The Passionists of Holy Cross Province

The Love that Compels

December 16, 2021

Thursday of the Third Week of Advent

The Light of Joy

Prayer of Joy

Loving God,
Christmas is almost here! Fill us with the joy of this season!

Fill us with the joy Mary and Elizabeth felt when they reunited after Mary was told that Elizabeth, long considered barren, was with child.

“Lord, Elizabeth declared to Mary, ‘Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you would be fulfilled.'”

Help us believe that Your promises to us have been fulfilled in Jesus. May we rejoice in Him. Amen.

-Father Phil Paxton, CP

True Joy

The true joy experienced in the family is not something casual or accidental. It is a joy born of the profound harmony among persons, which gives us a taste of the beauty of being together, of supporting one another along the journey of life. But at the heart of that joy is always God’s presence, his welcoming, merciful, and patient love toward all. If the doors of the family are not opened to the presence of God and his love, the family loses its harmony, selfishness prevails, and joy is extinguished. Instead, the family that lives the joy of life, the joy of faith, spontaneously communicating it, is the salt of the earth and light of the world. It is the leaven for all of society.”
-Pope Francis,   — Angelus prayer, Dec. 27, 2015

Scripture:

Isaiah 54:1-10
Luke 7:24-30

Reflection:

Bob Rizzi is a longtime parishioner at St. Joseph Monastery Parish in Baltimore, Maryland, and a member of the Passionist Family.

A Christmas Prayer for You
-Rebecca Barlow
(Excerpt)

We not only need Your peace and joy; Lord, we crave it. You’ve promised rest for the weary, victory for the battle-scarred, peace for the anxious, and acceptance for the brokenhearted—not just at Christmas, but every day of every year. Release the joy in us that’s been crushed by pride, wrong priorities, or world events. Tear down the strongholds that have held us captive far too long. Extinguish the flames of apprehension that rob us of a calm, quiet spirit. Show us again the beauty of that holy night so many centuries ago.

Call to Action:

Watch “The Story of Stuff” video with your family, friends, or community group. Brainstorm ways you can reduce the amount of “stuff” you purchase and use on a day-to-day basis. https://storyofstuff.org/movies/story-of-stuff/

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.”