Daily Scripture

Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church

Scripture:

1 John 2:22-28
John 1:19-28

Reflection:

St. Basil and St. Gregory were each bestowed the title “Doctor of the Church” by Pope Pius V in 1568. Doctors of the Church are canonized saints who have demonstrated exemplary holiness and have deepened the understanding of the Catholic faith. Of the 10,000 saints recognized by the Church, only 37 men and women have been named a Doctor of the Church;  so, St. Basil and St. Gregory have a special place in the Church.

St. Basil and St. Gregory ministered in the early Church, in the fourth century, in what is modern day Turkey. As a young man, Basil enjoyed stimulating university life in Caesarea, Constantinople, and Athens. There he met Gregory Nazianzen, a quiet, scholarly man. The two became close friends, who supported and challenged each other throughout their lives.

With input from Gregory, Basil composed a rule of life for monks, which still influences the monasteries in the Eastern Church, as well as Benedictine monks in the West. Called to a more active life of service in the Church, they left the monastic life and were ordained priests, and eventually became bishops. St. Basil became Archbishop of Caesarea and St. Gregory became Bishop of Constantinople.

As bishops, both Basil and Gregory were called upon to defend the Church from Arianism, one of the most damaging heresies: it denied the divinity of Christ. St. Basil contributed to the Nicene Creed, which states that Jesus is “of one substance with the Father,” also expressed as “consubstantial.” In today’s first reading, written two hundred years earlier, the Apostle John could be speaking to the Arians when he said: “Anyone who denies the Son, does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.”

St. Basil and St. Gregory are Doctors of the Church because of their significant contributions to the Church’s teaching, as well as their holy lives. In contentious and polarized times much like our own, they never gave up on their deeply divided flocks. Despite St. Gregory’s dislike of conflict, he continued to dialog with people who were confused by the Arian heresy, and he is known for his sermons on the Trinity. St. Basil is also known for his preaching, as well as his love for the poor. He was a pioneer in establishing systemic responses to poverty: hospitals, soup kitchens, and guest houses.

As 2024 begins, let us draw inspiration from St. Basil and St. Gregory for the new year. We pray to love the Church as they did, so we may provide leadership in times of disunity and confusion. We pray for their courage and compassion when we find ourselves in difficult conversations.

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.

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

Scripture:

Numbers 6:22-27
Galatians 4:4-7
Luke 2:16-21

Reflection:

Today’s liturgy celebrates the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.  While the early church revered Mary as Jesus’s mother, not until the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD was there a formal declaration that Jesus was both human and divine, and therefore a declaration that Mary was truly the Mother of God.

The Israelites longed for the coming of the Messiah.  Among the manifestations of the Messiah was the concept of the Royal Messiah—a king arriving in glory and suppressing those who oppressed God’s people.  Remember that Herod massacred all boys two years old and younger so that he would have no threat from a prophesied king.  Tragically, Herod and most everyone else missed the full message of the prophets.  Instead of a majestic arrival in a royal court, God chose a young virgin to become the mother of Jesus, and her child was born in humble surroundings.  Instead of a royal proclamation of his birth, God chose shepherds, considered by some to be on the lowest rungs of society, to proclaim that the Messiah had been born in Bethlehem. 

From these circumstances of Jesus’s conception and birth, God sent a message that this was no ordinary child.  For the remainder of his time on earth, Jesus would reach out to those on the margins of society. 

Mary knew she had a special child—the angel told her so—and that she was given the responsibility to raise Him.  From fleeing to Egypt to avoid persecution, to finding her pre-teen son preaching in the temple, to nudging Him to perform the miracle at the wedding feast, to his sufferings and crucifixion, she was always with him and guiding him as only a mother can do! 

Mary, Mother of God, we pray that you will walk with us and guide us, just as you were always close by your Son.    

Mike Owens is coordinator of the Passionist Alumni Association and a member of the Migration Commission of Holy Cross Province.  He lives in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Scripture:

Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14
Colossians 3:12-21
Luke 2:22-40

Reflection:

Merry Christmas!

Remember Christmas?  That was 7 whole days ago!  Since then, many of my neighbors have taken down the festive lights in front of their houses.  I see trees, once standing in rooms, bedecked with ornaments and angels, now sitting on the curb and waiting for their final ride.  And the stores have switched their displays from the red and green items to pink hearts, filled with chocolates.

