Daily Thoughts - 12/31/2015

Daily Thoughts: This last day of the year we are treated to the mysticism of St. John. The profoundly familiar opening of his Gospel, "In the beginning was the Word..." It is not an opening story like in Matthew, Mark and Luke, it is a mystical reflection on God, creation and Jesus' entrance into the world. It is a reminder of where we have come from and the profound love of God we journey towards.

In the first reading John in his letter speak to a community, a church, under persecution, struggling with the reality of life in a world made up of many different realities.  Things appear to be coming to an end, but John reminds the community about what they know, what they have been taught, and about the relationship with God that they have entered into, so that no matter what happens they will remain faithful.

These readings speak to our realities this last day of the year. Things are coming to an end, perhaps not in the way John envisioned them but a calendar year is coming to an end. Over the past year we have seen many struggles, many signs that point to loss, tragedy, the absence of God and a hopelessness. However, John reminds us, as he did his own community, about what we know because we are friends of God. John reminds us of a new beginning, of by whom we have been created and the hope that needs to remain alive in our hearts.

We can encounter terrorist attacks, tragic losses, challenges to our faith, natural disasters but we know the love of God, we know that the Light that shines in the darkness of life, we know that that world often does not know God, but we do and we will live in the Light and bring it to the world today and always.

Some things to ponder as we prepare to welcome a New Year…

“For last year's words belong to last year's language. And next year's words await another voice.” (T.S. Eliot)

“Keeping a journal has taught me that there is not so much new in your life as you sometimes think. When you re-read your journal you find out that your latest discovery is something you already found out five years ago. Still, it is true that one penetrates deeper and deeper into the same ideas and the same experiences.”  (Thomas Merton)

“The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective.” (G.K. Chesterton)

“Faith is why I'm here today and faith is why I made it through.” (Jonathan Anthony Burkett)

“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)

“Being a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God's will.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

“Do not forget that the value and interest of life is not so much to do conspicuous things...as to do ordinary things with the perception of their enormous value.”  (Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ)

“As long as we continue to live as if we are what we do, what we have, and what other people think about us, we will remain filled with judgments, opinions, evaluations, and condemnations. We will remain addicted to putting people and things in their "right" place.”  (Fr. Henri J.M. Nouwen)

“Faith is not for overcoming obstacles; it is for experiencing them—all the way through!”  (Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM)

Whoever you are, you are human. Wherever you are, you live in the world, which is just waiting for you to notice the holiness in it.” (Barbara Brown Taylor)

According to the Talmud, every blade of grass has its own angel bending over it, whispering, “Grow, grow.”  (Barbara Brown Taylor)

If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.”  (Meister Eckhart)

Have a great December 31st everyone and a Happy 2016!

Daily Prayer: I thought Thomas Merton’s prayer would be a good end of the year prayer for all of us today –

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore, I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. (Thomas Merton - Thoughts in Solitude)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “Your body will argue that there is no justifiable reason to continue. Your only recourse is to call on your spirit, which fortunately functions independently of logic.” (Tim Noakes) So run with the spirit today into a New Year blessed by God!

Daily Blessing: Thursday greetings and blessings to on this last day of 2015. It looks to be a beautiful sunny day here in Pelham. I hope the day is nice weather wise where you are.

I begin this day thankful for the year that has passed but happy and excited to bring in a New Year. I pray all of you are where you need and want to be and that you will get a chance to celebrate with family and/or friends tonight. If you need to travel, please travel safe. If you are going to be out and about at, around or after midnight, please be safe!

I offer a simple blessing on this last day of 2015 -  O Loving God, hear our prayers today as we pray in thanksgiving for the year that has just past and with hope for the year we are about to begin. Bless us with the grace of wisdom that we have gathered over this last year and help us during the coming year to soften the hearts of all so that we may always know your friendship. Grant peace and prosperity to your people bless each of us today and always with your love. Amen! May all of us encounter God’s mercy, peace, hope and many new dreams in 2016. See you next year! Peace in Christ’s Passion...Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 12/30/2015

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 turn our backs on those we don’t like; those whom we think have done us wrong, those who are different than us rather than finding – the common ground, the common gift, the common presence which is God’s love for all of us.

St. John reminds his community, in the first reading, 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 not 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, she never 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 Wednesday 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: Wednesday greetings and blessings to all. I hope your day is starting off well. The gray clouds are still in the sky but we are not to have any rain today here in Pelham. I think it is going to be a chilly damp day after all it is winter! I hope your weather is not stopping you from have a good day.

As we come closer to the end of 2015 my prayer of blessing is a simple one…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 mercy, 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

Daily Thoughts - 12/29/2015

Daily Thoughts: Feast of St. Thomas Becket – We find ourselves listening to the story of Simeon in our Gospel from Luke today (Luke 2:22-35). I have always liked the story of Simeon. It is a very tender scene. However, there is something missing in our Gospel today. From my perspective it should read just a few verses more so that we also encounter the story of Anna; to me it just seems natural to include both stories. Two people who have dedicated their lives to God waiting for this moment. You can hear the joy in their voices as they realize the purpose of their lives coming to completion, both embraced by the Holy Spirit graced with the gift of hope.

They do not sugar coat their message they tell it like it is – or should I say like it will be. There will be sorrow and struggle but also life. Rather than speak about the "rise and fall" Simeon speaks of the "fall and rise." The cross is part of Jesus' story but it is not the end. Death leads to life, doubt is embraced by faith, sorrow and struggle turns to joy!

Perhaps as we listen to Simeon today we need to remember that in being a person of faith our direction in life is always "upwards." Hope means that no matter how difficult things seem to get, no matter what the struggle – God is always with us. If we can be patience like Simeon and Anna the light of God will always direct our way, death, doubt, struggle and sorrow will become life, faith and joy!

Have a great Tuesday everyone and may you find peace, hope and joy as you journey through your day!

Daily Prayer: Grant, O Loving God, that I may never fall away in success or in failure; that I may not be prideful in prosperity nor dejected in adversity. Let me rejoice only in what unites us and sorrow only in what separates us. May I strive to please no one or fear to displease anyone except you. May I see always the things that are eternal and never those that are only temporal. May I shun any joy that is without you and never seek any that is beside you. O God, may I delight in any work I do for you and tire of any rest that is apart from you. Let me direct my heart towards you, and in my failings, always repent with a purpose of amendment. – Amen! (Adapted from a prayer by St. Thomas Aquinas, O.P.)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “It's important to know that, at the end of the day, it's not the medals you remember. What you remember is the process - what you learn about yourself by challenging yourself, the experiences you share with other people, the honesty the training demands - those are things nobody can take away from you whether you finish twelfth or you're an Olympic champion.” (Silken Laumann)

Daily Blessing: Tuesday greetings to all on this last Tuesday of 2015! If you are working during these days between Christmas and New Year’s I hope the time was not too stressful! We are making our way to the beginning of the New Year 2016. Hopefully this is not too busy a week for you.

The rain has returned to Pelham. It began last night as sleet but then turned to rain and I can hear it against my window this morning. I believe we are to have it all day. I think it is part of a major storm that has hit many parts of the country. After all it is winter so if the storm is affecting you and you need to be out and about or you need to travel a distance please be careful. Travel safe whether you are going a short or far distance.

My blessing prayer today is that God will bless us all with calm, peaceful and fun filled days as we prepare to bring in a New Year. May God bless any travel we will do in these last days of 2015. May God help us to enjoy these closing days of 2015 and look ahead with hope and joy to 2016. May God bless this day with a place of warmth with many smiles, the gift of laughter and people whom we love! Have a great Tuesday everyone! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul