Daily Thoughts - 08/15/2015

Daily Thoughts: Last year at this time I had just returned from a pilgrimage to Lourdes. Over the last two weeks I have thought a lot about that journey last year and how it changed my relationship with Mary. She was very present during my travels last year especially during my time in Lourdes. While some might wonder why we pray through Mary to Jesus or the Father, or the Holy Spirit, it became very evident to me while in Lourdes that Mary has played and continues to play a very important role in my relationship with God and in all our relationships with God. The richness of her life, her presence and her place in the Body of Christ, in the Church and in the living of everyday life is very important. She is a touch stone to the presence of God in our life. I am glad to celebrate the gift of her love to us today on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary.

As we celebrate today I turn to some words by Benedict our Pope Emeritus in offering you some faith food for the journey of life today…

“Mary is a woman who loves. How could it be otherwise? As a believer who in faith thinks with God's thoughts and wills with God's will, she cannot fail to be a woman who loves. We sense this in her quiet gestures, as recounted by the infancy narratives in the Gospel. We see it in the delicacy with which she recognizes the need of the spouses at Cana and makes it known to Jesus. We see it in the humility with which she recedes into the background during Jesus' public life, knowing that the Son must establish a new family and that the Mother's hour will come only with the Cross, which will be Jesus' true hour (cf. John 2:4; 13:1). When the disciples flee, Mary will remain beneath the Cross (cf. John 19:25-27); later, at the hour of Pentecost, it will be they who gather around her as they wait for the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 1:14).”  (Pope Benedict XVI)

Happy Feast of the Assumption of Mary everyone and may the spirit of Mary enliven your journey of faith!

Daily Prayer:

Friends as we pause for prayer today let us turn to Mary and ask for the gift of her spirit to guide our journey through life…

Dearest Mary who carried Christ in her womb and accompanied the first steps of the Church, may you help us to place Christ and his community called church always at the center of our life and our ministry.  O Mary, who was the first and the most perfect disciple of your Son, may your spirit help us to let ourselves be loved by Christ and to follow and serve Him in every situation. Loving Mary who responded to the announcement of the Angel with the most profound humility, may your spirit help us to recognize our own inadequateness within the treasure that has been entrusted to us and to always live humbly in the presence of God. Amen!

A Runner’s Thoughts: Remember – “Last is just the slowest winner.” (C. Hunter Boyd) “Runners just do it – they run for the finish line even if someone else has reached it first.” (Anonymous) “The body does not want you to do this. As you run, it tells you to stop but the mind must be strong. You always go too far for your body. You must handle the pain with strategy… It is not age; it is not diet. It is the will to succeed.” (Jacqueline Gareau) And so too in the spiritual life…

Daily Blessing: Saturday blessings and greetings to all! I find myself this morning in Long Beach, New York and it was interesting waking up this morning to the sound of the ocean. It looks like it is going to be another beautiful day, the sun is out, the humidity is low and there is a lot of energy in the air. It is the kind of day that calls to you, “Get up there is much to do and see and learn today!” I hope that same is true where you are today and that you will get a little chance to go out and take a little walk and smell the flowers. Just don’t stay inside all day because there is much to see and do and learn wherever you are today.

I know that my life has been touched by Mary’s presence often. So in the spirit of the Feast of the Assumption I pray that God will bless you with the humble and loving spirit of Mary’s presence in your life today. That you will be touched by the compassion, nurturing, loving and joyful spirit of Mary as you journey through this day and always. May Mary the Mother of Jesus, always bring your struggles, your needs to her loving Son turning the ordinary water of life into the extraordinary wine of God’s love!

My prayer for all of you today is that you too will find the gift of peace and joy through the intercession of Mary as you journey through life today and always. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 08/14/2015

Daily Thoughts: “The Church must be a place of mercy freely given, where everyone can feel welcomed, loved, forgiven, and encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel.” (Pope Francis)

I thought of these words by Pope Francis as I read today’s Gospel (Matt. 19: 3-12). In a few months we will have the second half of the Synod of Bishops on the Family and we will await some decisions particularly about divorced and separated Catholics. Those who lean toward tradition might point toward today’s Gospel as a reference point in saying that we should not change our stance on marriage especially in terms of the divorced and separated. Yet, I often wonder if that is what Jesus had in mind when he spoke these words.

Now to be sure there is no way to know what Jesus meant or was thinking when he challenged the Pharisees and his disciples with the words found in today’s Gospel however, if we consider the whole of his life and ministry we might point towards the words of Pope Francis as a way to look at Jesus’ words today. I am certain that Jesus’ words point to the sacredness and importance of marriage. Making a lifelong commitment speaks volumes about two people’s love. Jesus’ life was a lifelong commitment of love for us.

However, Jesus’ life was also about mercy, forgiveness and encouragement. Think about his conversation with the woman at the well. Did he tell her to go, get her life in order then come back and see him about the “living water?” No he looked past her struggles, her relationships and welcomed her into the mercy of God and as the story goes it made all the difference.

We all make mistakes, some small and some big. We all think we are in love when we really aren’t. We all believe we have found the right person and yet we haven’t. We all do our best and sometimes it isn’t our best. We all say forever and sometimes it isn’t. We all work hard at relationships but sometimes they are beyond our control because the other person walks away. Don’t you think God, who knows all these things, is still willing to sit and talk with us at the wells of our life? You better believe he is! So why aren’t we as a Church just as willing?

The Eucharist is an altar of sacrifice and a table of forgiveness. The Eucharist is a place of welcome for everyone who believes. The Church is Eucharist we need to be a community where God’s mercy is freely given where all are welcome, forgiven, loved and encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel!

Have a great Friday everyone!

Daily Prayer: O God, here is our heart, here it is with all its secrets. Look into our thoughts, O God our hope, and take away all our wrong thinking and feelings. Let our eyes be ever on you, and release our feet from whatever holds them from walking towards you. We ask you to live with us, to lead us, to make our hearts your holy temple, a fit dwelling for you our loving and merciful God. Amen (Adapted from a prayer by St. Augustine of Hippo)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “As athletes, we have ups and downs. Unfortunately, you can't pick the days they come on.” (Deena Kastor) And so to in the spiritual life…As people of faith we have our ups and downs and unfortunately you cannot pick the days they come on. All you can do is be faithful and keep on the journey!

Daily Blessing: Friday greetings and blessings to all! Another beautiful day here in Pelham and in a few hours I will be headed to Long Beach, NY and St. Ignatius Martyr Parish to help out for a few weeks. It is a very fine community of faith and I am looking forward to my time with them. If you are in the area please stop in.

Things here in Pelham are sort of back to normal. Most things damaged by our little mishap earlier this week have been fixed or thrown out and we seem to be in a good space once again, when I return from Long Beach I will need to get the boiler people in to check the boiler out but that can wait for now.

May God bless your Friday with the richness of his presence, mercy, joy and peace. May God’s blessing help your work day to go quickly, your vacation day to go slow, your travel day to go safely, but may they all be blessed with good people, many smiles, much laughter and God’s love. Have a great Friday everyone. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 08/13/2015

Daily Thoughts: “God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy.” (Pope Francis) These words from Pope Francis come to mind as I consider the Gospel for today (Matt. 18:21 – 19:1). Peter wants to how many times he must forgive a brother who has sin against him and Jesus’ answer is always. God never tires of forgiving us so why should we tire of forgiving our sisters and brothers.

This is not easy our human nature seems to always push us in the direction of not forgiving. We think we will feel better if we can extract our pound of flesh, if we can get back at the person, if we can inflict an equal amount of pain and suffering. Yet time and time again it doesn’t work, it doesn’t satisfy and often we feel even worse.

Even though we don’t understand it God’s way is better. Mercy, forgiveness, joy and love are the essentials elements of a satisfying life. They help us to not get stuck but to move on so that we can enjoy all the moments of our life.

Remember God never tires of forgiving us. Have a great Thursday everyone!

Daily Prayer: O most gentle Jesus, deliver us from all evils, past, present and future. Give us a lively faith, a strong hope and endless love today, so that we may love you with all our heart, and all our soul, and all our strength. Make us steadfast in good works and grant us perseverance in your service, so that we may please you always. Amen. (Adapted from the prayer by St. Clare of Assisi)

A Runner’s Thoughts: Running and prayer makes you feel powerful, and if you keep trying, you can reach any goal and be a true friend of God!

Daily Blessing: Thursday greetings and blessings to all! I hope you day has started off well. It looks to be another beautiful day here in Pelham. Now I should be in Long Beach, NY but I am still getting things in order from our water incident earlier this week. I will be heading there tomorrow.

Hopefully by the end of the day we will be back to as normal as we usually are here in Pelham. Verizon is to come between 8am and noon to get our technology back and running. It is nice that someone in the neighborhood has unprotected internet so that I can at least get on the internet but everything else is down, TV, phone and our internet. Hopefully the fix will not be a major one!

I pray and hope your day will be blessed with the richness of God's blessings. May you have a day blessed with a strong faith, a life giving hope, rich love and energizing joy. Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 08/12/2015

Daily Thoughts: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matt. 18:20) Perhaps said a little differently by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Where a people prays, there is the church; and where the church is; there is never loneliness.”

The focus of the Gospel today (Matt. 18: 15-20) is church. It is a community gathered in God’s presence. In that presence we can seek help, we can deal with struggles, we can get to the truth. In that presence we are never along.

While some might hear the word church and think building or institution, church is really people, Church is community. Church is the presence of God made visible by the gathering of two or three in God’s name!

