The Passionists of Holy Cross Province

The Love that Compels

Daily Scripture, June 4, 2011

Scripture:

Acts 18:23-28
John 16:23b-28

Reflection:

The Father’s Love

Jesus’ words today to his disciples pack a "punch":  "The Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God".  God’s Love:  the Father, in and through the Son, including disciples of times past and present.  No doubt this Last Supper talk with his disciples did help them get some renewed direction in their lives – and yet we know that Jesus’ Passion and death was later to turn many disciples away in denial of Jesus.  Oh yes, God’s love…unconditional; our love…so human.

Indeed, love needs constant affirming and nurturing.  These Easter days have helped nurture God’s love for us as we have followed the saga of the early Church in our readings from the Acts of the Apostles.  As disciples, we too await the gift of the Pentecost Spirit to help "love" the Church to a new birth in our day and age.  Jesus himself encourages us in love to "ask and you will receive so that your joy may be complete".

We each have accepted God’s love in our Baptism and in our personal vocation.  For our Passionist Family, God’s Love is oh-so-real in the recent priestly ordination of two fellow Passionists, Alfredo Ocampo and Hugo Esparza.  Together we respond to that Love by lives of fruitful and joyful service.  As we are about our Provincial Chapter these days, God’s Love will guide our discussions, decisions, and our election of new Province leadership.  On a personal note:  I today thank God for loving me on this my 35th anniversary of ordination to Passionist priestly ministry.  God’s Love…and a spirit of joy…you bet!

May the Father’s Love continue to nurture and guide us all as we follow Jesus Crucified in this day and age, as well as on that day when we ourselves return to the Father with Jesus. 

Amen!

 

Fr. John Schork, C.P. is the local leader of the Passionist community 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.”