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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

Monday January 17, 2005

+ Monday, 2nd Week in Ordinary Time – Feast of St. Anthony, Abbot

Readings: Hebrews 5:1-10 Mark 2:18-22

We are priests among priests.

“Every high priests has been taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.” [Hebrews 5:1]

It is the text that I dare say was printed on virtually every invitation to the ordination of a Catholic priest for as long as I can remember. It was a literal application of the text to the call of a young ‘man’ to the priesthood. Despite the reference to his own sins, the candidate for the priesthood was expected to be virtually sinless. It was for this reason that priests were placed on a pedestal. He was to act ‘in personal Christi.’

Of course in the light of the scandal of sexual abuse by priests by priests, few if any ‘persons in the pew’ view their priests as anything more or less than human. As everyone else in this world, we priests need’ to earn our keep,’ as it were.

But there is a broader interpretation of this text, which the author was applying primarily to Christ not to those ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood. And if it applies primarily to Christ, then all who have been baptized into Christ have been baptized into his priesthood. Every baptized Christian therefore participates in a common priesthood with and in Christ.

The ordained priest ‘presides’ at Eucharist but all the baptized celebrate with him. We are all sent forth from the Eucharist table to offer our lives as a ‘sacrifice of praise’ to the Lord. Sacrifice is not a sacred masochism but a commitment to live our unique vocations faithfully ‘in persona Christi’ to the best of our ability. Don’t tell me that is not a sacrificial commitment of love.

Saint Anthony (Antony) was a hermit and is considered the patron of modern hermits. He lived an eremetic life in solitude and prayer and eventually established a ‘laura’ (community) of hermits who lived in solitude coming together only for liturgy. Bethlehem Hermitage in Chester, founded by Fr. Gene Romano, is a contemporary version of the lauras established by Antony.