• 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
    • Lent 2021
    • Daily Reflections
    • Prayer Request
    • Sunday Homily
    • Passionist Spirituality and Prayer
    • 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
    • Nicholas Divine, CP, Ordination to the Diaconate
    • 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, December 16, 2013

Monday of the Third Week of Advent 

Scripture:

Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17a
Matthew 21:23-27

Reflection:

Spirit filled Balaam cries out his oracle and portrays for us the image of a great person called forth to speak on behalf of the Lord:

…One whose eye is true, the utterance of one who hears what God says, and knows what the Most High knows, of one who sees what the Almighty sees, enraptured, and with eyes unveiled.

Balaam sees Israel in its most pure state, and praises it, likening its tents and encampments to gardens beside a stream, like cedars that were planted by the Lord himself.  You know something amazing is about to flow from the mouth of this servant of the Lord!  And then he says it:  "I see him, though not now; I behold him, though not near:  A star shall advance from Jacob, and a staff shall rise from Israel."  Imagine, Balaam looks upon the stronghold of Israel but announces the coming of a messiah who comes not from the encampments but a child to be born in a stable!

But we see him!  We see this "star advancing from Jacob", this "staff rising from Israel" for it is Jesus, the Lord.  We see him in the temple area preaching and teaching with great authority.  But the chief priests and the elders do not see what Balaam saw; they do not see what we now see.  They wonder at his authority instead of the truth of his words.  Their eyes are veiled and not clear.  They are lost in their own power!

How fitting that these days we await the coming of the Lord, a coming that is pure and simple, not veiled with power and authority, but in the unexpected and amazing birth of a little child.  Is this not how the Lord works in our lives?  He catches our attention by drawing us to a newborn babe, vulnerable and innocent, carefully avoiding the mighty and powerful rulers and kings!

 

Fr. Pat Brennan, CP is the director of St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center, Detroit, Michigan.

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