Gratitude therefore takes nothing for
granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to
praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good,
not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.” (Thomas Merton)
Gratitude is my word, is my thought for
the day. I am grateful to my parents for the gift of life, for the wisdom,
guidance, disciplined and love that formed me into the man that I am today. I
am profoundly grateful for the gift of faith that they shared with me it has
made all the difference. All of their gifts to me came from God who was
intimately part of their lives from beginning to end.
Today I am grateful to St. Paul for his
words in his Letter to the Romans, “The Spirit comes to the aid of our
weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit intercedes
with inexpressible groanings.” (Roman
8:26)
On this second anniversary of my mother’s passing I am not sure how to pray and
so I trust in the Spirit to say what needs to be said. I trust in the spirit of
my Mother and Father to keep me always grateful, to keep me always faithful, to
keep me always on the right path because I know that all things work for the good
for those who love God and Mom and Dad truly loved God!
Have a great Wednesday everyone!
Daily Prayer: Good Saint
Rita, during your entire life on earth you found your happiness by following
the will of God. Help us to be as trusting of God in all of what God asks of us
this day and always. Help us this day to give ourselves to God as you did,
without limit, without fear, without counting the cost. Help us to be generous
in serving the needs of others, patient in all difficulties, forgiving toward
all who hurt us. Help us to learn more deeply the great mystery of the cross of
Jesus, so that by embracing it as you did, we may come to experience its power
to heal and to save. Amen (Adapted
from a Prayer to St. Rita of Cascia)
Runner’s Thoughts: Four days to
the NYC Marathon and so my words of inspiration and faith for today are – “Running
isn't a sport for pretty boys...It's about the sweat in your hair and the
blisters on your feet. It’s the frozen spit on your chin and the nausea in your
gut. It's about throbbing calves and cramps at midnight that are strong enough
to wake the dead. It's about getting out the door and running when the rest of
the world is only dreaming about having the passion that you need to live each
and every day with. It's about being on a lonely road and running like a
champion even when there's not a single soul in sight to cheer you on. Running
is all about having the desire to train and persevere until every fiber in your
legs, mind, and heart is turned to steel. And when you've finally forged hard
enough, you will have become the best runner you can be. And that's all that
you can ask for.” (Paul
Maurer, The Gift - A Runner's Story) And if you add the word faith alongside
the word running you have a picture of a runner and a person of faith!
Daily Blessing: I pray that
everyone’s has begun well, if not please know you have been in my prayers since
very early this morning. I celebrated mass in memory of my mother very early
this morning and I asked her to bless us with her heavenly spirit today, so if
things are going well trust that they will get better!
My prayer of blessing for everyone today
is adapted from a prayer known as Saint Patrick's Breastplate – I ask God’s blessing
be upon all of us today so that Christ will be with us; Christ will be before us;
Christ will be behind us; Christ will be in us; Christ will be beneath us;
Christ will be above us; Christ will be on our right; Christ will be on our
left; Christ will be where we lie; Christ will be where we sit; Christ will be where
we arise; Christ will be in the hearts of every person who thinks of us; Christ
will be in the mouth of every person who speaks of us; Christ will be in every
eye that sees us; Christ will be in every ear that hears us; God’s blessings
through Christ be upon all of us this day! Have a great day everyone. Peace in
Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul
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