The Passionists of Holy Cross Province

The Love that Compels

Daily Scripture, July 27, 2017

Scripture:

Exodus 19:1-2, 9-11
Matthew 13:10-17

Reflection:

They look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand. 

Seems like I’ve heard these words from Matthew’s gospel before!  I know I heard them from my mother.  “Open your eyes Terry, it’s right in front of you!  If it was a snake it would bite you!”  “Listen when I talk to you; I told you to do this three times today!”

I’ve also heard those words from teachers, authority figures of all types, even my beloved wife!  Now I hear the words from Jesus!  “Don’t just look Terry, SEE!  Don’t just hear Terry, LISTEN!”  Jesus goes on to clarify toward the end of the passage from Matthew.

“Understand with your hearts and be converted.”  I think to understand with my heart I have to be vulnerable.  I have to be open to conversion at the deepest level in my heart.  I have to change.  As I age, I have to open my heart to a deeper reality.  This new reality requires a change of heart.

No longer can I just look and hear on the surface of life.  I need to go deeper.  Going deeper demands seeing and listening with my heart.  What is my heart asking of me in this present moment?  Am I being asked to forgive or be forgiven, to be vulnerable to God within me, to be truly open to the human hearts I come in contact with every day, to be aware of the presence of God in creation around me?

Today’s reflection tells me to go deeper.  See more, listen more, and open my heart to God within and around me.  Run toward my heart and find God’s love!


Terry McDevitt, Ph.D. is a member of our Passionist Family in Louisville, Kentucky.

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.”