Daily Thoughts - 07/25/2015

Daily Thoughts: I have to say that today’s first reading on this Feast of St. James from St. Paul (2Cor. 4:7-15) is one of my all-time favorites. Paul uses the image of “earthen vessels” to talk about himself and us in terms of our relationship with God. Paul says we hold the treasure of our faith, the presence of God, in earthen vessels, in other words in us. Now some say Paul us talking about large water jugs, others say he was referring to terracotta lamps, either way it is a striking image. Within the fragility of this human condition we carry the gift of God.

What a wonderful way to think about ourselves. I have often thought about reading this little passage from St. Paul each morning upon getting up, what a way to enter a new day knowing that I carry within me the presence of God. Knowing that I am not perfect, that I am cracked, chipped, scratched, in other words I am human yet I have this wonderful gift within me.

Paul goes on to say life is tough however because of the gift we have within us things will be ok. We will get through the trials and tribulations of life because of the power of God, the friendship of God.

So as we journey through this day let us be reminded that we are earthen vessels, fragile, imperfect, at times struggling but we are also blessed with a great gift within us, the presence, the grace, the love of God. And when we face the struggles, difficulties and challenges that life throws at us the power of this gift within us will see us through.

Happy Feast of St. James everyone and have a great day!

Daily Prayer:

Loving God we pray:

that through the glorious Apostle, Saint James,

who by reason of his fervent and generous heart was chosen by Jesus

to be witness of Christ’s glory on Mount Tabor, and agony in Gethsemane.

May James, whose very name means one who steps into the shoes of another and one who follows, help us to obtain this day the strength and compassion we need to be followers of Jesus. May St. James be our inspiration today and we step into the shoes of Jesus and bring the gift, the treasure of God to all we meet. Amen.

A Runner’s Thoughts: As prayerful runners let us not run with a sense of expectation that something significant will happen spiritually. Let us run only asking that our run be in the presence of God and that we will run with a heightened awareness of God’s presence. If we run this way occasionally insights will come our way and we might feel a special closeness to God, but usually we will simply know that we are not running alone and we will carry with us the sense of a shared journey long after we have finished our run! (Adapted from Running the Spiritual Path by Roger Joslin)

Daily Blessing: Saturday greetings and blessings to everyone and Happy Feast of St. James especially to all those with the name James! (A special shout out to my brother James and my nephew, James!) I hope your day has started off well and that it will be blessed in a special way as you journey through it. If you are finding life a struggle today please know as always you are in my prayers and I will say a special prayer that it gets at least a little better as the day goes on.

The weather once again is beautiful here in northeastern Pennsylvania. It looks to be a beautiful day on this the ninth day of the novena here at St. Ann’s. We will be finishing up tomorrow with the feast day and I will be heading back to New York on Monday. Once home I will be out and about looking for a new car before I head out again on August 4th. It has been a wonderful novena, very spirit filled yet I have to say it will be nice to finish tomorrow. I hope you are enjoying good weather wherever you are and that today will be a day to enjoy!

Have a great day and once again may God bless you with a strong and joy filled faith so that you will always believe in the treasure that you carry within you and that you are! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 07/24/2015

Daily Thoughts: Today’s gospel reading (Matthew 13:18-23) in a way does not require much thought or reflection. Jesus takes the time to explain the meaning of the parable of the Sower and the Seed. What more can I say after Jesus has explained his story? I certainly don’t want to second guess Jesus. Perhaps I can reflect a little on the seed that has fallen on the good soil.

In Jesus’ story there are clear differences of soil conditions for growth. So when we get to the good soil we might think that what we get will always be 100%. However Jesus tells us that the yield is not just 100 fold but also 60 and 30 fold. What is Jesus saying to us?

Perhaps one thing that Jesus is telling us is that sometimes we can do our very best but the results can fall short. We can do everything right, we can give 110% but because of factors beyond our control we might only make it into the 30 or 60 range and that is ok! We have a gracious God who accepts us as we are.

Another thing we might learn from Jesus’ reflection on the parable is that we should not judge other people’s yield. They too may have done their very best and yet their yield is not 100fold. We just have no way of knowing what God has planted in their hearts and how they have responded to God invitation. In other words we cannot judge what may appear to us to be low yield.

Perfectionism does not belong in the spiritual life for God works in mysterious ways. Even if there seem to be nothing but good soil we are never sure what the yield will be however if we have done our best God will accept whatever the our soil puts forth. We just have to strive to do the best we can. We may not know our yield potential but God does. We just have to be good, faithful tillers of the soil and so that the seed planted in us can grow.

Have a great Friday everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, we dedicate this new day to you as we go about our work and life. Give us steadfast hearts which no unworthy affection may drag downward. Give us unconquered hearts which no tribulations can wear out. Give us upright hearts, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon us also, O Lord, our God, understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you. Amen. (Adapted from a prayer by St. Thomas Aquinas)

A Runner’s Thoughts: Two thoughts for runners today… “Believe me, the reward is not so great without the struggle.” (Wilma Rudolph) and “Every day, I stop halfway through my run for five minutes, look around, and enjoy the surroundings. I'm reminded of why I do this and why I love it so much.” (Anita Ortiz) Both of these reflections can also be applied to our journey through life as people of faith!

Daily Blessing: Friday blessings and greetings to all. I hope your day has started off well and that it will be blessed in a special way as you journey through it. If you are finding life a struggle today please know as always you are in my prayers and I will say a special prayer that it gets at least a little better as the day goes on.

The weather is beautiful here in northeastern Pennsylvania. It looks to be a beautiful day on this the eight day of the novena here at St. Ann’s. We will be heading into our closing weekend tomorrow and things will get very busy around here. It continues to be a wonderful novena, very spirit filled. Please know the prayer requests that many of you have sent along to me are being taken to prayer each day. I hope you are enjoying good weather wherever you are and that today will be a day to enjoy!

Have a great day and once again may God bless you with a strong and joyful faith so that the work you do and the life you live today will yield 30, 60 or 100 fold all of which is blessed, excepted, and planted within you by our loving God! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 07/23/2015

Daily Thoughts: “A skilled listener can help people tap into their own wisdom.”

(Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM) We might apply this thought to our Gospel reading today. The focus in (Matthew 13: 10-17) seems to on the difference between hearing and listening.

We all hear unless we have some physical impediment to hearing but often we fail to listen. I believe that is what Jesus is getting at in the Gospel. People hear his parables but they don’t listen to them. They don’t take them to prayer. They don’t reflect on them and thus they miss the point of them. We can always hear things as Isaiah is quoted in the Gospel but unless we listen we will not understand.

Jesus is teaching his disciples to listen. Jesus is teaching us to listen. I very much enjoy using the parables of Jesus when I preach because if we really listen to them that have a lot to tell us. Often, if not always when I use a parable in my preaching I learn something new because while preaching I am also listening.

Jesus was certainly a skilled listener, the most skilled listener and that is why he helps us tap into the wisdom that God graces us with each day, all we have to do is listen!

Have a great Thursday everyone!

Daily Prayer:

Loving God we pray;

We hold a treasure - Not made of gold - In earthen vessels, wealth untold

One treasure only, the Lord, the Christ - In earthen vessels.

Light has shown in our darkness - God has shown in our hearts

With the light of the glory - Of Jesus the Lord.

We hold a treasure - Not made of gold - In earthen vessels, wealth untold

One treasure only, the Lord, the Christ - In earthen vessels.

He has chosen the lowly - Who are small in this world

In his weakness His Glory -In Jesus the Lord

We hold a treasure - Not made of gold - In earthen vessels, wealth untold

One treasure only, the Lord, the Christ - In earthen vessels.

Loving God help us to believe and live these words today and always! Amen!

(Words from Earthen Vessels by John Foley, S.J.)

A Runner’s Thoughts: As prayerful runners let us not run with a sense of expectation that something significant will happen spiritually. Let us run only asking that our run be in the presence of God and that we will run with a heightened awareness of God’s presence. If we run this way occasionally insights will come our way and we might feel a special closeness to God, but usually we will simply know that we are not running alone and we will carry with us the sense of a shared journey long after we have finished our run! (Adapted from Running the Spiritual Path by Roger Joslin)

Daily Blessing: Thursday blessings and greetings to everyone! I hope your day has started off well and that it will be blessed in a special way as you journey through it. If you are finding life a struggle today please know as always you are in my prayers and I will say a special prayer that it gets at least a little better as the day goes on.

The weather certainly has changed here in northeastern Pennsylvania, yesterday was beautiful and we are in the 50’s this morning heading for the low 80’s. The humidity is gone and there is a great breeze. It looks to be a beautiful day on this the seventh day of the novena here at St. Ann’s. It has been a wonderful novena so far, very spirit filled. I hope you are enjoying good weather wherever you are.

Have a great day and may God bless you in a special way today with a strong faith to believe in the treasure that you carry within you and that you are! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 07/22/2015

Daily Thoughts: Today is the feast of St. Mary Magdalene. She is referred to as the Apostle to the Apostles. Mary was the first proclaimer of the resurrection a story we read today from John’s Gospel (John 20: 1-2, 11-18). The interesting thing about Mary’s encounter with Jesus is that at first she does not recognize him. You might think that after following Jesus for so long it would be hard not to recognize him.

Now some might say it was because of his resurrected body but I think it was because Mary did not expect to see Jesus alive.  Have you ever been in a situation when you did not expect to see someone? When the person surprises us with their presence there always seems to be a moment when we don’t recognize them. They haven’t changes, they are the same person but our eyes and brain just were not expecting them. Then they do or say something that is familiar and we recognize them. It doesn’t make sense and once we realize our mistake, we wonder how we did not recognize her or him but yet it happened.

The element of surprise can often catche us off guard. Perhaps today that is a good way to think about the presence of God in our life. We have a God of surprises and at any moment of our day God can walk into our midst. Are we ready? Or will we miss the moment because we are not expecting God to be there?

Through the intersession of St. Mary Magdalene may we be open today to be surprised by God! Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Daily Prayer: God of surprises, we thank you for the gift of your presence in our life today. We thank you for the way you bring us to new life in ways that surprise us, liberate us, celebrate us and give us hope.

We ask you to be presence in our life today; helping us to show that here and now, you are at work bringing healing, wholeness, and justice and that by the grace of your Holy Spirit of love, we your people may share in the surprising work of your presence today.

God surprise us today with your hope and love that we may be your faith filled people who proclaim the Good News to a world that does expect to encounter your love. Surprise us today, God! Amen!

A Runner’s Thoughts: Remember running is an opportunity to search for God amid the commonplace, humdrum and ordinary activities that most often occupy our life. That is ultimately the point of meditative running – we are trying to find a way to mix the mundane with the mystical, to blend the sacred with the profane, to find heaven on earth. If running is sacred time to us then we have the opportunity to encounter the gift of God while we run! (Adapted from Roger Joslin – Running the Spiritual Path)

Daily Blessing: Wednesday blessings and greetings to everyone! I hope your “Hump Day” has started off well and that you will find the rest of the week downhill so to speak.

It is the sixth day of the novena here at St. Ann’s and all continues to go well. The two preachers are doing a great job and tomorrow we have a healing mass at which the Sacrament of the Sick is administered. It is always a moving experience for me. Please continue to keep us in your prayers and know that you are in my prayers each day. Again if you have any prayer requests please send them along.

The weather has certainly changed the humidity has gone away and it is a very pleasant day. I hope the same is true where you are.

I hope your week is going well and that you are encountering interesting things in your own life. We all cannot be celebrities or travel around the world but all of our lives are important and special. All of our lives give us the chance to encounter God and bring God to others all of our lives are a gift!

May God's blessings be upon your life today and as you live out this day may you come to know that you are loved and that you bring the love and grace of God to others. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul