Daily Thoughts: “Beloved: What
was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes,
what we looked upon and touch with our hands concerns the Word of life….” The
opening lines from the First Letter of St. John which was read at today mass.
They have always been comforting yet challenging words for me. They are certainly
profound words today as we celebrate the feast of St. John, the apostle, evangelist
and beloved friend of Jesus. As we often refer to him, the youngest of the
apostle or at least the fastest as we hear in today’s Gospel (John 20: 1a and
2-8).
John by tradition lived the longest and
was not martyred as the rest of the apostles were. In his old age he became a prisoner
in exile, a mystic, a hermit and certainly a profound writer of the story of
Jesus. Unlike his fellow evangelists John’s story is steeped in images, stories
not found in the other Gospels and personal expressions of faith. John’s story
of Jesus soars to the heights of the mystery of God, thus John is often imaged
as an eagle.
In some ways we are all like John, living
our life, running ahead when we can, believing when we get the chance to enter
the mystery. We use the stories of our lives to proclaim the presence of God.
We have seen things; heard things and touched things and they have all been about
and from God. We are all God’s beloved.
May the spirit of St. John bring out the
mystic in all of us today. May we look beyond what we hear, see and touch to
the presence of God born in each of us this day!
Have a great day everyone!
Daily Prayer: Loving God, may
your love make us what we have been called to be this day – your beloved. Amen!
Runner’s Thoughts: “Running! If
there's any activity happier, more exhilarating, more nourishing to the
imagination, I can't think of what it might be. In running the mind flees with
the body, the mysterious efflorescence of language seems to pulse in the brain,
in rhythm with our feet and the swinging of our arms.” (Joyce Carol Oates) –
Now we know why St. John was such a good mystic, writer and runner!
Daily
Blessing:
TGIF in the midst of Christmas week my friends. I hope this finds you well
today and ready to enjoy the weekend. We find ourselves in the midst of the
Octave of Christmas which means at least in a liturgical sense today is Christmas
once again. So in the spirit of Christmas I offer you my prayers and a blessing
today – May the spirit of Christmas bring us peace – The joy and gladness of
Christmas give us hope – The warmth of Christmas grant us love. Christmas
blessings to all today and in the spirit of St. John may our feet be swift
today so we can get to the weekend quickly and safe! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr.
Paul
No comments:
Post a Comment