Daily Thoughts - 11/14/2013

Daily Thoughts: “The Kingdom of God is among you.” These are Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel (Luke 17:20-25). What do they mean?

On the one hand Jesus could be talking about himself. He is the Kingdom of God at that moment. The religious leaders are looking around for God and signs of God yet God is in their midst. The Kingdom of God is among them and they are missing it!

Another way of looking at Jesus’ words is that Jesus does not say that the Kingdom of God is in us or above us or around us; Jesus says the Kingdom is among us. Perhaps Jesus is saying that none of us alone possesses the Kingdom of God. Each of us shares in the Kingdom, thus we need each other for the Kingdom to be fully appreciated.

With this in these two understandings of Jesus’ words today our challenge is to be on the lookout for marks of the Kingdom. We need to be on the lookout for the presence of Jesus in our life. And what will help us not miss the marks of the Kingdom and the presence of Jesus? Well as the first reading tells us (Wisdom 7:22b-8:1) the gift of the spirit of wisdom and remember wisdom produces friends of God!

Have a wise and wonderful Thursday everyone!

Daily Prayer: O God of all wisdom, hear our prayer today, as we call upon your spirit of wisdom, and grace us with your spirit of wisdom so that we may know and understand what things we ought to do and say. Touch us with your presence so that we may have grace and power to faithfully accomplish all that is put in front of us today. We make our prayer through Jesus Christ our loving Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Runner’s Thoughts: “I run because it's so symbolic of life. You have to drive yourself to overcome the obstacles. You might feel that you can't. But then you find your inner strength, and realize you're capable of so much more than you thought.” (Arthur Blank)

Daily Blessing: Happy Thursday everyone! I hope your day has started off well? If not just remember you are in my prayers throughout the day in the hope by the end of this day you will have encounter the presence of God that will make all the difference.

My prayer of blessing for all us today is – Loving God, giver of all good gifts, bless us today with hearts that love you, so that by deepening our sense of respect and reverence for you we may nurture within ourselves and others only what is good. Bless us with your watchful care throughout this day so that wherever we go and whatever we do it will be for you. Bring us home safe to those we love that we might celebrate the gift of family, of friendship, of community, of your love so that our sleep will be restful and we will be energized to welcome you tomorrow! Blessings upon everyone as you journey through this day! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 11/12/2013

Daily Thoughts: There is a quote from St. John of Damascus that goes, “What is more precious than to be in the hands of God? God is Life and Light, and those who are in God’s hands are life and light.” There is something very beautiful and comforting about these words as there is about the words in the Book of Wisdom (Wisdom 2:23-3:9) our first reading today.

We most often hear this reading or at least part of it at a funeral mass. I always find it comforting to think that the person that I have come to remember is now in the hands of God and that they are at peace. I think back to my mother’s death and the years of struggle that proceeded that moment. She struggle with dementia for over ten years. She was not herself.  She was not the woman who brought me into the world or raised me to be the man I am today. At times she did not know me or anyone else in the family. Her life memories were all jumbled up somewhere in her brain. The expressions on her face were often those of confusion and struggle but at the moment that I celebrated her funeral mass I was comforted by the fact that she was now with God, she was now at peace!

The words of the Book of Wisdom and St. John of Damascus comfort us today especially as we think of those important people in our life that we have lost.  Yet, Jesus, in the Gospel (Luke 17:7-10), reminds us that throughout our life good works are expected of us. Living life in relationship to God is what is expected of us. We are not special because we do good things; we are simply God servants, no more no less. The gift of being at peace, the gift of being in God’s hands, the gift of being life and light are just that gifts given us by God.

We should not expect praise and honor because we live a life of faith. It is expected of us. Yet in living a life of faith we are comforted by the end of the journey when God, who is Life and Light, will hold us in peace!

Have a great day everyone!

Daily Prayer:

Day by day
Oh Loving God,
Three things we pray
To see you more clearly
To Love you more dearly
And to Follow you more nearly
Day by day – Amen!
(Adapted from the Song: Day By Day from Godspell)

Runner’s Thoughts: “Life is for participating, not for spectating.” (Kathrine Switzer) The same is true about faith, thus if we say we believe, we have faith then we need to be participating not spectating. So get out there and be a person of faith today – and maybe run a little too!

Daily Blessing: Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope your day has started off well? Here in Pelham we have seen the little white stuff coming down from above off and on. It is not sticking to the streets, sidewalks or driveways but it hangs around on the plants, trees, bushes and grass for a little while. I guess winter is upon us at least for the moment!

It has become a busy week here with a lot of things to get done before handing to Jacksonville, FL on Friday to begin a parish mission at Holy Family Parish on Saturday. So let’s pray for each other that this is a good week one filled with spirit, energy and life.

