Daily Thoughts - 12/28/2013

Daily Thoughts: Today is the feast of the Holy Innocents. It has special meaning for me because when I took my vows as a Passionist my title was Paul Raymond of the Holy Innocents. I took the Holy Innocents as my title, because before entering the Passionists I worked as a social worker and my responsibilities were abused and neglected children. I also worked with hard to place adoptive children. So when I entered the Passionist I wanted to honor children particularly those often forgotten by or unwanted by the world. I thought what better way to honor and to remember the children I served, worked with and encountered by placing them and myself under the protection of the Holy Innocents.

There is not a day goes by that I don’t pause to remember many of the children that I encounter in my work. I often wonder what happened to them. Many of them were wonderful children who just need a chance to break the cycle of abuse and neglect. They were children with gifts who often didn’t get the chance to realize those gifts because of decisions that adults had made. I continue to commend them and children around the world to the care and protect of the Holy Innocents.

The Holy Innocents are martyrs and saints. Spirit of God who care for those often not cared for or forgotten. Through the celebration of their feast today and through their always present spirits may we come to value the gift of children and the gift of life.

Blessings upon all children today! Have a great Saturday everyone.

Daily Prayer: Loving Jesus, you once said unless we become like children we cannot enter your Kingdom. So we pause in prayer today to honor your most Holy Innocents and we call upon you through the intercession of these loving spirits to help us on our journey of life to the Kingdom and so we pray – Angels of God, our guardians so dear, to whom God's love entrusts us here; ever this day, be at our sides to light, to guard to rule and guide. Amen!

Runner’s Thoughts: “Running becomes religious in a robust sense when one infuses the experience – not unnaturally – with religious meaning and purpose.” (Jeffrey P Fry – “Running Religiously” from Running and Philosophy a Marathon for the Mind)

Daily Blessing: Happy Saturday everyone! I hope this finds you well and enjoying this Saturday morning. The weather here in Pelham is supposed to be sunny and on the warmer side, but it is cloudy and I don’t feel much warmth. Perhaps the rain forecast for tomorrow is coming a little earlier. Well no sense wondering or worrying  it is all beyond my control.

We celebrate the feast of the Holy Innocents today and so the focus is on children so let our blessing today be not only for us but for all children especially those who are most vulnerable, those in their mother’s womb and those who have just come into the world…Loving Jesus we ask your blessing today upon us and upon all your children especially those in most need of your blessing. You once embraced the little children who came to you, and said: "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these!" Look now with loving eyes on the innocence of all your children and those who love them, and bless us all this day that we may never forget the gift of children and their closeness to you. Jesus in your grace and goodness let us live life continually, longing for you and loving you. Then we will surely come to our eternal home, through you, our Savior. Who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen! Blessing upon all children and upon all of us today and always. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 12/27/2013

Daily Thoughts: “Beloved: What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touch with our hands concerns the Word of life….” The opening lines from the First Letter of St. John which was read at today mass. They have always been comforting yet challenging words for me. They are certainly profound words today as we celebrate the feast of St. John, the apostle, evangelist and beloved friend of Jesus. As we often refer to him, the youngest of the apostle or at least the fastest as we hear in today’s Gospel (John 20: 1a and 2-8).

John by tradition lived the longest and was not martyred as the rest of the apostles were. In his old age he became a prisoner in exile, a mystic, a hermit and certainly a profound writer of the story of Jesus. Unlike his fellow evangelists John’s story is steeped in images, stories not found in the other Gospels and personal expressions of faith. John’s story of Jesus soars to the heights of the mystery of God, thus John is often imaged as an eagle.

In some ways we are all like John, living our life, running ahead when we can, believing when we get the chance to enter the mystery. We use the stories of our lives to proclaim the presence of God. We have seen things; heard things and touched things and they have all been about and from God. We are all God’s beloved.

May the spirit of St. John bring out the mystic in all of us today. May we look beyond what we hear, see and touch to the presence of God born in each of us this day!

Have a great day everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, may your love make us what we have been called to be this day – your beloved. Amen!

Runner’s Thoughts: “Running! If there's any activity happier, more exhilarating, more nourishing to the imagination, I can't think of what it might be. In running the mind flees with the body, the mysterious efflorescence of language seems to pulse in the brain, in rhythm with our feet and the swinging of our arms.” (Joyce Carol Oates) – Now we know why St. John was such a good mystic, writer and runner!

Daily Blessing: TGIF in the midst of Christmas week my friends. I hope this finds you well today and ready to enjoy the weekend. We find ourselves in the midst of the Octave of Christmas which means at least in a liturgical sense today is Christmas once again. So in the spirit of Christmas I offer you my prayers and a blessing today – May the spirit of Christmas bring us peace – The joy and gladness of Christmas give us hope – The warmth of Christmas grant us love. Christmas blessings to all today and in the spirit of St. John may our feet be swift today so we can get to the weekend quickly and safe! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 12/26/2013

Daily Thoughts: Here we are on the day after Christmas, the day after the wonderful scene of Mary holding her newborn infant in a cave just outside of Bethlehem. However, the scene has shifted to a place outside the walls of the city of Jerusalem. It is not a tranquil scene but one of mob violence as they drag a young man out of the city to his death all because he believes. Stephen becomes the first martyr of the new church.

This striking contract to yesterday will be followed tomorrow by the feast of the Holy Innocents, the baby boys martyred by Herod because he was so afraid of the infant Jesus. There two feast that we celebrate in the days following Christmas stand is stark contract to Christmas and they do so as a reminder being a person of faith, believing comes with a challenge, comes with resistance from the world.

Christmas is not a happily ever after story. It is the beginning of a journey of faith that will take us from a cave outside of Bethlehem to a hill outside of the Jerusalem and beyond. Christmas is the beginning of a challenge to wake up every day and find Emmanuel, God with us, in our lives.

As we celebrate the feast of St. Stephen today we are reminded that the world will not always see things as we do.  Sometimes the world’s reaction to what we believe will be harsh and at times even deadly. But like Stephen we are asked to believe, to trust and to know that God is with us.

In our prayers today we ask St. Stephen to help and protect all who are persecuted because of what they believe. We pray for peace among religions, peace in our world!

“Peace demands the most heroic labor and the most difficult sacrifice. It demands greater heroism than war. It demands greater fidelity to the truth and a much more perfect purity of conscience.” (Thomas Merton)

Have a wonderful Thursday everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, we give you thanks today for the inspiring example of Stephen, who in the midst of struggle and persecution prayed for those who were against him. He is a true example of your Son’s Gospel message of forgiveness. Grace our hearts this day with the gift of forgiveness so that we too can be faithful in times when the world seems against us. May we have the strength of Stephen’s faith to always believe that you are with us and will never leave us to face our perils alone. Amen.

Runner’s Thoughts: “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)

Daily Blessing: Happy Day after Christmas everyone! Also for all named Stephen, Happy Feast Day! I hope everyone had a wonder day yesterday with many gifts, good food, choice drink and family and friends with which to enjoy the day. It was a quiet day here in Pelham and there is something to be said for quiet.

My prayer of blessing today will be a simple one – May the gift of the Christ Child continue to bless us this day with the joy of smiles, the energy of youthfulness, the spirit of children, the faith of St. Stephen, the hope of the Christmas Star and the love of family! Blessings to all today and always. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Christmas Day Thoughts - 12/25/2013

Daily Thoughts: Some thoughts for a Christmas Day…

“We are all meant to be mothers of God...for God is always needing to be born.”

“Every creature is a word of God and is a book about God.” (Meister Eckhart)

“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, 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)

While it is good that we seek to know the Holy One, it is probably not so good to presume that we ever complete the task.”

“God loves human beings. God loves the world. Not an ideal human, but human beings as they are; not an ideal world, but the real world. What we find repulsive in their opposition to God, what we shrink back from with pain and hostility, namely, real human beings, the real world, this is for God the ground of unfathomable love.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

“Someday, after we have mastered the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love. Then for the second time in the history of the world, we will have discovered fire.” (Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ)

“Just because something is impossible, doesn't mean you shouldn't do it.” (Dorothy Day)

“It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.”

“For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child Himself.”

(Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol)

“Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn't come from a store.” (Dr. Seuss)

“Christmas is built upon a beautiful and intentional paradox; that the birth of the homeless should be celebrated in every home.”  (G.K. Chesterton)

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:5

Daily Prayer: Loving Jesus, Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace, the Light of the World, as we celebrate your birth may we begin to see the world in the light of your gift of understanding with which you grace us.  As you chose the lowly, the outcasts, and the poor to receive the greatest news the world had ever known, so may we celebrate you in meekness of heart, wonderment of love and joyful hope.  May we bring your hope and love to all we meet today and always. Amen.

Runner’s Thoughts: “Run into peace.” (Meister Eckhart) Merry Christmas all runners!

Christmas Blessing: Merry Christmas everyone! I return a little while along from our monastery in Jamaica Queens, NY where I concelebrated Christmas Morning Mass with Fr. Robert, our provincial, and the men of the community. Then we visited one of our men, Fr. Ted, who is a rehab facility as he recovers from a broken hip. It was a joys and blessed morning. I hope your day has started with the joyful sound kind words, tearing paper and much laughter! In the spirit of this day of joy, love and gathering here is my prayer of blessing for all…

May there be harmony in all your relationships.  May sharp words, envious thoughts, and hostile feelings be dissolved.

May you give and receive love generously.  May this love echo in your heart like the joy of church bells on a clear December day.

May each person who comes into your life be greeted as another Christ.  May the honor given the Babe of Bethlehem be that which you extend to every guest who enters your presence.

May the Hope of this sacred season settle in your soul.  May it be a foundation of courage for you when times of distress occupy your inner land.

May the wonder and awe that fills the eyes of children be awakened within you.  May it lead you to renewed awareness and appreciation of whatever you too easily take for granted.

May the bonds of love for one another be strengthened as you gather with family, community and friends around the table of festivity and nourishment.

May you daily open the gift of your life and be grateful for the hidden treasures it contains.

May the coming year be one of good health for you and those you love.  May you have energy and vitality.  May you care well for your body, mind and spirit.

May you keep your eye on the Star within you and trust this Luminescent Presence to guide and direct you each day.

May you go often to the Bethlehem of your heart and visit the One who offers you peace. And may you bring this peace into the world… (From Out of the Ordinary – “a Christmas Blessing” by Joyce Rupp)

You all will be remembered as I celebrate the Eucharist during this Christmas Season – Christmas blessings to all. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul