Today’s Blessing Prayer: Wednesday greetings and blessings to all. Also, to everyone named Stephen, Happy Feast Day! I hope everyone had a wonder day yesterday with many gifts, good food, choice drink and family and friends with which to enjoy the day. I took the opportunity after the morning mass that I celebrated to drive to Fairfax, Virginia and surprise members for my family for the day. It was better than staying home alone for sure! Today, I will head back to New York but with the memories of family!
My prayer of blessing today will be a simple one – May the gift of the Christ Child continue to bless us this day with the joy of smiles, the energy of youthfulness, the spirit of children, the faith of St. Stephen, the hope of the Christmas Star and the love of family and friends! Blessings to all today and always. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul
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Today’s Prayer: Loving God, we give you thanks today for the inspiring example of Stephen, who in the midst of struggle and persecution prayed for those who were against him. He is a true example of your Son’s Gospel message of forgiveness and mercy. Grace our hearts this day with the gift of forgiveness and mercy so that we too can be faithful in times when the world seems against us. May we have the strength of St. Stephen’s faith to always believe that you are with us and will never leave us to face our perils alone. Amen.
Today’s Blessing Prayer: Christmas greetings and blessings to all! I a little while I will head out to St. John and St. Mary Parish to celebrate the 8:30 am Christmas Mass with them. I hope your Christmas morning will be one blessed by the gift of love in your life. I hope in the midst of all the celebrating, eating and laughter with family and friends you have not forgotten to give God a little time!
In the spirit of this day of joy, love and gathering here is my prayer of blessing for all… May there be harmony in all your relationships. May sharp words, envious thoughts, and hostile feelings be dissolved. May you give and receive love generously. May this love echo in your heart like the joy of church bells on a clear December day. May each person who comes into your life be greeted as another Christ. May the honor given the Babe of Bethlehem be that which you extend to every guest who enters your presence. May the Hope of this sacred season settle in your soul. May it be a foundation of courage for you when times of distress occupy your inner land. May the wonder and awe that fills the eyes of children be awakened within you. May it lead you to renewed awareness and appreciation of whatever you too easily take for granted. May the bonds of love for one another be strengthened as you gather with family, community and friends around the table of festivity and nourishment. May you daily open the gift of your life and be grateful for the hidden treasures it contains. May the coming year be one of good health for you and those you love. May you have energy and vitality. May you care well for your body, mind and spirit. May you keep your eye on the Star within you and trust this Luminescent Presence to guide and direct you each day. May you go often to the Bethlehem of your heart and visit the One who offers you peace. And may you bring this peace into the world… (From Out of the Ordinary – “a Christmas Blessing” by Joyce Rupp) I will remember all of you as I celebrate the Eucharist during this Christmas Season – Christmas blessings to all. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul PS I also remember my father, Paul R. Fagan, Sr., in a special way today as it was 36 years ago this day that he was born to eternal life. Dad continue to watch over us and may you and Mom bless us with your spirits of love this day and always! Today’s Prayer: Loving Jesus, Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace, the Light of the World, as we celebrate your birth may we begin to see the world in the light of your gift of understanding with which you grace us. As you chose the lowly, the outcasts, and the poor to receive the greatest news the world had ever known, so may we celebrate you in meekness of heart, wonderment of love and joyful hope. May we bring your hope and love to all we meet today and always. Amen.
Today’s Blessing Prayer: Monday greetings and blessings to all and happy Christmas Eve! Yes, later today Advent will be over, and we will begin our celebration of Christmas. Hopefully you are where you need to be if not please travel safe.
It looks like the rain has returned. We seem to be in a pattern of rain one day and sun the next. Warm temperatures one day and cold and wind, the next. No white Christmas though. I hope you are navigating through your winter’s weather in a good way today! It will a quiet day for me today. No out and about no Christmas Eve masses just a simple day at home. Tomorrow morning, I will head to St. John and St. Mary Parish in Chappaqua for Christmas morning mass. Whether you are heading out to Christmas Mass this afternoon, evening, night or tomorrow may it truly be a blessed and holy gathering and celebration! As we enter this final day of Advent that will lead us to celebrate the Feast of Christmas later today and tomorrow let us use the closing words of Zechariah in today’s Gospel as our blessing – Loving God, in your tender compassion and mercy let the dawn from on high shall break upon us. Let it shine on us and on a world that sometimes find itself in the darkness of struggle and the shadow of death. May your presence today guide our feet into the way of peace. May we begin our celebration of Christmas not focused what we will get but on what we already have your love in our life. May our celebration of this day be truly blessed with the gift of family, friends and God's love! Remember to give a little time to God today and tomorrow. Peace in the Christ Child...Fr. Paul Today’s Prayer: Before I offer you a prayer today just a short little thought to remind us just what prayer is…"Prayer is freedom and affirmation growing out of nothingness into love. Prayer is the flowering of our inmost freedom, in response to the Word of God. Prayer is not only dialogue with God: it is the communion of our freedom with his ultimate freedom, his infinite spirit." (Thomas Merton)
May this be our prayer today! Loving God may the dawn from on high break upon us today and enlighten the journey of Christmas in our hearts. May it help us to proclaim your love to all we meet, and may that love be the source of all our gatherings this day and always. May our celebration of Christmas truly find us walking on the way to your peace. Amen. Today’s Blessing Prayer: Sunday greetings and blessings to all. It is a day and a half until Christmas and just one day until we start celebrating the gift of Christmas Mass. I hope everyone is in good spirits today and the busyness of your Christmas preparations is winding down. It looks like it might be a somewhat sunny day here in the New York area with the temperatures a little on the chilly side. Later today I will make a little pilgrimage to Manhattan to see the Christmas lights. I hope the weather holds for a nice evening of walking and looking. I hope the weather in your area is good especially if you are traveling today!
