Tag Archives: Religion and Spirituality

Saint Bernadette Soubirous

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Statue of Our Lady of Lourdes. The Lourdes app...

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Click here for today’s Scripture readings.

1 Kgs 12:26-32; 13:33-34
Mk 8:1-10

Today is one of my favorite days. It’s a day when we Church folk remember a young French maiden named Bernadette Soubirous, who was privileged to have apparitions from the Blessed Mother. Much happened before that and so much more happened afterwards, but the key ingredient was that because of her simplicity, honesty, and fidelity to the Lady’s request, millions of people have traveled to Lourdes to prayer, healing, or a miraculous cure.  Miracle, you say? Surely, no one today believes in those anymore, just the desperate. Yeah, I guess you’re right; some people are pretty desperate – desperate enough to believe in God and God’s goodness ahead of time.

That’s how it is with today’s readings. In our first reading from the book of Kings, Jeroboam isn’t satisfied with how things are and he wants to make himself memorable. The way he does it is by setting the people on the path and practice of idolatry. He wanted to be special and he was – but not for serving the God of Israel. Those who followed his example were also abandoned their ancestor’s religion,

Our Gospel tells of a people who are just the opposite – they are searching for something more. They come to listen to Jesus. His compassion for them goes beyond anyone’s expectation. He will feed them with the meager bread and fish that the disciples had. This is truly a miracle – Four thousand people ate and there was food left over. What can you believe these days? I’m kind of fond of the movie, “The Song of Bernadette”. After the opening credits and before the action starts we read:

“For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.” Whether it’s a Lady in a grotto, or loaves and fishes, for me, it tells that God has not forgotten us, and is ever-ready to help us, desperate or not.

- Fr. Michael Greene, C.P. is Associate Retreat Director at Bishop Molloy Retreat Center in Jamaica, NY

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Ephphatha

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St. Scholastica, detail of the St. Lucas altarpiece

Click here for today’s Scripture readings.

1 Kgs 11:29-32; 12:19
Mk 7:31-37

Do you ever read a Scripture passage that you’ve read a thousand times before and suddenly something new jumps off the page?  In today’s story of Jesus healing the deaf mute that happened to me.  I noticed two points in particular.

First, the people who brought the man to Jesus for healing were reaching out on his behalf and they believed that Jesus had the power to do something by laying hands on him.  This made me think that when we tell people we will pray for them, we are also reaching out on their behalf.  However, when we present them before the risen Christ in prayer, do we really believe that He will make a difference in their situation?

Second, the way Jesus went about the healing.  He brought the man away from the others; touched the man’s ears and tongue; and looking to heaven said that difficult-to-pronounce word “Ephphatha”, meaning be opened.  I wondered; could we stand with the risen Christ and trust that He has the power to open our ears to hear what God is saying to us?  Could we, as a result, witness openly how God is working in our lives?

Lord, give us the faith to believe that you do listen to our prayer when we present the needs of others before you.  Open our “ears” to listen and our “tongues” to proclaim your “good news”.

On this memorial of St. Scholastica we have the example of one who had great faith and believed her prayer would make a difference.  The only story we have of this woman of faith relates to an incident with her brother, St. Benedict.  The two siblings shared a very special spiritual relationship.  On one of Benedict’s visits Scholastica asked if he would stay at her monastery in order to continue their conversation.  Benedict refused feeling a need to return to his own monastery.  Unable to persuade him, Scholastica began to pray.  Suddenly, a wild storm arose and he was unable to go back.  He looked at his sister and said, “God forgive you, sister!  What have you done?”  Scholastica simply replied, “I asked you for a favor and you refused.  I asked my God and I got it.”

- Alice Smith has been a part of Holy Family’s women’s retreat ministry for many years. She lives with her husband on Cape Cod.

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Sharing the Treasure of Genuine Faith

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Jerusalem

Click here for today’s Scripture readings.

1 Kgs 11:4-13
Mk 7:24-30

During the cycle of readings for weekday Mass in Ordinary Time, both biblical selections rarely focus on the same topic. However, today’s passages converge to highlight the importance of genuine faith in what God has truly revealed.  In doing so, these two readings give us two contrasting biblical models from which to learn important lessons for our own spiritual journey.

Solomon, one of the sons of King David, was “born into the faith” of Israel, and was even chosen by God to construct the original temple at Jerusalem (1 Kings 7).  Unfortunately, his yen for building temples led him to satisfy the insistent requests of his many wives who brought their favorite religious superstitions with them to Jerusalem. Solomon’s failure to persevere in honoring the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as the one, true God bequeathed much confusion to his descendants even centuries after his death.

In contrast to this failure, the Gospel presents the Syrophoenician woman, who did not share in Jewish faith in the time of Jesus.  But this poignant episode of Jesus’ journey into the Gentile towns of Northern Galilee dramatically shows this woman’s perseverance in professing genuine faith in Jesus whom she comes to know as a man full of God’s Spirit. The retelling of her passionate commitment in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew has encouraged countless other Gentile unbelievers to listen wholeheartedly to the Christian proclamation of Jesus as savior of both body and spirit.

Solomon and the Syrophoenician woman began their personal faith journeys in two very different ways. We can hear the same diversity of faith stories all around us today if we listen closely. Some of us were born into families who cherished their religious faith and fostered the prayerful traditions, which encouraged us to make our own personal affirmation of God’s revelation and the uniqueness of Jesus.  Yet so many other people come to genuine faith in God’s revelation by diverse paths of experience, especially through the good influence of many believers who witness to their own faith. Ultimately, God is ingenious in seeking us out in as many ways as we are individuals.

These stories once again invite us to ask ourselves, “How do I witness my Christian faith in practical ways in the course of the day and week? Is it a treasure which I keep to myself, or do I share it with others generously?”

(Father Paul Zilonka, C.P. is a member of the Passionist Preaching Team of St. Paul of the Cross Province).

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