Daily Thoughts: “The Kingdom of
God is among you.” These are Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel (Luke 17:20-25).
What do they mean?
On the one hand Jesus could be talking
about himself. He is the Kingdom of God at that moment. The religious leaders
are looking around for God and signs of God yet God is in their midst. The
Kingdom of God is among them and they are missing it!
Another way of looking at Jesus’ words
is that Jesus does not say that the Kingdom of God is in us or above us or
around us; Jesus says the Kingdom is among us. Perhaps Jesus is saying that
none of us alone possesses the Kingdom of God. Each of us shares in the
Kingdom, thus we need each other for the Kingdom to be fully appreciated.
With this in these two understandings of
Jesus’ words today our challenge is to be on the lookout for marks of the
Kingdom. We need to be on the lookout for the presence of Jesus in our life.
And what will help us not miss the marks of the Kingdom and the presence of
Jesus? Well as St. Paul in our first reading tells us (Philm 7-20) by
refreshing our hearts in Chrtist!
Have a wise and wonderful Thursday
everyone!
Daily Prayer: O God of all
wisdom, hear our prayer today, as we call upon your spirit of wisdom, and grace
us with your spirit of wisdom so that we may know and understand what things we
ought to do and say. Touch us with your presence so that we may have grace and
power to faithfully accomplish all that is put in front of us today. We make
our prayer through Jesus Christ our loving Savior, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
A Runner’s Thoughts: “I run because
it's so symbolic of life. You have to drive yourself to overcome the obstacles.
You might feel that you can't. But then you find your inner strength, and
realize you're capable of so much more than you thought.” (Arthur Blank) So to
in the spiritual life…
Daily Blessing: Happy Thursday
everyone! I am back! Yes, it has been almost ten days since I unplugged! Cormaria
Retreat House in Sag Harbor, New York is a wonderful place and I have to say
that with the exception of one day, last Thursday when it rained all day, the
weather was just awesome! I ran every day and I had a lot of quiet time with
God looking out over the bay. There were beautiful sunrises and sunsets and
reflective walks through the town. It was a great time of retreat and I feel
very refreshed. Thanks for all your prayers during my retreat please know you
were in my prayer throughout my time of quiet prayer!
I hope your day has started off well? If
not remember you are in my prayers throughout the day in the hope by the end of
this day you will have encounter the presence of God that will make all the
difference.
My prayer of blessing for all us today
is – Loving God, giver of all good gifts, bless us today with hearts that love
you, so that by deepening our sense of respect and reverence for you we may
nurture within ourselves and others only what is good. Bless us with your
watchful care throughout this day so that wherever we go and whatever we do it
will be for you. Bring us home safe to those we love that we might celebrate
the gift of family, of friendship, of community, of your love so that our sleep
will be restful and we will be energized to welcome you tomorrow! Blessings
upon everyone as you journey through this day! It is good to be back connected
with you. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul
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