Daily Thoughts - 10/19/2013

Daily Thoughts: “Our duty, as men and women, is to proceed as if limits to our ability did not exist. We are collaborators in creation.” (Pierre Teilhard de Chardin)

Perhaps in another way that is what Jesus is telling his disciples and us in today’s Gospel (Luke 12: 8-12). We are in this together with God and having a relationship, a friendship with God demands respect and trust. Nothing is impossible for God and God is always with us. So Fr. De Chardin says, we need to live life as if there are no limits to our ability and trust that God will help us do the rest!

Have a great Saturday everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving God help us to someday, after we get done trying to master the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, to harness for you the energies of love, and then perhaps, for a second time in the history of the world, we will have discovered fire and our lives will once again be changed for the better and we will come to know that you are not far from us. You are at the point of our pens, our fingers as we type on our keyboards, our paint brushes, our sewing needles, screw drivers,  - and in our hearts and thoughts. We thank you today for this gift of yourself and we ask the grace to use it wisely. Amen!

(Adapted from the words of Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin)

Runner’s Thoughts: Some might say that the real purpose of running isn’t to win a race. It’s to test the limits of the human heart and I would agree with that but I would also say that another purpose for running is to connect with God through nature, through breath, through the beating of our heart, through the focus of our attention and through prayer.

Daily Blessing: Happy Saturday everyone! Wherever you are, whomever you are with and whatever you are doing today may you, your endeavors, your companions, and your living of life be blessed with the richness, grace and love of God’s presence! Have a great day everyone. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

PS To my niece and nephew returning home from Italy, have a safe journey and welcome home! To my niece and nephew in Vegas, enjoy and be safe!

Daily Thoughts - 10/18/2013

Daily Thoughts: We celebrate the feast of St. Luke, the Evangelist and companion of St. Paul today. In the first reading, (2 Timothy 4:10-17b), we are reminded that St. Paul was not always successful in his relationships. Two of his companions leave him but one, Luke, remains. When St. Paul was challenged in his ministry and he was challenged often, I am sure that he wished that there were more friends there to help him. But the Lord always stood by St. Paul and provided him with the strength necessary to push on.

From this story in St. Paul’s Letter to Timothy and others like it we can be graced with the hope that in our journey of faith our support, like St. Paul’s, comes from God in many different ways. God is always with us and will never leave us to face our perils alone. And like Luke for Paul, friends and family who stand by us, even when others forget us, are special gifts. Perhaps today on this Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist and faithful friend we might give thanks for the faithful friends in our own lives. Thanking God for them and the gifts that they are to us!

Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend everyone!

Daily Prayer:  

Loving God, we have no idea where we are going. We do not see the road ahead of us. We cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do we really know ourselves, and the fact that we think we are following your will does not mean that we are actually doing so. But we believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And we hope we have that desire in all that we are doing. We hope that we will never do anything apart for that desire. And we know that if we do this you will lead us by the right road though we may know nothing about it.

Therefore we will trust you always though we may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. We will not fear, for you are ever with us, and you will never leave us to face my perils alone. Amen!

(Adapted from a Prayer by Thomas Merton)

Runner’s Thoughts: Remember that if during our runs we have the desire to run and pray then our runs can transform the simplest moments into divine encounters!

Daily Blessing: Happy Friday everyone! Yes, we are at the end of another work week and in a few hours our weekend will begin. Now I am aware that for some this is not the end of a work week and that a weekend is often a time of work so for those who do face work these next few days hang in there you “weekend,” your “time off” will come! But for those who find themselves at the end of their work week and who are looking forward to the weekend ahead for a little rest and relaxation, TGIF!

Today’s blessing is going to be a little on the long side as there have been many things that have crossed my desk over the last few days that are worth mentioning.

First I would ask you to remember in your prayers a long time retreatant from our retreat center in Riverdale, Marianne, who is having surgery today for ovarian cancer. I celebrated mass for her intention this morning asking God for healing, comfort and peace, so I ask you to do the same.

Secondly, we are getting a new member to our community here in Pelham, Fr. Enzo Del Brocco, C.P. from Naples, Italy. Fr. Enzo will be spending a few months with us. He speaks perfect English because part of his childhood was spent in Pittsburgh! Welcome Fr. Enzo!

Thirdly, one of my two goddaughters, Alexis, is celebrating her birthday this weekend on Sunday. I will not be dumb and reveal her age but let’s just say she in much younger than me and I am still young! I want to wish Alexis a very Happy Birthday, with many blessings on her day and always. Alexis is also expecting her third child so I want to ask God’s blessing upon mother and child as they journey to birth throughout the coming months. Alexis’ husband, Kevin, is away at this time in Nepal doing missionary work so we wish him the best and a safe journey home!

Fourthly, I wish to ask God’s blessing upon my niece Sarah and her husband, my nephew, Dominick. They are finishing up their 10 day journey to Italy. I have not heard anything so I figure no news is good news. I just ask God’s blessing upon their final days away and that they have a safe journey home with many wonderful stories to tell!

Finally, this is a special weekend for Passionists as we celebrate the Feast of St. Paul of the Cross. St. Paul of the Cross’ feast is actually Saturday October 19^th but in the United States October 19^th is the Feast of the North American Martyrs so St. Paul’s feast is transferred to October 20^th. We will be celebrating in a special way with Fr. Joachim Rego, C.P., our Superior General on Sunday at Immaculate Conception Parish in Jamaica, New York at the1:00 pm mass. Fr. Joachim will preside and preach with Passionists coming in from all over the United States and Canada. The mass is open to everyone so if you live in the New York area why not come and celebrate with us. The Immaculate Conception Monastery and Parish are located at 86-45 Edgerton Blvd., Jamaica, New York 11432. I hope to see some of you there!

There are many other prayer requests and stories that have crossed my desk this week and so now we gather them all together asking God’s blessing upon all in need, upon all of us as we continue this journey of faith we call life.

In the Gospel (Luke 10: 1-9) today, Jesus tells his disciples to proclaim, “The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.” So as a hopefully a faithful disciple and preacher I ask God to bless all of you with the sure and certain hope that the “Kingdom of God is truly at hand for you!” I ask God’s blessing on all who find themselves sick and or struggling in some way may this blessing bring you healing and peace! But most importantly I ask God’s blessing upon all of you that you will always know that you are never alone that God is standing with you and will never leave you to face your perils, to face life alone! Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend everyone! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 10/16/2013

Daily Thoughts: Our readings today (Romans 2: 1-11 and Luke 11: 42-46) focus on judging others. We are challenged not to be judges but to be people of compassion.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer speaks to Paul and Jesus’ message today with his own reflection on judging. “Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating. By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.”

As does Henri Nouwen with his word;  “As long as we continue to live as if we are what we do, what we have, and what other people think about us, we will remain filled with judgments, opinions, evaluations, and condemnations. We will remain addicted to putting people and things in their "right" place.”

The question that we might ask ourselves today is do we want to be blind and addicted? Hopefully not which means we need to remember let God be the judge and every time we are tempted to point out another’s fault, we should think of our own shortcomings. If we approach life this way we will be graced by God’s mercy and patience!

Have a great day everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, you know the ways that we treat people that we do not like. You know that we judge them, we avoid them, we gossip about them, we hassle them. However wanting to be your people of faith, your people of love, we do not want to be this way, to treat people this way anymore. So we ask you for the grace and strength to learn how not to judge but how to be forgiving and compassionate people today and always. We want to learn how to forgive and also how to ask for forgiveness when we struggle and fail. Help us God not to be judging people but to be a forgiving people just as you are forgiving! We pray this today and always the Jesus Christ, your Son and our friend. Amen!

Runner’s Thoughts: Running can be so symbolic of life and faith. In running like in life we have to drive ourselves to overcome the obstacles. At times we feel that we just cannot do it. But then we find an inner strength, an inner presence and realize that we are capable of so much more than we thought. And like in faith when we run we often realize that we are not alone. That God runs with us!

Daily Blessing: Happy Hump Day everyone! It doesn’t quite feel like a usual Wednesday because of Monday being a holiday but we are still at the midpoint of our work week so let’s celebrate! I hope your day is going well and moving quickly. I hope it is filled with many good experiences and a people. If it is not then trust in who you are and that even though life and people might seem like a struggle you are making the day a good day for anyone who encounters you!

My friends my God’s blessing be with you today and always. May the richness of who you are as a person created in the image and likeness of God touch the lives of all you meet. May you bring God’s presence to every experience and each moment of this day. May the world you journey through be a better place because of you today. And at the end of the day may you smile with the tired satisfaction that because of you today was a good day! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 10/15/2013

Daily Thoughts: As we have often heard, “You cannot judge a book by its cover!” We might say that this saying reflects what Jesus is talking about in the Gospel (Luke 11: 37-41) today.  Jesus does talk about the outside of the Pharisees verses the inside. What they appear to be, what people see verse what they really do and think.

I think though that what Jesus is talking about is finding balance in life. Our life is not just about appearance it is about what we believe and how we live that belief out each and every day. Living a life of faith begins in our hearts and our actions need to reflect what is in our hearts.

The Pharisees were not bad people however at times they let their power, their position, their influence and their authority get the best of them. They forgot who and what was at the center of their faith. They forgot the purpose and meaning of their life. They put themselves first. They got out of balance.

It can happen to anyone, it can happen to us. Being in balance is important. We need to always remember that everything, outside and inside comes from God. As Pope Benedict put it, “Every form of gift is, in a word, a sign of the presence of God, because it leads to the fundamental discovery that, at the origin, everything is given.”

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.

For these, and all blessings, we give you thanks, loving God. Amen.

(Adapted from Prayer of Thanksgiving on beliefnet.com)

Runner’s Thoughts: Running can clear cobwebs from our minds and focus our thinking. Running can give us time and space to sort out the things that are bothering us, or challenging us. At time running allows us to detach and think of nothing at all. But perhaps most importantly running offers us an opportunity to connect with God through our senses. Running graces us with an opportunity to taste, touch, smell, hear and see God in our life!

Daily Blessing: Tuesday greetings everyone! I hope your day has started off well if not hang in there it will get better and if it doesn’t there is always tomorrow! I returned from Scranton yesterday and I am still a little sore from my weekend run. One more day of rest and then back to the road tomorrow with the NYC Marathon just 18 days away!

My thoughts and prayers are with all of you as you wonder though this day and I pray that God will bless you with all that you need to make it through this day. And so I pray – May you be blessed with the grace and presence of God today. May the grace and presence of God be with you, in front of you, behind you, on your right and on your left, above your head, under your feet and in your heart. May everything you do today be for and with God! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 10/14/2013

Daily Thoughts: Sometime the signs God gives us come from people and experiences we least expect. This little sentence might best sum up the Gospel (Luke 11: 29-32) today. Often we are looking for the great or the grand or the unusual when it comes to God. We want unbelievable miracles. Yet all around us God is speaking and often God can be found in unexpected places and heard through unexpected people.

Jonah himself did not think the people of Nineveh would get it but they did. The queen of Egypt did not believe in Solomon’s God but she came and could see and hear God’s wisdom in Solomon. It has been often said, God works in mysterious ways and throughout scripture we are reminded of God’s mysterious ways!

The challenge for us is to not box God in, to not predict God’s intentions. We need to listen, to look around us and be ready to see, hear and experience the presence of God in our lives. We cannot write-off people or experience because we never know when we will find God through them.

The signs of Jonah and the queen of the south are all around us. We just have to be ready, willing and open to see and hear them!

Daily Prayer: Today, grace us O loving God with minds to know you, hearts to seek you, wisdom to find you, a living of life that will be pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and the hope of finally embracing you. Amen.

(Adapted from a prayer by St. Thomas Aquinas)

Runner’s Thought: “For every runner who tours the world running marathons, there are thousands who run to hear the leaves and listen to the rain, and look to the day when it is suddenly as easy as a bird in flight.” (George Sheehan)

Daily Blessing: Monday greetings to everyone! I hope you all had a nice weekend, one that provide you with a little rest and relaxation or the company of family and good friends or the solitude and quiet of just being able to enjoy life or perhaps a little of all three! As many of you know this past weekend was another marathon weekend for me. I did get some rest and relaxation, I was with many people and there was about 4 hours and 11 minutes of solitude and quiet so I touched all the bases.

I hope your week ahead will not be too busy and if you are facing busyness, struggles, challenges or uncertainly please know that you are in my prayers. Following the theme of the Gospel today my prayer of blessing for you is that you, in the midst of your busy life are open to the many experiences of God that will touch your life today!

Loving God I ask your blessing upon us today that even though our lives are filled with many things, even though we are busy about many things, even though sometimes it is hard to know you are with us that you will gift us today with your grace to be aware of the many times, many ways and the many people that bring your presence to us. Help us to not miss the unexpected. Help us to be open to your mysterious ways. Blessing my friends as they live life today! Have a great day! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul