The Passionists of Holy Cross Province

The Love that Compels

Daily Scripture, December 3, 2018

Scripture:

Isaiah 2:1-5
Matthew 8:5-11

Reflection:

“In days to come, the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills. All nations shall stream toward it… One nation shall not raise the sword against another.” Isaiah 2:1,5

I love to imagine people of all races and ages streaming toward heaven. It will be so exciting! No more tears, no more wars, no more prejudice. It’s mind-boggling really to imagine meeting so many people from all time and places. And to finally experience perfect PEACE! We so long for peace in our war-torn world. All injustice will be over, all fighting, all hatred. All put to rest. Praise God!!!

So how can we enjoy a foretaste of paradise here and now?

The third luminous mystery is “The Proclamation of the Kingdom.” The Kingdom of God is at hand! We can begin to experience a tiny taste of heaven even here on earth as we seek to love God and love our neighbor. When we reach out in love sharing what we have with those who have less; when we pray for the areas in the world that don’t have peace; when we intentionally give up something and then use the money we would have spent to bless someone else. Of course the ways are endless!

Let’s be the people that long to see God’s face and in the meantime, let’s look for Him in the people around us and share his love and compassion and mercy with everyone we meet today and every day.

“At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by ‘I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.’” Mother Teresa


Janice Carleton and her husband Jim live in Bainbridge Island, Washington,  and partner with Passionist Fr. Cedric Pisegna in Fr. Cedric Ministries. She is the mother of 4 grown children and grandmother of 6. Janice also leads women’s retreats and recently published her second book: God IS with Us. Visit Janice’s website at http://www.janicecarleton.com/ or email her at [email protected].

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.”