Daily Thoughts - 05/08/2013

Daily Thought: “In [God] we live and move and have our being.” A simple phrase that Paul uses as he speaks to the crowd in Athens, it seems to have been a phrase use by a poet that Paul applies to our relationship with God.

Paul is right this phrase very simply reflects our life as people of faith. If we believe then our life is in God and from our relationship with God, we live, we move and have our very being.

I have often imaged faith as being the breath we take every second of our life in order to live. We cannot do anything without that breath, nothing. Whether we are resting, running, alone or with people we need to breathe in order to live. From my perspective that is what faith is all about. I think that is what Paul was trying to tell the people of Athens. I think that is what Jesus was reminding his disciples of in the Gospel today.

As people of faith, we breathe in the presence of God, the Spirit of God, with and in that presence, that spirit, we live, we move and we become our very self, we have our being, our life, our purpose, our meaning. Today let us let our faith, the breath of God, enlivens us, strengthens us, inspires us and guides us on our journey through life.

Daily Prayer:  O God of all life, direct our hearts throughout this day in your wonderful Spirit of hope, so that we may know it is you at the center of all we are, all we want, and all we are meant to be. Keep us always faithful to your everlasting Spirit of Life and remind us that in your Spirit that we live, that we move and that we have our very being. Help us to take your breath of Life and live it to the fullest.  Amen!

Runner’s Thought: Let us remember as we run today that if we run towards God, God runs twice as fast towards us. Thus, to draw closer to God it is only necessary to move in God's direction!

Wednesday greetings to all! We are in the midst of a storm here in Midland Park, NJ, lightening, thunder and lots of rain. Well I guess everyday cannot be sunny and the plants and earth do need to be watered so I begin this day by thanking  God for the rain that washes the earth and brings forth life!

I hope your day has begun well either in the wetness of rain for the warmth of sun. May God bless your day today with the richness of life and may all that you do be within the presence of God’s love. Remember as you live today, live, move and be with God! Peace in Christ’s Passion and Hope in the Risen Lord…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 05/07/2013

Daily Thought: Sometimes we need to remember that God has the power to transform our loss into gladness and our sorrow into joy. In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles today the jailor finds himself at a moment of decision. He thinks that all the prisoners have escaped. He considers taking his own life because it would be quicker and less painful then the death he would have to endure for such a folly under his watch. However, he finds that his worst fears are unfounded and that God has given him and opportunity through Paul and Silas to change his life. Thus rather than death the jailor and his family experience new life!

In moments of tragedy, struggle, disappointment and sadness we at times get an opportunity to grow, to see life in a different way, to change. It is not easy, it can be challenging and perhaps our first thought is to not even try, to continue to feel what we feel. Yet, God is waiting for us to step up and bring the presence of God to each moment of our life, moving beyond worry, fear, anger, resentment and sadness to the Spirit of God.

I know this will be an unpopular thought but I have been bothered the last week by what is taking place in Massachusetts in regards to the body of the one terrorist from the Marathon bombing. I know that what he did was horrendous. I know that many, many lives we changed by his actions. I know he killed four people and harmed many others. I know that what he and his brother did was inexcusable and evil. But we call ourselves a Christian nation; we claim to be Christian people. We are offended when people what to take God out of our life, whether it be in our schools, the Pledge of Allegiance or any other place. Yet we will not allow this person, no matter how evil, a person who began created by God, to be buried. There is something wrong with us if continue to think this way.

Yes, I know we are angry, I am angry at what happen that day in Boston and in the days that followed. I am angry about what is happening in our world. I am angry we are not safe anymore. I am angry that at an event where people are supposed to relax, have fun and enjoy themselves terror ends their day, their lives. I am angry that at time my life is more about fear than anything else.

However, I am a Christian; I am a believer in God, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I am a believer that Jesus asked us to be compassionate, hopeful, loving and faith filled people. I have to believe as a Christian, as a Catholic allowing this person to be buried is the right thing to do. I believe if we don’t we will be condemned by God, as Jesus says in the Gospel today, along with him for not believing.

I hope somewhere down the road we as a people, as a nation, as Christians can grasp the moment like the jailor in the reading today and allow God to transform our lives from fear and hate into peace and hope!

Daily Prayer: Loving God we once again draw upon the inspiration of St. Francis. Please help us to be your instruments. Please helps us to be your presence in this world, to be your people of Faith.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen. (Prayer known as the Prayer of St. Francis)

Runner’s Thought: Let us remember in the midst of our run when running gets harder, when we get tired, when we are climbing a steep hill, when we don’t feel like continuing, when it just don’t seem worth it, these are reminders to come home to our breath, to the awareness that God is running with us! (Adapted from Roger Joslin)

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope your day is beginning well. I hope the sun is out and you feel awake, energized and ready for a new day. If not you are in my prayers with the hope that your day will get better!

The mission here at Nativity Parish opened well last night. We had a nice crowd that was very enthusiastic and Spirit filled. I look forward to our second evening and my little reflection after the 12:10 pm mass today. Again if you are in the area of Midland Park, NJ why not come and join us at 7:30 pm this evening.

I pray this morning for blessings upon your day. May it be rich in the presence of God. May all you do and everyone you meet be gifted by your energy, your goodness, your love and your faith. Have a wonderful day everyone. Peace in Christ’s Passion and hope in the Risen Lord…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 05/06/2013

Daily Thought: There is a quote from St. Bede the Venerable that goes like this, “Let us speak the truth in our hearts and not practice treachery with our tongues, so that by pouring forth charity more and more in our hearts, the Spirit of truth may teach us recognition of all truth.” In this day and age I might add a little something to what St. Bede said, “…and not practice treachery with our tongues and our fingers!” It is not only the treachery of the spoken word today; it is also the treachery of the written word today. You find it on Twitter, Facebook and any other social media site.

It amazes me how negative, hurtful, bigoted and sinful we can be with the words we write about others. We call ourselves Christian yet the pictures we post, the cartoons we send around, the ideas we put forth sometimes are anything but Christian. I guess it is easy to site in our homes or offices or be walking down the street and attack a person, an organization, a political party, a public servant, someone in leadership, or a president. They get no chance to defend themselves; our words don’t have to be true. From the comfort of our own electronic device we can post whatever we want and there are no consequences to our actions whether we are right or wrong. Remember it is a free country and certainly free social media!

In the readings from mass today we are reminded about the importance of truth. Jesus reminds us that he is sending us the truth through the Holy Spirit from the Father, not Fox News or MSNBC or any other news organization that we agree with. Truth is most often not found in the media sources of today’s world it is found in the hearts of people who journey through life as friends of God.

Lydia, whom we meet in the Acts of the Apostles today, went to the river to pray and her life was changed through the preaching and the presence of Paul. Paul spoke the truth and Lydia allowed it to enter her heart. She came to believe. She invited the truth into her home and into her heart.

We need to trust the Spirit in our life not 24 hour news. We need to speak truth about ourselves and others. We need to be friends of God who build up not tear down. There are always going to be those who bring deceitfulness to the living of life may we always be people who bring truth!

Daily Prayer: O God of all Truth, your Son told us that the truth will set us free. May we live this day in the freedom of your truth. May your truth truly set us free to bring you to each person we meet and to each moment we live. Help us to let go of the negativity that surrounds us and often enters our hearts. Help us to be proclaimers of hope because we trust in your loving presence. Grace us with hearts like Lydia, hearts of welcoming and kindness so that we may never be people who tear down but people of service and hospitality who continue to build up your kingdom. Amen!

Runner’s Thought: 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 of thanksgiving, or a prayer of petition or intercession, or a prayer of praise, or a prayer of struggle, or a prayer seeking help or perhaps just a prayer that says hello God how are you today?

Happy Monday everyone! I hope your day and your week have started off well. Though I do know that Monday mornings can be tough! If this is a tough one hang in there and I will pray that the day and the week get better.

I am looking forward to the first evening of the mission here in Midland Park, NJ. Though I am a little nervous, I always wonder if anyone will show up. But I am trusting in God and the fact that some people over the weekend said they will see my on Monday. Please offer a prayer for the faith community here at Nativity Parish and for their preacher that we might have a successful journey together this week.

Please know of my prayers for you today and always. May you like Lydia, in the first reading for today, hear the word of God, take it into your heart and allow it to bless you with peace and hope throughout this day and always! Peace in Christ’s Passion and Hope in the Risen Lord…Fr. Paul

Sunday Thoughts - 05/05/2013

Daily Thought: We find ourselves once again this Sunday being asked to see life differently. We are being asked to see life through the eyes of faith.

In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles the faith community struggles as it tries to grow, as it tries to welcome new members. There is a council; there is a meeting of the leadership. During this meeting I bet there was a lot of discussion, a lot of input, a lot of opinions and a lot of arguments. However in the end the leadership, the community decided to change, it decided to grow. I am sure it was not easy because change is never easy.

In the reading from the Book of Revelation, John once again asks the communities to which he is writing to have hope in the future so that in the meantime they can continue to live out their faith.  John tells them there will be better times. In his vision today, John sees the New Jerusalem. It is the city that his churches are journeying to; it is the city we all are journeying to. As John describes it, the New Jerusalem is a wonderful city but it does not have a temple, it does not have a basilica, it has the eternal presence of God. The communities are to hold on to this vision, to hold on to this hope, they are to continue to be faith filled people.

In the Gospel, Jesus prepares his disciples for his Ascension, for the time when they will have to look at things differently. They will not be to look to him when they struggle, when they are challenged and life gets difficult. But they will have the Holy Spirit to guide and direct them. The Holy Spirit will help them to remember the Good News. The Holy Spirit will help them to see life differently and continue to bring the presence of God to the world.

We are reminded today that as people of faith we are to look at life differently. If we are willing to do so we will be gifted by the Holy Spirit with the strength of faith, a vision of hope and the embrace of God’s love. Live on people of faith do not be trouble or afraid!

Daily Prayer:  Loving God, gift us today with your unconditional love. Help us to find in these Easter days of joy a vision of hope that will enable our hearts to not be troubled or afraid but to be hearts of enduring faith. Teach us to see the world differently, not with the eyes of the world but with your eyes so that our hearts will be filled with your peace. Amen!

Runner’s Thought: If, in running, the desire is to connect with God, to pray, it is already happening. Keeping that desire at the forefront of our thoughts, remaining conscious of the intent is critical. Let’s make our desire to run with God and then run with God today! (Adapted from Roger Joslin)

Sunday blessings to everyone today! The mission here at Nativity Parish in Midland Park, NJ has started well this weekend. A very faith filled and enthusiastic parish. It was nice to be a part of the First Communion celebration at the 12 noon mass. Wonderful group of kids! Again if you are in the area come and join us Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30 pm!

Have a restful and peaceful Sunday everyone. I hope the sun is out wherever you are. My prayers are with you today and always. Peace in Christ’s Passion and Hope in the Risen Lord…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 05/04/2013

Daily Thought: In some ways the image created by John in his Gospel today can be a bit confusing. In today’s Gospel Jesus talks about “the world.” He says. “If the world you hates you, realize that it hates me first.” We might be led to believe by this statement that “the world” is bad, that there is nothing good about “the world.”

If we look at Jesus’ statements about “the world” in this section of John’s Gospel in this way then how do we reconcile this image of “the world” with Genesis 1:31, which tells us that God created our world good or John 3:16, which tells us that God so loved the world.

“The world” that Jesus speaks about in the Gospel today are those who have rejected Jesus. In Jesus’ time and in our time there is good and bad in “the world,” there is life and death, there is good and evil. There are some in “the world” who will and do hate us. Rejection of Jesus and his message is alive and well today. There are people who reject the Gospel, who reject Jesus, who reject faith.  They are “the world” that Jesus warned us about.

Just because it has been over 2,000 years since Jesus it does not mean that rejection and hate have gone away. It does not mean that we are immune from the hate and persecution that Jesus encountered. We might not have to carry a wooden cross through city streets and die on it, but we will be hated and persecuted because we believe.

The question might be how do we deal with this? I think Pope Francis has given us a clue, he says that our “weapons” of self-defense are the Gospel, humility and meekness. In other words we are not to be like those in “the world” who hate, persecute, those who sling mud, criticize and judge. We are to be people of the Gospel, people of compassion, forgiveness and love. We are to be Gospel people in humility and meekness.

You might say these “weapons” go against every human instinct. When challenged, when persecuted our instinct is to strike back but that is not Jesus’ way and as people of faith it is not our way.  If we truly know Jesus, if we truly believe then hate and persecution does not matter what does is bringing life to the presence of God through forgiveness, compassion and love!

Daily Prayer: Loving God make us instruments of your love, compassion and forgiveness. When we are hated, help us not to lash out with hate. When we are persecuted by word or action, help us not to sling mud back. When we are not respected or made fun of, help us not to be disrespectful and arrogant. When the way people talk about us or report about us does not seem fair, help us to be your faithful, humble and meek servants who bring your presence to the world. For if we are compassionate and loving people we will keep alive your Good News and help all to know just how much you love the world. Amen!

Runner’s Thought: Remember running can be humbling and elevating at the same time. When we run and see the beauty of creation we realize how insignificant and tiny we really are when it comes to all of creation, yet God did create each of us as “very good.” Each of us carries the image and likeness of God within us. So as we run let us run with God helping to create a better world and a better person!

Happy Saturday everyone! I hope your weekend has started off well. Yesterday I celebrated a Confirmation Retreat Day with some students from St. Barnabas Parish in the Bronx. It was the second half of the Confirmation class. I had given a retreat day to the first half two weeks ago. I was a great day the students were spirited and full of energy.

Today I am getting ready to journey to Midland Park, NJ and Nativity Parish where I will begin an Easter Parish Mission this evening. I will be preaching the masses this weekend and then celebrating the mission Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. If you are in the area come and join us!

Have a great Saturday and Sunday everyone. If you are betting on the Kentucky Derby I hope your house comes in, if not just have another mint julep and it will not seem so bad! Blessings on your weekend, may you find some rest and relaxation and may you be gifted with family, friends and the presence of God! Peace in Christ’s Passion and Hope in the Risen Christ…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 05/02/2013

Daily Thought: “So that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete,” the closing words of the Gospel today. Have you ever noticed that Jesus always seems to be thinking about others? He always seems to want the best for the people around him. All he asks is that we believe in the value of love; the love of God for us, the love of Jesus for us and our ability to love others in the same way.

The communities of faith that we hear about in the Acts of the Apostles are challenged over and over by Jesus’ commandment to love. They value God’s love, they value Jesus’ love thus how they live, grow and change as a community of faith demands that they extend this love to others. The laws, the rules, the regulations change because the community tries to be inclusive and loving. The community tries to look beyond its small world to a larger world. It is not easy. It takes openness, dialog, discussion and sometimes change.

I was told by a friend that someone in church leadership recently wrote an article about the challenges of being a community of faith these days. (I must say I have not read the article.) This leader used an example from his childhood about having to wash his dirty hands before eating. It was a rule in his family and even if there were guests they had to wash their dirty hands before eating. A simple story and one that many can relate to I certainly can as hand washing before meals was a rule in my house too.

However, to use the washing of dirty hands to address the complex struggles inclusion in the church today seems a bit simplistic and invalid. Imaging people dealing with weighty issues like sexuality, sexual orientation, birth control, marriage, divorce, just to name a few, as simply people with dirty hands seems a bit simplistic. Equating the washing dirty hands with some profound struggles in life seems disrespectful to people created in the image and likeness of God.

Yes, we have many challenges to the community of faith today. Yes, there are no easy answers which makes the job of leadership and faith difficult but to say all people have to do is wash their hands make no sense to me!

God’s love, Jesus’ love is a gift and yes there is a condition, the condition is our love for God, for others and for ourselves. The condition is not easy within the human condition and it is certainly not as simple as washing our hands. The early church knew this and I think so do we!

Daily Prayer: O God of great love, open our hearts to the gift of your love this day and always. Help us to see your image and likeness in ourselves and in everyone we meet. Grace us with the wisdom to learn, to listen, to discuss, to discern and to grow. Enable us to move beyond what stifles growth so that your joy will always be within us and that our joy will always be complete through the hope of a world made new. Amen!

Runner’s Thought: When we run today let us remember that our breath comes from God. At the moment of creation God breathed life into us. That breath started our heart. So as we take the first steps of our run today and everyday let us once again breath in the breath of God. Let us make God part of our run, let us make God part of our life!

Thursday blessings to all! I hope this finds you well and having a good day. I ran across a little saying the other day, “Prayer may not change things for you, but it for sure changes you for things.” I will say a little prayer for you today! Peace in Christ’s Passion and Hope in the Risen Lord…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 05/01/2013

Daily Thought: I opted to celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker this morning at mass and I used the readings for the feast. This feast in honor of St. Joseph always takes me back to my childhood. Our parish in Port Vue, PA, was named St. Joseph. It honored St. Joseph as the worker. Out in front of the school building (our church we in the basement of the school) was a statue of St. Joseph with the tools of the trade in his hands, carpenter’s tools, the tools of a man who worked with his hands.  

It was a wonderful image for the parish as most of the people in the parish worked for the steel industry. They worked in the many steel mills that ran long the rivers of Western Pennsylvania. It was a blue collar town, a town of families, a town of workers. The ethic of family life and working hard was a daily part of my world growing up. This is not to say that I lived in “Camelot,” that everything was perfect and life for everyone was wonderful. There were struggle, problems, heartaches and sadness along with the joys, hopes and the good times of life. But St. Joseph the Worker as the patron of the parish spoke to a simple vision of life that the people of Port Vue and many other town tried to live out.

I returned to my hometown many years later. The church building was still there and so was the statue of St. Joseph.  However, like in many places it was no longer St. Joseph’s Parish; it had been merged with another parish in the area and was now called St. Mark’s. The statue was in disrepair do to years of neglect, much like my hometown which was now struggling because the steel industry was long gone. It was still a blue collar town; it was still a town of families but also a town struggling to find hope and a vision for the future. Perhaps more than ever my home town needed St. Joseph’s spirit.

The feast we celebrate today honors the spirit of St. Joseph, a simple man who in a quiet, yet strong way, responded to God’s invitation. His skill as a worker and a father was not always honored or valued as we hear in the Gospel reading today. Yet he lived on, he said “yes” to God’s invitation. He lived his life with honor, hard work and love for those around him. He was a blue collar worker, a family man, an ordinary person who let God do extraordinary things with his life.

As a Church we sometimes let his image fall into disrepair. He becomes an afterthought in a world of glitz and glamor saints. Yet, St. Joseph will always remind us that everyone is created in the image and likeness of God which makes each of us special and important to the work of God in the world!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, today we honor and remember Joseph, who by the work of his hands and the sweat of his brow, supported Jesus and Mary, becoming an image of a loving father, husband and faithful worker in your kingdom.

Teach us through St. Joseph’s spirit to work as he did, with patience and perseverance, for you and for those whom you have given us to support and love in our lives. Teach us to see in all workers, Christ, that we may always be gracious and forgiving towards all.

Help us to look upon the work of life with the eyes of faith and hope, so that we can recognize in it our share in your own creative activity and Christ’s work of our redemption, and so find joy and meaning in all the work we do.

When our work is satisfying and productive, remind us to give you thanks. And when it is burdensome, teach us to see beyond the struggles and hardships to the hope of a world made new that our work through you can bring. In St. Joseph’s spirit make us workers for your kingdom. Amen! (Adapted from a Prayer to St. Joseph)

Runner’s Thought: 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!

Happy Wednesday, “Hump Day,” everyone! I hope your day has started out well, with a little sun and warmth. If not hang in there and I will pray that it gets better! May has arrived so have the colors and the pollen! For those of you suffering with runny noses, itchy eyes and sneezing I am with you. I have never had spring allergies this bad in my life. Thank goodness the Claritin has finally kicked in. Oh well, I guess I should not complain life is good these days in many ways!

Many blessing today everyone, enjoy this first day of May where ever you are and let all your work, all your labors, all your ministry today be a gift to God, others and yourself. Peace in Christ’s Passion and Hope in the Risen Lord…Fr. Paul