Daily Thoughts - 01/02/2016

Daily Thoughts: Our readings today focus on Christology; who Christ is for us. The saints we celebrate today St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen have a smile on their faces as they spent a lot of time talking, writing and defining Christology – the humanness of Christ and the divinity of Christ, or perhaps said differently the mystery of Christ. Who exactly is Christ in our life? How have we come to know him?

For me one of the interesting aspects of our readings is not so much the presentation of Christology, who Christ is but it is the reality of coming to know Christ for ourselves. John the Baptist shows us the way; to know Christ we have to know ourselves, know who we are and who we are not. John knows himself and in knowing who he is, he is able to know Christ. John the Evangelist in the first reading tells his community to remember who they are and in doing so they will remember and know Christ. It is an age old process; it is the foundation of our journey of faith – to know ourselves is to know God!

Perhaps in these early days of the New Year it might be good to pause and do a little self-reflection, not in a narcissistic way, but in an honest way. Who are we? What do we value? What do we believe? What are our struggles? What are our faults and failings? What are our joys and hopes? As we once again come to recognize and know ourselves, we will once again come to recognize and know our God!

Have a great Saturday everyone.

Daily Prayer: O most merciful God, the helper of the helpless, the hope of those who are past hope, the savior of the tempest-tossed, the harbor of the voyagers, the physician of the sick. You know each soul and our prayer, each home and its need. Become to each one of us what we most dearly desire, receiving us all into your kingdom, making us children of the light. Grace us with your mercy, peace and love. O Lord, our God. Amen. (Adapted from a prayer in the Orthodox Liturgy of St. Basil)

A Runner's Thoughts: “For me, as for so many runners, there really are no finish lines. Runs end; running doesn't.” (Dean Karnazes). So to in the spiritual life…there are no days off from faith, a formal prayer might end, Sunday mass might be finished, but our faith and friendship with God never ends.

Daily Blessing: Saturday greetings and blessings to all. I hope this finds you well and enjoying this first Saturday of the New Year. The thermometer in our kitchen read 31 degrees outside this morning and there are colder temperatures coming on Monday and Tuesday. I guess the mildness of our winter is finally ending. It was nice while we had it! Today seemed to start out sunny but the clouds have moved in once again. Hopefully wherever you are there is some sun and warmth today.

As seems to be the norm these days the beginning of 2016 has many parts of the world on edge. The shadow of terrorism and violence has found its way into the hope of this new year. So this morning I pray for God’s blessing upon all of us. I pray God’s blessing will help us navigate through the struggles, challenges, disappointments and sadness of life. That it will help us find the joy, the grace, the wonderfulness and the gift of God’s presence this day wherever we travel to, in whomever we meet, in whatever we need to do and most importantly within ourselves so that we will never give up. Loving God, bless us this day with the wisdom, the understanding, the knowledge, the courage, the good judgment, the reverence and the wonder and awe to trust in and have faith that you are alive within us, that you love us and that you will never leave us alone in the midst of the perils of life. Amen – Blessings to all, be safe, be warm! Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 01/01/2016

Daily Thoughts: All throughout Advent and now into the Christmas season we have been reminded of the story of Mary, a simple woman, blessed, graced by God who when confronted with an opportunity to make a difference in the world did, not just once but over and over again. At every turn of life Mary took the opportunity not just to live through but to make a difference, not to waste time but to bring about the loving presence of God. She did it as the Mother of God, she did it as wife to Joseph, she it as mother to the beloved disciple and she does it as Mother of the Church for us.

Perhaps today is a good day to think about the gift that all mothers give and through the intersession of Mary, the Mother of God, ask God to bless, protect all mothers… Here are a few thoughts from others about mothers...

 “When you look into your mother’s eyes, you know that is the purest love you can find on this earth.” (Mitch Albom)

“Parents rarely let go of their children, so children let go of them. They move on. They move away. The moments that used to define them - a mother's approval, a father's nod - are covered by moments of their own accomplishments. It is not until much later, as the skin sags and the heart weakens, that children understand; their stories, and all their accomplishments, sit atop the stories of their mothers and fathers, stones upon stones, beneath the waters of their lives.” (Mitch Albom)

“The truth is, when our mothers held us, rocked us, stroked our heads - none of us ever got enough of that. We all yearn in some way to return to those days when we were completely taken care of - unconditional love, unconditional attention. Most of us didn't get enough.” (Mitch Albom)

“There's a story behind everything…but behind all your stories is always your mother's story…because hers is where yours begins.” (Mitch Albom)

“I don't know what it is about the food your mother makes for you, especially when it's something that anyone can make - pancakes, meat loaf, tuna salad - but it carries a certain taste of memory.” (Mitch Albom)

“Being a mother is an attitude, not a biological relationship.” (Robert A. Heinlein)

“When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me,

speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me,

speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be.

Whisper words of wisdom, let it be. (Paul McCartney)

"My soul magnifies the Lord,

And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” (Mary, Mother of Jesus)

“In a child's eyes, a mother is a goddess. She can be glorious or terrible, benevolent or filled with wrath, but she commands love either way. I am convinced that this is the greatest power in the universe.”  (N.K. Jemisin)

“Mothers and their children are in a category all their own. There's no bond so strong in the entire world. No love so instantaneous and forgiving.”  (Gail Tsukiyama)

Happy Feast of Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God to all mothers, especially expectant mothers! May we also remember all mothers who have passed from us.

Happy New Year everyone and have a blessed and joyous 2016. Have a great first day of 2016!

Daily Prayer: O God of wonder and mystery, author of all life, enliven us with your grace to see each moment in life as an opportunity, an opportunity to have faith, to hope, to love and make a difference. Bless us with the spirit of Mary, whom we celebrate this day as the Mother of Christ that we might always respond to life with hope alive in our hearts!  May you always bless us in your mercy so that one day we may find lasting peace...Amen!

A Runner's Thoughts: “God has given me the ability. The rest is up to me. Believe. Believe. Believe.” (Billy Mills) Happy New Year runners, may the wind always be at your back and may you run each day with purpose, meaning and the presence of God!

Daily Blessing: New Year's greetings and blessings to all! I hope your celebration last night was fun and safe. I saw the ball drop in Times Square, the shoe drop in Key West, the guitar drop in Memphis (thought the guitar had a little problem dropping) and the fleur-de-lis drop in New Orleans. Sorry Mountain Time and Pacific Time I did not wait for whatever you drop! I did all of this from the comfort of our TV room here in Pelham and I did it alone as everyone else was away.

My blessing prayer today comes from the first reading at today’s mass the Book of Numbers - As we enter this New Year may God bless us and keep us. May God’s face shine upon us and may God be gracious to us and bless us. May God look upon us kindly and give us peace!

May all our hopes, dreams and plans for the New Year find blessing and life in God's grace. May 2016 be a year of faith, of joy, of hope, of peace and of much love for all! Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 12/31/2015

Daily Thoughts: This last day of the year we are treated to the mysticism of St. John. The profoundly familiar opening of his Gospel, "In the beginning was the Word..." It is not an opening story like in Matthew, Mark and Luke, it is a mystical reflection on God, creation and Jesus' entrance into the world. It is a reminder of where we have come from and the profound love of God we journey towards.

In the first reading John in his letter speak to a community, a church, under persecution, struggling with the reality of life in a world made up of many different realities.  Things appear to be coming to an end, but John reminds the community about what they know, what they have been taught, and about the relationship with God that they have entered into, so that no matter what happens they will remain faithful.

These readings speak to our realities this last day of the year. Things are coming to an end, perhaps not in the way John envisioned them but a calendar year is coming to an end. Over the past year we have seen many struggles, many signs that point to loss, tragedy, the absence of God and a hopelessness. However, John reminds us, as he did his own community, about what we know because we are friends of God. John reminds us of a new beginning, of by whom we have been created and the hope that needs to remain alive in our hearts.

We can encounter terrorist attacks, tragic losses, challenges to our faith, natural disasters but we know the love of God, we know that the Light that shines in the darkness of life, we know that that world often does not know God, but we do and we will live in the Light and bring it to the world today and always.

Some things to ponder as we prepare to welcome a New Year…

“For last year's words belong to last year's language. And next year's words await another voice.” (T.S. Eliot)

“Keeping a journal has taught me that there is not so much new in your life as you sometimes think. When you re-read your journal you find out that your latest discovery is something you already found out five years ago. Still, it is true that one penetrates deeper and deeper into the same ideas and the same experiences.”  (Thomas Merton)

“The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective.” (G.K. Chesterton)

“Faith is why I'm here today and faith is why I made it through.” (Jonathan Anthony Burkett)

“If you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I am living for, in detail, ask me what I think is keeping me from living fully for the thing I want to live for.” (Thomas Merton)

“Being a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God's will.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

“Do not forget that the value and interest of life is not so much to do conspicuous things...as to do ordinary things with the perception of their enormous value.”  (Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ)

“As long as we continue to live as if we are what we do, what we have, and what other people think about us, we will remain filled with judgments, opinions, evaluations, and condemnations. We will remain addicted to putting people and things in their "right" place.”  (Fr. Henri J.M. Nouwen)

“Faith is not for overcoming obstacles; it is for experiencing them—all the way through!”  (Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM)

Whoever you are, you are human. Wherever you are, you live in the world, which is just waiting for you to notice the holiness in it.” (Barbara Brown Taylor)

According to the Talmud, every blade of grass has its own angel bending over it, whispering, “Grow, grow.”  (Barbara Brown Taylor)

If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.”  (Meister Eckhart)

Have a great December 31st everyone and a Happy 2016!

Daily Prayer: I thought Thomas Merton’s prayer would be a good end of the year prayer for all of us today –

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore, I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. (Thomas Merton - Thoughts in Solitude)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “Your body will argue that there is no justifiable reason to continue. Your only recourse is to call on your spirit, which fortunately functions independently of logic.” (Tim Noakes) So run with the spirit today into a New Year blessed by God!

Daily Blessing: Thursday greetings and blessings to on this last day of 2015. It looks to be a beautiful sunny day here in Pelham. I hope the day is nice weather wise where you are.

I begin this day thankful for the year that has passed but happy and excited to bring in a New Year. I pray all of you are where you need and want to be and that you will get a chance to celebrate with family and/or friends tonight. If you need to travel, please travel safe. If you are going to be out and about at, around or after midnight, please be safe!

I offer a simple blessing on this last day of 2015 -  O Loving God, hear our prayers today as we pray in thanksgiving for the year that has just past and with hope for the year we are about to begin. Bless us with the grace of wisdom that we have gathered over this last year and help us during the coming year to soften the hearts of all so that we may always know your friendship. Grant peace and prosperity to your people bless each of us today and always with your love. Amen! May all of us encounter God’s mercy, peace, hope and many new dreams in 2016. See you next year! Peace in Christ’s Passion...Fr. Paul