Daily Thoughts - 12052014

Daily Thoughts: "Let it be done for you according to your faith. And their eyes were opened." The healing words of Jesus that we find in today’s Gospel. Two men wish to see and as we are told it is their faith that heals and enables them to see. The words Jesus speak to them seem to echo Mary’s words to the angel Gabriel which we will hear in a few day, “May it be done to me according to your word.” Two acts of faith, one that heals and one that brings the Eternal Healer into our midst.

Faith always seems to be the center point of our journey through life. Time and time again in our faith story we are reminded just how important faith is. It can move tree and mountains. It can make crooked ways start and turn destructive things into life giving things. Faith can heal and raise the dead. Faith can enliven hope so that we can see the possibilities when things too often seem impossible.

Many of our readings throughout Advent remind us that faith is the touchstone to encountering the presence of God in our lives. A question our scriptures ask of us today is – “What kind of faith do we have?” Is it a faith that heals and proclaims the Good News? In having faith in Jesus the two blind men in our Gospel receive the gift of sight that sends them on a journey proclaiming the Good News. What healing can our faith bring us that will send us on a journey of proclaiming the Good News?

Have a great day everyone!

                               

Daily Prayer: O God, we believe help our moments of unbelief. Strengthen our hearts with a faith and can heal, hope, love and proclaim the Good News! Amen!

A Runner’s Thoughts: As you run never underestimate the power of dreams, the influence of the human spirit and the presence of God!

Daily Blessing: Good morning and TGIF everyone! I hope your day has started well? After a day of travel yesterday I find myself in Fairfax, VA with a relaxing and quiet day ahead of me. my niece, nephew-in-law are off to work and my two grandnieces are off to school which leave me home alone!

As I mentioned yesterday it was a very spirit filled mission at St. Paul’s in Tampa and it was hard to leave for many reasons yesterday. I wish the faith community at St. Paul’s the very best during this Advent and Christmas Season. And I miss the warm already!

My prayer of blessing for all of us today is - Loving God, bless us this day with your eternal love, Jesus. Make us vigilant in hope to hear the voice which announces his glory and open our hearts to receive the Spirit who prepares us for his coming once again. May Christ be born in our hearts this day and may we always bring your gift of eternal love to all we meet. Bless us on this journey of Advent that we might be ready to celebrate the gift of Christmas once again. Blessings always...Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 12/04/2014

Daily Thought: It is interesting I ended the parish mission last night with the parable of the Rich Fool! In today's Gospel Jesus speaks about the Wise and the Foolish Person. The question is on what foundation is our faith, our relationship with God built.

Here in New York we had a very profound example of the power of the wind and the sea just a little over two years ago. Homes that were built near the shore took a big hit; many were ripped from their foundations. We found out firsthand the power of nature.

Jesus uses the image of the power of nature to remind us that there are many things in this life that can pose a threat to our faith, our relationship with God and if we don't have it anchored well, if we have not build our relationship with God on a strong foundation the challenges, the struggles, the difficulties of life are going to ripe our faith from its foundation.

As we learned from yesterday's Gospel God will take care of us but we have got to trust and we have got to be willing to share. So today let us not be foolish, let us be wise so that our faith does not collapse but that it stands firm in the midst of the storms of life!

As extra thought to keep our faith rooted on rock...St. John Chrysostom says: "Prayer is the place of refuge for every worry, a foundation for cheerfulness, a source of constant happiness, a protection against sadness."

Have a great day everyone!

Daily Prayer: O God, stir up your power and come. Help us with your mighty strength, your mercy and your grace to stand firm amid the storms of life. Bless us today with a strong foundation so that when the floods come, the winds blow and the rain falls we will have shelter and strength in your love! Amen!

A Runner's Thoughts: A runner who embarks on the journey of prayer and running can expect surprises, missteps, and perhaps great leaps toward a relationship with God!

Daily Blessing: Thursday blessings to all! I would like to send a shout out to my nephew, James on his birthday. Happy Birthday, James! Many blessings today and I hope your finals this semester go well!

We had a great closing to the mission here at St. Paul’s last night. It was spirit filled just like the two previous nights. I have very grateful to all who made this mission possible and for the wonderful hospitality of the St. Paul’s faith community. I wish them well on their journey through Advent to Christmas and on their journey through life. May the spirit of Paul the Apostle be with them always!

In a few hours I will begin my journey. I wish I could stay in the warmth of Tampa for a few more days but I am glad I had a little break these last few days. I will fly to Washington, DC this afternoon to pick up my car and spend a few extra days with my grandnieces and then on Saturday head back to New York.

May prayer of blessing today is once again a simple one drawn from a prayer by St. Teresa of Avila – Loving God bless us today with the grace to always allow ourselves to be guided by you and to always follow your plans for us. May we accomplish those plans with your grace. Grant that in all things great and small, today and every day we will do whatever you ask of us with joy and love. Loving  God bless us with the strength and grace that your will, will be done by us, in us and through us. Amen! Blessings to all and have a great Thursday everyone! Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 12/03/2014

Daily Thought: Both of today's readings talk about a holy mountain. For Isaiah the holy mountain is the place of a wonderful feast, a banquet of rich food, of choice wines, a place where tears are wiped away. Jesus' holy mountain is a place where people are healed and feed. It is a place where all the excluded people can come and be included, the lame, the blind, the deformed, those that cannot speak and many others. Both holy mountains, or should I say, the holy mountain is a place of mystery and a place of great mercy, love, forgiveness, it is God's place!

Perhaps, today's readings are a reminder to all of us that God does not discriminated, in fact God goes looking for all who are often not included so they should be included. Perhaps today's readings remind us that none of us are perfect, we are all in need of healing and of nourishment, and we are all in this journey of life together. Let's us welcome the miracle of God's healing and love and may it be what we share during this holy day!

Have a great day everyone!

Daily Prayer: O God of the Holy Mountain, prepare our hearts today with the divine power of your love that we might be willing to welcome all to the banquet of life on your holy mountain. Help us to share the great gifts of your love with all we meet today not counting the cost, not judging those whom we meet. Help us to rejoice and be glad this day satisfied in your love and ready to share the fragments of today's banquet tomorrow! Amen!

A Runner's Thought: Make your run a meditation today, flush the mind and open the heart and know God is with you!

Daily Blessing: Happy Wednesday and Hump Day! After a long weekend you are probably feel a little out of breath today, the festivities of the Thanksgiving Weekend have caught up with you perhaps. Well just hang in there and give it all you’ve got to get over this hump and it will be all downhill to the weekend – Promise!

We had a great second evening of the mission last night. The community was awesome once again and it was a late night for me because we offered the Sacrament of Reconciliation after the mission service with twelve priests available and many people came. I did not finish until 9:45 pm. It was a workout but a spirit filled one. There were many tears and most of all there was the gift of God’s merciful love! I also gave a morning of reflection to the staff here at St. Paul’s. It was a simple reflection on parish life and ministry with sharing after. I think it went well. I look forward to the closing mass this evening. Please continue to pray for the faith community here at St. Paul’s and for their pastor Fr. Bill who is in need of healing. Also if you have a little prayer time left could offer one for the preacher.

Today is the feast of St. Francis Xavier, a Jesuit priest and missionary, but for me it brings to mind a very good friend, Fr. Xavier Vitacolonna, C.P. who died a little over two years ago. Fr. Xavier's given name was Francis, his religious name was Xavier. He was a brother, priest and missionary. I include him in my prayer today and I pray to him as a member of the communion of saints! Help us to bring peace Fr. Xav!

My prayer of blessing for all of you today is taken from a prayer by St. Teresa of Avila – May God bless us with the grace to allow ourselves to be guided by God, to always follow God’s plans, not ours, to always accomplish God’s holy will through the living of our lives. May God bless us with the grace that in all things, great and small, today and all days of our lives, we may do whatever God asks of us. May we always respond to the slightest prompting of God’s grace so that we will be God’s trustworthy instruments of peace, joy, mercy and love. May God’s will be done in time and eternity by us, in us and through us – Amen!

Have a great Hump Day everyone. Many blessings upon you and all you meet today and on whatever you do, wherever you are! Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 12/02/2014

Daily Thoughts: Did you ever take time to watch little children? Periodically, I get to spend time with two of my grandnieces. Usually I am with them for a few days and often if it is not a holiday with many others around I get a chance to spend some quality time with them. When this happens they often involved me in their day to day lives and I am able to sit back and just watch them. It amazed me how they often make anything they have into a simple play toy, boxes, board games, a piece of ribbon or string, anything seems to come to life.

When my niece Kristina, was about three years old, she often played for hours on the floor by herself with board games, like Risk, Trivial Pursue, and others. She had no real understanding of how these games were placed but that didn’t matter. She was content to just sit there moving pieces around, building things and imagining a whole different world. There was a joy and contentment on her face as she enjoyed a moment of life. I was often jealous of her freedom, her joy and her excitement. Both of my nieces have the gift of allowing their imaginations to enliven their lives.

In reflecting on these experiences with my nieces I could hear Jesus' words in the Gospel today. God truly does reveal many things to children that we adults miss. Children seem to know the joy and the love of God. Through their imaginations I truly believe they often see the hidden gifts of God that we adults often miss. We can learn a lot from children, if we let them be children and if we stop to watch and celebrate the gift of their presence in our life.

Children also keep alive the hope that Isaiah talks about in the first reading today. If we use our imaginations as children do we will be able to see the wonderful life that Isaiah envisions, where the wolf is the guest of the lamb and the leopard lies down with the kid and the baby is at play right next to the cobra’s den and all is well. In other words, if we are not afraid to use our imaginations we have a chance to encounter the Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, strength and wonder and awe and we have a chance to live in a world were justice and peace flourishes. We have a chance to make it this life God’s Holy Mountain!

Yes, I know it seem farfetched but perhaps all it takes is a little imagination!

Have a great day everyone and may you find peace, hope and joy throughout the day!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, helps us today to embrace your Gospel with imagination seeing a world touched by your presence and love. May we be your prophets, who by our words, our works, our faith and our imagination keep alive your gift of hope within this struggling world! Amen!

A Runner's Thought: Run today with imagination so that each stride brings you closer the wonder of God's presence in your life.

Daily Blessing: Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope this finds you well and enjoying the beginning of a new day! I begin the second day of the parish mission at here at St. Paul’s in Tampa. Our opening evening was a wonderful experience, there was a great spirit at last night service with over 400 people, I look for more of the same today! I will be giving a reflection to the parish staff this morning. It is a change for them to pause and renew also. Again, if you are in the area stop in and celebrate with us, if not please offer a little prayer for the faith community here at St. Paul as they begin their Advent by celebrating mission and for their preacher who leads them! Also if you could say a special prayer of healing for the pastor here, Fr. Bill. Thanks in advance for your prayers and please know as always you are in mine.

My prayer of blessing today for all of you is a simple one…May God look with favor upon all our prayers, needs, petitions and activities today. May God be with us in the day’s trials . May we always have the compassion, support, consolation, peace and love of God in our lives. May God bless us all with his presence this day and always. Have a great Tuesday...and along with Isaiah let us imagine a world of peace today! Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 12/01/2014

Daily Thoughts: In reading the scriptures for today two thoughts came to mind. First I have always liked the section from Isaiah which is the first reading today. It carries for me the hopefulness that one day swords, guns, bombs and all other means of violence will be beaten into plowshares, microchips, ovens, stoves, refrigerators, anything useful and life giving. I hope and live for the day when we will no longer train younger women and men for war ever again and that every nation will live in peace! Yes, I know this might be an impossible hope, but I still hope. Perhaps for me Emily Dickinson puts it best – "Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, and sings the tune--without the words, and never stops at all!" May hope never stop for any of us!

My second thought today centers on the Gospel. It is a familiar story in Matthew's Gospel of the centurion who asks Jesus to heal a servant. Did you ever realize when reading the Gospels that many of the people whom Jesus encounters with life change faith are not part of the faith community but seen as outsiders. This centurion has great faith, a faith that ultimately brings healing to his servant. This Gospel story and others like it should remind us that God's presence, God's healing, God's grace, God's work can come from anywhere and from anyone. Dismissing people for any reason is not a good practice because by dismissing them we may just be dismissing God and an opportunity to be healed!

As so as we begin this journey of Advent let us commit ourselves to renewing the gift of hope in our lives, strengthening our own faith and respecting the gift of others in life so that we never give up on peace or miss a chance to encounter God’s healing presence.

Have a great day everyone and a blessed Advent!

Daily Prayer: O God of all who wait, grace us today with your gift of peace and help us to see, to find, to recognize your gift in ourselves and in all we meet. Grace us with your gift of faith that we might bring healing to each moment of life. Grace us with your hope that we might find you in each person and every moment of life even though we are unworthy to have you enter under our roof! Grace us with your joy in life this day and always! Amen!

A Runner's Thoughts: God does not wait at the finish line; God is constantly with us in all things and all people. As we run, as we live, our task is simply to recognize that fact and hold it with us!

Daily Blessing: Monday blessings to all - Welcome to December and Happy Advent! I hope your long Thanksgiving weekend was filled with a lot of good food, family, friends and some much needed rest and relaxation. I also hope you were able to enjoy the time and that it wasn’t just about shopping!

As for me beginning at 5:30 pm on Saturday evening I began my preaching journey through eight masses which ended around 6:45 pm on Sunday evening. As you might imagine it was a workout and I was certainly tired last night but it was also very life-giving because this is such a spirit filled community here at St. Paul’s. A very welcoming community from many places around our world I am so looking forward to the beginning of the mission tonight! If you are in the Tampa area come join us at 7:00 pm this evening!

If you get a chance please offer a prayer for the faith community here at St. Paul’s that they will have a spirit filled mission that will help them to begin a faith-filled journey through Advent! Also if you could offer a little prayer of healing for their pastor, Fr. Bill, who is experiencing some scary health issues at this time. He spent Thanksgiving Day in the hospital. Also a little prayer for the preacher will be greatly appreciated!

Have a great Monday friends. May God be with you as you enter this new work week. May God bless all your endeavors today, all your meetings and encounters with others, all your projects, work and responsibilities today. May God bless your travels and your quiet time. May God bless you and all whom you love with a day filled with his grace, hope, joy, love and peace. May God also bless you with a faith-filled journey through this holy season of Advent! Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul