Daily Thoughts - 09/12/2014

Daily Thoughts: “No one can grow if he [or she] does not accept his [or her] smallness.” (Pope Francis) With this thought Pope Francis seems to get at the heart of what Jesus is saying in the Gospel today. If we don’t deal with our own faults and failings, if we cannot see our own humanness how are we ever going to be able to grow into the person God has created us to be and help others.

We cannot just look at others faults and failings we need to start with our own. If we do we will have a better, more compassionate understanding and view of the world. We will truly be able to help not hurt others. The starting point for looking at and dealing with the problems, struggles and sinfulness of the world is always ourselves. When we can proclaim our faults, failings and our need for help, our need for forgiveness we are on our way to being able to help and forgive others.

St. Augustine perhaps put the focus of our Gospel today a little differently when he said, “God is always trying to give good things to us, but our hands are too full to receive them.” So let’s put down what fills up our hands in this world, anger, resentment, the faults and failings of others and receive the grace that God offers us and live in the joy and love of God today!

Have a great day everyone!

Daily Prayer:

Circle us, O God.

Keep protection near and danger afar.

Circle us, O God.

Keep hope within and keep doubt without.

Circle us, O God.

Keep light near and darkness afar.

Circle us, O God.

Keep peace within and keep evil out.

Please, circle us, O God.

Keep our hearts in your loving hands and let us hear your voice!

Amen. (Adapted from a prayer by David Adam)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “Running, much like life, [faith and the spiritual life], has its hills and valleys. On any given run, and particularly in most marathons, we come across easy stretches and seemingly impossible challenges. I have learned to just keep going. The tough moments never last, and the easy stretches are always a joy. The same is clearly true in life [in faith and the spiritual life], if we just keep going we'll get to that finish line with water, massages, and bananas! [And friendship with God!] (Main part of quote by Will Starr, Runner's World Challenger of the Week – I add what is in the brackets)

Daily Blessing: Friday greetings to all! I hope your day has started off well. I am off early this morning as we begin a new year of taping for the Sunday Mass. We will be at it all day as we will tape six masses today and then I head to the Franciscan Retreat Center in Bethlehem, PA to give a weekend retreat to women. It will be a busy few days for me but I hope as you finish today you will be heading into a nice relaxing weekend!

I hope you will have a great Friday and that you encounter many blessings today and much peace. My prayer for all of you today is that you may be graced by God in whatever you do and may you will bring God’s grace to whomever you meet! Work, pray, travel, study, laugh, cry, talk, be silent, be intense or relax today rich in the blessing and presence of God. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 09/11/2014

Daily Thoughts: “There is nothing that can replace the absence of someone dear to us, and one should not even attempt to do so. One must simply hold out and endure it. At first that sounds very hard, but at the same time it is also a great comfort. For to the extent the emptiness truly remains unfilled one remains connected to the other person through it. It is wrong to say that God fills the emptiness. God in no way fills it but much more leaves it precisely unfilled and thus helps us preserve -- even in pain -- the authentic relationship. Furthermore, the more beautiful and full the remembrances, the more difficult the separation. But gratitude transforms the torment of memory into silent joy. One bears what was lovely in the past not as a thorn but as a precious gift deep within, a hidden treasure of which one can always be certain.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

As Dietrich Bonhoeffer says above there is nothing that can be said or done that replaces the loss of someone dear to us. But hopefully Bonhoeffer’s words can help to give comfort to all who lost loved ones thirteen years ago in Lower Manhattan, Washington, DC and Pennsylvania.

Perhaps, Bonhoeffer’s words can help all of us deal with what we as a city, a country and a world lost thirteen years ago. May his words give us pause to be grateful for the silent joy that all who gave their lives continue to give us. May those who lost their lives continue to be a hidden treasure for all of us, a treasure that we can always count on.

“In normal life we hardly realize how much more we receive than we give, and life cannot be rich without such gratitude. It is so easy to overestimate the importance of our own achievements compared with what we owe to the help of others.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

To the people who gave their lives, to the families who gave their loved ones we say thank you!

Daily Prayer:

God of all peace and conciliation,

For those who went into danger, we give thanks.

For those who remained behind with the infirm and injured, we give thanks.

For those who thought of others first, we give thanks.

For those who offered comfort to others, we give thanks.

For moments of unknown, grant us courage.

In times of fear, grant us courage.

When called upon to stand for the rights of others, grant us courage.

When others call for our destruction, grant us courage.

When the enemies of freedom lash out, bless us with your peace

When the darkness of hatred descends, bless us with your peace

When we feel the urge to trample and destroy, bless us with your peace

When we look to the future of your universe, bless us with your peace

Through the living of life, let us be your peace

Amen! (Adapted from a prayer by Rabbi Matt Friedman)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “I run because if I didn’t, I’d be sluggish and glum and spend too much time on the couch. I run to breathe the fresh air. I run to explore. I run to escape the ordinary. I run…to savor the trip along the way. Life becomes a little more vibrant, a little more intense. I like that.” (Dean Karnazes)

On this day when so many lost their lives some of whom were runners let us run to breathe fresh air. Let us run to explore. Let’s us run to experience more than the ordinary. Let us run to savor the trip along the way. Let us run to remember and in remembering make our run a prayer for peace. Let us run to bring God’s presence to the world!

Daily Blessings: Thursday blessings to all! May we pause this morning to remember what happened that Tuesday thirteen years ago and how it changed our lives. Perhaps you will think about where you were and what you felt as the tragic events of that day unfolded. Yet, here we are thirteen years later still searching for peace!

My thoughts and prayers today go out to all affected by the events of that day especially to the children who lost mothers and fathers. Nothing can fill the void of their loss. May what remains unfilled always keep them connected to the gift of the person, the treasure they lost!

I cannot help but reflect upon where we find ourselves today with the reality of so many wars, so many violence acts, so much anger, so little tolerance, so much need to blame, so much finger pointing, so much yelling, so much hate, so much condemnation, so much arrogance, so much self-centeredness, so little compassion, so little caring, so little chance for peace it seems – so my prayer of blessing for all of you  all today is - to ask God’s blessing upon you, may it be a solemn blessing rich in peace, strong in courage and graced by love. And may it be a blessing that you will bring it to those you love and to the piece of the world that you will touch today. May God bless you with the insight to see the gift, the treasure that you are and that you will share it with the world! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul