Daily Thoughts - 05/20/2013

Daily Thought: “I do believe, help my unbelief!” In many ways all of us look at ourselves as people of faith, people who have values and in most cases can say we are believers. Yet, perhaps like the man in today’s Gospel (Mark 9:14-29) we need help with our unbelief, we need help in those moment, those situations, those circumstance when it is hard to believe.

Belief at times can get away from us, our emotions, our feelings overrun us and cause us to doubt God’s presence in our life. Situations don’t go our way, the burden of all that life throws at us seems to overwhelm us and we let go of what is most important. We become part of a faithless generation.

Perhaps we might take our lead today from our first reading from the Book of Sirach (Sirach 1:1-10). We need to go in search of Wisdom, God’s gift that was created before anything else. It is a gift to possess because if we do we become friends of God. Wisdom is the gift that can guide us through the struggles of unbelief. Wisdom can be the very presence of God that helps our unbelief.

Wisdom is the experience of life, the doing, seeing and listening of life that enables us to encounter the presence of God when we most need it. Wisdom can be found in every living thing and thus so can God. It is a gift of the Holy Spirit that we often recognize when we take the time to pray.

Let us be believers today and trust that God’s wisdom will always help us in our moments of unbelief!

Daily Prayer: O God, so many sick; so many starving; so many deprived; so many sad; so many hurting; so many bitter; so many fearful! When we look at You, We hope again. We do truly believe, help our unbelief. O God of infinite compassion, O ceaseless Energy of Love, O Eternal Wisdom grace us with your friendship and hear our faith filled prayer today so that we may help You to reduce the world’s pain. Amen! (Adapted from prayer by George Appleton)

Runner’s Thought: One of the things about running is that our greatest runs are rarely measured by great achievements or racing success. They are moments in time when running allows us to see how wonderful our life is. They are moments in time when running enables us to encounter the presence of God. (Adapted from a quote by Kara Goucher)

Monday greetings to all! I truly hope your weekend was a good one and that your new work week has started off in a positive way. The clouds remain here in Pelham with a coolness to the air but they say there will be sun and warmth this afternoon. My prayers are certainly with the people of Oklahoma and other parts of the Midwest as they encounter these violent storms of spring, may things calm down a little so that the storms and flood waters can take a break!

Well friends, I hope your day will be filled with many positives and that the negatives will only be fleeting moments. Please know I am trying to do my part for you by asking God’s blessings upon all you do, upon everyone you meet and upon everyone you love! Peace in Christ’s Passion and Hope in the Wisdom of God…Fr. Paul