Daily
Thoughts:
In reading today Gospel, we are reminded of how truly dependent children are and
about the wonderful freedom and joy that they derive from that dependence. In the Gospel Jesus is trying to help the
disciples see two points with respect to allowing children to come to him. The first is to connect his care for the
children with his ministry thus far. He
had been curing people who are vulnerable, helpless or weak: a demoniac, a deaf
man, a blind man and a Gentile woman’s daughter. And now, by welcoming and blessing the
children, he is involving with another group who shared the same
characteristics.
The
second point is that Jesus is helping his disciples understand that to truly follow
him they must become essentially dependent upon him.
In our
first reading today from James, we can hear James appeal to his readers to
become dependent on our Lord. If you are
suffering, pray to God and depend on God to grant you the grace you need to get
through the suffering. If you are in
good spirits, pray to God and give praise, recognizing that your joy is the
fruit from your dependence on God. If
you have sinned, pray to God for forgiveness and depend on God’s merciful grace
so that you will be at peace with God again.
Both our
readings today remind us that dependence on Jesus is overwhelmingly
beneficial. Jesus is hoping that his
disciples will connect with memories of their own childhoods as well as with
the reality of the children right in from of them. Children are completely dependent on their
parents for everything that they need, their health, for being loved, for food
and for being protected. Because they
are so dependent, they are free to enjoy each moment of their day. Each day is filled with discovery, with the
joy of being with others, with no worries about anything else. And because of this, they can feel deeply
joyful; they can go through their day and get ready to sleep with nothing left
on their minds to worry about. They can
begin and end each day in peace.
Jesus
invites us to do the same. When we are
physically, emotionally or spiritually suffering, he invites us to be dependent
on him. In a way, our suffering can free
us from our day-to-day worries. Some of
these seem quite small when we are in pain.
And by freeing us up, by unblocking our day to day worries we find room to
focus on Jesus, in other words, to become dependent upon Jesus. When we are able to do this, we are assured
by Jesus that our one step toward him will be met with an incredible amount of
steps by him toward us. As we become
more dependent upon Jesus, we will feel his unconditional grace that he is
constantly sharing. We will find more joy and more peace in our lives.
Have a
great Saturday everyone!
Daily
Prayer:
Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding, and
my entire will. All that I am and all that I possess you have given me: I surrender
it all to you to be disposed of according to your will. Give me only your love
and your grace; with these I will be rich enough, and I will desire nothing
more. Amen. (St. Ignatius of Loyola)
A Runner’s
Thoughts:
You only ever grow as a human being if you’re outside your comfort zone. (Percy Cerutty) So to in the spiritual
life…
Daily
Blessing:
Saturday greetings and blessings to all. I hope your day is starting off well.
Right now here in Pelham it is a sunny day but they say the sun will soon be
cover by clouds and the rains will be coming. So I am going to enjoy the beauty
of this day for as long as I can.
Well, I
made it through my first taping day. It was a long day with a few bumps along
the way but all in all I think it was a good beginning. Hopefully I can build
on this start and continue things moving in the right direction. We have a lot
of work to do now as we will be moving the site of the Sunday Mass from St.
Francis de Sales to our own Immaculate Conception Church in Jamaica, New York.
As you might gather there is a lot involved in moving a production like this so
it is not going to be a lazy summer!
My prayer
of blessing on this Saturday morning is that this will be a day blessed in
God's presence, grace and love. That it will be a day bless with wonderful
experiences, safe travel, if you are traveling, and the rest and relaxation
that will help you to enjoy the gift of your life! Have a great Saturday
everyone and don’t forget to give God a little time this weekend. Peace in
Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul
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