• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

The Passionists of Holy Cross Province

The Love that Compels

  • Online Masses
    • Passionist Online Masses and Services
  • 300th Jubilee
    • Jubilaeum Video
    • Opening Mass of the Passionist Jubilee Year
    • Video: 300th Jubilee – English
    • Video: Jubileo Pasionista – Español
    • Jubilee Icon Itinerary
    • Jubilee Resources
    • Jubilee Song
  • Pray
    • Daily Reflections
    • Prayer Request
    • Sunday Homily
    • Passionist Spirituality and Prayer
    • Video: Stations of the Cross
    • Prayer and Seasonal Cards
  • Grow
    • Journey into the Mystery of Christ Crucified
    • Celebrating the Feast of St. Paul of the Cross
    • Subscribe to E-News
    • Passionist Magazine
      • Passionist Magazine, Spring 2020
    • Passionist Ministries
      • Preaching
      • Hispanic Ministry
      • Haiti
      • Parish Life
      • Earth and Spirit Center
      • Education
      • Fr. Cedric Pisegna, CP, Live with Passion!
    • Retreat Centers
    • Passionist Solidarity Network
    • Vision Fulfillment Newsletters
    • Sacred Heart Monastery
      • History of Sacred Heart Monastery
      • A Day in the Life of Senior Passionists
      • “Pillars” of the Community
  • Join
    • Fr. Nicholas Divine, CP, Ordination
    • Are You Being Called?
    • Discerning Your Call
    • Pray With Us
    • Passionist Vocation Directors
    • Lay Partnerships
  • Connect
    • Find a Passionist
    • Passionist Websites
    • Fr. Cedric Pisegna, CP, Live with Passion!
    • Passionist Alumni Association
      • Reunions
      • 2019 Passionist Alumni Reunion
      • Welcome
      • Letter from the Provincial
        • These Men We Call Our Brothers
      • Mission Statement
      • CrossRoads Bulletin
      • Alumni Enrollment Form
        • Alumni Survey
      • Reunion Photo Gallery
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Monthly Giving
    • Leave a Legacy
      • Giving Matters
      • Ways to Give
      • Donor Relations
      • Testimonials
    • Prayer and Seasonal Cards
    • Privacy Policy Statement
  • Learn
    • Our Founder
    • History
    • The Letters of St. Paul of the Cross
    • The Diary of St. Paul of the Cross
    • Mission and Charism
    • Saints and Blesseds
    • FAQs
    • Find a Passionist
    • STUDIES IN PASSIONIST HISTORY AND SPIRITUALITY
  • Safe Environments

Daily Scripture, April 3, 2012

Scripture:

Isaiah 49:1-6
John 13:21-33, 36-38

Reflection:

Shelly Douglass, director of the local Catholic Worker House in Birmingham, AL, once commented that she always thought that "Jesus meant what he said in the gospels." But it was not until she was in college that she found anyone who agreed with her. She discovered a group of people "who thought Jesus meant what he said and they were trying to do it."

This week called "holy" by Christians is the "DNA," the blueprint, the "matrix" to following in the very footsteps of Jesus Christ, Son of God and our Savior. Consider the plight of this prophet seeking to speak the truth to a corrupt system. For the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 42 as well as for Jesus, disappointment and even betrayal led to their own glorification and the accomplishment of their God-given vocation. Remember "glorification / glory" actually means to fulfill one’s desires, dreams or hopes. We give God glory by fulfilling God’s Will, by living our lives as on mission to serve others, thus fulfilling the hope, the "dream," the Plan of God for the whole universe.  

A day does not go by in this mission at Holy Family Cristo Rey that we are not up against yet another obstacle in "breaking the ingrained cycle of poverty" in the minds and hearts of our students. One of those ingrained attitudes has to do with putting off the immediate gratification, that is, looking for the quick fix, the "short-cut," and not taking care of business – homework, applying oneself at the workplace, staying focused. In battling against the cycle, there is not a time where there is not a setback, a defeat, a disillusionment, a disappointment or some battle with oppressive systems. "I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly spent my strength for nothing and vanity;" (Is 42:7) Jesus faces two betrayals among his own followers at the most intimate moment with His closest disciples – announcing His faithful presence in the Eucharist.

The venerable Fr. Carroll Stuhlmueller, C.P. once pointed out that "instead of dying with bitter frustrations both the servant as well as Jesus realized that they were called into earthly life, not for an earthly ambition, but to achieve a delicate love and a faithful consecration with God and with their neighbors within the scope of their earthly life." I ask myself this question in prayer, "Lord, as I face this challenge in the mission, right now, where can I find you, in my efforts to persevere?" Our choice to respond in faith is to give "glory" with Jesus to the Father. "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him." (Jn 13:36)

 

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

Footer

Facebook Feed

Support the Passionists

Contact the Passionists

The Passionists of Holy Cross Province
660 Busse Highway | Park Ridge, IL 60068
Tel: 847.518.8844 | Toll-free: 800.295.9048 | Fax: 847.518.0461
Safe Environments | Board Member Portal | Copyright © 2021 | Log in