Daily Thoughts: I have two
disconnected thoughts today about our readings. The first is a nostalgic one
involving the first reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes (3: 1-11). This is
one of my favorite passages from scripture not necessarily because of what it
says but because it always takes me back to some of the earliest moments of my
vocation. The words of this passage from the Book of Ecclesiastes were made
rather famous in the 1960s first by Pete Seeger and perhaps more so by the
Byrds in songs they recorded. It is the version by the Byrds is the one that I
best remember.
It was probably a Saturday morning
sometime in 1966 or 1967. I was in seventh grade and had shared with my father
that I thought I might want to become a priest someday. So not long after
sharing this he took me to the Passionist Monastery, St. Paul of the Cross
Monastery, which overlooked the city of Pittsburgh. He introduced me to a
Passionist by the name of Fr. Robert Dacien Forand, C.P., Fr. Robert was one of
the vocation directors for the Passionists and he ran a vocation club that met
once a month at the monastery.
The first Saturday morning that I
attended the club Fr. Robert had a prayer service during which he played the
song, Turn, Turn, Turn by the Byrds.
As the song played sides were projected on a screen of images that reflected
the words being sung. It was an experience of the presence of God that I had
never encountered before and have never forgotten. I have always looked to that
experience as the beginning of my vocation as a Passionist, a priest and a preacher.
I have always been truly grateful to Fr. Robert Dacien for helping God and the
Passionist to come alive in my life. Everything truly does have its appointed
time!
My second reflection today flows out of
this first reading into the Gospel for today, (Luke 9: 18-22). Living in New
York it has been hard this summer not being caught up in Derek Jeter’s farewell
tour. Now I am not a Yankee fan, I have always been a Pittsburgh Pirate fan, a
National League fan, but I have to admit that during my 18 years of living in
the Bronx and now Pelham I have come to respect and at times root for the
Yankees because of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. During my time living in the
Bronx they became two of the faces of baseball and all that is good about it
for me.
The greatest player in baseball, for me,
will always be Roberto Clemente and I will always be a diehard Pirate fan but
at a time when it is hard to find good in sports. When the day to day news
about sports is often negative, I truly believe Derek Jeter was a man, a player
of class, integrity and dignity. I know that I don’t know him and he could be a
real jerk outside of baseball but something tells me he isn’t and even though
there have been many who have disliked his farewell tour I have very much
enjoyed it.
In the Gospel today, Jesus asks two
questions of his disciples, “Who do the crowds say that I am? and Who do you
say that I am?” I might be stretching things here but in a way over the last
six months of the baseball season we may have been asking ourselves the same
thing about Derek Jeter. I am not comparing Derek Jeter to Jesus! I am just
saying that a small part of this baseball season has been about, at least for
me, defining who Derek Jeter is. Celebrating what he has been for baseball over
the last twenty years. Perhaps looking at his twenty year career in the major
leagues and realizing he has been a great player, not the best, depending on
how one defines the best, but a great player who has touched the lives of many
by the way he played the game.
In the Gospel, the disciples tried to
define who Jesus was for them and Peter was able to get it right, Jesus was and
is “The Christ of God.” It was important for the disciples to come to know
Jesus in this way because of where their journey with him was headed, the Cross
and Calvary. They needed to begin to see Jesus as he truly was in order to make
the journey with him. With Jesus there was truly a time for everything under
the heavens, an appointed time.
The same is true for us. In our journey
of faith we need to come to know who Jesus is in our life. We like Peter need
to know him as “The Christ of God” because of where our journey is going and
the things we will face with Jesus. There have been and will continue to be
many crosses and many Calvarys.
So today I would just like to say thank
you Fr. Robert Dacien Forand, C.P., Derek Jeter, Sts. Cosmas and Damian, the
saints we celebrate today, for answering your appointed times but most
importantly thank you Jesus for being “The Christ of God” and for your
continuing your appointed time in our lives!
Have a great Friday everyone!
Daily Prayer:
Loving God,
We have no idea where we are going.
We do not see the road ahead of us.
We cannot know for certain where it will
end.
Nor do we really know ourselves,
and the fact that we think we are
following your will
does not mean that we are actually doing
so.
But we believe that the desire to please
you
does in fact please you.
And we hope we have that desire in all
that we are doing.
We hope that we will never do anything
apart for that desire.
And we know that if we do this
you will lead us by the right road
though we may know nothing about it.
Therefore we will trust you always
though we may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death.
We will not fear, for you are ever with
us,
and you will never leave us
to face my perils alone. Amen!
(Adapted from a prayer by Thomas Merton)
A Runner’s Thoughts: “How can one
learn to know oneself? Never by introspection, rather by action.” (Johann
Wolfgang Von Goethe) So to in the spiritual life…introspection can help us see
things about ourselves but it is our actions, through prayer and service of
others that will really help us to know ourselves!
Daily Blessing: Friday greetings
to all! I hope your day has started off well. It is a beautiful day here in Pelham
and I hope the same is true for you. I certainly enjoy these early fall days
the night are cool and the days sunny and energizing!
For my prayer of blessing for all of you
today is this – As you journey through this day may you be blessed with Christ
within you, with Christ behind you, with Christ before you, with Christ beside
you, with Christ to comfort and restore you, with Christ beneath you, with
Christ above you, with Christ in your quiet moments, with Christ in your
moments of struggle, with Christ in the hearts of all who love you, with Christ
within of all your friends and every person you meet. May the presence of
Christ’s be within you and bless your day, Amen!
I hope you will have a great Friday and
that you encounter many blessings today and much peace. May you be graced by
God in whatever you do and may you bring God’s grace to whomever you meet!
Work, pray, travel, study, laugh, cry, talk, be silent, be intense or relax
today rich in the blessing and presence of God. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr.
Paul
