Daily Thoughts: As I pondered
the Gospel (Mark 3: 22-30) early this morning a thought came to mind, though I
am not sure it is a theological thought anyone would agree with me on. When I read
Jesus' answer to the charge that "He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “By
the prince of demons he drives out demons,” I thought about our world, our
country and our Church. We seem to be a house divided a lot of the time.
Certainly we seem to be divided in our country on many levels, especially
politically and we are divided in our Church on many levels. Does this mean we
are doomed to failure? Is there no hope?
Well I think the answer and hope can be
found in the closing sentences of the Gospel, "Amen, I say to you, all
sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever
blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty
of an everlasting sin.”
That might not sound like a hopeful
answer but I think it is. Jesus says it is about the Spirit. I think in our
country and in our Church, yes we are divided but we are focused on the same
spirit. The divisions in our country are about how to make it better, how to be
better Americans, we all want the same thing, the same spirit, and we all want
this to be a good country we are divided on how to get there. In our Church we
are divided on many issues but we are all focused on the same Spirit, the same
God, the same end, eternal life, we are just divided on how to get there.
It is the Spirit that can give us hope
in the midst of our struggles, in the midst of our divisions as a nation and a
Church. All hope is lost if we lose the Spirit. As Jesus says if we deny the
Spirit we cannot be forgiven. Perhaps as a nation and a Church we might stop
for moment today and recognize the Spirit we all want and let the Spirit begin
to help us bridge our divisions, our differences, our struggles. Let us live
today through the Spirit of Hope who does marvelous deeds!
Have a great day everyone!
Daily Prayer: O God of all
life, direct our hearts throughout this day in your wonderful Spirit of hope.
So that we may always know it is you at the center of all we are, all we want,
and all we are meant to be. Keep us always faithful to your everlasting Spirit
of Life that we might overcome our differences and become a house united in
your Love. Amen!
Runner's Thought: Remember if you
run towards God, God runs twice as fast towards you. Thus, to draw closer to
God it is only necessary to move in God's direction!
Daily Blessing: Happy Monday
everyone! I hope you had a good, if not great, weekend. I know that many of us
are still dealing with the bitter cold and will be for a few days so as you
begin this new work week hopefully the cold will only be a minor frustration
for us and warmer temperature will come soon!
I am home for the week with a desk of
things to clear before I head back out next week for another retreat for
brothers and priests. Today I have spiritual direction and tomorrow a mass for
the Sisters of Charity. So I will not be behind my desk all week but I still
have a lot of paperwork to take care of. My prayer of blessing today is a
simple one but hopeful one that helps all of us begin a new week that will be
rich in God’s love. Many blessings on every one's day today may it be filled
with many moments of grace, hope and God's love! Peace in Christ's
Passion...Fr. Paul
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