Daily Thoughts - 10/11/2013

Daily Thoughts: In today’s Gospel parable (Luke 11: 15-26) Satan is the strong man who guards his palace. His possessions are hatred, greed, and injustice. Through them he controls the world. By ourselves, we are helpless against his power. But this parable is one of hope. It proclaims the gospel message. There is one stronger than Satan who attacks and overcomes him. The stronger one is Christ, who by his resurrection has defeated the power of evil. We are called to live each day in the faith of Christ’s triumph, and help our Savior distribute the spoils of victory. (From Living With Christ – October 11, 2013)

Daily Prayer: Loving God, give us today day the wisdom to see which things are important, and which things are not. Show us how best to use the time and talents you have given us. Help us to use all our opportunities wisely, that we may share, through service to others, the good gifts we have received from you. Amen.

Runner’s Thoughts: “As every runner knows, running is about more than just putting one foot in front of the other; it is about our lifestyle and who we are.” (Joan Benoit Samuelson) The same can be true when we talk about faith. Faith is more than just reciting prayers or going to mass every Sunday, though like putting one foot in front of the other when we run, these rituals are important. Faith is really about how we live our life. Faith is like taking a breath. We need to breathe when we run and when we do anything else. It is the same with faith. A person of faith allies her or his faith to every aspect of life. Faith is about who we are. So today and every day let us be runners but also let us be people of faith!

Daily Blessing: Happy Friday everyone! I hope your day has started out well and that you are looking forward to a good day and a relaxing weekend. As for me I will be leaving later today for Scranton, PA where I will run the Streamtown Marathon on Sunday. It will be the second of three marathons in this five week period. I know what you are thinking, “He is crazy!” and yes, I am! There I said it.  But as Dr. Seuss says, “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”  I am me crazy or not!

My prayer of blessing for all of you today comes for the words of another Paul, a much great Paul than me – Today I say to all of you as you live this day: rejoice! Let me say it again: rejoice! As you live today let your kindness should be known to all. Have faith God is always near. Live today with no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, my friends in the Passion, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in the people of faith around you. If you do this then the God of peace will be with you today and always. (Adapted from the words of St. Paul to the Philippians)

Blessings to all! Have a great weekend! Keep me in your prayers on Sunday as I will you during my run! Peace in Christ Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 10/10/2013

Daily Thoughts: Today’s Gospel (Luke 11:5-13) encourages us to pray, to stay connect with God because God is so eager to help us. As Jesus says if a reluctant friend can be persuaded to help, how much more will God be willing to help!

As Kathleen Norris puts it, “Prayer is not asking for what you think you want, but asking to be changed in ways you can't imagine.”

Or as Blessed Mother Teresa puts it, “Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.”

Today we are asked to put ourselves in God’s hands and let God change us in ways that we cannot imagine. This does not mean that God will always give us whatever we ask but it does mean that God always hears our prayer!

Have a great day everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, we are often so afraid to open our clenched fists! If we do who will we be when if we have nothing left to hold on to? Who will we be when we stand before you with empty hands? Please help us to gradually open my hands and to discover that we are not what we own, but what you want to give us. Amen!  (Adapted from a prayer by Henri J.M. Nouwen)

Runner’s Thoughts: “Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, it knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're the lion or a gazelle-when the sun comes up, you'd better be running.” (Christopher McDougall) And as a friend often says…So to in the spiritual life!

Daily Blessing: Happy Thursday everyone! I hope today has started off well for you and that so far today has been rich in God’s presence. If you are struggle take comfort that at least one friend is thinking of you, me! And that my prayer is that God will provide you what you need to keep the faith and live this day. And so to all my friends who will stop by this site today and even for those who won’t I ask God’s blessings upon you, your day and those most dear to you.

Loving God, bless my family, my friends and all your faithful people so that they will always live your truth; express your love by their life; share your passion by their enthusiasm; take action with your grace; walk by faith; dance and sing to the gift of your spirit and embrace your unimaginable blessings. Help them make today worth remembering because they know that you created them out of love. Have a great day everyone! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

For more information about Fr. Paul and the Passionists visit www.preacherman.org or www.thepassionists.org

Daily Thoughts - 10/09/2013

Daily Thoughts: Fox News doesn’t have all the answers. In fact it has very few if any of the answers and I can say that for pretty much all of the 24 hour news programs that one might find on their cable or disk networks. How do I know this? Well because Jonah tells me so or perhaps more accurately God through Jonah tells me so! This short little Book of Jonah is full of twist and turns that one never expects. It is a story about God taking Jonah on a journey of just how to understand and not understand God’s presence and action in the world. Just like Fox News, Jonah thinks he has it all figured out. Jonah thinks he knows what is right and what is wrong. Jonah thinks he knows exactly what God should and shouldn’t do.

Yet at each turn, through each experience, Jonah finds out that God’s ways are not Fox News ways. God sees things differently. God responds to things differently. God’s world is much larger than Jonah’s world and for that we are most grateful!

I might be stretching things a bit but in the story of Jonah I hear not only God’s words, but the voice of Pope Francis speaking God’s words. Much like Jonah, the news outlets, religious commentators and news pundits think they have Pope Francis figured out. They think they know what he should say and do. They dissect his words and proclaim him liberal one moment and conservative the next. Yet at each turn Pope Francis challenges people to see God in their life differently. He challenges us not to box God in but to see the many ways God is present and active in the world and our lives.

God challenged and taught Jonah to live. Pope Francis continues the lesson with us today. Fox News doesn’t have the answers but God does. We just need to pay attention and live!

Have a great day everyone!

Daily Prayer:

O most kind and merciful God, into your Hands we place our hopes and fears, our likes and dislikes, our happiness and unhappiness, our joys and sorrows today.

Great are our faults and failings, but so too is our hope in you. It is stronger than our weaknesses; it is greater than our difficulties, and more powerful than death.

Though at time overwhelmed by worldly desires, we continue to hope in you; though at times we may falter because of our weaknesses, we continue to trust in you; though at times we do not live up to our promises, we try always to be open to the grace that you offer us.

You are our God, the ground, the center point of our salvation. We place ourselves in your loving arms today and ask your blessing. We place all our trust in you and live by the grace that we will not be forgotten. At times we might be bewildered but we will never be far from your loving care. Amen.

Runner’s Thoughts: Not just exercise, but a way to get in touch with and reclaim myself in an often fragmenting world, running also serves as a powerful antidote to clinical depression, a metaphor for the creative process, and, in its most profound moments, a spiritual practice.  (Alison Townsend)  Be spiritual today go for a run!

Daily Blessings: It is Wednesday everyone also known as “Hump Day.” Midpoint of the week and a day when all camels are happy! So let’s be happy too! If you are bogged down by struggles, problems or challenges today just pause for a moment and think of a camel walking through your office, your home or wherever you might be at this moment saying, “Guess what day it is…Guess what day it is! A smile should come to your face and perhaps that is all you will need to make it a better day.

If that doesn’t work I pray that God blesses you at some point today with a better day. And so for all of you I pray this morning that the peace of God which is beyond all understanding will keep your hearts, minds and souls in the wisdom and love of God today and always. Have a great day everyone!  Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 10/08/2013

Daily Thoughts: Here we are once again beating up poor Martha. Is that really what today Gospel is about? (Luke 10: 38-42) Is Martha really doing the wrong thing? I think not!

I have often felt that Martha has gotten a bad rap because of the way we have looked at this Gospel over the centuries. We seem to think that a person who is hardworking, hospitable and concerned about her guest is somehow less faithful, less holy than a person of formal prayer and that is just not true.

Martha is a good and faithful person her mistake in the Gospel today is that she focuses on someone else; she challenges and is concerned about someone else. If Martha had just done her work with joy, enthusiasm and unselfishness this story in Luke’s Gospel would have never taken place.

Let’s for a moment reverse the roles. Suppose Mary had come to Jesus to complain about Martha. “You know Jesus she is always working, always running around being hospitable. She should stop when you come into the house and sit and listen to you!” What would Jesus have said? My guess is that he says, “Mary, Mary, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Martha has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

You see each woman in the story chooses her journey. Choose what she does best and that becomes her better part. Martha is a worker, she does it well. Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus, she listens and she does it well. There will always be tension between action and contemplation, between ministry and formal prayer, between work and quiet time. But the challenge is to pick what is best for us at that moment. What is our better part at each moment or stage of our life? What will help us to recognize God?

Martha and Mary remind us that there are many gifts and that each gift is important. We just need to recognize what is important for us and not be worried about what is important for others!

Daily Prayer:

Loving God, we ask you to bless us with a burst of energy today. Help us to wake up to your beautiful sunlight, to your blue skies, to all the wonderful possibilities that this day can be and to your better part for us.

Help us O Lord to be motivated, to be ready, to be yours; whether we are quiet and still or busy about many things. Let us live this day together, you and us.

