Our first reading at Mass this week is taken mostly from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, which he wrote from imprisonment, either in Rome, Ephesus or Caesaria. During his ministry Paul had his share in being imprisoned, as his letters and the Acts of the Apostles mention, and that experience and others like it caused him to see his own suffering in the light of the sufferings of Christ.

He advised the Philippians–and us as well– to do the same thing:
“For to you has been granted, for the sake of Christ, not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him.Yours is the same struggle as you saw in me and now hear about me.” (Philippians 1, 29-39)

Have the same mind that is in Christ Jesus, Paul writes in an important passage, probably quoting an early Christian hymn, which we read on Monday:

“Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,”
Who though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2, 6-10)

Paul looks upon the sufferings of Christ, not by way of speculation but, first of all, to understand his own experience. For the same reason this passage from Philippians is found frequently in the liturgy of the hours, the church’s prayer for everyday– each Sunday at evening prayer, at evening prayer on Christmas, on Good Friday, Holy Saturday and in the prayers for the dead.

Each day we’re called to have the mind of Jesus Christ, to follow him in our human likeness, to accept the cross that’s ours, to become like him till death, and then to share in his glory. Commentators on the Letter to the Philippians call it a “Letter of Joy.” That’s what following Jesus Christ should bring us.That’s what Jesus promised those who follow him.

November 4 SUNDAY THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Dt 6:2-6/Heb 7:23-28/Mk 12:28b-34 (152)

5 Monday
Phil 2:1-4/Lk 14:12-14 (485)

6 Tuesday
Phil 2:5-11/Lk 14:15-24 (486)

7 Wednesday
Phil 2:12-18/Lk 14:25-33 (487)

8 Thursday
Phil 3:3-8a/Lk 15:1-10 (488)

9 Friday The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
Feast
Ez 47:1-2, 8-9, 12/1 Cor 3:9c-11, 16-17/Jn 2:13-22 (671)

10 Saturday Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church
Memorial
Phil 4:10-19/Lk 16:9-15 (490)

At this point in our Sunday readings from Mark’s gospel, Jesus and his disciples have reached Jerusalem on their journey from Galilee. They’ve come up from Jericho with a sizable crowd, and they arrive at Bethany just outside the city. Then, Jesus enters Jerusalem, riding on a donkey and praised by the crowds.

But not everybody welcomes him. Mark’s gospel says he cleanses the temple and calls for making it a house of prayer instead of a den of thieves. That, of course, causes a reaction from Jerusalem’s religious leaders, the scribes and chief priests, who want to put him to death but can’t do anything because the people support him.

So they attack Jesus by words. “What’s your authority, what’s your credentials for doing these things? They’re smart, they try to trap him by difficult questions. Should we pay taxes to Caesar? What about a woman who has had seven husbands– whose wife is she in heaven? They try to kill him with questions.

But then Mark’s gospel, which we hear today, interrupts those questions by introducing a scribe who’s impressed by Jesus’ answers and sincerely wants to listen to him. “What’s the greatest commandment?” He asks.

“Love God and love your neighbor,” Jesus says. Simple words the scribe has heard before, he’s heard them many times before, but suddenly he hears them now, in a new way.

Maybe that’s what Mark’s gospel wants to tell us. The message of Jesus is simple, but we can hear it again and again, and it’s always new. It’s simple, but it keeps making sense of everything. It’s simple, but it should informs everything we do. It should cut through the pretense, the games we play, the selfishness, the politics–everything else, everything is to be done with love.

St. Paul said that in his Letter to the Corinthians. “If I don’t have love, everything else is meaningless.

The scribe must have realized that as he talked to Jesus. He must have seen love in the one before him. So should we

Yesterday some visitors and I visited the baptistery of Saint John Lateran in Rome, one of the oldest and important in Christianity. A baby, Tomasso, was being baptized where generations before hm became Christians. Suddenly, the old building came alive as visitors, some his family, some like us, looked on.

There’s a statue in the baptistery of a deer drinking from a fount of water. Deer are portrayed drinking water flowing from the cross in the mosaic in the apse the church.

In this morning’s morning prayer Psalm 42 began, “Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God.

Tomasso has a lifelong yearning for God and on a lifelong journey that will only be satisfied when he meets God:
“My soul is thirsting for you, my God,
When can I enter and see the face of God.”

His journey won’t be easy.”My tears have become my bread, by night and by day, as I hear it said all the day long, ‘Where is your God?’”

But “By day the Lord will send his loving kindness,
By night I will sing to him, the God of my life.”

So Tomasso and all of us:
”These things will I remember,
as I pour out my soul…
Why are you cast down, my soul,
Why groan within me?
Hope in God, I will praise him still,
My savior and my God.”

October 28th SUNDAY THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Jer 31:7-9/Heb 5:1-6/Mk 10:46-52 (149)

29 Monday
Eph 4:32—5:8/Lk 13:10-17 (479)

30 Tuesday
Eph 5:21-33 (480) or 5:2a, 25-32 (122)/Lk 13:18-21 (480)

31 Wednesday
Eph 6:1-9/Lk 13:22-30 (481)

November 1 Thursday ALL SAINTS
Solemnity [Holyday of Obligation]
Rv 7:2-4, 9-14/1 Jn 3:1-3/Mt 5:1-12a (667)

2 Friday The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls’ Day)
Wis 3:1-9/Rom 5:5-11 or Rom 6:3-9/Jn 6:37-40

3 Saturday
[Saint Martin de Porres, Religious; BVM]
Phil 1:18b-26/Lk 14:1, 7-11 (484)

For this week’s homily, please play the video below.

by Berta Hernandez

I am a Passionist Associate. I am part of the associates in Jamaica, New York. Yesterday my husband and I were at a Bible study class and on a break someone asked what an associate does. The immediate reaction to such a question is always one of confusion. What DOES an associate do?

Well, the usual answer is that we meet every month and share our spirituality with each other. We read about St. Paul of the Cross and his spirituality and discuss his charism, which we believe is also ours. But yesterday I didn’t want to give the usual answer. I replied the following to the young man that had asked the question: I am a Passionist. I try to live with Jesus at the CENTER of my life. Because Jesus is at the center of my life I am filled with love and compassion for my neighbors, who I believe are the crucified of today.

I try my best to see Jesus in everyone I meet although sometimes it is not an easy task. I realize that because I am a Christian as well as a Passionist I have to make sure to not only look for Jesus in others, but to also walk in His footsteps and try to reflect Him through my actions and what comes out of my mouth.

Right now in Rome the Passionist order is having their General Chapter. They reelected Fr. Joachim Rego,CP as their Superior General for the next six years. I have always been inspired by his writings and his demeanor. On the 19th of October he sent out a message to his Passionist family, in other words, to all of us.

This is what he said in that message that resonated through my whole being: “Our mission (as Passionists) is integrally connected with our life in community. Our community life and our mission cannot be separated; they are two sides of the one coin. Our life is our mission (by witness), and our mission is our life (by action). Together, they both shape us and give us our identity and authenticity as Passionists. Who we are and what we do are interconnected and interrelated.”

I realize that this was aimed at the professed Passionists, but doesn’t this talk directly to us lay people also! We are the Church of Jesus Christ! The world is our community! At this particular time in our lives we HAVE to do what Jesus would do! Fr. Joaquin went on to say that, “Who we are (our being/life) and what we do (our doing/mission) are interrelated; they are two sides of the one coin and cannot be separated . Each flow from and influences the other. We are not called to be ‘working for God’, but rather we are to do ‘God’s work’ – a subtle but important distinction made by Fr Thomas Green SJ in his book: Darkness in the Marketplace.”

Why did I call this short reflection “The Call for Renewal”? I did that because we are facing many trials in our world today. We have to be renewed by the Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ! We are being called to action by the Holy Spirit of God! No longer to be quiet and shy! No longer to go past the hurt and the broken that we see in the streets, the hospitals, the nursing homes, next door. We truly have to pick ourselves up, shake ourselves out and start all over again. We have to pick up our cross and help whoever needs help in picking up theirs. We have to preach Christ crucified with words and actions. Let’s all join the Passionist Community in their renewal as of today, as of this hour, as of this minute!

And for those of you that are out there doing just that, thank you. You are the example . You are the servants. You are the light.

Berta Hernández

When our general chapter reconvened after visiting with Pope Francis on Monday we explored our mission with the laity. Our mission is “with” the laity. As a religious community our mission is incomplete without them.

“What’s your experience working with the laity?” That question yielded a rich response from members of my community from all parts of the world. Their life experience is different than ours, their holiness often deeper than ours, so we need to learn from them. We need to develop a mechanism to gather their wisdom and establish ways to work together.

During the chapter we had an excellent presentation on continuing formation by Fr Amedeo Cencini, who called “docility”, the willingness to be taught, the key to grow daily in life. Life in all its shapes and forms teaches us, day by day. I wonder if we need a mutual “docility” to create the best relationship between us and the laity.

If the present sexual abuse crisis in the church brings about anything good, it should lead to a greater docility in the future– a docility among church leaders and ministers to be taught and a docility among laypeople to offer their wisdom and experience to the church at all levels.

As I waited for the pope to enter the Clementine Hall in the Vatican on Monday, I took a picture of the large painting beside me of Jesus inviting his disciples, Peter, James and John and the others, to follow him to Jerusalem.(above) Mark’s gospel in recent Sundays says the disciples did not understand what that invitation meant. Neither do we.

But they learned, together, painfully, never completely. The gift of the Spirit made them docile.
Come, Holy Spirit, form us into a docile church.