Daily Thoughts: First I would just like to say "Happy Feast Day" to all Dominicans as they celebrate the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas! A special Happy Feast Day to all involved in theological thought and teaching, may the spirit of St. Thomas be with you today and always as you ponder the mysteries of faith!
As I pondered the Gospel early this morning a thought came to me, not sure it is a theological thought anyone would agree with, not sure St. Thomas would approve but here it is.
When I was reading Jesus' answer to the charge that "“He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons.” I thought about our world, our country and our Church. We seem to be a house divided a lot of the time. Certainly we seem to be very divided in our country on all levels and we are divided in our Church on many levels. Does this mean we are doomed to failure? Is there no hope?
Well I think the answer and hope can be found in the closing sentences of the Gospel, "Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”
That might not sound like a hopeful answer but I think it is. Jesus says it is about the Spirit. I think in our country and in our Church, yes we are divided but we are focused on the same spirit. The divisions in our country are about how to make it better, how to be better Americans, we all want the same thing, the same spirit, we all want this to be a good country we are divided on how to get there. In our Church we are divided on many issues but we are all focused on the same Spirit, the same God, the same end, eternal life, we are just divided on how to get there.
It is the Spirit that can give us hope in the midst of our struggles, in the midst of our divisions as a nation and a Church. All hope is lost if we loose the Spirit. As Jesus says if we deny the Spirit we cannot be forgiven. Perhaps as a nation and a Church we might stop for moment today and recognize the Spirit we all want and let the Spirit begin to help us bridge our divisions, our differences, our struggles. Let us live today through the Spirit of Hope who does marvelous deeds!
Daily Prayer: O God of all life, direct our hearts throughout this day in your wonderful Spirit of hope. So that we may always know it is you at the center of all we are, all we want, and all we are meant to be. Keep us always faithful to your everlasting Spirit of Life that we might overcome our differences and become a house united in your Love. Amen!
Runner's Thought: Remember if you run towards God, God runs twice as fast towards you. Thus, to draw closer to God it is only necessary to move in God's direction!
Happy Monday everyone! I hope you had a good, if not great, weekend. I know some of you are dealing with the frustration of weather as you begin this new work week hopefully it will only be a minor frustration for today. A shout out to all Dominicans today as you celebrate the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, especially my Friends at the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis and Fr. Don Goergen, O.P. a great theologian and friend! Many blessings on everyone's day today may it be filled with many moments of grace, hope and God's love! Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul
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