Daily
Thoughts:
“You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is
all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges
offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and
hope.” (Thomas Merton)
I used these
words from Thomas Merton not long ago in another one of my daily reflections
but I thought they spoke to our scriptures today on this Feast of the
Transfiguration. We might not know how or why but by God’s grace our lives can
be transformed into something wonderful if we are willing to embrace this moment
with courage, faith and hope.
We also
need to remember that on this day 71 years ago an atomic bomb was dropped and
three days later another one was dropped. We live today in the hope that Jesus’
transfiguration will always remind us that, despite our human tendency toward
acts of violence and death, our lives, the world, can be changed by God’s power
to give new life!
Blessings
on this Feast of the Transfiguration to everyone and please pray for an end to
all war and violence in our world. Have a great Saturday everyone.
Daily
Prayer:
Great
God, who has told us "Vengeance is mine," save us from ourselves,
save us from the vengeance in our hearts and the acid in our souls.
Save us
from our desire to hurt as we have been hurt, to punish as we have been
punished, and to terrorize as we have been terrorized.
Give us
the strength it takes to listen rather than to judge, to trust rather than to
fear, to try again and again to make peace even when peace eludes us.
We ask, O
God, for the grace to be our best selves. We ask for the vision to be builders
of the human community rather than its destroyers. We ask for the humility as a
people to understand the fears and hopes of other peoples.
We ask
for the love it takes to bequeath to the children of the world to come more
than the failures of our own making. We ask for the heart it takes to care for
all the peoples of the world as well as for ourselves.
Give us
the depth of soul, O God, to constrain our might, to resist the temptations of
power to refuse to attack the attackable, to understand that vengeance begets
violence, and to bring peace--not war--wherever we go.
For You,
O God, have been merciful to us. For You, O God, have been patient with us. For
You, O God, have been gracious to us.
And so
may we be merciful and patient and gracious and trusting with these others whom
you also love.
This we
ask through Jesus, the one without vengeance in his heart. This we ask forever
and ever. Amen! (Prayer by Sister Joan
Chittister, OSB)
A
Runner’s Thoughts: “Experienced runners learn to respect the changing needs of
their bodies. That's the wisdom that comes with time, and–for good or bad–with
age.” (Fred Lebow) So to in the
spiritual life – experienced pilgrims on this journey of faith learn to respect
the changing needs of their spirits and souls. This is the wisdom that comes
with time.
Daily
Blessing:
Saturday greetings and blessings to all! I hope your day is starting off well, if
not take a deep breath, and continue your journey with the hope that this too
will pass! It looks to be a cloudy morning here in Pelham with I believe rain
on the way at times today. I hope your day will not be a wet one especially if
you have things planned for the outdoors.
Shout out
today to Fr. Michael Greene, C.P. on his birthday - Happy Birthday Michael! Many
blessing today and always. Have a great day!
I leave
you with this thought for the day think of it in terms of life if you are not a
runner - "If you never have a 'bad' day, you're probably doing something
wrong; if you never have a 'good' day, you're definitely doing something
wrong.” (Mark Remy) May this day be
blessed with the richness of God’s presence and may God touch you with the
grace of joy, hope and peace. May this grace transfigure you into a wonderful
gift to the world you encounter today. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul
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