Daily Thoughts - 08/05/2016

Daily Thoughts: The disciples left behind rather normal lives, fishing, collecting taxes, among other things and they did it all in order to follow Jesus. As we here in Matthew’s Gospel today now comes the hard part. The kingdom that Jesus speaks about will not be established by might but by suffering and death. Jesus is not a political or military leader. His power is not to take things by force. His way is not the way of the world. It is to die to self. It is to let go of what the world think is important. It is to grab onto a relationship with God and not let go.

Following Jesus and dying to self, letting go, is not an easy task. The cross presents itself to us daily in many different ways. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer once put it “Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” 

So we are called today and every day to find that place deep within each one of us, where God is calling us, through the paschal mystery, into a relationship of love – and it is that relationship that holds the promise of a joyful, rich, and never-ending life in the kingdom.

Have a holy and blessed Friday everyone.

Daily Prayer: To you, O loving Creator, of nature, humankind, truth and beauty we pray today. Hear our voices, for they are the voices of the victims of all wars and violence among individuals and nations. Hear our voices, for they are the voices of all children who suffer. Hear our voices when we beg you to install into the hearts of all people the vision of peace, the strength of justice, the joy of friendship and the embrace of your love. Amen (Adapted from a prayer by St. John Paul II)

A Runner’s Thoughts:  Why do we run – well I suppose there are many reasons. We run because if we didn’t, we would be lazy and negative and spend too much time on the couch. We run to breathe the fresh air. We run to explore. We run to escape the ordinary. We run to savor the journey of life. We run to connect with God through creation, through being in touch with ourselves, through the experiences and people we encounter on the run. When we run our relationship with God and life becomes a little more vibrant, a little more intense, a little more real and hopefully we like that. (Inspired by a reflection by Dean Karnazes)

Daily Blessing: Friday greetings and blessings to all. I hope your week has gone well or if not may it end on an up note and allow you to enjoy the gift of a weekend.

This is my last morning to head out to Chappaqua to celebrate the 8:30 am mass. The pastor has returned from his vacation and will take back his duties as of Saturday morning. I will head back to Chappaqua on Sunday to take one of the Sunday masses as we always do. I will also be heading to the Wartburg Home again today for the 11 am mass. I try to keep busy and out of trouble and so far this week I have been successful most of the time.

We are to have another beautiful day here in Pelham and throughout the metropolitan New York area. These last few days have been very nice with the temps in the low 80’s and low humidity. I hope the weather is treating you well wherever you are!

I hope all of you will have a great Friday, blessed by God’s unrelenting presence and unconditional grace. May your day be rich in the goodness of others, the joy of tasks completed and the peace of safe travels. May you share the gift you are with everyone you meet. I also pray that your weekend will be one filled with family, friends, laughter, fun, rest and relaxation. If you need some non-people time, quiet time, I hope you get that too. Enjoy everyone and be safe! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul