Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Acts 18:1-8
John 16:16-20

Reflection:

The Church of Jesus with Signs Following!

The daily readings for this week speak of Church building: the home of Lydia, a prosperous dealer in woven and dyed cloth becomes the house church of Philippi. We can see her at the loom weaving a new Church into creation. Paul speaks eloquently in Athens, but with no tangible results. He goes then to Corinth where working with Aquila and Priscilla over time, a solid community is established before he moves on.

In the diocese where I live we celebrate the Ascension today, most will celebrate Sunday. The celebration today fits well today with the theme of Church building, the work and response to the Spirit’s invitation, and being witnesses to the ends of the earth.

A mother due to give birth later this summer reflects about the natural world as an orderly liturgical procession for a feast day, a day like the Ascension. ‘Crocus acolytes lead the forsythia choir, followed by the shrubbery deacons, azalea to lilac, attending the fay and jolly magnolia, cloaked in the finest vestments, spun with white and gold thread’.

She goes beyond seeing the colorful display of life in nature adding that she was born into a sacramental world of initiation, healing, and vocation. In the quiet times of life there is always something to celebrate, the ordinary is packed with feast days. Nature is partnered with the cycle of the sacraments, and together help us to see ourselves with such hope, with dignity and beauty. This expectant mother ends by saying that next spring she will see the spring differently, along side her child, another witness to the Resurrection.

Augustine as poet speaks of the gifts that are ours in Jesus, ‘The one who made us has become one of us; the Ruler of the stars nursed at a mother’s breast. Yes, he became one of us – Bread hungered, Drink thirsty…’ At the heart of the Church is the Eucharist, Jesus present with us; the Way, the Truth and the Life, Healer. Each of these gifts are given through suffering, something not foreign to nature, even beautiful nature. When Adam slept Eve was given life. Bone of my Bone, he said. On the Cross the New Adam gave birth from his wounded side to the New Eve, the Church, His Body.

The Ascension shows us the Risen Lord enthroned in glory, now watching over us. We are to be witnesses to the ends of the earth and the Holy Spirit is with us, our companion and guide. We are laden with the surprises and gifts that Jesus gives us to bring life into the world. We do this often with suffering, which ought not surprise us, that is what Jesus endured, what a mother giving birth endures. It is our price that we pay so stand with others as witnesses of the Resurrection.

Pushed from the nest by the loving, nurturing Spirit to soar like the eagle, may the indescribable wonder/thunder of the Ascension shake us to a witness that comes from our oneness with Jesus, our desire for the Father.

Fr. William Murphy, CP is a member of Immaculate Conception Community in Jamaica, New York.

Scripture:

Acts 17:15, 22-18:1
John 16:12-15

Reflection:

Today’s reading from Acts is so vividly recounted that it is easy to picture ourselves there, listening to the apostle Paul as he proclaims the core of the Christian message in first-century Athens. Paul focuses on three truths, and as he speaks, we are invited to imagine what would change if we took these truths to heart and allowed them to transform our lives.

“For the God who made the world and ‘all that is in it’…” Paul reminds us that everything that exists is a gift of God’s love, an expression of God’s goodness and wonderful creativity. Nothing exists, no person, no species, and nothing of the natural world, that did not come from God. All things receive their being and life from God not just once but continually, which is why apart from God nothing can live.

“They were to seek God…though he is not really far from any one of us.” The God who absolutely transcends us is also astonishingly close at hand, continuously in reach, in those with whom we live, in strangers passing by, in the face of a delighted child or the person grieving a loss, in moments of joyful celebration as well as moments of silence. Every moment of every day God is near, surrounding us, upholding us, accepting and accompanying us. Even if we tried, we couldn’t get away from God because wherever we would go, God would already be there waiting for us.

“’In him we live and move and have our being’….” All things are in God and God is in all things. What a difference it would make if we acquired the moral and spiritual vision by which we saw God in every human being, in every creature, and the whole created world. We would love our neighbors eagerly and joyfully. We would treat every creature with respect and would never stop giving thanks for the gift of God’s creation. Peace, justice, and love would abound.

It almost sounds like heaven.

