Daily Thoughts - 01/14/2014

Daily Thoughts: That day in Capernaum, which we hear about in today's Gospel, (Mark 1: 21-28), Jesus taught as one having authority, in fact he taught every day that way. Perhaps that is the problem today that often those teaching really do not teach with authority. They think they do but they don't.

Authority comes from living an authentic life. We cannot say one thing and then do another and expect to have authority. We cannot say life is important and then only value life at the time of birth. We cannot say children, women and men are created in the image and likeness of God and then protect people who hurt them. We cannot talk about freedom and then limit it for certain people. We cannot talk about shepherding and service then live as one who is privileged and entitled. We cannot say human life is most important and then treat inanimate objects with more reverence than people. We cannot say community is important and then restrict the participation of the community.

In the Gospel we are reminded that Jesus lived an authentic life. A life focused on others, a life of authority! We long for teaching with authority today but everywhere we turn it seems to be missing. Jesus knew what he was talking about. He knew that people were more important than things. He knew that boundaries could be crossed if it meant life. He knew that people were more important than ritual, dress and mystery.  Jesus offered all who listened to him the chance to allow God to change and shape their hearts into a new way of life. If we listen to Jesus and follow his way we will come to know true authority, we will come to live an authentic life!

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Daily Prayer: O God, your gift of courage is one of the greatest favors you have given us. It would be wrong for us to behave like cowards or to fear anything except not being true to you. So once again grant us the courage to live authentic lives that reflect your greatest gift to us, Love! Bestow on us this day your kindness and peace that we might bring them to all we meet! Amen!

(Note: I adapted part of this prayer from the words of St. Teresa of Avila)

Runner's Thought: As you run today take with you whatever image of God that is most important to you and allow that image to accompany you on your run.

Runner's Thought 2: As you run today look for goodness in everyone you encounter. Look for goodness in yourself!

Daily Blessing: Tuesday greetings to everyone. I hope your Tuesday has started off well and if not I pray that it will get better as the day goes on. We seem to have settled into, at least for the moment, uneventful winter days. Yet, I know these moderate temperatures will not go on forever and there will still be challenges ahead, however it is nice to just be in winter for a few moments! I hope you are making it through these winter days and finding a little calm and peace at the moment.

My prayer of blessing for us today is a simple litany asking God help us along the way – Loving God, we pray for your blessing today in the midst of our busy life. If we find ourselves under the weather touch us with your healing presence. If we are busy guide us to a moment of peace. If we are frustrated grace us with an acknowledgement of the gift that you are. If we find ourselves angry today help us to let it go. If we find ourselves alone embrace us so that we know that are not. O God, bless us with what we need to live our life this day! Have a great Tuesday everyone. Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 01/13/2014

Daily Thoughts: We have closed the Christmas Season with yesterday's celebration of the Baptism of the Lord and today we enter into Ordinary Time. We get a chance to take a breath and relax a little before entering the Season of Lent or do we?

Sometimes I think when it comes to our relationship with God, there is no relaxing, there is no taking a breath, it is always full steam ahead. There is always a new challenge, a new way to live life. We certainly see that in the Gospel today!

The fishermen from Galilee get no chance to rest, a new life awaits them. They think they are settled into the ordinary life but Jesus has something else planned for them. They think this is just another ordinary day but Jesus makes it special.

In the Gospel today, (Mark 1: 14-20), we witness the beginning of some wonderful friendships. Simon, soon to be called Peter, his brother Andrew, James and his brother John, the two sons of Zebedee, all begin the journey of friendship, discipleship, with Jesus today. They each receives a simple invitation to "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of [people]."  To follow Jesus and if they do he will change their life. The change is not simple going for fishers of fish to fishers of people; the change is becoming a friend of Jesus, which always changes life.

Each morning we arise, whether in ordinary or special time we are offered the same invitation to friendship with Jesus that Simon, Andrew, James and John are offered. We are offered the same opportunity to change our life. The question is like Simon, Andrew, James and John are we willing to accept it?

Have a great Monday everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, grant us the grace to recognize you today as you pass by and the wisdom to say yes to your invitation to follow. May your invitation lead to friendship with you, newness of life and your gift of love. Help us with the strength to accept the challenge of conversion of heart and to believe in the Good News and proclaim it to all we meet by the living of life! Amen!

Runner's Thought: Make your run today a time of prayer, let go of the music, let go problems to be solved, let go of the decisions to be made and let God!

Daily Blessing: Greetings everyone, welcome to the first week of Ordinary Time! The Christmas Season is officially over at least liturgically. Hope you had a good weekend and that your team or teams won in various sports over the weekend. I hope your favorite actress, actor, television show and movie won a Golden Globe last night. We might say we had a busy weekend of sports and awards and just think the Olympics will be upon us soon!  

I pray that you are rested and ready for all this new week will bring into your life? If not I hope today will not be too difficult for you so that you can get your feet on the ground for the rest of the week. My prayers are will all who struggling with the flu and winter colds at this time may you find good health quickly. I pray for God’s Blessings upon all of us that we will have a great week! One that is rich in the presence and friendship of God. Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 01/12/2014

Daily Thoughts: The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. In preparing for mass today I found myself focused on God proclaiming Jesus as beloved. Now in growing up I was a middle child, not a true middle child because I only had an older sister and younger brother and supposedly you need two older and two younger sibling to be a true middle child. However, I have proclaimed myself a middle child. I never got any attention! I was neglected!

For most of my childhood I sought the attention of my parents and I guess I was not real good in sharing it with my sister and brother. I was also a "pleaser." I wanted everything to be affirmed by my parents, I didn't want to do anything that displeased them, believe me it was an impossible task!

Now my parents were not the most demonstrative people in the world. They had grown up through the Great Depression, World War II and where serious people. Sure that could have fun and enjoy themselves but they certainly did not gush over anyone or anything! My father worked long hours at times and my mother was a stay at home mom. It was not until I went to high school that we got a second car. My parents were busy about many things, work, their faith, their family and could not always be present at the things we, the children, were involved in. They rarely came to my baseball games, my swimming meets, my basketball games. I was in one play during high school and they didn't make any of the performances. I ran cross-country and track my junior and senior year but they never saw me run. At the time it seemed like a big deal to me, I wondered if I was really a good son? If they really loved me?

Now let me say my parents were great people, the best parents and they loved me very much but as we all know parents seems so "dumb" when we are in our teens but they get very smart when we get to our 20's! As I look back now my parents were always present at the most significant moments of my life. They were always there at time when it really mattered!

I have two images that will always stay with me. One of my father at my profession of vows. He sat with my mother in one of the first two pews and a friend took a picture of him as I was professing my vows, the look on his face was priceless and you can even see a few tears running down his face. If I could have heard his heart at that moment I am sure I would have heard, "This is my beloved son, in whom I am pleased!"  My father died four months after I took my vows.

The second image is of my mother at my ordination. The day before my ordination as my mother was traveling to New York, she feel and broke her arm. My brother took her to the hospital and the doctor suggested that she have surgery. As my brother tells it, for I was not there, my mother said, "No way, just set it, my son is being ordained tomorrow and I have to be there!" The doctor set her arm and by the afternoon she continued on her way to New York. She was in a lot of pain for the next week or so but she was there! In her presence that day I heard the words, "This is my beloved son, in whom I am pleased!"

We all have these moments when our parents presence speaks volumes to us, when their presence proclaims us as beloved daughters and sons. That is what we celebrate on this Sunday honoring the Baptism of the Lord. Today we remember that important moment when the Father and the Spirit needed to be there for Jesus. This moment sends Jesus on his way. This moment sends Jesus into his ministry. This moment sends Jesus to the Cross and the Resurrection.

It is a moment that gets played our over and over again in our important moments of faith through our parents, families, friends and faith community, God proclaims us as beloved daughters and sons. Moments like Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, Marriage, Ordination and any sacramental moment in our life. God claims us as a daughter or son who is beloved and sends us on our way.

Let us pray for our mothers, our fathers, our families, our friends and to our God today so that when we next receive communion we might hear those words in our heart, "You are my beloved daughter, you are my beloved son, I am so profoundly pleased!"

Happy Sunday everyone! Don’t forget to give a little time to God today!

Daily Prayer: O God, our great and wonderful Parent, declare us your beloved daughters and sons once again. Transform us with the grace of your love into the children you have created and called us to be. Children who bring your presence, your love, your mercy and your peace to the world in the Spirit of Christ your most beloved Son! May everything we do be pleasing to you because it is done through Christ our loving Lord! Amen!

Runner's Thought: Judge the quality of your run by the steadfastness of your movement towards the presence of God. Run strong because you are not alone!

Daily Blessing: Sorry for the lateness of my posting today but I have been busy the last few days getting ready for a retreat I will be giving in San Antonio, TX in just about a week. It is a retreat to the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. It will last from Monday to Friday with two talks and a homily each day. This is the first time I have given a retreat to brothers and priests so I am a little nervous and in worry mode at this time! This too shall pass but I do ask that you say a prayer for the Oblates and their preacher beginning January 20 and ending January 24.

I would also like to send a shout out to my wonderful sister, Bernadette today because she is celebrating her birthday. Best wishes Bernadette and may this day and everyday be rich in God’s blessings!

Hope everyone is having a great day. Hope you are finding some time to rest and just enjoy. I know many out there are struggling with the flu and winter colds, be patience and know you are in my prayers!

On this Sunday honoring the Baptism of the Lord, I pray that God will renew within us the graces and blessings we received at our baptism. That the Holy Spirit will enliven our faith, energize our hope and remind us of God’s everlasting love. I pray that God will once again bless us with the gift of being his beloved! Blessings upon all today.  Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 01/10/2014

Daily Thoughts: "Lord if you wish, you can make me clean. Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him and said, I do will it. Be made clean. And the leprosy left him immediately." I think the key elements of this story are the person's faith in Jesus, the willingness of Jesus to heal and Jesus' touch. Maybe the most important element is Jesus' touch, his willingness to be connected with someone who is unclean by the standards of culture, society and religion.

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.

The Feast of the Epiphany which we celebrated last Sunday was about the universal nature of Christ's presence in the world. Jesus confirms that nature today by reaching 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 like Jesus 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!

Have a great day everyone!

Daily Prayer: Loving God, we know that you wish your community of faith to include everyone. Help us to break down the barriers, to across the boundaries that our world, our culture, our society, our institutions create to bring healing to all your people. Help us to be committed to prayer, to our conversation with you, so that we will always have the strength share with others the healing power of your love! Amen!

Runner's Thought: Run in a new place today, for new places can stretch our capacity for finding the presence of God as we run!

Daily Blessing: Greetings and TGIF to all on this Friday morning. I have a very nice day yesterday at the Bishop Molloy Passionist Retreat House. There were about 55 people at the Day of Recollection and everyone seemed to enjoy our time of reflection and prayer together. Thanks to Fr. John Michael and Fr. Michael for the invitation and for your hospitality. Thanks to all who came and journeyed in faith with me.

I hope everyone has had a good week. It certainly has been a cold one and I am sure particularly in the early part of the week things were a bit tough. However things seem to be warming a bit and perhaps that means a good weekend for everyone before the cold returns again.

My prayer of blessing today for all of us is a simple one - may we all have a day filled with many blessings and much grace where ever we find ourselves. If we are on the road or away from home or just have to travel each day may we return home safely this evening to begin a restful weekend with the people most important in our lives! And if our schedule for today and this weekend calls for busyness may we find some quiet, restful and peaceful time during the busyness! Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul