Daily Thoughts - 11/15/2014

Daily Thoughts: Sorry for not posting Daily Thoughts yesterday but we were taping the Sunday Mass yesterday all day, if fact we were celebrating Christmas and the Christmas season as we taped yesterday. So it was a long day we left the house at 6:15 am and did not return until 7:30 pm and by the time I got back to my computer last night I had no brain power left to offer you some thoughts. But today is a new day so on to some Daily Thoughts...

Early this morning as I spent some time in prayer I was struck by Jesus’ closing words in the Gospel today, "But when the Son of Man comes will he find faith on earth?" (Luke 18:1-8)  I guess that is always the underlying question when it come to our human condition. There are so many experiences that seem to make faith difficult. That seem to direct our attention away from our relationship with God. In the Gospel today Jesus reminds us to pay attention and be persistent. In many ways it is these two qualities that will help keep our faith alive so that when Jesus does return he will find faith! ... Key thought for our journey of life today..."Being attentive to God especially through persistence in prayer!"

Remember to give God a little time today and have a great Saturday everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, may your overabundance of mercy, patience and grace lead us through the many obstacles that we place in the way of your love today and always! (Adapted from St. Gertrude the Great)

A Runner's Thoughts: When we run with God we can expect surprises, missteps and great leaps toward our understanding and in our relationship with God but we will never be alone!

Daily Blessing: I hope your Saturday is off to a good start. May your day be blessed with the warmth of the sun lighting up a beauty of God’s creation today and the warmth of many smiles greeting you and guiding you through the gift of all the experiences that this day will bring. May your day be rich in the blessings of God’s grace, mercy, hope, joy and love wherever you go and in and through whomever you meet. And may you always be blessed in finding God’s presence within yourself! Have a wonderful day with many blessings! Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 11/13/2014

Daily Thoughts: “The Kingdom of God is among you.” These are Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel (Luke 17:20-25). What do they mean?

On the one hand Jesus could be talking about himself. He is the Kingdom of God at that moment. The religious leaders are looking around for God and signs of God yet God is in their midst. The Kingdom of God is among them and they are missing it!

Another way of looking at Jesus’ words is that Jesus does not say that the Kingdom of God is in us or above us or around us; Jesus says the Kingdom is among us. Perhaps Jesus is saying that none of us alone possesses the Kingdom of God. Each of us shares in the Kingdom, thus we need each other for the Kingdom to be fully appreciated.

With this in these two understandings of Jesus’ words today our challenge is to be on the lookout for marks of the Kingdom. We need to be on the lookout for the presence of Jesus in our life. And what will help us not miss the marks of the Kingdom and the presence of Jesus? Well as St. Paul in our first reading tells us (Philm 7-20) by refreshing our hearts in Chrtist!

Have a wise and wonderful Thursday everyone!

Daily Prayer: O God of all wisdom, hear our prayer today, as we call upon your spirit of wisdom, and grace us with your spirit of wisdom so that we may know and understand what things we ought to do and say. Touch us with your presence so that we may have grace and power to faithfully accomplish all that is put in front of us today. We make our prayer through Jesus Christ our loving Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

A Runner’s Thoughts: “I run because it's so symbolic of life. You have to drive yourself to overcome the obstacles. You might feel that you can't. But then you find your inner strength, and realize you're capable of so much more than you thought.” (Arthur Blank) So to in the spiritual life…

Daily Blessing: Happy Thursday everyone! I am back! Yes, it has been almost ten days since I unplugged! Cormaria Retreat House in Sag Harbor, New York is a wonderful place and I have to say that with the exception of one day, last Thursday when it rained all day, the weather was just awesome! I ran every day and I had a lot of quiet time with God looking out over the bay. There were beautiful sunrises and sunsets and reflective walks through the town. It was a great time of retreat and I feel very refreshed. Thanks for all your prayers during my retreat please know you were in my prayer throughout my time of quiet prayer! 

I hope your day has started off well? If not remember you are in my prayers throughout the day in the hope by the end of this day you will have encounter the presence of God that will make all the difference.

My prayer of blessing for all us today is – Loving God, giver of all good gifts, bless us today with hearts that love you, so that by deepening our sense of respect and reverence for you we may nurture within ourselves and others only what is good. Bless us with your watchful care throughout this day so that wherever we go and whatever we do it will be for you. Bring us home safe to those we love that we might celebrate the gift of family, of friendship, of community, of your love so that our sleep will be restful and we will be energized to welcome you tomorrow! Blessings upon everyone as you journey through this day! It is good to be back connected with you. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul