Daily Thoughts: “We ask Mary
that, as the first disciple, she teach us to remain watching, that she
accompany us in patience, strengthen us in hope; we ask that she lead us
towards the meeting with her Risen Son; that she free us from fear, so that we
can hear the announcement of the angel... to announce it to others who need it
so much.” (Pope Francis)
These words from Pope Francis help us to
reflect on Mary’s place in our life especially as we celebrate the Feast of Our
Lady of Sorrows today. Yes, Mary experienced much in her life. She carried the
awesome responsibility of being the Mother of Jesus. She encounter moments of
great sorrow throughout her life, however Mary in many ways is our go to
person. She was human, a person just like us who had great strength, great
patience and great hope in the midst of a life filled with sorrow,
disappointment and pain.
Mary, particularly as Our Lady of
Sorrows, is an example, a grace and a blessing to us as we journey through our
own struggles in life. Perhaps something else that Pope Francis said best
reflects the gift of Mary in our life - “To be faithful, to be creative, we
need to be able to change. To change! And why must I change? So that I can
adapt to the situations in which I must proclaim the Gospel. To stay close to
God, we need to know how to set out; we must not be afraid to set out.” (Pope
Francis)
Mary certainly was faithful. Mary
certainly was willing to change in order to adapt to the situations of her
life. She stayed close to God and was not afraid to set out and proclaim the
Gospel of her Son!
Have a great Monday afternoon everyone!
Daily Prayer:
Mary, woman of listening, open our ears;
grant us to know how to listen to the word of your Son Jesus among the
thousands of words of this world; grant that we may listen to the reality in
which we live, to every person we encounter, especially those who are poor, in
need, in hardship. Mary, woman of decision, illuminate our mind and our heart
so that we may obey, unhesitating, the word of your Son Jesus; give us the courage
to decide, not to let ourselves be dragged along, letting others direct our
life. Mary, woman of action, [may] our hands and feet move “with haste” toward
others, to bring them the charity and love of your Son Jesus, to bring the
light of the gospel to the world, as you did. Amen. (From Pope Francis)
A Runner’s Thoughts: I often hear
someone say I'm not a real runner. We are all runners, some just run faster
than others. I never met a fake runner.
(Bart Yasso) Might we also say this about people of faith? It is easy to
judge, but we never know what is in a person’s heart. With that said I have
never met a fake person of faith!
Daily Blessing: Happy Monday
everyone! I hope your weekend when well and that you find yourself on this
Monday afternoon in the midst of a good day! I am moving a bit slow today as it
was a busy weekend for me. The retreat for women at the Franciscan Renewal
Center in Bethlehem, PA went very well. As I mentioned a couple of times over
the weekend it was a very nice group of women and it looks like they might be
inviting me back which means one of two things; either they need to do more
penance or I did pretty good! All in all it was a great weekend in a very
beautiful place.
Today I have just been trying to catch
up on paper work, wash and other things that I can only do when I am at home. I
get the chance to be home for a couple of weeks before hitting the road again.
I have a few ministry commitments during the two weeks but nothing that puts me
on the road again until Monday September 29th.
As I began my day today I prayed for all
of you as you began your journey through this day. My pray was that it would be
a good journey. I prayed that you would live by faith today and trust in the
gift that you are. I prayed that God would recognize your faithfulness and
bless you as he blessed Mary with the gift of strength and faithfulness. I
prayed that if you find yourself in the midst of struggles and sorrow that through
the intercession of Mary, God will bless you with the patience and hope that will
see you through this day and always. Blessings this afternoon upon all you do,
upon everyone you meet and most importantly upon all of you! Peace in Christ’s
Passion…Fr. Paul
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