Daily Thoughts - 08/03/2013

Daily Thought: Something to think about from Thomas Merton as you journey through the day. It is certainly something that Herod did not think about in our Gospel (Matt. 14:1-12) today!

“To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us - and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him.

Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, and is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.” (Thomas Merton)

Daily Prayer:

Lord, teach us to be generous;
Teach us to serve you as you deserve;
To give and not to count the cost;
To fight and not to heed the wounds;
To toil, and not to seek for rest;
To labor, and not to ask for reward - except to know that we are doing your will.
(Adapted from a prayer by St. Ignatius of Loyola)

Runner’s Thought: You might say that John Bingham is also talking about the spiritual life and he talks about running – “It was being a runner that mattered, not how fast or how far I could run. The joy was in the act of running and in the journey, not in the destination. We have a better chance of seeing where we are when we stop trying to get somewhere else. We can enjoy every moment of movement, as long as where we are is as good as where we'd like to be. That's not to say that you need to be satisfied forever with where you are today. But you need to honor what you've accomplished, rather than thinking of what's left to be done.” (John Bingham)

Happy Saturday everyone! Blessings upon your day and your weekend, may it be filled with family, friends, laughter, fun, rest and relaxation! If you need a little quiet time may that be there too! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 07/31/2013

Daily Thoughts: The Gospel for today (Matt. 13:44-46) talks about the Kingdom of God and Jesus uses two images for the Kingdom, a buried treasure and a fine pearl. In the case of the treasure the person sells everything and buys the field where the treasure is buried and in the case of the pearl the merchant too sells everything in order to buy the pearl. In other words when it comes to the Kingdom of God we must be all in because it is worth more than anything else.

In the quote from St. Ignatius that follows, Ignatius seems to be saying the same thing about the Kingdom of God yet he says it a little differently!

“God freely created us so that we might know, love, and serve him in this life and be happy with him forever. God's purpose in creating us is to draw forth from us a response of love and service here on earth, so that we may attain our goal of everlasting happiness with him in heaven.

All the things in this world are gifts of God, created for us, to be the means by which we can come to know him better, love him more surely, and serve him more faithfully.

As a result, we ought to appreciate and use these gifts of God insofar as they help us toward our goal of loving service and union with God. But insofar as any created things hinder our progress toward our goal, we ought to let them go.” (St. Ignatius of Loyola)

Happy Feast of St. Ignatius everyone and many blessings and much peace to Pope Francis and all Jesuits as they celebrate the feast of their founder. I would especially like to remember Fr. Ron Windmueller, S.J. and Fr. Chet Gator, S.J. both of whom have passed on but through their friendship during my St. Louis days helped to make my vocation possible because they share the treasure of God’s Kingdom with me. And Fr. Louis Padovano, S.J. who also has passed but who often showed me the light of God’s grace when I founded myself in darkness. Rest in peace with God my friends!

Daily Prayer:

O loving God, teach us to be generous
to serve you as you deserve to be served
to give without counting the cost
to fight without fear of being wounded
to work without seeking rest
and to spend ourselves without expecting any reward
but the knowledge that we are doing your holy will.
Amen
(Adapted from a prayer by St. Ignatius of Loyola)

Runner’s Thought: “I run because if I didn’t, I’d be sluggish and glum and spend too much time on the couch. I run to breathe the fresh air. I run to explore. I run to escape the ordinary. I run…to savor the trip along the way. Life becomes a little more vibrant, a little more intense. I like that.” (Dean Karnazes)

I run to pray. I run to give glory to God. I run to have a little one on one time with God. I run to encounter the gift of God’s creation. I run to make God a little more real in my life. And I like that!

Happy Wednesday everyone! Yes, it is “Hump Day” once again but our “Hump Day” camel is on vacation! It is the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola the founder of the Jesuits so I send a shout out to Pope Francis and all Jesuits today – Happy Feast Day!

I hope your day has started well and will become even better as you journey through it. If not hang in there because there is always tomorrow and the chance for a better day!

Enjoy your “Hump Day” everyone and may it be blessed with many good experiences and people! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 07/30/2013

Daily Thoughts: “Spirituality without a prayer life is no spirituality at all, and it will not last beyond the first defeats. Prayer is an opening of the self so that the Word of God can break in and make us new. Prayer unmasks. Prayer converts. Prayer impels. Prayer sustains us on the way. Pray for the grace it will take to continue what you would like to quit.” (Sr. Joan D. Chittister, In a High Spiritual Season)

In the first reading today (Exodus 33:7-11, 34:5b-9, 28) we are told that God spoke to Moses face to face, just as we would speak to another person. We might say that this is a nice definition of prayer, talking with God, intimately and honestly. Prayer is a two way street, it requires us to speak and also listen. If we approach prayer in this way then good things will happen, challenging things will happen and we will be sustained in our journey of life.

