Daily Thoughts - 07/16/2016

Daily Thoughts: In today’s gospel we are made aware once again of the struggles between Jesus and the religious leaders of his time.  This time rather than taking them on Jesus withdraws to a friendlier place.  Many people follow Jesus and in a quiet way he heals and teaches.  We find out that Isaiah words from long ago are now being fulfilled by the presence and ministry of Jesus -

    Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,

    my beloved in whom I delight;

    I shall place my Spirit upon him,

    and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

    He will not contend or cry out,

    nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.

    A bruised reed he will not break,

    a smoldering wick he will not quench,

    until he brings justice to victory.

    And in his name the Gentiles will hope.

In this passage Isaiah talks about the tenderness of God and Jesus lives out that tenderness.  A bruised reed will not be broken, but strengthened.  A smoldering wick not quenched, but ignited into a strong flame.  Jesus brings to life the love and tenderness of God by uplifting the meek, strengthening the weak.  Jesus provides comfort to those who are mourning and encourages those who are struggling to “be strong, and fear not.”

As Pope Francis might say Jesus reminds us in our Gospel today of the endless mercy of God. In the midst of all that the world throws at us God is tenderly holding us, protecting us and giving us hope to continue our journey through life. Yes, God’s mercy truly endures forever!

Have a great Saturday everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving Jesus, you were rich and yet for our sake, you became poor. You promise in your Gospel that whatever is done for the least of your sisters and brothers is done for you. Give us grace to be always willing and ready to provide for the needs of those who are struggling physically, emotionally or spiritually so that your Kingdom of service, hope, joy and love may extend throughout the world, to your unending glory. Amen. (Adapted from a prayer by St. Augustine of Hippo)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “Except for .001 percent of the running population, everyone's in the exact same position: There will always be people slower than you, and people faster.” (Ask Miles) – So to in the spiritual life…

Daily Blessing: Saturday blessings and greetings to everyone! It is another beautiful day here is Louisville as we prepare to celebrate the wedding of Kristy and Paul early this afternoon. You might say love is in the air today in a special way. Hope you the day has started off beautiful and life giving wherever you are.

My prayers today continue to go out to all the families of the people killed ot hurt in the terror attack in Nice, France. My heart and prayers goes out to all who lost someone and I pray for those hurt. What a tragedy! What an evil! What a crazy world at times! It is at times hard for me to believe we can be so cruel to one another, however each day we seem to be confronted by violence, bigotry, racism, terror, hate and uncaringness.  Let us continue to pray for comfort and peace.

My prayer of blessing today starts with a personal prayer for Kristy and Paul as they begin their new life together may this day truly be one blessed with love and be the beginning of a wonderful life together.

I also pray as I did yesterday that God will grace us all with the strength to somehow help our world take a step closer to peace by living our life with compassion, love and joy. Please my friends don’t begin this day with hate in your hearts. Don’t see the world through the eyes of the 24 – hour news stations. Don’t point your figures and blame. Don’t disrespect others not like you. Allow God’s blessing to touch your life and be a person of peace, of compassion, of hope, of joy and of love today. Be this person today for your family, for your friends, for your faith community, for those you work with, for those you meet, for the world, and for yourself.

Have a great Saturday everyone, put a smile on your face and trust that you are loved by God even in those moments of struggle. May God bless you today and always and thanks for being the person that you are because you certainly make this world a better place and life worth living! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 07/15/2016

Daily Thoughts: “Something greater than the temple is here.” A line from our Gospel today (Matt. 12:1-8) and we might be tempted to think it was meant only for those to whom Jesus is speaking. But it is meant for us here and now. We might not have Jesus standing in our midst but we have his Spirit with us and it is greater than any temple, any church or any cathedral. The challenge is the same for us as it was for those who gathered to listen to Jesus; we have to recognize the presence and the Spirit of God in our midst.

Jesus gives us a clue on how to make sure that we don’t miss the presence of God. The clue is to be people of mercy. People a tune to and compassionate towards the struggles, challenges, difficulties and failings of others and ourselves. People willing to help and not judge; people willing to be compassionate and not self-righteous. People willing to include not exclude.

Living life from a stance of compassion and mercy is not always easy; it can be difficult and challenging. However, being a compassionate and merciful person does help us to be ready and open to encounter something greater than ourselves the presence and friendship of God.

Today is the feast of St. Bonaventure, a doctor of the Church, a Franciscan, a philosopher, theologian and a mystic. He was a biographer of St. Francis, a contemporary of St. Thomas Aquinas, a teacher and a bishop. We might say Bonaventure was a man of many gifts and talents. We might say that St. Bonaventure was a man who lived from a stance of mercy and compassion, who didn’t let his smarts get in the way of God’s grace and that is why he is a saint today.

Have a great Friday everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, thank you for the abilities that you have placed in our life. Help us to acknowledge these gifts and give us the courage to develop and use them in helping to make your presence known. Help us to be merciful and compassionate people who are always aware of something greater in life. We pray this so that we may never miss the gift of your presence in our life and that we may share it with the world around us. Amen!

A Runner’s Thoughts: When we run in a spiritual way, we are brought into the process of God-ing. Meaning as we run we are not moving toward God but interacting with God along the way. Our run becomes a direct physical, emotional and spiritual way of becoming who we are, our authentic selves. In the process we open up vast and unlimited opportunities to connect with God in new, life giving ways!

Daily Blessing: Friday blessings and greetings to all! It is beautiful day here is a beautiful but hot day here in Louisville, KY. Yes, I made it here yesterday. It was a long 13-hour drive but an uneventful one which was greatly appreciated. I arrive about 7:15 pm got a little dinner and then when to bed. Sorry that my postings are a little late today. I was moving kind of slow this morning which is why my daily musings and prayers are a little late. I hope you will understand. I met with my niece at the church were the baptism will take place on Sunday to make sure everything is set and now I am back at the hotel getting some work done. It will be a busy weekend but light lifting for me and I am a spectator for most of it except for the baptism.

As I begin my blessing prayer for today my thoughts and prayers are with the people of Nice, France. I pray for all who lost their life last night that they might now be at peace with God. I prayer for all who lost loved ones and friends that they might find comfort. I pray for the people of France who must go through another tragedy. Just when you think you have seen it all something new happens. How tragic, how evil! May all effected by last night’s terror find comfort through our prayers.

My prayer of blessing today for all of us is that God will grace us with the strength to somehow help the world take a step closer to peace by living our life with compassion, love and joy today! Please my friends don’t begin this day with hate in your hearts. Don’t see the world through the eyes of the 24-hour news stations. Don’t point your figures and blame. Don’t disrespect others not like you. Allow God’s blessing to touch your life and be a person of peace, of compassion, of hope, of joy and of love today. Be this person today for your family, for your friends, for your faith community, for those you work with, for those you meet, for the world, and for yourself.

Have a great Friday everyone, put a smile on your face and trust that you are loved by God even in those moments of struggle. May God bless you today and always and thanks for being the person that you are because you certainly make this world a better place and life worth living! Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 07/14/2016

Daily Thoughts: In the Gospel today (Matt 11:28-30) Jesus reminds all of us that we should always come to him, that we should always come to God, when we are troubled and find life burdensome and difficult. Jesus will give us comfort and rest. With Jesus, with God, the struggles, difficulties and burdens of life can easy. What makes them easy is having faith in our relationship with Jesus.

A few years ago I ran across a definition of faith that went something like this – Faith is staking your life on the promises of God. Think about that for a moment – staking your life on the promises of God. In the Gospel Jesus promises that if we have faith we will always have comfort and rest even in the midst of troubles and challenges. Having faith is the key. Life is never easy and each new day brings challenges, struggles, burdens and difficulties but knowing where and with whom to stake our life can make all the difference.

Today is the feast of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American saint. She was canonized in 2012. She is known as the “Lily of the Mohawks” and is patroness of ecology and the environment. St. Kateri had a strong devotion to the Eucharist which helped to strengthen her faith in the midst of struggles and challenges. May we be touched this day by her spirit of faith in our own journey through life! We also might say that St. Kateri was a young woman who didn’t miss her opportunity to encounter God and that is why he is a saint today!

So my friends in the midst of all that the world throws at us, let us like St. Kateri Tekawitha continue to walk by faith trusting in our friendship with God and staking our life of God’s promises.

Have a great Thursday everyone.

Daily Prayer: Take, Lord, and receive all our liberty, our memory, our understanding, and our entire will, all we have and call our own. You have given all to us. To you, Lord, we return it. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give us only your love and your grace that is enough for us. (Adapted from St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Prayer)

A Runner’s Thoughts: We need to always remember that there are different forms of prayer, of communication with God and that they are possible in everything we do, even when we run. So as I have often said, let us allow our run today to be a prayer – a prayer of thanksgiving, a prayer of petition or intercession, a prayer of praise, a prayer of struggle, or a prayer seeking help or perhaps just a prayer that says hello God how are you today?

Daily Blessing: Thursday blessings and greetings to all. I am not sure what kind of a day it will be as the sun has not risen just yet. It is still very dark outside my window. Hopefully in an hour or so I will hit the road. I am off to Louisville, KY today for a family wedding on Saturday and a baptism on Sunday. Today will be a long day as I make the drive through, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky. I am hoping the weather will be nice and there will not be too much construction. It is a 700 plus mile drive so most of my day will be on the road. In the solitude of my journey today you will be remembered in my times of prayer. I hope wherever you are it will be a beautiful day for you. If you are on the road like me, please be safe!

I pray today that you will be blessed with the richness of God’s presence, wherever you are, wherever you go and in whatever you do. May you find the gift of joy within you and may it energize your living of life today. And may you know the strength, the joy and in the hope of God’s love as you live this day!

My friends stay well and have a great day! Please know as always you are in my prayers and may you always know that you are truly a gift. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 07/13/2016

Daily Thoughts: A friend of mind often says, “It is hard when you are the smartest man in the room!” His point is that people with smarts often have a hard time with those of us who don’t. They believe they know it all or at least they know more than everyone around them and they find it frustrating when things don’t go their way or at least the way they think things should go.

I thought of this today in terms of our Gospel (Matthew 11: 25-27). Jesus says, "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the child like.” In other words, sometimes the smartest, the wisest, the most learned among us have no clue!

We are all aware of just how open children are. They want to learn. They want to experience new things and they haven’t yet decided what the right way to do things is. They are open to trying new ways, learning new things and exploring life around them. I think the point that Jesus is getting at in our Gospel today is that if we are open to the word, the experience and the presence of God in our lives just like children are then we will have a better chance of hearing, encountering and recognized God in our life.

Intelligence, smartest, knowledge and wisdom are wonderful gifts however they can get in the way of God’s presence in our life. It is often better to be like a child rather than the smartest person in the room.

So let us live, let us embrace today in a childlike way so that we don’t miss any of what God sends our way. Have a great Wednesday everyone.

Daily Prayer:  Loving God, create in us an ever-growing faith, with hearts open and centered in you. Awaken within us the fire of your Spirit, so that your love may fill us more fully, and flow throughout our lives.

Increase within us a desire to reach out, to invite and to share, to welcome and accept. Awaken the faith of all your people, especially those who have grown distant from you, those ready to hear an invitation to the love you alone can bring.

Awaken us, loving God, to see the fullness of your grace and peace. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. (Awakening Faith is a ministry of Paulist Evangelization Ministries)

A Runner’s Thoughts: Mother Teresa saw Christ in the face of everyone she met; it is possible to conduct a run that models her behavior. So as we run, let’s place a smile on our face and thus offer a blessing to everyone we meet on our run today!

Daily Blessing: Wednesday blessings and greetings to all! It looks to be another beautiful day here in Pelham. I hope the same is true by you!

Today is my last day home this week as I will be leaving tomorrow for Louisville, KY for a family wedding and baptism. I will be back home late Sunday night which is a change in plan because of an issue with the Sunday Mass. I will not be heading to the St. Ann’s Novena in Scranton until a week from Friday. Today I will be trying to clean off my desk and get things in order until Monday.

My blessing prayer this morning is that each of you will encounter the richness of God’s blessings today! That you all will find today rich in the presence, joy, hope and love of God. That each encounter you have and journey you make will add another piece of the mystery of God to your life. And that you all may be alive with the joyful grace of God’s presence that will become the gift of you to the world today!

Have a great Wednesday everyone! Stay cool and may this day be one of many blessings for you and those who are important in your life! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 07/12/2016

Daily Thoughts: We might say our Gospel today is about missed opportunities. In the Gospel (Matt. 11:20-24) the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum have missed their opportunity to encounter the presence of God, they have missed their opportunity to be people of faith.

I think if we all stop and think about our lives we can look at moments when we to missed opportunities. Perhaps we missed an opportunity to help another person, we missed an opportunity to be a compassionate friend, we missed an opportunity to help someone with their struggles or we missed a moment when God was truly present in our life. In looking back at our life we probably recognize many opportunities that we missed.

Now in looking back at our life we have two choices; we can choice to learn from our missed opportunities or not. In the Gospel today the towns of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum chose not to learn from their missed opportunities. These three towns no longer exist; there are just piles of rocks, archeological digs sitting in the hot sun waiting for people to come and walk through them. There is no life in any of these towns today.

Perhaps we might take on the challenge of the Gospel today by learning from our encounters with God rather than not learning from them and finding ourselves like Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum today.

Thus, our challenge today is to ask ourselves if we as individuals, as families, as communities, as Church, as cities, as nations, as a culture and society are willing to learn from our mistakes, our missed opportunities? If we chose not to our fate will be like the fate of the three towns in the Gospel. What choice will we make?

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, strengthen us with the power to love through your Spirit in our inner most being. Fill our hearts with your presence and please do not leave us even when we seem to choose to go our own way. Help us to learn from our mistakes and missed opportunities so that we might grasp fully how wide and long and high and deep your love is for us. Above all, enable us to know this love that surpasses all knowledge so that we may share it with others. Amen!

A Runner’s Thoughts: Shakespeare once wrote, “Now bid me run, and I will strive with things impossible.” Jesus said, “…with God all things are possible.” Thus if we run with God then as we strive with things impossible they will become possible! Have a great run today and stay cool.

Daily Blessing: Tuesday blessings and greetings to everyone! It looks to be another nice day here in Pelham, I hope the same is true by you. It will be another day of paperwork for me as I try to clear my desk of things needing to be done so that I can hit the road later this week. I hope your Tuesday has started off well and that you are in for a great day wherever you are.

My prayer of blessing today is that your day will be rich in the grace and joy of the presence of God. That you will encounter the grace you need to navigate through this day successfully and peacefully. That you will be blessed with a joyful heart that you will share with everyone you meet and that you will encounter the presence of God throughout your day helping you to have the confidence that your presence in the world today is a gift to everyone you meet and to us all! Blessings upon all today and stay cool! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 07/11/2016

Daily Thoughts: Over the last week or so we have been reading a section of Matthew’s Gospel that seems to be a directive for discipleship. Jesus tells the disciples to trust in God by taking nothing with them on the journey, to depend of the hospitality of others, and to offer peace and to proclaim the Kingdom wherever they go. Jesus also tells them that the journey of discipleship will not be easy, that they will be rejected and at times the peace they offer will not be accepted. And in today’s Gospel Jesus also tells the disciples that the struggles of discipleship may even start within the family and friends that they love.

In a number of ways, the picture Jesus paints of discipleship in Matthews Gospel today (Matt. 10:34-11:1) is one that seems impossible to embrace let alone live. The thought of being at odds with mother, father, sister and brother would make me wonder why I would want to journey down that road.

I think Jesus’ purpose for this instruction is simply to make it clear that if we get on broad it is not an easy ride. The journey of a disciple is not the journey of a fairy tale; it is not the journey of “happily ever after.” The journey of a disciple is a difficult road with many challenges, many struggles, many difficulties and often a great deal of change. It is a journey of choices and decisions that are not always easy. Discipleship is the journey of the Cross and Jesus wants those who take it up to understand the consequences along with the joys and hopes.

Have a great Monday everyone!

Daily Prayer: Compassionate God; bless us with anger at injustice, oppression, exploitation of people and the earth, so that we may strive for justice, equality and peace. Bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer, so that we will reach out our hands to comfort them and to change their pain into joy. Bless us with a foolishness to think that we can make a difference in the world, so that we will begin to do the things that others say cannot be done. Amen!

A Runner’s Thoughts: Remember we can make our runs holy by bringing to our runs a sense of God’s presence in us.

Daily Blessing: Monday blessings and greetings to all. I hope your Monday is starting well. It seems to be a beautiful sunny day here in Pelham. I hope the same is true by you. I hope your weekend was a fruitful one and that you had some time to enjoy life. I pray that this new work week will be one gifted with many blessings.

This morning I will celebrate mass at the Wartburg Home at 11:00 am then it will be on to the office in Rye Brook. This first part of the week will be focused on getting paperwork and other things done so that I can hit the road towards the end of the week.

May all of you be blessed with God’s peace today and as Jesus tells us in the Gospel today it is a peace that we must look for at times in the midst of struggle.  May you be blessed with God’s energizing grace so that you can find the gift of God’s peace and joy in your life today wherever you go, in whomever you meet and especially within yourself. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 07/10/2016

Daily Thoughts: In our Gospel today we hear the beautiful and perhaps threatening parable of the Good Samaritan. A scholar of the law asks Jesus a question, it is asked to begin a discussion rather than a request for information. Jesus, answers the question with a question. The man knows the Law well and responds correctly. According to the Book of Leviticus, 19, 18, loving neighbor is a sacred responsibility of the faithful Jewish person. So to extend the discussion and perhaps get the upper hand, the scholar asks the obvious question and Jesus takes it out of the scholar’s hand and lays it on his heart.

A Samaritan becomes the central focus of the story by placing himself in the vulnerable position of not being anybody’s neighbor. The beaten man sets up the tension. The two religious figures, who do not tend to the man, heighten the gesture of the disliked Samaritan.  Jesus is telling this story to move from the Law to the Good News. The good news of the parable has several aspects.

Perhaps the two who pass by on the “opposite side” have their religious reasons. Their being faithful to their understanding of the laws of physical purity are righteous in their eyes. The good news that Jesus expresses in the parable is that “unlawful” love of the injured is the new and complete righteousness. Keeping our eyes and hearts open to those in need is more blessed than keeping our eyes on law.

The Samaritan is moved with compassion flowing from his head and heart. Jesus is the compassionate stranger to our fallen, robbed-of-innocence humanity. Jesus is on “our side” and takes us to the “inn” of his embrace after tending to our wounds through the Sacraments. “Oil” and “wine” are the healing “bandages” of Jesus’ touch.

The good news is that we are relieved from our wondering what exactly are we to do when healed and sent back on our journeys. We are to “Go and do likewise.” Selfishness in its various forms of protection, personal image, and indulgence, are very close to our minds and hearts. This interior law is not so far away or high above us. We do not need anybody to teach us how to be greedy, egocentric, or lazy.

There are two forms of “good news”. One is the selfishly good news that each of us can walk on the “opposite” side of the other “good news” which we keep hearing and making the center of our lives. The selfless law of Jesus is warming to the heart when we hear it, but the other “good news” of our ignoring selves, still remains in effect.

So once again, the Gospel puts us in tension. We ask also “who is our neighbor,” we ask whom we should care for and whom can we pass by. We would say that our neighbor is the one who will appreciate our gestures of generosity. Our neighbors are those whom we know. Our neighbors are those who are similar to us; think the way we do, act in accordance with our values. This is natural and warming to the heart and mind.

Jesus’ teaching is his whole life of including, embracing, and saving us in our being stripped, beaten by the ways of the world within and around us. He has brought us from our own being half-dead back to full life. Jesus keeps teaching us to share, to extend his compassion, and work to heal.

In doing this, Jesus lives through our stoppings. As St. Teresa of Avila put it, “Christ has no body now on earth but yours.” But ours!

Have a blessed Sunday everyone!

Daily Prayer: Christ has no body but ours, no hands, no feet on earth but ours, ours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world, ours are the feet with which he walks to do good, ours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.

Ours are the hands, ours are the feet, ours are the eyes, we are his body. Christ has no body now but ours, no hands, no feet on earth but ours, ours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world. Christ has no body now on earth but ours. (Adapted from a prayer by St. Teresa of Avila)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “As marathoners, we may or may not become someone else physically. At least not in such a dramatic manner. But our role is a challenging one, and it certainly changes us. Finish a marathon and you emerge tougher, stronger, more tenacious. Also, oddly, a bit more humble.” (Mark Remy) So to in the spiritual life…

Daily Blessing: Sunday greetings and blessings to all. I hope your Sunday has gotten off to a good start. In a few minutes I will head out to celebrate mass at St. John and St. Mary’s Parish in Chappaqua, New York. It looks to be another beautiful day here in Pelham I hope it is the same by you!

My prayer of blessing today is that you will be blessed with the spirit of faith to help you on this journey of life. May you be blessed with the spirit of hope to get you through the rough times. May you be blessed with the spirit of love to remind you in whose image and likeness you are created in, how special you are and that you are never alone. As you journey through this Sunday may you know that God is with you always and will never leave you to face your struggles alone! Happy Sunday everyone and remember to give God a little time today! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul