• 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
    • Opening Mass of the Passionist Jubilee Year
    • Video: 300th Jubilee – English
    • Video: Jubileo Pasionista – Español
    • Jubilee Icon Itinerary
    • Jubilee Resources
    • Jubilee Song
  • Pray
    • Lent 2021
    • Daily Reflections
    • Prayer Request
    • Sunday Homily
    • Passionist Spirituality and Prayer
    • Stations of the Cross
    • Prayer and Seasonal Cards
  • Grow
    • Journey into the Mystery of Christ Crucified
    • Celebrating the Feast of St. Paul of the Cross
    • Subscribe to E-News
    • Passionist Magazine
      • Passionist Magazine, Spring 2020
    • 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
    • Nicholas Divine, CP, Ordination to the Diaconate
    • 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, March 10, 2020

Scripture:

Isaiah 1:10, 16-20
Matthew 23:1-12

Reflection:

I am worried about our future. Despite our economic prosperity, I fear we are becoming a heartless culture, a closed and unwelcoming place where the rule is to grab whatever you can for yourself and deny it to anyone else. Injustice, violence, and corruption seem to be multiplying, with no solution or end in sight. I do not say this in a  partisan way. In fact,  partisan heel-digging is part of the problem.  We are more concerned about promoting our particular point of view and denying anything to the person with an opposing viewpoint than we are about imitating Jesus. We are more concerned with ensuring that our own benefit is the highest priority than we are about serving God. Trashing everyone else’s ideas just because they are someone else’s is more important than finding the common threads of each idea and working to build something better.

Jesus didn’t teach this. In fact, he lashed out at the leaders of his day, saying, “They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor.” It sounds so much like our “me-first” world today, in which it doesn’t matter if others are suffering as long as I’m not.

Again, God cries out to us: “Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow. Come now, let us set things right.”

The only question is: Are we listening? Are we adding to the morality and justice of our society, or diminishing it? Are we redressing the wrong or enabling the wrong-doers? In our own relationships, are we spreading peace and harmony or division and mistrust? Are we focused on giving or on grasping?

The bottom line: Would an objective observer know by our actions and words that we are disciples of Jesus Christ? Or in the words I often heard when I was growing up – If we were on trial for being Christians, would there be enough evidence to convict us?

God is pleading with us. Are we listening?


Amy Florian is a teacher and consultant working in Chicago.  For many years she has partnered with the Passionists.  Visit Amy’s website:
http://www.corgenius.com/.

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