The Terrorism of Gossip

"Yes, there is an internal and underground terrorism that is a bad habit to root out. I describe the bad habit of murmurings and gossip as a form of terrorism. It is a form of deep violence that we all have available in our soul and it requires a profound conversion. The problem with this terrorism is that we can all implement it. Every person is capable of becoming a terrorist simply by using the tongue. I don't speak of the quarrels that are done openly, like wars. I speak about a sneaky terrorism that you do by throwing words like 'bombs' and that do a lot of evil. The root of this terrorism is original sin and it is a form of crime. It is a way to gain space for yourself by destroying the other. A deep conversion of the heart is necessary, then, to overcome this temptation, and we need to examine ourselves a lot on this point. The sword kills so many people, but the tongue kills more, the Apostle James says in the third chapter of his Letter. The tongue is a small member, but it can develop a fire of evil and burn all our life. The tongue can be filled with deadly poison. This terrorism is difficult to subdue." (Pope Francis)

Daily Thoughts - 10/28/2016

"Mercy is not indifferent to the pain of the oppressed, to the cry of those who suffer violence and slavery or are condemned to death. Suffering is a sad reality that afflicts every age, including our own, and often makes us feel helpless, tempting us to harden our hearts and think of other things. God, however, is not indifferent; He never turns away from human suffering. The God of mercy … intervenes to save, inspiring men capable of hearing the cry of suffering and of working in favour of the oppressed." (Pope Francis)

Daily Thoughts - 10/26/2016

"I like to dream of a Church who lives the compassion of Jesus. Compassion is to "suffer with," to fell what the others feel, to accompany them emotionally. It is Mother Church, who caresses her children with compassion like a mother." (Pope Francis)

Daily Thoughts - 10/24/2016

"Human beings, whenever they judge, look no further than the surface, whereas God looks into the very depths of the soul. How much harm words do when they are motivated by feelings of jealousy, hate and envy! To speak ill of othersputs them in a bad light, undermines their reputation, and leaves them prey to the whims of gossip and the trolling of social media. To refrain from judgment and condemnation, in a positive sense, to know how to accept the good in every person and to spare others any suffering that might be caused by our partial judgment and our presumption to know everything about them. But this is still not sufficient to express mercy. Jesus asks us also to forgive and to give. To be instruments of mercy because it was we who first received mercy from God. To be generous with others, knowing that God showers his goodness upon us with immense generosity." (Pope Francis)

Daily Thoughts - 10/22/2016

Daily Thoughts - A successful day yesterday of taping for the Sunday Mass. It was a long day with a few issues and hitches but all it all a good day. No rest for the weary though...Today I head to Woodbourne, New York to begin a Parish Mission this evening at Immaculate Conception Parish. I will be preaching all the mass today and tomorrow, plus I will be giving a talk to the CCD children and their parents between masses tomorrow. The Mission begins Monday morning and will finish Wednesday evening. If you are in the area of Woodbourne, NY about two hour north west of NYC stop in a help us celebrate the mission this week.

I will be back home either Wednesday night or Thursday morning and back in the Sunday Mass Office by noon on Thursday.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Peace in Christ's Passion,
Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 09/23/2016

Daily Thoughts: Two summers ago in New York it was hard not getting caught up in Derek Jeter’s farewell tour. Now I am not a Yankee fan, I have always been a Pittsburgh Pirate fan, a National League fan, but I have to admit that during my 19 years of living in the Bronx and now Pelham I have come to respect and at times root for the Yankees because of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. During my time living in the Bronx they became two of the faces of baseball and all that is good about it for me.

The greatest player in baseball, for me, will always be Roberto Clemente and I will always be a diehard Pirate fan but at a time when it is hard to find good in sports. When the day to day news about sports is often negative, I truly believe Derek Jeter was a man, a player of class, integrity and dignity. I know that I don’t know him and he could be a real jerk outside of baseball but something tells me he isn’t.

Perhaps in much the same way last year around this time it was hard not getting caught up in the preparations for Pope Francis’ visit. Let Derek Jeter many last summer were asking the question who is Pope Francis? Certainly over the last few years I have come to respect and be in awe of Pope Francis because of the kind of man he is and the spirit of God he seems to bring to every encounter with others. I truly believe Pope Francis is a man of faith, a man of truth, a man of love and a man blessed by God in a world that is often violent, negative and life taking rather than life giving.

In the Gospel today (Luke 9:18-22), Jesus asks two questions of his disciples, “Who do the crowds say that I am? and Who do you say that I am?” I might be stretching things but in a way throughout Jeter’s last baseball season many baseball fans were asking the same questions about Derek Jeter. I am not comparing Derek Jeter to Jesus! I am just saying that a small part of the baseball season two years ago was, at least for me, defining who Derek Jeter was. Celebrating what he had been for baseball over the last twenty years. Perhaps looking at his twenty-year career in the major leagues and realizing he has been a great player, not the best, depending on how one defines the best, but a great player who touched the lives of many by the way he played the game.

In the Gospel, the disciples try to define who Jesus is for them and Peter is able to get it right, Jesus is “The Christ of God.” It is important for the disciples to come to know Jesus in this way because of where their journey with him is headed, the Cross and Calvary. They need to begin to see Jesus as he truly is in order to make the journey with him. With Jesus there is truly a time for everything under the heavens, an appointed time.

The same is true for us. In our journey of faith, we need to come to know who Jesus is in our life. We like Peter need to know him as “The Christ of God” because of where our journey is going and the things we will face with Jesus. There have been and will continue to be many crosses and many journeys up Calvary.

So today I would just like to say thank you to Pope Francis and Derek Jeter for sharing their appointed time in this life with us but most importantly I want to thank Jesus for being “The Christ of God” and for your continuing your appointed time in our lives!

Have a great Friday everyone!

Daily Prayer:

Loving God,

We have no idea where we are going.

We do not see the road ahead of us.

We cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do we really know ourselves,

and the fact that we think we are following your will

does not mean that we are actually doing so.

But we believe that the desire to please you

does in fact please you.

And we hope we have that desire in all that we are doing.

We hope that we will never do anything apart for that desire.

And we know that if we do this

you will lead us by the right road

though we may know nothing about it.

Therefore we will trust you always

though we may seem to be lost

and in the shadow of death.

We will not fear, for you are ever with us,

and you will never leave us

to face my perils alone. Amen!

(Adapted from a prayer by Thomas Merton)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “How can one learn to know oneself? Never by introspection, rather by action.” (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe) So to in the spiritual life…introspection can help us see things about ourselves but it is our actions, through prayer and service of others that will really help us to know ourselves!

Daily Blessing: Friday greetings and blessings to all! I hope your day has started off well. We had more rain here in Kanab last night but I think it is to be a beautiful sunny day today. I will not know for about an hour though when the sun comes up. I hope wherever you are it will be a beautiful day too.

I would like to send a special shout-out to my great niece Emilia who celebrates her birthday today. Have a Happy Birthday Emilia with many blessings today and always. Have a great day and I hope you get to celebrate at least a little!

This will be my last regular post until Monday October 3^rd. Later today on my web site I will post a Daily Thoughts, a Runner’s Thoughts, a Daily Prayer and a Daily Blessing for each of the next nine days. It will be up to you to go to my web site each day to read my posts and musings. Also as of tomorrow morning I will go dark technology wise until Sunday October 2^nd, that means no email, no Facebook, no Twitter, no internet, no phone. Let’s hope that by Sunday October 2^nd I am still alive just a little sore nothing more.

As I have said I will be using my ultra-marathon as a kind of retreat which hopefully means a lot of prayer time. Now I know some of my prayer will be selfish, “O God, please get me through this!” However, hopefully a majority of my prayer will be for those who are in need of a prayer. I certain will hold all of you in my prayers as I make this journey.

For my prayer of blessing for all of you today is this – As you journey through this day may you be blessed with Christ within you, with Christ behind you, with Christ before you, with Christ beside you, with Christ to comfort and restore you, with Christ beneath you, with Christ above you, with Christ in your quiet moments, with Christ in your moments of struggle, with Christ in the hearts of all who love you, with Christ within of all your friends and every person you meet. May the presence of Christ’s be within you and bless your day, Amen!

I hope you will have a great Friday and that you encounter many blessings today and much peace. May you be graced by God in whatever you do and may you bring God’s grace to whomever you meet! Work, pray, travel, study, laugh, cry, talk, be silent, be intense or relax today rich in the blessing and presence of God. Until I sign on again sometime on Sunday October 2^nd be well and have a great week! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul

Daily Thoughts - 09/22/2016

Daily Thoughts: As the saying goes curiosity killed the cat. But does it? Sometimes we think of curiosity only as something negative, something that will ultimately get us in trouble. However, curiosity can be a good thing. It can help us to encounter and experience many wonderful things that if we had not been curious about them we might have missed the experience. Think of all the wonderful things that have been discovered or invented because people were curious. Think of all the diseases that have been cured because people were curious. Curiosity can be a very positive experience.

Today in the Gospel Herod is curious about Jesus, just as he was curious about John the Baptist. I often get the feeling that Herod was not far from the Kingdom of God. He was not far from being a really good person. He was not far from following Jesus. However, Herod never really let his curiosity lead him to the Kingdom instead he worried about what others might think or say or do. He never let himself truly experience the presence of God in his midst. Herod curiosity led to fear rather than new life. Herod curiosity led to worldly things rather than to God.

We are all curious people but the question is – what do we do with our curiosity? Perhaps a few questions we might ask ourselves as we journey through this day are. Do we let our curiosity lead us to God or the world? Is our curiosity healthy and purposeful or unhealthy and destructive? Are we willing to let our curiosity led us to a deeper relationship with God or to a fear of God?

Have a great Thursday everyone!

Daily Prayer:  Grant, O God, that we may never fall away in success or in failure; that we may not be prideful in prosperity nor dejected in adversity. Let us rejoice only in what unites us and sorrow only in what separates us. May we strive to please no one or fear to displease anyone except you, our God. May we see always the things that are eternal and never those that are only temporal. May we shun any joy that is without you and never seek any that is beside you. Loving God, may we delight in any work we do for you and tire of any rest that is apart from you. Gracious God, let us direct our hearts towards you, and in our failings, let us always seek forgiveness with the firm purpose of being better people. Amen! (Adapted from a prayer by St. Thomas Aquinas)

A Runner’s Thoughts: “Running is a thing worth doing not because of the future rewards it bestows, but because of how it feeds our bodies and minds and souls in the present.” (Kevin Nelson)

Daily Blessing: Thursday blessings and greetings to all. I hope your day has started well? It looks like another rainy day here in Kanab. It rained all day yesterday and all through the night. There is flash flood watch until Friday and I am wondering what all this rain means for the race. Will I be running through the mud all next week? Well no sense worrying until then. I hope the weather is better where you are.

This is the last full day of rest until the pre-race activities start on Friday. In some ways I will be glad when Friday comes and things get started but it is also nice to have this reflective time.

Because come Saturday I will go dark technology wise on Friday I will post all my reflections, prayers, runner’s thoughts and blessings for next week on my web site – www.preacherman.org. Thus you will be able to go to my web site each day and get a little faith food for your journey. There will not be any Facebook reminders or tweets. If you want my thoughts, prayers and musings you will have to remember to go to the web site yourself each day. This is the best that I can do. I will be back up and running, so to speak, with my usually postings each day either on Sunday October 2^nd or Monday October 3^rd.

As I sit watching the rain this morning my prayer of blessing today is adapted from the Irish tradition - May God bless all of you today so that the road rises up to meet you and makes your journeys swift and easy. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face. And if the rain has to fall may it be soft upon the land and upon you. And may you be truly blessed by God holding you in the palm of his hand throughout this day and always!

Have a great day everyone! May it truly be blessed with many wonderful experiences, many gifted and loving people and the energy that a new day can bring! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul