Daily Thoughts - 07/26/2014

Daily Thoughts: Two things to think about as you journey through your day… “The greatest disease in the West today is not TB or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love. There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for a little love. The poverty in the West is a different kind of poverty -- it is not only a poverty of loneliness but also of spirituality. There's a hunger for love, as there is a hunger for God.” ― Blessed Mother Teresa, A Simple Path: Mother Teresa

“When I first found out I had cancer, I didn't know what to pray for. I didn't know if I should pray for healing or life or death. Then I found peace in praying for what my folks call, 'God's perfect will.' As it evolved, my prayer has become, 'Lord, let me live until I die.' By that I mean I want to live, love, and serve fully until death comes. If that prayer is answered, how long really doesn't matter. Whether it's just a few months or a few years is really immaterial.” ― Sister Thea Bowman

Happy Feast of Sts. Ann and Joachim everyone!

Daily Prayer: Give us, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; give us an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; give us an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon us also, O Lord our God, understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen! (Prayer by St. Thomas Aquinas)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “It was being a runner that mattered, not how fast or how far I could run. The joy was in the act of running and in the journey, not in the destination. We have a better chance of seeing where we are when we stop trying to get somewhere else. We can enjoy every moment of movement, as long as where we are is as good as where we'd like to be. That's not to say that you need to be satisfied forever with where you are today. But you need to honor what you've accomplished, rather than thinking of what's left to be done.” ― John Bingham

Daily Blessing: Happy Saturday everyone and Happy Feast of Sts. Ann and Joachim! It is a busy day here at St. Ann’s. I was hearing confessions at 7:30 am this morning and the masses and service are many throughout the day with the closing at 7:30 pm. I will keep you all in my prayers as we each live this day trying to celebrate what the day offers us. May God’s blessing be upon all today especially on the gift of family as we celebrate the Feast of Sts. Ann and Joachim. A special blessing upon all grandparents today as Ann and Joachim were the grandparents of Jesus! Have a great day and may God bless your journey through this day and always! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 07/25/2014

Daily Thoughts: I have to say that today’s first reading on this Feast of St. James from St. Paul (2Cor. 4:7-15) is one of my all-time favorites. Paul uses the image of “earthen vessels” to talk about himself and us in terms of our relationship with God. Paul says we hold the treasure of our faith, the presence of God, in earthen vessels, in other words in us. Now some say Paul us talking about large water jugs, others say he was referring to terracotta lamps, either way it is a striking image. Within the fragility of this human condition we carry the gift of God.

What a wonderful way to think about ourselves. I have often thought about reading this little passage from St. Paul each morning upon getting up, what a way to enter a new day knowing that I carry within me the presence of God. Knowing that I am not perfect, that I am cracked, chipped, scratched, in other words I am human yet I have this wonderful gift within me.

Paul goes on to say life is tough however because of the gift we have within us things will be ok. We will get through the trials and tribulations of life because of the power of God, the friendship of God.

So as we journey through this day let us be reminded that we are earthen vessels, fragile, imperfect, at times struggling but we are also blessed with a great gift within us, the presence, the grace, the love of God. And when we face the struggles, difficulties and challenges that life throws at us the power of this gift within us will see us through.

Happy Feast of St. James everyone!

Daily Prayer:

Loving God we pray:

that through the glorious Apostle, Saint James,

who by reason of his fervent and generous heart was chosen by Jesus

to be witness of Christ’s glory on Mount Tabor, and agony in Gethsemane.

May James, whose very name means one who steps into the shoes of another and one who follows, help us to obtain this day the strength and compassion we need to be followers of Jesus. May St. James be our inspiration today and we step into the shoes of Jesus and bring the gift, the treasure of God to all we meet. Amen.

A Runner’s Thoughts: Two thoughts for runners today… “Believe me, the reward is not so great without the struggle.” (Wilma Rudolph) and “Every day, I stop halfway through my run for five minutes, look around, and enjoy the surroundings. I'm reminded of why I do this and why I love it so much.” (Anita Ortiz) Both of these reflections can also be applied to our journey through life and people of faith!

Daily Blessing: TGIF everyone and Happy Feast of St. James especially to all those with the name James! I hope your day has started off well and that it will be blessed in a special way as you journey through it. If you are finding life a struggle today please know as always you are in my prayers and I will say a special prayer that it gets at least a little better as the day goes on.

The weather is beautiful here in northeastern Pennsylvania. It looks to be a beautiful day on this the ninth day of the novena here at St. Ann’s. We will be finishing up tomorrow with the feast day and I will be heading back to New York on Sunday morning. Once home I will begin preparations for my journey to Lourdes which will begin on August 4^th. It has been a wonderful novena, very spirit filled yet I have to say it will be nice to finish tomorrow. I hope you are enjoying good weather wherever you are and that today will be a day to enjoy!

Have a great day and once again may God bless you with a strong and joy filled faith so that you will always believe in the treasure that you carry within you and that you are! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 07/24/2014

Daily Thoughts: “A skilled listener can help people tap into their own wisdom.”

(Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM) We might apply this thought to our readings today. In my reflection I sense our readings, especially the Gospel (Matthew 13: 10-17) focus on the difference between hearing and listening.

We all hear unless we have some physical impediment to hearing but often we fail to listen. I believe that is what Jesus is getting at in the Gospel. People hear his parables but they don’t listen to them. They don’t take them to prayer. They don’t reflect on them and thus they miss the point of them. We can always hear things as Isaiah is quoted in the Gospel but unless we listen we will not understand.

Jesus is teaching his disciples to listen. Jesus is teaching us to listen. I very much enjoy using the parables of Jesus when I preach because if we really listen to them that have a lot to tell us. Often, if not always when I use a parable in my preaching I learn something new because while preaching I am also listening.

Jesus was certainly a skilled listener, the most skilled listener and that is why he helps us tap into the wisdom that God graces us with each day, all we have to do is listen!

Have a great Thursday everyone! Take some time to listen so that through your wisdom you can make a joyful noise with your life!

Daily Prayer:

Loving God we pray;

We hold a treasure - Not made of gold - In earthen vessels, wealth untold

One treasure only, the Lord, the Christ - In earthen vessels.

Light has shown in our darkness - God has shown in our hearts

With the light of the glory - Of Jesus the Lord.

We hold a treasure - Not made of gold - In earthen vessels, wealth untold

One treasure only, the Lord, the Christ - In earthen vessels.

He has chosen the lowly - Who are small in this world

In his weakness His Glory -In Jesus the Lord

We hold a treasure - Not made of gold - In earthen vessels, wealth untold

One treasure only, the Lord, the Christ - In earthen vessels.

Loving God help us to believe and live these words today and always! Amen!

(Words from Earthen Vessels by John Foley, S.J.)

A Runner’s Thoughts: As prayerful runners let us not run with a sense of expectation that something significant will happen spiritually. Let us run only asking that our run be in the presence of God and that we will run with a heightened awareness of God’s presence. If we run this way occasionally insights will come our way and we might feel a special closeness to God, but usually we will simply know that we are not running alone and we will carry with us the sense of a shared journey long after we have finished our run! (Adapted from Running the Spiritual Path by Roger Joslin)

Daily Blessing: Happy Thursday everyone! I hope your day has started off well and that it will be blessed in a special way as you journey through it. If you are finding life a struggle today please know as always you are in my prayers and I will say a special prayer that it gets at least a little better as the day goes on.

The weather certainly has changed here in northeastern Pennsylvania, after a strong last night we are to be in the 60’s and 70’s today. The humidity is gone and there is a great breeze. It looks to be a beautiful day on this the eighth day of the novena here at St. Ann’s. It has been a wonderful novena so far, very spirit filled. I hope you are enjoying good weather wherever you are and that today will be one to enjoy!

Have a great day and may God bless you in a special way today with a strong faith to believe in the treasure that you carry within you and that you are! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 07/23/2014

Daily Thoughts: “Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, [humankind] will have discovered fire.” (Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J.) This is one of my favorite quotes and I thought of it today in terms of the Gospel (Matt. 13:1-9). Perhaps in a different way Jesus is saying to us that when we can get past all the things that seem to get in the way of our relationship with God we will discover love, the good soil. The things of the world are enticing but it is God’s love that makes all the difference!

Have a great Wednesday everyone and don't forget to make a joyful noise with your life today!

Daily Prayer:

Take, Lord, receive all my liberty, my memory, understanding, and my entire will.

Antiphon - Give me only Your love and Your grace, that's enough for me. Your love and Your grace, are enough for me.

Take, Lord, receive all I have and possess. You have given all to me, now I return it. (Antiphon)

Take, Lord, receive, all is Yours now. Dispose of it, wholly according to Your will. (Antiphon) – (Song by John Foley, S.J. based on prayer by Saint Ignatius of Loyola)

A Runner’s Thoughts:  Bart Yasso of Runner’s World says, “Never limit where running can take you. I mean that geographically, spiritually, and of course, physically.” And I say especially spiritually!

Daily Blessing: Happy Wednesday Everyone! I hope your “Hump Day” has started off well and that you will find the rest of the week downhill so to speak.

It is the seventh day of the novena here at St. Ann’s and all continues to go well. The two preachers are doing a great job and today we have a healing mass at which the Sacrament of the Sick is administered. It is always a moving experience for me. Please continue to keep us in your prayers and know that you are in my prayers each day. 

The weather has certainly changed as it has become hot and humid, there are lots of clouds and they are talking about storms this afternoon or evening. But the good news is that it will turn cooler again tomorrow

I hope your week is going well and that you are encountering interesting things in your own life. We all cannot be celebrities or travel around the world but all of our lives are important and special. All of our lives give us the chance to encounter God and bring God to others all of our lives are a gift!

May God's blessings be upon your life today and as you live out this day may you come to know that you are loved and that you bring the love and grace of God to others. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 07/22/2014

Daily Thoughts: Today is the feast of St. Mary Magdalene. She is referred to as the Apostle to the Apostles. Mary was the first proclaimer of the resurrection a story we read today from John’s Gospel (John 20: 1-2, 11-18). The interesting thing about Mary’s encounter with Jesus is that at first she does not recognize him. You might think that after following Jesus for so long it would be hard not to recognize him.

Now some might say it was because of his resurrected body but I think it was because Mary did not expect to see Jesus alive.  Have you ever been in a situation when you did not expect to see someone? When the person surprises us with their presence there always seems to be a moment when we don’t recognize them. They haven’t changes, they are the same person but our eyes and brain just were not expecting them. Then they do or say something that is familiar and we recognize them. It doesn’t make sense  and once we realize our mistake, we wonder how we did not recognize her or him but yet it happened.

The element of surprise can often catche us off guard. Perhaps today that is a good way to think about the presence of God in our life. We have a God of surprises and at any moment of our day God can walk into our midst. Are we ready? Or will we miss the moment because we are not expecting God to be there?

Through the intersession of St. Mary Magdalene may we be open today to be surprised by God! Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Daily Prayer: God of surprises, we thank you for the gift of your presence in our life today. We thank you for the way you bring us to new life in ways that surprise us, liberate us, celebrate us and give us hope.

We ask you to be presence in our life today; helping us to show that here and now, you are at work bringing healing, wholeness, and justice and that by the grace of your Holy Spirit of love, we your people may share in the surprising work of your presence today.

God surprise us today with your hope and love that we may be your faith filled people who proclaim the Good News to a world that does expect to encounter your love. Surprise us today, God! Amen!

A Runner’s Thoughts: Remember running is an opportunity to search for God amid the commonplace, humdrum and ordinary activities that most often occupy our life. That is ultimately the point of meditative running – we are trying to find a way to mix the mundane with the mystical, to blend the sacred with the profane, to find heaven on earth. If running is sacred time to us then we have the opportunity to encounter the gift of God while we run! (Adapted from Roger Joslin – Running the Spiritual Path)

Daily Blessing: Happy Tuesday everyone! Sorry that I have been absent these last few days but I have been under the weather, I guess it is a summer cold and I have been taking care of my responsibilities here at the novena and laying low the rest of the time. The novena here at St. Ann’s is in high gear. Please know that I have brought all of the intentions that you have sent to me to my prayers at the novena each day. If there are any new intentions that you would like to add please let me know.

A special shout out to my newest grandniece Natalie Ann (note it is Ann without the “e” I was mistaken in my earlier post. I hope she is doing well in these first few days outside the womb and finding life and family wonderful! Blessings upon Mom (Sarah) and Dad (Dominick) and also upon Gram (Bernadette) as she assists in these early days of Natalie’s new life! Please give the “Little One” a hug and kiss from me!

I hope you are having a good week. May this Tuesday be one of many graces and blessings for you and those you love. May God bless you today with many wonderful surprises so that you will know you are loved and that you always make the world a better place by the gift of your presence! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul