Daily Scripture

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/.

Scripture:

Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18
Romans 8:31b-34
Mark 9:2-10

Reflection:

The first week of Lent we were with Jesus in the desert. This week we journey with him to the "mountaintop." Mountaintop experiences (some of our Passionist monasteries: Sierra Madre, Pittsburgh, Monte Argentario were built this way) can be glorious and are usually too few and far between.

Every year we are given this reading (from one of the Synoptic authors) for the Second Sunday of Lent. Why this story? It functions to strengthen us for the long road ahead (five more weeks of Lent). Our church is giving us a glimpse of glory and an early Easter so that we will be fortified in our pilgrimage.

Lent, of course, is a retreat. I remember going to the mountaintop on a retreat in Big Sur, CA. The Camaldolese monks have a monastery some 1300 ft. high overlooking the aqua blue Pacific. One year I retreated for a week of contemplative prayer and worship. I happened to be there the same week the musician, John Michael Talbot, was making his own private retreat. He offered to give us a musical concert. About 20 of us were present in the chapel as he played his guitar and sang for an hour. At first nothing happened, but as I listened, a peace settled over me that was indescribable. I walked outside and noticed the waves below moving much slower than I ever remembered. Even the birds were chirping in slow motion! As I reflected on my life, everything seemed just right. Nothing could make this feeling go away. It was good to be there.

The next day, I got up and stood on the same spot hoping for the same feeling. Everything was in normal speed. The peace had lifted. I couldn’t capture it again, no matter how hard I tried or prayed. That day, I had to come down from the mountaintop. But, I was strengthened by an experience I’ll never forget. God had visited me with a glorious touch and I was fortified to go back to my real life in a fresh way. As we move through our Lent, we can expect a glimpse of glory, a foretaste of Easter, a touch of peace, so that we, as Abraham, can be sacrificially obedient and deal with the inevitable difficulties in the valley below. 

 

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:

Ezekiel 18:21-28
Matthew 5:20-26

Reflection:

The season of Lent takes us on a journey. This unique period of travel ends in Holy Week with the great Triduum celebration and the solemnity of Easter. Beyond the liturgical calendar and counting off the 40 days, the spiritual destination of our journey is a greater love of God and of our brothers and sisters. The prayer, fasting and alms giving we do, or whatever Lenten practices we have chosen, are to support us in conforming our lives to the great law of love (Lk.  10:27).

In the Gospel reading today, inserted into the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus begins several "antitheses." He first states what the people have heard from the law (do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not take false oaths, love your friends, etc.). Then Jesus says, "But I say to you…" Jesus motivates the people to go beyond a legalistic approach to religion (obedience) to a heartfelt commitment (love). We can be religiously correct by being obedient. Jesus says this is not enough for those who would follow him. His disciples need to be spiritually correct by being disciples of compassion. We aren’t out to kill anyone, but do we harbor anger in our heart? We know adultery is wrong, but do we hold on to lustful thoughts? We try to love our friends, but do we love our enemies? Do we tell the truth at all times? Jesus stretches us beyond obedience into God’s way of love.

The first week of Lent is coming to an end. Today is a good time for me to review the Lenten practices I have chosen. Are they drawing me closer to God and to one another? All the "antitheses" are not heard in today’s reading. It might be helpful to read the entire passage (Matthew 5:20-48) and ask myself if I need to change some practices to become the loving disciple that Jesus portrays in the Sermon on the Mount.

 

Fr. Don Webber, C.P., is Provincial Superior of Holy Cross Province and resides in Chicago.

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 26:16-19
Matthew 5:43-48

Reflection:

"My command to you is: love your enemies, pray for your persecutors."  Humans resemble animals in their ability to use anger to meet difficult situations with courage and aggressiveness.   So anger in itself is a natural good and not an evil!  However, we suffer from the results of original sin as well as our past misuse of anger.  It is easy for us to be unjust in word and deed when we encounter real or fancied injustice or difficulties of any kind.  That first flush of an angry feeling is not yet a sin, uncontrolled it can become a sin of injustice. Such is the morality of the natural law.

The Son of God brought us a higher a deeper way, he demands we see and act as sons and daughters of God!  "… You must be made perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect… love your enemies, pray for your persecutors."

The first martyr, Stephen met this test as did the Trappists beheaded in Algeria in our time.  A preacher in the 2nd century regrets that not all Christians were meeting the command to love and forgive.  He points out that those outside the faith are amazed at the beauty and power of the command to love.  But he also feels shame to admit the pagans even  insult our very God when they see the words have no effect in our lives, as when they observe we not only fail to love people who hate us, but even those who love us.  Then they laugh us to scorn.  Failures occurred then even as now.

The demands of the Lord are not easy to fulfill.  A brother’s mannerism, his tone of voice can cause our jaw to set, our eyes to narrow.  These are warnings, to slow down and remember that God loves that brother or sister of ours and expects us to do so as well.  God has not finished his work on any of us!    And the Lord has told us the standard is high. "You must be made perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." 