May God bless us all today – Loving God bless us – Bless us and keep us safe. Let your face shine upon us and show us your compassion especially in those moments when we may struggle. May your love and peace embrace us, all we meet and especially those we love. May our journeys be safe and may we find our way home tonight to enjoy your gift family and rest. Amen! Blessings to all and enjoy your day! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 11/11/2013

Daily Thoughts: I found it rather interesting and even ironic as I read about St. Martin of Tours this morning before celebrating mass. St. Martin was born in Pannonia (Hungary). In his teens he became a Roman soldier following in his father’s footsteps but at 18 he was baptized and decided that his new found Christian values and military service were incompatible so he got his release from the army. He moved to the Gaul region of France where he founded a monastery with a small group of disciples. Eventually despite St. Martin’s strong protests the people of Tours proclaimed him their bishop.

The irony of the above story is that every year we celebrate Veterans Day in the United States on the feast of St. Martin of Tours, yet it was Martin who chose to leave the military because he felt his Christian values were incompatible with it.

The second thing that caught my attention about St. Martin’s story is that it was the people of Tours who made St. Martin their bishop.

Now we have to put this story in context. St. Martin lived in the fourth century and obviously life was different, military service was different and Church was different. As a Church over the centuries we have changed our stance on serving in the military and on how we choose bishops. Yet it is interesting how this story about the life of St. Martin of Tour can make us stop and think about life today and the choices and decisions that we make in regards to our faith and our Church.

Perhaps when we find ourselves in these situations, confronted with these and similar choices we become aware of the challenge of our first reading today from the Book of Wisdom (Wisdom 1:1-7). Wisdom tells us today that no matter what we face, no matter what choices are in front of us, what decisions we are challenged to make – what is most important is our continued trust in God.

If we look at the history of the world, the history of life, the history of the Church, great decisions have been made but so to have mistakes and poor choices. Things have constantly changed sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse yet what has endured is our trust in God.

As Jesus tells us in the Gospel today, faith and forgiveness are key ingredients in the journey of life. We need to have faith, to trust in God. We also need to be forgiving and trust that no matter what choices or decisions we make we can also count on God’s forgiveness.

Blessings and peace to all Veterans today and happy St. Martin of Tours feast day to all! Enjoy your Monday everyone!

Daily Prayer:  

Loving God, on this Veterans Day –  
Make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.

O God of Peace, grant that we 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.
(Adapted from a prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi)

Runner’s Thoughts: “For every runner who tours the world running marathons, there are thousands who run to hear the leaves and listen to the rain, and look to the day when it is suddenly as easy as a bird in flight.” (George Sheehan)

Daily Blessing: I hope everyone had a good weekend and that you got at least a little rest and relaxation. I hope your team or teams won and if not remember there is always next week! November seems to be moving quickly and before we know it the holidays will be upon us so make sure you stop and take a deep breathe every once in a while and look around at life so that you don’t miss today!

And so I ask God to bless us all today with a sense of reverence for the presence of God that we will encounter during our journey through this day. A presence that we will find in the people we meet, in the places we go and in the things we do. A presence that is first a foremost with us each of us and so loving God make sure we take the time to reverence ourselves today too!

Loving God bless us also with your peace so that the struggles, the difficulties and the challenges of this day do not get us down but help us to know of your presence and love in our life!

Loving God renew our spirits so that we may live this day in your service, in your presence and in your love. Amen! Blessings to all Veterans! And blessings to all who serve in the military may you make it home safely and soon! Happy Veterans Day to all! Happy Feast of St. Martin of Tours to all! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Saturday Thoughts - 11/09/2013

Daily Thoughts: Celebrate each moment as it comes to you…with faith, trust and gratitude. Because all that happens in our life has God’s mark on it. Each day offer a simple fiat…It can be as simple as taking a breath, or the beat of our heart, but let it say thanks God!

Seek God each and every day, not in some far off place, not in the trappings of history but in the world around us. God is always right here, in this place, in our hearts. God is right here, where we stand, where we walk, where we run, where we sit, where we lie down, in the everything we do. God is right here, in our family, in our friends, even in strangers we meet.

God is in our workplace, our homes, our yards, our living rooms, our family rooms, our bed rooms. Because these are all places, altars where offer and receive love and thankfully God is there!

Celebrate life; celebrate life with gratitude and thankfulness today and always!

Have a great Saturday everyone!

Daily Prayer: Give thanks to God, for God is good and God’s love is everlasting. Amen!

Runner’s Thought: “Struggle is the food from which change is made, and the best time to make the most of a struggle is when it's right in front of your face.

Now, I know that might sound a bit simplistic. But, too often we're led to believe that struggling is a bad thing, or that we struggle because we're doing something wrong.

