Daily Thoughts - 10/10/2014

Daily Thoughts: I have always struggled with this passage in Luke that is our Gospel today (Luke 11:15-26). First of all if Jesus is taking the time to case out demons, why are people upset? Why are they casting a negative light on Jesus and his ministry? You would think that they would be pleased. You would think that they would be open to all the help they can get!

Perhaps the reason for their negativity is that they have become accustom, even comfortable with these demons. How does the old saying go, “The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know!” Sometimes we become comfortable with the devils that make a home in us. We look at them and begin to rationalize our encounters with the devils of our life. “They are just small problems, personal things, they really don’t hurt anyone. – Everybody does it. Everybody is doing it.”

Looking at it another way we might say that Beelzebul is the strong man who guards his palace. His possessions are hatred, anger, prejudice, greed, and injustice. Through them he tries to control the world. By ourselves, we are helpless against his power. But this parable is one of hope. It proclaims the gospel message. There is one stronger than Beelzebul who can overpower him and cast him out of our lives if we let him. Christ is our strength, who by his resurrection has defeated the power of evil. We are called to live each day in the faith that Christ can help us overcome our demons. If we do our heart becomes a place where no demons dwell only Christ. O Lord, create in us a clean heart and a faithful spirit!

Have a great day everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, give us today day the wisdom to see which things are important, and which things are not. Show us how best to use the time and talents you have given us. Help us to use all our opportunities wisely, that we may share, through service to others, the good gifts we have received from you. Amen.

A Runner’s Thoughts: “As every runner knows, running is about more than just putting one foot in front of the other; it is about our lifestyle and who we are.” (Joan Benoit Samuelson) The same can be true when we talk about faith. Faith is more than just reciting prayers or going to mass every Sunday, though like putting one foot in front of the other when we run, these rituals are important. Faith is really about how we live our life. Faith is like taking a breath. We need to breathe when we run and when we do anything else. It is the same with faith. A person of faith allies her or his faith to every aspect of life. Faith is about who we are. So today and every day let us be runners but also let us be people of faith!

Daily Blessing: Happy Friday everyone! I hope your day has started out well and that you are looking forward to a good day and a relaxing weekend.

My prayer of blessing for all of you today comes for the words of another Paul, a much great Paul than me – Today I say to all of you as you live this day: rejoice! Let me say it again: rejoice! As you live today let your kindness should be known to all. Have faith God is always near. Live today with no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, my friends in the Passion, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in the people of faith around you. If you do this then the God of peace will be with you today and always. (Adapted from the words of St. Paul to the Philippians)

Blessings to all! Have a great weekend! Peace in Christ Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 10/09/2014

Daily Thoughts: Today’s Gospel (Luke 11:5-13) encourages us to pray, to stay connect with God because God is so eager to help us. As Jesus says if a reluctant friend can be persuaded to help, how much more will God be willing to help!

As Kathleen Norris puts it, “Prayer is not asking for what you think you want, but asking to be changed in ways you can't imagine.”

Or as Blessed Mother Teresa puts it, “Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.”

Today we are asked to put ourselves in God’s hands and let God change us in ways that we cannot imagine. This does not mean that God will always give us whatever we ask but it does mean that God always hears our prayer!

Have a great day everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, we are often so afraid to open our clenched fists! If we do who will we be when if we have nothing left to hold on to? Who will we be when we stand before you with empty hands? Please help us to gradually open my hands and to discover that we are not what we own, but what you want to give us. Amen!  (Adapted from a prayer by Henri J.M. Nouwen)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, it knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're the lion or a gazelle-when the sun comes up, you'd better be running.” (Christopher McDougall) And as a friend often says…So to in the spiritual life!

Daily Blessing: Happy Thursday everyone! I hope today has started off well for you and that so far your day has been rich in God’s presence. If you are struggling take comfort that at least one friend is thinking of you, me! And that my prayer of blessing for you is that God will provide you what you need to keep the faith and live this day. And so to all my friends who will stop by this site today and even for those who won’t I ask God’s blessings upon you, your day and those most dear to you.

Loving God, bless my family, my friends and all your faithful people so that they will always live your truth; express your love by their life; share your passion by their enthusiasm; take action with your grace; walk by faith; dance and sing to the gift of your spirit and embrace your unimaginable blessings. Help them make today worth remembering because they know that you created them out of love. Have a great day everyone! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 10/08/2014

Daily Thoughts: The passage we find in Luke’s Gospel today (Luke 11:1-4) always causes me to remember my father and the morning after my ordination day. The morning after my ordination I was to celebrate mass with my family. It would be my very first mass!

I had not looked at the readings because of all the busyness leading up to my ordination day, so early that morning now some 28 plus years ago, I awakened and wandered down the hall to the retreat house chapel to look at the readings and prepared for my first mass. When I got to the Gospel I could not believe what I read. It was Matthew version of today’s Gospel about Jesus teaching his disciples to pray, specifically to pray the Our Father. I put the book down and tears welled up in my eyes and I just sat there for about an hour unable to prepare any more.

For you see the Our Father was one of the last prayers I prayed with my “Abba,” my dad, my father, before he died some four years before. It was a December night in and I was in my father’s hospital room late at night and as I was about to leave he asked me to pray with him. I was more than happy to do so and I asked him what prayer he wanted to pray and he said, “The Our Father.” I began to say the words and notice that my dad was not praying so I stopped and asked what was wrong. Dad said, “I don’t remember the words.” His illness had begun to affect his mind. So I said, “No problem” and suggested that I say a few words of the prayer and that he repeat them after me. Do you know how hard it is to say the Our Father when you have to stop and think about what you are saying? Well, we got through the prayer and dad became very peaceful and for the most part remained peaceful over the last few days of his life. I have always remembered that moment.

I had wanted my dad to see me ordained but that was not to be but on that Thursday morning I realized that he was with me and had been with me all along. I have never prayed the Our Father at mass, during the rosary or at any other time and not thought about that moment. What power there is in this simple prayer, what a gift this simple prayer is to all who pray it.

I would invite you at some moment today to pause and slowly, deliberately pray the Our Father. Listen to the words. Realize what God offers you through the words of this simple prayer and what God asks of you.

Just a little thought about the Our Father, Jesus actually uses the word, Abba, which if translated literally would be “daddy or dad.” I wish that the first translators of the prayer had used the informal rather than the formal it might have made a difference in how we think about this simple prayer today. It certain would have made the prayer more intimate!

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

Daily Prayer:

Abba, who art in heaven hallowed be your name; your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

A Runner’s Thoughts: Not just exercise, but a way to get in touch with and reclaim myself in an often fragmenting world, running also serves as a powerful antidote to clinical depression, a metaphor for the creative process, and, in its most profound moments, a spiritual practice.  (Alison Townsend)  Be spiritual today go for a run!

Daily Blessings: It is Wednesday everyone also known as “Hump Day.” Midpoint of the week and a day when all camels are happy! So let’s be happy too! If you are bogged down by struggles, problems or challenges today just pause for a moment and think of a camel walking through your office, your home or wherever you might be at this moment saying, “Guess what day it is…Guess what day it is! A smile should come to your face and perhaps that is all you will need to make it a better day.

If that doesn’t work I pray that God blesses you at some point today with a better day. And so for all of you my prayer of blessing is this – I pray that the peace of God which is beyond all understanding will keep your hearts, minds and souls in the wisdom and love of God today and always. Have a great day everyone!  Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 10/07/2014

Daily Thoughts: Here we are once again beating up poor Martha. Is that really what today Gospel is about? (Luke 10: 38-42) Is Martha really doing the wrong thing? I think not!

I have often felt that Martha has gotten a bad rap because of the way we have looked at this Gospel over the centuries. We seem to think that a person who is hardworking, hospitable and concerned about her guest is somehow less faithful, less holy than a person of formal prayer and that is just not true.

Martha is a good and faithful person, her mistake in the Gospel today is that she focuses on someone else; she is concerned about someone else is doing rather than focusing on what she is doing. If Martha had just done her work with joy, enthusiasm and unselfishness this story in Luke’s Gospel would have never taken place.

Let us for a moment reverse the roles. Suppose Mary had come to Jesus to complain about Martha. “You know Jesus she is always working, always running around being hospitable. She should stop when you come into the house and sit and listen to you!” What would Jesus have said? My guess is that he says, “Mary, Mary, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Martha has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

You see each woman in the story chooses her journey. Choose what she does best and that becomes her better part. Martha is a worker, she does it well. Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus, she listens and she does it well. There will always be tension between action and contemplation, between ministry and prayer, between work and quiet time. But the challenge is to pick what is best for us at that moment. What is our better part at each moment or stage of our life? What will help us to recognize God?

Martha and Mary remind us that there are many gifts and that each gift is important. We just need to recognize what is important for us and not be worried about what is important for others!

Have a great Tuesday everyone! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Prayer:

Just a note before I offer you a prayer for today. I would have to say that I have never been a big fan of the rosary mainly because of the communal experiences that I have had with it. People trying to out yell others, some praying fast others slow, adding prayer after prayer rather than holding to the simplicity of the rosary. This August I had the great gift of traveling to Lourdes and praying the rosary each evening I was there in the candle light procession. It was an amazing experience even though it was in many different languages. I walked away from that experience with a greater appreciation for the rosary and I realized that there have been many moments in my life when I felt like running away from God and it was the simple prayers of the rosary, the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be… that has held me in place. The rosary is often the formal prayer that I pray when running because of its simplicity and power.

Today on this Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary my thoughts return to my time in Lourdes and the celebration of the gift of the rosary as a prayer that can keep our feet grounded in God and our eyes open to the needs of others.

So for our prayer together today I offer you the opportunity to pray a simple rosary.  Just take some time to say one Our Father, ten Hail Marys and one Glory Be and pray this sequence of prayers five times. Just a simple rosary to enliven our journey through life today!

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name; Your kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with you. Blessed are you amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Glory Be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

A Runner’s Thoughts: “Running is a mental [and spiritual] sport, more than anything else. You're only as good as your training, and your training is only as good as your thinking [and your praying].” (Lauren Oliver) So take some time to think and pray today!

Daily Blessing: Happy Tuesday everyone! The weather has certainly changed the last few days here in the northeast. The sun is out but there are some clouds that hide it from time to time and the air is bit cooler. Fall is in the air and there is an energy too. It is a nice change! I hope and pray things are beautiful and energizing by you too.

I am moving a little slowly today as last night was a late night for me. I was at Madison Square Garden attending the Fleetwood Mac concert. It was a great show. I really enjoy their music. I didn’t get home until around 12:30 am and I could not go to sleep so I am dragging a bit today but it was well worth it. I am just not as young as I use to be!

May God bless you and be with you today. May God show you what is good, life giving and loving and may God’s grace help you to act justly and to love tenderly and to walk humbly with God. Amen! Have a great day everyone. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul