Msgr. Esseff reflects on the significance of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist. He asks us to reflect on how our baptism has impacted our lives and does it touch those around us.
Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan
to be baptized by him.
John tried to prevent him, saying,
“I need to be baptized by you,
and yet you are coming to me?”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us
to fulfill all righteousness.”
Then he allowed him.
After Jesus was baptized,
he came up from the water and behold,
the heavens were opened for him,
and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove coming upon him.
And a voice came from the heavens, saying,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. Msgr. Esseff served a retreat director and confessor to St. Mother Teresa. He continues to offer direction and retreats for the sisters of the missionaries of charity around the world. Msgr. Esseff encountered St. Padre Pio, who would become a spiritual father to him. He has lived in areas around the world, serving in the Pontifical missions, a Catholic organization that was established by St. Pope John Paul II to bring the Good News to the world, especially to the poor. Msgr. Esseff assisted the founders of the Institute for Priestly Formation and continues to serve as a spiritual director for the Institute. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters and seminarians and other religious leaders around the world.
Msgr. Esseff, on the feast of St. Stephen the Martyr, shares the story of his friend Fr. Nicolas Kluiters S.J., who served the Church in Lebanon. He discusses what it means to be a martyr in the past and what it looks like today.
After studying business then plastic arts, Father Nicolas Kluiters painted until he felt the call of religion. He joined the Society of Jesus in his country, Holland, when he was 25. He soon asked to be sent to Lebanon and his wish was granted in 1966. He completed his novitiate and studied Arabic (1966-1968) and social sciences (1968-1969) in Beirut, then he studied philosophy and theology in Lebanon and France . He was ordained a priest in Amsterdam in 1973.
Soon after his return to Lebanon in 1974 and his nomination in the Taanayel monastery in the Bekaa valley to serve the poor Maronite isolated villages in an area that is non Christian in its majority, the war started and soon took a sectarian characteristic. However, these bloody events did not discourage the young zealous priest. With the approval of his superiors, he would leave his monastery in Taanayel, go to villages near Dayr al-Ahmar village and return to the monastery once a week. One of these villages was Bechwat, in which lies the Church of our Miraculous Lady where Nicolas made his last solemn vows in 1977 to express his belonging to this poor land and to serve the underprivileged. He made the village Barqa the second base of his journeys and increased his activities there for it to become a model village.
After gaining the villagers’ trust, he cooperated with them to renovate the church and build a house for the priest, a school, a monastery where a group of nuns from the Sacred Hearts settled at the end of 1984, as well as a dispensary soon after. He would receive from his native country, Holland, financial aids that enabled him to improve the land and develop agriculture. His main worry was to boost the morale of these good but poor, marginalized and isolated people, to consolidate their faith and, despite the dangers, to implant them in their land, the land of common living for all communities. Perhaps Nicolas’ successful mission aroused the disapproval of ill wishers and people bothered by the vitality he gave back to the villages they wanted to keep submissive.
On the night of March 13, 1985, after celebrating mass with the nuns of the hospital in Hermel, he returned to Barqa where the villagers were waiting for him the following morning. However, he never reached the village and there was no news about him. His fellow priests in Taanayel, the nuns, and the security forces looked for him in the area. One of the shepherds noticed a suspicious horde of crows over a deep ditch and notified the people in charge. After many efforts, they were able to reach the bottom and removed the body that had been missing for 17 days. Nicolas was dreadfully killed; he was shot twice, hanged and impaled, which indicated his murderers’ strong hatred. Afterward, it appeared that he courageously resisted his kidnappers because he was strong and was trained in self-defense with the paratroops in the military service in Holland. His car was found after a few days with the following inscription, “The forces of revenge”.
He was buried in the Taanayel monastery on Wednesday April 3, during the Holy Week, in a very emotional and devotional atmosphere. The bells did not ring for sadness, but for joy because all those who knew Nicolas understood that they were biding farewell to a martyr who gave his life for his faith; until this day, they are still convinced of that.
He had increased his prayers during his last days and had trustingly put his life in the hands of God, prepared to accept all difficulties, even martyrdom. Two weeks prior to his kidnapping, he wrote, “He (Christ) brought me back to Barqa… as if He were telling me: the fruit will soon ripen… Don’t worry about extraordinary and difficult events that could happen, such as a kidnapping or anything similar. He who follows Me has a special blessing so that he can suffer for me and with me. I shall be with him”
Jesus told his disciples a parable
about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.
He said, “There was a judge in a certain town
who neither feared God nor respected any human being.
And a widow in that town used to come to him and say,
‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’
For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought,
‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,
because this widow keeps bothering me
I shall deliver a just decision for her
lest she finally come and strike me.'”
The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.
Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them?
I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Saint Padre Pio or St. Pio of Pietrelcina (25 May 1887 – 23 September 1968) was a Capuchin priest from Italy and is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. He was popularly known as Padre Pio after his ordination to the priesthood. He became famous after receiving the “Stigmata“. On 16 June 2002, he was canonized a saint by Pope John Paul II. Padre Pio is the Patron saint of Confessors, Catholic Adolescents, and Civil Defense Volunteers.
Prayer for Healing
Beloved Padre Pio,
Today I come to add my prayer to the thousands of prayers offered to thee every day by those who love and venerate thee. They ask for cures and healings, earthly and spiritual blessings, and peace for body and mind. And because of thy friendship with the Lord, He heals those thou doth ask to be healed, and forgives those thou forgiveth.
Through thy visible wounds of the Cross, which thou didst bear for fifty years, thou wert chosen in our time to glorify the crucified Jesus. Because the Cross has been replaced by other symbols, please help us to bring it back in our midst, for we acknowledge it is the only true sign of salvation. As we lovingly recall the wounds that pierced thy hands, feet and side, we not only remember the blood thou didst shed in pain, but thy smile, and the invisible halo of sweet-smelling flowers that surrounded thee, the perfume of sanctity.
In thy kindness, please help me with my own special request:
[mention here your petition, making the Sign of the Cross]
Bless me and my loved ones. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayer to Saint Pio
O God, Thou didst give Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, Capuchin priest, the great privilege of participating in a unique way in the Passion of Thy Son, grant me through his intercession the grace of . . . [name your request] which I ardently desire; and above all grant me the grace of living in conformity with the death of Jesus, to arrive at the glory of the resurrection.
Glory be to the Father . . . [three times].
Other Prayers –
Stay With Me, Lord Prayer
by Padre Pio
Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have Thee present so that I do not forget Thee. Thou knowest how easily I abandon Thee.
Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak, and I need Thy strength that I may not fall so often.
Stay with me, Lord, for Thou art my light, and without Thee I am in darkness.
Stay with me, Lord, to show me Thy will.
Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Thy voice and follow Thee.
Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love Thee very much and to be in Thy company always.
Stay with me, Lord, if Thou wisheth me to be faithful to Thee.
Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is I want it to be a place of consolation for Thee, a nest of love.
Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late and the day is coming to a close, and life passes; death, judgment, eternity approaches. It is necessary to renew my strength, so that I will not stop along the way and for that, I need Thee. It is getting late and death approaches, I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows. O how I need Thee, my Jesus, in this night of exile!
Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all it’s dangers. I need Thee.
Let me recognize Thee as Thy disciples did at the breaking of the bread, so that the Eucharistic Communion be the Light which disperses the darkness, the force which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.
Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death, I want to remain united to Thee, if not by communion, at least by grace and love.
Stay with me, Jesus, I do not ask for Divine consolation, because I do not merit it, but the gift of Thy Presence, oh yes, I ask this of Thee!
Stay with me, Lord, for it is Thou alone I look for, Thy Love, Thy Grace, Thy Will, Thy Heart, Thy Spirit because I love Thee and ask no other reward but to love Thee more and more.
With a firm love, I will love Thee with all my heart while on earth and continue to love Thee perfectly during all eternity. Amen
Chaplet of St. Padre Pio
(contains medal, Crucifix, and 3 sets of 3 brown beads)]
Oh Jesus, full of grace and charity, victim for sinners, so impelled by Thy love of us that Thou didst will to die on the Cross, I humbly entreat Thee to glorify in Heaven and on earth, the servant of God, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, who generously participated in Thy sufferings, who loved Thee so much and laboured so faithfully for the glory of Thy heavenly Father and for the good of souls. With confidence, I beseech Thee to grant me, through his intercession, the grace of (mention your intentions) which I ardently desire.
Msgr. Esseff reflects on the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. He describes in detail the true horror of this means of execution and what it meant to be crucified in the time of Jesus. But he also talks about the great love that God has for us in embracing the Cross for our sake and what it means for us today. A very powerful reflection.
Msgr. Esseff reflects on the rest God is calling us into is rest in Christ who dwells in us. How do find that dwelling place inside ourselves? How does our anxiety and frustration get in the way? The more we labor and work, we need Jesus Christ.
Six Days of Creation and the Sabbath
1 [a]In the beginning God created[b] the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit[c] of God was moving over the face of the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
6 And God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the firmament and separated the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. And it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the firmament of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the cattle according to their kinds, and everything that creeps upon the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.
Footnotes:
1.1—2.4a The aim of this narrative is not to present a scientific picture but to teach religious truth, especially the dependence of all creation on God and its consecration to him through the homage rendered by man, who is the climax of creation. Hence its strong liturgical character and the concluding emphasis on the sabbath. It serves as a prologue to the whole of the Old Testament.
Genesis 1:1 Or When God began to create
Genesis 1:2 Or wind
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
Then he said to the crowd,
“Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one’s life does not consist of possessions.”Then he told them a parable.
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.
There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’
But God said to him,
‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves
but are not rich in what matters to God.”
Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. He was ordained on May 30, 1953, by the late Bishop William J. Hafey, D.D. at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Scranton, PA. Msgr. Esseff served a retreat director and confessor to St. Teresa of Calcutta. He continues to offer direction and retreats for the sisters of the missionaries of charity around the world. Msgr. Esseff encountered St. Padre Pio, who would become a spiritual father to him. He has lived in areas around the world, serving in the Pontifical missions, a Catholic organization established by St. Pope John Paul II to bring the Good News to the world especially to the poor. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters and seminarians and other religious leaders around the world.
Msgr. Esseff reflects on Matthew Chap 6:24-34 and asks the question, “Why do you worry?” He shares several compelling stories, including a poignant encounter with a woman, who, surrounded by her husband, children, mother, and sister, prepares for death.
Jesus said to his disciples:
“No one can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink,
or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds in the sky;
they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns,
yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?
Why are you anxious about clothes?
Learn from the way the wildflowers grow.
They do not work or spin.
But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor
was clothed like one of them.
If God so clothes the grass of the field,
which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow,
will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’
or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’
All these things the pagans seek.
Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.
Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”
Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. He was ordained on May 30, 1953, by the late Bishop William J. Hafey, D.D. at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Scranton, PA. Msgr. Esseff served a retreat director and confessor to St. Teresa of Calcutta. He continues to offer direction and retreats for the sisters of the missionaries of charity around the world. Msgr. Esseff encountered St. Padre Pio, who would become a spiritual father to him. He has lived in areas around the world, serving in the Pontifical missions, a Catholic organization established by St. Pope John Paul II to bring the Good News to the world especially to the poor. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters and seminarians and other religious leaders around the world.
Msgr. Esseff shares a recent encounter with a couple he met while traveling home after time with family. Tom and Mary shared their important encounters with God over the course of their 36 years of marriage. Each story speaks of our times and how relevant it is for our lives to allow Christ to be King of our hearts…that is how He will reign in this world. Msgr. Esseff then reflects on how God answers prayers and why we say “Thy will be done”.
Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. He was ordained on May 30, 1953, by the late Bishop William J. Hafey, D.D. at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Scranton, PA. Msgr. Esseff served a retreat director and confessor to St. Mother Teresa. He continues to offer direction and retreats for the sisters of the missionaries of charity around the world. Msgr. Esseff encountered St. Padre Pio, who would become a spiritual father to him. He has lived in areas around the world, serving in the Pontifical missions, a Catholic organization established by St. Pope John Paul II to bring the Good News to the world especially to the poor. Msgr. Esseff assisted the founders of the Institute for Priestly Formation and continues to serve as a spiritual director for the Institute. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters and seminarians and other religious leaders around the world.
Msgr. Esseff reflects on his experience with St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta and his experience of “the poorest of the poor”. He asks the question, “When have you encountered Lazarus?”.
Gospel Lk 16:19-31
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
“There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen
and dined sumptuously each day.
And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps
that fell from the rich man’s table.
Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.
When the poor man died,
he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried,
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,
he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side.
And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me.
Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,
for I am suffering torment in these flames.’
Abraham replied, ‘My child,
remember that you received what was good during your lifetime
while Lazarus likewise received what was bad;
but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.
Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established
to prevent anyone from crossing
who might wish to go from our side to yours
or from your side to ours.’
He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him
to my father’s house,
for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them,
lest they too come to this place of torment.’
But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets.
Let them listen to them.’
He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham,
but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
Then Abraham said,
‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded
if someone should rise from the dead.’”
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