Monday Greetings and Blessings to all!
Join us, tomorrow Tuesday May 14, 2019 at 3:00 pm for our Livestream program Through The Cross - The focus for this show will be "Getting Away – Passionist Retreat Ministry!" Our special guest today will be Fr. Paul Wierichs, C.P., Director of Our Lady of Florida Retreat Center in North Palm Beach, FL. Remember, if you cannot be with us today at 3:00 pm you can always watch the program at another time by visiting The Sunday Mass Web site and clicking on Through The Cross... https://thesundaymass.org/en/live
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Today’s Thoughts: These words of Pope Francis seem to capture the spirit of today's Gospel, (John 10: 1-10). "Every Christian, and especially you and I, is called to be a bearer of this message of hope that gives serenity and joy: God's consolation, his tenderness toward all. But if we first experience the joy of being consoled by him, of being loved by him, then we can bring that joy to others. This is important if our mission is to be fruitful: to feel God's consolation and to pass it on to others!"
Jesus offers us a relationship with himself and the Father. Jesus offers us the consolation and tenderness of the Good Shepherd. Jesus brings God’s joy to us. All we have to do is accept it and offer it to others! Have a great Monday everyone! Sunday and Mother's Day Greetings and Blessings to all!
Join us, Tuesday May 14, 2019 at 3:00 pm for our Livestream program Through The Cross - The focus for this show will be "Getting Away – Passionist Retreat Ministry!" Our special guest today will be Fr. Paul Wierichs, C.P., Director of Our Lady of Florida Retreat Center in North Palm Beach, FL. Remember, if you cannot be with us today at 3:00 pm you can always watch the program at another time by visiting The Sunday Mass Web site and clicking on Through The Cross... https://thesundaymass.org/en/live Today’s Thoughts: One message from our readings today is that we are to be hope filled people. Yes, we are to be people live with the Spirit of God in the midst of a world that is often the voice of hate and anger, a world that is filled with struggles, challenges and encounters with evil.
In our first reading, Paul and Barnabas face a challenge in Antioch. Some of the people in the community do not like Paul and Barnabas’ message. They do not want these outsiders; they do not want their life changed. So they stir up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas. But the Spirit of God is alive in Paul and Barnabas, the Good News will be proclaimed. Those who read and hear the stories of the Acts of the Apostles are reminded that the Spirit of God will not be held back, it is a Spirit for all! John in the Book of Revelation reminds the churches he is writing to, to stay strong, to remain hopeful. Even though they are struggling, and evil is around them God is with them. They are journeying through this life to something greater, to a place of plenty and peace, but they must remain strong. They need to trust always in God even in the midst of struggles, challenges and evil. These two readings are words we need to hear today. The anger, the struggles and the evil that we at time encounter in our world bond us to Paul, Barnabas and the early Church. The anger and hateful rhetoric that we seem to encounter in our world challenge us to be strong and remain hopeful. The anger, violence and evil of our world can often make wonder and ask why? But in the spirit of Paul, Barnabas and John we are called to remain faith filled because we are on a journey to something better. Perhaps in a similar way the challenges of our world today call us to listen in a special way for the voice of the Good Shepherd. Sometimes the noise of our world gets very loud but the Good Shepherds voice is always calling us. Sometimes the leadership of our world, our country, our church, our culture and society is all about power, authority, money, influence and self-interest. Jesus in John’s Gospel today reminds us that true leadership is about service and being a Good Shepherd. Jesus’ image of leadership is about mercy, compassion, forgiveness, understanding, care, support and selflessness! The readings today call us to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd. A Good Shepherd who is always there especially in the midst of struggle, challenge, fear and evil. A Good Shepherd with a Spirit that cannot be denied. Let us listen, live and be God’s faith filled people of hope! Have a great Sunday everyone! Saturday Greetings and Blessings to all!
Join us, Tuesday May 14, 2019 at 3:00 pm for our Livestream program Through The Cross - The focus for this show will be "Getting Away – Passionist Retreat Ministry!" Our special guest today will be Fr. Paul Wierichs, C.P., Director of Our Lady of Florida Retreat Center in North Palm Beach, FL. Remember, if you cannot be with us today at 3:00 pm you can always watch the program at another time by visiting The Sunday Mass Web site and clicking on Through The Cross... https://thesundaymass.org/en/live Today’s Thoughts: For a little more than a week now we have been making our way through the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel. This chapter is central to John’s revelation of the mystery of the Eucharist.
In yesterday’s Gospel, Jesus declares that his flesh and blood is in the Eucharist. Today, the disciples remark that Jesus’ words are a “hard saying.” Jesus does not soften his words because he is looking for faith. Faith is trusting when we do not understand. The basis of faith is not belief in a mystery but belief in the person of Jesus. We are faced with the same challenge as the disciples. Theological mysteries have been revealed to us which we do not intellectually understand but which we accept because we trust the person of Jesus. There may be circumstances and situations in our lives which we cannot understand and for which trust in Jesus is also necessary. Just as Jesus was moving the disciples to another level of faith, so are we invited to grow in faith. In order to do so we need to ask ourselves a question. “Are we willing to trust in Jesus to take us to the next level? Jesus’ questioning of the disciples about staying or going also applies to us. Perhaps, Peter speaks for all of us, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Are we willing to stay and let Jesus gives ultimate meaning to our lives? Have a great Saturday everyone! Friday Greetings and Blessings to all!
Join us, Tuesday May 14, 2019 at 3:00 pm for our Livestream program Through The Cross - The focus for this show will be "Getting Away – Passionist Retreat Ministry!" Our special guest today will be Fr. Paul Wierichs, C.P., Director of Our Lady of Florida Retreat Center in North Palm Beach, FL. Remember, if you cannot be with us today at 3:00 pm you can always watch the program at another time by visiting The Sunday Mass Web site and clicking on Through The Cross... https://thesundaymass.org/en/live Today’s Thoughts: I am often struck when reading our faith story how God seems to select the most unusual, undeserving or unique people to proclaim his message. Think of the Samaritan Woman at the well or Saul from our first reading today. These are two people you would not expect God to choose. The Samaritan woman seems to have her own problems with relationships and fitting in while Saul is breathing murderous threats. Not people I would pick to proclaim the Good News but God does!
It seems every time Jesus is encountered by someone they are sent on a mission to proclaim the Good News. Jesus chooses the Samaritan woman to proclaim his message to the town folks and he chooses Saul, who becomes Paul, to proclaim his message to the Gentile world. Encountering Jesus means being missioned, being sent. . Often in a less spectacular way we too encounter Jesus daily. Think of going to mass, of receiving communion. We encounter the Risen Christ. Perhaps not in the way that the Samaritan woman or Paul did but we do encounter the Risen Christ and are sent into the world to proclaim the Good News. We are to do it our own way, using our own gifts and talents. But we do encounter Jesus and we are sent. Our every daily encounter with Jesus, which takes place differently from day to day and from person to person, are our opportunities of being missioned just like Paul was, as the Samaritan woman was. Yes, not in a spectacular way, but rather while we are “minding our own business,” as Paul and the Samaritan woman were “minding their own business”. Our journey through the Easter Season reminds us that the Risen Lord is always looking for us, always waiting to encounter us in our daily lives. We can be “minding our own business” but Jesus especially through the Eucharist will walk into our life and send us forth to proclaim the Good News! Have a great Friday everyone! Thursday Greetings and Blessings to all!
Join us, Tuesday May 14, 2019 at 3:00 pm for our Livestream program Through The Cross - The focus for this show will be "Getting Away – Passionist Retreat Ministry!" Our special guest today will be Fr. Paul Wierichs, C.P., Director of Our Lady of Florida Retreat Center in North Palm Beach, FL. Remember, if you cannot be with us today at 3:00 pm you can always watch the program at another time by visiting The Sunday Mass Web site and clicking on Through The Cross... https://thesundaymass.org/en/live Today’s Thoughts: Our readings today identify Jesus as the fulfillment of salvation history.
In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles we hear how Philip brings understanding of Scripture to the Ethiopian. In the Gospel Jesus continues to remind us that he is the Bread of Life. It follows the stories of the miracles of the multiplication of the loaves and of Jesus walking on water. All of these passages are focused on bringing clarification to Jesus’ mission. In our Psalm today, we are called to give thanksgiving for deliverance at the hands of God. If you are like me, you are often left with a sense of turmoil and anxiety at the end of the day, because our civil discourse is often, if not always, about conflict, anger, untruth and threats. I often dream of a world where God’s activity would be easily identifiable, even if we are not looking for it. However, at the current moment this is hardly the case at least from my perspective. I dream of living in a world where I can have an unwavering trust in God’s Divine Providence. A place where prayers are routinely answered. I want to live in a culture, a world, of truth, trust and respect. I want to journey through life knowing that when my faith weakens it will be quickly restored. This imperfect world in which I/we live seems in many ways to find similarities in the world of that first Easter Church. There always seems to be hope when faith is strong and there is doubt when it is not. The time between the first Easter and Pentecost was a time when the followers of Jesus suffered with fear and questioning until they had a set of clear-cut signs, the signs I seem to be looking for, when Jesus was with them. However, these signs were not enough because often they did not recognize Jesus at first. The worries and concerns about the events that had transpired in the world in which they lived held them back from seeing the presence of Jesus. The Easter season is often portrayed as the time of salvation and renewal. For me, and for many of those in the early Church, I do not think this is (or was) the necessarily case. When I am able to recognize God’s hand in what is happening, I find moments of great consolation, but this is a faith that is subject to my view of life and my struggles. Like those in the early Church I continue to look for a spirit filled moment to change my perspective. I continue to look for the gift of Pentecost in my life and in the life of the world. I look for the opportunity to better recognize and hold in my heart that which the Easter season brings. The Easter season is a journey, life is a journey through the struggles, difficulties, fears and challenges of life to better recognize the gift and presence of God in our life. Have a great Thursday 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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