Daily
Thoughts:
My thoughts today are similar to those I shared with you last Friday when we
had the same Gospel story about Jesus’ encounter with a person with leprosy.
Last week we had Luke’s version of the story and today we have Mark’s (Mark 1:
40-45). In each version Jesus encounters a person with leprosy and the
following exchange takes place. "If you wish, you can make me clean. Jesus
was moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched the leper and said
to him, I do will it. Be made clean. And the leprosy left him
immediately."
I think
the key elements of this story are Jesus’ intense feelings, the person's faith
in Jesus and the willingness of Jesus to heal and to touch. Maybe the most
important elements are Jesus’ feelings and his touch, his willingness to be
connected with someone who is unclean by the standards of culture, society and
religion.
As the
story unfolds Jesus is moved with pity. Now sometimes we think of pity in a
negative way but in our story today this translation “moved with pity” does not
really do Jesus’ feelings justice. Jesus feels compassion for this person down
deep in his gut and it moves him to action. It moves him to do something beyond
what most people would do. It moves Jesus to touch the person even though his
is unclean in order to share God’s mercy.
Today
whether we are talking about our culture, society or even our church the usual
response is to disconnect ourselves from someone defined as unclean. Yet, Jesus
sought to be connected. He did not want to push them away from the community
but to bring them into the community.
Jesus
reaches out to one who has been pushed out of the community. It is a profound
moment; it is a challenge to all of us who proclaim we believe. Do we wish – do
we will – that all belong to the community no matter what? Jesus does and he
was willing to step across a boundary to make sure that it happens. Are we?
Perhaps
it is a commitment to prayer that will help us to, wish it and will it. It is
through prayer, our conversation with God, that we will find the strength to
walk with Jesus across the boundaries imposed and bring others to the
community, to friendship with God!
Give a
little time to God today – say a prayer – talk with God. Have a great Thursday
everyone!
Daily
Prayer: Loving
God, help us today so that we will not be people with hardened hearts but
people with compassionate hearts. Help us to be people willing to reach out
across the boundaries of life with mercy that all might have the opportunity to
be part of your community of faith. Enliven us that we will always hear your
word with an open mind and an open heart! Amen!
A
Runner's Thoughts: “There is something magical about running; after a certain
distance, it transcends the body. Then a bit further, it transcends the mind. A
bit further yet, and what you have before you, laid bare, is the soul.” (Kristin
Armstrong) Think of every run as an opportunity to be born again. Let each run
refresh your body and renew your spirit and bring you into God's Presence once
again!
Daily
Blessing:
Thursday greetings and blessings to all. It is still dark out as I write this
so I am not sure what the new day will bring. They say it will be less windy
and a little warmer today so that sound good to me. Yesterday was a long day of
driving to and from Scranton, PA and today will be a day of preparation for
tomorrow’s Sunday Mass Taping session. I will also take a little break to
celebrate mass for the people at the Wartburg Home at 11:00 am this morning.
Tomorrow
is going to be a long day as we will have our monthly taping session for The
Sunday Mass at St. Francis de Sales Parish in Manhattan. These taping days are
always long because for me they start early in the morning and end in the late
afternoon which means a journey home through rush hour traffic. However, they
are always good days because of what we accomplish.
I hope
your week is going well. I pray that you feel supported by God and have
encountered the presence of God throughout your journey of life this week. As
always I pray for God’s blessings upon all of us today that whether busy or not
we may find the gift of God’s touch in our lives; the touch of healing if we
need it, but most importantly the touch of joy, hope, mercy and love to carry
us through the day. Have a great day everyone. Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr.
Paul
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