The Passionists of Holy Cross Province

The Love that Compels

Daily Scripture, July 4, 2019

Scripture:

Genesis 22:1-19
Matthew 9:1-8

Reflection:

God is Good…All the Time!!

The above phrase is truly fitting for us as we Americans celebrate our God-given gift of Freedom this 4th of July.  God continues to bless us with many gifts, challenging us to be good stewards of those gifts and generous in sharing these resources with people “down the street” and “around the world”.  As people of faith, we call out:  “God is good…all the time!”

God’s goodness comes alive for us today as we ponder the Scriptures for today, Thursday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time.  Our Genesis reading offers the touching story of Abraham as he faithfully sought to respond to God’s call to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac; the saga takes a welcome turn when the divine Messenger halts the sacrifice and acknowledges Abraham’s deep faith.  Abraham was thus blessed to become the father of many peoples, part of God’ unfolding plan of salvation, ultimately accomplished in Jesus.  Matthew’s Gospel story of Jesus’ multi-dimensional cure of the paralytic bespeaks God’s goodness in the forgiveness of sinfulness and the healing of illness and human limitations.  The cured man was told to take up his stretcher and go home…to join the others in glorifying God who is all-loving.  “God is good…all the time!”

Today, in the midst of the festivities and fireworks, the food and fellowship that characterize this celebration of Independence, we’re invited to pause and reflect – to be grateful for the goodness of God shared in so many ways, and then to recommit ourselves to lives that are faith-filled and other-centered.  We may not be tested as was Abraham; our problems may not be as limiting as those of the paralytic – yet we are invited to proclaim God’s goodness in word and deed.  With Abraham and Isaac, with the crowds that witnessed the cure of the paralytic, with the psalmist who shared with us the beautiful thoughts of Psalm 115:  may we bless and glorify God, walking in God’s presence…all the time!  Amen!


Fr. John Schork, C.P. is a member of the Passionist community in Chicago, Illinois. 

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.”