Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Romans 4:1-8
Luke 12:1-7

Reflection:

I’m pretty sure that most of my fellow humans have, at some point, looked at a person who seemingly did nothing but somehow got ahead – got the job, got the girl (or the guy), got the promotion, got the recognition, got the life – and either scratched his or her head in disbelief or let out an internal howl at the injustice of it all. Some people just seem to be born with the "keys to the kingdom."

But it is God’s unconditional love that is the supreme balm for and leveler of all the human hierarchies and reward systems that tear apart, confound or stiffen our hearts and make us feel like we can never be, or have, enough.

With God, it turns out, we don’t have to work like a dog to gain His love; we don’t have to prove ourselves to get the reward. There is no spiritual quid pro quo in which if we do X (fill in the blank) then God credits us as a righteous person. No, the source of our goodness is not us or even our actions, but God. And it is through our belief in God that His goodness takes root in us and creates magnificence in the world.  What a relief it is to know that there is no Cosmic Ledger against which we will never measure up. Even, or especially, our sins are forgiven because we are loved; because, flaws and all, we hold onto our faith.

In the Gospel, Jesus reminds his own chosen disciples to beware the hypocrisy of the Pharisees who think they possess the "inside track" to the Divine. There is nothing secret, elusive or exclusionary about God.  If the smallest of God’s creatures is known intimately by Him, then how much more are we known to God? And by "we," I mean you and me.

The responsorial Psalm today says it all: I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation. The way to God and the truest reward is not for the other more fortunate guy or the one who does all the right stuff. It is for each of us who chooses, against all odds and often in pain, to go to God in our belief and our willingness to love.

 

Nancy Nickel ([email protected]) is director of communications at the Passionist Development Office in Chicago, Illinois.

Scripture:

Romans 1:16-25
Luke 11:37-41

Reflection:

Hand sanitizers are everywhere you look these days as we try to protect ourselves each other from the seasonal viruses that menace the land.  Today, as in Biblical times, the simple act of washing our hands is the easiest and most effective protection. 

Our Gospel selection for this day finds Jesus once again at the home of a Pharisee and in lively discussion about things ordinary and sacred.  The prescribed ritual of washing one’s hands before eating was, in fact, both ordinary and sacred.  This was another opportunity for Jesus to speak for integrity, transparency and consistency in all we do.  St. Luke often puts these dialogs between Jesus and the Pharisees in the context of a meal.  The Gospel context itself thus invites us to hear the challenge of Jesus as Eucharistic, where what is as ordinary as a meal, is really something so much more. 

The Eucharistic meal is a model of life itself for people of faith. We assemble ourselves around the table of The Lord as simply the people we are, without distinctions or exclusions.  No one is less clean or less worthy because The Lord has invited us all to the banquet.  Let us respond with faith again today invitation: "Come to the feast!"

 

Fr. Jim Strommer, C.P. is a member of the Provincial Council and lives in Chicago.

Scripture:
Wisdom 7:7-11
Hebrews 4:12-13
Mark 10:17-30 or 10:17-27

Reflection:
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

Jesus, looking at him, loved him.

Jesus didn’t love him because he was good or because he knelt before him, or because he had been obedient from childhood, or because he was rich.

No.

Jesus just loved him.  He loved him with an agape, unconditional, love.

Jesus looks at us and just loves us. 

Running up to Jesus, we fall to our knees and ask the eternal question.  Jesus answers by revealing our attitudes, exposing our priorities, digging beneath layers that separate us from true discipleship – public piety, moral accomplishments, and political correctness.

He tells us the truth about ourselves, about what we lack and about the possessions that posses us.

 Jesus then invites us to follow him, to join him on the journey, to enter the Kingdom of God like a child, trusting, obedient and grateful to God.  If we follow, Jesus promises us the gift of eternal life.

Do we believe the promise?  Will we follow him? 

Or will we walk away in sorrow – dragging our pathetic possessions behind?

 

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

Scripture:

Malachi 3:13-20b
Luke 11:5-13

Reflection:

Two of the major themes highlighted by the evangelist Luke throughout his Gospel are prayer and the Holy Spirit. We have both of these present in our reading today. We hear Jesus encouraging us in our prayer to be persistent. I understand that the Greek here tells us to "keep on asking, seeking and knocking." Prayer is not a one time activity but a journey of faith and trust. Don’t let the lack of feelings or results stop you. One of the realities I love about St. Paul of the Cross was his persistence in prayer even when he experienced dryness. He endured into his old age and trusted all the way to the end of his life.

I get many prayer requests from people through my website because of my TV programs. Just yesterday I received a prayer request from someone unemployed, another for a son of theirs who has fallen away and another from a person about to undergo an operation. There are so many situations and a multiplicity of needs that people have. I certainly do intercede for these people daily. I know all of us are praying for our Fr. Jim Thoman recently diagnosed with cancer.

The thrust of this Gospel however, has more to do with intensifying our relationship with God. It was Matthew’s account of "ask, seek and knock" that was crucial in my own conversion at age 19. Luke further clarifies by changing Matthew’s "good things" that God will give us to "the Holy Spirit." What all of us really need is intimacy with God’s Spirit. It is the Spirit who invigorates us with passion, power and peace to live our vocations fully and achieve our potential. Most of all the Holy Spirit gives us what we all desire, a personal relationship with God. I invite you to be persistent and zero in on the person of the Holy Spirit. If you know how to give good things to your friends and family how much more will your Father in heaven pour out his Spirit on you!

 

Fr. Cedric Pisegna, C.P. is a missionary preacher, author of 12 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/

 

Feast of the Holy Rosary

Scripture:

Jonah 4:1-11
Luke 11:1-4

 

 

Reflection:

All of Catholic Europe prayed the Rosary when Sultan Selim assembled a great armada to overwhelm Italy and the West.  On October 7, 1571 the Christian fleet under Don John of Austria and Andre Doria smashed theTurkish threat at Lepanto.  Pope St. Pius V made that day the Feast of the Holy Rosary.

In our time Pope John Paul II inserted the Five Lightsome Mysteries into the Rosary for our contemplation.  For the Rosary is not a mumbling of Hail Mary’s.  It is an invitation to come to know and absorb the light and strength that Christ continues to share with us.  In the Rosary, we share Mary’s insights into the redemptive love of Christ.

Pope John Paul II suggested that we contemplate the Baptism of Christ as he embraced his call to be a victim for our sins.  At Cana he advances "his hour" at the request of his Mother.  He ministered to the multitude in the wearying work of proclaiming the Kingdom of God pouring out forgiveness and healing ills of soul and body.

The Transfiguration reminds us that the Lamb to be slain is truly the Son of God.  The Institution of the Eucharist gives us Christ our Life.  All these Mysteries give us light and hope as we see the Love of God poured out for us.  These events took place long ago in a far away land, but they become alive within us as we murmur our prayers.

"As I live, you shall live."  Jesus is totally present in each mystery. If the repetition of the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries have become a bit dull for us, perhaps probing these Mysteries of Light can waken us to the many ways in  which Christ loves us now as he did when he celebrated these events in Galilee and came to the aid of a trembling Europe at Lepanto.  The grace and power of Christ are there for us even amidst the new perils of the 21st century.

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

Scripture:

Genesis 2:18-24
Hebrews 2:9-11
Mark 10:2-16

Reflection:

To Love As Does Jesus

The Scriptures present the richness of God’s love:  the Genesis story of the creation of men and women, with its dose of the beauty of sexuality and human desire; the Gospel presents Jesus’ very direct teaching on marriage and divorce, plus his simple teaching on being childlike to enter the Kingdom of God. 

The selection from Mark’s Gospel presents Jesus’ teaching about the facts of relationships, love and life.  We easily recall the beauty of a married couples’ wedding day and their profession of faithful love for a lifetime.  Today we see that it doesn’t always happen:  the contemporary challenges of love and life can either bring blessed growth, or all too often, separation.

The Scriptures remind us that marriage is not merely a "body-thing", or a "social thing", or a "secular thing" – but a God-thing.  The Genesis reading teaches that God wants marriage to reflect God’s love for all people, a love which never fails, and which grows and promotes life.  Marriage and the relationship of man and woman is a challenge — God providing the example and encouragement to be patient, generous, thoughtful, enduring, forgiving, fruitful.

The last section of today’s Gospel highlights another dimension of marriage and life:  children.  People were happily bringing their children to Jesus that he might bless them, but the disciples tried to keep them away so as not to bother Jesus.  Jesus’ removed the human "barrier" and invited the children to come to him, reminding us all that parenting children is enfleshing God’s love (the Kingdom) by being life-giving and joy-filled (some parents may question the blessing of teenagers…).

Jesus is the model for the love of both spouses and parents.  As members of the Passionist family, we see Jesus promoting "Life" in gatherings as in today’s Gospel, and as we look to Him on the Cross of Calvary.  Sacrificial Love brings about life…in everyone!

Today, may we be grateful for our faith and our vocation in life.  May we seek a deepening of love in our lives, asking God’s blessing on the beauty of sexuality and relationships, God’s blessing of faithfulness and fruitfulness, and God’s blessing on children of all ages.

 

Fr. John Schork, C.P. is the local leader of the Passionist community in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Feast of the Guardian Angels

Scripture:

Baruch 1:15-22
Matthew 18:1-5, 10

Reflection:

Today’s feast of the Guardian Angels points to a surprising intersection between ancient belief and a central feature of modern, popular spirituality.  In the contemporary religious scene, angels are definitely "in", as TV shows, websites and blogs, pins and T-shirts indicate. What are we to make of this?

For one thing, this popular focus on angels tells us that, even in our seemingly secular culture, people experience divine presence and activity.  There is a mysterious, positive power that is felt and ‘seen’; it is found active in all dimensions of human existence.  Popular belief is echoing the Gospel story – God is for real and is active in our world.

And, popular attraction to angels is focused on our need for protection. Life is sometimes tough, unkind or cruel; we need more security than we can muster by ourselves.  Here, contemporary spiritual experience is catching up with the meaning of today’s feast.

In both Old and New Testaments, God’s provident care and compassion is often expressed through the activity of angels. An angel protects the three young men cast into the fiery furnace (Dan. 3:49); an angel counsels Joseph to protect Mary and the Infant Jesus (Mt 2:13); an angel supports Jesus himself in his garden agony (Luke 22:43); an angel frees Peter from prison (Acts 12:6 ff). And these examples just scratch the surface!

May today’s celebration deepen our trust in God’s protective compassion. Let us live in the conviction that our lives and destiny are cloaked in God’s invincible love.

 

Fr. Jim Thoman, C.P. is the director of St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat Center, Detroit, Michigan.

Scripture:

Nehemiah 8:1-4A, 5-6, 7B-12
Psalm 19: 8-11
Luke 1-: 1-12

Reflection:

Our readings today reflect the spirit, depth of character and love of the young saint we celebrate today:  St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church ,who at 15 entered the Carmelites and died in their cloister at the age of 24.   A young woman of great love and fidelity in small things in every day life, Therese revealed her ‘little way" in her autobiography ‘Story of A Soul’.  Her "little way" was fidelity in the small things of everyday life with great love, trust and complete self-surrender to God.

Our first reading from Nehemiah, recounts Ezra’s proclamation of the Law in an open plain upon the Israelite’s joyful return to Jerusalem from captivity in Babylon.  "Today is holy to the Lord your God.  Do not be sad and do not weep… rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength…" Was that not the source of the joy and strength of Therese?  Is it ours today?

Our Psalm today is a hymn of praise of praise of God’s law as an expression of God’s will for God’s people… St. Therese and each one of us… refreshing our souls, giving wisdom to the simple, rejoicing our hearts… sweeter than syrup or honey from the comb… In the spirit of today’s reading… can we find joy in hearts that the Lord has for us this day?

Jesus in today’s gospel of Luke, appoints disciples, prays for them as He asks the Father to send laborers to proclaim His Kingdom… As each of us prays this Gospel…Let us put ourselves into this scene… we too are appointed to go… like Therese, whatever our circumstances of life… to announce God’s love, presence and Kingdom… bringing peace and God’s love … even in the midst of trials, sufferings…always with great love… with joy…. with trust in our God who sends us forth
today… and let us pray for one another. 

 

Marcella Fabing CSJ, is on the staff at Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center, Citrus Heights, California.