Daily Thoughts - 09/20/2014

Daily Thoughts: I have often used the parable of the Sower and the Seed that we find in today Gospel in my mission preaching. And even though Jesus explains it to his disciples I usually use a different interpretation. Jesus talks about the different kinds of soil in the parable as being different kinds of people however I often use the different kinds of soil to represent different conditions of our hearts.

If we say that Jesus is the sower and our hearts are the field, then as Jesus sowers the seed his word, his grace, his blessing, his hope, his love in our life the seed encounter four different kinds of soil. Three of which do not allow the seed to grow and one of which does. In other words, perhaps our parable today asks us to look into our own hearts to see what might not allow God’s grace, God’s blessing, God’s hope or God’s love to grow within us.

It might be the hardness of the foot path. The place of our heart that have been hurt, stepped on by the struggles of life. All of us have been hurt in life, by words, actions, the lack of words or the lack of actions in life. When we are hurt we harden so that we don’t get hurt again.

We might have some rock, stones, pebbles or boulders in our hearts that take up room and don’t allow the seed to grow. Rocks and boulders you ask? Our sinfulness, our faults and failings, our character defects, the sins in our life that take up space in our hearts and do not allow anything to grow with in that place of our hearts.

Then there are the weeds and thorns, the stuff of life, sometimes good stuff that is over grown and chokes of whatever God plants. The things of life that often become more important than our relationship with God. Sometimes good things that become gods and choke off the grace, the blessing, the hope and the love that God offers us as a gift.

We want our hearts to be all good soil. Soil ready and willing to accept whatever God plants so that it will grow and produce fruit a hundredfold! Why not take some time today and look into your heart. What is not allowing the grace of God to be planted, take root and grow within you? What places in your heart need a little word so that they become good soil?

Have a great Saturday everyone!

Daily Prayer:

O God, seek us, O God, find us

In your patient care;

Be your love before, behind us,

Round us, everywhere:

Lest the god of this world blind us,

Lest he speak us fair,

Lest he forge a chain to bind us,

Lest he bait a snare,

Turn not from us, call to mind us,

Find, embrace us, bear;

Be your love before, behind us,

Round us, everywhere. Amen!

(Adapted from a prayer by Christina Rossetti)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “Running transported him, taking his mind to another place, very deep within. Like prayer.” (Richard Christian Matheson, "Third Wind") Will be dare to let running and prayer take us to another place deep within ourselves today?

Daily Blessing: Happy Saturday and blessings of rest and peace to all today! I hope your day has started off well. I am sitting and waiting for the Chimney Cleaners to arrive this morning. They are to be here between 9 am and 12 noon. My luck it will be right at noon. I am also working on my homily for this weekend as I have mass this evening at 5 pm at St. Malachy’s Church in Manhattan and the noon mass tomorrow at St. John and St. Mary Parish in Chappaqua, NY. If you are in the area of either of these two churches come and join me in celebrating the Lord’s Day!

My prayer of blessing for all of you as I begin this new day is that God will bless all your endeavors, your encounters, your times of solitude, your moments of busyness and your times of rest today. May this day be what you need it to be. May it be a gift from God that enables you to find the present of God in your life, especially within yourself! Have a great day and don’t forget to give a little time to God this weekend. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

PS You can also catch me on the Sunday Mass broadcast nationwide on ABC Family Channel at 6:30 am or online at thesundaymass.org.

Daily Thoughts - 09/19/2014

Daily Thoughts: “If you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I am living for, in detail, ask me what I think is keeping me from living fully for the thing I want to live for.” (Thomas Merton)

In today’s Gospel (Luke 8:1-3) w are reminded of the importance of women in Jesus’ ministry. They were their supporting, taking care of, helping Jesus with their resources, their gifts, their talents, their faithfulness and their faith.

In my Living with Christ today the reflection was very interesting in terms of today’s Gospel here is Kevin Perrotta’s reflection – “What is it about Mary of Magdala that cause so many misconceptions to sprout up around her? Some mark her as a great sinner; others suggest she had a romantic relationship with Jesus. Hacking our way out of this underbrush of speculation, we do know Mary had some wealth, since she supported Jesus and the male disciples. No husband is mentioned; was she widowed? Perhaps she ran her own fish business – a trade that flourished in Magdala. Rather than a repentant floozy, Mary may well have been a solid family and business woman – like many of the women in church on Sunday. Seeing her [this] way makes her a model for many of us today!”

Kevin certainly makes us stop and think about Mary Magdalene. Yes our Gospel says seven demons came out of her, but who hasn’t fought with seven or more demons in life? In paraphrasing Thomas Merton – When trying to identify Mary Magdalene let’s not ask where she lived, or what she liked to eat or how many demons came out of her but let’s ask how she lived, what she lived for and what got in the way from time to time? If we ask these questions Mary becomes a woman of strength and great faith just like the others who followed Jesus and attended to his needs in daily life.

Let’s hear it for women today and every day! Friday blessings everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving God help us to be grateful today. Help us to recognize your love in everything you have given us, because we know, we believe that you have has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of your love, every moment of existence is a grace, because it brings with it immense graces from you.

Gracious God, in gratitude we must never take anything for granted. We must never be unresponsive to your love.  We must constantly be awakening to new wonder and giving praise for your awesome goodness. We want to be grateful people because we know that a grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And this is what makes all the difference. Amen!

(Adapted from words by Thomas Merton)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “Finally, I could see with startling clarity that the time I had spent experiencing pain on a run was outweighed by the amount of time that I felt good about it. I was aglow. I was invincible. I was thinking I might be able to do it again.” (Alexandra Heminsley – Running Like a Girl)

Might we also say this about our faith, our relationship with God? Yes, we do experience pain, struggle, doubt and difficulty but they call can be outweighed by the grace, the blessings and the joy we encounter with God. In the glow of God we become aglow, we become invincible, we want to continue the journey. So if you are a runner think of your runs as those times when we have a chance to get some clarity in our relationship with God. When we have some time to pray, when we have a chance even in the exhaustion of the end of a run to feel aglow in the presence of God, to feel invincible and to continue our journey of faith!

Run strong…run with God!

Daily Blessing: TGIF everyone! I hope your Friday has started off well and that today will be a somewhat easy day for you. If not and you have many challenges and/or struggles ahead before the day is done hang in there and know of my prayers for you. Remember it is only a day there is a lifetime ahead!

For all of you I offer a prayer of blessing as your journey through this day. May whatever kind of roads you take today be smooth and not crowded for your journeys, may the wind be gentle and always helping you along, may the sun shine warm upon your face helping you to smile, and if it rains may it fall gentle as you journey and, until the sun rises again tomorrow, may God hold you and all you whom you love in the palm of His hand so nothing will harm you. Amen! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 09/18/2014

Daily Thoughts: “If I wait to be perfect before I love myself I will always be unsatisfied and ungrateful. If I wait until all the flaws, chips, and cracks disappear

I will be the cup that stands on the shelf and is never used” (Joyce Rupp)

May we live our life remembering that God is a merciful God, always willing to forgive. As we learn in the Gospel today it is our faith that will save us, so let us trust in God today, be faithful in living our life and know that God will bless us with peace.

A little wisdom for your afternoon and evening!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, sometimes we look in the mirror we are not too happy with what I see. We see imperfection, self-centeredness and ego. Please help us to see the person you created in your own image and likeness, a person of beauty, compassion and love. Help us to hold this image in our mind and heart as we live the journey of life in our own unique way. Allow others to see your image within us as we live with confidence, grace and a smile on our face. Amen.

A Runner’s Thoughts: “The task ahead of you is never greater than the strength within you.” (Unknown)  Our journey of faith through life is never without the presence of God.

Daily Blessing: Happy Thursday everyone! Sorry but I am a little late today I had my TSA Pre-Check appointment this morning at LaGuardia Airport and I almost forgot I had it so things got a little crazy this morning. But all work out ok and hopefully within a month or so I will be moving through airport security a little easier! You sometimes it is the little things in life that help make the difference.

My prayer for all you this afternoon is that God will touch your afternoon and evening with many blessings. May God bless your work, the people you love and you and please know as you live life today you are in my prayers! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 09/17/2014

Daily Thoughts: I think we have all had the experience of not liking a person. I certainly have and if I don’t find a way to see some good in the person at some point I struggle. When there is something about a person that I don’t like it begins to color everything they do. Because of this I then find it easy to criticize, make fun of or dismiss them. No matter what they do it is wrong. If I or someone else does the same thing it is just fine, but because this person does it, then it is wrong.

When I catch myself in this mood or judgmentalness I feel embarrassed and ashamed.  I know it is a human behavior, a human feeling and sometimes the person involved has done things that validate these feeling, yet I know that my behavior, my judgmentalness is wrong and because of it I push God away.

Jesus seems to be remaining us of this in today’s the Gospel (Luke 7: 31-35). No matter what he does the religious leaders and some of the people of his time do not believe in him or his message. John the Baptist and Jesus approach life from two distinct directions. John does not eat or drink, he fasts and is austere in his lifestyle, while Jesus does eat and drink, he is always going to someone’s home for a meal. His lifestyle is more socially oriented. Yet for the religious leadership and some of the people they both, John and Jesus, are wrong. John is crazy, possessed and Jesus is a glutton, a drunkard, a friend of sinners.  No matter what John and Jesus do to help people encounter the presence of God they are wrong.

The religious leadership and some of the people in the crowd are closed to the gift and presence of God that John and Jesus bring. Their eyes are blinded by attitude and judgment. When I find myself like the religious leadership of Jesus’ time my eyes too are blinded by attitude and judgment and I miss the presence of God in that moment, in that person.

We are remind to be open to all the possibilities of God today even in the people, situations and experience that often seem to make our life hard and difficult. We are reminded that God can come to us in many ways through many people. Let us not be judge, jury and executioner. Let us be children of wisdom and hope open to the gift of God in others and ourselves!

Have a great day everyone!

Daily Prayer:

Loving God help us to remember that you are with us today.

Help us to bring to mind your loving presence within us and around us.

Never let us be closed to your loving presence in the world, in others and in ourselves.

Never let us be closed through judgmentalness, negativity and anger.

Open our minds to remember your presence.

Open our mouths to speak your wisdom.

Open our hearts to extend your love.

Open our hands to serve you generously.

Open our whole being to you this day and always.

Amen! (Adapted from a prayer by Joyce Rupp)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “There are as many reasons for running as there are days in the year, years in my life. But mostly I run because I am an animal and a child, an artist and a saint. So, too, are you. Find your own play, your own self-renewing compulsion, and you will become the person you are meant to be.” (George Sheehan – Runner’s World Daily Kick in the Butt)

Yes, there are many reasons to run. I run because I am a man of faith, created in the image and likeness of God, a Passionist, a priest, a human being who wants to be the best person I can be. I run because God is present in nature, it people, in the gift of a new day and if I am running I encounter all these things. I run because with each breathe there is hope, there is beauty and there is life. So as George Sheehan says above, “Find your own play, your own rewarding compulsion, and become the person you are meant to be.” Become the person God has created you to be.

Daily Blessing: Uh-oh! Guess what day it is?? Guess what day it is! Wa -Who Wa-Who! It is Hump Day! So happy Hump Day everyone! Yes, I am as happy as a camel on Wednesday! And I bet you thought I had forgotten it!

Well I hope everyone’s day has started out well. It is a beautiful day here in Pelham. The air is crisp and energizing. It will be a good day for a run. I hope where you are life is full of energy today too.

My prayer of blessing for all of you today is that today will be rich in the gifts of love, hope and peace in your life and that if you encounter anger, violence and negativity it will be short lived because you are blessed with loving, caring people in your life. I pray that you will be open to the many ways that God will touch your life today and that you will trust in the gift of God that you are and bring that gift to every person, to every place and to every experience you have. May God bless you and be with you today and always. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul