Daily Thoughts - 09/05/2015

Daily Thoughts: Today's gospel story is an illustration of what happens when we pay attention to accidentals rather than the essentials. The Pharisees profess to not violating a single part of the law, but they are lacking in the heart of the spirit of what the law is there to support. They judge but lacking in compassion and mercy.

Jesus asks us to be merciful. He is not looking beyond the law and tradition. Jesus' whole life and ministry was an example of how to respond to sin. The religious leadership, some of whom we meet in the Gospel today, were upset because Jesus often spent time eating and drinking with sinners. They were anger because Jesus enjoyed the presence of sinners. The scribes and Pharisees argued that Jesus should shun sinners and that his compassion for them seemed to condone their life styles. These religious leaders didn't seem to understand that love heals; that love forgives and that love builds a community of faith, hope and love.

Pope Francis constantly calls us to be a community that offers mercy and forgiveness. He asks us to build bridges rather than walls, because this is what Jesus has taught us through his words and deeds. We might think that following the letter of the law defines a good religious person yet paying attention to the accidentals does not mean that we have invested in the essentials. Pope Francis basks us to hear Jesus' message that being a good religious means people who are merciful and compassionate. Pope Francis, like Jesus, reminds us that mercy proclaims the presence of God. Being merciful shares the good news of God's mercy. It helps us to lives out our faith and become a friend of God. Our acts of mercy help to make God present to the world.

As we journey through this day let us give thanks for the mercy and love of God who has reconciled each of us, and remains our help and sustains our lives. Let us share God’s love and mercy, freely, generously and with compassion.

Have a great Saturday everyone!

Daily Prayer: O God, help us to bring our worldly concerns under control, so that they never turn our minds from higher things. Help us have earthly things for use but not as objects of our desires. May there be nothing to hold back the desire of our minds and hearts; and do not let the delights of this world entrap us. Amen. (Adapted from a prayer by St. Gregory the Great.)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “When you've had the perfect run, you've cleared your soul.”

 (Pat Monahan) I would say it doesn’t even have to be a perfect run; sometimes a really tough run or just an ordinary run can still be a way to clear your heart, mind and soul. And when you can clear your heart, mind and soul you are not far from peace!

Daily Blessing: Saturday greetings and blessings to everyone! I hope you are having a good Saturday and that life is going well during these early days of September.

I hope the weather where you are is beautiful today. The humidity is finally gone here in Long Beach and that makes for a beautiful day. I pray today that life is going well for you and that the stresses and struggles that are always a part of life are not too great for you these days.

On this final Saturday of the official summer season my prayer today is that God’s blessings will rest upon all of you wherever you are, wherever you go and in whatever you will encounter today. I pray your day will be a safe one full of many wonderful encounters. May you have a faith filled day graced with joy, peace and love. May you find the richness of God’s presence in your life today and always. Also I pray that God’s blessings will help you to have a restful and enjoyable weekend. Have a great Saturday everyone! Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 09/04/2015

Daily Thoughts: At times when I look at the Church I think we are always trying to pour new wine into old wine skins or we are trying to sow a new piece of cloth on an old piece of clothing and the results are not so good. We seem to spend a lot of time looking back at how things were, “the good old days” – “the golden age.”  Then we try and hold the present moment in these “days gone by” skins.

Perhaps it is a human condition that we all are afflicted with, that desire to hold on to what we think was good, pure and without problems. People often refer to the “good old days” with a sense of longing and a memory that has forgotten many, if not all, of the struggles, difficulties and problems. We long to put this moment, this time of life back into those “good old days” but it never works.

In the Gospel today Jesus reminds us the new wine needs to go into new skins, in other words we have to be about this moment, this time not the past. We have to patch old with old and new with new. We have to be in the present moment in order to encounter the presence of God in our life today.

Jesus is not negating the old for the new or vice versa. He is just reminding us to always be in the present moment. The Church is alive, it is a living structure and if something is living it needs to grow. If it doesn’t grow it is dead. There is a famous quote from the movie, The Shawshank Redemption, when Andy says to Red, “Get busy living or get busy dying.” Perhaps that is Jesus’ challenge for us today.

So friends let’s get busy living and have a great Friday.

Daily Prayer: Loving God, fill our souls with your holy joy, courage and strength so that we will serve you throughout this day. Enkindle your love in us and then walk with us along the next stretch of road we call this day. We cannot see very far ahead, but when we arrive at the setting of the sun we know you will place a new sunrise before us and with your help and grace we will greet it with peace. Bless this day Lord with you love. Amen!

A Runner’s Thoughts: “An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion.” (Newton's First Law of Motion) The living of life needs a balance between motion and rest, between sound and silence, between company and solitude, but we always need the friendship of God!

Daily Blessing: Friday blessings and greetings to all. We find ourselves beginning this last official weekend of the summer and I hope wherever you are the weather is nice and you are looking forward to a good day and a great weekend. They say the temperature will be in the low 80’s today with less humidity. If they are right then we should have a beautiful day here in Long Beach.

I have a busy morning as I will be celebrating the 8 am mass and then I have a funeral at 10 am, all in a day’s work for a parish priest. I hope your day is starting off well and that it will be a smooth ride to the evening and the beginning of a nice long holiday weekend.

My prayer of blessing for all of you today is this – As you journey through this day may you be blessed with Christ within you, with Christ behind you, with Christ before you, with Christ beside you, with Christ to comfort and restore you, with Christ beneath you, with Christ above you, with Christ in your quiet moments, with Christ in your moments of struggle, with Christ in the hearts of all who love you, with Christ within of all your friends and every person you meet. May the presence of Christ’s be within you and bless your day, Amen! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 09/03/2015

Daily Thoughts: “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” I am not sure how many times I have uttered these words in my own mind over the last 35 plus years. It seemed very simple 35 years ago, I got rid of most of my possessions and packed up what was left in my little orange Chevy Vega and headed east from St. Louis to Philadelphia to begin my journey into religious life and priesthood. At the time it seemed freeing, liberating. Yet not long after arriving in Philadelphia did the doubts and struggles started, the challenges of letting go of people, possessions and a way of life.

And to make matters more challenging throughout these 35 plus years there have been amazing moments when I have paused and said, “Why am I here? Depart from me, Lord, I don’t deserve this, I am a sinful man!” It is the ebb and flow of life that makes who I am, who any person of faith is a challenge. One moment we are in the midst of everyday life, doing what is expected, doing what we always do and then God seems to step in, in a profound way and we feel humbled, we feel undeserving.

I had one of those moments this summer when I was the sitter for my three grand nieces, ages 9, 5 and 1for about 30 hours. Encountering the gift of life, of creation, the gift of love and the gift of family that these three little women offered me was a humbling experience. The 30 hours with them was a challenging and at times a struggling experience for someone like me who usually only experience this kind of love and family life from a distance. But then you get the opportunity to be with three wonderful little women and you recognize the profound presence of God just like Peter did. And you think to yourself “I don’t deserve this, I am a sinful man!” 

However even though undeserving like Peter and the rest of the crew on the seashore that day each morning I rise and follow Jesus once again. If you happened to encounter God in a profound way today and have that feeling that you don’t deserve it remember you are in good company!

Have a great day everyone…

Daily Prayer: Loving Jesus, you are the love that gives love. You are higher than the highest star, you are deeper than the deepest sea; you cherish us as your own family; you embrace us as your own spouse; you grace us as your own people; you welcome us as your own dearest friends. Let us and all the world praise you today! Amen. (Adapted from a prayer by St. Hildegard of Bingen)

A Runner’s Thoughts: The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals, the struggles within yourself – the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us – that’s where it's at. (Jesse Owens) So to in the spiritual life…

Daily Blessing: Thursday greetings and blessing to all! I hope the beginning of this new day finds you well and energized for a new adventure! It seems from all reports that today going to be another hot and humid day here in Long Beach. I guess summer does not want to let go at least not just yet. Like most days there seems to be a nice breeze so I won’t complain. If it is hot by you today I hope you have an oasis too!

I have a bit of a busy day today as I will be getting ready for a funeral tomorrow morning and a wake service this evening. Yes, I am experiencing a small part of the life of a parish priest. I am also working on talks and theme for missions and retreats this fall and winter.

My prayer of blessing for you today is that like Peter in today’s gospel God will bless you with a profound experience of his presence and if it makes you consider your unworthiness that God will give you the strength and courage to continue on! May God bless you day with the richness of love, hope and joy! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 09/02/2015

Daily Thoughts: “We have never preached violence, except the violence of love, which left Christ nailed to a cross, the violence that we must each do to ourselves to overcome our selfishness and such cruel inequalities among us. The violence we preach is not the violence of the sword, the violence of hatred. It is the violence of love, of brotherhood, [of sisterhood,] the violence that wills us to beat weapons into sickles for work.” (Blessed Oscar A. Romero, The Violence of Love)

Jesus and Paul in our readings today (Colossians 1:1-8 and Luke 4:38-44) tell us that they have come to proclaim the Good News. They do it in different ways but their goal is always to bring the Good News to whomever they meet, whether it is the community of believers at Colossae or the people in Capernaum or the many towns beyond.

The Good News that Jesus and Paul bring is the same Good News brought by Blessed Oscar Romero many centuries later. It is the Good News of love. It is the Good News of the Cross. It is the Good news of community. It is the Good News of no more war!

I believe there comes a point in a believer’s life when we need to say enough. Enough violence! Enough war! Enough hate! Enough disrespect for life! If we are truly a great silent majority, if we truly want a world based on peace then it is time to say enough with one great voice! It is time to proclaim and live the Good News.

Have a great day everyone!

Daily Prayer:

Lord, take us where You want us to go;

Let us meet who You want us to meet;

Tell us what You want us to say; and

Keep us out of your way. Amen

(Adapted from a prayer by Fr. Mychal Judge)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “There are no standards and no possible victories except the joy you are living while dancing your run. You are not running for some future reward-the real reward is now!” (Fred Rohe, The Zen of Running) And you are not running for some experience of God in the future when you run you are running with God now! So enjoy the company!

Daily Blessing: Wednesday, “Hump Day” greetings and blessings to all! I hope your Wednesday has started off well. The sun is out here in Long Beach and the forecast is for another hot and humid day however being near the ocean seems to made that forecast a little easier to take. May God bless you with the grace to make the struggles of this day a little easier to take.

My prayer of blessing for all of you today is that as we move into the busyness of September and these last formal days of summer, God will bless you with some time to pause and take into account your blessings, your gifts. The hopelessness of violence seems to be all around us but as I have learned if we pause and take some time away from the busyness of life often we encounter God’s gifts in very real and wonderful ways. God’s presence is all around us we just have to not let the noise of the world distract us from God. May God bless you with the gift of his presence today is some small way so that you know you are loved and not alone!

Have a great Wednesday – Hump Day everyone and please know as always you are in my prayers! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 09/01/2015

Daily Thoughts: “Our duty, as men and women, is to proceed as if limits to our ability did not exist. We are collaborators in creation.” (Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J.)

This quote by the great philosopher, scientist, theologian, Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J. came to mind as I was praying with our readings for today (1Thess 5:1-6, 9-11 and Luke 4:31-37).

In his First Letter to the Thessalonians, St. Paul is asking the community to trust in what they believe in, in other words to have faith. He points to the things going on around them, the uncertainly of their times and that some people are saying, “Peace and security,” everything is fine, while others are say “ruin and disaster,” life is a mess! St. Paul says let’s trust in our relationship with God. Let’s be faith filled people and live life “as if limits to our ability [do] not exist.” Let’s work with God.

Jesus on the other hand in the Gospel is helping people to experience the gift of God in their lives. His teaching has power and authority. But what gives Jesus’ teaching so much power and authority? We might say it is because he is the Son of God and we would not be wrong. However we might also say that Jesus’ teaching has power and authority because of how he treated people. In the Gospel today he expels a demon spirit so that a man can get on with his life. Over and over again Jesus takes people where they are and helps them to grow, to recognize the grace and presence of God in their lives.

Jesus knows that limits to our ability do not exist, because anything is possible with God. So let’s live this day in God’s presence. Let’s look beyond what appear to be our limits and let’s work with God to make a better world. Let’s be collaborators with God to bring about peace!

Have a great Tuesday and first day of September everyone!

Daily Prayer:

All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe

and in the smallest of your creatures.

You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.

Pour out upon us the power of your love,

that we may protect life and beauty.

Fill us with peace, that we may live

as brothers and sisters, harming no one.

O God of the poor,

help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth,

so precious in your eyes.

Bring healing to our lives,

that we may protect the world and not prey on it,

that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.

Touch the hearts

of those who look only for gain

at the expense of the poor and the earth.

Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,

to be filled with awe and contemplation,

to recognize that we are profoundly united

with every creature

as we journey towards your infinite light.

We thank you for being with us each day.

Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle

for justice, love and peace.

(A prayer for our earth from Laudato Si by Pope Francis)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.” (John Bingham) The miracle is also trusting in the presence of God, then finding, embracing and acknowledging that presence as we run!

Daily Blessing: Tuesday greetings and blessings to everyone and happy first day of September. It is a beautiful morning here in Long Beach though they say it will be another hot and humid day at least there is a bit of a breeze this morning.

I hope your day has started off well and is not too busy. I pray all of you will have a great Tuesday no matter where you are or what today will bring! I pray for God’s blessings upon all of you as you go through your day. May God bless all your endeavors, may God be with you in all of your challenges and in all of your struggles. Please trust in the presence of God that you carry within you and don’t be afraid to share your gift. Again, blessings today upon everyone! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul