Through
his challenge to the scribes and Pharisees today Jesus asks us to stop and
think about how we are living out our faith. Is it a faith grounded in
unimportant things or is it a faith ground in a relationship with God? Do we think
that God is the center but then we make actions, rituals, words and customs far
more important than living out our relationship with God? Do we make things
more important than people? Do we make ritual and places more important than
prayer and actions?
Woe to us
if we don’t love. Woe to us if we don’t care for those in need. Woe to us if we
first don’t find God in others and ourselves. Woe to us if rituals, places and
the repetition of words become more important than people. Yes, I guess every
once in a while, we have to be challenged by the negative that seems to take
hold of our lives.
Have a
great Monday everyone!
Daily
Prayer:
Today,
dear Lord, three things we prayTo see you more clearly
Love you more dearly
Follow you more nearly, today!
Today, dear
Lord, three things we pray
To see
you more clearlyLove you more dearly
Follow you more nearly, every day!
(Adapted from the lyrics of the Godspell song Day By Day.)
A
Runner’s Thoughts: “Non-runners may not believe how beneficial running can
be, but it's true. Running has rocked people's lives – improving the way they
look, the way they feel, the way they think, and the way they look at life.” (Florence Griffith Joyner and John Hanc)
Running
can also improve the way we pray and the way we see and understand God in our
life!
Daily
Blessing:
Monday greetings to all! I hope this finds you well today and rested from a
weekend that was blessed by some down time with family and friends. My weekend
was busy as it should have been but it was certainly life-giving and blessed by
God’s presence.
I turned
the air conditioning off last night as the weather changed here. This morning
there is a cool breeze coming in my window and it is nice not hearing the hum
of the air conditioner! I think it is going to be a beautiful day here in Long
Beach. The air is certainly cooler, the sun is getting ready to make an
appearance and I can hear the ocean from my room! I am looking forward to God’s
blessings this day!
Today is
a special day for me it is the 34th Anniversary of my profession of
first vows with the Passionists. August 22, 1982 was a very hot Sunday in
Pittsburgh, seven of us, along with our Passionists, family and friends,
proclaimed of our desire to live the Passionist life keeping alive the memory
of Christ’s Passion through our lives, our ministry and our prayer. Three of us
remain from that hot August afternoon, Fr. Melvin Shorter, C.P., Fr. Chris
Cleary, C.P. and yours truly. It is interesting to note that we were the three
oldest members of the class. I am not sure what that means, maturity,
intelligence, wisdom or we just had given up too much to turn back. Who knows!
I am thankful to my two classmates for an interesting 35+ years, for their
friendship, for their faithfulness, and for being there on the journey. I am
thankful to all of you, for your love, support and prayers that have kept me
going!
And I
pray that God will bless all of us on this Monday. For some it is the beginning
of a new school year, for others it is the beginning of a new work week, for
others it may be the first or last week of vacation and for still others it
might be the last day of this life. May God’s blessing be upon us wherever we
find ourselves. May God bless us with the grace we need to live this day and in
living this day may we bring God’s presence to all we meet! Peace in Christ’s
Passion…Fr. Paul
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