Today’s Thoughts: In some ways it is odd encountering the story of the transfiguration outside of the Second Sunday of Lent or the Feast of the Transfiguration. Yet today we encounter Mark’s version of the event. As I have often reflected on this story in the life of Jesus, I have wondered why or how Jesus chose Peter, James and John to be witness to this special event. There must have been something special about these three disciples because they are also selected to accompany Jesus for his agony in the garden. Jesus must have seen something in these three that set them apart from the others. Perhaps in them Jesus saw true friends, not perfect friends, but true friends. Whatever the reason they were privileged to be present at profound moments in the life of Jesus. At the transfiguration they hear the words of God the Father and get a glimpse of the divinity of Jesus. Truly this was a very special moment for Peter, James and John.
The transfiguration is a very mysterious event. It is reserved for these three alone to witness, and they had to keep it a secret until after the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Had they spoken immediately after they came down from the mountain, others might have been unable to understand what they had encountered and heard. Only later, when Jesus had completed his instructions and teaching would all be able to understand what Peter, James and John had encountered. Perhaps the challenge of our Gospel today is for us to take the words of God the Father from the Transfiguration as addressed to ourselves. Just as the Father called Peter, James and John on that mountain top many years ago, God invites us today to listen to the words of Jesus. God asks us not merely to hear the words of Jesus, but to really and truly listen to them. God wants us to hear, to listen and like Peter, James and John to be friends of Jesus in the most profound sense. Have a holy and blessed Saturday everyone!
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Today’s Thoughts: I know many of you probably look at today as just Friday. And you are right in doing so along with most of the rest of the world but in the Passionist world today, the Friday before Ash Wednesday is the Feast of the Solemn Commemoration of the Passion. It is one of the most important and special feast days that we have in the Congregation of the Passion. It is a day when we can truly celebrate the Passion of Jesus Christ which is the lens through which we view and live our lives as Passionists.
Pope Francis said – “Always remember this: life is a journey. It is a path, a journey to meet Jesus…. A journey in which we do not encounter Jesus is not a Christian journey. It is for the Christian to continually encounter Jesus, to watch him, to let oneself be watched over by Jesus, because Jesus watches us with love; he loves us so much, and he is always watching over us. To encounter Jesus also means allowing oneself to be gazed upon by Jesus. “But, Father, you know,” one of you might say to me, “you know that this journey is horrible for me, I am such a sinner, I have committed many sins... how can I encounter Jesus?” And you know that the people whom Jesus most sought out were the greatest sinners; and they reproached him for this, and the people — those who believed themselves righteous — would say: this is no true prophet, look what lovely company he keeps! He was with sinners... And Jesus said: I came for those in need of salvation, in need of healing. Jesus heals our sins. And along the way Jesus comes and forgives us — all of us are sinners, we are all sinners — even when we make a mistake, when we commit a sin, when we sin. And the forgiveness that we receive in Confession is an encounter with Jesus. We always encounter Jesus.” Faith is always the key. As Passionists we celebrate this day with the faith that our journey of life is truly an encounter with Jesus, that God truly does love the world and Jesus’ journey to Calvary is the ultimate sign of that love. As Pope Francis says above, we are all sinners and it is that fact that set-in motion God’s greatest act of love for us, Jesus’ life, passion, death and resurrection. On this Friday before Ash Wednesday that is what we remember and celebrate. Perhaps in a way we, Passionists, try to live the way Jesus asks the crowd and his disciples to live in our Gospel story today – “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it. In other words, our lives are dedicated the remembering the Passion of Jesus Christ which reveals the power of God’s love for the world and through our special vow we bind ourselves to the memory of the Passion of Christ. By our words, our ministries, our living of life and by our faith we strive to bring this gift, this grace of God’s love to every person we meet. Or perhaps stick with the story we seek to bring the struggle to Jesus because he does all things well! My prayer for you on this special Passionist feast is that as you journey through this day you will not forget that God loves you that you will always be faithful and that the Passion of Jesus Christ will always in your heart! Have a blessed and holy Friday everyone. Today’s Thoughts: In today’s Gospel, Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" Their response is to mention various prophets that represent important aspect of his mission. Then he asks, “But who do you say that I am?” Ok, you have heard what people are saying, but you have been with me, seen the things that I do. Heard the things that I have said. What do you think? Peter immediately responds, "You are the Christ." Well done Peter! You are catching on, you are listening. You seem to understand.
However, as Jesus continues to talk about his mission, he brings up the fact that he “must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days.” Jesus’ self-image reflects the notions of suffering, death, and resurrection. This reflection of who Jesus is does not go well with Peter. Peter’s image of Christ didn’t include a suffering and death. I can see Jesus hanging his head in disappointment. Peter doesn’t understand. More work needs to be done! Sometimes I think our images of Jesus as Christ would trigger the same reaction from Jesus. Perhaps, like Peter, we think “not as God does, but as human beings do.” After all that is what we are. Maybe we read something into Jesus instead of listening to what Jesus says about himself. Perhaps, it is always good to pause every so often and see whether we are on the same page with Jesus. Who do we say that Jesus is? Is he the Christ? Are we willing to listen to him talk about his suffering and death and understand that this is who Christ’s is? Our question for this day might be – Who do we say Jesus is? Have a holy and blessed Thursday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: In our Gospel today, we have the story of Jesus’ healing of the blind man of Bethsaida. It is a unique story because it only appears in Mark’s Gospel and because it takes Jesus two tries to accomplish the healing.
In all the Gospels, we have stories of Jesus physically healing people. However, with every healing there is a deeper meaning. It is not just about the person’s physical struggles it is also about the spiritual struggles of those who are present and us who are listening. This is easy to grasp when the healing is of blindness. In our story today, just before Jesus heals the blind man, he chastises the disciples for failing to understand his reference to “the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." A number of times in yesterday’s Gospel Jesus asks the disciples, “Do you still not understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and not see?” Jesus is not talking about physical blindness. He is using sight as a metaphor. For Jesus the reference to seeing is understanding. With this focus in mind, we get a sense of why Mark placed this story of the healing of the blind man right after the disciples struggle to understand and right before he asks them about who people think he is which we will encounter tomorrow. Today’s healing story corresponds to Peter’s situation when Jesus asks, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter gets it half right. That is, he correctly identifies Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah, but he fails to understand what Messiah means in Jesus’ case. When Jesus mentions rejection and death, Peter rebukes him. In other words, Peter shows that he “sees” halfway. Seeing, understanding is a process, a journey. Like the blind man today it takes a while until he sees clearly. It is going to take a while for the disciples to see clearly. Throughout Mark’s Gospel the disciples struggle to understand, to see clearly the mission and ministry of Jesus. Each time Jesus talks about his Passion and Death the disciples seem to miss the point. Faith is a journey. It is not something we come to in a single moment or because of one event in our life. It is a journey that must be taken every day. The disciples did not understand, they did not see yesterday. The blind man today at first did not see clearly but then did. We are all like the disciples and the blind man in our story today. Seeing clearly is not always easy. But if we take the time to listen, to understand and to have faith things will become clear. Have a blessed and holy Wednesday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: “Do you still not understand?” The closing words by Jesus in today’s Gospel are directed at the disciples with him in the boat but they could easily be directed at us today. We just don’t seem to get it at times, do we?
Jesus’ disciples didn’t seem at times to be very good at connecting the dots between Jesus’ words and actions. Jesus was always asking them if they understood and at times like the Gospel today, we hear the frustration from their lack of understanding in his voice. Even though we have the reflections and the insights of many before us we often find ourselves just like the disciples in the Gospel today. We think Jesus means one thing when it is really about something altogether different. Like the disciples we need to be reminded again just who we are as people of faith and that we are called to live lives for the glory of God. One place where we can revive our calling as people of faith is the Eucharist. Here we listen once again to the Word of God, we retell the story of Jesus, and we are nourished by the gift of Eucharist, and we are forgiven for those times when we fail to understand, when we fail to live out the Gospel. The Eucharist is the table that always invited us to understand, to come back, be connect even when like the disciple we just can grasp the message! Have a blessed and holy Tuesday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: On the one hand we might say our readings today are about faith. Abel’s faith and Cain’s lack of faith. God seems to stay to Cain amid his disappointment with not having an acceptable sacrifice, to be patient and have faith. Then he can overcome the power of his disappointment, he can overcome the power of evil. However, Cain does not have faith, he does not place his trust in God. He gives into anger, jealousy, resentment, criticism, name-calling, spreading false rumors, running reputations. Perhaps through the story of Cain and Abel we can take some time today to reflect on how well we deal with and guard again the evil spirits that can lurk in our own hearts? Put in a more positive light, how are we trying to be life-giving and affirming as we journey through our life this day?
In the Gospel (Mark 8:11-13) today Jesus gives us an example of patient perseverance, of faithfulness to his mission. He is once again tested and challenged by the religious leaders. They want a sign. Now Jesus could have engaged the Pharisees in a heated argument. He could have performed a miracle for them, but he didn’t. Jesus just asked them a question. Why do you need a sign? Why can’t you just believe, why can’t you just have faith? Why can’t you recognize God in your midst? Throughout Jesus’ ministry he was challenged, frustrated and questioned. Each time he confronted the situation differently drawing upon a wide range of human emotions. In today’s story it is the emotions of patience and faithfulness. He feels sorrow for the Pharisees. He is frustrated, but he takes a deep breath and simply asked them to think for a moment. Today’s challenge in the Gospel is that being a patient, persevering, and faithful person. Can we be patient with those around us, with ourselves and with God? Can we persevere in this journey of life? Can we remain faithful in the midst of frustration, and challenges especially from with our hearts? Have a blessed and holy Monday everyone! Today Thoughts: On this Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time we are confronted with the question – “By what spirit do we live?”
Our Gospel reading from Matthew today comes from Chapter Five in Matthew often known as the Sermon on the Mount. If you recall the Sermon begins with the Beatitudes but the section, we are called to consider today is one that focuses on the tradition of the Law and the Prophets. It would be easy to suggest that Jesus has wandered into the legalism of his time, however that is not how I see it. My reading and reflection on today Gospel does not lead me to interpret law but to question by what spirit do I live the law. For me the telling verses in are Gospel today come at the beginning and end of the Gospel. In the opening verse of today’s Gospel Jesus says, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” and in the closing verse of the Gospel Jesus says, “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’” In other words, Jesus tells us that law is not just words focused rules and regulations but on a Spirit by which we are to live and truth is at the center of that Spirit. Jesus’ fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets is the providing of the Spirit by which we are to see, hear and live the Law of God. Each of the laws Jesus addresses today are expanded to mean much more than their words say. Each law must be lived out through the Spirit of the Beatitudes. Each law must address care and concern of all people as children of God. The way we live the Spirit of God’s Law is through truth. If we live in truth, then there is no need to swear. to pronounce oaths. Our “yeses” mean “yes” and our “noes” mean “no!” May we choose to live by God’s Holy Spirit as we journey through life today and always! Have a blessed and holy Sunday everyone. Today’s Thoughts: Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. Lourdes has always been regarded as a place of peace, a place connected with the sick and struggling. I, myself, found Lourdes to be a truly remarkable place when I spent two days there a number of years ago.
Pausing to honor Mary is always a good thing to do. Today we honor her visit to Lourdes back in the middle of the 19th century to a simple little girl named Bernadette. We also honor the ongoing gift of healing through Mary that has taken place in Lourdes since her appearance. As I have shared with you many times, I am very much aware of the role Mary has played in my own family’s life. My father visited Lourdes during World War II and asked Mary for a special favor. He asked Mary to keep him safe so that he could return home to my mother and start a family. He dedicated his first female child to Mary and said he would name her Bernadette. My father made it home, my sister’s name is Bernadette and thanks to my mother and father, my sister, my brother and I were given the gift of life. Mary is truly a special person. On to our scriptures…our first reading today is all about selfishness and blame. Adam and Eve only think about themselves. They know they have done something wrong but they look to blame their action on another. Adam blames Eve and Eve blames the serpent. They find it hard to face God. In our Gospel today, Jesus acts with compassion. It is a counter to Adam and Eve’s behavior. Jesus thinks of others not himself. When Jesus realizes the people have all traveled far and have run out of food, he is concerned for their well-being. He knows he cannot send them home to eat because they do not have sufficient food for the trip home. So, what can he do? There are a lot of people and not nearly enough food. I have always believed this to be one of Jesus’ miracles, but it also reminds me of the story, “Stone Soup.” As a single person, none of Jesus’ disciples has enough food to feed everyone, however when everyone adds a little something, a garnish, a bit of carrot, a potato, a drop of broth, together it ends up a flavorful meal, and enough to feed everyone. The Gospel says there were seven loaves of bread and a few fish. Not nearly enough to feed the huge crowd, but they broke the bread and shared the fish. Miraculously, there were seven baskets left over – more leftover than they started with. It is always tempting to hold on to what we have. What will I have if there is not enough? However, if everyone contributes to the ‘soup,’ and no one being satisfied, everyone wins. Instead of selfishly sinning, we selflessly shared, and God makes the impossible possible! Have a holy and blessed Saturday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: The first reading for today takes us almost to the end of the creation story which we have been reading since Monday. In today’s episode the serpent convinces Adam and Eve to eat from the tree is the middle of the garden which God has asked them not to eat from. The serpent convinces them that God has not told them the whole truth. His hook is that if they eat from this tree they will become like gods! Adam and Eve go for it hook, line and sinker. However, they find out that they are not like gods but rather their eyes are opened to the harsh realities of life – struggle, shame, illness and evil. They come to know the shame, hurts, disappointments and sins of life in the world so much so that now they are even ashamed of themselves, and they hid from God.
In the Gospel we encounter the beautiful story of Jesus healing the man who could not hear and had a speech impediment. Jesus heals the man because the people have faith in Jesus’ healing powers and bring their friend to Jesus. Jesus’ compassionate act of healing so astonished the community, even though he asks them to say nothing, they cannot stop talking about it. They proclaimed the Good News that Jesus “does all things well.” There is such a contrast between these two stories. On the one hand Adam and Eve place their faith in a talking serpent and not in God. They have everything. There is nothing they lack; there is no struggle, disappointment, illness, shame, hurt, death or sin in their lives. They are in paradise! Yet I guess you might say they didn’t have everything. They didn’t have faith! They didn’t trust God. In the Gospel story a community has faith in Jesus and their friend is healed. This story tells us a lot about Jesus and his journey to Calvary. Because of Adam and Eve’s lack of faith, sin, struggle, illness, shame and death entered the world. But as our faith story tells us that – “God so love the world that he gave us his only Son that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) We might say as we begin our day’s journey that faith is always the key. Have a great Friday everyone. Today’s Thoughts: In our Gospel today we might consider the question - Where is your heart? This might be the question that we can ponder from our Gospel story today (Mark 7:24-30). Even though the woman is a Greek, a Syrophoenician, by birth her heart is with God. In placing her heart with God her daughter is healed.
The focus of today’s Gospel reminds me of a verse in Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 6: 21) “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” In other words what we find important, what we place value in, what our focus is in life – there is where we will find your heart. Perhaps another way to consider our Gospel today is in the words of Thomas Merton - “Ask me not where I live or what I like to eat . . . Ask me what I am living for and what I think is keeping me from living fully that.” The Syrophoenician woman is living for God. She puts God at the center of her life thus that is where her heart is, and she is blessed with the healing of her daughter. Perhaps our questions for today are – What are we living for? What is keeping us from living fully? What is important to us? Where is our heart? Is it with God? Have a blessed and holy Thursday everyone. |
Fr. Paul R. Fagan, C.P. "Preacher on the Run"Just a few thoughts to help you on your journey through life...let me know from time to time what you think... Archives
May 2023
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