Daily Thoughts - 04/23/2013

Daily Thoughts: It is always interesting to me to hear the stories of the early Church as they are presented in the Acts of the Apostles. We hear about the struggles and the joyous moments of the early Church. We meet the people who made up the early Church and helped it to move forward. We hear about the wonderful faith filled moments and the dark moments of persecution and challenge.

Each time I hear the stories of the early Church I am reminded that as much as things change they also remain the same. The characters are different, the events are different but the struggles and joys are the same. Today we face many if not all of the same challenges of the early Church. We have communities of great faith; we have preachers on fire with the Good News. We have challenges inside and outside the Church and at time we have persecutions.

Our faith is constantly in question, challenges, under attack. We are faced with change, differences within and a changing, struggling world around us. Like the early Church we are a community of believers listening for the voice of the Good Shepherd. Sometimes we hear it and sometimes the noise of the world around us tries to out shout it.

Our challenge is to hear the Good Shepherd’s voice, to recognize it in the midst of all the other voices and to have faith, to trust and to believe that the Good Shepherd will always be with us and will never leave us to face our perils alone!

Daily Prayer: Good Shepherd, speak to us words that will comfort and strengthen us today. Grace us with your loving and hope filled presence. Help us to always hear and recognize your voice among the many voices of the world. Guide us to the right path of life. Enliven us with your Spirit to be people who always bring hope to the world around us. Love us with your everlasting love. Amen!

Runner’s Thought: Remember when running as a pilgrim, as a friend God, we do not just log miles, witnessing the run as it happens. Our run becomes an act of devotion, a spiritual renewing. Our pilgrim run is not mere sightseeing or getting from one point to another, it is the development of the capacity to see what is sacred, what is of God!

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope your day is going well. The second day of the mission here at St. Jane Frances De Chantal has started will. The community is spirit filled and open to the journey. Please offer a prayer for the faith community here during the mission and for the preacher and know we are praying for you!

Once again through my own prayer I ask God to bless all of you today, to bless your endeavors, to bless the people your encounter, to help you when you struggle and most of all to help you know God’s love even when it doesn’t seem to be there! Peace in Christ’s Passion and Hope in the Risen Lord…Fr. Paul