As Jesus points out today, we cannot
take it with us. As a friend of mine always says, “You never see a U-Haul
behind a hearse!" In other words you cannot take it with you so what are
you going to do with it?
Pope Francis continues to challenge us
to care about the poor, the needy, the less fortunate, the immigrants and the
struggling. This challenge is nothing new it has been part of our faith from
the beginning. It flows out of the Gospel. It is the same message that Jesus
presents today. In the early Church the question of those in need was always part of the Church's focus. Pope Francis is just reminding us of what Jesus has said all
along.
Wealth, power, possessions and status
are not evil. They are not counter to the Gospel; unless we fail to share, unless
we only think of ourselves, unless we let injustice and poverty go
unchallenged. Do we use the gifts, talents, possessions, wealth and power to
make the world for all people a better place? In other words by living our life
are we rich in what matters to God?
Have a great day everyone!
Daily Prayer: God of all
blessings, source of all life, giver of all good gifts, we thank you for the
gift of life - for the breath that sustains us, for the food that nurtures us
and for the love of family and friends without which there would be no life.
We thank you for the mystery of creation - for the beauty that the eye can see, for the joy that the ear may hear, for the unknown that we cannot behold because it fills the universe with wonder, for the expanse of space that draws us beyond the definitions of our selves.
We thank you for setting us in
communities - for families who nurture our becoming, for friends who love us by
choice, for companions at work, who share our burdens and daily tasks, for
strangers who welcome us into their midst, for people from other lands who call
us to grow in understanding, for children who lighten our moments with delight,
for the unborn, who offer us hope for the future.
We thank you for this day - for life,
for one more day to love, for the opportunity to work one more day for justice
and peace, for neighbors, for one more person to love and by whom be loved, for
your grace and one more experience of your presence, for your promise to be
with us, to be our God, and to give salvation.
Help us to always use, offer, invest and
give our gifts freely for the good of all and so that you Kingdom will continue
to grow. For the grace to give and all our blessings, we give you thanks,
loving God. Amen.
(Adapted
from Prayer of Thanksgiving on beliefnet.com)
Runner’s Thoughts: We need to
always remember that there are different forms of prayer, of communication with
God and that they are possible in everything we do, even when we run. So as I
have often said, let us allow our runs to be a prayer – a prayer of
thanksgiving, a prayer of petition or intercession, a prayer of praise, a
prayer of struggle, or a prayer seeking help or perhaps just a prayer that says
hello God how are you today?
Daily Blessing: Happy Monday
everyone! It was nice to see some of you at our Passionist Celebration
yesterday in Jamaica, New York. It was a wonderful mass and celebration. It was
really nice to see a full church, almost 1,000 people. The music was great. Fr.
Joachim’s homily and presence was inspiring. It was just a great day to be a
Passionist! Thanks to those who came and celebrated with us, thanks to those
who always pray for us!
I hope your weekend was as good as mine!
I know that some of you were traveling and I hope your travels near and far
when well and that you returned home safely. I hope those who were not
traveling had a restful, relaxing and pleasant weekend.
I want to send a special blessing out to
Dan, whose birthday is today. Dan is in the Air Force and I had the privilege of
celebrating his baptism many years ago in St. Louis so I want to send a special
birthday blessing to Dan! Have a great day and Go Cards!
As for all, I am feeling pretty good and
positive today I guess because of just a great Feast of St. Paul of the Cross
yesterday so I will ask God’s blessings for all of you today through the
intersession of St. Paul of the Cross. May God bless you and protect you today and always. May God’s
face smile upon you. May God’s grace enter into all you do. May you live
today rich in a harvest of faith, hope and love which God has planted within
you and may you always know that nothing can separate you from the love of God!
Blessings to all and have a great day everyone. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul
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