• 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, November 27, 2013

Scripture:

Daniel 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28
Luke 21:12-19

Reflection:

Hated by all because of my name…

A psychologist I know recently spoke of the majority of his patients, saying, "Most really don’t want to be healed, they just want me to take away the pain."  By that he meant that most of us don’t want to invest in the hard work of human growth or spiritual development… so, instead, we choose to over-indulge in a variety of self-satisfying ways.

Our temptation is to condemn Belshazzar for irreverence, desecration, or blasphemy. By profaning the sacred vessels that his father, Nebuchadnezzar, had taken from the Jerusalem temple, Belshazzar reveals how more broadly despicable he had become. And then he expects religion to enable him to feel better, asking Daniel to interpret his inner voice.

Today’s readings remind me of how often lately I’m embroiled in the discussion about spirituality and religion; you know, the folks who assert, "I’m very spiritual, I’m just not religious." I don’t think organized religion is the problem. The problem is that most of us don’t want to hear about the requirement (not a suggestion or an option!) to love one another – as God loves us. That’s religion. That’s the stuff of washing other’s smelly feet, embracing the leprous, loving enemies, forgiving others seventy-time-seven, and so on.

Yes, the end of the liturgical year upon us, and Jesus tells us we’ll be hated by many, but not a hair of our heads will be harmed. The readings around the destruction of the Temple are not about the cessation of this planet, however, or the end of THE world. Rather, we are hearing about the end of MY world, MY ego, MY narrow mind.  And that’s the Good News, the Gospel! And that’s when, as St. Paul says, "it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." (Galatians 2:20)

 

Fr. Jack Conley, C.P. is the director of the Office of Mission Effectiveness.  He is a member of the Passionist formation community at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

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