Daily Thoughts: As I prayed with the
Gospel (Mark 5:1-20) this morning a line from the Psalms came to me – “Let your
hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord!”
I find this Gospel to be a strange story. There
are many layers to it: Jesus in foreign territory; the man who lives among the
tombs; the unclean spirits named legion that are sent into the swine; the swine
that throw themselves into the sea; the fear for the people so much so that
they ask Jesus to leave and finally the man once possessed becoming a preacher
of the Good News.
It seems that the possessed man in the story is
the only one who can take comfort in Jesus. He has struggled all his life. He
has been chained and broken out of the chains only to find little peace. It is
only Jesus who can finally free him totally. I think we all have parts of
ourselves that get possessed by the demons of life. Things that we cannot let
go of that hurt us in a personal way and sometimes even hurt the people around
us. We sometimes free ourselves only to be caught by them again. Perhaps like
the man in the story it is only through Jesus that we can find comfort and
hope.
Often as we live life we tell Jesus to move on,
to leave, we do not want our life disrupted even if it not going so well. We
like things the way they are even if our life a awash with struggles, chains,
tombs and a lack of peace. Yet all of us have the opportunity to recognize
Jesus in our life and become free of the things that possess us but first we
need to overcome our fears and trust in God's presence. Trust that change can
be good.
May we recognize Jesus passing by today and
allow our hearts to find comfort and hope in his presence! Have a great Monday
everyone!
Daily Prayer: O God creator of all
good things, you are our light and our salvation, whom should we fear. Loving
God, you are the stronghold, the rock of our life, of whom should we be afraid?
Help us as we live this day to discern what is right, to take comfort and to
always hope in you. Guide us along your right path knowing that you are always
with us and you will never leave us to face life alone. Amen!
A Runner's Thoughts: “If you want to become
the best runner you can be, start now. Don’t spend the rest of your life
wondering if you can do it.” (Priscilla Welch) So to in the spiritual life…If
you want to be a person of faith start today so you don’t spend the rest of
your life wondering if you can.
Daily Blessing: Monday greetings and blessings to all. Sorry
that I did not post yesterday but it was a busy day and there isn’t any wifi in
the rectory so when I finally got sometime I had no way to get online.
The opening of the mission here at St. Edward
the Confessor went very well. We had a great crowd Sunday afternoon and people
seemed to really get into the opening session. We will continue today with the
9:00 am mass in the morning and our second mission talk at 7:00 pm in the
evening. Please continue to keep the faith community here at St. Edward the
Confessor Parish in your prayers and if you could say a little extra prayer for
their preacher it would be greatly appreciated.
Granville, Ohio is a very nice little town. It
is not very big but it is a beautiful place. The weather has been unbelievable,
the temperature has been in the 50’s and 60’s both days I have been here so
far. When I arrive on Saturday around noon the day was so nice that I went for
a run. I had hoped to do the same yesterday but there was just not time between
preaching all the masses and opening the mission. I am hoping that today will
present an opportunity for another run through the Ohio countryside.
May prayer of blessing today comes from a
prayer by St. Therese of Lisieux – May there be peace within us today and every
day. May we trust God that we are exactly where we are meant to be. May we not
forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May we use those
gifts that we have received and pass on the love that has been given to us. May
we be confident knowing that we are a child of God. Let this presence settle
into our bones and allow our soul the freedom to sing dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us. Amen!
Have a great Monday everyone and know that you
are in my prayers as I journey through this time of mission at St. Edward the
Confessor Parish. Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul
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