Daily Thoughts - 10/25/2014

Daily Thoughts: Saturday greetings and blessings to all! I will be heading to Manhattan in a little while for the 5:00 pm Mass at St. Malachy's. I have confessions at 4:30 pm followed by mass at 5 pm. Then it will be on to dinner with Fr. Michael Greene, C.P. at Maggie's Place 47th and Madison! If you are in the city and your schedule permits why not join me at St. Malachy's at 5 pm.

Remember to give God a little time this weekend! Have a great Saturday afternoon and evening everyone! Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 10/24/2014

Daily Thoughts: A I read today’s Gospel (Luke 12:54-59) as I prepared to celebrate mass this morning I could not help but think of one of my favorite says by Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J = “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, man will have discovered fire.”

Jesus seems to be saying the same thing. As human beings we seem to get caught up, become fascinated, with the things around us and in doing so we often miss the most important. We know what will happen when the wind blows out of certain direction. For example the last few days here in the east we had a northeast wind meaning it was blowing in off the ocean, so we had three days of rain and there is nothing wrong with knowing and understanding how nature works. However, Jesus’ and Fr. Teilhard de Chardin’s points are that there is something great, something more important, something more value to life and because we are busy about other things we miss it.

If as a Church, a nation, a culture, a society, a world we could put our efforts into harnessing the energies of God’s love we would discover fire for a second time in history and how important was it the first time! The energies of God’s love are all around us but we are so busy with other seemingly important things that we most often miss the chance to encounter God’s love. We miss the opportunity to make God’s love part of our lives.

My suggestion the Friday morning to all is that we take sometime today to pause and look around ourselves. Look past the obvious, the usual, the everyday. Look for the gift of God in our lives as it comes to us in so many different and life-giving ways. Discover it. Acknowledge it. Breathe it in. Embrace it. Celebrate it. Be thankful for it. And share it!

Have a great Friday everyone!

Daily Prayer: We believe, Lord, but let us believe more firmly. We hope, Lord, but let us hope more surely. We love, Lord, but let us love more warmly. We repent, Lord, but let us repent more deeply. Lord, give us humility, patience, and charity. Teach us goodness, knowledge, and discipline. Give us your love together with your grace, and we will be rich enough. Our God, our Jesus, our all in all. Amen (Adapted from a prayer by St. Anthony Mary Claret)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “At first an ordeal and then an accomplishment, the daily run becomes a staple, like bread, or wine, a fine marriage, or air. It is also a free pass to friendship. (Benjamin Cheever)

So to in the spiritual when talking about prayer!

Daily Blessing: TGIF everyone! I hope your day has started off well. It looked like the sun was going to make its way out from behind the clouds but the clouds have thickened again as they continue to roll in from the northeast. Our nor’easter of the last few days continues to hang on. Hopefully it will move further north at some point we will see the sun today.

I will be sitting at home today waiting for the dishwasher repair person. It has only been two weeks since it broke and he or she will arrive sometime between 1:00 and 5:00 pm and with my luck it will be 4:59 pm! He or she will probably not have the part and it will be another week or two before it gets fixed but that is life I guess. Good thing we don’t have a lot of dishes.

Once again I will take my daily blessing from the words of St. Paul that we find in our first reading from his Letter to the Ephesians. – And so my friends I pray that God will bless all of you today with the strength to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with everyone you meet through love, always striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace; remembering that we are one Body, one Spirit, and that we are called to one Hope; that we believe in one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of us all, who is over all and through all and in all. May our one God bless us all today and always! Amen! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Evening Thoughts - 10/23/2014

Evening Thoughts: After encountering today’s Gospel this morning it has been on my mind as I have journeyed through the day doing a little fall cleaning. I can’t help but hear Jesus’ words in all the articles, headlines and reflections on the Synod of the Family that began in Rome on October 5, 2014 that I have read the past few days.  Just by reading the headlines you could surmise that the Church is being ripped a part by confusion and unthinkable divisions – bishop against bishop, cardinal against cardinal, cardinal against pope, conservative against liberal (well this one is quiet thinkable), but hopefully you get my point. In all the chatter especially from within the Church about the good and bad of the synod you would think the “End Time” is just around the corner.

Yet, my response to all of this chatter, media and hysteria is – in the immortal words of Aaron Charles Rodgers, quarterback of the Green Bay Packers – “Relax!”

Jesus tells us in the Gospel today (Luke 12:49-53) that there will be divisions, conflict and struggles because of his presence, message, ministry and call. He tells us that he has come to set the earth on fire and through the centuries that is exactly what has happened from time to time. There is no reason to believe that it will stop anytime soon unless God has other plans. As long as there are two people there will be disagreements, struggles and challenges.

The Synod on the Family called for by Pope Francis last October has only begun. Those gathered for the synod were told by Pope Francis to speak frankly, honestly and truthfully and it seems they did. They listened to one another. They gave their opinions and they tried to formulate a document that would reflect their beginning, I repeat, their beginning work!

And then like a football team who plays a bad game everyone pounced on them, the international and national media, cardinals, bishops, priests and laity alike. What are they saying? What aren’t they saying? What do they really mean? Was the translation right? It all too confusing! It’s a mess? This confusion is of the devil! They have challenged doctrine! And so on and so on and so on!

Let me send this memo to the team, fans, media, to all cardinals, bishops, priests, deacons, whomever – “Relax!” The synod has just begun its work, yes it is messy, yes there will be fights, disagreements and divisions but let’s all have some faith in the Holy Spirit. Let’s all have some faith in the process. Let’s all believe in the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ love!

Have a restful evening everyone!

Evening Prayer: Grant us God, to know what is worth knowing, to love what is worth loving, to praise what delights you most, to value what is precious in your sight. Do not let us judge by what we see, nor pass sentence according to what we hear, but judge rightly between things that differ and above all to search out and to do what pleases you. Amen (Adapted from a prayer by Thomas A Kempis)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “The most important day in any running program is rest. Rest days give your muscles time to recover so you can run again. Your muscles build in strength as you rest.” (Hal Higdon)

So too in the spiritual life – rest is necessary for the mind, soul and spirit!

Evening Blessing: Thursday evening greetings to all! I am running a little slow with my reflections today as I worked on a little cleaning project that I have wanted to do for some time now. I hope all of you had a great day and at least are on your way home for a peaceful and restful evening.

We had a rainy, dreary day here in Pelham but as I said above all was not lost. Sometimes it take a miserable day to get you motivated to do a little work! I hope your day was a little brighter and your work successful!

My evening blessing is from our first reading today, St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians (3:14-21) – Friends, I kneel before God this evening, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that God may grant all of you in the accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God! – And I also ask God to bless you with a restful and peaceful night! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 10/22/2014

Daily Thoughts: “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” This is a demanding and challenging reflection by Jesus in today’s Gospel (Luke 12: 39-47). Each time I hear this Gospel especially these words from Jesus I always pause in thought. Am I using the gifts and talents that I have been entrusted with to the best of my ability? Perhaps more importantly, am I using the gifts and talents that I have been entrusted with to further the Kingdom of God? Am I using them not only for myself but for others?

If I am honest with myself then at times my answers to these questions is no! I have been graced, honored and entrusted with many gifts and I have to say at times I do not use them to the best of my ability. Sometimes I am selfish in my approach to life and in sharing what I have been given. At times the challenge of the Gospel especially the challenge in today’s Gospel weighs heavy on me.

I want to be the best person of faith I can be and I want that to be reflected in how I live my life and how I use my gifts. I was reading a reflection the other day that said, “If we have been given a keen mind, we must think. If we are filled with compassion, we must serve. If we receive a voice, we must sing. God will not ask the impossible, but will expect our talents to be used.” Perhaps the question for all of us today is what are my gifts and talents? Are they being used to make present the Kingdom of God?

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, give us the strength and courage today and always to be your good and faithful servants. Grace us with the wisdom and spirit to use the gifts and talents you have entrusted us with to bring about your presence in everything we do and to everyone we meet. Help us to be faithful servants of your joy and love this day and always. Amen!

A Runner’s Thoughts: It's important to know that at the end of the day it's not medals or where we finished that we should remember. What we need to remember is the process, the journey – what we learn about ourselves, about our relationship with God by challenging ourselves, the experiences we share with other people, the honesty that training, that prayer demands – these are things to remember because nobody can take them away from us whether we finish last or first.

Daily Blessing: Happy Wednesday “Hump Day” everyone! I hope this finds you well and enjoying your day and life! The weather have begun to change here in Pelham, you can feel the chill beginning to be a permanent fixture in the air. It is a cloudy, rainy, gloomy day which is probably a preview of the winter days ahead.

Special prayers today for my brother-in-law John and his family as they mourn the death of two wisdom figures in their family, a sister and brother who died just a day a part. The funeral for Uncle Bill is today and for Aunt Louise is tomorrow. They lived long and faith filed lives but loss is always difficult so my prayers are with the Muth and Hengesbach families in a special way during these days of mourning!

So that we are not dragged down by thoughts of the approaching winter and its absence of warmth and color, I pray today that God will bless us all with eyes to see God’s goodness in ourselves and others. That when things get cold, gloomy and colorless in life may we always find warmth in the people of our lives, energy in sharing our gifts and talents and color in the smiles, joy and love that we encounter in the life we are living. May this blessing of God’s presence be with you today and always! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 10/21/2014

Daily Thoughts: Throughout the scriptures Jesus often uses the image of master and servant to make a point and describe our relationship with God. In most cases God is the master and we are the servants and the relationship is as any master and servant relationship would be in Jesus’ world.

However in today’s Gospel (Luke 12: 35-38) the relationship between master and servant between God and us is turned upside down. God does the waiting on us today and this profound reversal of roles is the very spirit of the Gospel message. It is the very spirit of what Pope Francis has challenged his cardinals, bishops and priest to be as ministers, the very essence of what he has challenged us to be as Christians.

If we look at our relationship with God we come to know that God not only loves us and cares for us but in the person of Jesus God has taken on our human nature in order to redeem us. Many of those who listened to Jesus’ preaching probably found his image of God as one who serves difficult if not impossible to accept. Masters of that time or anytime for that matter just are not seen or experienced as people who are willing to serve. Yet, for Jesus that is exactly what God has done in sending his own Son into the world.

To continue this gift we are asked to be servers of God’s grace to the world. A question for today might be how do we make God present known through service to others?

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Daily Prayer:

Loving God, Creator of all that is good; we live in the sure and certain hope that your mercy knows no bounds and so today with every creature we pause to give you praise. You have given us an inner law by which we are to live and to do your will is our commission.  To follow your ways is to know peace of heart and so to you once again we offer our service. Guide us on all the paths we travel this day and always. Free us from all the evil tendencies which lead our hearts away from you. Never let us to stray from you. Grace us with the strength to live our life making present your love so that we will be among your chosen ones on the last day.  O God, Author of peace and justice, give us true joy and authentic love, and a lasting peace.  Bless us your everlasting gifts. Amen.

(Adapted from a prayer by St. John Paul II)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “Struggling and suffering are the essence of a life worth living. If you're not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you're not demanding more from yourself - expanding and learning as you go - you're choosing a numb existence. You're denying yourself an extraordinary trip.” (Dean Karnazes) And you are not having the fullest experience of God that you can have, so don’t run away from struggles or suffering in running or in life, embrace them with the help and grace of God!

Daily Blessing: Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope everyone is well and if you are in the east you know that we are certainly in the transition from Indian Summer to true Autumn weather. The leaves are beginning to turn and fall here in Pelham. The evenings are much shorter and in just two weeks they will be very short. Autumn is upon us so make sure you take a little time and look at God’s beauty!

I want to send a special blessing out to Dan, whose birthday is today. Dan is in the Air Force and I had the privilege of celebrating his baptism many years ago in St. Louis so I want to send a special birthday blessing to Dan! Have a great day and Dan I hope you get to celebrate a little today!

I have returned home after a week in South Jersey. It was a good week and as I mentioned Sacred Heart is a very spirit filled place. It was also nice being with good friends whom I have known for a long time. I have a lot of paperwork on my desk and a number of talks I need to get working on, however it is nice to be home for a couple of weeks.

Wherever you are today, whomever you are with and whatever you are doing I prayer that you will be blessed with the grace, love and presence of God. Enjoy your day, think positive thoughts, wear a smile and trust that God walks, runs, works, plays and journeys with you! Blessings to all. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul