Today’s Thoughts: “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’” Words of wisdom from today’s Gospel (Matthew 5:33-37). Yet, they are also words that at times are hard to live out. I know at times in my life I tried to hedge my bet, not wanting to commit because something better might come along. Not wanting to be honest because it felt like it might hurt someone. Not wanting to be straight forward because I might look bad.
Yet to be honest, straight forward, committed is what we are asked to be as people of faith by Jesus today. We are asked to let go of what others, what the world thinks and be faithful to ourselves, to others and to God. It might not be the easiest way, but it is God’s way. Elisha learns this in our first reading today (1 Kings 19: 19-21). He is invited by Elijah to be God’s prophet, but he comes up with all kinds of what seem to be good excuses to wait. All God wants is a ‘Yes’ or a ‘No.’ Elisha finally realizes that he must let go of his excuses and go all in. He realizes that he must trust God. Trust the new life ahead of him. Jesus invites us to trust the new life. He teaches us to simply be honest, to be women and men of integrity. In Jesus, we come to know that trusting in God means letting go of the need to prove ourselves, whether by fancy oaths, cunning wordplay, or otherwise. Instead, we allow God to be our guiding light, always before us. Have a great Saturday everyone!
0 Comments
Today’s Thoughts: “I long to see your face, O Lord.” Perhaps our response today to the responsorial psalm says a lot about why we are here and our readings. Elijah on the run from his own people, discouraged, alone and wondering what is next, finds himself at the entrance of a cave waiting to encounter God. All the loud, grand and obvious experiences of God that we often long for just pass him by. It is in an unexpected tiny whispering sound that God asks the question, “Why are you here?”
A good question, why are we here? It is perhaps a question we might ask ourselves listening to the words of the Gospel (Matthew 5:27-32). Words that might discourage us as they suggest tearing out our eyes and cutting off our hands because they might cause us to sin. However perhaps they are words that simply ask us to be honest with ourselves, words that maybe ask us if we are caught up in the fear, hurt, anger, jealousy, loneliness and fatigue of life. Perhaps in the long journey, the often-struggling journey of life we get to a point when all we want to do is encounter God, to see God’s face. We hope for the grand entrance, the profound encounter and yet if we don’t pay attention we will miss the tiny whispering sound that can bring us face to face with God. If we give into the world around us, throw our hands up in hopelessness, it will seem like the only thing to do is let go of this life because it is too hard, too difficult. How can we not sin? However, like Elijah, like those gathered around Jesus to hear his words, we must always remember that in the times of struggle, difficulty and hopelessness, God is always there. Sometimes in the grand encounters of wind, fire and a quaking earth but most often in the tiny whispering sound of the experiences, people and world around us. God doesn’t want us to give up, to despair or maim ourselves. God wants us to look around, to be honest and know why we are here – to love, to serve and to honor God through the joyful living of life. Sometimes it takes a tiny whispering sound to get our attention. Sometimes it takes the stark reality of life to get our attention. However, once we are focused God’s face will always be right in front of us and God’s presence will always be guiding our way! Have a great Friday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: I ran across a quote by David Benner the author of Healing Emotional Wounds, “Forgiveness…is letting go – letting go of the anger, letting go of the right to retaliate, and letting go of the right to savour any of the emotional consequences of the hurt."
I have always reflected with people who were struggling with forgiveness that forgiveness is about letting go. It is about moving beyond the hurt. Yet often people think that forgiveness means forgetting. The wisdom in Brenner’s reflection is that he is not saying that we forget that we let go of the experience itself but that we let go of the human effects of being hurt that can often paralyze us. Perhaps said another way we need to let go so we can get beyond being a victim. I think this is what Jesus is getting at in the God today (Matthew 5:20-26). In order for the commandment of love, which we reflected on yesterday, to fully be part of our life we have to let go of the anger, retaliation and the victimization that being hurt can often bring about. Jesus talks about taking the high road. Jesus speaks about being the bigger person. Jesus teaches us the importance and power of love. However, there is one thing we always need to remember none of this is easy and sometimes taking the high road, being the bigger person, living by love can open us up to be hurt once again. It can also mean being rejected. The commandment of love requires that we be forgiving people, to seek forgiveness and to offer forgiveness whether it is successful or not. So, we pray for the strength and the grace to be people willing to seek forgiveness and be forgiving! Have a great Thursday everyone! "It is necessary to ask the heavenly father for the gift of healthy restlessness for today's young people, the ability to not settle for a life without beauty, without color. If young people are not hungry for an authentic life, where will humanity end up?" (Pope Francis)
Today’s Thoughts: After reading today’s Gospel (Matthew 5:17-19) one might ask the question, “What law is Jesus speaking about?” At first glance we might be tempted to say that Jesus was about abolishing the law rather than fulfilling it. His life and ministry often seemed to challenge Jewish law rather than support it or fulfill it.
