Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9
Matthew 5:17-19

Reflection:

"However, take care and be earnestly on your guard
not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen,
nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live,
but teach them to your children and to your children’s children."

Jesus, the readings today bring several  pictures to mind.  A child with puckered lips being scolded by a parent.  A teenager blurting out, "So I did it.  Big deal.  I’m not the only one who makes mistakes."   An adult screaming at another adult with no sign of backing off.  Something went wrong.  Someone was wrong.   But no immediate sign of admission.    It’s tough to face up to being wrong, refusing to deal with the truth, forgetting one’s promise…anything that points out a weakness.  

Jesus, the second thing that the readings bring to mind is that the law in itself isn’t going to do it for me.   There has to be realization that behind the law is the love that is necessary to give meaning to the law.  The scribes and the Pharisees were looking at externals most of all.  You had hard words for them: they looked beautiful on the outside like the mausoleums but were full of dead men’s bones on the inside.  I know how You, Jesus, found external conformity alone among the Scribes and Pharisees to be shallow. 

Who among us would not wish that the anger, the pride, the selfishness, the greed, the jealousy and envy, and the whole host of other things would just go away.  For many it is only laws and prohibitions, warnings and penalties that prevent injury and hurt to all of us.  But to live by the law only, trying to set up a smoke screen so nobody sees me, is to be short sighted.   Life is found in the underlying love that needs to permeate our thoughts, words and actions.

I have to admit from my own life that seeing the "whole picture" is my salvation.  And You are part of that picture along with family, community and friends, as well as myself.   You made it clear.  You have asked each and all of us as a condition of our life here on planet earth "to love the Lord, our God, and to love our neighbor as our self."   

Love is a two way street.  I see it in the recognition of the love that comes to us from others; I see it in the love that goes out from us to others.   To set up a one-way street is to block out either the love that comes to us or the love we offer to others.  It does happen.  I stand above everybody else, meaning that I’ll use you but I don’t need you.  Or I get so dependent on others that my sense of self worth is practically zero.  There is no self esteem. 

Fullness of life comes with the ongoing increase of love on a two way street.  Pay attention.  I’ll be giving you a honk, and also expecting one from you!

 

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

Scripture:

Micah 7:14-15, 18-20
Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Reflection:

Almost always I find myself lost in thought when I read or hear proclaimed the amazing parable of the "prodigal son."  There is so much richness; so many applications that pertain to my own life and ministry as a Passionist.  The compassion and mercy of the wonderful father is incomparable, only not really.  For he mirrors for us the very love of God in Heaven!

This time, however, interestingly, I found myself caught up with words from the very first reading from the prophet Micah, when he declares,

             "Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and
               pardons sin?  You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins."

In these words I found a kind of summary of our entire Lenten experience, especially at this time when ponzi schemes are revealed, when greed seems to be so pervasive, and when the innocent suffer at the hands of those who have done wrong.  Through all of this, dear friends, I continue to see my own sinfulness and realize that healing and a return to a more intense love must begin first within myself in spite of what others have done.  It is I who must stand humbly before God and be full of amazement at his amazing mercy.  It is I who must trust in his incomparable love, just like the father in our parable.  Who can love us like our God?  And who can love us so much that his greatest delight is to cast even our shame, our guilt, and our sinfulness into the depths of the sea?

 

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

Feast of St. Patrick

Scripture:

Daniel 3:25, 34-43
Matthew 18:21-35

Reflection:

In today’s first reading from the Prophet Daniel, we find Azariah (Abednego), in the fiery furnace, praying, not for himself but for the entire Jewish Community.   "We have in our day no prince, prophet, or leader, no burnt offering, sacrifice, oblation, or incense, no place to offer first fruits, to find favor with you. But with contrite heart and humble spirit let us be received."

Throughout both the Old and New Testaments, we see God, on occasion, getting frustrated with the way His people could make the externals of their religion, the heart of it all.  Dogmas, sermons, symbols, songs and high liturgical celebrations are not seen as being in the service of the heart, calling it to a radical openness and union with God.  They become veneering ends in themselves, humanly controlled ways of assuring myself "I am right with God", ways of playing hooky from the call to the heart.

It is no wonder then, that Jesus often went into the desert, to be alone, away from all the commotion and excitement of raw emotion, ever so ready, at a whim, to slide one direction or another.     In the wilderness, Jesus, stripped of externals, consumed, devoured, in silence, the will of His Father.

In Azariah’s prayer, we see a people in exile, devoid of the comforting externals of their religion, being left with nothing but a contrite heart and humble spirit.  Can’t you just picture God jumping up and down with glee, seeing his highest creation, the human heart, plowed open like broken ground, ready to just soak in God’s grace.  That is what all the externals are suppose to help happen.  Sometimes, God has to strip us of those things and test our ability to just let go and let Him be Lord of our lives.

Mother Theresa, near the end of her life, went through a terrible time of doubt and temptation.  All the wonderful truths of her faith, the years of dedicated service to the poor and dying, all began to seem like an illusion.  They seemed as empty as a pop can on side of the road, fading under the unrelenting rays of the sun and disappearing into oblivion from the realm of usefulness.  She was before her God in dire starkness, uncomforted by externals, but unfettered by them as well.  This final test enabled Mother to be embraced by God’s unconditional love in its most powerful reality and turned into a saint.

The servant, in today’s gospel, was clogged with external garbage.  Even though his master forgave him his debt, he was unable to let that forgiveness now flow through himself out to his fellow servant.   He probably felt deep down, that he really deserved to be forgiven.  He could have come up with a long list of his "forgivableness" qualities.  If he could have seen himself as an empty bowl, needing to be filled by sheer love and mercy, then he probably would have seen the emptiness in his fellow servant as well and rejoiced that he now had this flow of mercy within, to give to another.

 

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

Feast of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary

Scripture:

2 Samuel 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16
Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22
Matthew 1:1-16, 18-21, 24a

Reflection:

"It was not through the law that the promise was made to Abraham and his descendants that he would inherit the world, but through the righteousness that comes from faith." Romans 4:13.

"Joseph, her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly." Matthew 1:19

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary. The very title of this feast day draws our attention to St. Joseph as husband, a sacred relationship between man and wife, a relationship of intimacy and communion, sealed in love, and recognized as a social institution with significant social consequences.

Joseph, the husband of Mary, finds himself in a very difficult circumstance. His family and her family have agreed upon this marriage, the dowry paid either partially or in full, the date set when Joseph, the bridegroom was to go to his bride’s home and bring her to live with him. Surely there was much joy in Joseph’s heart and his future happiness assured. Then the news, the terrible news reaches him, Mary, his wife, is with child. Because, as Matthew tells us, "he was a righteous man," his options are limited. Condemn her publicly or divorce her quietly.

In the second reading, Paul talks about a righteousness that comes from the law and a righteousness that comes from faith. Abraham’s righteousness came from faith, and so God’s promise to him is fulfilled. Where is Joseph’s righteousness coming from, the law or from faith?

God’s revelation to Joseph demanded a faith response. He could either ignore God’s revelation by using the law as his rationale for making this difficult decision, or he could believe God’s word and take Mary, his wife into his home, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home." Joseph’s faith won out.

There are times in our lives that we are called to be righteous with a righteousness that comes from faith and not from the law. This is especially true when dealing with those intimate relationships we have entered into, by marriage, by vow, by friendship, by promise or by covenant. It is easy for us to make ourselves the judge, especially when we have been deeply wounded, like Joseph. Betrayed by someone we love, by an institution we care for deeply or by promises made will bring us to a moment of truth about our relationships. Should we expose them to shame or should we allow God to speak to us so that we can restore our faith in them? So many times we rush to judgment, allow our hurt or anger to get in the way of God’s plan. We act impulsively without prayerful reflection about what God wants of us at this particular time and place. We put others to shame, and thus, perhaps, bring about a greater sin. This feast, St. Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, calls us to do better.

Being righteous is not about being right. It is about being faithful to God and to those we love deeply. St. Joseph, Husband of Blessed Virgin Mary, help us to be righteous as you are righteous!

 

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

Scripture:

Jeremiah 17:5-10
Luke 16:19-31

Reflection:

For many years, the Gospel has been interpreted as an evacuation plan for the next world. This perspective, suggests Brain McLaren, has overlooked the prevailing thrust of the Gospel to provide an insertion plan into this world. The Gospel wants to guide us into living by standards of justice.

The story of the rich man and Lazarus is a parable or allegorical tale. While the context and timeframe of the narrative occur in the heaven and hell dimensions of the next world, the message is obviously one of justice in this world. It is possible that the rich man represents the attitude and lifestyle of gross consumptive habits displayed in many economically prosperous countries. Lazarus, whose name means "without help," might personify those who are starving, ignored and distained by the lifestyle in the dominant cultures.

One reason the environment is in serious peril and many of the planet’s eco-systems are near collapse is due to human consumption habits. For the most part, we see the Earth not as a sacred endowment, but a resource for our consumption. The Earth is assessed as a pre-manufactured commodity. Such a consumer mentality drives our economy and our personal lives. The goal of the current economic stimulus plan presented by the president and passed into law by Congress seeks to stimulate more jobs, so people will have more money, so they can purchase and consume more goods. This is madness. We are seemingly willing to exhaust the Earth’s resources or deprive future generations in order to feed our economy and satisfy our ravenous desires.

While the destruction and devastation to the planet caused by human consumptive demands is becoming more apparent, the human impact is often overlooked. Through a measuring tool called Global Footprint, we are now able to assess the impact of our lifestyles upon the Earth. It is a complex process, but a simple formula. At present, there are approximately 6.7 billion humans alive on Earth. If we divide the planet evenly so that each of us receives a fair-share, every person would be entitled to 6.5 acres. From that 6.5 acres each of us would have to find the wherewithal to cultivate our food, the materials to construct our homes, make our furniture, produce our clothes, manufacture our appliances and turn out our gadgets. 6.5 acres would be our fair-share.

How many acres does it take to support the lifestyle of your country? If you live in Tanzania, it is 2.6 acres, while the number of acres to support the lifestyle of the average person in Congo is 1.3 acres. Iraq takes 3.3 acres; Saudi Arabia demands 6.5 acres. The average Chilean needs 7.4 acres to sustain their lifestyle; India 2.2 acres; Japan 12.1 acres; Germany 10.4 acres; Ireland 15.5 acres; and Canada 17.5 acres. In the United States of America it takes a staggering 23.3 acres to support our lifestyle.

Regardless of our personal habits of consumption, anyone living in the United States benefits from the infrastructures, conveniences, food choices, travel options, and medical advantages of a standard of living that demands 23.3 acres of the Earth. If our fair-share is 6.5 acres of the Earth’s resources, that means others must do with less so we can maintain our way of life. This disparity gives an entirely new meaning to the Biblical admonition: thou shalt not steal!

Some suggest justice necessitates that we strive to raise all nations to our standard of living. However, that is impossible given the limitations of this planet. Estimates indicate that it would take four or five Earths to accomplish that elevation in lifestyles. By simply looking around one quickly becomes aware that there are not another four Earth-like planets anywhere in site.

The Gospel parable and the season of Lent encourage us to assess our consumptive habits and begin experimenting with voluntary simplicity. It is a choice to live simply so that others may simply live.

 

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

See his website: earthandspiritcenter.org

Scripture:

Jeremiah 18:18-20
Matthew 20:17-28

Reflection:

For many, it must be difficult at times to profess our faith in a climate of anti-Catholicism:

What?  You don’t support embryonic stem cell research?
You’re not "Pro Choice?"
You supported California’s Prop. 8 forbidding Gays and Lesbians from getting married?
You’re still a Catholic after what those disgusting priests did those children?

And so it goes.

The Church, all of us, have been an easy target of ridicule by the prevailing popular culture for a long time.  How long?  As far back as Jesus.  He warned his followers who squabbled over who would sit as his side at his moment of his earthly messianic triumph:

"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem,
and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests
and the scribes,
and they will condemn him to death,
and hand him over to the Gentiles
to be mocked and scourged and crucified…"

They didn’t get it – at first.  That’s kind of our story, too.
We wring our hands, demanding: We deserve some respect." 

Sometimes perhaps we forget that a follower of Jesus is one who must eventually run counter to the prevailing popular culture and its values.  This is no martyr complex.  This simply is the cost of following Jesus all the way to Calvary: the mockery, the ridicule.

The Cross rarely gets respect.  Why should it?  It’s a scandal to the world.

 

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

 

Scripture:

Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a
Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46

Reflection:

"There is no cruelty like the cruelty of children." (anon)

"Being a Jew, one learns to believe in the reality of cruelty and one learns to recognize indifference to human suffering as a fact." (Andrea Dworkin)

Who among us would not agree with that first quotation?  First as siblings ourselves, then watching children on the playground or in other settings, we know that children can be cruel.  Yet when Joseph’s brothers, jealous of his being his father Israel’s favorite throw him into the cistern and then sell him to the Ishmaelites, we are properly outraged.  These are not 5 or 6 year-olds, jealous over every little thing.  They have yet to realize their father’s love and goodness to all of them.  The story of Joseph is one of God using even human cruelty, hatred and jealousy to save God’s people.  The brothers did not know how much pain they would cause their father and themselves.  In the grand denouement of the story, Joseph reveals himself to them in Pharaoh’s palace and says: "What you intended for harm, God has used for good."  The brothers learn compassion in the hardest of ways.

In our gospel story today, Jesus tells the parable of the landowner who plants his vineyard, puts a hedge around it, etc.  In so many of Jesus’ stories, God (often in the guise of a vineyard owner) is looking for good fruit.  God’s people, caught up in petty jealousies, ignore God’s beneficent care, and turn on God’s servants (the prophets) and finally on God’s own Son. 

Jesus, suffering the cruelest of deaths for us, heals our jealousy and pettiness.  In his Passion, he overcomes in us any indifference to human suffering, whether it be friend or stranger who loses a home through foreclosure, the suffering of anyone caught in an addiction or the common human sufferings of sickness and death.

Joseph and his brothers’ story is our own.  The story of Jesus, especially his Passion, becomes our story more and more this Lent as we realize the beautiful thing he did for all of us. 

 

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

 

Scripture:

Isaiah 1:10, 16-20
Matthew 23:1-12

Reflection:

"Make justice your aim…Come now, let us set things right."

As a child, my siblings and I were always instructed to "give something up" for Lent with the explanation that self-sacrifice would make us holier.  In reality, though, we rivaled the Pharisees in our bids for attention, moaning loudly when we could not indulge and figuratively competing for the award of "Greatest Sacrifice".   As we practiced it, fasting was hardly a path to holiness, and it certainly did not bring about justice. 

It is interesting to note, too, that our sacrifices were predominantly food-related.   We kids gave up chocolate, ice cream, gum, or soda, and our parents abstained from desserts, coffee, or alcohol.  As I got older I found that many people use Lent as an excuse to enforce a diet, combining their honest need for healthier living with their religious aspirations in sort of a "Jenny Craig for Jesus" mode.  Inevitably, though, as soon as Lent was over we all went back to our previous ways.  Again, our fasting was hardly a path to holiness, and it certainly did not bring about justice. 

These simple Lenten practices were not all bad.  Our intentions were admirable, and our fasts did serve as a reminder to pray for those who don’t have enough food to be allowed the choice of "giving it up".  But is that enough?  Today’s readings would say it’s not. 

The challenge of Jesus is to go beyond superficial actions and words, beyond good intentions.  God commands us to sacrifice in ways that shackle our self-righteousness and push us to our knees in humble service.   Our ears must be cleared of the noisy sludge of the world so we can hear the cries of our sisters and brothers.   Our hands, tightly wrapped around our possessions, status, or pride, must be wrenched open so we can beg for forgiveness and give mercy.  Our minds, self-satisfied and centered on the route of least resistance, must be split open by divine love so we can reach out to those who lack the food, safety, and basic human dignity we take for granted.  Our hardened sin-filled hearts must be melted in the fire so we, too, can pour out our blood for others. 

I tremble as I gaze at my sacrifice in this light, and I fall helplessly into prayer.  How can I possibly meet this challenge?  Then God’s word breaks through my confusion, picks me up, and simply says, "Make justice your aim…Come now, let us set things right."

 

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