Daily Thoughts - 03/14/2015

Daily Thoughts: In today's Gospel (Luke 18:9-14) we are reminded that it is not the quantity or style of our prayer. It is not the position we hold or all the things we can point to that we do. It is the quality of our prayer and how we live our life that counts.

The Pharisee had all the right words, all the right actions but not the right intention. He knew the law but the not the spirit. The tax collector on the other hand certainly struggled in his life but when it came to prayer, when it came to speaking with God he was right on.

Humility is a valuable gift yet one that not many people have. We grow up trying to develop our self-confidence; we try to be independent, self-assured and self-reliant. We are often told that we must promote ourselves in order to get anywhere. Yet, humility can help us recognize God, in ourselves and others. Humility can help us recognize the presence of God in the living of life.

The response to the responsoral psalm today is "It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice." I have a merciful person we must be humble. We must realize that we are not perfect we are human, with faults and failings just like everyone else. If we are willing enough and humble enough to seek God's mercy then we will be able to offer mercy and compassion to others.

As St. John Chrysostom put it, "We cannot be saved by seeking just our own individual salvation. We need to look first to the good of others."

Have a blessed Saturday everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, help us to live as humble, compassionate, joyful people today and always. May we always pray with openness to your mercy and love just like the tax collector. Grace us with hearts that recognize your gifts in our lives and an openness to share joyfully these gifts with others. Amen!

A Runner's Thoughts: Running is a lot like life, sometimes it is energizing and sometimes it isn't but it always has meaning!

Daily Blessing: Saturday greetings and blessings to everyone! It is a rainy day here in Pelham and I am in the process of packing once again to head out later today for Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Hainesport, NJ. That is where I will call home for the next five days as I begin another Lenten Mission. I once again ask that you keep the faith community at Our Lady Queen of Peace in your prayers during these days of mission and if you have a little extra time could you include their preacher in your prayers too.

An added bonus for me today in that I will be able to attend a long time friend’s celebration of life this evening as it will take place near to where I am celebrating the mission so after the Saturday evening mass I will wander over to the party for a while. It is nice to be able to connect with people who have been part of my life since high school at least for an evening!

Well friends I need to be busy about many things this morning so I send you greetings and blessings this day and prayers that you will have a good Saturday. May God bless you with a restful Saturday, may it be gifted with the presence of people you love and may it be rich in the presence of God! If it happens to be a busy one may you find the gift of God’s blessing within your busyness. And may you be blessed with a little warmth in your life. Blessings to all. Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 03/13/2015

Daily Thoughts: I have always been a bit jealous of the scribe in today's Gospel because Jesus says at the end of the exchange that the scribe is not far from the Kingdom of God. For me it would be a comfort to know that I was not far from the Kingdom. It is one of my greatest worries. I try to live a good and faithful life but there are times when I look around and wonder if I have missed the boat! I listen to people talk about their faith, I see their actions, I am aware of what they think is important and valuable in terms of faith, church, belief and religion and I wonder if I have taken the wrong path.

Sometimes I wonder if what I believe brings me close to the Kingdom? The Church as it stands today seems a far cry from the Church that Jesus seems to be putting together as we read the Gospel. Our religious leaders often, not always, seem to be closer to the scribes and Pharisees than to the disciples of Jesus. The institution we call Church often seems closer to the institution that Jesus often challenged and confronted during his ministry.

We seem to take some words in the scriptures at face value but others are glossed over and interpreted in ways other than what they say. We seem to be absolutely sure of what Jesus said, meant or wanted in certain situations and yet we discount or ignore other things because they don't seem to fit into the institution.

I pray. I try to love whomever I meet. I truly value my relationship with God. I care about people no matter who they are and what they have done. I try to find God in all people. I value life in all forms. I want to be of help to people who struggle. I want to be a welcoming, forgiving person, religious and priest. I want to help people know and believe in God. Yet at times I am not sure whether I am on the right path. I don't always pray in traditional ways. I am more willing to accept a person where they are even if they don't fit into the laws of the institution. I want to dialog. I want to find a way for all to be close to the Kingdom. I don't want to judge. I don't want to be self-righteous and I certainly don't have all the answers.

I want to live Hosea's words today, I want to return to the Lord, but I am not always sure the institution takes me in that direction. I live to be a man of faith, I live to be a man of hope and I live to be a man of love. I pray that like the scribe I am a man close to the Kingdom of God!

Have a blessed Friday everyone!

Daily Prayer: O God of all good gifts, fill our hearts with your loving presence. Grace us with the wisdom to recognize the way to your Kingdom. Enliven us with your word, your spirit that we may walk the path you have set before us. Give us the understanding to live your commandments of love with joy. Help us to get beyond ourselves and value the gift of others. May we always be a people who seek your Kingdom by living in the hope of your joy and love. Amen!

A Runner's Thoughts: Remember running can give us spiritual focus. When we run we have the time to be a person of prayer. It can be a prayer of few or many words. It can be one prayer or many prayers. It can be a simple breath that brings God into our being and it can be the exhaustion of give all to God as we finish our run.

Daily Blessing: TGIF to all today! I hope you have had a good week. I am in the midst of getting caught up on mail and paperwork that have crossed my desk in the last week. There are always things to do. I always seem to be looking ahead preparing for missions, retreat and other commitments down the road. It is hard to stay in the moment.

Tomorrow I head out for Hainsport, NJ and Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish. I also get a chance to attend a high school friend’s celebration of life on Saturday evening because the dinner and party is near to where I will be. It is a nice extra benefit to the coming week and mission.

I continue to ask you to pray for the young college student. Prayers are need so that he gets back on the right path and trusts his gifts and talents. The image and likeness of God which he offers, his intelligence, energy and love is much needed in our world!

I would also like to send a special shout out to Pope Francis on this the second anniversary of his election as pope. I would like to thank him for his spirit, his energy, his faithfulness, his compassion, his care and concern for all of us but especially those in need. I would like to ask that God’s blessing be upon him giving him strength, energy and life so as to continue this life giving renewal of our Church and our world. God’s blessings Pope Francis!

My blessing prayer today is that God will bless all of you with a peaceful end to this work week and the joy of a weekend with family, friends and many good experiences. Be well and safe friends, have a great day and a wonderful weekend wherever you are and whatever you are doing. Please remember me and the people who will have to put up with me in the coming week’s mission in your prayers! God’s blessings upon all today and always! Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 03/12/2015

Daily Thoughts:  "If today you hear [God's] voice, harden not your hearts." The response for the psalm today seems to say it all. In the first reading the faith community has harden their hearts toward God. They are not listening or responding to the word or presence of God. In the Gospel there are some who have hardened their hearts for they cannot recognize God in their midst.

In the opening talk of my missions, I talk about how we at times harden perhaps not our whole heart but pieces or areas of our hearts. The primary reason is because we have been hurt and we harden ourselves so that we cannot be hurt again. Sometimes the hurt comes from another person, or a group of people, or an institution or from someone or something outside of us. Yet often we think the hurt comes from God and we harden our hearts to the grace, the word, and the presence of God. In doing this we very often miss the opportunity to experience the presence and the gift of God in our life.

Jesus reminds the people today that bad things do not come from God. God only wants good for us. God loves us, created us and desires a relationship with us. It is the world around us that can hurt. It is often the world within us that can hurt.

We don't want to make the mistakes of our ancestors that are talked about in our first reading from Jeremiah today. We don't want to make the same mistake of the people who question where Jesus is from in today's Gospel. We want to open our hearts, make our hearts places of nothing but good soil so that when we encounter God, when we hear God's voice the grace, word, strength, blessing and presence of God will be planted within us and grow producing a harvest that is hundred fold.

Please as you journey through this day do not harden your hearts but be open to hear God's voice and encounter God's presence in your life!

Have a blessed Thursday everyone!

Daily Prayer: Almighty and eternal God, may we always walk in your ways but especially as we begin this new day. Enliven our hearts with joy so that they will not be hardened by the struggles, hurts, pains and difficulties of life. Help our hearts to remain open to hearing your Word and recognizing your presence. Too often because of life we begin to wander away from you, too often we fail to hear you or recognize your presence in our life. Help us to always have the strength to walk, to live in your ways and hear your voice. Bless us with the gift of your Holy Spirit of joy and hope this day and always! Amen! 

A Runner's Thoughts: Running can give us an inner strength that can change our life. Just putting in the time, finishing a run can have an enlivening effect on your confidence and self-esteem. Running can also touch us in a spiritual way that makes us aware of God's presence in our life!

Daily Blessing: Thursday greetings and blessings to everyone! I hope your day has started off well. We had a great third day and evening of the mission yesterday. I am thankful for my time at St. Ignatius Martyr and for the spirit and faith of the community there.

After the closing mass last night I made my way back to Pelham. I will be here until Saturday afternoon when I will head out to Hainsport, NJ to begin a mission at Our Lad Queen of Peace. These days home will not be quiet though as I have spiritual direction this morning and a meeting for a future mission later this afternoon. In these days between missions I am always playing catch-up with paperwork and other assorted responsibilities.

I would ask you to continue to keep the young college student in your prayers that I mentioned the other day. Let us keep the power of prayer strong so that he makes it through this difficult time in his life.

I am hoping all of you will have a blessed day. My prayer of blessing today is that you may it be rich in many life-giving experiences, in many faith filed people and touched with the gifts of joy, hope and love. Be well and safe my friends enjoy your day and know you are in my prayers! And may God bless all of you today and always. Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 03/11/2015

Daily Thoughts: Sometimes we see laws, rules and commands as unnecessary. Sometimes we think they are burdensome. At times we look for ways around them or think, what is the least we need to do to follow them. Take going to mass as an example, people often ask me for what parts of the mass do they need to be there for in order to fulfill their obligation? Well, as I was growing up it was often said you had to be there before the Gospel and stay until Communion was given out. Certainly if you go to church on Sunday you can see the people who observe the law, the rule of going to mass in this way, they show up just before the Gospel and they are out the door at Communion. The letter of the law!

However, I do not think that is what Moses and Jesus are speaking about today. They are talking about living a life of faith, living a relationship with God that does not seek to do the minimum. It seeks to live the maximum. Moses tells the people to live their relationship with God and pass that living on. Jesus tells the people he has come to live his relationship with God, to be an example to the fullest extent of this relationship.

Often people ask what they can do to get their adult children to return to their faith. How can they get them to live a life of faith? My answer to them is to pray for and love their children and grandchildren, but most importantly to live their faith. The best was to make God present to people is by living out our relationship with God as authentically as we can, no short cuts! If we are fully invested, if we live out our relationship with God each day, we become an example; we pass on the gift sometimes not even knowing that we do.

Yes, rules, laws, regulations, commands can be bothersome, they can place us in opposition to culture and society. They can seem hard to live out. They can frustrate us. But in living by the rules, in being faithful to our relationship with God we keep the story alive. We enhance the community of faith. We bring the gift of God's presence to all we meet. We pass on our faith!

Have a blessed Wednesday everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, nourish us with your Word this day. Teach us your statutes and decrees. Enliven our hearts with a spirit of love for you and your presence in our life. Challenge us to be more than people who do just the minimum. Grace us with the strength to do and be our very best selves for you. Make our lives true examples of your loving compassion in the world. Amen!

A Runner's Thoughts: Remember running can be a kind of medicine that helps us to change physically, emotionally and spiritually. Running can be an elixir that enlivens our life with health, hope and the presence of God!

Daily Blessings: Hump Day greetings and blessings to all! I hope this day has started well for you and you will find many blessings as you journey through it!

We begin with a rainy morning here in Long Beach but the sun is to make an appearance sometime today.

Our mission closes today here at St. Ignatius. It has been a spirit filled journey. I continue to ask your prayers for the faith community here at St. Ignatius Martyr Parish and for their preacher. Hopefully we will have a very blessed closing morning and evening.

I would also ask your prayers today for a young man in college whom I heard about yesterday. He is a very bright young man but is struggling with himself right now so I ask if you get a chance to offer a prayer that he is able to see his goodness and make it through these difficult days to better days in the future. Ask God to give him strength, a sense of purpose, peace, joy and a big helping of love!

My prayer of blessing today is that all of us will be touched by the joy and love of God as we journey through this day. I pray that we will recognize the richness of our life and share it with others. And may we all be blessed with the strength to live the fullness of live not the minimum! Many blessings of God’s joy upon everyone today. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul