Daily Thoughts - 03/22/2016

Daily Thoughts: Troublemakers and troubleshooters are two very different types of people. Troublemakers are those people who create anxiety, frustration, agitation and cause calamity, i.e. Donald Trump. Troubleshooters are those people who have the ability to identify, locate and eliminate the source of the disturbance. In today’s Gospel (John 13: 21-33, 36-38) Judas is a troublemaker and Jesus is a troubleshooter.

In the Gospel we are told that Jesus is deeply troubled and as we read on and picturing the scene we quickly understand why. The scene today is the Last Supper and Jesus is aware of the events ahead of him. He knows that Judas will betray him and in the midst of the supper Jesus sends him on his way. We all know what it feels like to lose a friend. We invest time, effort, our emotions and feelings only to have the person move on, decide that we are not worth the time, effort and trouble. Jesus has given three years to Judas but Judas needs to move on.

Jesus has given three years to all of his disciples yet he knows they will all run away before the night is over. One of his closest friends, Peter, will deny that he knows Jesus even though we listen to his bold statement of loyalty in the Gospel. Yes, it is a troubling time for Jesus.

However, unlike the troublemaker Judas, Jesus does not run away. He identifies the problem, the struggle, the difficulty. Jesus realizes that humankind has “fallen from love.” That is our original sin; we have fallen from God’s love. Jesus the troubleshooter is going to restore the gift of that love by his journey to the cross the empty tomb. Jesus set us free to embrace the mystery of God’s love. It is up to us to turn away from sin but through the action of Jesus, the troubleshooter, we are given the chance to once again “fall in love with God!”

As we journey through this day let us remember what Jesus has done for us. Let us look at the cross and “fall in love once again!”

Have a blessed Tuesday everyone!

Daily Prayer: Lord Jesus, we thank you for your great love. We are sorry for having troubled you by not embracing, by rejecting, by denying, by betraying your love. Help us to be people of hope, to be people of joy, to be people of faith. Help us to be people who fall in love with you again! You know the weakness of our human hearts. Grace us with hearts alive with your joy filled love. Gift us with faith filled spirits that will help us to make good choices as we journey through this life to the mystery of your everlasting love! Amen!

A Runner’s Thoughts: Let us run with a spirit of gratefulness. Before we begin our run let us declare our intentions to look upon all we encounter with the freshness of the unexpected. The let us run with a sense of miraculous expectation and allow our feelings of gratitude for the extraordinary and the ordinary to flow through our beings. (Adapted from Running the Spiritual Path by Roger Joslin)

Daily Blessing: Tuesday greetings and blessings to everyone! I hope your day is starting out well. It looks like a sunny start to our day here in Pelham and they say we will be a little warmer than yesterday. Hopefully the warmer temperatures will last throughout the week so we can have good Holy Week celebrations weather wise. It would be nice to see the sun and feel some warmth for at least a few days in a row. Whether your day is warm and sunny or cool may it be one touch by God’s mercy and joy!

My prayer asking for God’s blessing today is that you will all have a great day. One filled with many blessings. If you are encountering a bad day take a moment to remember that you are in my prayers and that God does love you. Perhaps that pause will help to turn the tide from a bad day to a good one. I pray that all of you will be rich in the special graces of this most holy of weeks and the extravagant love of God will touch your life in many life giving ways today. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 03/21/2016

Daily Thoughts: As we begin this most Holy of Weeks our readings (Isaiah 42:1-7 and John 12: 1-11) remind us of the good of this week and the bad. We are reminded of the compassion and love of Jesus. We are reminded of the caring and friendship of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. We are reminded of the impact that Jesus had on peoples' lives. We are reminded how Judas lost his focus and turned away from Jesus.

These early days of Holy Week set the scene, the characters and the focus for the Triduum. They give us the background of the story that will lead us to Calvary and the empty tomb. They remind us of how easy it is to get lost in the trappings of the world. They remind us how easy it is to be distracted by the things of the world and to not recognize the presence of God. They remind us of how hard it is to be faithful people.

The scene today also reminds of the fact the Jesus is willing to accept extravagance when it is done in love. Jesus appreciates the extravagance of Mary's true love because Jesus and the Father are always about offering true love, the true love of the Cross which we will celebrate later this week.

What extravagant gesture of love can we offer someone this week? How can we make God's presence known and felt in our world this week? Remember God never turns away from a humble and contrite heart. Let us not be like Judas, someone who cannot grasp the love and support of God, rather let us be like Martha, Mary and Lazarus people who are friends of God!

Have a blessed Monday of Holy Week everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, help us to enter more deeply into this journey of Holy Week. May we always have the faith of true friendship with you. May our actions express this friendship and thus make your presence known to all that we meet. Touch us with your extravagant love so in our moments of doubt and struggle we will not turn way, but turn towards you trusting in your compassionate love. Give us hearts which are humble and open to forgiveness. Give us spirits alive with your joy and love. Amen!

