The Passionists of Holy Cross Province

The Love that Compels

Daily Scripture, December 19, 2019

Scripture:

Judges 13:2-7, 24-25a
Luke 1:5-25

Reflection:

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, “because your prayer has been heard.” Luke 1:13

We pray because we long for something we do not yet have or enjoy. We pray for health, we pray for healing, we pray for peace. There are many reasons why we pray.

In today’s readings, we have two examples of families praying for children, knowing that their time to have children has passed them by. In both families, the wife was considered barren. In both families, it did not stop them from praying.

These two accounts, one from the Hebrew Testament and the other from the New Testament are timely ones for our Advent season. This is the season of Hope. This is the season of praying for something we long for but have no expectation of receiving. This kind of prayer is an exercise of faith. We do it because we want something, not because we think that we will receive it. We pray because we trust in God!

Sometimes we need to be careful about what we pray for because God sometimes answers our prayers and we are not ready for them.

When the people of God longed for a Savior, they prayed for one. And the Son of God became flesh and dwelt among us. As we read our scriptures, we were clearly not ready for the coming of the Baby Jesus. The Word made flesh was the answer to our prayer but our hearts were not ready to receive him.

Let us rejoice during this time as we realize that the Baby Jesus, born in an abandoned stable in Bethlehem, was the answer to our prayer! Let us be ready for those surprises that God has in store for us! Come, Lord Jesus!


Fr. Clemente Barrón, C.P. is a member of Mater Dolorosa Community in Sierra Madre, California.

Ash Wednesday

On March 2, the Church celebrates Ash Wednesday. 

Most of us learned early in our Catholic lives that Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, and that is a time of special sacrifice in preparation for the Easter celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection.

Dear brothers and sisters, every moment of our lives is a time for believing, hoping and loving…. These words of Pope Francis, taken from his Lenten Message of last year, 2021, and echoing the virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity, can still inspire our answer to the question: “What am I giving up for Lent?” 

We can draw our Lenten sacrifices out of our daily life: 

Share our faith in God’s presence by sharing in prayer with our family or with those in our parish community.
Share our hope in God’s promises by encouraging positive and respectful dialogue in our family circle and among our friends. 
Share the charity God has bestowed on us in the Passion of Jesus, with those whose sufferings are ignored or aggravated.

Let us pray for one another as we enter the season of Lent. Our Passionist “motto” can be our daily prayer during Lent, “May the Passion of Jesus Christ be always in our hearts.”