Daily Thought: “To become
saints, only one thing is necessary: to accept the grace which the Father gives
us in Jesus Christ.” (Pope Francis)
Today, we remember, we honor and we say
thank you to all the women and men whom the Church calls saints, people who
have touched our lives down through the centuries. People who shared their
faith and perhaps more importantly lived their faith so that we might encounter
the presence of God, so that we might grow into the people God created us to
be, so that we might believe. They were mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers,
sisters –in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, friends, teachers,
grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, neighbors, strangers, companions on the
journey, ordinary people who lived extraordinary lives of faith.
Pope Francis talks about the saints in
our lives this way; “I see the holiness in the patience of the people of God: a
woman who is raising children, a man who works to bring home the bread, the
sick, the elderly priests who have so many wounds but have a smile on their
faces because they served the Lord, the sisters who work hard and live a hidden
sanctity. This is for me the common sanctity. I often associate sanctity with
patience: not only patience as hypomoné [See note], taking charge of the events
and circumstances of life, but also as a constancy in going forward, day by
day. This is the sanctity of the militant church also mentioned by St.
Ignatius. This was the sanctity of my parents: my dad, my mom, my grandmother
Rosa who loved me so much. In my breviary I have the last will of my
grandmother Rosa, and I read it often. For me it is like a prayer. She is a
saint who has suffered so much, also spiritually, and yet always went forward
with courage.” Note: (Hypomoné is a New
Testament Greek word meaning – the capacity to endure under difficult
circumstances; bearing everyday tasks, contradictions, tribulations.)
Pope Francis also says that – “We need
saints without cassocks, without veils - we need saints with jeans and tennis
shoes. We need saints that go to the movies that listen to music, that hang out
with their friends (...) We need saints that drink Coca-Cola, that eat hot
dogs, that surf the internet and that listen to their iPods. We need saints
that love the Eucharist, that are not afraid or embarrassed to eat a pizza or
drink a beer with their friends. We need saints who love the movies, dance,
sports, theatre. We need saints that are open, sociable, normal, happy
companions. We need saints who are in this world and who know how to enjoy the
best in this world without being callous or mundane. We need saints”.”
So to all those who have touched us with
sanctity and helped us to be the people we are today…we say thank you!
Have a great Saturday and a blessed
Feast of All Saints!
Daily Prayer: Christ has no
body but ours, no hands, no feet on earth but ours, ours are the eyes with
which he looks compassion on this world, ours are the feet with which he walks
to do good, ours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Ours are the hands, ours are the feet,
ours are the eyes, we are his body. Christ has no body now but ours, no hands,
no feet on earth but ours, ours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on
this world. Christ has no body now on earth but ours. (Adapted from a prayer by
St. Teresa of Avila)
A Runner’s Thoughts: Some words of
inspiration and faith are - “You have to wonder at times what you're doing out
there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running,
but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to
self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.” (Steve Prefontaine) And sometime
in the journey of faith you wonder why you keep moving forward, why you believe
and there are thousands of doctrines, dogma, codes of cannon law, commandments,
precepts of the Church that gives you reasons to believe but I always come back
to where it started. My faith comes down to the Cross the sign of God’s great
love for me!
Daily Blessing: Happy Saturday
to everyone! It is a cold and rainy day here in Pelham. One of those days that
gets into your bones and it is hard to get warm. I hope wherever you are you
are faring a little better. However I was on the weather channel web site and
it seems like the whole eastern half of the US is caught in this cold spell.
Cope my friends the best you can!
I offer a simple and peaceful blessing
to all today – May our good and gracious God, bless us all as we celebrate this
first weekend in November. May God bless us with gratitude for the gift of
life, for those saints in our lives especially those who gave us life. May God
bless us with gratitude for the opportunity to celebrate and live life with
people we love. May God bless us with gratitude for the many people who touch
our lives each day and bring us in touch with the presence and grace of God.
May God, continue to bless us with people, places, experiences that give us strength
to believe, to be faithful, to have hope and to love. And may God bless us with
the grace to keep living the gift that we are! I ask this blessing for all of
us through Christ our Savior and Friend. Amen!
Have a great Saturday and weekend
everyone! Don’t forget to turn your clock back one hour before you go to bed tonight!
And don’t forget to give God a little time this weekend too! Peace in Christ’s
Passion…Fr. Paul
