Daily Thoughts: We might say
our Gospel today is about missed opportunities. In the Gospel (Matt. 11:20-24)
the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum have missed their opportunity
to encounter the presence of God, they have missed their opportunity to be
people of faith.
I think if we all stop and think about
our lives we can look at moments when we to missed opportunities. Perhaps we
missed an opportunity to help another person, we missed an opportunity to be a
compassionate friend, we missed an opportunity to help someone with their
struggles or we missed a moment when God was truly present in our life. In
looking back at our life we probably recognize many opportunities that we
missed.
Now in looking back at our life we have
two choices; we can choice to learn from our missed opportunities or not. In
the Gospel today the towns of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum chose not to
learn from their missed opportunities. These three towns no longer exist; there
are just piles of rock, archeological digs sitting in the hot sun wait for
people to come and walk through them. There is no life in any of these towns
today.
Today is the feast of St. Bonaventure, a
doctor of the Church, a Franciscan, a philosopher, theologian and a mystic. He
was a biographer of St. Francis, a contemporary of St. Thomas Aquinas, a
teacher and a bishop. We might say Bonaventure was a man of many gifts and
talents and what made him great was that he used these many gifts and talents
to proclaim the kingdom. We also might say that St. Bonaventure was a man who
learned from his missed opportunities that is why he is a saint today!
Perhaps in the spirit of St. Bonaventure
we might take of the challenge of the Gospel today by learning from our missed
opportunities rather than not learning from them and finding ourselves like
Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum today.
Thus, our challenge today is to ask ourselves
if we as individuals, as families, as communities, as Church, as cities, as
nations, as a culture and society are willing to learn from our mistakes, our
missed opportunities? If we chose not to our fate will be like the fate of the
three towns in the Gospel. What choice will we make?
Have a great Tuesday everyone and don’t
forget to make a joyful noise with your life today!
Daily Prayer: Loving God,
strengthen us with the power to love through your Spirit in our inner most
being. Fill our hearts with your presence and please do not leave us even when
we seem to choose to go our own way. Help us to learn from our mistakes and
missed opportunities so that we might grasp fully how wide and long and high
and deep your love is for us. Above all, enable us to know this love that
surpasses all knowledge so that we may share it with others. Amen!
A Runner’s Thoughts: Shakespeare once
wrote, “Now bid me run, and I will strive with things impossible.” Jesus said,
“…with God all things are possible.” Thus if we run with God then as we strive
with things impossible they will become possible! Have a great run today and
stay cool.
Daily Blessing: Happy Tuesday
everyone! The humidity is tough this morning after last night’s rain. They say
we are in for some cooler temperatures towards the end of the week but I gather
things will also be a bit unstable so we could be in for some storms too.
Today I wait for the boiler cleaners to
come and I continue my catch up on paperwork and preparing for the Lourdes
Pilgrimage next month. As I mentioned yesterday I leave for Scranton, PA
tomorrow so I need to get things in order so that I am not rushing around at
the end of the month.
My prayer of blessing today for is all
is that your day will be rich in the grace, joy and presence of God. That you
will encounter the grace you need to navigate through this day successfully and
peacefully. That you will be blessed with a joyful heart that you will share
with everyone you meet and that you will encounter the presence of God
throughout your day helping you to have the confidence that your presence in
the world today is a gift to everyone you meet and to us all! Blessings upon
all today and stay cool! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul
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