I think if we all stop and think about
our lives we can look at moments when we to missed opportunities. Perhaps we
missed an opportunity to help another person, we missed an opportunity to be a
compassionate friend, we missed an opportunity to help someone with their
struggles or we missed a moment when God was truly present in our life. In
looking back at our life we probably recognize many opportunities that we
missed.
Now in looking back at our life we have
two choices; we can choice to learn from our missed opportunities or not. In
the Gospel today the towns of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum chose not to
learn from their missed opportunities. These three towns no longer exist; there
are just piles of rock, archeological digs sitting in the hot sun wait for
people to come and walk through them. There is no life in any of these towns
today. On the other hand Moses chose to learn from his missed opportunity and
he is brought back into God’s plan and the rest is history.
Our challenge today is to ask ourselves
if we as individuals, as families, as communities, as Church, as cities, as
nations, as a culture and society are willing to learn from our mistakes, our
missed opportunities? If we chose not to our fate will be like the fate of the
three towns in the Gospel. What choice will we make?
Daily Prayer: Loving God,
strengthen us with the power to love through your Spirit in our inner most
being. Fill our hearts with your presence and please do not leave us even when
we seem to choose to go our own way. Help us to learn from our mistakes and
missed opportunities so that we might grasp fully how wide and long and high
and deep your love is for us. Above all, enable us to know this love that
surpasses all knowledge so that we may share it with others. Amen!
Runner’s Thought: Shakespeare
once wrote, “Now bid me run, and I will strive with things impossible.” Jesus
said, “…with God all things are possible.” Thus if we run with God then as we
strive with things impossible they will become possible! Have a great run today
and stay cool.
Happy Tuesday everyone! The heat is
still on here in the northeast so if you are out and about be careful. A friend
from Colorado posted on Facebook yesterday that it was 2:00 pm and 66 degrees
where he lived. I commented that it was 4:00 pm here in New York and 94 degrees
and that I was willing to send him a little of our heat. I also said I would
take 66 degrees any day. So anyone out there want to trade to cool air for hot
air? (Please no comments about where the hot air is coming from!)
I head to Scranton, Pa in a few hours
and I will be at our Monastery and Parish there, St. Ann’s. Our long standing solemn
novena to St. Ann will begin tomorrow and run ten days, nine days of novena and
the celebration of St. Ann and St. Joachim’s feast on the tenth day, July 26th.
Please offer a prayer for our preachers this year Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P. and Fr.
Paul Wierichs, C.P., for all the Passionists who will gather to help throughout
the ten day and for all the people who will come from far and near bringing
their struggles, sorrows, hopes and joys. Please pray that it is a faith filled
and graced time for all.
Have a great day everyone and please
know as always you will be in my prayers but over the next ten days you will
get special attention as I journey through the novena. If you have any specific
needs or prayer requests let me know and I will include them in my daily
prayers. Blessings upon all today and stay cool! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr.
Paul
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