Have a great day everyone.

Daily Prayer:

Loving God, for this reason we come before you, from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its name. We pray that out of your glorious riches you will strengthen us with power through your Spirit in our inner most being, so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith. And we pray that we, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge.

Now to you, our God, who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to your power that is at work within us, to you, our God, be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Adapted from the words of St. Paul Letter to the Ephesians)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “Poetry, music, forests, oceans, solitude, [prayer]--they were what developed enormous spiritual strength. I came to realize that spirit, as much or more than physical conditioning, had to be stored up before a race.” (Herb Elliott) And we might add after “race” and “the living of life!”

Daily Blessing: Wednesday blessings and greetings to all! I hope your Wednesday has started out well. It is a beautiful day here in Pelham. Much better than yesterday in many respects!

I returned home yesterday around 1 pm thinking I would do my laundry, get caught up on the mail, repack for my journey to Long Beach this afternoon and get a nice dinner. As I opened the door from the garage to the house I heard the sound of water running. When I looked down the steps to the basement I saw water running. By the time I got to the shut off valve for the water I was shin deep in water. I pipe on the hot water heater had broken and there was water spraying out everywhere. I go the water stopped. Started a portable sump pump and call the plumber. Luckily he got here within the hour and by 5 pm I had a new hot water heater installed. The drain in the basement was open and the water has receded. I spent me evening and this morning cleaning up and throwing out all the things that got destroyed by the water.

The spraying water hit all the electrical panels and the boiler so Verizon is coming tomorrow because we have no TV, phone or internet. The boiler people will come in a week or so to see what damage has been done there and I am not headed to Long Beach today I will go on Friday. So you might say life the last 24 hours has been very interesting. I hope you yesterday and today is much different from mine!

Enjoy your day wherever you are and in whatever you are doing. And if things aren’t going so well today remember this, “every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person and a beautiful thing” (Mother Teresa). So just smile and share the gift you are. May God bless you with a day filled with much joy, grace and God’s unconditional love. And if you get a chance please day a prayer for the drying of wet basements and the fixing of TV’s! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 08/11/2015

Daily Thoughts: I don’t often wander into the scandals of the Church but today’s Gospel (Matt. 18:1-5, 10, 12-14) gave me pause to ponder. In Jesus’ words today we are reminded why the sexual scandals of the Church were and are so wrong. Hurting children in any way goes against all that Jesus taught. The sin that we the hierarchy of the Church continues to carry, the sin of actions and in-actions, the sin of indifference, the sin of hurt and pain, the sin of stealing innocence, the sin of not protecting, of not responding should remain with us and never leave us.

When we hear the words of today’s Gospel they should always give us pause to ponder what has been done to children in our name. These words should give us pause to ponder how our actions and in-actions as priests, deacons, bishops, cardinals and popes have led to so much hurt, pain and the loss of God’s little ones!

These words of Jesus should never be far from our thoughts and our hearts so that we will be humble people and always receive God’s children as if we are receiving God. If this is not our attitude, if this is not what drives our ministry then we should not be priests, deacons, bishops, cardinals or popes. Humility will make us people who respect not who are arrogance. May God and the children we have hurt forgive us and may we never let this happen again.

On a more positive note perhaps we need to remember the words of Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ – “The future belongs to those who give the next generation reason for hope.” Let us give hope not take it away!

Have a great Tuesday everyone.

Daily Prayer:

O God, be merciful to us, because of your constant love. Because of your great mercy forgive us of our sins! We recognize our faults; we need to always conscious of our sins so that none of your little ones are ever lost again.

O God, create a new and pure heart in us and put a new and loyal spirit in us. Do not expel us from your presence; do not take your Holy Spirit away from us. Give us the joy that comes from your love and help us to always make the right choices in life. Loving God, be kind to us and help us to rebuild your Church. Amen! (Adapted from Psalm 51)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “There's one rule of thumb that suggests that you need one day of recovery for every mile run in a race. Another rule of thumb...suggests one day...for every kilometer run in anger.”  (Hal Higdon)

Daily Blessing: Tuesday greetings and blessings to everyone! I hope your day has gotten off to a good start! Here in Sag Harbor the clouds are hanging low and little droplets of water continue to fall and I will head home later this morning after the closing prayer service of the retreat. We cannot complain about a little rain as this is the first hint of rain since the retreat opened.

Happy feast day to all Franciscans, especially the Poor Clares, as they celebrate the feast of St. Clare today, a companion and friend of St. Francis – may we like Clare learn to “go forth without fear, for God who created [us] has made [us] holy.” (St. Clare)

I pray that all of you will have a great day wherever you are and through whatever kind of day you will face. If you too are in the midst of a rainy day – stay dry, if the sun is out enjoy whatever kind of day you face keep a smiling and remember you are a gift and if you share your gift you will make it possible for others to a wonderful day too! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul