Daily Thoughts: One might say
that reading today’s Gospel (Luke 21: 5-11) is like watching the evening news
or tuning into one of the many 24 hour news stations at any point in the
day. Bad things are a happening, for
sure!
Yet, Jesus doesn’t say – run, hide, give
up. He says don’t be terrified. Don’t follow all the doom and gloom
proclaimers. Why should we not be
terrified? Why should we not hang on every word of the gloom and doom
proclaimers? Why - because God’s grace is at work. The question is how do we
believe that God’s grace is at work?
Jesus has always said that the things of
this world, the things we think so important are not important. Even something
like the great temple of Jesus’ time will not and did not last. Our focus, our
trust, our faith needs to be placed in God. If not then we will be sucked in by
the terror, the doom and gloom of the world. As St. Ignatius of Loyola said,
God’s grace is enough.
Our challenge today and every day is to
look around and find God’s grace at work in the world and in us. It is there - we just need the eyes of faith to see it!
Have a great Tuesday everyone and if you
are traveling today like me, please travel safe!
Daily Prayer:
Take, Lord, receive all our liberty, our
memory, understanding, our entire will. Give us only Your love and Your grace,
that's enough for us. Your love and Your grace, are enough for us.
Take, Lord, receive all that we have and
possess. You have given all to us, now we return it. Give us only Your love and
Your grace, that's enough for us. Your love and Your grace, are enough for us.
Take, Lord, receive, all is Yours
now. Dispose of it, wholly according to
Your will. Give us only Your love and Your grace, that's enough for us. Your
love and Your grace, are enough for use.
(Prayer
adapted from prayer by St. Ignatius Loyola and the lyrics of Fr. John Foley’s
song)
A Runner’s Thoughts: “I don't think
about the miles that are coming down the road, I don't think about the mile I'm
on right now, I don't think about the miles I've already covered. I think about
what I'm doing right now, just being lost in the moment.” (Ryan Hall) As Jesus
tells us today in the Gospel it is the same with faith. We don’t think about
the past or what might happen ahead of us. We live in the present moment and find
God there!
Daily Blessing: Happy Tuesday
everyone! I hope your day and your week are going well and that things are
falling into place for your Thanksgiving celebration. I hope if you are
traveling and you live here in the northeast you will be able to get away
before the storm arrives. If you are traveling please travel safe!
Today, in a little while, I will be
making my way south to Fairfax, Virginia to enjoy Thanksgiving with my niece,
nephew-in-law, two great nieces and a host of other family members! It has
become a little tradition in my life and it is one I look forward to because
the journey and time give me great joy!
My thoughts today are with the people of
Ferguson, Mo and all people who are seeking justice and peace. I am not sure
who is right or wrong in this situation or how you reach justice for all involved. I don't know how you find the truth in this situation. But I do know good people are being
hurt by a few knuckle heads. The need for peace and justice is being lost in the destruction
of property and acts of violence. My prayer is for peace and to finding a path to justice
for all! Please if you are going to demonstrate for justice don’t be a knuckle
head and ruin the message!
As Thanksgiving approaches my blessing prayer today for all of you
carries the theme of thankfulness. Perhaps it is a prayer you can use when you
gather with family and friends on Thanksgiving. Today I pray that you will
always find the blessing of thankfulness in your life. – God of all blessings,
source of all life, giver of all grace. We thank you for the gift of life: for
the breath that sustains life, for the food of this earth that nurtures life,
for the love of family and friends without which there would be no life.
We thank you for the mystery of
creation: for the beauty that the eye can see, for the joy that the ear may
hear, for the unknown that we cannot behold filling the universe with wonder,
for the expanse of space that draws us beyond the definitions of our selves.
We thank you for setting us in
communities: for families who nurture our becoming, for friends who love us by
choice, for companions at work, who share our burdens and daily tasks, for
strangers who welcome us into their midst, for people from other lands who call
us to grow in understanding, for children who lighten our moments with delight,
for the unborn, who offer us hope for the future.
We thank you for this day: for life and
one more day to love, for opportunity and one more day to work for justice and
peace, for neighbors and one more person to love and by whom be loved, for your
grace and one more experience of your presence, for your promise: to be with
us, to be our God, and to give salvation.
For these and all blessings, we give you
thanks, eternal, loving God, through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. May the
blessing of thankfulness be with you as you journey through this day and
always!
Have a great Tuesday everyone! Peace in
Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul
