Daily Scripture

Scripture:

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

Reflection:

Jesus, can I share my thoughts?  I know we have a few more days left before we celebrate your birth but the gospel brings it up for reflection at Mass today.    Seeing You in the crib brings tears to my eyes.   

The tears of gratitude flow from the realization that You chose to experience our life…"he was like us in all things."    On Christmas day the little ones will connect with You immediately when they see You as the "baby Jesus."    The rest of us will approach You a little differently.    Our stage of life finds some of us looking back with a loving smile.  Baby pictures are wonderful!  But then we need to move on.  

The question You asked the disciples seems right to the point: "Who do you say that I am?"  For me as an adult it is an awareness through the years of my deepening friendship with You.   There certainly were moments of dealing with the truth of what friendship is all about and feeling I wasn’t carrying my part of the load.  Oh, how I wish I could erase some things.  These 79 year-old eyes have also known the tears of sorrow.  For me growing up is closely connected with a continual reaching out in love to You, as well to all my brothers and sisters and lastly, to myself.  Nothing wrong with the love and tears that I experience at the celebration of your birth so wonder-filled.

What keeps coming back to me again and again is the fact that my/our salvation could have taken place at the very moment of Your birth.  But, no, You continued living , teaching, healing, forgiving and loving us.  "You shall call His name Jesus, because he will save His people from their sins."  What a joy it is to picture myself holding you as a little precious infant in my arms.  The truth is that Your love lead You to die on the cross out of love for me.  And, now, the embrace, the hug that I receive comes from You who chose to keep the marks of Your love in Your hands and feet and side.  Now I think you understand where the tears are coming from.  Thank you.  

 

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:

In today’s first reading from the book of Genesis, Jacob blesses his son Judah and says, "The scepter shall never depart from Judah, or the mace from between his legs, while tribute is brought to him, and he receives the people’s homage."  Thus began the rumbles of the monarchy which one day would come to Israel, led by the royal dynasty of Judah.  David was of the house of Judah and in 1 Samuel 7, what seemed like an eternal promise was made to David.  The Davidic line would always be enthroned as king of Judah and Israel.  But history would make this begin to seem impossible.  The Davidic dynasty was humiliated and even deprived of all royal privileges.  True it was blessed by God in its glory days but great sufferings would begin to break open another, deeper level of meaning. 

Human concepts, metaphors and paradigms are ultimately shabby houses for the intentions of God.  This royal dynasty would begin to erode and be but a glimmer in the coming fulfillment.  Matthew would mention three women with blights on their character, Tamar, Ruth and Bathsheba, who would enter into the story line of the coming Messiah.  Mary, the mother of Jesus was not of the house of Judah.  It was Joseph, the foster father of the Messiah who was of this lineage.  It would be by a legal fiction that Jesus would be of the house of David.  All of the high pomp and circumstance of royalty would give way to the coming kingdom of lowliness and poverty that Jesus would establish.

I have some friends who go to California and crave to see some of the movie stars.  They will go to the "right restaurant, nightclub, etc." in an effort to accomplish this.  Are we still in the "regal" stage of our spiritual growth?  Can we find the child Jesus in the simple and ordinary people that are all around us, at work, in our family home, etc.?  Where we are is a gold mine of God’s presence.  Be at Peace and Be Attentive my soul!

 

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

Third Sunday of Advent

Scripture:

Isaiah 61: 1-2a, 10-11
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
John 1:6-8, 19-28

Reflection:

Today is the day in Advent when we rejoice – Gaudete Sunday!  The prayers and readings make this theme so very clear.  Isaiah tells us, "I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul."  Our response to Isaiah echoes the joy of Mary and her song of praise which we call the "Magnificat" as we, too, sing out and say, "My soul rejoices in my God!"  As if we need even more of a reminder to sing out our joy and gladness, St Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians declares, "Brothers and sisters rejoice always."  Even the chasuble of the celebrating priest at the altar may reflect this light, festive mood as he dons a vestment that is rose colored.

And why such rejoicing?  But of course, we know only too well, don’t we?  The Lord is near; the long-awaited messiah is to come very soon.  John the Baptist perseveres in his mission to remind us to be ready for this great coming, even as he finds himself, like Isaiah, to be simply a voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘make straight the way of the Lord."

We who are called to this rejoicing in the Lord can only ask ourselves on this Third Sunday of Advent a very important question: "Am I ready to greet the Lord as he comes to bring salvation?"  We can only wonder if we have opened our hearts sufficiently so that the great mystery of the Incarnation might unfold within us as it does in the hearts of so many of my brothers and sisters.  How encouraging is this special rose-colored Sunday when our gracious God, so true to his promise, fills our hearts with joy and anticipation for the birth of our Savior!

 

Fr. Pat Brennan, CP is the director of Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11
Matthew 17:9a, 10-13

Reflection:

Growing up, I had a "lazy muscle" in my left eye.  After 7th grade, our eye doctor, Dr. Lhotka, performed surgery to correct the condition.  He literally had to lift the eyeball slightly out of the socket, snip off teh excess muscle, and re-attach the eye.  For 2 days, I couldn’t use either eye as both were bandaged to promote healing, and prevent strain.  I appreciate our saint of today, St. Lucy!

Lucy’s name means "light" or "lucidity".  She rejoiced in being able to see Christ clearly.  She dedicated her virginity and her very life to Jesus at an early age.  Her mother, unaware of her private vow, had arranged a marriage of Lucy to a young nobleman.  When Lucy revealed her promise to Christ, he flew into a rage.  Lucy was handed over to the emperor Diocletian’s tribunal, and died by a sword thrust through her throat.

Advent, with its’ shortened amount of daylight in our northern hemisphere, is the time without equal to grow in our appreciation of Christ our Light.  Some questions we might ask ourselves are: "

"What aspect of my life is in darkness?", or, perhaps better: " How is the light of Christ’s love leading me in growth in one or another aspect of virtue?"

One medieval saying goes: Lucy-light, the shortest day and teh longest night."  As the shortest day gives way to more and more light, so may the eyes of our hearts and spirits be opened wide to embrace the Wonderful Light of Christ at Christmas and always.

 

Fr. Bob Bovenzi, C.P. is stationed in Chicago, Illinois.

 

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe 

Scripture:

Zechariah 2:14-17
Luke 1:26-38

Reflection:

A few weeks ago the national news media carried the story of a woman from Bakersfield, California who recently reported seeing an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary in some salsa splattered onto the wall of her kitchen while she was making it in her blender. Some were ecstatic about the sighting; others rolled their eyes with incredulous suspicion.

Over the centuries countless apparitions have been reported, sometimes described in extraordinary detail. Yet the church is highly selective in affirming that an apparition is "worthy of pious belief." Ecclesial endorsements are rare. Vatican scrutiny is severe. In modern times, only ten apparitions have been officially deemed to exhibit characteristics "worthy of pious belief," and the earliest of these is the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Tepeyac (Jaroslav Pelikan in Mary Through the Centuries).

The value and officially endorsed status of the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego in 1531 does not hinge on the historicity of the apparition. Rather, the miracle is manifested in the remarkable transformation which it evoked within the people of Mexico and the Chicano culture. Guadalupe has become a powerful cultural energizer. Her appearance was crucial in restoring dignity, humanity and hope to a conquered people. Truly, it lifted up the lowly.

An interpretation of the Gospel text (Luke 1:26-38) for this feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe can be understood in the same way. The miracle of the annunciation is not merely an historical event. It is a message addressed to every woman who searches for her own dignity and to every man on a quest for the meaning of his humanity. Our completeness comes in discovering the birth of the inner Christ in the womb of our hearts.

At various times, whispering angels suggest that we are blessed beyond expectation. They encourage us to look within to see in our hearts a seed, an embryo, a fetus, or maybe even a small baby – but, to recognize God within. As did Mary, the task of our spiritual life is to feed, cloth and nurture the child so that we may mature into the fullness of Christ. That is the miracle of transformation.

Scripture:

Isaiah 41:13-20
Matthew 11:11-15

Reflection:

"And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come."

The message of the good news of the coming of the Messiah doesn’t begin with angels in the heavens or shepherds in the fields.  It doesn’t begin in a manger.

For the Church, it always begins with a messenger who looks like a caveman, wears camel hair, has a scraggly beard, long wild hair, and eyes like blue volts.

The messenger is John the Baptist, predicted by Isaiah, sent by God, and dressed like Elijah.

Like an uninvited guest, John always stands in the way of Christmas.  He doesn’t let us sing those cheerful jingle bells or angels we have heard on high carols.  Not yet.

Instead, he bursts onto the wilderness scene crying out: "Get ready. Repent.

But let’s be honest.  Who of us wants to go out into the wilderness?  Who wants to hear that message?  After all, the wilderness can be hazardous: a place where we encounter temptations, our demons; where we encounter even ourselves. 

But if we remain truly open, admitting our vulnerabilities, taking off the mask – if we can do that, then we can even encounter God.

Then, we will understand that the wilderness can be a place of purification and preparation.  It can be a place where we repent, and turn our lives around because we’ve been going in the wrong direction.  It’s can be a place where we finally hear God calling us to himself.

There is no other way to prepare for the coming of the Lord.

We can, of course, take a shortcut, avoid that unpleasant prophet and leapfrog right into Christmas.  But if we do, our celebration will be shallow, with no more permanence than the crumpled gift-wrapping paper that fills the trashcan.

Or, we can go into the wilderness to listen and heed the message of that strange prophet who looks like a caveman and smells like a camel. 

If we are willing to accept it, he is Elijah.

 

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

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Scripture:

Genesis 3:9-15, 20
Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12
Luke 1:26-38

Reflection:

In the midst of this season of hope, every year we celebrate this solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. A young girl gets pregnant by the power of God. God still impregnates people with dreams, creativity and passion to become all he has called them to be.  

I once was given a book called The Spirituality of Surrender by James Kirshner. The author wrote about surrender from many different perspectives. For example, many see surrender as a passive, inactive yielding. While that is true, real surrender involves being proactive. Those who truly surrender to God are they who get involved and make a difference. Surrender means dying to self and living for others. Surrender takes meaning when one actively works to realize their potential. Far from being a passive reality, surrender is very active.

When Mary said "Yes" to God, it was a moment of surrender. Her yes was born as she treasured in her heart the great things God was doing. Her yes would commit her not only to a silent acceptance, but an active participation in God’s will. She nurtured Jesus in her womb. She lovingly raised Jesus. All throughout his life she suffered nobly. There is no more poignant example of a surrendered woman than meditating on Michelangelo’s Pieta. During this season of Advent we are invited to reflect about the great things God is doing in our lives. Our reflections ought to lead us to a more radical surrender, passive as well as active. With Mary we can say yes to God again and again as we strive to realize our potential and live with passion.

 

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/

Scripture:

Isaiah 40:1-11
Matthew 18:12-14

Reflection:

Have you ever had a song or melody in your head and were not able to shake it no matter how hard you tried?  It just went round and round and on and on in your brain.  Occasionally it may have even forced its way out of the inside of your head in the form of humming, whistling or even operatic singing, much to the enjoyment or discomfort of anyone within earshot.  Advent and Christmas are seasons filled with music that stays with us.  Both the melodies and the songs are often uplifting (Joy to the World), wistful (O Come Emmanuel) or unabashedly boisterous (the Halleluiah Chorus). Much of it is based on Scripture such as today’s reading from Isaiah.  This reading has provided the inspiration for at least two movements of Handel’s Messiah, "Comfort, Comfort My People" and "Every Valley".  Also several versions of "Like a Shepherd", contemporary as well as from older traditions, have their roots in this Scripture. And this is just one reading from the Advent cycle!

Christians often bemoan the belief that "Christ has been taken out of Christmas" in our secular American society and that the separation of Church and state must be absolute even in Holiday culture.  But to even the most strident of secularists jingling bells and frosty snowmen and red nosed reindeer can wear thin when those superficial songs are heard over and over.  There comes a longing for melody and lyrics of depth and meaning that can move the inner spirit to heights of hope and peace, to love, kindness and unity with others that may not last but at least comes once a year.  May our prayer today be one of thanks for musicians and composers, ancient and contemporary, who have given us a very simple way to carry the meaning of Christmas in our minds, hearts and even voices.  

 

Cathy Anthony is on the staff of St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat Center, Detroit, Michigan.