Daily
Thoughts:
Two summers ago in New York it was hard not getting caught up in Derek Jeter’s
farewell tour. Now I am not a Yankee fan, I have always been a Pittsburgh
Pirate fan, a National League fan, but I have to admit that during my 19 years
of living in the Bronx and now Pelham I have come to respect and at times root
for the Yankees because of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. During my time
living in the Bronx they became two of the faces of baseball and all that is
good about it for me.
The
greatest player in baseball, for me, will always be Roberto Clemente and I will
always be a diehard Pirate fan but at a time when it is hard to find good in
sports. When the day to day news about sports is often negative, I truly
believe Derek Jeter was a man, a player of class, integrity and dignity. I know
that I don’t know him and he could be a real jerk outside of baseball but
something tells me he isn’t.
Perhaps
in much the same way last year around this time it was hard not getting caught
up in the preparations for Pope Francis’ visit. Let Derek Jeter many last
summer were asking the question who is Pope Francis? Certainly over the last
few years I have come to respect and be in awe of Pope Francis because of the
kind of man he is and the spirit of God he seems to bring to every encounter
with others. I truly believe Pope Francis is a man of faith, a man of truth, a
man of love and a man blessed by God in a world that is often violent, negative
and life taking rather than life giving.
In the
Gospel today (Luke 9:18-22), Jesus asks two questions of his disciples, “Who do
the crowds say that I am? and Who do you say that I am?” I might be stretching
things but in a way throughout Jeter’s last baseball season many baseball fans
were asking the same questions about Derek Jeter. I am not comparing Derek
Jeter to Jesus! I am just saying that a small part of the baseball season two
years ago was, at least for me, defining who Derek Jeter was. Celebrating what
he had been for baseball over the last twenty years. Perhaps looking at his twenty-year
career in the major leagues and realizing he has been a great player, not the
best, depending on how one defines the best, but a great player who touched the
lives of many by the way he played the game.
In the
Gospel, the disciples try to define who Jesus is for them and Peter is able to
get it right, Jesus is “The Christ of God.” It is important for the disciples
to come to know Jesus in this way because of where their journey with him is
headed, the Cross and Calvary. They need to begin to see Jesus as he truly is
in order to make the journey with him. With Jesus there is truly a time for
everything under the heavens, an appointed time.
The same
is true for us. In our journey of faith, we need to come to know who Jesus is
in our life. We like Peter need to know him as “The Christ of God” because of
where our journey is going and the things we will face with Jesus. There have
been and will continue to be many crosses and many journeys up Calvary.
So today
I would just like to say thank you to Pope Francis and Derek Jeter for sharing
their appointed time in this life with us but most importantly I want to thank
Jesus for being “The Christ of God” and for your continuing your appointed time
in our lives!
Have a
great Friday everyone!
Daily
Prayer:
Loving
God,
We have
no idea where we are going.
We do not
see the road ahead of us.
We cannot
know for certain where it will end.
Nor do we
really know ourselves,
and the
fact that we think we are following your will
does not
mean that we are actually doing so.
But we
believe that the desire to please you
does in
fact please you.
And we
hope we have that desire in all that we are doing.
We hope
that we will never do anything apart for that desire.
And we
know that if we do this
you will
lead us by the right road
though we
may know nothing about it.
Therefore
we will trust you always
though we
may seem to be lost
and in
the shadow of death.
We will
not fear, for you are ever with us,
and you
will never leave us
to face
my perils alone. Amen!
(Adapted from a prayer by Thomas Merton)
A
Runner’s Thoughts: “How can one learn to know oneself? Never by
introspection, rather by action.” (Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe) So to in the spiritual life…introspection can help us
see things about ourselves but it is our actions, through prayer and service of
others that will really help us to know ourselves!
Daily
Blessing:
Friday greetings and blessings to all! I hope your day has started off well. We
had more rain here in Kanab last night but I think it is to be a beautiful
sunny day today. I will not know for about an hour though when the sun comes
up. I hope wherever you are it will be a beautiful day too.
I would
like to send a special shout-out to my great niece Emilia who celebrates her
birthday today. Have a Happy Birthday Emilia with many blessings today and
always. Have a great day and I hope you get to celebrate at least a little!
This will
be my last regular post until Monday October 3rd. Later today on my
web site I will post a Daily Thoughts, a Runner’s Thoughts, a Daily Prayer and
a Daily Blessing for each of the next nine days. It will be up to you to go to
my web site each day to read my posts and musings. Also as of tomorrow morning
I will go dark technology wise until Sunday October 2nd, that means no
email, no Facebook, no Twitter, no internet, no phone. Let’s hope that by
Sunday October 2nd I am still alive just a little sore nothing more.
As I have
said I will be using my ultra-marathon as a kind of retreat which hopefully
means a lot of prayer time. Now I know some of my prayer will be selfish, “O
God, please get me through this!” However, hopefully a majority of my prayer
will be for those who are in need of a prayer. I certain will hold all of you
in my prayers as I make this journey.
For my
prayer of blessing for all of you today is this – As you journey through this
day may you be blessed with Christ within you, with Christ behind you, with
Christ before you, with Christ beside you, with Christ to comfort and restore
you, with Christ beneath you, with Christ above you, with Christ in your quiet
moments, with Christ in your moments of struggle, with Christ in the hearts of
all who love you, with Christ within of all your friends and every person you
meet. May the presence of Christ’s be within you and bless your day, Amen!
I hope
you will have a great Friday and that you encounter many blessings today and
much peace. May you be graced by God in whatever you do and may you bring God’s
grace to whomever you meet! Work, pray, travel, study, laugh, cry, talk, be
silent, be intense or relax today rich in the blessing and presence of God. Until
I sign on again sometime on Sunday October 2nd be well and have a
great week! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul
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