As we celebrate this Fourth Sunday of Advent, as we recall Elizabeth and Mary’s meeting and Elizabeth’s response to hearing Mary’s voice and the presence of God she found in that voice. Let us ask God to bless us with the faith and trust of Elizabeth and Mary today. Bless us, O God, in the loving spirits of Elizabeth and Mary; bless us today body and soul; bless our dreams, our words and our actions; bless our journeys; bless all that we have and all that we are that we will always live our lives to your greater honor. Bless us with the grace of your mercy to be compassionate, forgiving and hopeful that all you have called us to be will bring about your presence in our lives and in the lives of all we meet. Help us to be gentle and kind especially when many around us are not. Gift us with the grace to say “yes” even when we are unsure where it will take us. Help us to trust in your ever-present love. Amen. Sunday blessings to all! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul Today’s Prayer: O God of Christmas wonder, grace us with the humble caring faith and trusting wisdom of Elizabeth and Mary. May we too listen to our hearts and respond to the voice of God in our lives so that we to will always say “yes” to God’s invitation as we continue our journey through this life to the gift of everlasting life. Amen!
Today’s Blessing Prayer: Saturday greetings and blessings to all. I hope this finds you well and having a good Saturday before Christmas. I know for many of you this might be a stressful time, rushing around trying to get last minute things done so that you are ready to celebrate Christmas. At least the weather is not getting in the way especially here in the New York area. We expect another mild day with some rain which at this time of the year isn’t all that bad. So, if you find yourself, amid the chaos of preparing for Christmas hang in there you will make it because all things are possible with God!
If you are traveling at some point this weekend please travel safe, take it easy, take it slow, it might take a little longer but you will get there in one piece and it will be a much better celebration with you present, remember there are a lot of crazy, in a hurry, none thinking people out there. With two plus days left until the Christmas celebrations begins let us pray that these next couple of days in our lives will be blessed and graced by God so we will be ready to welcome the gift of the Christmas spirit into our lives. Loving God bless us this day by reminding us that we have come into this world from your hands and that your loving hands are always at work in our life. You have created us in your image and likeness and gifted us to the world. May we live that gift today and every day. May we make present your presence, your love and your hope in all that we do and say today. And may we be ready to celebrate the gift of Christmas surround by the people most important to us. Loving God come to life within us today and always! Final days of Advent blessings to all. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul Today’s Prayer: Today I am going to offer you a prayer that Pope Francis used a few years ago to end of his talk to the Roman Curia. It is a prayer often referred to as the "Romero Prayer" however it was not written by St. Oscar Romero. It was written by Bishop Kenneth Untener. I had the great honor of talking with Bishop Untener for over two hours one day many years ago before he died. He was a wonderful man, a great preacher and the kind of shepherd the Pope Francis would have liked. I offer you Bishop Ken’s prayer today because I believe it speaks of Mary’s prayer in our Gospel today…
Every now and then it helps us to take a step back and to see things from a distance. The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts; it is also beyond our visions. In our lives, we manage to achieve only a small part of the marvelous plan that is God’s work. Nothing that we do is complete, which is to say that the Kingdom is greater than ourselves. No statement says everything that can be said. No prayer completely expresses the faith. No Creed brings perfection. No pastoral visit solves every problem. No program fully accomplishes the mission of the Church. No goal or purpose ever reaches completion. This is what it is about: We plant seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that others will watch over them. We lay the foundations of something that will develop. We add the yeast which will multiply our possibilities. We cannot do everything, yet it is liberating to begin. This gives us the strength to do something and to do it well. It may remain incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way. It is an opportunity for the grace of God to enter and to do the rest. It may be that we will never see its completion, but that is the difference between the master and the laborer. We are laborers, not master builders, servants, not the Messiah. We are prophets of a future that does not belong to us. (Prayer by Bishop Kenneth Untener, Former and Deceased Bishop of the Diocese of Saginaw, Michigan) |
Fr. Paul R. Fagan, C.P.A prayer or two to help you through your day! Archives
May 2023
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