But through all this, Christ is there.

I guess a lot of water has gone under the bridge since those final strains of “Joy to the World” were sung with gusto at the end of my last Liturgy on Monday.  But still, it makes me sad.

But, in all time, Christ is there.

Which is silly!  I don’t know why I’m still so amazed and shocked and saddened at how our culture so quickly pushes aside the past.  This is nothing new – not for Christmas, or for Halloween, or for our history, or the destructive epic hurricanes or fires or horrific and murderous events and the lives they’ve left buried in the rubble they leave behind. This is nothing out of the ordinary… it happens every single time.

But, even through all this, Christ is there… if only we could recognize him in our midst.

“What did you get for Christmas this year?”

I hear this question a lot right now.  The question I like to ask in return is, “Who is it that gave you this wonderful gift?”  More often than not, the answer is “My Grandma,” or Mom, or Papa, or sister, or Uncle, or best friend, or… All of these people, our family (including the non-blood kind!), are part of God our Father’s endless Christmas gifts to us, and we are part of His gift to them.

And yes, in each gift, Christ is there.

Today’s Gospel (Luke 2:22-40 ) explains how Mary & Joseph brought Jesus to the temple in order to “fulfill all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord.”  And if I were a betting man, I’d wager that the Holy Family passed through the multitudes of people in that temple without any of them recognizing them as Mary and Joseph, or Jesus as the Christ – Emmanuel, God With Us.

Except for two people.

First was Simeon, to whom God had promised would not see death until he first saw the Christ, exclaims “Lord, now your servant may go in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation.”  And then there was Anna, a widow, who gave thanks to God for the child, the redeemer of Jerusalem.

Through all we experience, are we like the multitudes in the temple, going about our daily lives and ignoring the gift of God in every moment?  Or are we like Simeon and Anna, open to the Holy Spirit screaming in our ear, “HEY – HERE I AM!”? 

So what’s the true gift this Christmas?  Who really is the “Holy Family” in today’s day and age?

“Our Father, who art in Heaven…”

Every one of us, we all are God’s children. God is Father to all of us, and we are all one family to each other. One crazy, silly, funny, upsetting, dysfunctional, loving, peaceful, amazing, Holy Family.

Ultimately, I suppose we do have to clean house after huge events like these.  Even still, the members of this, our family, like it or not, become part of our history, woven into the fabric of our being.  

So let’s do it together, my sisters and my brothers.  Let’s clean up our lives of things we don’t need.  Let’s pack up the decorations, and tinsel, and ornaments.  Let’s toss the wrapping paper that once hid the true prize, the true gift of Christmas. 

Let’s just be sure we don’t pack up Jesus, too.

Our Father,
thank you for the gifts of our entire family…
especially those whom we don’t like.
Please help us know what we have that we can give for Christmas.
Help us be Your hands,
so we may bring our special gifts to those most in need…
especially to those
whom we don’t like.
Amen.

Peace and love to you, today and forever.

Paul Puccinelli is Director of Liturgy & Music at St. Rita Parish in Sierra Madre, California, and a member of the retreat team at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center.

Scripture: 

1 John 2:3-11
Luke 2:22-35

Reflection:

. . . for the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.-1 John 2:8

Today is the fifth day of the octave of Christmas. The readings remind us of the great gift that has been given to us through the birth of the Christ. The First Letter of John gives us the message of walking in the way of Christ through the commandments. The two commandments that Christ gave to his Apostles and us; To love God with all our heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbors as ourselves. The message goes on to speak about what it means to walk in the light and what it means to walk in the darkness. Walking in the light requires us to love our “brother” which is not in reference to a sibling but to our next-door neighbor, people in our neighborhood, people in our subdivision or living complex. It is in reference to those who live in our city, country and all who live on earth.

How am I the light of Christ to others?

The Gospel of Luke is about Mary and Joseph taking Jesus up to the temple to offer a sacrifice, which was the custom of the day. They meet Simeon a “righteous and devout” man who also hoped in the promise of a messiah. What a gift he had been given to be able to see the one who would bring salvation to his people and the world. I have always loved his words:

              Lord, now let your servant go in peace;
              your word has been fulfilled:
              my own eyes have seen the salvation
              which you have prepared in the sight of every people,
              a light to reveal you to the nations
              and the glory of your people Israel.

