Daily Thoughts - 03/26/2016

Daily Thoughts: Once again Pope Francis offers us these words to help us on our journey through Holy Saturday – “There are Christians whose lives seem like Lent without Easter. I realize of course that joy is not expressed the same way at all times in life, especially at moments of great difficulty. Joy adapts and changes, but it always endures, even as a flicker of light born of our personal certainty that, when everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved. I understand the grief of people who have to endure great suffering, yet slowly but surely we all have to let the joy of faith slowly revive as a quiet yet firm trust, even amid the greatest distress: “My soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is… But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness… It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (Lam 3:17, 21-23, 26).” (Evangelii Gaudium: The Joy of the Gospel)

I offer you these words from Pope Francis because I think they reflect what Holy Saturday is about. We sit and wait. Will there be an Easter? Yes, we know that there will be but those disciples and friends of Jesus who lived through this day many centuries ago did not. They lived this day in their grief but they also lived this day in hope. It was a time when they remember the story, it was a time when they hoped, it was a time when joy was conceived in their hearts. Today we live in the hope that once again joy might be conceived in our hearts!

The word that I always use for Holy Saturday is hope. After a long Lent, after the gift of Love which we call Good Friday we wait in Hope on Holy Saturday. The elements of the Easter Vigil which we will celebrate later today all point toward the virtue of Hope.

We retell the story of creation, our creation, of how God so loved us, of how we are created in the image and likeness of God. We retell the story of our release from slavery; How God with a mighty arm brought us from slavery to freedom. We hear how God provides for all those who are thirsty, who are hunger. The rich table, the rich food God provides for us.

On Holy Saturday night we light a new fire. We bless new water. We welcome people, through baptism, confirmation, Holy Eucharist into the community of faith. It is a night of hope for us, for our church, for the world.

I read not too long ago that the most common one-liner in the scriptures is, "Do not be afraid." Someone counted, and it occurs 365 times. In one of the Gospel readings for the Easter this one-liner appears twice. First the angel who meets the women at the tomb just after the earthquake tells them, “Do not be afraid.” Then as they go running from the tomb they run right into Jesus who also tells them, “Do not be afraid.” Fear can be a crippling emotion. It can sometimes hold us back from seeing, experiencing and proclaiming the Good News.  The world can throw many experiences, situations and encounters at us that can cause to live our life in fear. The message of our Easter celebration is to not be afraid, have to have hope!

“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings a tune without the words and never stops at all!” (Emily Dickinson) We wait in faith today, we wait in love, and we wait to hear the tune of hope that perches in our soul singing a tune of love that never stops. Yes, today we wait...in hope!

Have a blessed Holy Saturday!

Daily Prayer: Loving God as we wait today make ready our hearts that they may be inflamed with your presence. Enkindle in them the fire of your love. Grace our souls with the song of your hope, a song, and a tune that will never stop. Strengthen us with patience, strengthen us with energy, gift us with wisdom and enliven us with joy. We make this prayer as your faith filled people embraced by your love and dancing to the rhythm of the song of hope! Amen!

A Runner's Thoughts: As runners in faith we always need to persevere. Perseverance requires faith that the path you have chosen is the right path. Wherever it takes us we will grow in the presence of God if we are willing to persevere.

Daily Blessing: Holy Saturday greetings and blessings to all! I hope you had a blessed and holy Good Friday. I hope you got to spend a little time in prayer. The liturgy of Good Friday is so simple it is one of my favorite days to just sit in a church or a chapel and be. I had the great privilege of preaching at the service yesterday and I have to say that being a Passionist there is no greater gift than to proclaim the Good Word on Good Friday!

This evening I will once again be preaching at OLPH Parish here is Pelham Manor. It will be a wonderful way to celebrate the Easter Vigil. The pastor told me the other day that there will be ten people coming into the Church in one way of another tonight which is always a wonderful thing to experience.

But for now it is a time of waiting. My prayer of blessing today is that your Holy Saturday may be rich in the warmth of the sun, that it may be a day when you can hope for all the goodness that Easter is. And may you be blessed with the new life of joy that will enliven the journey of your life in new and faith filled ways! Enjoy your Holy Saturday everyone and please know you are in my prayers throughout this day and always! Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul

A Good Friday Prayer

At the close of this Good Friday night's annual Way of the Cross at the Colosseum the Pope kept his custom of offering a self-written prayer.

Please take a moment to pray with and for Pope Francis...

  

    O Cross of Christ, symbol of divine love and of human injustice, icon of the supreme sacrifice for love and of boundless selfishness even unto madness, instrument of death and the way of resurrection, sign of obedience and emblem of betrayal, the gallows of persecution and the banner of victory.

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you raised up in our sisters and brothers killed, burned alive, throats slit and decapitated by barbarous blades amid cowardly silence.

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the faces of children, of women and people, worn out and fearful, who flee from war and violence and who often only find death and many Pilates who wash their hands.

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in those filled with knowledge and not with the spirit, scholars of death and not of life, who instead of teaching mercy and life, threaten with punishment and death, and who condemn the just.

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in unfaithful ministers who, instead of stripping themselves of their own vain ambitions, divest even the innocent of their dignity.

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the hardened hearts of those who easily judge others, with hearts ready to condemn even to the point of stoning, without ever recognizing their own sins and faults.

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in expressions of fundamentalism and in terrorist acts committed by followers of some religions which profane the name of God and which use the holy name to justify their unprecedented violence.

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in those who wish to remove you from public places and exclude you from public life, in the name of a pagan laicism ["secularism"] or that equality you yourself taught us.

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the powerful and in arms dealers who feed the cauldron of war with the innocent blood of our brothers and sisters.

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in traitors who, for thirty pieces of silver, would consign anyone to death.

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in thieves and corrupt officials who, instead of safeguarding the common good and morals, sell themselves in the despicable market-place of immorality.

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the foolish who build warehouses to store up treasures that perish, leaving Lazarus to die of hunger at their doorsteps.

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the destroyers of our “common home”, who by their selfishness ruin the future of coming generations.

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the elderly who have been abandoned by their families, in the disabled and in children starving and cast-off by our egotistical and hypocritical society.

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas which have become insatiable cemeteries, reflections of our indifferent and anesthetized conscience.

    O Cross of Christ, image of love without end and way of the Resurrection, today too we see you in noble and upright persons who do good without seeking praise or admiration from others.

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in ministers who are faithful and humble, who illuminate the darkness of our lives like candles that burn freely in order to brighten the lives of the least among us.

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the faces of consecrated women and men – good Samaritans – who have left everything to bind up, in evangelical silence, the wounds of poverty and injustice.

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the merciful who have found in mercy the greatest expression of justice and faith.

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in simple men and women who live their faith joyfully day in and day out, in filial observance of your commandments.

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the contrite, who in the depths of the misery of their sins, are able to cry out: Lord, remember me in your kingdom!

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the blessed and the saints who know how to cross the dark night of faith without ever losing trust in you and without claiming to understand your mysterious silence.

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in families that live their vocation of married life in fidelity and fruitfulness.

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in volunteers who generously assist those in need and the downtrodden.

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in those persecuted for their faith who, amid their suffering, continue to offer an authentic witness to Jesus and the Gospel.

    O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in those who dream, those with the heart of a child, who work to make the world a better place, ever more human and just.

    In you, Holy Cross, we see God who loves even to the end, and we see the hatred of those who want to dominate, that hatred which blinds the minds and hearts of those who prefer darkness to light.

    O Cross of Christ, Arc of Noah that saved humanity from the flood of sin, save us from evil and from the Evil One. O Throne of David and seal of the divine and eternal Covenant, awaken us from the seduction of vanity! O cry of love, inspire in us a desire for God, for goodness and for light.

    O Cross of Christ, teach us that the rising of the sun is more powerful than the darkness of night. O Cross of Christ, teach us that the apparent victory of evil vanishes before the empty tomb and before the certainty of the Resurrection and the love of God which nothing can defeat, obscure or weaken. Amen!

(Prayer Written by Pope Francis – Good Friday March 25, 2016)

Daily Thoughts - 03/25/2016

Daily Thoughts: “To be evangelizers of souls, we need to develop a spiritual taste for being close to people’s lives and to discover that this is itself a source of greater joy. Mission is at once a passion for Jesus and a passion for his people. When we stand before Jesus crucified, we see the depth of his love which exalts and sustains us, but at the same time, unless we are blind, we begin to realize that Jesus’ gaze, burning with love, expands to embrace all his people. We realize once more that he wants to make use of us to draw closer to his beloved people. He takes us from the midst of his people and he sends us to his people; without this sense of belonging we cannot understand our deepest identity.” (Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium: The Joy of the Gospel)

Pope Francis’ words remind us today of what the Cross is all about. He asks us to stand before the Cross of Christ today. He asks us to see and feel the depth of God’s love, of Jesus’ love for us. We are reminded that Christ’s love cannot remain just within us but that it is to be shared!

As I reflected on John’s Passion (John 18: 1-19:42) and the other readings (Isaiah 52: 13- 53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16; 5: 7-9;) that we encounter in today’s liturgy I began to think about the image of gesture that Pope Francis used in his Holy Thursday homily yesterday. He said the Last Supper reading provide us with two gestures. Jesus’ gesture of love and service and Judas’ gesture hate. Perhaps as we take time in prayer with St. John’s Passion today there is one gesture that can be seen two ways.

The gesture of love or the gesture of hate. The gesture of mercy or the gesture of violence. The gesture of compassion or the gesture of indifference. What gesture do we see and live when we gaze into the eyes of Jesus on Good Friday?

The words of Pope Francis that I began with remind me of why I am a Passionist. Each day as I arise I try to stand before the Cross of Christ and I look through the lens of his Passion to see his burning love. Each time I put on my habit and attach the simple sign that only Passionists wear I am reminded that Christ great love must be in my heart. Each time I wander into a new day I am reminded because of that sign over my heart that I am to bring Christ unrelenting love to every person that I meet. Because I am a Passionist and a mean of faith I am connected to Christ’s Passion story.

I think we all need to find our own way of connecting to the Passion story. We have to find our own way to understand, to feel, the mystery of Jesus' Passion. We have to make the connection with the characters of the story and with Jesus. We might not understand but we need to make the connection, we need to feel the story. We need to find our own liturgy sometimes.

At this point in life as I pause to keep Good Friday holy I am truly blessed and honored to be a Passionist and a priest so often I am privileged to lead a community in the liturgy of the Lord's Passion or like this year I have the honor of preaching, of sharing the Good News on this day. I get to help others look through the lens of the Passion of Jesus Christ.

My friends in faith, however you remember the Lord's Passion of this Good Friday my prayer for you is that the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ will always be in your heart!

Good Friday peace and blessings to all! I hope you will at least make a visit to Church today, take a little time to sit before the Cross of Christ, and remember God’s great love for you!

Daily Prayers: Today I offer you two simple little prayers to guide you through this day. The first comes from our Passionist tradition it is a simple prayer we utter each day - "May the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ be always in our hearts!"

The second prayer was write by the great Jesuit theologian Fr. Karl Rahner, S.J. - "The Cross of My Lord, Be my Standard, Be my Comfort, Be the Answer to all dark questions, The Light of all nights, The Sign that You have chosen us, The mysterious and sure Sign that we are Yours for eternity. Amen."

A Runner's Thoughts: If we truly want to be a spiritual runner then we must remember that with every time we run we embark on a path were we can expect surprises, missteps, little jumps and sometimes great leaps toward a personal understanding of God.

Daily Blessing: Good Friday greetings and blessings to all! I trust you had a blessed Holy Thursday and were able to find a little time to connect with God. I know many of you probably have to work today but hopefully you will be able to take at least find a few moments of quiet to make holy this Good Friday. If you can at least try to make a visit to a church and sit for a little while before the Cross of Christ and remember that God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son that would be great. If you can attend the Lord’s Passion Service that would be excellent, it is one of the simplest and most beautiful liturgies that we have as a Church.

Yesterday afternoon I was privileged to celebrate the Eucharist of the Lord’s Supper for the residents of the Wartburg Home. We did not do the washing of the feet but at least we were able to bring the gift of Holy Thursday to people who otherwise could not have celebrated it.

Then last night I celebrated with the faith community at Our Lady of Perpetual help in the Pelham Manor and had the honor of preaching the Good Word. The parish had a special dinner before the Eucharist of the Lord’s Supper. It was very well done. The dinner was in silence with music and readings throughout the meal. The Eucharist of the Lord’s Supper was a very prayerful celebration and I was able to stay for a while after the mass was over to just pray before the Reposition Altar.

Today I will return to OLPH for their Good Friday Service at 3 pm. Once again I will be preaching. There is no other place I would want to be than proclaiming the Good News on Good Friday. I am truly a blessed Passionist today!

My prayer of blessing today is simply that somehow today you are touch by the magnanimous love of God. That you are blessed with the grace to believe in God’s love. A love that is ground in our friendship with Jesus because there is no greater love than to lay down your life for your friends, Jesus laid down his life today for us, his friends. I send my prayers and I ask God's blessings upon all of you and your loved ones. May the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ be always in our hearts! Peace in Christ's Passion today and always...Fr. Paul

Note: At 7 pm this evening I will pray the Stations of the Cross on line. Perhaps you might take some time to pray with me? Go to www.preacherman.org and make the journey to Calvary with me.