Daily Thoughts - 12/12/2013

Daily Thoughts: Today’s Gospel (Luke 1:39-47) reminds us that Mary was truly a believer. Even though she did not know the full extent of her “yes” she proclaimed it anyway. She trusted in God. It was a trust that could be seen. Elizabeth saw it as Mary entered her home. For Elizabeth, Mary was blessed among women and her voice proclaimed the presence of God even to the baby in Elizabeth’s womb. Our God is not only of God of sight but also of sound.

Not having a clear vision of the road ahead is not always an easy way to life. It demands trust, it demands faith, and it demands a sense of hope in all that one does. Mary certain defines this way of living. She did not know the implications of her “yes” but she has trust, faith and lived by an unrelenting hope.

As Calvin Miller puts it in his book The Christ of Christmas: Readings for Advent – “We must look to Mary's example to know how to deal with the glorious impossibilities of God. Look how she turned the world upside down by making one simple statement.”

Today we remember that Mary turned the New World upside down when she appeared to Juan Diego, an Aztec Indian convert, as a beautiful young woman on Tepeyac Hill near Mexico City on December 9, 1531. Just another reminder that if we trust, if we believe, if we live by hope we will encounter God most often when we least expect it but always when we are most in need!

Have a great day everyone!

Daily Prayer: Come loving God, come – come and make your dwelling in our hearts. Come and be present to the struggling, difficult and challenging moments of our day. Come in your unexpected ways and fill us with a hope that will always help us to trust and have faith that you are always with us and you will never leave us to face the struggles and challenges of life alone. Come loving God, come and be with us today and like Mary may we always say “yes” - Amen!

Runner’s Thought: As we prepare to run today or any day, as we stretch our muscles getting them ready for the journey ahead. Let us imagine that we are also stretching our spirits and giving our spirits the flexibility needed to encounter God. Each time we take the time to stretch we are also taking the time to pray!

Daily Blessing: Happy Thursday everyone! I hope today has gotten off to a good start for you. It is a sunny but cold day here in Pelham. Somehow the sun makes the day seem a little less cold and a little more enjoyable. I hope this is true where you are too.

We celebrate the feast today of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It remembers an appearance of Mary to Juan Diego, a poor Aztec Indian convert, as a beautiful young mestiza woman on Tepeyac Hill near Mexico City on December 9, 1531. It is a special day of celebration for all our sisters and brothers of Central and South America.

With this feast in mind I ask God’s blessings upon all of us today through the intersession of Mary. God bless us all today with the wonderful grace of trust, faith and hope that was so present in the life of Mary. May this day be one in which we focus our life, strive to be the best we can, persevere through the struggles and challenges and always take a little time to connect with you through prayer. Loving God bless us with the richness of your love wherever we go and through whomever we meet. And may we always say “yes” when you ask us to bring your presence to the world. We ask this blessing through your gift of Mary. Amen! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 12/11/2013

Daily Thoughts: I think sometimes we struggle because God doesn’t seem present in ways we would like. We cannot take God fishing like Peter and the other disciples did. We cannot invite God is for a meal like Zacchaeus did. We cannot stop in the midst of our daily work and have a conversation about life like the woman at the well did. We cannot argue a frustration like Martha did. We cannot ask a question and get an immediate answer like the disciples often did. We cannot feel that loving embrace like Mary and others surely did.

We have to live by faith and hope not personal contact. Our time is a time of trusting in God’s presence and having faith that God is at work in us helping us make the right choices, helping us live a good life.

We might say that Pope Francis has challenged us to take up the “yoke” that Jesus mentions in the Gospel today (Matthew 11:28-30). It is the “yoke” and “burden” of the people around us who do not have the necessities of life, who are hungry, cold, homeless and suffering.

Yes, seeing these people, encountering them, perhaps even being one them is a burden and a yoke that is heavy, difficult to carry and a problem which often seems impossible to solve. Yet, Jesus says pick it up, carry it, but not alone. Like Jesus, Pope Francis knows that if we do this we will learn from Jesus and we will come to know that the impossible can become of the possible.

Perhaps our challenge today is to be “humble of heart” and trust in God’s strength to help us help the world. Have a great day everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, we are grateful for this wonderful enterprise you have invited us to, this journey called life. Grace us with your gift of hope so that we might never lose faith in your loving presence which is always ready to lead us down the right road. Help us to trust that you will never leave us alone or let us grow weary but give us the strength of eagles’ wings so that we can live our life to its fullest. Amen!

Runner’s Thoughts: In the first reading (Isaiah 40: 25-31) from today’s mass Isaiah writes, “They will run and not grow weary….” As I read these words this morning I could not help but think about running. I don’t know any runner, except maybe the elite runners who when starting out on a training run or a race does hope that they will run and not grow weary. It is the vision of every runner to run strong and to finish.

It is the hope of every person of faith to live life to the fullest, to remain strong and faithful and to finish. St. Paul tells us to run life focused on the finish line. We need to always look ahead not behind. Pope Francis, Time Magazine’s Person of the Year, has us looking ahead and has challenged us not to grow weary in our service as a Church to the poor, the homeless and the hungry.

Running is a wonderful metaphor for life. When we run we are reminded of the challenges of life but also the gifts of life. As Isaiah says, “They that hope in the Lord, will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles’ wings; they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.” Running is about having hope, faith is about having hope and in each case hope leads us at time to making the impossible – possible!

Daily Blessing: Happy Wednesday everyone! No I didn’t use “Happy Hump Day” because at this time of the year the weeks seem much longer than seven days. It often feels like one big week from Thanksgiving to Christmas. We always just busy, busy, busy – never stopping! So just Happy Wednesday in the midst of our journey to Christmas!

I hope you day has started off well. That those affected by the weather these last days are now back to normal, whatever normal is! The sun is shining here is Pelham but the air is very cold. Oh, how I long for spring and warmer weather. However that is a long way off and winter is our life at the moment.

I pray that you are not too busy these days and there are moments to relax and just enjoy the gift of Advent, the gift of family, the gift of friends or even the gift of solitude! May God bless you today and always – in the words of Isaiah – with the strength to run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint and that you may soar through this day on eagles’ wings as people of faith who hope in God with strength renewed! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 12/10/2013

Daily Thought: Years ago, I ran across a quote by the English theologian, Austin Farrer. I often use it for my own personal prayer. “God forgives me, for he takes my head between his hands and turns my face to his to make me smile at him. And though I struggle and hurt those hands – for they are human, though divine, human and scarred with nails – though I hurt them, they do not let go until he has smiled me into smiling; and that is the forgiveness of God.”

Perhaps these words by Austin Farrer can be useful for our reflection today. In the readings today from Isaiah (Isaiah 40: 1-11) and Matthew (Matthew 18: 12-14) we hear about the compassion and love of God. The prophet Isaiah and the evangelist Matthew embrace the image of a shepherd in telling their story of God. Isaiah’s shepherd is feeding, holding and caring for his sheep. Matthew’s shepherd is tirelessly searching for that one lost sheep.  Both images communicate the unrelenting and timeless care and concern of a God for his people. The Good News which Isaiah and Matthew impart on us today is that God is always loving, caring and forgiving.

The image that Austin Farrer paints engages us in a personal way to encounter God’s care, love and forgiveness. We are asked to feel Jesus holding us, holding us so tenderly and lovingly that in the end we have to smile. At first it is an uncomfortable smile as we think about how often we have hurt, disappointed or turned away from him. However, in his shepherding hands all is well, all is forgiven and all are loved.

Daily Prayer: Gentle and loving Shepherd, we place before you today our worries, our hurts, our struggles, our fears and our faults and failings. Comfort us with the hope that you never give up and you will never let us to face life alone. Amen!

Runner's Thoughts: “Believe that you can run farther or faster. Believe that you're young enough, old enough, strong enough, and so on to accomplish everything you want to do. Don't let worn-out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself.” (John Bingham) As a friend of mine says, "So to in the spiritual life!" Faith, belief is the starting point, having faith in your relationship with God. The world will tell you many different things; it will say at time, "You are crazy for believing!" But we don't let the world tells us what is important, what to believe or not believe. We don't dwell in the past. We move beyond the world, we move beyond the past to the present moment and we believe in ourselves and our God!

Daily Blessing: Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope this finds you well and starting a new day with energy and enthusiasm! Here is Pelham the white stuff (snow) is coming down rather steady. After missing the storms over the weekend we got this one! If you had to deal with the weekend storms I hope things have gotten back to normal for this Tuesday and if not I hope you are weathering things ok.

Yesterday I attended the funeral of Mrs. Jeanne O'Shea, the mother of Fr. Jim O'Shea, C.P. whom I live with. It brought me back to my own mother's funeral a couple of years ago. Losing a mother or a father is always tough even if you are prepared and even if it is the best thing for them. Please keep Fr. Jim and his family in your prayers!

Well as the snow falls and we continue our journey through these Advent days to Christmas I pray for God's blessing upon all of us today and always - Loving God, bless us this day with your eternal love, Jesus. Life our minds in watchful hope to hear the voice which announces his glory and open our hearts to receive the Spirit who prepares us for his coming once. May Christ be born in our hearts this day and may we always bring your gift of eternal love to all we meet. Bless on this journey of Advent that we might be ready to celebrate the gift of Christmas once again. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul