Daily Thoughts - 05/03/2014

Daily Thoughts: “I am the way and the truth and the life…. If you know me, then you also know my Father.”  These are familiar words of Jesus spoken to Thomas and found in today Gospel (John 14: 6-14) on this the feast of Sts. Philip and James. They are words that remind us that our Christian faith is a very profound experience; only those who have faith come to know that God, the creator of the universe, chose to enter our life, to be part of human history and in doing so reveal a profound love to all creation.

Jesus seems to be responding to the age old question, is there a God, and if so what is this God like? Jesus’ answer is look at me, know me, because if you see and know me then you see and know my Father. As we find earlier in John’ Gospel, “God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might bot perish but might have eternal life.” (John 3:16) So if we take a good look at Jesus, if we get to know Jesus then we will know God, we will know the Father, the God who so loves the world!

In coming to know God it always comes down to a relationship, a relationship with Jesus, a relationship with the Father, a relationship with the Spirit. Relationships take work, relationship can be difficult and demanding, relationship demand time and investment. Yet in the end a relationship is the only way we can come to know the love, mercy, joy and faithfulness of God!

Happy Saturday everyone and don’t forget to make a joyful noise with your life today!

Daily Prayer: God of all blessings, source of all life, giver of all good gifts, we thank you for the gift of life - for the breath that sustains us, for the food that nurtures us and for the love of family and friends without which there would be no life.

We thank you for the mystery of creation - for the beauty that the eye can see, for the joy that the ear may hear, for the unknown that we cannot behold because it fills the universe with wonder, for the expanse of space that draws us beyond the definitions of our selves.

We thank you for setting us in communities - for families who nurture our becoming, for friends who love us by choice, for companions at work, who share our burdens and daily tasks, for strangers who welcome us into their midst, for people from other lands who call us to grow in understanding, for children who lighten our moments with delight, for the unborn, who offer us hope for the future.

We thank you for this day - for life, for one more day to love, for the opportunity to work one more day for justice and peace, for neighbors, for one more person to love and by whom be loved, for your grace and one more experience of your presence, for your promise to be with us, to be our God, and to give salvation.

For these and all blessings, we give you thanks, loving God. Amen. (Adapted from Prayer of Thanksgiving on beliefnet.com)

A Runner’s Thoughts: Running can clear cobwebs from our minds and focus our thinking. Running can give us time and space to sort out the things that are bothering us, or challenging us. At time running allows us to detach and think of nothing at all. But perhaps most importantly running offers us an opportunity to connect with God through our senses. Running graces us with an opportunity to taste, touch, smell, hear and see God in our life!

Daily Blessing: Saturday greeting to all! I hope you are getting to enjoy a beautiful, sun filled and warm Saturday like we are here in Pelham. These last few days have been just what the doctor ordered and as far as I am concerned they came at just the right time!

We find ourselves in the month of May which can be a very busy time of the year with First Communions, graduations, weddings, confirmations and many other celebrations take reminds us of spring, life and all that is good. I hope wherever you are that this May will be blessed with many life-giving moments of celebration, joy and love.

As for today, may the spirits of the Apostles Philip and James enliven your life and your day with the blessings of God’s presence in the people you meet, the place you go and in the things you do. May you come to know God today through the living of life and may your living of life today make a joyful noise for all to hear! Peace in Christ’s Passion and Joy in the Risen Lord…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 05/01/2014

Daily Thoughts: I opted to celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker today at mass and I used the readings for the feast. This feast in honor of St. Joseph always takes me back to my childhood. Our parish in Port Vue, PA, was named St. Joseph. It honored St. Joseph as the Worker. Out in front of the school building (our church we in the basement of the school) was a statue of St. Joseph with the tools of the trade in his hands, carpenter’s tools, the tools of a man who worked with his hands. 

It was a wonderful image for the parish as most of the people in the parish worked for the steel industry. They worked in the many steel mills that ran long the rivers of Western Pennsylvania. It was a blue collar town, a town of families, a town of workers. The ethic of family life and working hard was a daily part of my world growing up. This is not to say that I lived in “Camelot,” that everything was perfect and life for everyone was wonderful. There were struggle, problems, heartaches and sadness along with the joys, hopes and the good times of life. But St. Joseph the Worker as the patron of the parish spoke to a simple vision of life that the people of Port Vue and many other towns tried to live out.

I returned to my hometown many years later. The church building was still there and so was the statue of St. Joseph.  However, like in many places it was no longer St. Joseph’s Parish; it had been merged with another parish in the area and was now called St. Mark’s. The statue was in disrepair do to years of neglect, much like my hometown which was now struggling because the steel industry was long gone. It was still a blue collar town; it was still a town of families but also a town struggling to find hope and a vision for the future. Perhaps more than ever my home town needed St. Joseph’s spirit.

The feast we celebrate today honors the spirit of St. Joseph, a simple man who in a quiet, yet strong way, responded to God’s invitation. His skills as a worker and a father were not always honored or valued as we hear in the Gospel reading today. Yet he lived on, he said “yes” to God’s invitation. He lived his life with honor, hard work and love for those around him. He was a blue collar worker, a family man, an ordinary person who let God do extraordinary things with his life.

As a Church we sometimes let his image fall into disrepair. He becomes an afterthought in a world of glitz and glamor saints. Yet, St. Joseph will always remind us that everyone is created in the image and likeness of God which makes each of us special and important to the work of God in the world!

One of my grandfathers and my uncle were gifted with the name Joseph and they were simple hard working men too and on this feast of St. Joseph I remember them and honor them in a special way.

Have a great day everyone and don’t forget to make a joyful noise with your life today!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, today we honor and remember Joseph, who by the work of his hands and the sweat of his brow, supported Jesus and Mary, becoming an image of a loving father, husband and faithful worker in your kingdom.

Teach us through St. Joseph’s spirit to work as he did, with patience and perseverance, for you and for those whom you have given us to support and love in our lives. Teach us to see in all workers, Christ, that we may always be gracious and forgiving towards all.

Help us to look upon the work of life with the eyes of faith and hope, so that we can recognize in it our share in your own creative activity and Christ’s work of our redemption, and so find joy and meaning in all the work we do.

When our work is satisfying and productive, remind us to give you thanks. And when it is burdensome, teach us to see beyond the struggles and hardships to the hope of a world made new that our work through you can bring. In St. Joseph’s spirit make us workers for your kingdom. Amen! (Adapted from a Prayer to St. Joseph)

A Runner’s Thoughts: Remember running is not just conquering, hills, distance, weight, injury, illness or pain. Running is most often conquering ourselves. We can try to do it alone but it is so much easier when we let others journey with us and we are always at our best when we run with God!

Daily Blessing: Happy Thursday everyone! I hope your day has started out well, perhaps with a little sun and warmth however looking at the weather map there are not too many places in the East and Midwest with sun and warmth.. If you are one of those places hang in there and I will pray that it gets better for us all!

The month of May has arrived by boat as the rain continues to fall here in Pelham. Our street was a lake for most of last night but thankfully no problem in the basement. At least the flowers and colors abound and we know that spring is here. Now if we could just get everything coordinated, sun, warmth, colors, and spring it would be great!

I pray that God blessing will be upon everyone today, a blessing that helps you enjoy this first day of May where ever you are and in whatever you are doing. Let all your work, all your labors, all your ministry today be a gift to God, others and yourself. May the simple, gentle presence of St. Joseph be with you today and gift you with a spirit of energy, peace and joy. Have a great day everyone! Peace in Christ’s Passion and Hope in the Risen Lord…Fr. Paul