearly describes the dire situation he finds himself in upon the master’s return: he "…shall be beaten severely".  But, unpleasant as this is, there is no certain indication that this servant has lost his job, especially in the light of Luke’s comment about a fellow-servant who was less informed about the master’s expectations, and who will "…be beaten only lightly".  In each case, it seems that the wrong-doing of these servants did not completely undo their status in the master’s judgment.

There is a resemblance in Paul’s and Luke’s accounts of the impact that sin has on us, like any slavery situation in which people find themselves.  It’s a progressive matter.  Just as socio-economic slavery moves from a less damaging external situation to the more worrisome condition of distorting the internal status of a person, so sin works on us in stages, from the less controlling influence on our external behavior, to a more insidious penetration of our inner self.  We can sustain a beating for succumbing to temptation, so long as we retain some status as a "steward …in charge…" of others.

Sin is a movement toward slavery and lowly servanthood.  We can’t avoid it completely, but, with God’s help, we can aim at Paul’s upbeat vision for his Roman readership: "Freed from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness."

 

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

 

Scripture:

Isaiah 61, 1-3
I Corinthians 1, 17-25
Mark 6:7-13

Reflection:

St. Paul of the Cross, Founder of the Passionists, was born in 1694 in a small town called Ovada, in Northern Italy.  He was one of sixteen children, only five of whom survived infancy.  His father, Luke Danei, owned a small clothing and tobacco shop that barely supported his large family.  His mother, Anna Maria, was a faith-filled woman, whose devotion to the Passion of Jesus was the source of her courage and strength as she endured the grief and loss of so many of her children.

From his earliest years Paul, by the example of his Mother, had a deep devotion to the Passion of Jesus and at the age of 19 had a vivid experience of the depth of God’s love.  As a result of this experience Paul became determined to give himself totally to God.  Due to family need, however, he stayed at home, helping to support the family by working in his father’s shop.  At 22 he joined the crusade against the Turks though it took only two months for him to realize that the army was not for him.  Returning home, he once again worked in the family business.

When he was 26, the circumstances of the family became a bit better and Paul finally felt free to pursue his own personal dreams. Bidding good-bye to his family, he went to Alessandria, where Bishop Gattinara, Paul’s spiritual director and confessor, clothed Paul in a black tunic on the day of his arrival and then sent him to the parish of St. Charles in Castellazzo for retreat.  In the small sacristy of the parish church Paul made a 40 day retreat.  It was during those 40 days that Paul had the most extraordinary experiences of union with God and wrote the Rule of Life for the congregation he hoped to found.

After his retreat Bishop Gattinara sent him back to his home town where Paul lived in various hermitages for several years.  In 1721 Paul made his way to Rome in hopes that he could get his Rule of Life approved by the Pope.  He was turned away by a Vatican guard so Paul returned home, discouraged but determined.  On his return, his brother, John Baptist, joined with him to try living according to Paul’s Rule of Life.  Paul and John Baptist became well-known catechists and Paul was even invited to give spiritual talks by various groups.

In 1725, the brothers returned to Rome and this time Paul was given verbal permission to gather companions to live according to his Rule of Life.  Cardinal Corrandini asked the brothers to work in a newly established hospital there in Rome.  The president of the hospital was so impressed by Paul and John Baptist that he arranged for them to be ordained to the priesthood.

As more men joined with Paul and John Baptist, they moved the whole community to Monte Argentario, a promontory about 150 kms northwest of Rome, where they established the first Passionist monastery in 1737.

While contemplation and prayer were at the very heart of Paul’s life and the life of his new institute, Paul himself soon became a very famous popular preacher, spiritual guide, writer and mystic.  For Paul the Passion of Christ was the most vivid witness to God’s love for us and he constantly called upon his followers to remember the sufferings of Jesus.

During his lifetime Paul founded thirteen monasteries of Priests and Brothers throughout Italy as well as a monastery of Passionist Nuns.  Today the Passionists live and serve in 59 countries of the world and are enhanced by other religious and lay groups who find inspiration in the Charism of St. Paul of the Cross.

May the Passion of Jesus Christ be always in our hearts.

 

Fr. Mike Higgins, C.P. is the director of lay formation for Holy Cross Province and lives in Chicago, IL. 

Scripture:
Romans 4:20-25
Luke 12:13-21

Reflection:
"Abraham did not doubt God’s promise in unbelief; rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God and was fully convinced that what God had promised he was also able to do." Romans 4:20

Today, we celebrate the North American Jesuit Martyrs that included two laymen. These brave missionaries ministered in a territory that was later to be known as Canada and the United States. Their desire to evangelize the indigenous peoples of this "new world" and to establish the Church in this "new land" serves as a great example to us today. It also serves to inspire us to develop a bold faith, a faith that expresses itself in doing God’s work without counting the cost or looking for successful outcomes. St. Paul says in the opening line of the first reading for today’s Mass: "Abraham did not doubt God’s promise in unbelief; rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God." Abraham and these Jesuit martyrs have much in common. As you may know, the Jesuit motto is: "For the greater Glory of God."

Faith is much more than the belief that God will work miracles for us when we are beset with personal sufferings and afflictions. This kind of faith will have us rushing to God when we become critically ill or when someone we love is experiencing a great personal loss. We will call upon family and friends to pray with us for a miracle and we will even turn to strangers to help us plead our cause before God. And if by God’s Providence, a "healing" of some kind takes place, we may be quick to say that it was our faith that was responsible for this turn of events.

There is no doubt that our faith calls us to turn to God when there is great need in our life. However, I am not so sure if this is the kind of faith that St. Paul was referring to in this first reading for today’s Mass, or the kind of faith that Abraham had in God’s promise or the kind of faith Jesus was asking of us when he said, "Have faith in God and have faith in me." (John 14:1) Jesus was demanding his disciples and the people who followed him to have faith in the God who sent Jesus into this world to save it and redeem it. Jesus is asking us to have faith in God’s Plan of Salvation, which included the Way of the Cross and the Crucifixion before Resurrection and Pentecost.

This kind of faith calls us to believe in a God of Life when all we see is death and destruction. It also calls us to believe in a God of Love when we are surrounded by hatred and loathing. It is the faith of the saints who walked in darkness and doubt when they prayed hours on end, like St. Paul of the Cross and Teresa of Calcutta. It is the faith of martyrs when their life ends violently after preaching a Gospel of love and forgiveness, like Sts. John de Brébeuf, Isaac Jogues and their companions, the martyrs we celebrate today. It is a belief in a God who is more powerful and life-giving and loving than any expression of evil that we may encounter in our lives. God is able to bring light from darkness, life from death, and love from hatred. This, indeed, calls for some kind of faith!

 

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