Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Daily Thoughts - 08/09/2016

Daily Thoughts: I don’t often wander into the scandals of the Church but today’s Gospel (Matt. 18:1-5, 10, 12-14) gave me pause to ponder. In Jesus’ words today we are reminded why the sexual scandals of the Church were and are so wrong. Hurting children in any way goes against all that Jesus taught. The sin that we the hierarchy of the Church continues to carry, the sin of actions and in-actions, the sin of indifference, the sin of hurt and pain, the sin of stealing innocence, the sin of not protecting, of not responding should remain with us and never leave us.

When we hear the words of today’s Gospel they should always give us pause to ponder what has been done to children in our name. These words should give us pause to ponder how our actions and in-actions as priests, deacons, bishops, cardinals and popes have led to so much hurt, pain and the loss of God’s little ones!

These words of Jesus should never be far from our thoughts and our hearts so that we will be humble people and always receive God’s children as if we are receiving God. If this is not our attitude, if this is not what drives our ministry then we should not be priests, deacons, bishops, cardinals or popes. Humility will make us people who respect not who are arrogance. May God and the children we have hurt forgive us and may we never let this happen again.

On a more positive note perhaps we need to remember the words of Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ – “The future belongs to those who give the next generation reason for hope.” Let us give hope not take it away!

Have a great Tuesday everyone.

Daily Prayer:
O God, be merciful to us, because of your constant love. Because of your great mercy forgive us of our sins! We recognize our faults; we need to always conscious of our sins so that none of your little ones are ever lost again.

O God, create a new and pure heart in us and put a new and loyal spirit in us. Do not expel us from your presence; do not take your Holy Spirit away from us. Give us the joy that comes from your love and help us to always make the right choices in life. Loving God, be kind to us and help us to rebuild your Church. Amen! (Adapted from Psalm 51)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “There's one rule of thumb that suggests that you need one day of recovery for every mile run in a race. Another rule of thumb...suggests one day...for every kilometer run in anger.”  (Hal Higdon)

Daily Blessing: Tuesday greetings and blessings to everyone! I hope your day has gotten off to a good start! It looks like another beautiful day here in Pelham. I hope the same is true by you.

Things are moving along is the renovation of the lower church at our Immaculate Conception Parish in Jamaica, New York. We still have much left to do before it will be really for taping the Sunday Mass but we are getting there. Today I visit the dentist, then on to the Wartburg Home for mass at 11 am and finally on to my office in Rye Brook.

I pray that all of you will have a great day wherever you are and through whatever kind of day you will face. If you are in the midst of a rainy day – stay dry, if the sun is out soak it in. In other words, be grateful for whatever kind of day you face keep – smiling and remember you are a gift and if you share your gift you will make it possible for others to have a wonderful day too! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

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