Daily
Thoughts:
As we celebrate the feast of the Nativity of Mary we are reminded in the Gospel
(Matthew 1: 1-16, 18-23), we are reminded that Mary, Joseph and Jesus are part
of the great human family. A human family made up of saints and sinners and
everything in between. It might seem tedious to read the long list of names at
the beginning of the Gospel many of whom we know nothing about. As I began my
ministry many years ago I would get so nervous when the genealogy of Matthew or
Luke would appear as the Gospel. However over the years I have become comfortable
with them and now I even look forward to proclaiming either genealogy. I guess
I have grown familiar with the case of characters and what they remind me of
concerning my faith.
Isn’t
that what life is about – remembering the stories of life, honoring those stories
and growing accustom to life. Seeing people and things differently, telling the
stories that reminds us who we are and from where we have come. Remembering the
characters good and bad that have made up our lives and molded us into the
people we are today. Today we remember Mary’s birth into this world. We
remember Joseph’s “yes” to God that kept the story going. We remember two faith
filled people who celebrated and honored the gift of family and made it
possible for all of us to be people of faith today.
When
we read or hear the genealogy of Christ whether from Matthew or Luke we are
reminded that even though Jesus is God, he is also human, also part of this
great human family and the characters, the women and men, who believed, who
struggled, said yes and sometimes no, who embraced a relationship with God and
sometimes didn’t, who lived life making it possible for Jesus to come into this
world to embrace us with his love.
Here’s
to the characters in all of our lives. Here’s to the characters of the human
family. Here’s to Mary as we remember her birthday. Here’s to Joseph and Mary
the central characters of our story today who said “yes” that we might
celebrate Jesus the Christ!
Have
a great Tuesday everyone!
Daily
Prayer:
O Mary, when you were born the world was made light. In your great love be
merciful to us who are often sinners, and give us strength and perseverance as
we journey through this life. O joyous Mary, just as your nativity announced
joy to the entire world, may it fill us with true joy and enliven our hope. Intercede
for us, O loving Mary that the gift of your nativity may enliven God’s grace
within us and help to say yes to his invitation to love. Amen. (Adapted from a
prayer by St. Ambrose of Milan)
A
Runner’s Thoughts: “Running taught me valuable lessons. In cross-country
competition, training counted more than intrinsic ability, and I could
compensate for a lack of natural aptitude with diligence and discipline. I
applied this in everything I did.” (Nelson Mandela)
Daily
Blessing:
Tuesday greetings and blessings to all. I hope your Tuesday which probably
feels like a Monday has started off well. I also hope you had a nice Labor Day
weekend and got to enjoy a little down time perhaps with friends and family.
I
certainly enjoy my five mile run yesterday in Long Beach. About 300+ people ran
the race and I was able to stay under a 9 minute pace running the five miles in
42 minutes. Not profoundly fast but also not too bad for an old man.
On a
sad note when I got back home yesterday I was greeted with the news that a good
friend and Passionist brother, Fr. Michael Greene, C.P., lost his brother
Dennis to cancer over the weekend. Dennis was Fr. Michael’s older brother, who
during the 1960’s was a member of the singing group Sha Na Na. Dennis was a
wonderful man who had a great command of the English language. He was a law
professor at the University of Dayton when he died. His battle with esophageal
cancer was a short one as he was only diagnosed a few weeks ago. Please keep
Fr. Michael and his family in your prayers during this very difficult time. Mr.
Dennis Greene touched many lives with his music, his intelligence, his
kindness, his humor and his faith. He will be truly missed. May he now rest in
the loving hands of God! – Peace to you Fr. Michael…
I
pray that God’ blessing will be upon you today and always. For some it is the
beginning of a new school year, for others it is the beginning of a new work
week and for still others it might be just another day – nothing special. May
God’s blessing be with you wherever you are and upon whatever you are doing.
May God bless you with the grace, peace, joy and love you need to live this day
and in living this day may you bring God’s presence to all you meet! Peace in
Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul
No comments:
Post a Comment