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Daily Scripture

+ 7th Week of Easter

“Parting is such sweet sorrow.”

Readings: Acts 20:17-27 Psalm 68:10-11, 20-21 John 17:1-11

I am in the world no longer, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. [John 17:11]

Shakespeare ‘penned’ the phrase quoted above. I didn’t understand it as a student of Shakespeare in high school but I began to understand it when I waved goodbye to my family as I sailed off to Italy on September 21, 1963 for a three-year stretch in Rome. In fact, it has multiple meanings and applications that I appreciate now more than ever before.

There is another phrase that perhaps gives credence to my thoughts so poorly expressed and it’s this: “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” Ah, that’s it. At times we need to separate from ‘the source’ in order to appreciate how important it is to stay connected.

The farewell speech of St. Paul in Acts and the farewell ‘prayer’ of Jesus in John’s gospel were more likely composed by the authors of these texts along the lines of the farewell speeches of great leaders of their times in order to attract the attention of Jesus’ followers.

The departure of Jesus and later that of Paul created ‘fallow’ time in the hearts of the neophyte believers that was absolutely necessary if they were to grasp the significance of Jesus’ message and the teachings of St. Paul.

We are once again in ‘fallow’ time as we prepare for Pentecost. It’s a time of discernment during which we are invited to ponder the words and deeds of Jesus so that in his absence, we may come to know his presence in the Spirit that remains within us and around us.

As we ponder, it is important to reflect on the gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and reverence of the Lord. And the fruits of the Holy Spirit are qualities that are characteristic of a community living in Christ: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty self-control and chastity.

There is much to ponder as we wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

Daily Scripture

Sunday December 26, 2004

+ Feast of the Holy Family

Readings: Ecclesiasticus 3:3-7, 14-17 Colossians 3:12-21 Matt 2:13-15, 19-23

“We are family!”

“You are God’s chosen ones, his saints; he loves you and you should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same. Over all these clothes, to keep them together and complete them, put on love. And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because for this you were called together as parts of one body. Always be thankful.” [Colossians 3:12-17]

The Scriptures for this feast of the Holy Family are a Judeo-Christian mosaic of the ideal family “in voto,” but not “in re” that is, they move us to consider the ideal on which a family is invited to dwell in the interim between Christmas and the start of a New Year rather than the reality. Or rather, the readings challenge us to consider the reality with a view toward the ideal. Someone has said somewhere—I think it was I—that vision filtered through reality leads to achievable goals.

Life is not predictable. No matter how hard we try, we fail. No matter how much we study, we are still blind to life’s deepest mysteries. No matter how faithful we are to prayer, we still want our own way. No matter how much we plan, we are unable to chart the course of history or control the destiny of others much less our own.

Today’s feast and today’s readings are a constitutional document for sincere believers no matter what family we belong to.