 

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

 

Scripture:

Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25
Matthew 7:7-12

Reflection:

Seeking, Asking, Knocking,

In my youth I had a very genuine gift of prayer.  Anything I asked for I got.—-Anything!  I remember an itinerant missionary priest came to our parish in my preadolescent years and preached a parish mission. Even though I was perhaps ten years old I remember him saying that God says "yes" to every one of our prayers.  He gave four impediments to this "yes" which I committed to memory and ended up writing down on a 3 x 5 card.  Over the next 30 years I discover how God does truly say "yes" to everything I ever asked.  Moreover, I also discovered that God delights in my saying "yes".

Since my ordination I discovered a "hierarchy" that some live by.  People frequently ask me to pray for them, not because of my gift of prayer, but because I am a priest. There are always those who believe that God hears the prayers of priests, religious sisters or brothers, before hearing their own prayers.  In this mindset the priest is above the laity, the bishop is above the priest, the pope is above the bishop.  If we continue this, then above the pope we have the communion of saints, Mary, Jesus, and finally at the top is God our Father.  The rationale, seems to me that people expect God to answer my prayers because I am closer to God in the hierarchical order. The image I’m left with is that of launching paper airplanes.  It is almost as if we write our prayers on the wings of paper airplanes and toss them upwards so that somehow our prayer will get high enough and closer to God.   Perhaps someone higher up will receive this paper airplane and toss it up to a new level. And somehow if this prayer gets high enough, God just might be able to hear it.  This really is a frequently used image but the problem with it is that it neglects the authority of Christ and the beauty of the incarnation.  The incarnation is Christ saying, "I dwell in your midst!"  It is the Christmas story.  When we continue to perceive God as being distant or at the top of the hierarchical chain how lonely our spiritual life must be.

In the first reading Esther would not have a chance of God hearing her prayer if she believed in the hierarchical chain.  She was a woman living in a patriarchal world. She was outside of the chosen land. She did not quote the Torah nor did she follow the prayer formula.  What she does is she speaks directly to God out of her desperation and she trusts.  And God heard her!!!

One of the things life has taught me is that if I focus my eyes to hear and listen to how the birds sing then I become attuned to the numerous varieties of songs, rhythms and chirps.  When I spend considerable time drawing and sketching that I begin to see lines and shading in the world around me that is always there just beyond my daily perceptions.  If I focus my attention to how God answers my prayers, then I become attuned to how God truly participates in my asking, seeking, and knocking.  Indeed, we all choose those things in life which we focus on.  Perhaps a good exercise for this Lenten season is to be more attentive to God’s "Yes".  As I began seeing how God truly answers prayers, my enlightened understanding causes faith and trust to grow.  And Lent has become a time of greater spiritual growth.

Oh, and by the way, what were those four impediments to God’s "yes" which I wrote on that 3 x 5 index card when I was only 10 years old? Selfishness, serious sin, wait, and of course, God’s way not my way. To expound on these four, prayers are frequently not answered when the motivation is selfish or when there is serious sin.  Frequently God may say, "Wait, now is not the right time".   And lastly, we have to be open to allow God to answer our prayers in the way which is best for us not necessarily in the way we want them answered.

My prayer for you today is that through your asking, seeking, and knocking you may grow in your awareness of God’s delightful, "Yes" in your life.

 

Fr. David Colhour, C.P. is on the staff at Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center, Citrus Heights, California.

Feast of St. Katharine Drexel

Scripture:

Isaiah 55:10-11
Matthew 6:7-15

Reflection:

"From all their distress, God rescues the just."(Ps34:18b) Doing the work of justice receives encouragement from the Word today, and from the remembrance of St. Katharine Drexel. Coming from a wealthy background she sowed the seed that God entrusted to her generously. When she died in 1955, at the age of 96, her life had spanned the era of slavery and the Indian wars to the dawn of the civil rights movement.  In 1878 during a private audience with Pope Leo XIII she begged him to send priests to serve the Indians.  He responded: "Why not become a missionary yourself?"

She searched for a congregation corresponding to her own sense of mission. Finding none she established the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored people in 1891

Moher Drexel in her lifetime established 145 Catholic missions and 12 schools for Indians and 50 schools for Black students, including Xavier University.

Doing justice is the establishing of right relationships at every level of society. Doing justice is the constant willingness to use our time gnerously for the sake of changing structures which inhibit the development of right relationships. This generous use of time for the sake of others can be squandered and missed.  Recently, I heard a presenter challenge a group of which I was a part, to willingly change 10% in order to further the "good" of whatever mission we were undertaking.

After reading the gospel, ponder the words of Mother Drexel: "Resolve: Generously and with no half-hearted, timorous dread of the opinion of church and men to manifest my mission….You have no time to occupy your thoughts with the complacency or consideration of what others will think. Your business is simply, ‘What will my Father in heaven think?’"

 

Fr. Alex Steinmiller, C.P. is president of Holy Family Cristo Rey High School, Birmingham, Alabama.