Daily Thoughts: “To be grateful
is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us - and He has
given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment
of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him.
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)
This quote from Thomas Merton is one of
my favorites because it always brings me back to what my life should be about,
gratitude. Gratitude for the very gift of life itself and gratitude for God’s
love that created this life.
We live in a world, a culture, a
society, a nation, a city, a church that is too often fragmented, too often
divided and too often filled with ingratitude all of which leads to violence,
hate and injustice. We seem to be more willing to tune our backs on those we
don’t like; those whom we think have done us wrong, those who are different
than to find the common ground, the common gift, the common presence which is
God’s love for all of us.
St. John reminds his community of just
what they have, the presence of God. They are to remember that and not forget
it. They are to be grateful for God’s presence and bot give in to the things,
the ways, and the enticements of the world. They are not to put their trust in
what will pass away but in what will not!
Anna is a person of gratitude. She never
lost faith, lost trust in God and we find her today giving thanks, being
grateful. Anna was a person of hope who did not give in to the enticements of
the world but waited patiently for God’s love.
As Merton tells us everything is gift,
everything is grace. It is our choice – do we turn our backs on God and others or
do we enter into the experience of God with gratitude and hope? For if we do it
will make all the difference!
Have a great Tuesday afternoon and
evening everyone!
Daily Prayer:
O God, grant us the grace and a portion
of your Holy Spirit of Trust that we may so live as to give others cause to be
thankful today and always. Thankful because we have not forgotten how to hope,
how to laugh, how to say, “I am sorry,” how to forgive, how to bind wounds, how to dream, how to cry, how to pray, how to love when it
is hard, and how to love when it is dangerous.
Open us with freedom’s songs, O God, that
from us – praise may flow more easily than wants, thanks more readily than
complaints, trust more abundantly than anxiety.
Praise be to you, God of life, praise be
to you for another chance to live with gratitude this day and always! Amen.
A Runner’s Thoughts: “The more I
run, the more I want to run, and the more I live a life conditioned and
influenced and fashioned by my running. And the more I run, the more certain I
am that I am heading for my real goal: to become the person I am.” (George
Sheehan) – So to in the spiritual life…the more we pray the more we will want
to pray and the more we will live a life conditioned and influenced by our
relationship with God. And the more we live in God’s presence, the more certain
we will be that we are heading for our real goal in life: to be the people God
has created us to be!
Daily Blessing: Tuesday
afternoon blessings to all! I hope your day is going well. It is a partly
cloudy and cold afternoon here in Pelham with no warming trend in sight but
then it is winter what should I expect?
On a sad note I would like to offer my
thoughts and prayers to the Stawick families of North Carolina and Michigan as
they lost the patriarch of the family last night. My prayers are for Mr.
Stawick’s peace now and for consolation, support and peace for his family as
they mourn the loss of an important part of their life. May they be comforted
in the memories of him that they have and in his spirit that remains!
May God bless all of us today with the
peace and consolation of his grace and love as we journey through this day and
life. May we all find the comfort, support, joy, hope and love we need to be
the gift that God has created us to be this day and always! God’s blessings to
all! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul
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