I was struck by the first reading this
morning (Exodus 3:1-6, 9-12). It is the story of the burning bush. What a
fitting story to start the novena with. Moses encounters God and as he
approaches God, God tells him that he is standing on holy ground. I thought of
all the people who were in the church and out of the lawn, they had come to
begin the novena, a novena that has been going on for 89 years. They like Moses
had come to holy ground. Ground made holy by God’s presence.
What had they come to do on this holy
ground? Well the Responsorial Psalm for mass today (Psalm 103) tells us, they came
to “Bless the Lord!” They came to bless the Lord with all of their very selves.
Why did they come to this holy ground to bless the Lord? Because God is
merciful, compassionate, forgiving and loving. Because God offers healing and
makes his ways know if we take the time to listen.
What will these people encounter because
they have come to this holy ground, with the purpose of praising God with all
their soul? They will encounter, they will come to know, the Father and the Son
as Jesus tells us in the Gospel (Matt 11:25-27). They will come to know the
loving, healing and forgiving presence of God.
These readings are not only for people
in the midst of Central Pennsylvania who are beginning a journey of novena.
This message is for all of us. We all stand like Moses on holy ground each day.
Ground made holy by those we love. Ground made holy by people we meet. Ground
made holy by us. Because we stand on holy ground we get the chance to encounter
God. We get the chance to be healed, to be forgiven and to be loved. So as you
journey through your day remember that where you stand is holy ground if you
take the opportunity to let God speak to you, if you take the time to let God
be part of your life!
Daily Prayer: Loving God, create in us an ever-growing
faith, with hearts open and centered in you. Awaken within us the fire of your
Spirit, so that your love may fill us more fully, and flow throughout our
lives.
Increase within us a desire to reach
out, to invite and to share, to welcome and accept. Awaken the faith of all your
people, especially those who have grown distant from you, those ready to hear
an invitation to the love you alone can bring.
Awaken us, loving God, to see the
fullness of your grace and peace. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. (Awakening Faith is a ministry of Paulist
Evangelization Ministries)
Runner’s Thought: Mother Teresa
saw Christ in the face of everyone she met, it is possible to conduct a run
that models her behavior. So as we run, let’s place a smile on our face and
thus offer a blessing to everyone we meet on our run today!
Happy Wednesday everyone! I trust were
ever you are you are staying cool for the most part. They are saying at least
here in Central Pennsylvania that things are going to change by Saturday with
temps in the high 70’s and lows in the high 50’s. I will take that!
We are off to a good start here at the
St. Ann’s Novena in Scranton, Pa. For those of you who don’t know what a novena
is, it is ten days of prayer usually taking place to honor a saint of the
Catholic Church. This novena is in honor of St. Ann the mother of Mar, our
Blessed Mother. There are nine days of prayer before the feast day of the saint
then the tenth day is the feast day. Thus we began today and we will end with
the feast of St. Ann and St. Joachim on July 26th. Now you might ask
why would we have a novena to St. Ann and why do we leave out St. Joachim, her husband,
until the feast day? Well that would be a very good question and my answer
would be too long to put in these lines. Let’s just say that there is a long
tradition of praying to God through the intercession of St. Ann here in Central
Pennsylvania which dates back to the days of the coal mines.
As I said yesterday you are in my
prayers in a special way during these ten days and if you have any special
intentions please let me know. I have already received a few I am keeping Theresa
in my prayers who is struggling with chronic back pain and Caleb a young baby
who just had a heart transplant last night. He has got a long road ahead of
him. Your prayers, needs, struggles and challenges are mine these days so let
me know how my prayers might be of help!
Have a great day everyone! Stay cool and
may this day be one of many blessings for you and those who are important in
your life! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul
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