Daily Thoughts: “God loves the
cheerful giver.” This little sentence from St. Paul’s Second Letter to the
Corinthians seems to really sum up both reading today (2Cor. 9:6-11 and Matthew
6:1-6, 16-18). St. Paul talks about being a person of generosity while Jesus
challenges us to be humble people of prayer and service.
In the Gospel we hear those familiar
phrases. “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. When
you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in
secret.” In each case the most important
reward comes not in the world knowing that we do things but in God knowing.
St. Paul seems to be saying that we need
to remember that the things we do come from God and the more cheerful we are;
the humble and open we are with the giving of our gifts then the more abundant
God will make our giving.
I think the grace and the challenge of
the message of these two readings today is that what we have is a gift from God
and in sharing this gift it becomes far more profound than we ever thought it
could be. However, for this gift to have power, impact and abundance we need to
share it – not for our glory and praise but for the glory and praise of God.
Have a great day everyone!
Daily Prayer: Eternal and
loving God, it is so easy for us to worship ourselves, to do things so that
others see and think highly of us. If we live our life this way, forgive us. If
we trust in our possessions, in our things, in our actions that are seen and in
the glory that they bring us rather than in you, forgive us. Heal the fear, the
doubt and the insecurity that may create faith in the wrong things. Restore a
wholesome perspective that put you at the center. We pray that through your
grace you will help us to live life around the lasting values of humble prayer,
cheerful service and our hope in you, our loving God. Amen!
A Runner’s Thoughts: Let us run
today with a spirit of gratefulness. Before we begin our run, let us declare
our intention to look upon all we encounter with the freshness of the
unexpected. Let us run with a sense of miraculous expectation and allow a
feeling of gratitude for the extraordinary and the ordinary to flow through our
being. (Adapted from Roger Joslin – Running The Spiritual Path)
Daily Blessing: Wednesday
greetings and blessings to all! It looks to be another cloudy, humid and rainy
day here in St. Louis. It makes getting out and enjoying the beautiful grounds
here at the Mercy Center a little difficult but just like yesterday today will
be a good day in its own way!
I hope that same is true where you are.
If your day has not started off so well I truly pray that it will get better
and that you will come to enjoy the gift of this day, because your presence
makes this day a gift!
The priest retreat that I am giving here
at the Mercy Center seems to be going well. There will be a morning talk and
mass and then the rest of the day will be free for all. You might say it is
sort of the midpoint of the retreat. I once again ask that you offer a prayer
for the priests on retreat and if you could also include their preacher it
would be greatly appreciated!
I pray today for blessing upon all of
you and your journey through this day. May the day be rich in experience, in
people, in smiles, in laughter, in fun, in love, in strength and in God’s grace,
in joy and in peace. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul
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