• 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
    • Passionist Magazine
    • Journey into the Mystery of Christ Crucified
    • Celebrating the Feast of St. Paul of the Cross
    • Subscribe to E-News
    • 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, July 31, 2009

Scripture:

Leviticus 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37
Matthew 13:54-58

Reflection:

"…..Is he not the carpenter’s son?"

"A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house".  Jesus was identified.  They knew who he was – the son of Joseph the carpenter, the son of Mary.  They knew just what the son of a carpenter was expected to do, but Jesus was daring to speak like a rabbi, and he was saying things that even the rabbis weren’t saying.  He was talking about the kingdom of heaven coming in our midst.  And he spoke with wisdom and performed deeds of power.  But he was the son of a laborer.  And the people around him were convinced that God wouldn’t speak through someone like that.

When did we lose the idea that God is the God of surprises, the one who reveals the extraordinary in the midst of the ordinary?  When did we decide that God was tame and predictable?  In today’s gospel, Jesus was disrespected because he was lower class, not well educated…..the son of a carpenter, and yet he dared to suggest that the common people – not just the powerful – mattered to God.

Through God, the ordinary are chosen to perform the extraordinary.  This has been God’s pattern throughout history.  We never know just whose voice may be important.  God uses many different voices to be instruments through which the Word is spoken to reach this diverse, hurting world.

LORD……..HELP ME TO DEVELOP "SPIRITUAL EARS" TO LISTEN FOR YOUR VOICE 

Deacon Brian Clements is on the staff at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.                                     

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