The one phrase from the above passage that strikes me the most is “a light to reveal you . . .”

This phrase has been a reminder for me about being a light that reveals God to others. It calls me to reflect on how I am growing in my faith. Am I taking time to pray each day or reflect on the daily readings? Do I really listen to Father’s homily on Sunday and be open to how God is calling me to grow in my spiritual life? The wintertime offers us an opportunity to sit in silence and the stillness. Just as the trees and plants rest over the winter to prepare for the coming of Spring so too for us it can be a time to relax and reflect on growing in our spiritual life. We can’t be a light if we don’t have the light.

May the coming New Year bring you peace and joy!

Linda Schork is a theology teacher at Saint Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky.

Feast of the Holy Innocents

Scripture:

1 John 1:5-2:2
Matthew 2:13-18

Reflection:

A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation….  -Matthew 2:18

We celebrate the Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs, today.  We are all aware of the brutal slaying of all the baby boys two years and under who lost their lives all because of a demonic king who acted maliciously in his attempt to kill Jesus and retain his kingship!   Unbeknownst to Herod, Jesus, Mary and Joseph had been warned in a dream to flee to Egypt to escape the blood bath that was about to happen.  It is so sad to see and hear how the innocent children in our midst today suffer unnecessary abuse and persecution.  It seems no matter the situation, whether it is war, poverty, domestic abuse, bullying, the children are the ones who suffer the most!

During this Christmas season, I have enjoyed watching how little children react so innocently to the events of the season.  Watching the faces of these children as the figure of the baby Jesus is placed in the manger at the first mass on Christmas Eve or the magical appearance of Santa Claus as he makes his visit on the Polar Express train ride, we recently enjoyed during a family outing.  The facial expressions and actions highlighted the innocence of these special young ones.  We all know that we were that young and innocent once!  What happened to that time of wonder and awe?!  When did the darkness overtake the light in our world and ourselves?

Each of us received a small bell from Santa during the train ride.  We were told to hold it close to our ear and see if we could hear it ring.  If we heard it, that meant we were a believer and if we didn’t hear any sound, it meant we must not be a believer.  We were encouraged to ring the bell often and to take seriously what it means to Believe!

It seems to be harder to be a believer these days when we are surrounded by so much uncertainty, violence, unhappiness, gloom and doom brought about by the King Herods of our time.  We need to take time during this Christmas season to celebrate the birth of the newborn babe born in a lowly stable in Bethlehem. Maybe it’s time for us to reflect on the innocence of our own youth, however short or long ago it was, and get in touch again with the Believer in each of us.  In this way just maybe the chaos that seems to color our world so much will cease to have so much power over us, and Jesus’s light can shine forth from us. 

During this time of year, we focus a lot on helping others whether it be food donations, toy drives, blanket collections and so many other ways to ease the plight of those in need.  Wouldn’t it be nice if we had the opportunity to go a step further and take the time to get to know some of those we so generously helped through our donations?  I am thinking more about the children who are suffering in so many ways in our neighborhoods, schools, churches, shelters, etc.

In the first reading from 1 John today, we read: ‘God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.”

May we be people who birth the light of Jesus, willing to recapture the innocence of our past and celebrate the good news of that blessed event that happened so long ago in a stable in Bethlehem!  Believe and rejoice!            

Have a Blessed Christmas season and a healthy and holy New Year!

Theresa Secord is a retired Pastoral Associate at St. Agnes Parish, Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

1 John 1:1-4
John 20:1a, 2-8

Reflection:

This is such an incredibly difficult gospel to read. Anyone who has parented a child can relate to the painful reality of the violence committed upon these children. According to the Catholic News Agency, the Greek Liturgy asserts that Herod killed 14,000 boys, the Syrians speak of 64,000, and many medieval authors speak of 144,000, according to Rev. 14:3. However, Bethlehem was a rather small town, so 144,000 is an unlikely number. But, no matter the number, these children are venerated by the Church as the first martyrs.  Instead of joy at the birth of their savior, many families lost a precious child.

Can you imagine the evil Herod fearing his own loss of power so much that he would even conceive of such an atrocity? He clearly did not know the power of the true God.  He was never going to rejoice at the birth of the Christ.  He couldn’t take a chance of being replaced by a better king.  Jesus came, even to save Herod.

And yet, the suffering of these babes, the bloodshed, is yet another reminder to us of Christ’s saving body and blood shed for us. The Holy Innocents died for Christ so that He could die for us – we could say that the innocents died instead of Christ; that was Herod’s intent, to kill all of the boys under two years of age to be certain that the Jewish King, Jesus, would be among them. 

I can imagine Christ surrounded in a warm welcome at his Resurrection by all the Holy Innocents who died instead of Him, so he could save the world then return to the loving arms of the Father.

Let us all be truly filled with joy at this time, for we know a Father who loves us so much that later he would let his own perfect and sinless son die for all of us sinful and imperfect humans.  It is his coming that we celebrate.  A promise made by God through the Prophet Isaiah 700 years before Jesus’ birth.  We have a loving God who keeps his promises – Rejoice!

Patty Masson supports the Passionists from Spring, Texas.

Feast of St. Stephen, The First Martyr

Scripture:

Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59
Matthew 10:17-22

Reflection:

The beauty of this Christmas season is all around us. Festive lights, family gatherings, wrapped presents, and sumptuous foods work together to tell us that there is something very special about this time of year. All the while enjoying what this holiday offers us, let it should not obscure the reason for the coming of the Son of God, born of Mary in the small, out-of-the-way town of Bethlehem.

Jesus was born into a broken world, a world like our own, to bring badly needed hope, healing, and reconciliation. That discord remains all around us and shows up in the oddest of places. Why are we so frustrated with each other? Why do we have to make rude comments on social media? Why can’t we have charitable disagreements about public policies?

Today’s Feast of St. Stephen can put a damper on the nostalgic, even romanticized, stories of yesterday with heralding angels and shepherds in their fields. In today’s selection from Acts of the Apostles, religious leaders “were infuriated, and they ground their teeth” at Stephen when, filled with the Holy Spirit, he proclaimed the Word of God. “But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him together. They threw him out of the city and began to stone him.”

Too often we “are infuriated and grind our teeth” when the Gospel enjoins us to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, and visit the imprisoned. Did Jesus really mean it when he said, “I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you”?

In these days that follow Christmas Day, maybe we can imagine being like the wise men following a star. These magi, coming from different places and who traditionally look quite different from one another, are pilgrims making their way to Bethlehem. There they converge on the source of our hope and peace. Coming upon a child in a manger, how do you not experience unconditional love at that moment? Let’s try to experience—and remember—that moment today.

Robert Hotz is a consultant with American City Bureau, Inc. and was the Director of The Passion of Christ: The Love That Compels Campaign for Holy Cross Province.

The Nativity of the Lord

Scripture:

Isaiah 52:7-10
Hebrews 1:1-6
John 1:1-18

Reflection:

Let Us Dream

I have a hunch that the Wise Men would have liked Pope Francis.

Nowhere in the Bible does it say that the Three were kings. No, they were astrologers — magi or magicians. But Matthew gives them lots of coverage, especially since Matthew was writing to the Jewish community, and the Three Wise Men were outsiders. But they had the courage to follow their star, and they became models of faith for us. Artists and musicians and writers need not romanticize the story; we learn from the stranger.

Each generation supposes it is unique in its experience. With the number of folks drifting from regular worship, the polarization in politics, and divisions in the Church, our democracy in jeopardy, and commentators writing often about our “post-truth” culture, it is easy to succumb to playing the “ain’t it awful” game when we gather with family, friends, or colleagues for the holidays. Too often we feel we are walking on eggshells, and hesitant to express our opinion about anything, lest we offend someone.

But Pope Francis often invites us to imagine, to dream. Maybe this Christmas we can see with new eyes. The Synod on Synodality helps us ponder that provocative passage from Isaiah 54:2: “Enlarge the space for your tent.”  The Magi found the Christ because they were willing to go deeper, to listen, to follow their dream.

The mystery of Christmas isn’t only about a baby in a manger. What happened long ago happens here and now. God is crashing into our lives, ever new. Emmanuel, God-with-us. If only we could imagine.

Fr. Jack Conley, CP, is the local superior of St. Vincent Strambi Community in Chicago, Illinois.