Friends in the Passion,
I find myself pondering a lot of things as this New Year begins. I think I am still a little shell shocked from all that happened in my life during 2011, losses, deaths, change and the everyday reminders that times keeps marching on whether I want it to or not!
Perhaps, we all go through these cycles that seem to turn our lives upside down. Sometimes they can be exciting times, full of energy, enthusiasm and newness of life and other times these cycles can be confusing, full of struggle and even throw us into the midst of depression. I think for the most part I have handled this upside down cycle in my own life fairly well. Yet, there are days when I sit on the edge when life could easily become a quagmire of lost dreams and limited hope.
During Advent and Christmas a little story I ran across became the focal point of my prayer and reflection. The story was about a teacher and her class. One day she asked her students, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" There were many answers, doctor, lawyer, police officer, president and so on. However, the teacher noticed that one little boy did not raise his hand and give an answer. When all the answers were given the teacher turned to her one quiet student and said, "James, you have not said anything! What do you want to be when you grow up?" James responded, "Possible!" "Possible," the teacher said. "Yes, I want to be possible when I grow up," said James. The teacher rather puzzled said, "What do you mean possible, James?" "Well," said James, "Everyday, my parents tell me I am 'impossible' so when I grow up I want to be possible!"
A humorous story and I think we have all met a James or even been a James in our life at some point but to me the story has a real point. I believe that deep down we all want to be possible in life, in faith and when we do not feel possible life becomes a struggle, faith becomes a struggle whether we are a child, an adult, a parent, a spouse, a friend, a religious or a priest. We answer the call to a relationship with God, we make our choices in life wanting to be possible. Yet, at times it all seems impossible!
We are reminded each day of our dysfunctional political environment; of a culture and society that is self possessed with consumption and personal satisfaction often at the expense of others; of a Church or churches that are often unsupportive, out of step, stuck in the past or often seems as dysfunctional as our political world.
Yet, in the midst of all this impossibility often someone, something or some experience enters our life that makes it possible. I guess that is the hope that we live with as people of faith. The hope that God is always with us making the impossible, possible! The scriptures, our story of faith through the Advent and now Christmas seasons continue to tell us about the impossible becoming possible through God's gift of grace. However they also tell us it is not an easy relationship to live out and we can and do find ourselves in a quagmire of struggling dreams, lost opportunities and seemingly impossible odds, just like many women and men before us. The scriptures also tell us that God always is willing to guide us through if we can just be open to the possibility!
I pray that your 2012 will be filled with many blessings and much hope. That you will begin each day no matter how much it seem impossible open that the grace that all things are possible when we do it, live it with our friend God! For all you runners out there run strong and run possible!
Happy New Year friends...Fr. Paul
