Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Leviticus 25:1, 8-17
Matthew 14:1-12

Reflection:

The readings in the liturgical cycle are laid out to cover the majority of the biblical texts and keep us familiarized with the history, theology and life of the people of Israel.  Today’s first reading is from the book of Leviticus, one of the original five books or scrolls written down for the Hebrew people.  It is a significant reading, articulating a request by God which would be most challenging for anyone in today’s world with authority, power, or possessions.  To most of us who are reading this reflection, it is very threatening. 

In this text from Leviticus, God’s people are asked to set aside a special year, a jubilee year, every fifty years by which a social balance would be restored with both land and labor.  It was predicated that after fifty years, the socio-economic balance would have shifted leaving many living in unjust situations.   It meant that anyone who had to sell themselves into slavery to provide for their needs and the needs of their family would be set free.  Additionally, all lands which were bought or sold since the last Jubilee year would be returned to their ancestorial origins.  The idea was to restore the social balance in a community and allow for a fresh start. So in effect, the jubilee year was to wipe the slate clean allowing everyone the opportunity to start over.  

I can imagine that anyone recommending a restoration of social balance publicly in U.S. history would find themselves quickly tarred, feathered and public flogged.  It certainly wouldn’t be accepted because we all have worked hard to get what we have attained.  That is our cultural norm.  For those of us who live by this belief, how naïve and blind we are.   What we truly believe to be ours, all of our material possessions, in the bigger picture is a gift from the earth and made with human hands.  The same words we use at every Eucharist as we thank God for the gifts of bread and wine.  Our greed, insecurity, and possessiveness lie to us proclaiming we “own” our possessions. 

Several years ago, while I was living in India, one of the highlights of the year was when the Mango trees produced their ripened fruits.  Such a sweet time!  We had two mango trees on the property and the youth from the local village would come over and help themselves to the fruit on the tree.  This of course infuriated a few of us who lived on the property.  They were our mangoes coming from our tree on our property.  The boys from the village had a different interpretation. The argument the youth shouted back to us was that the fruit didn’t belong to us.  God made the tree so therefore the fruit belongs to God.  How dare we become possessive of God’s gift.  As I reflect on this how different are the emotions and justifications for a wealthy person rather than a poor person. 

This reading concludes with what we would call a signature from God.  After the instruction is given, the last line is signed, “I, the LORD, am your God.”  Judging what we know from Israel’s history, this teaching on the jubilee year was frequently overlooked.  Human nature would simply ask what wealthy person wants to give up that wealth?  As people of faith, it doesn’t mean we have the authority to dismiss it too lightly though.

We see from the beginnings of the Bible God’s immense care for the poor.  With Earth’s population around eight billion people, we now have a whole lot more people to look after, care for, and to share with.  I would invite you today to think about God’s request as was laid out in the instruction in Leviticus.  In the words of my experience in India, and speaking metaphorically, do you really need all of the mangoes from those two trees?  Honestly, how many are you actually going to eat?

Fr. David Colhour, C.P. is the Provincial Superior of Holy Cross Province. He resides in Chicago, Illinois.

Memorial of St. John Vianney, patron of priests & parish clergy

Scripture:

Leviticus 23: 1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37
Matthew 13:54-58

Reflection:

Remembering, Celebrating, and Proclaiming…

Today’s Scripture readings and the August 4^th feast of St. John Vianney challenge us to remember the “roots” of our faith, to celebrate God’s unconditional love for us — and then use our gifts and shortcomings to spread the Saving News of God’s love in the person of Jesus.

The lengthy reading from Leviticus summarizes the Israelite liturgical year, helping them remember the great events of their history whereby God saved them from harm and made them His own.  They were to celebrate Sacred assemblies, consume unleavened bread, refrain from work, make sacrifices and other mortifications:  to help give vitality to their relationship with God who loves and saves them.  The same is true for us, centuries later! 

The selection from Matthew’s Gospel recalls Jesus’ rejection by his hometown folks.  They saw Him a wise and powerful Man, a convincing Speaker…but where did He get these gifts?  He’s Jesus, the son of Joseph the carpenter and Mary…  His message is “repentance” and God’s Kingdom…challenging the hearts of His listeners then and now.  Deep faith is required to accept Him and His message– faith rooted in God’s working throughout all of history, even from earliest times.

Today we celebrate the holy life of a 19^th century disciple of Jesus, St. John Vianney.  A simple man with a humble background, a simple theology; his zeal in spreading God’s love helped build the Church of his day.  He is especially known for his selfless ministry of celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation at his parish in Ars, France.  He regularly spent long hours sharing the Sacrament of Reconciliation with thousands of penitents who at times traveled great distances for a few graced moments with him.  His loving priestly ministry flowed from his intense spiritual life, based on both prayer and mortification– leading him to being named in 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI as the “patron of priests” and parish clergy.

God indeed loves each of us and invites us to proclaim that love in our vocations as married, single, or priestly/religious persons.  Today, Moses, Jesus, and St. John Vianney challenge us to be zealous in living our vocations and sharing our faith.  Do we give ourselves special times of faith renewal and celebration (e.g., a holy hour, a retreat)?  Do we seek and offer forgiveness for the sinfulness we experience in ourselves or others?  Certainly Moses, Jesus, and St. John Vianney would have us 21^st Century disciples humbly pray the words of today’s response-Psalm 81: “Sing with joy to God our help!”  May our lives proclaim our “Amen!”

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:

Exodus 40:16-21, 34-38
Matthew 13:47-53

Reflection:

I wonder if we might allow our faith-imagination to be active today and reflect on the parable as applying to our inner life – as much as it might apply to the wider life of the Christian community. Today let us allow the teaching of Jesus to wash over us personally, and not seek to find its application elsewhere.

While tradition has gifted us with so much, it has also left strong traces of an expectation of judgment from God, and thus when we read of Jesus saying that “angels will go out and sperate the wicked form the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace..” we can be excused for being somewhat anxious – even if we have experienced a modern or liberal catechesis in our own life.

But what if the ‘separation’ is merely God sifting out the limits, failures, burdens and sins of our life and casting them aside, while allowing us to live on in the goodness and righteousness of our true self and that which is the reflection of God’s own image?

What if there is no judgement, only reconciliation and healing? What if God was intent on bringing out of the storeroom of our lives all that is life-giving and true and casting aside all that has held us back or caused pain and suffering?

It would seem reasonable to imagine God doing nothing else but this. It is at the heart of God’s leading the people away from slavery in Egypt and into freedom in the promised land, and it is at the heart of all Jesus taught.

God’s net is wide and there is room for all. What I think is new and precious in the teaching of Jesus, and which he so deeply wants us to appreciate, is that God is love, boundless love. That love accompanies us through the journey of life as much as the cloud and fire did for the people of Israel, and that love will equally come down upon us and surround us in the next life too.

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

Scripture:

Exodus 32:15-24, 30-34
Matthew 13:31-35

Reflection:

Happy Monday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time!

Do you like to cook? 

I really do.  From soups, salads, and vegetables to pasta, sauces, and barbecue — even something as simple as dishing up some cheeses, fruit, nuts, and bread — I truly enjoy my time in the kitchen or at the grill, no matter what it is I’m preparing.  And when I’m sharing something I’ve prepared with other people, well – that’s just a little glimpse of heaven to me.

One thing that has always fascinated me, though, is bread.  Making a good loaf of bread is an art… and for me, the most beautiful is the most simple.  You just need flour, water, sea salt, a few teaspoons of sugar, some olive oil, and a little yeast.

But you know what?  It’s the yeast that really does the trick. 

Sure, you might argue that the rest of the ingredients would make an ok flatbread, but it would be dense.  Bringing yeast into the picture makes the dough expand and rise.  It creates a light, fluffy center and a crisp, tasty crust.  Can’t you just hear the crackle of a fresh baguette when you break it in half?  The yeast takes all the other ingredients and completely transforms them into something different.  Something bigger.  Something better.

And here’s the amazing thing about yeast:  You don’t need very much.  Just a little bit will make an enormous difference.

In the Gospel today (Matthew 13:31-35), Jesus tells this parable:  “The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took & mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.”

During the Dismissal Rite at the end of the Mass, the Priest or Deacon will say, “Go, and proclaim the Gospel by your lives.”  We are, at that moment, given the charge to go and be the yeast in the dough.

The greatest thing about it is, just like yeast we really don’t need very much to make a tremendous difference.  It really comes down to us mixing in with our brothers & sisters, the Children of God.  When we do that, we “Leaven the flour” in our part of God’s Kitchen.

It’s about sharing our care and compassion and companioning people on their journey.  It’s all about loving one another just as Jesus has loved us.  And when we share love with other people, we really get the chance to have a little glimpse of what heaven really is.

And for me, friends, well… that’s the very best meal I can ever hope to prepare.

Loving God,
you are the Master Chef,
gathering all the ingredients needed
in order to create incredible. Amen.

Peace and leavened love to you today, and forever.

Paul Puccinelli is the 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 Kings 3:5, 7-12
Romans 8:28-30
Matthew 13:44-52

Reflection:

These parables lead me to one obvious conclusion – the abundance and beauty of heaven! He goes and sells all that he has and buys it: isn’t this the ultimate sacrifice to reach the gates of Heaven? To be able to leave everything behind, detach ourselves from the wealth, greed and sorrow of a world that has morphed into something that at times can seem pointless and sad. But we continue to see the good in this world, knowing that the place of abundance for us is that goal of reaching heaven at the end of our journey. How do we achieve it? Repentance, for one.

And this net that is thrown into the sea – does it only catch fish? Of course not! It catches all forms of debris, turtles, and other little crawling things. And what is bad will be thrown out – and the angel will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous… This is the final judgment, so we must prepare for that time by being good stewards, separating ourselves from this world in preparation for heaven. We tend to forget what could happen if we don’t live as Christ would expect us to live.

We read these things so no one can say they were not aware. There are no excuses, just these facts – God wants us to repent, to live righteous lives, to forgive, to live simplistically, and to offer our lives to him completely.

God bless you all!

Patty Masson is the Director of Adult Formation and Evangelization at St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Church.

Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus

Scripture:

1 John 4:7-16
John 11:19-27

Reflection:

   “God sent his only-begotten Son into the world so that we might have life through him.”

The first reading for today describes the love that connects God to us and how we are connected to God. Simply, Love. Love is one of the three Cardinal Virtues. Saint Paul writes about love in his first letter to the Corinthians. He states that of the three, faith, hope, and love. The greatest is love. (1Cor 13:13) God loves us so much that he sent his Son so that we might have eternal life. The love that Jesus showed to Martha, Mary, and Lazarus was great. It is in that love we too can have life. To know Christ is to know what love is. To be able to share that love through acts of kindness or service is reflecting that love.

      “. . . you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

In the Gospel of John, Jesus and Martha have a conversation where Martha makes several faith statements about her belief “in the resurrection on the last day”. The last statement she makes is that she believes “you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” In the Gospels, when Jesus is healing someone, it is through that person’s faith or the faith of others that the person is healed. Martha, a woman who is portrayed as to busy to pray in the Gospel of Luke, is the one who has faith that Jesus is going to heal her brother or raise him from the dead in the Gospel of John. Jesus responds to her with one of the “I Am” statements:

     “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
       and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”

This conversation between Martha and Jesus may be considered a covenant dialog. Martha makes her statements of faith and Jesus replies with the promise of eternal life. Martha’s faith and the faith of the Apostles was not perfect. Jesus is the one God has chosen to free people from their sin and to give eternal life. Taking time to hear God’s response, engaging God in our own covenant dialog could possibly be an opportunity to deepen our relationship with God and grow deeper in the love God has for us.

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

Scripture:

Exodus 20:1-17
Matthew 13:18-23

Reflection:

Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.

Today marks my parents 84^th wedding anniversary!  Their life together as man and wife began on July 28, 1939.  With generous hearts they kept the Word and yielded a bountiful harvest which included raising eight children along with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren!  They persevered through good times as well as challenging times.  They lived their faith which included following the commandments as we read in our first reading today.  They taught us to focus our lives not solely on the letter of the law as much as on the heart of the law.  They sowed seeds of love, compassion, generosity, and forgiveness.  Sometimes their attempts fell on deaf ears, stubborn spirits, and closed minds, but they persevered and eventually we all reaped a bountiful harvest of faithfulness, servant leadership and spirit-filled lives.

Perseverance calls all of us to live Gospel-centered lives. We live in a world and a church that challenge us to hang onto to those seeds of faith that were planted in us at baptism.  In order to grow in our faith, we must be willing to walk on rocky ground, put up with the thorns we encounter, persevere in the Gospel message even when we don’t understand it or want to hear it.  We are reminded in the Gospel today that:

            “The seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it,
            who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

May we continue to be the rich soil that bears fruit not only in our lives but in the lives of all those we encounter on our faith journey!

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