Paul J. Wadell is Professor Emeritus of Theology and Religious Studies at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, and a member of the Passionist Family of Holy Cross Province.

Scripture:

Acts 16:22-34
John 16:5-11

Reflection:

But Paul shouted out in a loud voice,
“Do no harm to yourself; we are all here.”
He asked for a light and rushed in and,
trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas.
Then he brought them out and said,
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”   -Acts 16:28-30

“Forgive Everybody, Everything” (2022) is the title of Fr. Greg Boyle’s latest book. Fr. Greg is a Jesuit, founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles and on May 3 of this year received the Presidential Medal of Freedom Award. I wonder if that means I must forgive the window company that made and installed the windows in my condo? My bedroom window has needed more attention than I have ever given to any window, and it is still broken. Most windows, get my attention twice a year and that is about it. This one, I had to replace the upper window a couple of years ago—it’s a double hung window. Then, last Fall while trying to wash it, I broke the outer pane of the double-glazed pane. I figured it was too late to have it replaced, so I jerry-rigged it with insulation stuffed wherever possible and we survived the winter. Now, it’s time to deal with it, get it off my mind, and to normalize my relationship with that no-good, window company that made it.

Having read Boyle’s book as well as meeting him last summer at a talk he gave in nearby Oak Park, Illinois, I decided to forgive the company and the window. I called the company, sought their guidance on how best to handle this rogue window. They sent a man out who in no time repaired the movement of the window, took the measurements, and promised to deliver a replacement in a week. He also, took the measurements of another window whose seal had broken and will give a quote to replace that. All this goes to say, I have forgiven myself for my own stubbornness, the window company and now with a little bit of luck, with these actions, the window and the company will no longer live rent free in my mind.

God, thank you for Paul’s sharing of his experiences with life and the sometimes very vexing, as well as not so vexing situations, life presents. Help me follow Fr. Boyle’s and Silas’ and Paul’s great example of forgiving and getting on with the day’s activities.

Dan O’Donnell is a Passionist Partner and a longtime friend of the Passionists.  He lives in Chicago.

Scripture:

Acts 16: 11-15
John 15:26b-16:4a

Reflection:

Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan said, “every truth starts as a blasphemy.”

Certainly, when Pope Francis speaks truth about militarism, poverty, capitalism, racism, sexual orientation, and protecting our environment, some have turned away, criticized him as out of line. Some say he is blasphemous and not in accord with Catholic teaching.

In our world of infinite conflicting messages about right and wrong, our inner moral compasses can be set spinning, leaving us confused, frustrated, withdrawn, or worse, blindly accepting reactionary absolutes in our quest for comfort and security.

Many accepted “truths” society lives by may not be truths at all, but rather illusions to maintain an unjust, destructive status quo. Think of the history of European and American colonialism and “the white man’s burden” that created exploitive societies for centuries. This cruelty was, at the time of its inception, approved by the papacy.

Millions considered Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. a tool of the Devil as he challenged Jim Crow laws and the Vietnam War.

Dorothy Day was considered a radical unworthy of the name Catholic when she condemned unbridled capitalism and all wars, including the Spanish Civil War, World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus says we, his disciples, will testify to the truth of Jesus Christ. The powerful Advocate will fill us with everything we need to challenge every falsehood that is counter to God’s will. When we criticize illusions, delusions, and feel-good myths that are labeled as accepted truths, we shouldn’t expect to be well received. “They will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God.”

When we, like Lydia in today’s reading from Acts, accept the invitation to follow Christ, we must be prepared to be rejected by our community and perhaps family and friends.

By converting our lives from trusting our money, our armies, our economic system, our status, and our personal powers, to a life lived in partnership with Christ, we must be prepared to take tough public stands, to expose evil masked as good, and to expect to be shut out and scoffed.

But this is the only route to true joy and deep inner peace. Today’s psalm is a hymn of rejoicing: “Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy upon their couches. Let the high praises of God be in their throats. This is the glory of all his faithful.”

Take time to let the Advocate penetrate your heart today. Let the Advocate open your eyes to see what in our world needs to be defined as good and what needs to be defined as evil. Condemn falsehoods. Anticipate rejection. Fully trust the power of the Advocate to give all you need to lead a powerful life of respect and tenderness for everyone you meet and a determination to live blasphemous lives in the eyes of the world.

This is life resting in God, a life of satisfaction of the heart.

Jim Wayne is a board member of the Passionist Solidarity Network (PSN), and author of The Unfinished Man. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48
1 John 4:7-10
John 15:9-17

Reflection:

In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.    -Acts 10:34,35

This I command you: love one another.    -John 15:17

Sometimes I get so confused. Every morning, when I turn on the radio, depending on what occurred in the previous news cycle, I’m told this nation is now our friend, that nation is now our enemy. Or even if we are not directly involved in a conflict, these people are now the bad guys, those people are now the good guys. Most days it’s too much for me to follow. So, like most humans, I start to make shortcuts. If they look like this, they are good; if they look like that, they are bad. Or if they think like this, or believe like that, or eat this food, or live on this continent, I can dismiss them. I make my judgments, not as God does, but as a human does, out of my own experiences, my own preconceived ideas, and prejudices.

Earlier in Acts, Peter is told in a vision, “What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.” Saint Paul in 1 Thessalonians says, “Test everything; retain what is good.” Often, I feel I’m quick to dismiss someone because they don’t fit my picture of what a good Christian looks like. I’m so afraid of some taint of uncleanliness that I don’t let them get close enough for me to gain an understanding and see what is good. But Scripture tells us that Jesus came so that all may be saved.

The Holy Spirit has been given to us as Comforter and Protector. We have been assured that with Her, we are safe. If I truly believe this, why should I fear coming close to anyone? Perhaps I may share something that draws them closer to God. Perhaps they have something to share that will deepen my own faith. We are called to share the Good News, but I can’t do this if I’m not first open to dialogue and conversation with others.

Today, my prayer is that I am open to dialogue with everyone God sends my way, letting the Holy Spirit guide my judgments instead of relying on my own narrow thoughts.

Talib Huff is a retired teacher and a member of the retreat team at Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center in Citrus Heights, California. You can contact him at [email protected].

Scripture:

Acts 16:1-10
John 15:18-21

Reflection:

Witnessing Jesus

These Easter days’ readings from the Acts of the Apostles continue to impress upon us that St. Paul was truly a zealous traveling missionary who, along with a variety of companions, went from town to town to preach the Good News.  He worked hard, had his share of sleepless nights – and his message of Jesus’ unconditional love was all-too-often not well received…to say the least!  Yet, nothing deterred Paul from his divine calling and his passionate response.

We are women and men of faith today because of St. Paul and many others like him.  Over the centuries, many people have generously responded to God’s call to be missionaries and evangelists; at the top of our “lists” are likely our own Passionist saints and blesseds such as Paul of the Cross, Vincent Strambi, Charles of Mt. Argus, Dominic Barberi, etc.  As Jesus points out in today’s Gospel selection, sharing the Good News is not always easy; persecution and even hatred can stifle our efforts.  And yet the Good News continues to be spread throughout the world today, even “to the very ends of the earth”.  Yes!!

As “Church”, we are each called to be “missionary” in living and witnessing our faith in the person of Jesus, crucified and risen.  By word, example, and deed we share the treasure of our faith and show the power of God’s love in our lives — especially in our love for one another.  Jesus’ words apply to us:  the message of love we proclaim may not always be received with great openness and enthusiasm; we may join Jesus in suffering as we proclaim God’s Kingdom to our 21^st Century contemporaries.

May these Easter days and the anticipated gift of the Holy Spirit in Pentecost encourage us as missionary disciples in praying the words of Psalm 100: “Let all the earth cry out to God with joy…Sing joyfully to the Lord…Know that the Lord is God…the Lord is good…”

As Easter people, we proclaim:  Amen!  Alleluia!

Fr. John Schork, C.P. serves as the Province Vocation Director and also as Local Superior of the Passionist Community of Holy Name in Houston, Texas.  

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 15:1-8
John 14:6-14

Reflection:

It might be argued that Thomas’ principal service in the gospel is to show us that even the faithful have doubts. What is more, his story shows us that faith can exist without any need for ‘proof’.

That is, when he is at a distance from the community and alone, he demands to see and feel evidence of the resurrection before he will believe. However, when he is once more united with the community of believers, and encounters Jesus risen, he no longer needs physical proofs – he declines the offer to place his hand in Jesus side or touch the wounds. He ‘knows’ at a different level – the level of faith (supported by the faith of those who surround him).

Thomas shows us a familiar pattern, understandably human and instinctive. Who has not been tempted to ‘feel’ or ‘touch’ the wet paint on the park bench – to see if the sign is really true!

Faithful living is holding a tension, it is a ‘knowing’ without surrendering to the desire to underscore one’s knowing with further evidence.

On the other hand, faithful living is not so ‘other-worldly’ as to make Philip’s question valid either. It is not so much a matter of some exceptional revelation that enables faith – we do not suspend belief till we encounter something miraculous or of a celestial order. Again, we might find the thought of a dramatic, celestial intervention to be comforting and awe inspiring, but it may not guarantee faith.

No, faith is a gift, albeit one that finds its origins in a different order of reality.

In Jesus’ own understanding, and in his message to us today, faith grows from relationship. It is a gift, and as Jesus also implies, it is one that comes from knowing him. Not a knowing in the academic sense (valuable as that is), but a knowing at the level of a trusting relationship.

The dimensions of this trust are clear in his teaching. Faith grows as a result of listening to the words he has spoken and trusting the works he has done for us. It is a knowing him that builds gradually throughout life and becomes a relationship that is simply a ‘part’ of us. At a personal level, faith is also nurtured when we reflect on the fact that we too are empowered to act with the same selfless love of Jesus and are capable of imitating his own works.

All this to engender the belief that not only is his bond with the Father indivisible, but that his bond with us is similarly indivisible, and that Jesus’ love for us, and service of us in the name of the Father, continues – we merely have to ask.

Fr. Denis Travers, C.P., is the Provincial Superior of Holy Spirit Province, Australia.

Memorial of Saint Athanasius, Bishop, and Doctor of the Church

Scripture:

Acts 15:7-21
John 15:9-11

Reflection:

Athanasius lived in Alexandria, Egypt in the fourth century. He became secretary to the bishop of Alexandria, was ordained, and then was named a bishop himself. At this time, many “Christians” came to think that Jesus was a good man, but certainly not divine. One of these people was Arius, and his followers were called Arians.

By 325, the Arian heresy was dividing the Church and unsettling the Roman Empire. In that year, Athanasius attended an Ecumenical Council, held at Nicea. The Council reaffirmed the Church’s teaching on Christ’s full deity as a statement of faith. Through his prayer, his study, and his pastoral work as a bishop, Athanasius understood God as Trinity: three Persons in one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For his work in the development of the doctrine of the Trinity, St. Athanasius was given the title “Doctor of the Church”.

Today’s Scripture readings speak of the expansive and inclusive Love of the three Persons in one God.

In the Gospel, Jesus tells His disciples about his relationship with God the Father:  
As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.   –John 15: 9-10

And in today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear St. Peter speak of the Holy Spirit being given to the Gentiles, as well as the Jewish followers of Jesus. The early Church for a time struggled with including Gentiles, and some wanted them to first convert to Judaism. Because of the early disciples’ experience of the expansive and inclusive Love of the Trinitarian God, they were able to affirm that Jesus came for all peoples. St. Athanasius expressed it this way:

We see the fitness of His death and of those outstretched arms: it was that He might draw His ancient people with the one and the Gentiles with the other and join both together in Himself.

A recent expression of this is Pope Francis’ “Todos, todos, todos.” (meaning “everyone, everyone, everyone”), repeated throughout his time in Lisbon, Portugal, for World Youth Day last year.

We ask St. Athanasius to intercede for us, so that God’s expansive Love will outstretch our arms even wider. We pray to be more inclusive in our relationships with those near to us, and with those we have not yet met.

Patty Gillis is a retired Pastoral Minister. She served on the Board of Directors at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center in Detroit. She is currently a member of the Laudato Si Vision Fulfillment Team and the Passionist Solidarity Network.