Today’s Thoughts: We find ourselves beginning the last full week of Lent and the drama of our faith story has heightened. Jesus can feel the forces of evil closing in on him, so he enters into prayer. Not a prayer of intercession or need but a prayer of thanksgiving for the strength the Father has given him so that he can fulfill the purpose for which he came into his world.
We might say that our Gospel today gives us a preview of Jesus' agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. Today Jesus is not in a garden with his three closest friends, who seem to be having trouble staying awake. No, in today’s Gospel scene Jesus is in Jerusalem and a large diverse crowd has gathered. In fact, some in the crowd are gentles. As Jesus speaks he draws the crowd and us to the cross, to its agony and its triumph. We are invited to see the glory of the cross and to learn from Jesus' great act of love. Our scriptures today invite us to prepare our hearts, to open our hearts to God. If we are willing to open our hearts to God then God is willing to create a clean heart within us, a heart with God's love written upon it. Jeremiah tells us that God has made a new covenant with us. One that names us as God's people and Jesus' cross reminds of the profound investment that God has made in us. It is a covenant, an investment of unconditional love. As Pope Francis has reminded us over and over again, that our God is a merciful God. And so, we seek through the mercy of God a clean heart and a steadfast spirit in these closing days of Lent so that we can take up the challenge of listening for God’s voice, gazing upon the cross and allowing Jesus to draw us to himself. May the Passion of Jesus Christ be always in our hearts! Have a blessed and holy Sunday everyone.
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Today’s Thoughts: In our scriptures today (Jeremiah 11: 18-20 and John 7: 40-53) we are reminded that Jesus really never had a chance with the religious leadership of his time, prophets, like Jeremiah, never fared well no matter where they came from but the thought that Jesus came from Galilee sealed the deal. The religious leadership had made their judgment, and nothing was going to change it, not even one of their own, Nicodemus calling for justice.
Jesus throughout his ministry cautioned about making judgments. He healed, taught, forgave, showed compassion and asked us to love even our enemies. His parables always reflected ways to live and not to live. They always reflected a relationship with God so that people could understand the presence of God in their lives. He showed compassion to all and forgave sinners. All of this was too much for the religious leadership of his time. Jesus' way did not fit into their view of the world, their way of living in the world. They were prejudice in the case of place, they didn't like Galilee but at other times their prejudice took on different forms. The prejudices that we allow to make a home in us can often be the very thoughts and actions that judge us! Jesus and Jeremiah became the trusting lambs led to the slaughter. They never had a chance because their message was of God not the world. Their actions, their teachings, their lives give us examples of how to trust and hope in God's love. They help us to look at life through the eyes of faith not the eyes of prejudice. As we enter this day let us be aware of how we often judge people without listening to their story, without knowing who they really are. Let us trust in the presence of God that every person can bring to us. Let us be people of justice, truth, compassion and love. Let us be open to finding God's presence, God's goodness everywhere. Have a holy and blessed Saturday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: Happy St. Joseph’s Day everyone! While things still are not back to normal and we cannot celebrate this feast as perhaps we would like to, I hope you will take a little time this day to remember St. Joseph especially because this year is dedicated to his presence in our lives!
“I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.” (Pope Francis – Evangelii Gaudium – The Joy of the Gospel) These are perhaps odd words from Pope Francis to use on this Feast of St. Joseph, yet I think they are words which reflect the life of Joseph. He was a laborer and he faced many challenges in his life especially when God came calling. St. Joseph was a person of life, an ordinary person who through faith did extraordinary things. St. Joseph is a wonderful image of the kind of Church Pope Francis wants, a compassionate, loving and joy filled Church. Today we celebrate St. Joseph a person we know very little about but what we know can be an inspiration for all of us. He was a simple man skilled in the use of his hands to shape, form and build. He was an ordinary man placed in an extraordinary situation. He was a faith filled man who staked his life on the promises of God. St. Joseph wanders into our life through a few verses of scripture and leaves a lasting impression. In every situation, we find him he pursues the right thing to do. He is righteous man who cares about the people around him. He is a loving man who protects those he loves. He is a hope filled man who places his trust in his relationship with God. Yes, in his ordinariness St. Joseph stands as an example for all of us and we live our lives of faith. He is a model of quiet faithfulness. He is the hopefulness that fathers bring to a family. He is an example of loving attention to God’s presence. He is the humble father who reminds us of the gift of family life and the challenge of living for others! As we celebrate St. Joseph today as the husband of Mary let us honor his faithfulness, his hopefulness and his love by letting him be an example that helps us to live our life of faith caring for those around us. Happy St. Joseph’s Day to all and have a blessed and holy Friday! Today’s Thoughts: The readings (Exodus 32:7-14 and John 5:31-47) seem to have a common theme: the inclination for us to trade what God offers us for something of less value and splendor. There is a term in theology, “laudable exchange.” It is used to refer to the stance of giving up the things of earth for the things of heaven. Our scriptures today warn us that often we do just the opposite.
In the Exodus reading the people get focused on a molten calf as a god they think will help them. They have bought into the world, the culture, around them. No matter what God has done for them they think a calf statue can do better. They have given up on the living God and replaced him with a god they made with their own hands. These are the very people who have seen wondrous things from God, these are the very people who were freed by their journey through the Red Sea at the hand of God. Yet, somehow, they miss the fact that God loves them and cares for them. They seem to think that God is distant, and they wanted something that they can see and touch. Like we often do, they made a god to suit their specifications, to do what they think needs to be done. The outcome of all this stupidity is that they truly anger God. The psalm for today’s mass (Psalm 106:19-20, 21-22, 23) points out their folly. “They exchanged their glory for the image of a grass-eating bullock.” They exchanged the glory of God for the glory for a human made calf. We are reminded that the only glory that we humans will ever have is the glory that comes from God, the glory that essentially is God. We have been created in the image and likeness of this merciful God and what a disrespect of God when we exchange our love of God for some creation of our own hands. The Gospel today is a very dense section of John and it is difficult to do it justice with my little reflection. The religious leaders reject Jesus and exchange his testimony, his life, for that of others. For a time, they like John the Baptist but grow tired of him. If others come tooting their own horns, they listen to them. They are able to accept anybody and everybody but Jesus. They love Moses, or so they say. A question one might ask would be if they were alive at the time of Moses would they have followed Moses or been right in there with everyone else helping to make a god out of pieces of gold? There is truth in the term “laudable exchange” to give up the things of this earth and embrace God. During Lent we give up certain things in the hope that doing without will help us focused on God. We sometimes do positive things or spend a little extra time in prayer with the same hope. These are wonderful practices however, we must constantly remind ourselves that what we do during Lent should help us to focus on God. If we remain focused on these things, then how are we any different than the people in the days of Moses who exchanged a thing, a hand made statue, for God? Let us be focused today on God, let us lift our eyes and see the things that are of God today! Have a blessed and holy Thursday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: Within our scriptures today there is the thread of intimacy and relationship running through them. In the first reading from Isaiah (Isaiah 49:8-15) we hear Advent like images of how God enters our life and helps us to make the journey home. We hear how much God desires a relationship with us and how far God is willing to go for that relationship. There is the famous image in the reading about the child in the mother’s womb and even if that mother were to forget about the child God will not forget about the child and us.
In the Gospel (John 5:17-30) it is John’s image of the relationship between the Father and the Son. Throughout John’s entire Gospel we constantly hear about the intimate relationship that Jesus has with the Father. If you see Jesus, you are looking at the Father. The two are inseparable, they work together. They know each other’s thoughts, words and actions. We are invited to have this same kind of relationship with Jesus and the Father. Intimacy is something we all want, something we all need but it is something many of us find difficult because of what it demands of us. It demands commitment, time, energy and a willingness to be truthful and honest. It demands a willingness to see the good in others and to understand their struggles, their faults and failings. Intimacy means we are willing to stand by the other even when it is not easy, even when it is not popular. Much talk time and print space has been given to celibacy and chastity in recent years, some of it positive and much of it negative. Being one who has tried to live this vow I know that the most difficult part is intimacy and I am not just talking about physical intimacy. I think we all have a great need, desire, longing for and deep connection with another, a person to share our joys, fears, sadness, struggles, triumphs, feelings and love. We want that soul friend who knows us, understands us, values us, forgives us and loves us no matter what and yet whether celibate or not this friend is hard to find. Many of the great saints talk about finding this relationship after a long struggle with God. I am not a great saint so my struggle for intimacy goes on. It is a great need in everyone’s life and sometimes it is a life-long search. For me there is always sadness when I see this intimacy devalued or absent. When I see a mother, or a father forget their child, either through abuse, neglect or when their life become so self-centered they don’t make the connection. I am also encouraged and hopeful when I see the wonderful gift of intimacy at work in the lives of people, when they don’t forget! Throughout Lent we have been reminded that living a life of faith demands looking beyond ourselves, it demands being other oriented. Relationships and intimacy are the way we can keep ourselves focus on others, focused on God. Let us live the journey of life today open to the gifts that others can bring to our lives! Have a holy and blessed Wednesday everyone and Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Today’s Thoughts: Pope Francis has asked us to bring the mercy of God to whomever we meet. We are to look around and see the people like the man in the Gospel today who can’t get to the living water of healing and we are to bring that living water to them. We are not to be people who see themselves alone with Jesus; we are to be people of a community of faith who bring the living waters of Jesus to the world.
As I looked over the scriptures this morning a couple of thoughts came to mind. First there is a one striking thing for me about today's Gospel (John 5:1-16); it is the fact that the man whom Jesus approaches is alone. He says he has no one to help him. No one to get him to the water, he finds himself alone unable to get to the waters of life. How often do we feel alone in life? We have that feeling that we are out there on a limb by ourselves. There is no one to help, no one to lean on, and no one to help us get to where we want to go. Like the man in the Gospel today we can be surrounded by a world of people and yet still feel alone. In those moments perhaps, it is only God who makes the difference. We perhaps are not dramatically healed as the man in the story but when we let God enter our life, life does become better. We encounter the gifts of life; we get places that seemed impossible to get to before. With God in our life being part of the world, being a part of a community is not only possible it happens. Another aspect of our readings today is the element of water. Ezekiel (Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12) and the man in the Gospel encounter the healing power of water. They are each aware of its importance in for life. They each become aware of the presence of God in life that water represents. Our readings today remind us of the value of God's presence in our lives. God's presence never leaves us to face life alone. God's presence is life giving, refreshing and life sustaining. As the verse for the responsorial psalm says, God is with us and God is our stronghold our support. As we live this day let us be aware of the many ways that God enters our life. Let us be aware of the many ways in which God does not leave us alone and the many ways God sustains and refreshes our life. Let us be thankful and not fearful because God is ever with us and will never leave us to face life alone! Have a blessed and holy Tuesday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: “Run the risk of a face-to-face encounter with others…” These words of Pope Francis echo our scriptures today. True faith is not based on extraordinary signs and wonders. True faith is grounded in the ordinary signs and wonder that we encounter every day. True faith is based in relationships, in experience, in our connections with others that allow God to be present in our life!
Jesus words in the Gospel (John 4:43-54) today are as true for us as they were for the people of Jesus’ time, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” We are always looking for signs and wonders. If I pray to the Blessed Mother and my prayer is answered I will believe. If I pray to St. Jude and my prayer is answered I will believe. If my friend, my family member is cured of cancer I will believe. If the Blessed Mother, one of the saints, if God will just appear to me and tell me what to do, I will believe. We are always chasing miracles, apparitions something extraordinary and if we can just find one, experience one, we will believe. Or will we? There were many people during Jesus’ time who saw him heal or raise someone from the dead and did not believe or only believed for a short time. Take his disciples as an example, all of the things they saw, all of the experiences they had with Jesus and yet they still ran away. They still betrayed him. They still denied him. Belief is not easy, and signs and wonders are not the cure. Living and believing every day requires work. Putting time into our relationship with God, prayer, good works, care and attention to others, especially those in need are what will make faith, belief possible. There are signs and wonders going on around us every day. The sun rises and sets. People do good things for others. God is present in nature, people and us. We just have to stop and take notice. We have to be willing to stop and look at the ordinary things around us because they will make the extraordinary possible. God desires nothing but happiness for our lives as we hear in the words of Isaiah (Isaiah 65:17-21) today. The only thing that gets in God’s way is us! There was a commercial a while back, I think for an insurance or investment company and it opened with a person doing something kind for another person. Someone saw the gesture and did something nice or kind for another person. The commercial continued with one act of kindness after another until it came full circle back to the original person and the original act of kindness. Signs and wonders are going on around us every day all we have to do is stop and take notice. If we do – faith, belief in God will be much easier! Have a blessed and holy Monday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: “God so love the world that he gave us his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (John 3:16) “God who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ – by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4) These two verses from our readings today seem to sum-up what we are asked to consider in our journey of faith this Fourth Sunday of Lent.
Often when I get down, when I don’t think things are going in the right direction, when life is all for naught, my reflections and prayer seems to focus on John words today. “God so loved the world….” God really does love the world. Just consider our readings today. We hear the story of the Israelites in the Second Book of Chronicles. They turned away from God. They decided to walk down their own path of destruction. They thought that they knew better. They lusted after the power and importance of the world around them and lost everything but God never abandoned them. And as the story ends today they are freed from exile and their temple will be rebuild. Yes, they paid a price for their unfaithfulness but God certainly is a merciful God! Paul makes sure the Ephesians know that they are where they are b God’s grace and not their own actions and works. As we say before receiving Communion, “We are not worthy….” It is by God’s grace that we live and move and have our being. It is because of God’s mercy, grace, compassion and love that we make this journey through life. It is because God so loves us that we take a breath today and have every chance for eternal life. Our challenge today and every day is to have faith, to believe in God’s mercy, grace and love because it makes all the difference! Have a blessed and holy Sunday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: In today's Gospel (Luke 18:9-14) we are reminded that it is not the quantity or style of our prayer. It is not the position we hold or all the things we can point to that we do. It is the quality of our prayer and how we live our life that counts.
The Pharisee had all the right words, all the right actions but not the right intention. He knew the law but the not the spirit. The tax collector on the other hand certainly struggled in his life but when it came to prayer, when it came to speaking with God he was right on. Humility is a valuable gift yet one that not many people have. We grow up trying to develop our self-confidence; we try to be independent, self-assured and self-reliant. We are often told that we must promote ourselves in order to get anywhere. Yet, humility can help us recognize God, in ourselves and others. Humility can help us recognize the presence of God in the living of life. The response to the responsorial psalm today is "It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice." As merciful people we are called to be humble. We must realize that we are not perfect we are human, with faults and failings just like everyone else. If we are willing enough and humble enough to seek God's mercy, then we will be able to offer mercy and compassion to others. As St. John Chrysostom put it, "We cannot be saved by seeking just our own individual salvation. We need to look first to the good of others." Have a holy and blessed Saturday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: Before I wonder into our scripture readings for today, I would like to reflect on something that struck me during morning prayer. As I was praying the Psalms and Canticles of morning prayer I was touched by the progression on my prayer, our prayer as a Church. The opening Psalm was Psalm 51, the Psalm we pray every Friday morning. It is the famous Psalm seeking God’s mercy. “Have mercy on me, O God…”
Then I moved on to the Canticle of Jeremiah which is a lament of the people in the midst of war and famine. As I prayed it I thought this could easily be us in the midst of our current situation. “Let my eyes stream with tears…the great destruction which overwhelms…Have you cast us off completely…We wait for peace but to no avail…For your name sake spurn us not…remember your covenant with us, and break it not.” It is a canticle reflecting the struggles of people in the midst of a human and imperfect world. People trying to make sense of everything happening to them. People wondering where God is. Then, I prayed Psalm 100, the joyful song of those entering God’s temple. “Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth, serve the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing for joy.” You might be saying to yourself, “Ok father, what are you trying to say?” Well. it was just interesting to me, and helpful to my prayer this morning to first ask God to forgive me and us as a world. Then to telling God of our struggles, difficulties and challenges, but then finally to trust in God’s presence, action and love by singing for joy. It just felt like a very hope filled morning prayer! Perhaps that is just what we need. Now on to our morning scripture… I have always been a bit jealous of the scribe in today's Gospel because Jesus says at the end of the exchange that the scribe is not far from the Kingdom of God. For me it would be a great comfort to know that I was not far from the Kingdom. It is one of my greatest worries. I try to live a good and faithful life but there are times when I look around and wonder if I have missed the boat! I listen to people talk about their faith, I see their actions, I am aware of what they think is important and valuable in terms of faith, church, belief and religion and I wonder if I have taken the wrong path. Sometimes I wonder if what I believe brings me close to the Kingdom? The Church as it stands today seems a far cry from the Church that Jesus seems to be putting together as we read the Gospel. Our religious leaders often, not always, seem to be closer to the scribes and Pharisees than to the disciples of Jesus. The institution we call Church often seems closer to the institution that Jesus often challenged and confronted during his ministry. We seem to take some words in the scriptures at face value, but others are glossed over and interpreted in ways other than what they say. We seem to be absolutely sure of what Jesus said, meant or wanted in certain situations and yet we discount or ignore other things because they don't seem to fit into the institution. I pray. I try to love whomever I meet. I truly value my relationship with God. I care about people no matter who they are and what they have done. I try to find God in all people. I value life in all forms. I want to be of help to people who struggle. I want to be a welcoming, forgiving person, religious and priest. I want to help people know and believe in God. Yet at times I am not sure whether I am on the right path. I don't always pray in traditional ways. I am more willing to accept a person where they are even if they don't fit into the laws of the institution. I want to dialog. I want to find a way for all to be close to the Kingdom. I don't want to judge. I don't want to be self-righteous and I certainly don't have all the answers. I want to live Hosea's words today, I want to return to the Lord, but I am not always sure the institution takes me in that direction. I live to be a man of faith, I live to be a man of hope and I live to be a man of love. I pray that like the scribe I am a man close to the Kingdom of God! Have a blessed and holy Friday 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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