Daily Thoughts - 12/12/2013

Daily Thoughts: Today’s Gospel (Luke 1:39-47) reminds us that Mary was truly a believer. Even though she did not know the full extent of her “yes” she proclaimed it anyway. She trusted in God. It was a trust that could be seen. Elizabeth saw it as Mary entered her home. For Elizabeth, Mary was blessed among women and her voice proclaimed the presence of God even to the baby in Elizabeth’s womb. Our God is not only of God of sight but also of sound.

Not having a clear vision of the road ahead is not always an easy way to life. It demands trust, it demands faith, and it demands a sense of hope in all that one does. Mary certain defines this way of living. She did not know the implications of her “yes” but she has trust, faith and lived by an unrelenting hope.

As Calvin Miller puts it in his book The Christ of Christmas: Readings for Advent – “We must look to Mary's example to know how to deal with the glorious impossibilities of God. Look how she turned the world upside down by making one simple statement.”

Today we remember that Mary turned the New World upside down when she appeared to Juan Diego, an Aztec Indian convert, as a beautiful young woman on Tepeyac Hill near Mexico City on December 9, 1531. Just another reminder that if we trust, if we believe, if we live by hope we will encounter God most often when we least expect it but always when we are most in need!

Have a great day everyone!

Daily Prayer: Come loving God, come – come and make your dwelling in our hearts. Come and be present to the struggling, difficult and challenging moments of our day. Come in your unexpected ways and fill us with a hope that will always help us to trust and have faith that you are always with us and you will never leave us to face the struggles and challenges of life alone. Come loving God, come and be with us today and like Mary may we always say “yes” - Amen!

Runner’s Thought: As we prepare to run today or any day, as we stretch our muscles getting them ready for the journey ahead. Let us imagine that we are also stretching our spirits and giving our spirits the flexibility needed to encounter God. Each time we take the time to stretch we are also taking the time to pray!

Daily Blessing: Happy Thursday everyone! I hope today has gotten off to a good start for you. It is a sunny but cold day here in Pelham. Somehow the sun makes the day seem a little less cold and a little more enjoyable. I hope this is true where you are too.

We celebrate the feast today of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It remembers an appearance of Mary to Juan Diego, a poor Aztec Indian convert, as a beautiful young mestiza woman on Tepeyac Hill near Mexico City on December 9, 1531. It is a special day of celebration for all our sisters and brothers of Central and South America.

With this feast in mind I ask God’s blessings upon all of us today through the intersession of Mary. God bless us all today with the wonderful grace of trust, faith and hope that was so present in the life of Mary. May this day be one in which we focus our life, strive to be the best we can, persevere through the struggles and challenges and always take a little time to connect with you through prayer. Loving God bless us with the richness of your love wherever we go and through whomever we meet. And may we always say “yes” when you ask us to bring your presence to the world. We ask this blessing through your gift of Mary. Amen! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 12/11/2013

Daily Thoughts: I think sometimes we struggle because God doesn’t seem present in ways we would like. We cannot take God fishing like Peter and the other disciples did. We cannot invite God is for a meal like Zacchaeus did. We cannot stop in the midst of our daily work and have a conversation about life like the woman at the well did. We cannot argue a frustration like Martha did. We cannot ask a question and get an immediate answer like the disciples often did. We cannot feel that loving embrace like Mary and others surely did.

We have to live by faith and hope not personal contact. Our time is a time of trusting in God’s presence and having faith that God is at work in us helping us make the right choices, helping us live a good life.

We might say that Pope Francis has challenged us to take up the “yoke” that Jesus mentions in the Gospel today (Matthew 11:28-30). It is the “yoke” and “burden” of the people around us who do not have the necessities of life, who are hungry, cold, homeless and suffering.

Yes, seeing these people, encountering them, perhaps even being one them is a burden and a yoke that is heavy, difficult to carry and a problem which often seems impossible to solve. Yet, Jesus says pick it up, carry it, but not alone. Like Jesus, Pope Francis knows that if we do this we will learn from Jesus and we will come to know that the impossible can become of the possible.

Perhaps our challenge today is to be “humble of heart” and trust in God’s strength to help us help the world. Have a great day everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, we are grateful for this wonderful enterprise you have invited us to, this journey called life. Grace us with your gift of hope so that we might never lose faith in your loving presence which is always ready to lead us down the right road. Help us to trust that you will never leave us alone or let us grow weary but give us the strength of eagles’ wings so that we can live our life to its fullest. Amen!

Runner’s Thoughts: In the first reading (Isaiah 40: 25-31) from today’s mass Isaiah writes, “They will run and not grow weary….” As I read these words this morning I could not help but think about running. I don’t know any runner, except maybe the elite runners who when starting out on a training run or a race does hope that they will run and not grow weary. It is the vision of every runner to run strong and to finish.

It is the hope of every person of faith to live life to the fullest, to remain strong and faithful and to finish. St. Paul tells us to run life focused on the finish line. We need to always look ahead not behind. Pope Francis, Time Magazine’s Person of the Year, has us looking ahead and has challenged us not to grow weary in our service as a Church to the poor, the homeless and the hungry.

Running is a wonderful metaphor for life. When we run we are reminded of the challenges of life but also the gifts of life. As Isaiah says, “They that hope in the Lord, will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles’ wings; they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.” Running is about having hope, faith is about having hope and in each case hope leads us at time to making the impossible – possible!

Daily Blessing: Happy Wednesday everyone! No I didn’t use “Happy Hump Day” because at this time of the year the weeks seem much longer than seven days. It often feels like one big week from Thanksgiving to Christmas. We always just busy, busy, busy – never stopping! So just Happy Wednesday in the midst of our journey to Christmas!

I hope you day has started off well. That those affected by the weather these last days are now back to normal, whatever normal is! The sun is shining here is Pelham but the air is very cold. Oh, how I long for spring and warmer weather. However that is a long way off and winter is our life at the moment.

I pray that you are not too busy these days and there are moments to relax and just enjoy the gift of Advent, the gift of family, the gift of friends or even the gift of solitude! May God bless you today and always – in the words of Isaiah – with the strength to run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint and that you may soar through this day on eagles’ wings as people of faith who hope in God with strength renewed! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 12/10/2013

Daily Thought: Years ago, I ran across a quote by the English theologian, Austin Farrer. I often use it for my own personal prayer. “God forgives me, for he takes my head between his hands and turns my face to his to make me smile at him. And though I struggle and hurt those hands – for they are human, though divine, human and scarred with nails – though I hurt them, they do not let go until he has smiled me into smiling; and that is the forgiveness of God.”

Perhaps these words by Austin Farrer can be useful for our reflection today. In the readings today from Isaiah (Isaiah 40: 1-11) and Matthew (Matthew 18: 12-14) we hear about the compassion and love of God. The prophet Isaiah and the evangelist Matthew embrace the image of a shepherd in telling their story of God. Isaiah’s shepherd is feeding, holding and caring for his sheep. Matthew’s shepherd is tirelessly searching for that one lost sheep.  Both images communicate the unrelenting and timeless care and concern of a God for his people. The Good News which Isaiah and Matthew impart on us today is that God is always loving, caring and forgiving.

The image that Austin Farrer paints engages us in a personal way to encounter God’s care, love and forgiveness. We are asked to feel Jesus holding us, holding us so tenderly and lovingly that in the end we have to smile. At first it is an uncomfortable smile as we think about how often we have hurt, disappointed or turned away from him. However, in his shepherding hands all is well, all is forgiven and all are loved.

Daily Prayer: Gentle and loving Shepherd, we place before you today our worries, our hurts, our struggles, our fears and our faults and failings. Comfort us with the hope that you never give up and you will never let us to face life alone. Amen!

Runner's Thoughts: “Believe that you can run farther or faster. Believe that you're young enough, old enough, strong enough, and so on to accomplish everything you want to do. Don't let worn-out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself.” (John Bingham) As a friend of mine says, "So to in the spiritual life!" Faith, belief is the starting point, having faith in your relationship with God. The world will tell you many different things; it will say at time, "You are crazy for believing!" But we don't let the world tells us what is important, what to believe or not believe. We don't dwell in the past. We move beyond the world, we move beyond the past to the present moment and we believe in ourselves and our God!

Daily Blessing: Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope this finds you well and starting a new day with energy and enthusiasm! Here is Pelham the white stuff (snow) is coming down rather steady. After missing the storms over the weekend we got this one! If you had to deal with the weekend storms I hope things have gotten back to normal for this Tuesday and if not I hope you are weathering things ok.

Yesterday I attended the funeral of Mrs. Jeanne O'Shea, the mother of Fr. Jim O'Shea, C.P. whom I live with. It brought me back to my own mother's funeral a couple of years ago. Losing a mother or a father is always tough even if you are prepared and even if it is the best thing for them. Please keep Fr. Jim and his family in your prayers!

Well as the snow falls and we continue our journey through these Advent days to Christmas I pray for God's blessing upon all of us today and always - Loving God, bless us this day with your eternal love, Jesus. Life our minds in watchful hope to hear the voice which announces his glory and open our hearts to receive the Spirit who prepares us for his coming once. May Christ be born in our hearts this day and may we always bring your gift of eternal love to all we meet. Bless on this journey of Advent that we might be ready to celebrate the gift of Christmas once again. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 11/26/2013

Daily Thoughts: One might say that reading today’s Gospel (Luke 21: 5-11) is like watching the evening news or tuning into one of the many 24 hour news stations at any point in the day.  Bad things are a happening, for sure!

Yet, Jesus doesn’t say – run, hide, give up. He says don’t be terrified. Don’t follow all the doom and gloom proclaimers.  Why should we not be terrified? Why should we not hang on every word of the gloom and doom proclaimers? Why - because God’s grace is at work. How the question is do we believe that God’s grace is at work?

Jesus has always said that the things of this world, the things we think so important are not important. Even something like the great temple of Jesus’ time will not and did not last. Our focus, our trust, our faith needs to be placed in God. If not then we will be sucked in by the terror, the doom and gloom of the world. As St. Ignatius of Loyola said, God’s grace is enough.

Our challenge today and every day is to look around and find God’s grace at work in the world and in us. It is there we just need the eyes of faith to see it!

Have a great Tuesday everyone and if you are traveling today like me, please travel safe!

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 that we have and possess. You have given all to us, now we return it. 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 is Yours now.  Dispose of it, wholly according to Your will. Give us only Your love and Your grace, that's enough for us. Your love and Your grace, are enough for use.
(Prayer adapted from prayer by St. Ignatius Loyola and the lyrics of Fr. John Foley’s song)

Runner’s Thought: “I don't think about the miles that are coming down the road, I don't think about the mile I'm on right now, I don't think about the miles I've already covered. I think about what I'm doing right now, just being lost in the moment.” (Ryan Hall) As Jesus tells us today in the Gospel it is the same with faith. We don’t think about the past or what might happen ahead of us. We live in the present moment and find God there!

Daily Blessing: Happy Tuesday everyone! A special shout out to my niece Sarah who celebrates her birthday today! Happy Birthday, Sarah and many more! Ah, to be young again!

I hope your week is going well and that things are falling into place for your Thanksgiving celebration. I hope if you are traveling and you live here in the northeast you will be able to get away before the storm arrives. If you are traveling please travel safe!

Today, in a little while, I will be making my way south to Fairfax, Virginia to enjoy Thanksgiving with my niece, nephew and two great nieces! It has become a little tradition in my life and it is one I look forward to because the journey and time give me great joy!

My blessing prayer today for all of you carries a theme of thankfulness. Perhaps it is a prayer you can use when you gather with family and friends on Thanksgiving. Today I pray that you will always find the blessing of thankfulness in your life. – God of all blessings, source of all life, giver of all grace. We thank you for the gift of life: for the breath that sustains life, for the food of this earth that nurtures life, for the love of family and friends without which there would be no life.

We thank you for the mystery of creation: for the beauty that the eye can see, for the joy that the ear may hear, for the unknown that we cannot behold filling the universe with wonder, for the expanse of space that draws us beyond the definitions of our selves.

We thank you for setting us in communities: for families who nurture our becoming, for friends who love us by choice, for companions at work, who share our burdens and daily tasks, for strangers who welcome us into their midst, for people from other lands who call us to grow in understanding, for children who lighten our moments with delight, for the unborn, who offer us hope for the future.

We thank you for this day: for life and one more day to love, for opportunity and one more day to work for justice and peace, for neighbors and one more person to love and by whom be loved, for your grace and one more experience of your presence, for your promise: to be with us, to be our God, and to give salvation.

For these and all blessings, we give you thanks, eternal, loving God, through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. May the blessing of thankfulness be with you as you journey through this day and always!

Have a great Tuesday everyone! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 11/25/2013

Daily Thoughts: Friends, sorry that I have not connected with you over the last couple of days! My only excuse is that my plate if a bit full these days with ministry, Thanksgiving and Passionist life. I have been at my computer all day except for a short trip to the Post Office and a little nourishment so I can keep going.

Why is it that everything always seems to happen at once. I can go along for weeks without much to do and then wham - time, energy and work comes at you from all sides. All of a sudden everything need to happen at once. I swear I was not procrastinating but a few other people were and now I pay the price! Ain't life sweet!

Let me say though that all of you have not been far from my thoughts even in my busyness! I wanted to at least send you a thought or two today and you too begin to journey through this week to Thanksgiving!

I ran across a little prayer or blessing the other day now I am not sure whether it comes from the writings of St. Therese of Liseaux or St.Teresa of Ávila. I have not been able to find a clear source. However no matter who it came from it is a nice thought and I share it with you today. You might say it is my Daily Thought, Prayer and Blessing all rolled into one... 

Loving God I prayer for my family and friends today. I pray for all who ask me to pray for them or to remember a prayer request that they have. I pray for all who are in need of prayer today. What follows Lord, is my prayer for them - so please bless them with your presence however they may need it today. For all in need of prayer...

May today there be peace within you.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us. Today - Amen!
Loving God bless my family, friends and all in need today with this prayer!

Have a restful and peaceful evening everyone! Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul

Are We a Great Nation? - 50 Years of Memory

I am not a great writer. I cannot use words as a painter uses a brush and color to create a beautiful picture or as a great musician uses an instrument capture our attention. My words are often ordinary, mundane and imperfect. They are often not elegant or masterfully crafted. They most often paint stick figures and create predictable sounds.

Yet on this anniversary of President Kennedy’s death I would like to share a few thoughts with you. They might not come out with power or be able to hold your attend for long and they certain will not be Pulitzer Prize musings but they are mind for what they are worth.

These are the thoughts about today what we remember today from a 60 year old. These are thoughts about our nation, about us and perhaps what we learned and what we have forgot over the past 50 years.

Today we remember, we recall a tragedy that took place fifty year ago. It is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy. I was just ten years old and I remember the day very well. The most vivid image I have is returning home from school to find the TV repair man trying to fix our TV and my mother ironing cloths in the kitchen crying. I would guess at age 10 I did not truly understand the magnitude of the events of that day but I certainly do today!

Fifty years ago our nation had a profound sadness, whether you were a republican, democrat, independent or whatever this day brought great sadness. We were one on this day 50 years ago. Our dreams and hopes of a new way of life were crushed by an assassin’s bullet. President Kennedy had given us a vision, a hope. It was going to be a long journey and there were many obstacles in the way but we had hope. There were struggle, disagreements, challenges and opposite sides but we had hope. To many it might have seemed like a fairy tale, but we had hope. There were republicans, democrats, independents, conservatives, liberals, progressives, traditionalist, but we had hope!

Yet I believe that today hope is hard to find. We have wandered very far from what this day meant 50 years ago. As I journey through the land of the technology, television, the internet, Facebook, Twitter, to name just a few I often have a profound sadness. We are now a nation divided, angry and profoundly disrespectful. We would prefer to tear down then to build up. We would prefer to be against than to find a way to be united. We would prefer to ridicule rather than honor. We want it only our way and have no use for what others think unless they think like us. We use the technology we have to make fun of, criticize, bully, degrade and be negative rather than find common ground and grow. Today we have republicans, democrats, independents, conservatives, liberals, progressives, traditionalist, tea partiers and little cause to hope!

I wonder if President Obama where to assassinated would the nation be one? Would we grieve, would we mourn, would we come together? Sadly, I think not! The prejudice, nature, regression, negativity and hate that consumes us at time as a nation continues to be fed and fortified with every Tweet, Facebook posting, Instagram cartoon and 24 for hour news channel. We are a nation divided, angry and selfish. We are a nation were hate and prejudice has become the norm. We are a nation that has lost our focus, our respect, as a people of faith, as people united, as people working for a better world, as a people of hope.

Might we pause for a moment in the midst of this anniversary to consider what we value, to consider what is important and perhaps just for a day not bash one another, not degrade one another, not disrespect one another. Say something good about another person on Facebook today. Say something good about another person on Twitter today. Say something good about the President today on Facebook and Twitter or any place else today. Say something good about our nation and the people in it no matter where and how they have come to this land!

Let us remember what we lost 50 years ago. Let us remember what made us sad; what made us one, 50 years ago today. Let us be dedicated to honor, respect, vision, faith and all that can be good when people listen, talk and think beyond just themselves. Let us find hope once again!

Daily Thoughts - 11/22/2013

Daily Thoughts: As one of my brother Passionist said as we celebrated mass this morning, the Jesus we find in the Gospel today (Luke 19: 45-48) was an observant Jew. He valued his community of faith. Sometimes it is the Jesus who ate with sinners and crossed the boundaries of his faith that we are drawn to, but we also need to remember the Jesus was profoundly respectful and observant of his faith.

Jesus was also zealous as we see today, his anger at the commercialism of the temple area had its roots in a deep respect for the purpose and place of the temple in the life of the people. It was to be a place of prayer. It was to be a place to go to get away for the everyday busyness and business of life.

What we learn from today’s Gospel is that no matter what approach to life that Jesus took it was not going to be good enough or right for the religious leadership. If we was eating with sinner or healing on the Sabbath or talking to women, he was wrong. If he was driving out merchants for the temple area he was wrong. The religious leadership did not seem to like the zealousness of Jesus for life and his faith.

Our challenge today is to learn from Jesus - when, why and how to be zealous. When, why and how to bring energy, enthusiasm and spirit to our life. We need to be observant Christian, we need to value and respect the places and structure of our faith community. We also need to be about life and finding ways to include everyone in the journey no matter what the cost!

Have a great day everyone!

Daily Prayer:

Loving God, 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 Creator of all that is good, 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 Thought: As prayerful runner we always seem to find it inadequate to sit and wait for the Spirit to appear. As prayerful runners, we always want to run towards God but if we are prayerful runner’s what we always find is that God is running toward us at twice the speed! (Adapted from Roger Joslin – Running the Spiritual Path)

Daily Blessing: TGIF to all! I hope your day has started off well. It is a rainy morning here in Pelham. Yes, I have returned home after a wonderful five days in Jacksonville, FL at Holy Family Parish and I send a special shout out to all the people there who might be joining us today! It was a graced time and I was blessed to be with people of great faith and spirit.

Today is the feast day of St. Cecilia. She was one of the most venerated martyrs in the early Church. She also associated with music and is patron saint of musicians which stems from a story that on her wedding day she sang to God from her heart. So happy feast day to all musicians out there and a special shout out to my great niece Emilia who has begun to learn the violin may St. Cecilia guide your hands, fingers and heart to make wonderful music!

As a nation we are focused on the tragedy of President Kennedy’s death 50 years ago today so in the spirit of this day and what it means to our nation I ask for God’s blessing upon us –

Loving God keep us alert today and always to your unpredictable answers, to your unexplainable surprises and to your unrelenting presence.

By your grace and love, make us ever grateful that we are one of your surprises each day of our lives.

Bless us today and always with a faith, that moves mole hills and mountains, has often an unseen healing touch, lives everyday stories, celebrates simple suppers, and carries Crosses of Life which turn into Resurrections of hope.

Help us to be people of faith, hope and love who are positive, respectful and open to all that is good and life giving. Amen. Blessing to all today! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

PS A little extra reflection today – In the first reading from the First Book of Maccabees (1 Maccabees 4:36-37; 52-59) we experience the rededication of the temple a Jewish feast that we know today as Hanukkah. This celebration and the exhortation to continue to remember each year made me pause because today is the 60th anniversary of my baptism. Yes, 60 years ago on November 22, 2013, 20 days after I was born I was welcomed into the Church. Like the Israelites I too need to remember this very special day in my life. I was dedicated to God this day and welcomed into this wonderful faith community called Church.