Daily Prayer: Give us, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; give us an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; give us an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon us also, O Lord our God, understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  (Prayer by St. Thomas Aquinas)

Runner’s Thought: “Struggling and suffering are the essence of a life worth living. If you're not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you're not demanding more from yourself - expanding and learning as you go - you're choosing a numb existence. You're denying yourself an extraordinary trip.” (Dean Karnazes)

So to in the spiritual life!

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope your day has started off well if not hang in there and I will pray that it gets better!

I am slowly coming down off my high of being in the newspaper. My tumble back to earth was quickened by the fact that there were no requests for an autograph. Oh, the fleetingness of fame…one day you are on the front page of life the next you cannot even find your name in the want ads!  The good thing is that my name did not appear in the obituaries today!

Have a great day everyone – many blessings on your journey today. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 07/29/2013

Daily Thoughts: “You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope.” (Thomas Merton) I thought of these words by Merton today as I celebrated mass on this Feast of St. Martha. I think Martha fits these words well.

In the Gospel reading (John 11:19-27) we see a different side of Martha than the one in Luke (10:38-42). It is as if Martha has grown in her faith, her relationship with God and in her understanding of her friendship with Christ. In John, Martha is a faith filled woman, who does not fully understand but recognizes the possibilities and challenges and embraces them with courage, faith and hope. She seeks God in the present moment and in the end is greatly blessed.

We all need to pause and allow the gift of St. Martha’s spirit to enliven our own spirits today. May the spirit of St. Martha gifted us with the courage, faith and hope to live this day ready to recognize the possibilities and challenges and embrace them with the grace of God’s love.

Happy Feast of St. Martha everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, you have promised to remain forever with those who do what is just and right.  Help us to live in your presence this day and always. Help us to live Jesus’ commandment of love and bring your peace and joy to others.  Keep us ever mindful of the wisdom and love you have made known in Christ. Grace us with the courage, faith and hope to make your presence known though our words and actions. Amen!

Runner’s Thought: “...there was some kind of connection between the capacity to love and the capacity to love *running*. The engineering was certainly the same: both depended on loosening your grip on your own desires, putting aside what you wanted and appreciating what you've got, being patient and forgiving and... undemanding...maybe we shouldn't be surprised that getting better at one could make you better at the other.”  (Christopher McDougall, Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen)

Monday greetings to everyone! I hope everyone had a great weekend and that it was filled with laughter, fun, good friends and family. I also hope it provide a little rest and relaxation perhaps even a little quiet time in your life.

I returned from Scranton on Saturday and unfortunately did not get to do my long training run in Central Park on Saturday morning. Friday was a long day and I would not have been able to leave Scranton until around 10 pm thus I would not have gotten home until 12:30 or 1 am. Getting up at 5:00 am to get into the city by 6:30 am just didn’t seem doable so I decided to get a good night’s rest and return home Saturday morning. I hope to make up the long run on my own sometime this week.

I have to share with you that yesterday, Sunday, I was able to cross off an item on my “bucket list.” I made the front page of a newspaper and there was a story about me in the sports section and it wasn’t for something I did wrong, how great is that! Now it was not the New York Times or the Boston Globe or the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. My picture was on the front page and a short story about me appeared in the sports section of “The Republic,” the newspaper in Columbus, Indiana. (No I was not arrested or caught using PEDs.) I will be running the inaugural Mill Race Marathon in Columbus on September 28^th and the paper did a little story on a few of the people who will be running who live outside of Indiana. I guess I was one of the people chosen and my picture appeared on the front page and a picture and story could be found in the sports pages. So now I have one less item on my “bucket list” wonders never cease!

The next couple of weeks will be quiet in my life as we wander into the lazy days of August. I will be heading to Shelby, NC towards the end of August but these first weeks will be filled with paperwork, doctor’s appointments, running and some spiritual renewal.

Have a great Monday everyone and know that my prayers go with you today in all your endeavors, in all of your challenges, in all of your struggles. Please trust in the presence of God that you carry within you and don’t be afraid to share your gift. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul