Daily Thoughts: “To be grateful
is to recognize the Love of God in everything [God] has given us - and [God]
has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of [God’s] love, every
moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from
[God].
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 Ephesians, “Draw your strength from the Lord and
from his mighty power….With all prayer and supplication, pray at every
opportunity in the Spirit.” (Ephesians 6:10, 18) On this third anniversary of
my mother’s passing I draw my strength from the Lord and pray with trust in the
Spirit to say what needs to be said. I trust in the spirit of my Mother and
Father – to keep me, using the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel, “on my way
today, tomorrow, and the following day” (Luke 13: 33), 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 Thursday 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)
A Runner’s Thoughts: Some words of inspiration
and faith for today are – “Running isn't a sport for pretty [people]...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: Happy Thursday
to everyone! I pray that your day 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 early this morning and I asked her to bless us with her heavenly
spirit today, so if things aren’t 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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