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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

Wednesday April 9, 2008

+ 3rd Week of Easter

We become the bread we eat.

Readings: Acts 8:1b-8 Psalm 66:1-7a John 6:35-40

Jesus said to the crowd, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.” [John 6:35]

There are two ‘tables’ in our church in every Catholic Church and chapel throughout the world – the table of God’s Word and the Eucharist table. We encounter a ‘real divine presence’ at both tables. When the Word of God is proclaimed within an assembly of believers, the Word comes to life in a new and unique way each time. Even if we have heard the texts a hundred times, the changing circumstances of our lives create a new lens through which we listen.

Though we may have received the Eucharist a thousand times, today is different because the path of life keeps changing and affects us in a new way.

We come to the table of God’s Word not to find answers to life’s mysteries but to find meaning. Oh, to be sure, we sometimes find answers to our questions but these are usually temporary and rarely permanent.

We come to the Eucharist so that over time, we may become the bread that we eat. That’s what Jesus said would happen. I suppose it is also true that we become whatever food we eat but the Eucharist is not food for the body; it is food for the soul, food for the journey.

If we can’t go to the two tables every day, we can at least read the scriptures assigned for the day and we can make a spiritual ‘communion’ by praying the Our Father devoutly. It will give meaning to the day and will overtime transform us into the bread ‘we eat.’

Now when I am tempted to succumb to impatience or a nasty thought about some one or some thing, I say the “Our Father’ quietly as a reminder that indeed, nothing can happen that God and I can’t handle together.