Daily Thoughts: St. John in the
first reading today makes it sound so simple. If we believe we will know what
is of God and what is not. Sure when someone speaks against Jesus it is a sure
sign that we should not follow in that direction, however there are many
voices, many spirits out there that claim to be followers of Jesus yet I am not
always sure their way is the way to go.
John reminds us we need to believe in
the name of Jesus and love one another, yet often the very people who ask us to
believe in the name of Jesus do not seem to love others. What should we think?
What should we believe? It doesn't always seem clear cut. Certainly John did
not live in this age of mass communication, of social media. The challenge of
today is how to believe, how do we test the spirits to see whether they belong
to God?
To be honest with you I do not have an
answer, for me it is a work in progress. I listen, I digest, I compare and I
pray and hope that I make the right choice, the right decision. I pray and hope
that I am walking with God. One of my criteria for testing the spirits of today
comes from the Gospel today, from the life of Jesus. The criteria that I place
on today's spirits is how compassionate are they. Jesus' life was about
compassion for others. I test the spirits of today with a sense of how
compassionate are they? How caring for others are they? How willing are they to
provide hope in a troubled world? How willing are they to unite not divide
people? It is not always easy to make the call, to know for sure, but the
spirits of today must past the Jesus test, they must be spirits that proclaim
the "Good News!"
Have a great Monday everyone and stay
warm if you can!
Daily Prayer: Loving God,
help us to become images of your light for all, especially those caught in the
darkness of injustice and violence. May we always live in your spirit so that
we too, like Jesus, might bring compassion, healing and hope to a world caught
in the grip of the spirits of fear, hatred, anger, violence and injustice!
Amen!
Runner's Thought: As you run look
for good in the world that you pass by, look for good in the people you
encounter, sense the good in you and know you do not run alone!
Daily Blessing: To all around
the world who celebrate the Epiphany today – Happy Epiphany! To all who find
strength and draw upon the spirit of Br. André on this the Feast of St. André
Bessette, especially religious brothers – Happy Feast Day! To all struggle with
the cold weather, the snow, the ice, lack of power and whatever else nature is throwing
at you – I pray you will hang in there and make it to better times! To all I
pray that you have a blessed and holy day and may you encounter only the Spirit
of God in your work, your travels and your living of life! Peace in Christ's
Passion...Fr. Paul
PS On Thursday this week I will be
giving a Day of Recollection at the Bishop Molloy Passionist Retreat House in
Jamaica, New York. The day runs from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm with a Talk, Time
for Reconciliation, Lunch and Mass all for only $30 and you get me too! What a
deal! If you are interested please contact the Retreat House and make a
reservation (718-739-1229) or go to their web site www.bishopmolloy.org. Hope to
see you there if you are in the area!
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