Daily Thoughts - 12/13/2015

Daily Thoughts: I ran across a story the other day about a boy who stumbles across a butterfly trying to emerge from the cocoon. The boy watches the butterfly struggle. At one point the butterfly seems stuck. Concerned that the butterfly might be in trouble the boy runs into the house and gets a small knife from the kitchen and returns and carefully cuts away the cocoon. The butterfly’s body was swollen and its wings were all shriveled. The boy waited and watched, he expected at any moment the wings would begin to expand and the butterfly would take flight. But it never happened.

Why, because a butterfly needs to struggle through the restrictive cocoon because the struggle forces fluid into the wings, giving them stability and strength so that the butterfly is ready to fly. The boy did not realize that the butterfly's freedom and flight are only possible because of the struggle and hardship it must undergo!

This little story made a lot of sense to be in light of this season of Advent and our journey of faith. We are all very much aware of the pitfalls of getting things easily in life. When we do not have to work for something while the initial feeling is good it often wears off quickly and has less meaning in our life. When we truly work for something it stays with us. When struggle, difficulty and work is involved it becomes a source of strength we draw upon at other moments. It becomes part of our story of life.

The great prophets like John the Baptist and Zephaniah, the great apostles like Paul understood the need to struggle, to work, to build a life. Their messages today talk about hope and life but also the struggle that is need to maintain hope and life in the face of our everyday world. They tell us it is not easy but possible.  The only way we are be able to Hope in God's Promises, to Rejoice in God's Love is to work, to struggle, to live our relationship with God. It is never easy. There are always challenges, struggles, expectations, disappointments, actions of the world that make no sense or have no meaning, but God is still with us. Entering the struggle to make the presence of God known will give us stability and strength so that we can live the gift of this life and proclaim good news!

Remember as Emily Dickinson wrote, "hope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings a tune without the words and never stop at all." Perhaps at no other time do we need to be like the butterfly and put everything into the living of life so that we can release the beautiful gift of hope to a saddened and struggling world. It will not be easy, but we have the Spirit in our souls that will never stop singing!

Have a blessed Sunday everyone and don’t forget to give God a little time today!

Daily Prayer: O God of Hope, you know our struggles, you know our sadness, help us to sing the tune of hope in our world silenced by violence today. Dwell in our hearts because we know it will not be easy to overcome the losses and the violence. Help us with strength to give life today the tune, the good news that never stops. never stop at all! Amen!

A Runner's Thoughts: On your run today carry the tune of hope to a world struggle with the silence of violence!

Daily Blessing: Advent Sunday greetings and blessings to all! I hope your Sunday is starting off well. It looks to be another sunny and cloudy day here in Pelham much like the last few days. It will also be mild again. In the 60’s in the middle of December. No complaint from my end! I hope wherever you are today the weather is allowing you to enjoy the presence of God in your life.

In a few hours I will head to St. John and St. Mary’s Parish in Chappaqua, NY for the Noon mass. Along the way I will be putting my Christmas cards in the mail as I finished them yesterday. The house is decorated except for the Christmas tree which I hope to get on Monday or Tuesday of this week. It will be up and decorated by next Sunday. I hope your pre-Christmas work is getting done but that you also have had time to celebrate this beautiful season of Advent. Don’t let the rushing around, the shopping, the decorating, the worrying take you away from preparing for what is most important God’s presence in our life!

On this Third Sunday of Advent I use St. Paul’s words from his Letter to the Philippians that we find in the second reading at mass today. May God bless us today with the gifts of rejoicing. Let me pray that again – may God bless us with the gift of rejoicing! So that our kindness will be known to all and that we will know that God is always near. May God bless us with peace so that we will not be anxious and trust that our prayers, petitions and thanksgivings will be known to God. Then the God of peace who surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Have a great Sunday and remember to give God a little of your time today! Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul