Daily Scripture

Feast of St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church

Scripture:

Ezekiel 34:1-11
Matthew 20:1-16

Reflection:

Well, it happened!  The whole world watched Michael Phelps swim into Olympic history and claim the title of "the greatest Olympian of all time!"  While we watched this amazing athlete surely we were thinking to ourselves, "He can do it all!  No matter what the event, he really is the greatest!"  You may be surprised to discover that in other moments of human history there were other amazing people, holy people, who could justifiably be called, "the greatest".  These were men and women who, in the service of the Lord, simply seemed to be able to "do it all"!  This would certainly be true of the man whose feast we celebrate today, St. Bernard of Clairvaux.

Bernard was a twelfth century saint who guided the popes of his time, reformed a great monastic Order, was a great preacher, theologian, and scholar, and a fiery man who preached throughout Europe the call to the Second Crusade (for which years later he would have tremendous regret given the crusade’s sad outcome.)  Bernard’s contributions matched his greatness, even as he longed for silence and prayer within the contemplative, monastic life itself.

Now you may be thinking, "Well, I am no Michael Phelps and I am surely no St. Bernard of Clairvaux.  What does this feast have to do with me in my own humble life?"  I would like to suggest that there is a simple, but very clear and heartening message for each of us in our scripture readings for this feast of St. Bernard of Clairvaux.  In our first reading from the prophet Ezekiel, just at its conclusion, we are regaled with such assuring words:

            For thus says the Lord God: I will claim my sheep…I will save my sheep.  I           myself will look after and tend my sheep.

No matter who you are, whether you are great or small, the Lord, our Shepherd, will be there guiding us along the way.  After hearing the message from Ezekiel we are then lulled even more deeply into this great assurance with the words of Psalm 23: The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want!  Imagine!  Wanting nothing else but the Lord!  Yet, for me, the real clincher is found in the 20^th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel.  In this rather complicated but only too human story we hear about those workers who, while working disproportionate hours, receive exactly the same pay!  When questioned, the landowner replies, "Am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?  Are you envious because I am generous?"  And so we are reminded once again that the Lord is generous and lavish in his love for us — whether we win the gold, the silver, or the bronze!!  We are all the greatest in the eyes of the Lord.

 

Fr. Pat Brennan, C.P. is the retreat director at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

Isaiah 56:1, 6-7
Psalms 67: 3, 5-6, 8
Romans 11: 13-15, 29-32
Matthew 15: 2-18

Reflection:

All four readings in today’s liturgy speak of the love of a God who has no boundaries.  The God of today’s readings embraces diversities: geographical, ethnical, and theological.  The passage from Matthew of Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite woman highlights these considerations and concludes that great faith begets miracles.

Jesus has just left Gentile territory. He is followed by the Canaanite woman who pleads with Jesus to cure her daughter.  The Jesus of Matthew emphasizes that primacy of Israel in the plan of salvation. The woman concedes the primacy of Israel but extends that to include others even if it be only the "crumbs from the table."

She begins her petition for her daughter with a prayer, kneels, and acknowledges Jesus as "Lord, Son of David."   Jesus is impressed with her "great faith."   

There are lessons to be learned from this woman.  We must be persistent in hope and prayer. We must acknowledge Jesus as the "Lord, Son of David" who answers prayers.  We must do everything in our power, she left her homeland, and trust in God’s generous bounty. We must not give up the struggle of prayer, and at times the struggle with God.  We must identify the Canaanites in our life and find ways to include them.  Who are the alienated, marginalized and ostracized I exclude from my embrace?  From whom do I withhold the crumbs of my faith?  my affections?  my respect and friendship?  Like Jesus, we can’t build walls and set boundaries.  The greater the diversity of peoples we include in our circle the more like Jesus we become.  The greater our faith the better the chances of miracles in our lives, and the more like the Canaanite woman we become. 

Therefore, let us grow stronger in our faith and persist in prayer.  Amen.

 

Fr. Kenneth O’Malley, C.P., Archivist at Catholic Theological Union at Chicago

 

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Scripture:

Revelations 11:19a, 12:1-6a, 10ab
1 Corinthians 15:20-27
Luke 11: 27-28

Reflection:

The Solemnity of Our Lady’s Assumption is "the summer feast" for those of us in the Northern hemisphere.  I remember as a young boy, this feast, followed closely by the State Fair, marked the high point of summer activities and began to turn our minds to the things of fall.  Fittingly so, the Assumption is a gentle movement forward. 

The Gospel passage chosen by the Church for this feast is Luke’s story of the Visitation.  Though not Mary’s final passage to heaven as commemorated in this feast, there is movement in this story which has the same energy and excitement as her final journey into glory.  In Luke’s lively choreography, Mary appears to dance across the fields to share the news with her cousin Elizabeth.  At their meeting, the child in Elizabeth’s womb leaps with joy in response to Mary’s surprise.  Elizabeth sings, "Blessed are you…"  And Mary "proclaims the greatness of the Lord".   

Mary is always our best and most authentic response to God.  She is also the best paradigm of God’s eternal caring for us.  It is all a journey for Mary and for us.  Sometimes it’s as slow and easy as summer giving way to fall.  Sometimes it’s as exciting as the gift of new life.  And finally, of course, it is as unimaginable as being taken up in glory into the arms of our Loving God. 

"The Almighty has done great things for me and Holy is His Name!"

 

Fr. Jim Strommer, C.P. is on the Provincial leadership team and lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Scripture:

Ezekiel 28:1-10
Matthew 19:23-30

Reflection:

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus talks to His disciples about the difficulty of the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Some people interpret the image of "the eye of a needle" as a low or narrow passageway. But as others scholars say, we should accept the image at face value. Jesus is telling us that it is as difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven as it is for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye.

We can be tempted to gloss over how radical this statement is. The disciples themselves are astonished and ask,"Who then can be saved?’ When we get caught up in amassing wealth or material possessions it can be tempting to try to fit the Gospel into sanctioning our desires, and so it becomes easy to pass over Scripture passages such as the one we read today.

But if we take the time to listen to what Jesus is telling us, we see that what He says is true. Often our possessions can distract us from what is really important. Often having a lot leads us to wanting more, not less. When we hear, "The one who has the most toys at the end, wins," it almost seems reasonable.

The best way out of being seduced into a false notion of wealth and possessions bringing us happiness and security is turning to God in gratitude. When we are grateful for what God has given us, and we realize that all is a gift from God, the desire to have more has less power over us, and we are more attuned to the kingdom of heaven and God’s will for us. May God give us the grace to pursue His kingdom instead of the world’s riches.

 

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P. is pastor of St. Mary’s  Parish, Fairfield, Alabama

Scripture:

Ezekiel 12:1-12
Matthew 18:21-1-:1

Reflection:

There are times when we feel we are accomplishing very little with our lives.  We get "down" on ourselves, and appreciate any "upper" that might give us a sense of our dignity and worth.

We have such help in today’s biblical readings.  The prophet Ezekiel is trying to impress on his fellow Jews the enormity of their offenses against God (a back-handed way of letting them know that they are capable of "great" things–unfortunately so) by engaging in a series of symbolic actions.  They all center on his mimicking an exile-in-process–a foretaste of the affliction God has in store for them, unless they "shape up".

And Jesus adds to this magnifying of our exploits in terms of our ability to forgive.  Using hyperbole, he responds to a questioner that we should be ready to forgive another 77 times, just as God does us.  He illustrates this in two ways: first, by a magnificent gesture on the part of an offended person (representing God), then, by a mean, small-minded refusal of a similar gesture on the part of another.

Our capacity for great things, whether evil (exile-deserving sin) or good (generosity in forgiving), finds expression in the deed of Maximilian Kolbe, who voluntarily gave his life to save that of a family man while both were imprisoned at Auschwitz, during WW II.

Greatness lies within our reach, and is the basis of our dignity.  Made in God’s image, we mirror His greatness, and so share in His dignity.

 

Scripture:

Habakkuk 1:12-2:4
Matthew 17:14-20

Reflection:

Today’s Gospel tells the story of the disappointed man who brings his mentally ill son to the apostles for a cure.  Because of their little faith, Jesus says, his disciples were not able to help him.  Then Jesus challenges them all.  "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed you could move a mountain.  Nothing would be impossible for you."  Perhaps we have heard the story too many times to still be amazed!  How small is a mustard seed?  And how large is a mountain? 

Today the Church holds up the example of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, more familiar to us as Edith Stein.  She was born in Poland to Jewish parents in 1891.  In her teens she stopped believing in God and abandoned her Jewish faith to enter the world of academia.  She excelled in her pursuit of philosophy and earned a doctorate in 1916.  But along the way she discovered the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila and began her spiritual journey that led to her baptism at the age of 31.  Twelve years later she took the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross when she professed her vows as a Carmelite nun.  Eventually she transferred to a Carmelite monastery in Echt, Netherlands.  In 1940, under the occupation of the Nazis, she was arrested and sent to Auschwitz, where she died in the gas chamber on August 9, 1942. 

Edith Stein, Sr. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, stands as a dramatic example of mountain moving faith, humble as a mustard seed.  In his homily at her canonization Mass in 1998, Pope John Paul II, speaking to young people gathered for the occasion said, "Your life is not an endless series of open doors! Listen to your heart! Do not stay on the surface but go to the heart of things! And when the time is right, have the courage to decide! The Lord is waiting for you to put your freedom in his good hands."

May we too live this day with God’s gift of mighty faith!

 

Fr. Jim Strommer, C.P. is on the provincial leadership team and lives in Chicago, Illinois.

 

Scripture:

Ezekiel 9:1-7,  10:18-22
Matthew 18:15-20

Reflection:

Jesus said to his disciples:
"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.
If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church.

Do we hurt others?  Do others hurt us?  Yes.  No doubt about it.  Jesus is trying to get us to address the faults or hurts that occur between two people.  It may very well be that the one who hurts someone simply does not know or realize or even more seriously, does not want to admit what happened. You and I can be bearing faults that occurred sometimes, unfortunately, in our early years.  They have never been resolved.  Doing nothing, results in solving nothing.  How wise of Jesus to remind us that faults do need to be addressed.  No sweeping them under the rug. 

Isn’t it interesting that we are encouraged to deal first of all with the person who inflicted the fault.  If that doesn’t work, get several concerned people to sit in on the attempt at reconciliation.  I honestly think that He would have no problem if we turn to the professional councilor or psychologist or psychiatrist.  We may also realize that there is a larger group out there.  In this instance Jesus is asking help from the faith community, the Church.  How often I have encouraged people to attend the Eucharist celebration on Sunday.  Would Jesus recommend the various 12 Step programs, too?  Yes.  How many rediscover their God or Higher Power. Getting to know these people at Church or in the various support groups can put us in touch with a lot of wisdom and love. The A.C.T.S groups that are forming around the country are seeking to deepen the sense of community support and love which is found in the faith community, the local Church.  Loving support does enable us to deal with the faults that we have experienced or inflicted. 

Jesus has made it very clear that all of us are faced with a lifelong challenge: "You shall love the Lord, your God, and your neighbor as yourself."  Love myself?  Isn’t that selfish?  The obvious answer is: Loving yourself means that you need to take care of yourself.  Being able to say ‘no’ at times in order to take care of yourself is just fine. Loving yourself gives you the ability to nurture your spiritual and your human side.  And it insures that it’s okay to have boundaries. 

Is it always the other person’s fault?!  Will you get together with someone whom you have hurt?  When unjustly hurt, will you stand up for yourself?  Can you protect your boundaries?

 

Fr. Peter Berendt, C.P. is on the retreat team at Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center, Houston, Texas.

 

Scripture:

1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a
Romans 9:1-5
Matthew 14:22-33

Reflection:

One of the ways Gospel teaching unfolds is through Jesus’ use of contrast. Whether it’s the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:10ff) or Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke 16:19ff), the intent is not so much to separate and categorize, however, but to remind us that we are both/and, (not either/or), to encourage us to embrace our own shadow. Remember the weeds and wheat from two weeks ago? In a parallel way, today’s readings are filled with wonderful words of reassurance! God is present in the "tiny whispering sound" (another translation says "still, small voice") as well as the ferocious storm at sea.

Scripture scholars offer various interpretations for today’s Gospel of the miracle of Jesus walking on water, but all agree that the boat is a symbol of the early Church, being tossed about on the rough seas of persecution and apostasy. For most the meaning of the story centers around our hesitation to risk and trust. My preferred explanation is that St. Peter is chided by Jesus ("O, you of little faith, why did you doubt?") not because he failed at walking on water, but because he "jumped ship" – i.e., he abandoned the Church to try to stick close to his personal and limited experience of Jesus.

More and more I believe that "spirituality" without "religion" is impossible. The Latin word "religio" means to tie fast or hold together. What is holding me together at this time of my life? How grace-full it is to have a community to pinch my pride, to bump against my ego. Seeking to develop human consciousness and grow spiritually is simply not possible if I fail to tether myself, commit myself, to community.

 

Fr. Jack Conley, C.P. is pastor of St. Agnes Parish, Louisville, Kentucky.