However, we might journey back to a conversation Jesus had with a scribe not too long ago (Mark 12:28-34 June 2nd), the scribe asked Jesus, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus’ responds “to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself, these are the two great commandments.” Now, if we think of this conversation considering today’s Gospel then we might begin to have a real understanding of what law Jesus is talking about. All of law flows from these two great commandments, love of God and neighbor. Jesus’ life was about fulfilling these commandments, his life, his actions, his teaching and his ministry all centered on living a life in love of God and others. All that Jesus said and did was to bring fulfillment to the great law of love. Jesus showed us the way to fulfill the law, to change the world. Thus, the challenge for us in today’s Gospel is about how we live our life. Do we live our life to help bring fulfillment to the law of love? Do we live life loving God, others and ourselves? Have a great Wednesday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: In Matthew Jesus uses the wonderful example of salt and light in asking the disciples, in asking us to reflect on our lives. I have often preached on this Gospel using the image not of the Sermon on the Mount but of Jesus talking with his disciples one evening as they rested at an inn. They have traveled with him and Jerusalem in not far away and Jesus isn’t sure that they are ready for what is ahead, he isn’t sure their answer is “yes.” How can he help them trust in their relationship?
Then an idea comes to mind. He calls them together. Before he speaks he looks at each one of them and then says, “You are the salt of the earth! But what if salt loses it flavor? What is then good for?” Then he looks at each of them intently again and says. “You are the light of the world! People don’t put a lamp under a bushel basket, they put it on a stand so that it gives light to the whole room. In the same way your light must shine, your flavor must be tasted!” Now I know I am being a bit free and easy with Jesus’ words, but the point is that in order for us to say “yes” to God we need to trust in the gifts and talents God has given us. We need to realize that we have something to offer no matter how ordinary our gifts, abilities and talents seem. Salt and light were everyday staples of life, yet as Jesus tells us they were also very valuable and so are we. However, it is up to us. We can hide our light, we can lose our flavor, or we can give light to the whole room and add flavor to life! Perhaps the first place to start is to begin our day asking God to let his face shine upon us so that our flavor isn’t lost and our light shines! Have a great Tuesday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: Late last night as I looked over the readings for this feast of the Apostle, St. Barnabas, which we celebrate today. Also, I could not help but think of my Uncle Joe. June 11th is his anniversary of death. He died 35 years ago today. He was my only uncle and I guess you could say I looked up to him, both literally and figuratively. I was a big man at least by the standards of those days. He had played football in high school. He was a lineman. He had the personality of a salesman, which he was, not in a negative way, but a positive way. He could talk to anyone and just being around him made you feel at ease. He would call me “Pedro.” I am not sure why as my name is Paul and “Pedro” means Peter, however I didn’t mind and use to look forward to his greeting of “Pedro” whenever the family got together.
Uncle Joe, at least from my perspective, was a positive man always willing to pass along a good word or two. He was fun loving and at times would like to “stir the pot” at family gatherings just to keep things lively. He always seemed to have encouraging words for everyone he met. I share these things about my uncle today as we celebrate the feast of St. Barnabas. St. Barnabas’ original name was Joseph and the name Barnabas means “son of encouragement.” I guess in thinking about my uncle I could not help but connect the two. Two men who because of their personalities and their outlook on life brought encouragement and energy to whomever they met. They brought the presence of God. They were gifts in the lives of the people they met. They each did it in their own way and I am grateful for having known them, one in real life and the other in my story of faith. I am thankful for both Barnabas and Joseph today and may their spirits of encouragement bless all of us as we wander through this day and always! Have a great Monday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: Out of all that we hear in our readings today the phase that sticks out to me comes from our first reading from the Book of Genesis. God says to Adam, “Where are you?” Pope Francis has often referred to this question by God. He sees it as an important question that we constantly need to ask ourselves. “Where are we?”
Where are we in our relationship with God? Where are we in our faith? Where are we in our journey through life? Where are we? Do we have the faith of St. Paul and a willingness to look beyond this life that we know to eternal life? Are we willing to see Jesus not just as a magician, a miracle worker? Or are we willing to see Jesus as the presence of God in our life, as a member of our family of faith? Perhaps one of the purposes, one of the values of Sunday Mass is to take the time to pause and ask ourselves the question, “Where are we?” Where are we at this moment? Where are we as we begin a new week? Where are we as we face the challenges, the struggles, the difficulties of life? Can we see Jesus as part of the family? Can we realize that this life is only transitory and that what lies beyond it is far more important, far more valuable? Sunday Eucharist can be a time and an opportunity to ask these questions and many others of ourselves. It can be a time to renew our faith and our hope. It can be a time to be with family, especially our large family of faith. It can be a time to be strengthened, healed, enlivened and renewed for the journey of life. But only if we let it! Have a great Sunday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: Today we celebrate the second half of the Church’s focus on the heart. Yesterday we celebrated the Sacred Heart of Jesus and today it is Mary’s Immaculate Heart that we honor. There are many things we can say about Mary’s heart but the virtue that stands out most to me about Mary is strength. I think Mary’s heart was truly a heart of strength.
In the Gospel today, Luke tells us that Mary kept all the experience of Jesus in her heart. She kept the joys and sorrows, the miracles and the opposition, the quiet moments and the great crowds, the mother and father moments of family and the community moments of discipleship. Mary kept the triumphant moments of shepherds, angels, kings and palms and failing moments of whips, nails, wooden crosses and death on a hill. Yes, Mary kept all things in her heart, so she needed a very strong heart to hold all the experiences of life that she encountered from early on. Mary was truly a woman, a mother of great strength, a strength that came from and was nourished, feed and supposed by her heart. The heart is central to who we are as a human being. Whether we are speaking about our physical, emotion or spiritual life the heart plays a central role in how we live our life. Mary’s heart was a heart of strength carrying the grace of God’s presence in her life. Her strength enabled her to say “yes” to God and then watch as that “yes” unfolded in the life, passion, death and resurrection of her son, Jesus. Mary, woman of strength, hold us in your heart that we too may be strong in living our journey of life! Have a great Saturday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: Our focus today and tomorrow is the “heart,” The Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The heart is the center of who we are, physically, emotionally and spiritually. It is the place where we often think of God’s presence within us.
Think for a moment, in a physical way the heart is the center of who we are. It is the pump that pushes life through us. Without it we can do nothing. All our other organs, muscles, bones and assorted other things are important but it is the heart that keeps us alive that makes everything we do, say and feel possible. Emotionally the heart is central to what we feel. It is the home of the emotions. On February 14th we do not receive or send a card with a gallbladder on the front that says, “I love you!” No, we send or receive a card with a heart on the front. The heart is the place of feelings and emotions. If we were to write a song, a poem or a story about love we would talk about the heart. A broken heart means we have lost at or been hurt by love. In a spiritual way the heart is important too. The heart in a spiritual sense is the dwelling place of God. In the Old Testament, the psalmists and prophets talked about the community or individual who was without God as having a stony heart. A stony heart has no room for God, is closed to the presence of God. So, we might say the heart sits at the center of who we are as human beings. These two days remind us of just how important the heart is to us. Jesus and Mary had hearts that lead them through their journeys of life. Jesus’ Sacred Heart teaches us about love. It is a heart full of the kind of love and mercy that leaves no one behind. Sometimes that love and mercy seem foolish but not in the eyes and heart of Jesus. Every person is valuable, ever person is important; every person is worth searching for. Now this doesn’t mean that everyone will be found because some of us don’t want to be found and some of us even when found don’t want to return. But the love of Jesus’ Sacred Heart will always look, will always search and will always wait. This Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is about love, but it is also about hope; the hope that God is always searching, looking and waiting for us because we are that special, that important. The question for today is, “Can we believe in our value, can we believe in our specialness, can we believe in God’s love for us, can we hope in the fact that God will find us and through his mercy bring us home?” Have a great 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
Categories |