Daily
Thoughts:
Two years ago at this time I had just returned from a pilgrimage to Lourdes. Recently
I have thought a lot about that journey and how it changed my relationship with
Mary. She was very present during my travels two years ago 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: Monday greetings and blessings to all! I find myself this morning getting
ready to head to in Long Beach, New York where I will be for the next two
weeks. I am helping out at St. Ignatius Martyr Parish. I have the 7:30 pm mass
this evening. For the next two weeks I get to wake up each day to the sound of
the ocean. However, at least for the first few days it is going to be hot and
humid and I hoping that sometime this week things will change a little! I hope the
weather is I little nicer wherever you are that you will get the chance to go
out and take a little walk and smell the flowers.
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
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