Daily Thoughts - 05/14/2016

Daily Thoughts: Today we encounter the final verses of John’s Gospel. As we have traveled through the Easter season we have retold the stories of Jesus’ meetings with the disciples after the Resurrection. Drawing on yesterday’s Gospel Jesus helps the disciples catch a large number of fish and in doing so he gets their attention after which they gather to have a little breakfast. Having nourished themselves Jesus then challenges Peter three times with the question “Do you love me?” What we read today is the final call of Peter.

In the early part of John’s Gospel, Jesus, is followed by two of John the Baptist’s disciples. In the story Jesus turns and asks the two men perhaps a most important question, “What are you seeking?” The two men reply by asking Jesus where he is staying. Jesus extends the invitation to, “Come and see.”  Jesus does not say, “Come and find out.”  Jesus simply invites them as he will invite others and all of us for that matter, to come, to see and so believe. This is Jesus’ ongoing invitation, the challenge of being people of faith throughout our journey of life.  In John’s Gospel, believing is seeing the “signs” so that believing beyond “signs” will be what it means “to follow”.

So John ends his Gospel with Peter’s having seen enough “signs” including the large catch of fish after catching nothing, during the night. Perhaps when looking back at the disciple who Jesus loved, Peter is asking for another “sign”, a companion whom Peter could trust for support. Jesus indicates that this disciple has his own calling as does Peter, as do all of us. Peter’s calling is to trust in his friendship with Jesus throughout the rest of the story, the end of which Peter does not know.

These final verses are a summary reflection of all that Jesus has done throughout his ministry. It is a summary of all the “signs” that are there to be seen and all who can see the “signs” are no longer blind, they believe, they have faith, because of having seen, because they have encountered Christ. As John says there were many events in the life of Jesus, but those that have been written down are just the right amount for Peter and any reader of the Gospel.

With the coming of the Spirit we are given the gift of faith which is a variety of vision by which we look for and receive “signs” of the presence of Jesus and of his calling us to follow into the unknown of our tomorrows. We, like Peter, will always want assurances, companions, and more “signs” to make believing a little bit easier. God gives us just the right amount of what’s good for our own response.

Have a great Saturday everyone!

Daily Prayer: O, God, to know you is life. To serve you is freedom. To praise you is the soul's joy and delight. Guard us with the power of your grace here and in all places. Now and at all times, forever. Amen. (Adapted from a prayer by St. Augustine of Hippo)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “I don’t run to add days to my life, I run to add life to my days.” (Ronald Rook)

Daily Blessing: Saturday greetings and blessings everyone! I hope your Saturday has begun well and that you are enjoying the beauty of God's creation wherever you are. It looks to be a beautiful sunny day here in Pelham as the morning begins. I was up at 4:30 am this morning and out of the house by 5:00 am taking two guests to Kennedy Airport. I made the round trip in an hour. Travel at that time of the morning is so easy! Now I must spend the rest of the morning preparing for a funeral at 10:00 am. It is nice getting going early but I am sure the short night and early morning will cause a crash at some point later today. Until then I am going to enjoy the gift of this day.

My prayer of blessing 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! Remember to give God a little time this Pentecost weekend. Peace in Christ's Passion and Joy in the gifts of the Holy Spirit...Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 05/13/2016

Daily Thoughts: We have encountered our Gospel today a number of times throughout this Easter Season. So I am going to return to an earlier reflection that includes two of my favorite quotes from rather famous Jesuits.

The first was a quote that I have always liked from Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ. – “Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.”

And the second is a prayer written by St. Ignatius of Loyola, SJ. – “Take Lord, receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. You have given all to me. To you, O Lord, I return it. All is yours, dispose of it wholly according to your will. Give me only your love and your grace, for this is enough for me.”

In reading the Gospel this morning these words from two great Jesuits came to mind. In the Gospel Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” and three times Peter says, “Yes!” Our relationship, our friendship with God centers on love, God’s love for us and our love for God.

This exchange between Jesus and Peter along the shore of the Sea of Galilee after the Resurrection puts an exclamation point of their relationship and sends Peter out into the world to discover the energies of love, to discover fire once again all in the service of God!

Love is only realized, only understood in terms of action. How we live it out determines its power and presence. If Peter loves Jesus then he must live that love out, he must share it with the people of God and so must we!

Have a great Friday everyone!

Daily Prayer:
Take, Lord, receive all our liberty
Our memory, understanding, Our entire will.
Give us only your love and your grace, that's enough for us
Your love and your grace are enough for us.
Take, Lord, receive all we have and possess.
You have given all to us, now we return it.
Take, Lord, receive, all is yours now
Dispose of it wholly according to your will.
(Adapted from the song Take Lord Receive by Fr. John Foley, SJ)

A Runner’s Thoughts: Remember running is not just conquering, hills, distance, weight, injury, illness or pain. Running is most often conquering ourselves. We can try to do it alone but it is so much easier when we let others journey with us and we are always at our best when we run with God!
 
Daily Blessing: Friday greetings and blessings to all! I hope your day is starting out well. It is nice to be back home and not facing a day of meetings. I will be heading out later this morning to celebrate mass for the faith community at the Wartburg Home but other than that today will be a day of rest and preparation for a busy weekend and a busy week ahead. I hope your Friday will lead to a relaxing and life giving weekend for you.

May God bless all of you this day with the Spirit of Love and through your work, your travels and your interaction with others may Jesus truly know that “Yes, you do love him!” May God’s blessings be upon your Friday and upon your celebration of Pentecost Sunday. May you have a restful, peaceful, fun filled and Spirit filled weekend with those who are most important to you. Peace in Christ’s Passion and Joy in the Holy Spirit…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 05/12/2016

Daily Thoughts: “Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying: ‘I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their words….’” There is comfort for us in today’s Gospel (John 17:20-26). While we still find ourselves listening to Jesus talk about his and our relationship with the Father as we have been for most of the Easter Season, today Jesus let us know that his prayer is not only for his disciples but for us, those who believe because we have heard.

Jesus looks ahead with his prayer today, ahead to all those who will come after him and somehow, in some way, come to believe. Jesus prays for people like you and me who have listened to the words of parents, relatives, teachers, preachers and come to know and believe in Jesus.

St. Paul in the first reading (Acts 22:30; 23:6-11) is an example of the power of Jesus’ prayer. Paul knows human nature and he used it to his advantage today so that he can continue to proclaim the Good News. St. Paul is a witness to the presence of God in the world and because of his witness we to have a chance to believe.

As we journey through this day let us be thankful for Jesus’ prayer that we too might be included in God’s love if we have the courage to believe in the Good News that we hear!

Have a wonderful Thursday everyone!

Daily Prayer:
God be in our head and in our understanding today.
God be in our eyes, and in our seeing today.
God be in our mouth and in our speaking today.
God be in our feet and in our traveling today.
God be in our hands and in our embracing today.
God be in our ears and in our listening today.
God be in our soul and in our believing today.
God be in our hearts and in our loving today.
God be in us and everything we do today. Amen!
(Adapted from a Celtic Prayer)

A Runner’s Thoughts: If we chose to be a spiritual runner we can learn three things about ourselves.  We can learn how to keep moving forward through whatever life throws at us. We can learn who we truly are, our best self. We can learn that we are never alone and always love because we have God running with us!

Daily Blessing: Thursday greetings and blessings to all! I trust your day has started off well. If not please know you are in my prayers and I will say a special prayer after finishing this post that your day will get better.

It looks to be a beautiful sunny day here in West Hartford, CT today. We will be concluding our Assembly this morning and I have to say that I will be most happy to put it behind me and get on with life. I know that meetings are necessary and often important but sometimes I just wonder! I guess I should learn to apply my own advice – just keep moving forward, find my best self and remember that I am never alone, God is always with me, with us!

Please continue to keep the Passionists and those work, minister and pray along with is in your prayers so that we can bring a positive and hope conclusion to our time together.

Have a great Thursday everyone and may God’s blessings and grace be upon your work, your rest, your interaction with others, your loved ones and you! May God truly be with you, around you and within you today and always! Peace in Christ’s Passion and Joy in the coming of the Holy Spirit…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 05/11/2016

Daily Thoughts:  I have to say that I will be glad when Sunday comes and goes and we are no longer in the Easter Season. I say this not out of disrespect or because I don’t like the Easter Season, I love it but by this point we have heard the Gospel of John especially chapters 14-17 so much that it is a little hard to focus. Throughout these chapters John goes round and round about Jesus’ relationship with the Father and our relationship with him and the Father. Sometimes I just want to say, “Ok, I get it!” I also think John may have been reincarnated in the people who wrote and translated the Roman Missal. If it is not John, then it must be somebody who studied under him or a distant relative of him.

However, with my frustrations stated I was thinking very early this morning as I spent time in prayer preparing for another day of meetings that perhaps these chapters in John are really the words of a person in love.

In my teenage and young adult years there were a few times when I was in love. Obviously they didn’t work out but I can still remember the women and how I felt. I can also remember that it was hard to explain my feelings to myself and others. It was hard to talk about my feelings; the words would get all jumbled up. I would repeat them over and over again until I am sure my friends were tired of listening to me. When I would speak about my feelings to the one I loved or tried to explain them to my friends often I didn’t seem to be making much sense.

Perhaps that is my struggle with the words of Jesus in John that we have been listening to throughout the Easter Season. Yes, they are Jesus’ words, but it is John who is trying to communicate them to us. It is John in the writing of the Gospel who is now the person in love. He is a man in love with the Father, a man in love with Jesus, a man in love with us.  Both Jesus and John are trying to explain this love. Jesus to his disciples and John is trying to explain this love to us but in both cases words don’t always come out that clear. They explain this love over and over again, hoping we will understand and hoping that we too will fall in love!

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Daily Prayer: O God, strengthen us with the power to fall in love through the gift of your Spirit in our inner most being. Fill our hearts with your presence and please do not leave us. Help us to grasp how wide and long and high and deep your love is for us. And, above all, enable us to know this love that surpasses all understanding and knowledge so that we may share it with others this day and always. Amen!

A Runner’s Thoughts: Remember running can be a sacred act, sacred time. Sacred is a Latin word sacraficium, meaning to cut up, or sacrifice. If we want our run to be spiritual we need to sacrifice time, energy and comfort. It requires that we face life head on, live wholly in the present, taking on joy and suffering, savoring each emotion, every experience while offering it all to God. (Adapted from Roger Joslin)

Daily Blessing: Wednesday greetings and blessings to all! It looks to be the beginning of a beautiful day here in West Hartford. We continue our days of Passionist Assembly here. All seems to be going well. As we enter this last day and a half I would ask you to keep us Passionists and those who are meeting with us in your prayers as we continue this journey through a time of discussion and reflection.

My prayer for all of you this morning is that God will bless your day with energy, enthusiasm, purpose, meaning, grace and much love! Be well and safe in your journeys today and may you be blessed with many encounters of the presence of God. Peace in Christ’s Passion and Joy in the Risen Lord…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 05/10/2016

Daily Thoughts: “I pray for them.” The words of Jesus from today’s Gospel (John 17: 1-11a). Throughout these closing days of the Easter season we hear over and over again Jesus’ desire for us to continue his mission and ministry in the world. He knows that it will not be easy so he prays to the Father that we might be taken care of just has the Father has taken care of him.
                                                                  
In the first reading (Acts 20: 17-27) St. Paul reflects on what lies ahead for him because he has taken up the mission of Jesus. He talks about being martyred. His time is short, and he realizes it.  He like Jesus, in the Gospel, is sending a message to his followers.  He has done his best; he has proclaimed the Gospel now they must carry on.

The message for us in these last days of Easter is to trust in the Spirit as we continue the ministry and mission of Jesus in our lives. The message is to do our best and to always know that Jesus is with us. He has offered us a relationship, a friendship with God. It is that friendship that St. Paul draws upon in living his life, in being challenged by the world around him and in staying faithful to his call. We are asked to do the same.

As we have often heard through these days of Easter God so loves the world that he has so fearfully, wonderfully made us so that as we live this day let us trust in our friendship with God and live the gift that God has created us to be!

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Daily Prayer:  Loving Jesus, you have no body now on earth but mine, no hands but mind and no feet but mine. Mine are the eyes through which you look out with compassion on the world. Mine are the feet with which you go about doing good. Mine are the hands with which you bless people now. Jesus you have no body now on earth but mine so through me bless the world today. Amen! (Adapted from St. Teresa of Avila)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “There is a lesson to be learned from running in various emotional states, just as there are lessons to learn from running in a wide range of environmental settings. Don’t shy away from running in an unaccustomed state of mind or an unusual situation. Opportunity for enlightenment often waits in the unfamiliar.” (Roger Joslin)

Daily Blessing: Tuesday greetings and blessings to everyone! I hope your day has started off well. Here in West Hartford, CT I woke up to a beautiful sunny day with temperatures to rise into the high 60’s today. Too bad I will be sitting indoors through meetings all day. I hope you will get out to enjoy the beauty of nature today!

As I mentioned yesterday I am attending our Passionist Assembly at our retreat center in West Hartford, CT. It will be four days of meetings so I would ask your prayers for all involved. We are continuing to plan for the future and planning is not always easy or life giving when in the midst of the details.

Have a blessed day everyone and may God’s blessings be upon your work, your travel, and your encounters with others, upon those whom you love and upon you! Peace in Christ’s Passion and Hope in the Risen Lord…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 05/09/2016

Daily Thought: “In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” The last sentence of today’s Gospel from John (John 16:29-33). It reminds us that being a person of faith is not easy, that we will find ourselves struggling with many things about the world, culture and society. In fact, we will struggle with many things within our own faith community because as an institution it is part of the world and run by human beings who are imperfect. Living this life will give us trouble from all sides.

However, we are not to fear because Jesus has conquered the world. He has made this life only part of the journey. There is more to life than this world; there is more to life than what we face each day. There is an eternal life where there is no more pain, no more sorrow, no more death just the eternal presence of God. As people of faith that is where we are headed but there is still this life, this world to navigate through.

Each day we need to look for the Spirit. We need to look for those people like St. Paul who can help us connect with the Spirit, because it is the Holy Spirit who will guide us through the troubles of this world. It is the Holy Spirit who will bring to life the gift of God within us.

So be on the lookout today for the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can come to us in many different ways, through creation, through the people we meet, through the people we love and yes, the Holy Spirit can even come to us through ourselves. Let us be the breath, the life, the Spirit of God today!

Have a great Monday everyone!

Daily Prayer:  Come, O Holy Spirit of Life and help us in our weaknesses, in our troubles and in our struggles.  We do not always know how to pray as we should, so we ask you to intercede for us. Grace our prayers with your groanings too deep for words and set our hearts on fire with your love. Help us to be re-created in your love so that we might renew your hope throughout the face of the earth this day and always. Amen!

A Runner’s Thoughts: When you finish your run today or any day, take a moment to reflect on the sense of balance, the sense of energy, the sense of renewal that results from your run. Think of the moment when you felt God’s presence. Think of the ways you felt God presence. Now take that energy, that balance, that presence with you throughout the day!

Daily Blessing: Monday greetings and blessings to everyone! I hope you had a nice Mother’s Day yesterday and that your Monday has started off well. Hopefully, you are energized because you are coming off of a restful and life giving weekend.  If not may you find new energy as you go about your journey through today.

In a few hours I will celebrate the 11 am mass at the Wartburg Home and then head to West Hartford, CT for our Passionist Assembly at Holy Family Retreat Center. Our Assembly will last until Thursday noon. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to look at our mission and ministry.

I pray that your day, your week will be blessed with many wonderful and life giving experiences. If you can take sometime today to smell the flowers, to enjoy the colors of creation and to let yourself be loved! May God bless your journey through this day with his grace and presence wherever you go, in whatever you do and in whomever you meet. Peace in Christ’s Passion and Hope in the Risen Lord…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 05/08/2016

Daily Thoughts: First of all, let me say Happy Mother’s Day! In terms of my reflections on the scriptures, today is one of those confusing days in our Church year. In some places particularly in the eastern part of the United States we are celebrating the Seventh Sunday of Easter however in most of the United States we are celebrating the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord. In my opinion I wish the bishops would get together and all do the same thing. I don’t care which option they choose but as a Church and a country let’s choose one!

However, until that happens I will offer you two reflections today one that I offered last Thursday on the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord and one on the Seventh Sunday of Easter. Let me once again say happy Mother’s Day to all mothers and let me remember in a special way all mothers who have gone before us, especially my own mother. Mothers are a great gift, a great blessing and a wonderful way to meet God in life! Blessings upon all mothers today and always.

Feast of the Ascension of the Lord

“Men Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?” I have always liked this little phase at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles. For me it sets the stage for everything that Luke is going to tell Theophilus about Jesus and this community call Church. Perhaps this question directed at Jesus’ followers just after he ascended into heaven sits at the center of our life as Church.

Sometimes as a Church I think we are standing there look up at the sky. We are looking at the past. We are looking at what use to be and not what is. We are looking back hoping the past will be the present and the future.

The angel’s question to the disciples perhaps was not just a question but a challenge. Are you going to continue to stand here and just look up at the sky? Are you going to live in the past, put your hope in the past? Or are you going to get busy and be about the ministry Jesus has entrusted you with, are you going to get busy about living of life.

In the movie the Shawshank Redemption Andy at one point tells Red, “I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living or get busy dying.” Perhaps that is what the angel is asking Jesus’ disciples the day of the Ascension. What are they now going to do with the mission, the ministry that Jesus has entrusted them with? Their choices are to stand here and keep looking up at the sky, waiting for Jesus to return, thinking of the past or they can get busy living the life, the faith, the hope, the love that Jesus has entrusted to them.

We might say that this celebration of the Feast of the Ascension challenges us in the same way. Are we as a Church just going to stand around looking, waiting for Jesus, are we going to stand in the midst of the past and wait or are we as a people of faith going to get busy living out our faith through the gifts of the Spirit?

If you are celebrating the Feast of the Ascension along with Mother’s Day have a great day!

Seventh Sunday of Easter

The Gospel passage today is taken from the Last Supper discourse in John’s Gospel. You might say that this is the last meal, the last class, the last prayer-service and the last conversation that the disciples had with Jesus before his death. We could say that it is Jesus’ good-bye speech to them. Within it Jesus expresses a profound love for his friends and a deep desire for union, friendship with them. Jesus is one with the Father and longs to share that with his friends and through them to share his love with the world. As with a good-bye speech, there are strong statements of being sent and a wishing to be received. Jesus knows that these friends are a gift from God to him. Jesus loves them as he knows the Father loves him.

Jesus longs for his friends to receive that love as a part of their knowing and receiving themselves. The world in this reflection is not the physical earth, but those people in the world who do not and have not had the chance to encounter Jesus as God’s gift of love. Jesus has been preparing his friends for their mission to be the presence of his love in the world. He is sending them into the world after his death and resurrection to be that presence.

These deep sharings by Jesus are going to be real by his death and resurrection. Love might be suggested in words but it is most often made real by actions and deeds. Love is the exchange of all that one has with the other who does the same. Jesus has said the words and he lived the words by totally handing himself over to us. All of the love he receives from the Father has been given to us. Intimacy results in fruitfulness. All that Jesus gave to his friends; he now gives to us. All that Jesus shared with the friends, he says now to us. Jesus was sent to bring us to life and that life is ours to exchanging with the world. The reception of a love, of gifts, of any intimacy is not an end, but a beginning of living with and then beyond the experience of being so loved.

Have a blessed Sunday and Mother’s day everyone!

Mother’s Day Prayer:

We thank you, God, Creator of us all, for our mothers.

We thank you that they gave us life and nurtured us all those years. They gave us our faith, helping us to know you and to know Jesus and his ways. They taught us how to love and how to sacrifice for others. They taught us that it was okay to cry and that we should always tell the truth.

Bless our mothers, with the graces they need and which you want to give them today. Help our mothers to feel precious in your eyes today and to know that we love them. Give our mothers strength and courage, compassion, peace and those who have passed eternal life.

Bless our mothers this day and always with your love. Amen (Adapted from a Mother’s Day Prayer found on Creighton University Ministries web site)

A Runner’s Thoughts: To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift. (Steve Prefontaine)

Daily Blessing: Sunday and Mother’s Day greetings and blessings to all! I would like to wish a very Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers living and remember in a special way all mothers who are deceased who have touched our lives throughout the years. I would also like to remember expectant mothers as they prepare and wait for new life. In a special way I would like to remember my niece, Sarah, my nephew, her husband, Dominick and my niece, little Natalie Ann, as they wait for their son and brother to arrive sometime this month!

I hope all of you are having a great day and that you getting the chance to honor your mother and all the mothers who have touched your life in some way. I always find it special honor my own mother as I celebrate mass and I will most happy to do that today.

I pray that you will have a great Mother’s Day touched by the presence of God and if you are traveling today you will do so safely. May all your encounters with others and your time alone today be rich in the joy of God grace and love. May God’s blessing be upon all mothers especially those who are expecting and may we celebrate the gifts that all mothers offer us and touch our lives with today in a very special way. May God bless this day and may it be a day of blessings that will help us to encounter the joy of life, especially the joy mothers bring into our lives! Peace in Christ’s Passion and Joy in the Risen Lord…Fr. Paul