A Runner's Thoughts: As we run during this Holy Week let us remember that each run can help us embark on a pilgrimage of the ordinary which often leads us to the extraordinary and sacred!

Daily Blessing: Monday of Holy Week greetings and blessings to all. I hope your Monday and your week is starting of well. I will be heading out in a little while to a funeral but other than that it will be a quiet day for me.

In Pelham we woke to the cold white stuff on the trees and grass but not on the sidewalks and roads. Now the sun is trying to peek through and I am sure the cold white stuff will be gone quickly. Just Mother Nature reminding us in her gentle way to not get too comfortable!

I hope you had a great weekend and found some time for God by entering into the celebration of Palm Sunday! I will be praying that God will bless your Holy Week and fill it with many graces. May the God of Abraham and Sarah, the God of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, the God of Peter, James and John, the God of Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph bless and be with all of us as we make this journey of Holy Week.

My prayers are with all of you today and throughout this week. Please give sometime to God this week, even if your week is a busy one. Attend one of the Triduum services, make a visit to a Church on Holy Thursday evening, take the afternoon off on Good Friday, just try to connect with God in some special way this week. You will not regret it! Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 03/20/2016

Daily Thoughts: In this Holy Year of Mercy Pope Francis invites us to renew our relationship with Jesus when he says,

“I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since “no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord”. The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms. Now is the time to say to Jesus: “Lord, I have let myself be deceived; in a thousand ways I have shunned your love, yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with you. I need you. Save me once again, Lord, take me once more into your redeeming embrace”. How good it feels to come back to him whenever we are lost! Let me say this once more: God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy. Christ, who told us to forgive one another “seventy times seven” (Mt 18:22) has given us his example: he has forgiven us seventy times seven. Time and time again he bears us on his shoulders. No one can strip us of the dignity bestowed upon us by this boundless and unfailing love. With a tenderness which never disappoints, but is always capable of restoring our joy, he makes it possible for us to lift up our heads and to start anew. Let us not flee from the resurrection of Jesus, let us never give up, come what will. May nothing inspire more than his life, which impels us onwards!”

It is my feeling that Pope Francis’ invitation focus us on the gift of this Holy Week. It is an invitation to once again enter a personal relationship with our God who loved us so much that he gave us his only son. As we journey through Holy Week we relive the crowning moment of Jesus’ journey, his journey of love. Today Jesus enters Jerusalem to take his last steps, steps that sum up his whole existence. He gave himself without reserve he kept nothing for himself, not even his life. May we take Pope Francis’ invitation to heart and live the mercy and joy of the Gospel proclaimed today!

As we begin this most holy of weeks, we are reminded of Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem. This wonderful, “Hosanna” filled day is the starting point for the central story of all the Gospels, Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection. Today, we reconnect ourselves to all those first gatherings of the Church as we listen to Luke's accounts of Palm Sunday and the Passion of our Lord. We remember the triumphant ride over the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem and the lonely walk to Calvary. We once again tell the story of triumphant, glory, hosanna, struggle, pain, sorrow, blessing, truth, giftedness, prayer and most importantly love. Like the early Church and all the centuries of Church that have gone before us, we are asked to remember, to believe, to have faith and to hope in the love and mercy of God as lived out by our Lord Jesus Christ. As we journey through this Holy Week, “May the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ Truly Be Always in Our Hearts!”

Have a holy and blessed Palm Sunday everyone!

Daily Prayer: At the name of Jesus every knee must bend, in heaven, on earth and under the earth and every tongue proclaim to the glory of God the Father, that Jesus Christ is Lord!

A Runner’s Thoughts: “...the real purpose of running isn’t to win a race. It’s to test the limits of the human heart.” (Without Limits)

Daily Blessing: Palm Sunday greetings and blessings to everyone and Happy First Day of Spring! I hope you will be taking a little time to celebrate this holy day and that you will give a little time to God.

I will keep you in my prayers this coming week. I will be at Our Lady of Perpetual help in Pelham Manor for Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. I will preach the three Triduum Liturgies. I truly look forward to this week each year. It is a wonderful week of faith and a time to just pause and be renewed by the wonderful liturgies of the Church. Please know that as I take time for prayer and reflection each day you will be in my thoughts and prayers. Please take a little time for yourself this week it will be well worth the investment!

My prayer today is that you may truly be blessed with a “Hosanna” filled day touched by the mercy, joy and love of God. I pray in a special way for God’s blessings upon all of you as you journey through Palm Sunday and this most holy of weeks. May you truly be touch by the unfailing mercy and love of God and may the Passion of Jesus Christ be always in your hearts! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul