http://thepassionists.org/reflections Reflections on the Scripture Readings of the Day from the Passionists Sat, 25 May 2013 05:00:29 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://thepassionists.org/reflections/wisdom-for-the-day/ http://thepassionists.org/reflections/wisdom-for-the-day/#comments Sat, 25 May 2013 05:00:29 +0000 admin http://thepassionists.org/reflections/?p=11854
With summer approaching, one of the more familiar questions is, “What are you doing this summer?” or “Where are you going on vacation?” For some people it might be a ...]]>
With summer approaching, one of the more familiar questions is, “What are you doing this summer?” or “Where are you going on vacation?” For some people it might be a hammock, for others a trip, for some it means orchestrating a family reunion, and for others it means just stop doing what I’ve been doing. Everybody’s different. These days we’ve been reading from the Book of Sirach. Wisdom is personified as a gift from God to help old and young alike remember that everything is a gift from God. We’re asked to have a discerning heart so that we use the gifts and talents we are given wisely, for our benefit and for that of others. We’re called to be a grateful person aware of the needs of others. That’s where the wisdom part comes in. As I’ve been taught, wisdom isn’t just something that comes with age, but with reflection. We learn from people, places, and events. We learn from the things we see, do, and hear about each day. It’s from reflecting on our experiences that we are able to have something credible to contribute to our world and those we interact with each day. So we’re always learners. That goes along with our Gospel for today. Parents are attracted to Jesus because He’s like no one they have met. He has a heart for the people. They listen to His parables and words of wisdom and even ask Him to bless their children, who also sense He’s a good man. He affirms that we are made in the image of God and gives us what we need to walk in God’s way. Why don’t you take a mini-vacation each day, whether in the hammock or as you drive and remember that God is with you. You’re made in God’s likeness, and though at times we might feel inadequate, we’re called to share what we’ve received – wisdom and gratitude. - Fr. Michael Greene, C.P.

]]> http://thepassionists.org/reflections/wisdom-for-the-day/feed/ 0 http://thepassionists.org/reflections/ordinary-time-2/ http://thepassionists.org/reflections/ordinary-time-2/#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 05:00:21 +0000 admin http://thepassionists.org/reflections/?p=11808
The Easter season is over and we’re into ordinary time in the church year. Most of the church year, like most of life, is ordinary time. Ordinary time is the ...]]>
The Easter season is over and we’re into ordinary time in the church year. Most of the church year, like most of life, is ordinary time. Ordinary time is the time of the Holy Spirit. The scriptures for Pentecost recall the dramatic appearance of the Holy Spirit, but they also recall the Spirit who comes quietly when we’re hardly aware. The Spirit dramatically came on the Jewish feast of Pentecost, fifty days after Passover, according to the Acts of the Apostles. (Acts 2,1-11) Strong winds and tongues of fire came upon the disciples  gathered in the Upper Room, the Cenacle, and they were filled with energy and joy. Immediately, confidently, they preach the gospel to people from the ends of the earth gathered in Jerusalem for the feast. “Where did these Galileans get all this?” their amazed hearers ask. “Their message goes out to all the earth,” to Asia Minor, to Rome, Africa, Asia. Occasionally, the Spirit works like this in the church. But more often the Holy Spirit comes quietly as an everyday gift. We may prefer strong winds and tongues of fire, but the Spirit mostly come quietly, in ordinary time. John’s gospel, read also on the Feast of Pentecost, probably best describes the quiet coming of the Spirit. When the Risen Lord appears to his disciples on Easter Sunday, they’re locked in a room in fear, fallen and dispirited, expecting nothing except that things will get worse. Then, Jesus appears and wishes them peace and shows them the wounds in his hands and side. Then he breathes on them and says “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20,19-23) What’s more quiet and ordinary than breathing? Yet in this simple act, Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit on them. Why does he show them the wounds in his hands and side? They’re signs that everything that evil could do to him was done to him, yet he conquered every evil, even death. We tend to minimize ordinary time. So ordinary. Nothing’s happening, we say. Yet, day by day in ordinary time the Risen Lord offers his peace and shows us his wounds. Every day he breathes the Spirit on us. No day goes by without the Spirit’s quiet blessing. - Fr. Victor Hoagland, C.P.

]]> http://thepassionists.org/reflections/ordinary-time-2/feed/ 0 http://thepassionists.org/reflections/no-more-plastic-jesus/ http://thepassionists.org/reflections/no-more-plastic-jesus/#comments Thu, 23 May 2013 05:00:58 +0000 admin http://thepassionists.org/reflections/?p=11797
The cartoon character, Superman, is portrayed as courageous and full of superhuman power to combat earthly enemies. This role is the complete opposite from his alter ego before the public ...]]>
The cartoon character, Superman, is portrayed as courageous and full of superhuman power to combat earthly enemies. This role is the complete opposite from his alter ego before the public who know him as Clark Kent, a mild-mannered anxious newspaper reporter. I think we might at times have a tendency to think of Jesus as a religious version of Superman who exorcises supernatural enemies and protects infirm people from the ravages of illness. Jesus does indeed accomplish these wonderful feats. However, this is the same Jesus who proclaims the challenging message of making the values of God’s kingdom the sole pattern for our own integrity and our relationships with others.  There is no need to search the Gospels for a wimpy ‘Clark Kent’ type of Jesus you can adopt as a model. You will search in vain. “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire.” The same for your feet and eyes!  No plastic Jesus speaks like this. Of course, these graphic statements must be correctly understood within the frame of reference Jesus mentions elsewhere.  “From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.  All these evils come from within and defile” (Mk 7:21).  Jesus makes clear that it is not our hands, or feet, or eyes which are the source of sin. On the contrary! How much good we bring into this world, precisely through our caring hands, our feet which take us to those who are in need, and our eyes which communicate strength and love to those who may be weary and afraid. Giving our heart over to the Lord ever more deeply will help us to use the wonderful gift of our body in ways that always bring benefit to other people and never harm. (Fr. Paul Zilonka, C.P. is a member of the Preaching Team of the Province of St. Paul of the Cross)

]]> http://thepassionists.org/reflections/no-more-plastic-jesus/feed/ 0 http://thepassionists.org/reflections/faith-demands-trust/ http://thepassionists.org/reflections/faith-demands-trust/#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 05:00:12 +0000 admin http://thepassionists.org/reflections/?p=11792
Recently two very close friends of mine contacted me concerning another dear friend I’ll call “Christopher”. They were looking for my advice as to how to intervene in a situation ...]]>
Recently two very close friends of mine contacted me concerning another dear friend I’ll call “Christopher”. They were looking for my advice as to how to intervene in a situation of considerable significance in which they were concerned for Christopher’s wellbeing as well as for the wellbeing of other people whom his decisions might affect. After the three of us had expended considerable anxiety and energy to come up with an appropriate approach to the situation it became clear to me that anything practical we might attempt to do was fraught with potential for doing more harm than good. Finally I proposed that the best option we had was to pray for our friend with very specific focus on our current concern for him and then to leave the matter in God’s hands. My friends’ reactions suggested that my proposal was a cop out. Sure it would be good to pray for Christopher, but if that were all we did we would be failing in our responsibility to him and to others. It was a reaction that I often sense in people who claim to be persons of faith. Today’s poem from the Book of Sirach essentially equates Wisdom with God.  Sirach tells us: If one trusts her, he will possess her; his descendents too will inherit her”. If we really want to be disciples of Christ we need to learn to trust Him whom we claim to be the Son of God. How can we possess Christ in our hearts and in our lives if our attitude toward him betrays a conviction that he didn’t really mean it when he said: Behold, I am with you always (Matt 28:20), or when he said:   " I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. (Luke 11:9). If we are honestly seeking a relationship with God in and through Christ, we need to begin to turn over to him more fully the things that we know are beyond our control and trust that he will hear me and give answer (Psalm 55:3). Fr. John M. Lee, C.P. is the Retreat Director of Bishop Molloy Retreat House, "The Passionist Spiritual Center in New York City", www.bishopmolloy.org

]]> http://thepassionists.org/reflections/faith-demands-trust/feed/ 0 http://thepassionists.org/reflections/prepare-yourself-for-trials/ http://thepassionists.org/reflections/prepare-yourself-for-trials/#comments Tue, 21 May 2013 05:00:00 +0000 admin http://thepassionists.org/reflections/?p=11747
Serving God has its trials because of the clash of our own plans with the plan of God for us, and because of our want it now culture.  Those clashes ...]]>
Serving God has its trials because of the clash of our own plans with the plan of God for us, and because of our want it now culture.  Those clashes test our trust in God. He has his plan for each of us, and indeed for all of His creation. The challenge for us is to make the effort to look beyond the immediate toward what it might be for us. We are being reminded that God is well able to draw life and vitality and success from what appear to us to be our defeats. The Gospel selection reinforces that. Jesus encouraged His disciples, not by explaining anything about the Resurrection, but by emphasizing the necessity of the pain and suffering which would precede that. This bothers us because it is an obvious reversal of present day cultural values. We need always to be mindful that God can draw life from apparent death. - Fr. Emmanuel Gardon, C.P.

]]> http://thepassionists.org/reflections/prepare-yourself-for-trials/feed/ 0 http://thepassionists.org/reflections/at-the-foot-of-the-mountain/ http://thepassionists.org/reflections/at-the-foot-of-the-mountain/#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 05:00:58 +0000 admin http://thepassionists.org/reflections/?p=11786
Yesterday we celebrated the transformation of the apostles at the descent of the Holy Spirit.  Today, as we resume our journey through Ordinary Time, Sirach sings the praises of wisdom, ...]]>
Yesterday we celebrated the transformation of the apostles at the descent of the Holy Spirit.  Today, as we resume our journey through Ordinary Time, Sirach sings the praises of wisdom, always mentioned first among the Holy Spirit’s gifts.  I have always had a special affection for the definition of wisdom in the Baltimore Catechism.  I no longer remember the wording, but it went to the effect that wisdom is the gift which enables us to relish heavenly things and to view earthly things through the eyes of faith.  The group of arguing disciples and scribes, as well as the distraught father, whom we meet in the Gospel are in need of such eyes.  Appropriately, they are gathered at the foot of the mountain, where the view is restricted. Jesus, the Light, approaches and brings clarity to the situation. The solution to the problem is faith and prayer.  We do not know how the scribes reacted.  They disappear from the scene.  Presumably, the disciples did take Jesus’ rebuke to heart, but our attention is focused on the development of the father’s faith.  “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.”  The plea resonates with us.  The words are contradictory, but how true they are to the man’s experience—and to ours. The presence of Jesus’ disciples had awakened hope  The father had sufficient faith to approach them, but apparently it was not enough.  He acknowledges his weakness and appeals for help. The immediate consequence is a further challenge to faith.  At Jesus’ words the boy is convulsed and seemingly left for dead.  But this death is the prelude to a renewed, more healthful life.  Surely, the father’s faith undergoes a similar spiritual death and resurrection.  He experiences the transforming power of the Spirit. - Sr. Mary O'Brien, C.P.

]]> http://thepassionists.org/reflections/at-the-foot-of-the-mountain/feed/ 0 http://thepassionists.org/reflections/pentecost-going-to-work-after-the-party/ http://thepassionists.org/reflections/pentecost-going-to-work-after-the-party/#comments Sun, 19 May 2013 05:00:45 +0000 admin http://thepassionists.org/reflections/?p=11772
For Israel the feast of Pentecost finds its origin in early agricultural festivals. At the beginning of the grain harvest the first sheaf of newly cut barley was offered. On ...]]>
For Israel the feast of Pentecost finds its origin in early agricultural festivals. At the beginning of the grain harvest the first sheaf of newly cut barley was offered. On the fiftieth day at the close of harvest, two loaves of bread, baked from the wheat of the new crop, were offered as a sacrifice. Later it comes to be celebrated as a renewal of the pact God made with Noah that there would be no more flood to destroy the earth. Finally, it is associated with the giving of the Torah and God’s revelation on Mount Sinai. The followers of Jesus see his completed. We have celebrated Jesus’ victory and risen presence, now we return to work. We will go our ways as ‘fishers of men’, workers for the harvest master who points us to the great harvest, and from Jerusalem to all the nations preaching repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Our great feasts have a time of preparation, Advent or Lent. Along with Easter in the early Church Pentecost was the other great feast. Where is the preparation? Since it concludes the Days of Easter celebration, it seems contradictory to fast. The Bridegroom’s return is what we celebrate; we cannot fast. But when Our Lord leaves the disciples at the Ascension, there is a loss to be mourned and a gift to be anticipated. In the days between the Ascension and Pentecost the disciples gather as a broken group. Judas has gone. They feel their failures acutely. They have witnessed the unjust condemnation of an innocent man and the torturous death of their unique, dear friend. They have also shared with him in the victory over death. As Jesus leaves them they continue to ponder in their hearts and minds the horror and miraculous. Joy has also washed over them in a forgiving, peaceful and renewing way. They are given a promise. Jesus opens their hearts and minds to the love story of the Scriptures. We take our place with the disciples as we come to Pentecost. We see the mystery of Our Lord whose love is revealed in his suffering for us. We are also filled with joy, with the gift of the Spirit, who is advocate and consoler, and who will make known to us all that Jesus has said and taught. The Spirit is active and fills us with life. We are always in preparation for the gifts, speaking and listening in a dialogue with the Spirit. In Acts when Paul went to Ephesus he met a small Christian community that did not know about the Holy Spirit. As they prayed the Spirit came upon them and they were filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Acts notes there were about 12 men. Paul then preaches boldly and persuasively about the Kingdom of God in the synagogue (Acts 19:1-9). In these few words Paul sums up Pentecost. The promised gift of the Spirit completes the Church. There were 12 who received it, reminiscent of the12 tribes and the 12 apostles, a symbolic number of the fullness and completion of the community. When there were 11 apostles it was necessary that Judas be replaced for this reason. So Paul, really it is the Spirit, makes a complete ‘Church’. This Church of Ephesus now does its work; it preaches the Kingdom. The Lord will return. We wait in joyful expectation of this Kingdom, and as we wait we do not look up at the clouds, but sensitive to the signs of the times we do the work of Jesus making the Kingdom of God present among us. - Fr. Bill Murphy, C.P.

]]> http://thepassionists.org/reflections/pentecost-going-to-work-after-the-party/feed/ 0 http://thepassionists.org/reflections/radical-freedom/ http://thepassionists.org/reflections/radical-freedom/#comments Sat, 18 May 2013 05:00:06 +0000 admin http://thepassionists.org/reflections/?p=11562
Today’s first reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, speaks of Radical Freedom.  Paul had been preaching the Good News, and was handed over to the Romans by the Jews.  ...]]>
Today’s first reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, speaks of Radical Freedom.  Paul had been preaching the Good News, and was handed over to the Romans by the Jews.  Sound familiar?  Instead of being crucified that same day, as Jesus was, Paul is placed under house arrest for two years.  But Paul doesn’t allow being kept a prisoner in his own home to dampen his spirits or his zeal for spreading the gospel.  Paul continues to write, and to preach to all who come to see him.  Paul’s example is one of the radical freedom that Jesus invites us into; to know that nothing that happens to us in the temporal realm is of consequence, to be completely detached from the material, and to place our trust wholeheartedly in Christ, who sustains us and grants us peace.  Just like us, and almost all Christians across time, Paul never met Jesus in the flesh.  But he had an experience of the risen Christ that was as real as Jesus’ presence in the flesh with his apostles.  How is Christ present to me?  How do I strengthen my trust in God, allowing me to release attachments to the temporal world and the anxieties they come with? In today’s gospel, Jesus makes it clear to Peter that each individual has a unique calling.  Peter’s calling is not the same as John’s.  So too, each of us has a unique vocation through which to serve God and one another.  No two people are the same, and no two callings are exactly the same.  Within the vocations of marriage, ordained, vowed, and single life, there are countless calls to particular ministries and charisms.  How is God calling you? -Moira Reilly (PVI-Jamaica ’06-’07) is a member of the Catholic Committee of Appalachia, a network of the faithful raising a prophetic voice for Appalachia and her people.  www.ccappal.org  

]]> http://thepassionists.org/reflections/radical-freedom/feed/ 0 http://thepassionists.org/reflections/follow-me-the-spirit-says/ http://thepassionists.org/reflections/follow-me-the-spirit-says/#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 05:00:01 +0000 admin http://thepassionists.org/reflections/?p=11736
The gospel of John is read at Mass these last days before the Feast of Pentecost. We’re brought to the Sea of Galilee where the Lord first called Peter and ...]]>
The gospel of John is read at Mass these last days before the Feast of Pentecost. We’re brought to the Sea of Galilee where the Lord first called Peter and John and others to follow him. Now, from the shore the Risen Jesus calls them again. They’ve fished all night and caught nothing.  Not only are their boats empty; some days earlier in Jerusalem they deserted the One they promised to follow forever.  Their spirits are empty. From the shore Jesus tells them to cast their nets into the sea again and an abundant catch of fish pours into their boats. Calling them ashore, Jesus feeds them some loaves and fish. As he did in the supper room the night before he died, Jesus offers them his life-giving love. Taking Peter aside, he asks the disciple who denied him three times “Do you love me?” “Yes, Lord, you know I love you,” Peter answers three times. “Feed my sheep,” Jesus tells him. Then, renewing the invitation he made at this same shore at the beginning of his ministry, Jesus says to his disciple, “Follow me.” The Feast of Pentecost is a feast for a church that has failed, for disciples facing their weakness and broken promises, for those who work and have nothing to show for it. The Holy Spirit, whom Jesus breathed upon the disciples after his resurrection, comes to our world as he promised, to renew the face of the earth. “Come follow me,” the life-giving Spirit says. - Fr. Victor Hoagland, C.P.

]]> http://thepassionists.org/reflections/follow-me-the-spirit-says/feed/ 0 http://thepassionists.org/reflections/welcome-home-to-the-center-of-the-world/ http://thepassionists.org/reflections/welcome-home-to-the-center-of-the-world/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 05:00:49 +0000 admin http://thepassionists.org/reflections/?p=11732
Throughout the Easter season, we have been reading daily excerpts from the Acts of the Apostles.  Now we are only a few days away from celebrating the Feast of Pentecost, ...]]>
Throughout the Easter season, we have been reading daily excerpts from the Acts of the Apostles.  Now we are only a few days away from celebrating the Feast of Pentecost, which Acts presents as the moment when the Spirit’s power transformed the fearful disciples of Jesus into powerful preachers. They launched a worldwide mission to proclaim God’s redeeming love in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, Messiah and Lord. The catechumens who were recently baptized at the Easter Vigil spent many months in the RCIA classes, and particularly the 40 days of Lent, preparing for that decisive moment in their lives. In a similar way, these fifty days from Easter to Pentecost have tutored us through the Acts of the Apostles, reminding us that the Church community has been missionary from the beginning. In today’s first reading, the risen Lord encourages Paul imprisoned in Jerusalem with these words: “Take courage. For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness in Rome.”  This statement in the closing chapters of Acts helps us to understand how the faith which was born in ancient Palestine, the land of Jesus, came to be grounded so firmly in the city of Rome which at the time considered itself to be the “center of the world.” That was two thousand years ago. Since then, the missionary spirit has continued to spread the witness of believers in every direction and by every means of transport. The introduction of all types of modern media has greatly enhanced the effectiveness of that missionary outreach. In the years following Vatican II, Karl Rahner, S.J. expressed well what had become evident in the Council itself. The earlier shift from Jerusalem to Rome had now culminated in a new shift to a truly global Church in which local Church communities everywhere could now be appreciated as “the center of the world” in the sense that Christ is present in this community as Lord and shepherd, strengthening all the members for their local mission in the Holy Spirit. Pope Francis repeatedly describes himself as Bishop of Rome, meaning the diocese of Rome, where the sacred memories of Saints Peter and Paul are enshrined. Meanwhile, the Pope urges all of us to be faithful disciples of Christ the Lord wherever we are, for that is our responsibility just as he has his own. Welcome home to ‘the center of the world’ where Christ reigns in our hearts and our many communities! (Fr. Paul Zilonka, C.P. is a member of the Preaching Team of the Province of St. Paul of the Cross)

]]> http://thepassionists.org/reflections/welcome-home-to-the-center-of-the-world/feed/ 0