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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.

Feast of Mary Mother of God

Saturday January 1, 2011

Where do we go from here?

Readings: Numbers 6:22-27 Psalm 67 Galatians 4:4-7 Luke 2:16-21

May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you! May God bless us, and may all the ends of the earth reverence God! [Psalm 67:5-6]

At the ‘sign of peace’ at Mass, I invite the congregation to “extend to one another and to the world through one another, some sign of peace and blessing.” I don’t recall what occasioned that phraseology but I believe it makes a great deal of sense. Our weekly or daily participation at Eucharist is a privilege that is not just for our own spiritual wellbeing. We participate in order to be sent forth. The word “Mass” is rooted in the old Latin words sending forth the congregants back into the world: “Ite, missa est.” Go, be sent…”

On this first day of 2010, we honor Mary as the Mother of God. Strange title, for sure. How can Mary be the Mother of the infinite God who exists from all eternity? It is a title based on theological reasoning that if Mary was the mother of Jesus and Jesus was the Son of God, then Mary must also be the Mother of God.

Why not honor Joseph as ‘foster father of God?’ After all, it was through Joseph that Jesus was born “in the line of David.”

And if Paul’s letter to the Galatians be theologically sound, then as ‘coheirs’ with Christ, we must also be sons and daughters of God. Awesome thought, isn’t it?

But today is also New Years Day and the readings are also appropriate for new beginnings. I like new beginnings because they provide an opportunity to put the past to rest.

Today I will clean my refrigerator and cabinet and dispose of ‘junk foods’ that have accumulated over the holidays, scan the closets, bookshelves and storage areas of my apartment and dispose of items that have outlived their usefulness. It’s a therapeutic exercise, to be sure but with spiritual ramifications.

Would that we could scan the globe and cast away words of hate, weapons of war and engage one another—person-to-person, nation-to-nation, religion-to-religion—in a dialogue that would lead to a new truth that all might accept. God is truth!