Give us strength to let go of past mistakes and walk ahead into the warmth of this new day made bright by your presence in our lives.

Yes, Lord energize us. Help us to be healthy and positive. Fill our hearts with you love.

We thank you for this new day, for this new opportunity to pursue everything that we are meant to be and through your grace will be in you. Amen!

Runner’s Thoughts: “If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run.” (John Bingham) If you pray, you are a person of prayer, it doesn’t matter how long you pray or what style of prayer you us. It doesn’t matter whether you say formal prayers or just talk with God. There is no right or wrong way to pray. You don’t need a license or a membership card to pray. Just pray and perhaps sometime even pray and run!

Daily Blessing: Happy Tuesday everyone! The weather has changed here in the northeast. The sun is out and the air is much cooler. There is an energy in the air. It is a nice change! I hope and pray things are beautiful and energizing by you too.

May God bless you and be with you today. May God show you what is good, life giving and loving and may God’s grace help you to act justly and to love tenderly and to walk humbly with God. Amen! Have a great day everyone. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 10/07/2013

Daily Thoughts: “Run away from God,” that is Jonah’s response to what God asks of him and I have to say that there have been many times in my own life when I would have liked to have done the same thing. Sometimes what God seems to be asking of us just doesn’t feel right. Sometimes what God asks of us seems beyond our ability. Sometimes what God asks of us isn’t fun. Sometimes what God asks of us puts us at odds with the world around us. So why not run?

Well as we find out in the story of Jonah today (Jonah 1:1-2; 2, 11) you can run but you can’t hide from God! Somehow, someway God is going to find you and put you right back in the middle of things or God will find someone else to do the job. The priest and the Levite ran away but God persisted and the Samaritan did not (Luke 10: 25-37).  You can hear the voice of Pope Francis in the Gospel today. He echoes Jesus’ voice on who is our neighbor. Our neighbors are the people in most need and our challenge is to always show mercy.

When faced with this challenge we can always run, we can always try to hide, we can always make excuses. But God is always going to find us, perhaps not in this life but when it most counts the life to come and if we haven’t responded, if we haven’t been merciful we will find ourselves in a terrible and unending storm!

I would have to say that I have never been a big fan of the rosary mainly because of the communal experiences that I have had with it. People try to out yell others, some praying fast others slow, adding prayer after prayer rather than holding to the simplicity of the rosary. Yet, there have been many moments in my life when I felt like running away from God and it was the simple prayers of the rosary, the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be… that held me in place. The rosary is often the formal prayer that I pray when running because of its simplicity and power.

Today we are challenged to be merciful to the people around us. We are challenged not to run from God when things get difficult or don’t go our way and we celebrate the gift of the rosary as a prayer that can keep our feet grounded in God and our eyes open to the needs of others.

Have a great day everyone!

Daily Prayer:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name; Your kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with you. Blessed are you amongst women,  and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Take some time to say one Our Father, ten Hail Marys and one Glory be and pray this sequence of prayers five times. A simple rosary to enliven your journey through life today!

Runner’s Thoughts: “Running is a mental [and spiritual] sport, more than anything else. You're only as good as your training, and your training is only as good as your thinking [and your praying].” (Lauren Oliver) So take some time to think and pray today!

Daily Blessing: Happy Monday everyone! I hope you had a great weekend and that your team or teams all won. If they didn’t just remember there is always, tomorrow, next week or next year!

I would like to send a special shout out and prayer to my grandniece, Kristina, who is home under the weather today with her father and to her mother, Alice, who is three thousand miles away working and feeling like a mother. We pray for a fast recovery, we pray for feeling better, we pray for a father’s good care and we pray for mom’s safe return!

The Good Ship Pittsburgh Pirates is currently docked on the Allegheny River near the confluence of the Allegheny and the Monongahela Rivers which for your information forms the Ohio River. Chaplain Padre Bucco is currently in deep prayer for a safe and positive outcome to today playoff game. It is a Blackout Day – Go Pirates!

And whether you are home sick, traveling, preparing for a baseball playoff game or just having a usual Monday, Padre Bucco is on the job praying for you. He is asking God’s blessing upon you today. May God bless all of you today so that you live your truth; that you express your love; that you share your enthusiasm; that you walk by faith; that you dance and sing to your music; that you embrace your blessings; that you make today worth remembering; and that offer the world and those around you the gift that God has created you to be!

Blessings to all and have a great day everyone! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul