A little suggestion for Lent - If you are looking for an interest and thought-provoking read consider The Seeker and the Monk by Sophfronia Scott. I happened upon it earlier in the week and could not put it down. I finished it in three days which is unheard of for me. It is her conversations with Thomas Merton. She touches, God, faith, friendship, grief, death, prayer, racism and a lot more. Just a suggestion...Fr. Paul
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Today’s Thoughts: "Today I have set before you, life and prosperity, death and doom...I have set before you, life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life..." Moses in the Book of Deuteronomy presents to the people, presents to us two roads for the taking and suggests to us that we choose the road of life.
Many years ago, as I was entering religious life my sister gave me a gift; I think it was for Christmas. It was a picture of a road sign, with an arrow pointing in two directions. It is the kind of sign that you find as a road comes to an end and as a driver you have to make a choice to go either right or left. Beneath the picture were the last three lines of Robert Frost's poem The Road Not Taken. "Two roads diverged in the woods, and I - I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." The picture has hung on my wall wherever I have lived over the years and has been an inspiration; it has been a reminder that the journey that I have traveled even though difficult at times has been the right journey. We might say that Moses is presenting to us two roads that diverge in the living of life. That we stand before those two roads that Moses calls Life and Death, blessing and curse, prosperity and doom. There are no signs just the choice of two roads, two ways to live life and we have to choose. Moses suggests that we choose life. In many ways this suggestion is the road less traveled because it is not always comfortable, it is not always self-gratifying, it is not always easy, and it is not always the road everyone else is traveling. The road of life can be filled with crosses, struggles, challenges, steep hills and selfless responses. The road of life has none of the allurements that you often find on the other road, power, wealth, instant gratification, self-importance, status and greatness in the eyes of the world. Yet, on the road of life you also do not find loneliness, judgmentalness, selfishness, greed, anger and death. On the road of life, you will find a community. It is a community ready to help, ready to walk with you. It is a community with a vision, a purpose beyond this life. It is a community of faith, of hope and of love. On the road of life faith will be strengthened, hope will be enlivened, and love will be the order of the day! Yes, as we begin Lent, we are presented with two roads diverging in front of us. There is a great crowd walking down the one, no so many on the other. Which road are we going to choose? My hope is that we choose the road less traveled, my hope is we choose life and blessing because that will make all the difference! Have a holy and blessed Thursday everyone! Ash Wednesday Thoughts: Ash Wednesday 2021 – I feel like a broken record when it comes to Ash Wednesday each year because I always have a struggle with the scriptures at mass on Ash Wednesday, especially the Gospel and what we do as a Church. Jesus' words all point to a quiet, non-public, personal and hidden commitment to fasting, alms giving and prayer. Yet, right after the Gospel we parade up and get a large cross of ashes that we can wear throughout the day for everyone to see. It doesn't seem right but that is what we do. When I was a kid, we got a little smug of ashes that faded quickly but today if you don’t get a large darkened cross of ashes people feel cheated.
In dealing with my struggle, I usually harken back to an Ash Wednesday several years ago, when a Passionist who was celebrating the community mass articulated my struggle but then said perhaps it is important for us as a faith community to do this as we begin Lent. After all Joel does call the people together and suggest a communal act of prayer and penance. Ashes are a sign of unity, a sign of belonging and often for us that is important. I guess I had never really hear Joel’s words and thus never considered Ash Wednesday in this way. The ashes we Christians receive today connect us, they bring us together for a common purpose. Now we will each le out that common purpose differently, some more involved than others but we are together, we are connected. However, to be honest I still struggle with the fact that in “normal times” churches are full to overflowing on Ash Wednesday because people want the ashes and they will take them anyway they can get them, often wishing to avoid the mass or the service, just give them the ashes so that they can be on their way. But every Sunday again during “normal times” when we have the opportunity to receive the Body and Blood of Christ, most people who receive ashes on Ash Wednesday are nowhere to be found and there is plenty of room in the church. I do not think I will ever understand how ashes became more important than Eucharist! Perhaps it is wearing the badge, the outward sign of ashes for all to see that makes us feel closer to God. I don't know! On to more positive thoughts..."Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold now is the day of salvation. [So] a clean heart create for me O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me," words from St. Paul and Psalm 51 that help us to begin this journey of Lent. St. Paul was one for always putting things in the moment not caught in the past or looking too far ahead, St. Paul in the here and now. Now was always the time, today this moment is what we should be concerned about. Somehow, some way God will be present to us today, God's Spirit will be alive for us today and we dare not miss it! The journey begins today and every day. The end of the journey is today and every day. The time is now! I have always found the Psalms to be a wonderful book of prayer and if I could make a suggestion for your journey of Lent go to the Psalms and use them as part of your prayer. In fact I would suggest using Psalms 51 and 139. Alternate them during Lent spending some time with each. In Psalm 51 we seek forgiveness, joy, hope and God's love. In Psalm 139 we are reminded of God great love for us and the intimacy a relationship with God can bring. During Lent, we are challenged to live each day in the present moment, in the hope that now is the time and go to prayer in our inner room knowing that we are not perfect, that we struggle but that God is right there with us! Blessing on this Ash Wednesday to all! Today’s Thoughts: “Do you still not understand?” The closing words by Jesus in today’s Gospel are directed at the disciples with him in the boat but they could easily be directed at us today. We just don’t seem to get it at times do we?
Jesus’ disciples didn’t seem at times to be very good at connecting the dots between Jesus’ words and actions. Jesus was always asking them if they understood and at times like the Gospel today, we hear the frustration from their lack of understanding in his voice. Even though we have the reflections and the insights of many before us we often find ourselves just like the disciples in the Gospel today. We think Jesus means one thing when it is really about something altogether different. Like the disciples we need to be reminded again just who we are as people of faith and that we are called to live lives for the glory of God. One place where we can revive our calling as people of faith is the Eucharist. Here we listen once again to the Word of God, we retell the story of Jesus and we are nourished by the gift of Eucharist and we are forgiven for those times when we fail to understand, when we fail to live out the Gospel. The Eucharist is the table that always invited us to understand, to come back, be connect even when like the disciple we just can grasp the message! As a little bonus today as Passionists we celebrate the memorial of The Prayer of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Garden. We always celebrate this memorial the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. We are asked to reflect on Luke’s version of Jesus’ time in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before his death. We are invited to reflect on this powerful time in Jesus’ life. the thought of being relieved of going through the journey to Calvary but more so the willingness to do the Father’s will not his own. It is a nice reflection to consider right before entering the journey of Lent. Are we willing in our life to do God’s will or are we going to hang on to our own? Have a blessed and holy Tuesday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: On the one hand we might say our readings today are about faith. Abel’s faith and Cain’s lack of faith. God seems to stay to Cain amid his disappointment with not having an acceptable sacrifice, to be patient and have faith. Then he can overcome the power of his disappointment, he can overcome the power of evil. However, Cain does not have faith, he does not place his trust in God. He gives into anger, jealousy, resentment, criticism, name-calling, spreading false rumors, running reputations. Perhaps through the story of Cain and Abel we can take some time today to reflect on how well we deal with and guard again the evil spirits that can lurk in our own hearts? Put in a more positive light, how are we trying to be life-giving and affirming as we journey through our life this day?
In the Gospel (Mark 8:11-13) today Jesus gives us an example of patient perseverance, of faithfulness to his mission. He is once again tested and challenged by the religious leaders. They want a sign. Now Jesus could have engaged the Pharisees in a heated argument. He could have performed a miracle for them, but he didn’t. Jesus just asked them a question. Why do you need a sign? Why can’t you just believe, why can’t you just have faith? Why can’t you recognize God in your midst? Throughout Jesus’ ministry he was challenged, frustrated and questioned. Each time he confronted the situation differently drawing upon a wide range of human emotions. In today’s story it is the emotions of patience and faithfulness. He feels sorrow for the Pharisees. He is frustrated, but he takes a deep breath and simply asked them to think for a moment. Today’s challenge in the Gospel is that being a patient, persevering, and faithful person. Can we be patient with those around us, with ourselves and with God? Can we persevere in this journey of life? Can we remain faithful in the midst of frustration, and challenges especially from with our hearts? Have a blessed and holy Monday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: I would like to use an image today that I am fond of using regarding the scriptures. It is the image of a lens. To me the scripture is like a lens that God asks us to look through as he turns it so that we can see things a little differently.
Today we have three lenses, one from the Book of Leviticus, one from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians and one from Marks Gospel. Our lens from Leviticus set up the scene for our Gospel today. We come to know the mosaic law’s view of diseases of the skin and how they can make people unclean and cast them out of the community. The lens from Leviticus helps us understand why Jesus does what he does in the Gospel today. We have come to know that Jesus values life and membership within the community far greater than human made laws. Jesus and the man with leprosy choice life. The man sees something in Jesus that makes him cross the boundary of the law to seek Jesus’ help. Jesus sees the opportunity bring someone back into the community. He sees the opportunity to give someone life again. Finally, our third lens from St. Paul reminds us to do what Jesus would do. Whatever we do we are to bring about the glory of God, we are to bring about life. St. Paul with his life is imitating Jesus and we are to imitate St. Paul. In other words, like the man in the Gospel we are to proclaim the Good News, we are to proclaim the presence of God. Have a blessed and holy Sunday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: Our first reading today is all about selfishness and blame. Adam and Eve only think about themselves. They know they have done something wrong but they look to blame their action on another. Adam blames Eve and Eve blames the serpent. They find it hard to face God.
In our Gospel today, Jesus acts with compassion. It is a counter to Adam and Eve’s behavior. Jesus thinks of others not himself. When Jesus realizes the people have all traveled far and have run out of food, he is concerned for their well-being. He knows he cannot send them home to eat because they do not have sufficient food for the trip home. So, what can he do? There are a lot of people and not nearly enough food. I have always believed this to be one of Jesus’ miracles, but it also reminds me of the story, “Stone Soup.” As a single person, none of Jesus’ disciples has enough food to feed everyone, however when everyone adds a little something, a garnish, a bit of carrot, a potato, a drop of broth, together it ends up a flavorful meal, and enough to feed everyone. The Gospel says there were seven loaves of bread and a few fish. Not nearly enough to feed the huge crowd, but they broke the bread and shared the fish. Miraculously, there were seven baskets left over – more leftover than they started with. It is always tempting to hold on to what we have. What will I have if there is not enough? However, if everyone contributes to the ‘soup,’ and no one being satisfied, everyone wins. Instead of selfishly sinning, we selflessly shared, and God makes the impossible possible! Have a holy and blessed Saturday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: I know many of you probably look at today as just Friday. And you are right in doing so along with most of the rest of the world but in the Passionist world today, the Friday before Ash Wednesday is the Feast of the Solemn Commemoration of the Passion. It is one of the most important and special feast days that we have in the Congregation of the Passion. It is a day when we can truly celebrate the Passion of Jesus Christ which is the lens through which we view and live our lives as Passionists.
Pope Francis said – “Always remember this: life is a journey. It is a path, a journey to meet Jesus…. A journey in which we do not encounter Jesus is not a Christian journey. It is for the Christian to continually encounter Jesus, to watch him, to let oneself be watched over by Jesus, because Jesus watches us with love; he loves us so much, and he is always watching over us. To encounter Jesus also means allowing oneself to be gazed upon by Jesus. “But, Father, you know,” one of you might say to me, “you know that this journey is horrible for me, I am such a sinner, I have committed many sins... how can I encounter Jesus?” And you know that the people whom Jesus most sought out were the greatest sinners; and they reproached him for this, and the people — those who believed themselves righteous — would say: this is no true prophet, look what lovely company he keeps! He was with sinners... And Jesus said: I came for those in need of salvation, in need of healing. Jesus heals our sins. And along the way Jesus comes and forgives us — all of us are sinners, we are all sinners — even when we make a mistake, when we commit a sin, when we sin. And the forgiveness that we receive in Confession is an encounter with Jesus. We always encounter Jesus.” Faith is always the key. As Passionists we celebrate this day with the faith that our journey of life is truly an encounter with Jesus, that God truly does love the world and Jesus’ journey to Calvary is the ultimate sign of that love. As Pope Francis says above, we are all sinners and it is that fact that set-in motion God’s greatest act of love for us, Jesus’ life, passion, death and resurrection. On this Friday before Ash Wednesday that is what we remember and celebrate. Perhaps in a way we, Passionists, try to live the way Jesus asks the crowd and his disciples to live in our Gospel story today – “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it. In other words, our lives are dedicated the remembering the Passion of Jesus Christ which reveals the power of God’s love for the world and through our special vow we bind ourselves to the memory of the Passion of Christ. By our words, our ministries, our living of life and by our faith we strive to bring this gift, this grace of God’s love to every person we meet. Or perhaps stick with the story we seek to bring the struggle to Jesus because he does all things well! My prayer for you on this special Passionist feast is that as you journey through this day you will not forget that God loves you that you will always be faithful and that the Passion of Jesus Christ will always in your heart! For those who would just like to reflection on the readings for the day - The first reading for today takes us almost to the end of the creation story which we have been reading since Monday. In today’s episode the serpent convinces Adam and Eve to eat from the tree is the middle of the garden which God has asked them not to eat from. The serpent convinces them that God has not told them the whole truth. His hook is that if they eat from this tree they will become like gods! Adam and Eve go for it hook, line and sinker. However, they find out that they are not like gods but rather their eyes are opened to the harsh realities of life – struggle, shame, illness and evil. They come to know the shame, hurts, disappointments and sins of life in the world so much so that now they are even ashamed of themselves and they hid from God. In the Gospel we encounter the beautiful story of Jesus healing the man who could not hear and had a speech impediment. Jesus heals the man because the people have faith in Jesus’ healing powers and bring their friend to Jesus. Jesus’ compassionate act of healing so astonished the community, even though he asks them to say nothing, they cannot stop talking about it. They proclaimed the Good News that Jesus “does all things well.” There is such a contrast to these two stories. On the one hand Adam and Eve place their faith in a talking serpent and not in God. They have everything. There is nothing they lack; there is no struggle, disappointment, illness, shame, hurt, death or sin in their lives. They are in paradise! Yet I guess you might say they didn’t have everything. They didn’t have faith! They didn’t trust God. In the Gospel story a community has faith in Jesus and their friend is healed. This story tells us a lot about Jesus and his journey to Calvary. Because of Adam and Eve’s lack of faith, sin, struggle, illness, shame and death entered the world. But as our faith story tells us that – “God so love the world that he gave us his only Son that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) We might say as we begin our day’s journey that faith is always the key. Have a blessed and holy Friday everyone. Today’s Thoughts: Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. Lourdes has always been regarded as a place of peace, a place connected with the sick and struggling. I, myself, found Lourdes to be a truly remarkable place when I spent two days there last August.
Pausing to honor Mary is always a good thing to do. Today we honor her visit to Lourdes back in the middle of the 19th century to a simple little girl named Bernadette. We also honor the ongoing gift of healing through Mary that has taken place in Lourdes since her appearance. As I have shared with you many times, I am very much aware of the role Mary has played in my own family’s life. My father visited Lourdes during World War II and asked Mary for a special favor. He asked Mary to keep him safe so that he could return home to my mother and begin a family. He dedicated his first female child to Mary and said he would name her Bernadette. My father made it home, my sister’s name is Bernadette and thanks to my mother and father, my sister, my brother and I were given the gift of life. Mary is truly a special person. In our Gospel today we might consider the question - Where is your heart? This might be the question that we can ponder from our Gospel story today (Mark 7:24-30). Even though the woman is a Greek, a Syrophoenican, by birth her heart is with God. In placing her heart with God her daughter is healed. The focus of today’s Gospel reminds me of a verse in Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 6: 21) “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” In other words what we find important, what we place value in, what our focus is in life – there is where we will find your heart. Perhaps another way to consider our Gospel today is in the words of Thomas Merton - “Ask me not where I live or what I like to eat . . . Ask me what I am living for and what I think is keeping me from living fully that.” The Syrophoenican woman is living for God. She puts God at the center of her life thus that is where her heart is and she is blessed with the healing of her daughter. Perhaps our questions for today are – What are we living for? What is keeping us from living fully? What is important to us? Where is our heart? Is it with God? Have a blessed and holy Thursday everyone. Today’s Thoughts: Our first reading (Genesis 2:4b-9, 15-17) focuses us on the story of creation and the beginning of our relationship with Gods. Our Gospel (Mark 7:14-23) focuses us today, like yesterday on the essentials and the non-essentials. What is essential for a person of faith is how they live from their heart. In other words, the essence of a person is what is in their heart.
Thomas Merton once wrote that “You can tell a saint by the way he [or she] sits and stands, by the way he [or she] picks things up and hold them in his [or her] hands.” I think Merton was getting at what Jesus was talking about in the Gospel today that being what we are on the outside is determined from what we hold in our hearts. Our challenge today is to be people of the heart. It is to ground our life in our relationship with God. The world around us cannot hurt us if we are grounded in and live by the Spirit of God. Have a blessed and holy Wednesday everyone! |
Fr. Paul R. Fagan, C.P. "Preacher on the Run"Just a few thoughts to help you on your journey through life...let me know from time to time what you think... Archives
May 2023
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