All Saints Day - Daily Thoughts - 11/01/2013

Daily Thought: I say thanks to All the Saints who have touched our lives down through the years. People who shared their faith and perhaps more importantly lived their faith so that we might encounter the presence of God, so that we might grow into the people God created us to be, so that we might believe. They were mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sisters –in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, friends, teachers, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, neighbors, strangers, companions on the journey, ordinary people who lived extraordinary lives of faith.

Pope Francis talks about the saints in our lives this way; “I see the holiness in the patience of the people of God: a woman who is raising children, a man who works to bring home the bread, the sick, the elderly priests who have so many wounds but have a smile on their faces because they served the Lord, the sisters who work hard and live a hidden sanctity. This is for me the common sanctity. I often associate sanctity with patience: not only patience as hypomoné [the New Testament Greek word], taking charge of the events and circumstances of life, but also as a constancy in going forward, day by day. This is the sanctity of the militant church also mentioned by St. Ignatius. This was the sanctity of my parents: my dad, my mom, my grandmother Rosa who loved ​​me so much. In my breviary I have the last will of my grandmother Rosa, and I read it often. For me it is like a prayer. She is a saint who has suffered so much, also spiritually, and yet always went forward with courage.”

 For all those who have touched us with sanctity and helped us to be the people we are today…we say thank you!

Have a great Friday and a blessed Feast of All Saints!

Daily Prayer: Christ has no body but ours, no hands, no feet on earth but ours, ours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world, ours are the feet with which he walks to do good, ours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.

Ours are the hands, ours are the feet, ours are the eyes, we are his body. Christ has no body now but ours, no hands, no feet on earth but ours, ours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world. Christ has no body now on earth but ours. (Adapted from a prayer by St. Teresa of Avila)

Runner’s Thoughts: Two days to the NYC Marathon and so my words of inspiration and faith are - “You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.” (Steve Prefontaine) And sometime in the journey of faith you wonder why you keep moving forward, why you believe and there are thousands of doctrines, dogma, codes of cannon law, commandments, precepts of the Church that gives you reasons to believe but I always come back to where it started. My faith comes down to the Cross and God’s great love for me!

Daily Blessing: In a little while I will pack my bag and head into Manhattan for the weekend, a little 60^th birthday gift to myself. I have always wanted to spend an overnight or two in Manhattan and this seemed like a good time. I can relax and enjoy the city for a day or two. It means I will not have to get up as early on Sunday morning for the marathon or travel as far to get to a place of rest after the marathon. These little things help believe me.

I will keep all of you in my prayers as I run the streets of NYC on Sunday. Thus that you too will enjoy a simple, peaceful weekend like me I offer a simple and peaceful blessing to all today – May our good and gracious God, bless us all as we celebrate this first weekend in November. May God bless us with gratitude for the gift of life, for those saints in our lives especially those who gave us life. May God bless us with gratitude for the opportunity to celebrate and live life with people we love. May God bless us with gratitude for the many people who touch our lives each day and bring us in touch with the presence and grace of God. May God, continue to bless us with people, places, experiences that give us strength to believe, to be faithful, to have hope and to love. And may God bless us with the grace to keep living the gift that we are! I ask this blessing for all of us through Christ our Savior and Friend. Amen!

Have a great Friday and weekend everyone! Don’t forget to turn your clock back one hour before you go to bed Saturday night! And don’t forget to give God a little time this weekend too! See you are the finish line…Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts: 10/31/2013

Daily Thoughts: “If God is for us who can be against us?” (Romans 8: 31b) This verse and the verses that follow in today first reading (Romans 8: 31b – 39) is one of my favorite passages in St. Paul’s letters. The verses Romans 8:38-39; “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor present things, nor future things, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” sits on the wall over my desk. It is a passage in St. Paul that everyone should read every morning before we do anything and every evening as we close our eyes to sleep.

Think about it, Paul’s question to us is, if God is for us who can be against us? Paul’s answer is nobody! A second question is who or what can separate us for God’s love? It seems that Paul’s answer to this question is the same, nothing and no one! However, that is not really true because for me Paul leaves out one thing – us. We are the only ones who can separate us from God’s love. We are the only ones who can get in the way.

Our challenge today and every day, if I can paraphrase Jesus in today’s Gospel, “[We] must continue on [our] way today, tomorrow, and the following day.” (Luke 13: 33) but we do it knowing that God is for us and nothing but ourselves can separate us from God’s love. Thus if we are true, faithful, hopeful and committed to our friendship with God it is always going to be a great day!

Have a great day everyone and Happy Halloween!

Daily Prayer: O God, lover of all who hope in you, without whom nothing has foundation, nothing is holy, grace us in abundance with your love, compassion and mercy and grant that, with you as our friend and guide, we may use the good gifts that are within and around us in such a way so that we will hold fast to a hope that will endure. We make our prayer today through Jesus Christ our Lord in whom the love of God for us is always present. Amen!

Runner’s Thoughts: Three days until the NYC Marathon and my words of inspiration and faith for today are – “I run because long after my footprints fade away, maybe I will have inspired a few to reject the easy path, hit the trails, put one foot in front of the other, and come to the same conclusion I did: I run because it always takes me where I want to go.” (Dean Karnazes) And I believe, I have faith in God, in Christ, in the Spirit, because long after I am gone maybe I will have inspired a few to reject the easy road, hit the Eucharist, prayer and community, put one foot in front of the other, and come to the same conclusion I did: I believe because it always takes me to God’s love!

Daily Blessing: Happy Halloween everyone! I hope your morning has gone well; it was a busy one for me. The day here in Pelham is dreary yet a little on the mild side but there is certainly a fall feel to the air. The weather for Sunday looks to be cold and windy, I don’t mind running in the cold but the wind from the northwest is often not pleasant! So if you have a notion to pray for me on Sunday, pray for a gentle breeze, please!

Well if you will be heading out trick or treating tonight please be safe and if you are headed out tonight but not trick or treating drive alert so the little ones or anyone out and about will be safe!

As this week winds down I offer this prayer and blessing for all today – Loving God, give us friends who will love us for who and what we are, and keep ever burning before our vagrant steps the kindly light of hope... And though we come not within sight of the castles of our dreams, teach us to be thankful for life, and for time's olden memories that are good and heartwarming. And may the evening's twilight find us gentle still and at peace. Blessings to all – Amen! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 10/30/2013

Daily Thoughts: “To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything [God] has given us - and [God] has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of [God’s] love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from [God].

Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, 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)

Gratitude is my word, is my thought for the day. I am grateful to my parents for the gift of life, for the wisdom, guidance, disciplined and love that formed me into the man that I am today. I am profoundly grateful for the gift of faith that they shared with me it has made all the difference. All of their gifts to me came from God who was intimately part of their lives from beginning to end.

Today I am grateful to St. Paul for his words in his Letter to the Romans, “The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit intercedes with inexpressible groanings.” (Roman 8:26) On this second anniversary of my mother’s passing I am not sure how to pray and so I trust in the Spirit to say what needs to be said. I trust in the spirit of my Mother and Father to keep me always grateful, to keep me always faithful, to keep me always on the right path because I know that all things work for the good for those who love God and Mom and Dad truly loved God!

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Daily Prayer: Good Saint Rita, during your entire life on earth you found your happiness by following the will of God. Help us to be as trusting of God in all of what God asks of us this day and always. Help us this day to give ourselves to God as you did, without limit, without fear, without counting the cost. Help us to be generous in serving the needs of others, patient in all difficulties, forgiving toward all who hurt us. Help us to learn more deeply the great mystery of the cross of Jesus, so that by embracing it as you did, we may come to experience its power to heal and to save. Amen (Adapted from a Prayer to St. Rita of Cascia)

Runner’s Thoughts: Four days to the NYC Marathon and so my words of inspiration and faith for today are – “Running isn't a sport for pretty boys...It's about the sweat in your hair and the blisters on your feet. It’s the frozen spit on your chin and the nausea in your gut. It's about throbbing calves and cramps at midnight that are strong enough to wake the dead. It's about getting out the door and running when the rest of the world is only dreaming about having the passion that you need to live each and every day with. It's about being on a lonely road and running like a champion even when there's not a single soul in sight to cheer you on. Running is all about having the desire to train and persevere until every fiber in your legs, mind, and heart is turned to steel. And when you've finally forged hard enough, you will have become the best runner you can be. And that's all that you can ask for.” (Paul Maurer, The Gift - A Runner's Story) And if you add the word faith alongside the word running you have a picture of a runner and a person of faith!

Daily Blessing: I pray that everyone’s has begun well, if not please know you have been in my prayers since very early this morning. I celebrated mass in memory of my mother very early this morning and I asked her to bless us with her heavenly spirit today, so if things are going well trust that they will get better!

My prayer of blessing for everyone today is adapted from a prayer known as Saint Patrick's Breastplate – I ask God’s blessing be upon all of us today so that Christ will be with us; Christ will be before us; Christ will be behind us; Christ will be in us; Christ will be beneath us; Christ will be above us; Christ will be on our right; Christ will be on our left; Christ will be where we lie; Christ will be where we sit; Christ will be where we arise; Christ will be in the hearts of every person who thinks of us; Christ will be in the mouth of every person who speaks of us; Christ will be in every eye that sees us; Christ will be in every ear that hears us; God’s blessings through Christ be upon all of us this day! Have a great day everyone. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 10/29/2013

Daily Thoughts: “What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can [we] compare it?” We might stay that these questions have been asked over and over again down through history. We are always trying to figure out what the Kingdom of God is like. What does Heaven look like?

We are always trying to compare it to what we know. Even Jesus does it today in the Gospel (Luke 13: 18-21). Jesus compares it to a mustard seed and yeast not exactly what I would do by Jesus has a reason for picking these two examples. He compares the Kingdom to a mustard seed and yeast because it is something alive. It is growing, it is ever changing and as Paul tells us in the first reading (Romans 8:18-25) it is not just for ever one it is for everything. All creation glories in the Kingdom! That is why respect the gift of God’s creation because on the last day all creation will be transformed into the Kingdom of God.

Our challenge today is to look around at the people, place and things of God’s creation that are a part of our lives and be thankful for them. When we ask the question what is the Kingdom of God like, to what can we compare it? All we need to do is look around because the Kingdom of God in alive in our life.

Perhaps Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ said it well when he wrote: “By means of all created things, without exception, the divine assails us, penetrates us, and molds us. We imagined it as distant and inaccessible, when in fact we live steeped in its burning layers”

Or maybe Thomas Merton said it a little differently when he wrote: “When we are alone on a starlit night, when by chance we see the migrating birds in autumn descending on a grove of junipers to rest and eat; when we see children in a moment when they are really children, when we know love in our own hearts; or when, like the Japanese poet, Basho, we hear an old frog land in a quiet pond with a solitary splash - at such times the awakening, the turning inside out of all values, the "newness," the emptiness and the purity of vision that make themselves evident, all these provide a glimpse of the cosmic dance [a glimpse of the Kingdom].”

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Daily Prayer: God, loving Creator, grace us with the wisdom to embrace your Kingdom that is all around us so that someday, after trying to master the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for you the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, we will have discovered fire – your unconditional love. Amen! (Adapted from the words of Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ)

Runner’s Thoughts: Five days to the NYC Marathon and so my words of inspiration and faith today are – “People sometimes sneer at those who run every day, claiming they'll go to any length to live longer. But I don't think that's the reason most people run. Most runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want to live life to the fullest. If you're going to while away the years, it's far better to live them with clear goals and fully alive then in a fog, and I believe running helps you to do that. Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: that's the essence of running, and a metaphor for life [and a metaphor for faith]” (Haruki Murakami and [me])

Daily Blessing: I hope this finds everyone having a good day if not hang in there it will get better! So that your good day continue and that your not so good day gets better I pray – Loving God bless us with a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; bless us with an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; bless us with an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bless us with the understanding to know you, bless us with diligence to seek you, bless us with the wisdom to find you, and bless us with a faithfulness will help us to embrace your love in our life. I pray this blessing for all my family and friends and anyone in need this day through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen! Have a great day. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 10/28/2013

Daily Thoughts: As we celebrate the Feast of Sts. Simon and Jude today, two apostles, two friends of Jesus, the thoughts I would like to offer you come from one of my favorite authors, Barbara Brown Taylor. Barbara writes about what it means to be a priest. Her thoughts have given me food for thought recently and so I offer them to you today.

“...a priest is someone willing to stand between a God and a people who are longing for one another's love, turning back and forth between them with no hope of tending either as well as each deserves. To be a priest is to serve a God who never stops calling people to do more justice and love more mercy, and simultaneously to serve people who nine times out of ten are just looking for a safe place to rest. To be a priest is to know that things are not as they should be and yet to care for them the way they are.”

I hope I live up to what it means to be a priest most of the time. I know at time I do fail and I pray that my failures do not hurt others or keep them from God. I do know that things are not as they should be and I hope and pray that I do care for all the way they are!

I have a great day everyone!

Daily Prayer:

Loving God, Often we hold on to the things we own and we are afraid to open our clenched hands. Who will we be when 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 our 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: Six days until the NYC Marathon and so my words of inspiration, my words of faith today come from Dean Karnazes, “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, Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner)

Daily Blessing: As this new work week begins we find ourselves getting ready to say “good bye” to October and its menagerie of colors, crisp morning air and sun drenched afternoons and we prepare to welcome November with its fading colors, ever darkening days and hustle and bustle of the soon approaching holiday season. So in the midst of this in between week I offer this prayer of blessing to begin your week and send you on your way to November…

Loving God, Creator of this new day, bless my friends and all so that we may live your truth in everything we do. That we may express your love to everyone we meet. Touch us with your grace so that we may share our enthusiasm and make each moment better; so that we may give life to our hopes; so that we may walk by faith; so that we may dance and sing to your music of life; so that we will always embrace your blessings and your love and make today and everyday worth remembering. Amen! Have a great Monday everyone! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Sunday Thoughts - 10/27/2013

Sunday Thoughts: “Wisdom is not gained by knowing what is right. Wisdom is gained by practicing what is right, and noticing what happens when that practice succeeds and when it fails.” (Barbara Brown Taylor)

“Every human interaction offers you the chance to make things better or to make things worse.” (Barbara Brown Taylor)

“With so much effort being poured into church growth, so much press being given to the benefits of faith, and so much flexing of religious muscle in the public square, the poor in spirit have no one but Jesus to call them blessed anymore.” (Barbara Brown Taylor)

Enjoy your Sunday everyone and remember to give a little time to God!

Sunday Prayer:

This is your day, O Lord and so we pray for grace and help this day and always.
If we are to stand up, help us to always stand bravely.
If we are to sit still, help us to sit still quietly.
If we are to lie low, help us to do so patiently.
And if we are to do nothing, let us do it gallantly. Amen!
(Adapted from a prayer by Kathleen Norris)

Sunday Runner’s Thoughts: It is now less than one week to the NYC Marathon. It will be my third marathon in five weeks. It will be my first marathon in the decade of my sixties. I will think back a lot to my first marathon ten years ago. I will think a lot about turn 60 years old and I will think a lot about my faith and how running has played a role in my life as a person of faith these last ten years.

I will keep before me this week the words of Paul Maurer from his book, The Gift – A Runner’s Story.  “Running isn't a sport for pretty boys...It's about the sweat in your hair and the blisters on your feet. It’s the frozen spit on your chin and the nausea in your gut. It's about throbbing calves and cramps at midnight that are strong enough to wake the dead. It's about getting out the door and running when the rest of the world is only dreaming about having the passion that you need to live each and every day with. It's about being on a lonely road and running like a champion even when there's not a single soul in sight to cheer you on. Running is all about having the desire to train and persevere until every fiber in your legs, mind, and heart is turned to steel. And when you've finally forged hard enough, you will have become the best runner you can be. And that's all that you can ask for.”  And I will remember this this is what faith is about too!

Sunday Blessing: Wherever you are, whatever this day has brought into your life,  if you are watching your favorite team, celebrating your team’s victory, or mourning and debating its defeat or just anticipating the work week and the busyness of that lies ahead. It you are resting and relaxing or busy about many different things, if you are taking time to enjoy the beauty of this day or struggling through a problem, no matter where you are or what you are doing I offer this prayer and blessing for you...

This is the Day that God has made let us rejoice and be glad. May there always be work for us to do.  May our pockets and purses always hold a coin or two. May the sun always shine warm on our windowpanes. May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain. May the hand of family, a loved one and a friend always be near and may God fill our hearts with gladness and love that we in turn can share! May God’s blessing be upon you today and always. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul