Daily Thoughts: A passage in the first reading today from the Letter to the Hebrews (Hebrews 10:23-25) gave me pause for thought. "Let us
hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the
promise is trustworthy. We must consider how to rouse one another to love and
good works... [and] encourage one another." Our life needs to be about
hope and encouragement not judgment, finger pointing, hate and exclusion. We
believe and we hold on to that belief because we have hope in God presence in
our life and in our world after all that is God's promise to us!
Then as I
read today’s Gospel (Mark 4: 21-25) I
think Jesus puts what I read in Hebrews a little differently. In his
wonderful image of a lamp the question is asked, do we hide the light or do we
put it on a stand and let it fill the whole room? The light, God’s gift, needs
to be placed on a stand. It needs to be made visible by the way we live our
life, by the way we treat others and by the way we trust the mercy and promises
of God!
Remember
as Jesus tells us today, "The measure with which you measure will be
measured out to [us]." So let's be the light on the stand in the middle of
the room today. Let's be the one who rouses everyone else to love and good
works. Let's be the one who trusts in the mercy and promises of God and thus
bring the gift of hope to all we meet this day!
Have a
great Thursday everyone!
Daily
Prayer:
Grant, O Lord our God, that we may never fall away in success or in failure;
that we may not be prideful in prosperity nor dejected in adversity. Let us
rejoice only in what unites us and sorrow only in what separates us. May we
strive to please no one or fear to displease anyone except You. May we see always
the things that are eternal and never those that are only temporal. May we shun
any joy that is without You and never seek any that is beside You. O Lord, may
we delight in any work we do for You and tire of any rest that is apart from
You. Loving God, let us direct our hearts towards You, and in our failings,
always repent with a purpose of amendment. Amen! (Adapted from a prayer by St. Thomas Aquinas)
A
Runner's Thoughts: “You have to wonder at times what you’re doing out there.
Over the years, I’ve given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it
always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a
sense of achievement.” (Steve Prefontaine)
So remember if we have the desire to run with God, then the specifics of the
techniques used do not matter very much just keep hold of the desire and God
will be with you!
Daily
Blessing:
Thursday greetings and blessings to all. I hope you Thursday has started off well.
I would first like to send a shout out to all Dominicans and theologians on
this feast of the great Dominican theologian and philosopher, St. Thomas
Aquinas. Blessings on all Dominican women and men, especially Fr. Don Goergen,
O.P. – and Happy Feast Day!
I have
spent this week trying to prepare a long run of ministry that will begin tomorrow
and run all the way until the end of June. There will be a few short breaks but
basically I will be on the road for the nest five months. So as I get ready to
hit the road please know you will be in my prayers throughout my time of ministry.
I would ask that you keep me and the many faith communities that I will be
visiting and celebrating with in your prayers.
My prayer
of blessing today is simple that God will bless us as we wander through this
day. Helping us to keep our energy high and giving us the grace to hang on so
that the everyday struggles do not get us down. I pray today that God will
bless us all with much hope, strong faith. lively joy and many measures of
love! Enjoy the day, stay warm, be safe and above all may God bless your day!
Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul
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