I disagree. I look at struggle as an opportunity to grow. True struggle happens when you can sense what is not working for you and you're willing to take the appropriate action to correct the situation. Those who accomplish change are willing to engage the struggle.” (Danny Dreyer)

Daily Blessing: May our Loving God the source of all blessings grant us the grace of integrity of faith, endurance of hope, perseverance of love and patience in the living of life. May God bless us with peace today and always! Blessings to all! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 11/08/2013

Daily Thoughts: The Gospel for today (Luke 16:1-8), always seems to be a confusing one. What exactly is Jesus saying? It seems like he is praising the unfaithful steward just because he figures out a way to land on his feet after being fired. Perhaps the key word for today’s Gospel is “prudence” or maybe a better word might “cleverness.”

Jesus says the steward is prudent, that he is shrewd, pragmatic and has foresight. However as I said above we might also say that the steward is also clever, meaning he is shrewd, ingenious, crafty and skillful. Prudence and cleverness share some of the same meanings and in some instances could be used to say the same thing.

At our community mass this morning one of my Passionist brothers talked about the cleverness of the steward and what Jesus might be getting at in the Gospel.

In our world there are many clever people. Often as a world, a culture, a society we put our cleverness to work in many ways. We create machines and systems that can protect us and destroy our enemies. We have created the internet, cellphones and computers that help us communicate better, work fast and be more productive. We create sophisticated systems to warn us of impending disasters like hurricanes, tsunamis and other challenges of nature. We create systems to spy on one another, to hack computers and disrupt communications. We have created instruments of war some of which that can destroy the world. We are very clever people.

Yet up to this point in history we have not been able to figure out how to feed everyone, how to cloth everyone or how to give everyone shelter. Perhaps this gets at the point that Jesus’ is making with his parable. The people of the world are very clever but sometimes people of faith are not. We put our prudence, our cleverness, our shrewdness, our foresightedness, our skillfulness to work for ourselves, but as people of faith, it might be time to put it to work for others.

We can learn for the cleverness of the world but only if our cleverness leads us to bringing God to the world.

I think Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ said it best when he wrote, “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, [humankind] will have discovered fire.”

Let us be clever people of faith and discover for the world God’s love once again.

Have a great day everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving God do not be remote from us today. Be in our work, our travel, our offices, our meetings, our relationships, our loved ones, our tasks, our journeys, our alone moments, our homes – in our thoughts, our words and in our hearts. Amen!

Runner’s Thoughts: “If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon.” (Kathrine Switzer) If you are losing faith in yourself go to the celebration of the Eucharist and look around at the community of faith that is struggling with you!

Daily Blessings: Happy Friday everyone! Yes, I am back after about a week off. I took a little down time after turning 60 and running my third marathon in five weeks. I just wanted to give my body and mind a rest. Now this doesn’t mean that I have not been thinking of you and praying for you. You can always be sure that you are in my prayers each day.

I hope your week has been a good one and that you are ready for a little rest and relaxation yourself as the weekend is almost upon us once again. I pray that whatever you have planned for the weekend will allow you some time to just be, to enjoy the gift of your life and to be touched by the people most important to you!

May God bless us all this Friday with truth, love, enthusiasm, energy and life. So that we may always walk the journey, dance to the music, sing the tune and embrace the gift of God that we are, making today and everyday worth remembering! Blessings to all. Glad to be back. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

All Saints Day - Daily Thoughts - 11/01/2013

Daily Thought: I say thanks to All the Saints who have touched our lives down through the years. People who shared their faith and perhaps more importantly lived their faith so that we might encounter the presence of God, so that we might grow into the people God created us to be, so that we might believe. They were mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sisters –in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, friends, teachers, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, neighbors, strangers, companions on the journey, ordinary people who lived extraordinary lives of faith.

Pope Francis talks about the saints in our lives this way; “I see the holiness in the patience of the people of God: a woman who is raising children, a man who works to bring home the bread, the sick, the elderly priests who have so many wounds but have a smile on their faces because they served the Lord, the sisters who work hard and live a hidden sanctity. This is for me the common sanctity. I often associate sanctity with patience: not only patience as hypomoné [the New Testament Greek word], taking charge of the events and circumstances of life, but also as a constancy in going forward, day by day. This is the sanctity of the militant church also mentioned by St. Ignatius. This was the sanctity of my parents: my dad, my mom, my grandmother Rosa who loved ​​me so much. In my breviary I have the last will of my grandmother Rosa, and I read it often. For me it is like a prayer. She is a saint who has suffered so much, also spiritually, and yet always went forward with courage.”

 For all those who have touched us with sanctity and helped us to be the people we are today…we say thank you!

Have a great Friday and a blessed Feast of All Saints!

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)

Runner’s Thoughts: Two days to the NYC Marathon and so my words of inspiration and faith are - “You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.” (Steve Prefontaine) And sometime in the journey of faith you wonder why you keep moving forward, why you believe and there are thousands of doctrines, dogma, codes of cannon law, commandments, precepts of the Church that gives you reasons to believe but I always come back to where it started. My faith comes down to the Cross and God’s great love for me!

Daily Blessing: In a little while I will pack my bag and head into Manhattan for the weekend, a little 60^th birthday gift to myself. I have always wanted to spend an overnight or two in Manhattan and this seemed like a good time. I can relax and enjoy the city for a day or two. It means I will not have to get up as early on Sunday morning for the marathon or travel as far to get to a place of rest after the marathon. These little things help believe me.

I will keep all of you in my prayers as I run the streets of NYC on Sunday. Thus that you too will enjoy a simple, peaceful weekend like me I offer a simple and peaceful blessing to all today – May our good and gracious God, bless us all as we celebrate this first weekend in November. May God bless us with gratitude for the gift of life, for those saints in our lives especially those who gave us life. May God bless us with gratitude for the opportunity to celebrate and live life with people we love. May God bless us with gratitude for the many people who touch our lives each day and bring us in touch with the presence and grace of God. May God, continue to bless us with people, places, experiences that give us strength to believe, to be faithful, to have hope and to love. And may God bless us with the grace to keep living the gift that we are! I ask this blessing for all of us through Christ our Savior and Friend. Amen!

Have a great Friday and weekend everyone! Don’t forget to turn your clock back one hour before you go to bed Saturday night! And don’t forget to give God a little time this weekend too! See you are the finish line…Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts: 10/31/2013

Daily Thoughts: “If God is for us who can be against us?” (Romans 8: 31b) This verse and the verses that follow in today first reading (Romans 8: 31b – 39) is one of my favorite passages in St. Paul’s letters. The verses Romans 8:38-39; “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor present things, nor future things, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” sits on the wall over my desk. It is a passage in St. Paul that everyone should read every morning before we do anything and every evening as we close our eyes to sleep.

Think about it, Paul’s question to us is, if God is for us who can be against us? Paul’s answer is nobody! A second question is who or what can separate us for God’s love? It seems that Paul’s answer to this question is the same, nothing and no one! However, that is not really true because for me Paul leaves out one thing – us. We are the only ones who can separate us from God’s love. We are the only ones who can get in the way.

Our challenge today and every day, if I can paraphrase Jesus in today’s Gospel, “[We] must continue on [our] way today, tomorrow, and the following day.” (Luke 13: 33) but we do it knowing that God is for us and nothing but ourselves can separate us from God’s love. Thus if we are true, faithful, hopeful and committed to our friendship with God it is always going to be a great day!

Have a great day everyone and Happy Halloween!

Daily Prayer: O God, lover of all who hope in you, without whom nothing has foundation, nothing is holy, grace us in abundance with your love, compassion and mercy and grant that, with you as our friend and guide, we may use the good gifts that are within and around us in such a way so that we will hold fast to a hope that will endure. We make our prayer today through Jesus Christ our Lord in whom the love of God for us is always present. Amen!

Runner’s Thoughts: Three days until the NYC Marathon and my words of inspiration and faith for today are – “I run because long after my footprints fade away, maybe I will have inspired a few to reject the easy path, hit the trails, put one foot in front of the other, and come to the same conclusion I did: I run because it always takes me where I want to go.” (Dean Karnazes) And I believe, I have faith in God, in Christ, in the Spirit, because long after I am gone maybe I will have inspired a few to reject the easy road, hit the Eucharist, prayer and community, put one foot in front of the other, and come to the same conclusion I did: I believe because it always takes me to God’s love!

Daily Blessing: Happy Halloween everyone! I hope your morning has gone well; it was a busy one for me. The day here in Pelham is dreary yet a little on the mild side but there is certainly a fall feel to the air. The weather for Sunday looks to be cold and windy, I don’t mind running in the cold but the wind from the northwest is often not pleasant! So if you have a notion to pray for me on Sunday, pray for a gentle breeze, please!

Well if you will be heading out trick or treating tonight please be safe and if you are headed out tonight but not trick or treating drive alert so the little ones or anyone out and about will be safe!

As this week winds down I offer this prayer and blessing for all today – Loving God, give us friends who will love us for who and what we are, and keep ever burning before our vagrant steps the kindly light of hope... And though we come not within sight of the castles of our dreams, teach us to be thankful for life, and for time's olden memories that are good and heartwarming. And may the evening's twilight find us gentle still and at peace. Blessings to all – Amen! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul