Daily Thoughts: "Today I
have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom...I have set before you
life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life..." Moses in the
Book of Deuteronomy presents to the people, presents to us two roads for the
taking and suggests to us that we choose the road of life.
Many years ago as I was entering
religious life my sister gave me a gift; I think it was for Christmas. It was a
picture of a road sign, with an arrow pointing in two directions. It is the
kind of sign that you find as a road comes to an end and as a driver you have
to make a choice to go either right or left. Beneath the picture were the last
three lines of Robert Frost's poem The Road Not Taken.
"Two roads diverged in the woods,
and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
The picture has hung on my wall wherever
I have lived over the years and has been an inspiration; it has been a reminder
that the journey that I have traveled even though difficult at times has been
the right journey.
We might say that Moses is presenting to
us two roads that diverge in the living of life. That we stand before those two
roads that Moses calls Life and Death, blessing and curse, prosperity and doom.
There are no signs just the choice of two roads, two ways to live life and we
have to choose. Moses suggests that we choose life. In many ways this
suggestion is the road less traveled because it is not always comfortable, it
is not always self-gratifying, it is not always easy and it is not always the
road everyone else is traveling. The road of life can be filled with crosses,
struggles, challenges, steep hills and selfless responses.
The road of life has none of the
allurements that you often find on the other road, power, wealth, instant
gratification, self-importance, status and greatness in the eyes of the world.
Yet, on the road of life you also do not find loneliness, judgmentalness,
selfishness, greed, anger and death. On the road of life you will find a
community. It is a community ready to help, ready to walk with you. It is a community
with a vision, a purpose beyond this life. It is a community of faith, of hope
and of love. On the road of life faith will be strengthened, hope will be
enlivened and love will be the order of the day!
Yes, as we begin Lent we are presented
with two roads diverging in front of us. There is a great crowd walking down
the one, no so many on the other. Which road are we going to choose? My hope is
that we choose the road less traveled, my hope is we choose life because that
will make all the difference!
Have a great Thursday everyone!
Have a great Thursday everyone!
Daily Prayer: O God of Life,
as we stand before the roads that this day presents to us, enliven us with the
wisdom to choose the road of life. As we walk this road less travel keep us
ever mindful that we are not alone that you walk with us. Strengthen us for the
crosses, the challenges of this road. Grace us with the hope that we will
always find your presence, your forgiveness, your mercy, your truth and your
love as we make this journey. May we choose the road of life today and let it
make all the difference in our life and in the lives of all we meet! Amen!
A Runner's Thoughts: Perhaps as we
run today we too should choose the road less traveled: the road of awareness as
we run, the road of revelation as we run, the road of intention as we run, the
road of mindfulness as we run, the road of imagination as we run, the road of
prayer as we run. Today let's pick a road we have not traveled lately and let
it make a difference in our life today!
Daily Blessing: Happy Thursday
everyone! I trust you made it through Ash Wednesday and are now ready to set
sail through Lent. The sun is out here in Pelham but the temps are still very cold! We live in the hopefulness that spring is not far away.
My prayer of blessing for today is that
God will bless us with the energy to be joyful people today. That we will see
the gift of the road that we have chosen and celebrate that gift with all we
meet. May we choose life and blessing all day today, through the strength of
our faith, the energy of our hope and the richness of our love! Blessing to all
today. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul
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