Daily Thoughts - 02/15/2014

Daily Thought: A few thoughts for a Saturday…

“Faith is not for overcoming obstacles; it is for experiencing them—all the way through!” (Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM)

“Instead of imposing new obligations, (Christians) should appear as people who wish to share their joy, who point to a horizon of beauty and who invite others to a delicious banquet.” (Pope Francis)

“Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential.

Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.” (Blessed John XXIII)

“If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.” (Meister Eckhart)

Have a great Saturday everyone!

Daily Prayer:

Dear God,

I am so afraid to open my clenched fists!

Who will I be when I have nothing left to hold on to?

Who will I be when I stand before you with empty hands?

Please help me to gradually open my hands

and to discover that I am not what I own,

but what you want to give me.” (Henri J.M. Nouwen)

Runner’s Thoughts: "It's important to know that at the end of the day it's not the medals you remember. What you remember is the process -- what you learn about yourself by challenging yourself, the experiences you share with other people, the honesty the training demands -- those are things nobody can take away from you whether you finish twelfth or you're an Olympic Champion." (Silken Laumann, Canadian Olympian)

Daily Blessing: I hope everyone had a nice Valentine’s Day! This morning I will be leaving Punta Gorda for Inverness, FL where I will begin a mission this evening. I will be at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Inverness. Please keep the faith community of Our Lady of Fatima and their preacher in your prayers this coming week!

I hope those of you in the Midwest, Northeast and any other place where the weather has been brutal will be getting a break soon. I have to say it has been a gift being here in Florida this last week. I pray that warmth will come to all of our lives soon!

As I set out on my journey today I will pray as I drive that God will bless us all in our endeavors today and that life today and every day will be rich with the gift of God’s presence, a presence we will find in the world around us, in the people we meet and in ourselves. Have a great Saturday and a great weekend everyone. Don’t forget to get God a little time too! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 02/14/2014

Daily Thoughts: Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! A few thoughts about love…

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” (Mother Teresa)

“The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.” (Elie Wiesel)

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.” (C.S. Lewis)

“The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image.” (Thomas Merton)

“Let us not forget: we are a pilgrim church, subject to misunderstanding, to persecution, but a church that walks serene, because it bears the force of love.” (Archbishop Oscar A. Romero)

The measure of love is to love without measure.” (St. Francis de Sales)

“Always tell of God's love. If necessary, use words. ” (St. Francis of Assisi)

“Agape, the love of each one of us for the other, from the closest to the furthest, is in fact the only way that Jesus has given us to find the way of salvation and of the Beatitudes.”  (Pope Francis)

“Love casts out fear.” (1 John 4:18)

“Time is

 Too Slow for those who Wait,

 Too Swift for those who Fear,

 Too Long for those who Grieve,

 Too Short for those who Rejoice;

 But for those who Love,

 Time is not.” (Henry van Dyke)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Blessings upon all your loves today!

Daily Prayer: Almighty and ever-loving God, look with compassion on our humanness, on all our struggles and weaknesses. Strengthen us for the journey ahead. Give us the wisdom to follow your call. Enliven us with the grace to be repairers and restorers of your love. Help us to be people of hope and to bring that hope to all we meet. Amen!

Runner's Thought: As we run today let us think of our breathing as inhaling God and exhaling extraneous thoughts, ideas and struggles. Let us allow all those thoughts that are buzzing about in our heads to move through our bodies and be expelled through our breath so that God has more space to be within us!

Daily Blessings: Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

And a special shout out to Sophie Ann Stawick who came into the world yesterday. Blessings upon her, her brother, her mom and dad!

May all of you celebrate with your loved ones today, especially the most important loved ones in your life!

For me this is a day to remember all the many people who have brought the gift of love into my life.

I offer a special prayer of blessing for all of us today and I also remember those who have passed on who were such important teachers of love in our lives. I truly hope and pray that all of us will have a wonderful day gifted and blessed with many moments of love and many people we love! Blessings today and always! Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 02/13/2014

Daily Thoughts: Where is your heart? This might be the question that connects our two readings today. In the first reading from the Book of Kings (1 Kings 11: 4-13) Solomon’s heart is in the wrong place. It is not with God, it is with the world around him. He has given his heart of other things. In the Gospel (Mark 7: 24-30) even though the woman a Greek, a Syrophoenican by birth her heart was with God. In placing her heart with God her daughter is healed.

The focus of these readings today remind me of a verse in Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 6: 21) “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” In other words what we find important, what we place value in, what is the focus of our life that is where you will find your heart.

Solomon finds importance in other gods, in the things of the world that is where he puts his heart. The woman in the Gospel put God at the center of her life that is where her heart is and she is blessed with the healing of her daughter.  Perhaps our question for today is – What is important to us? Where is our heart? Is it with God?

Have a great Thursday everyone – even if you are snow bound!

Daily Prayer: O God of Life, as we stand before the roads that this day presents to us. Enliven us with the wisdom to choose the road of life. As we walk this road less travel keep us ever mindful that we are not alone that you walk with us. Strengthen us for the crosses, the challenges of this road. Grace us with the hope that we will always find your presence, your forgiveness, your mercy, your truth and your love as we make this journey. May we place our hearts with you so that we will always choose the road of life and let it make all the difference in our lives and in the lives of all we meet today and always! Amen!

Runner’s Thoughts: Perhaps as we run today we too should choose the road less traveled: the road of awareness as we run, the road of revelation as we run, the road of intention as we run, the road of mindfulness as we run, the road of imagination as we run, the road of prayer as we run. Today let's pick a road we have not traveled lately and let it make a difference in our life today!

Daily Blessing: Happy Thursday everyone! We had a great closing to the mission last night in spite of the storm that blew through Punta Gorda last night at about 6:30 pm. We had thunder, lightning, heavy winds and lots of rain. My opening thought for the people who were able to make it was, “At least it is not snow and ice!” I know many of you dealt with snow and ice yesterday and many others are dealing with it today. My prayers are with you and I hope you will be safe and the storm will quickly pass!

In spite of the weather I hope your week is going well. I send a special shout out to Erica today who perhaps at some moment today will bring a wonderful new life into the world. May she and her new child be blessed today or whenever the little chooses to arrive. I also pray for all pregnant mothers today especially Erica, her sister Alexis and my niece Sarah. May God truly be with them!

I pray that all of us feel the support of God’s presence with us today no matter where we find ourselves or what this day holds for us. May God bless us with many encounters of his presence as we journey through this day. As always I pray for God’s blessings upon all of us today that whether in balance or not we may find the gift of God’s touch in our lives; the touch of healing if we need it, but most importantly the touch of love to carry us through the day. Have a great day everyone. Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 02/12/2014

Daily Thoughts: Today, like yesterday our Gospel (Mark 7: 14-23) focuses on the essential and the non-essentials. What is essential for a person of faith is how they live from their heart. In other word the essence of a person is what is in their heart.

Thomas Merton once wrote that “You can tell a saint by the way he [or she] sits and stands, by the way he [or she] picks things up and hold them in his [or her] hands.” I think Merton was getting at what Jesus was talking about in the Gospel today that being what we are on the outside is determined from what we hold in our hearts.

The Queen of Sheba in our first reading today (1 Kings 10: 1-10) was impressed by Solomon’s wisdom and how he lived his life. His relationship with God showed in his court, his servants, his hospitality and his prayer. The queen was able to encounter God because Solomon shared his heart.

Our challenge today is to be people of the heart. It is to ground our life in our relationship with God. The world around us cannot hurt us if we are grounded in and live by the Spirit of God.

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, help us in the midst of our busy day to see what is truly holy, life giving, and of you and strengthen us so that we will always hold what is holy, live giving and of you in our hearts. Help us to find the time today to be grateful for your gifts and your presence in our life. Bless us this day so that our life will truly reflect your love. Amen!

Runner’s Thoughts: Run with your heart and remember the little miracles of God that we encounter during a run are not because we finish but are because we find the courage to begin!

Daily Blessing: I hope everyone is having a good Hump Day! I have to say that it is another beautiful day here in Punta Gorda. I know that my sharing this is no consolation to those of your fighting the winter weather once again. Let me just say my prayers are with you and I will enjoy the day for you! 

We are into our final day of the mission. As I posted last night there continues to be a great spirit here. As I was listening to the first reading at mass this morning
I couldn’t help but relate to the Queen of Sheba’s reaction to all that she encountered during her stay with Solomon, she was breathless. Over these last few days I have been breathless because of the faith of the community here at Sacred Heart! 

My prayer of blessing today is that I pray for God’s blessings upon all of us as we journey through the rest of this day. May all that we do be successful, life giving, safe and help us to enter an evening that will be restful and gifted with peace and love and may we all be blessed with a restful and peaceful night everyone!

Please continue to prayer for the faith community here at Sacred Heart and for their preacher. I would also ask prayers for a friend of my niece, Sarah. Her name is Jenn and she gave birth to a beautiful little daughter yesterday but then also lost her mother on the same day. What joy and what sorrow. Please say a prayer of blessing for the new little addition to Jenn’s family and say a pray of comfort for Jenn and the rest of her family as they grieve the loss of her mother. Every little prayer helps! Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 02/11/2014

Daily Thoughts: Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. Lourdes has always been regarded as a place of peace, a place connected with the sick and struggling.  I have always heard it is a remarkable place and I hope to visit Lourdes this coming August.

I feast focuses us on Mary, our first reading (1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30) focuses us on the temple that Solomon builds for God and our Gospel focuses us on the fact that the Pharisees and scribes the religious leaders of Jesus’ time put more importance on the accidentals of life rather than the essentials. I think our feast and each of our readings have something to say to us today.

Certainly pause to honor Mary is always a good thing to do. Today we honor her visit to Lourdes back in the middle of the 19^th century to a simple little girl named Bernadette. We also honor the ongoing give of healing through Mary that has taken place in Lourdes since her appearance. I am always very much aware of the role Mary has played in my own family’s life. My father visited Lourdes during World War II and asked Mary for a special favor. He asked Mary to keep him safe so that he could return home to my mother and beginning a family. He dedicated his first female child to Mary and asked he would name her Bernadette. My father made it home, my sister’s name is Bernadette and thanks to my mother and father my sister, my brother and I were given the gift of life. Mary is truly a special person.

In our first reading Solomon dedicates the temple but reminds the people and reminds us that God is much larger than any building. A temple, a church, a chapel are sacred and holy places to go but we must always remember that God is much larger than any building, any place. We must always remember that God is always with us, God is always within us!

And final our Gospel reminds us that there are essentials in faith and there are non-essentials. We need to be able to recognize what is important and what is not. Sometimes we forget or we place more importance on the non-essentials than on the essentials. Both Mary and Solomon remind us what is important the presence of God. The Pharisees and scribes always seem to remind us what is not.

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Daily Prayer: O God, through the intercession of Mary, under her title of Our Lady of Lourdes, grace us with the gift of your goodness, your healing and your love. Help us to be people of the Light.  Give us the courage to live this day amidst the craziness that this world often creates. Bless us with the hope that in living life today when evening comes you will help us to say how good it is! Amen!

Runner’s Thoughts: Run in a new place today, for new places can stretch our capacity for finding the presence of God as we run!

Daily Blessing: Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope this finds you well and not struggling too much with weather or the stresses of life. As I posted last night our mission here at Sacred Heart has gotten off to a wonderful start. The crowd last night was overwhelming at least to me. This parish has a wonderful spirit and I sensed God’s Spirit alive and active within the community last night. We move into our second day today and I am very excited! Please keep the faith community at Sacred Heart and their preacher in your prayers.

Please also keep in your prayer Fr. Tom Joyce, C.P. and his family and friends. Fr. Tom died last Friday evening after a long struggle with Parkinson's. He was a great Passionist, an early mentor in my priestly life and a friend. He was pastor of our Immaculate Conception Parish in Jamaica, NY for over 25 years. His family, friends and the Passionist are in the middle of his time of wake today and his funeral will be tomorrow. I know Fr. Tom is now at peace please pray for his family, friends and the Passionists as we mourn his loss.

My prayer of blessing is once again simple I pray today for God’s blessing upon all of us and I pray in the hope everyone will have a great Tuesday. However if our day has started slow, or disorganized, or in a panic, may we not worry and may it all come together by day's end! If our day started with peace and purpose may these two graces see us through to the end of the day! If our day started with struggle and tension may we find moments of peace and calm that sustain us through the day. If our day has started without God, may we let God find us so that we will not walk and work alone! And may Mary’s healing and loving presence be a blessing for us today too. Blessings to all! Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul