Daily
Thoughts:
Today we celebrate the memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary. Mary was a
popular name among the Hebrews, in memory of Miriam, the sister of Moses and
Aaron. Thus some scholars think that this name is perhaps related to an
Egyptian word for “beloved.” Out of love, God chose Mary to be the mother of
Jesus. I have known may women with the name Mary in my life and all of them
have had a wonderful impact on my life. As we celebrate the name of the most
important Mary in our lives of faith let us always call upon her in our time of
need.
“Faith is
about doing. You are how you act, not just how you believe.” (Mitch Albom, Have a Little Faith: a True
Story)
Perhaps
Mitch Albom gives us some insight into the Gospel story today (Luke 7:1-10). The centurion’s faith was
recognizable in his actions. He cared for the community he served, he even
built them a place for prayer. He cared his own household. No treating them as
property but valuing and caring for them. He recognized the presence of God in
his life even though he did not belong to the faith community and perhaps most
importantly he recognized his own unworthiness to be in the presence of God but
trusted in God’s compassion and love.
These
actions enable Jesus to see his true faith and looked what happened. How we act
reflects what kind of faith we have. I pray today through the intercession of
Mary, who acted on her faith, that all of us may learn to live and act as Mary
and the centurion in the Gospel so that God finds great faith in us.
Have a
great Monday everyone!
Daily
Prayer:
Loving
God, grant 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 mundane. May we shun any joy that is
without you and never seek any that is beside you. May we delight in any work
we do for you and tire of any rest that is apart from you. Let us direct our
hearts towards you, and in our failings, always repent with a purpose of
improvement. Loving God may we always live by faith! Amen. (Adapted from a prayer by St. Thomas Aquinas)
A Runner’s
Thoughts:
“I often hear someone say I'm not a real runner. We are all runners, some just
run faster than others. I never met a fake runner.” (Bart
Yasso) Might we also say this about people of faith? It is easy to judge,
but we never know what is in a person’s heart. With that said I have never met
a fake person of faith!
Daily
Blessing:
Happy Monday greetings and blessings to all. I hope on Sunday you took a little
time to connect and be with God and to remember the events and people of
fifteen years ago. I hope your weekend when well and that your favorite team or
teams won if you are in to sports. If not, I hope you had a weekend was unbothered
by sports and politics and full of what was life giving for you.
This week
will be a very busy week for me. Our first taping of the season for the Sunday
Mass will be Friday and there are still many things to do to get our new site
ready. I also have a commitment over the weekend and then be leaving on a
journey for a couple of weeks next Monday. So there is much to do and so little
time to do it. I have a feeling there will be many sleepless night this week.
Prayers requested!
Well
enough of my tales of woe, the focus as always is today and I pray for all of you
as you journey through your day may it be a good journey. May you live by faith
and trust in the gift that you are. May God recognize your faith and bless you
as he blessed the centurion in the Gospel today. If you are struggling with
your faith may you decide to return home so that God can run to meet you and
hold you in his arms as the father did in Sunday’s Gospel. Blessings today upon
all you do, upon everyone you meet and most importantly upon all of you! Peace
in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul
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