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 blessed, holy, safe, and healthy Saturday everyone!
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Today’s Thoughts: Our focus today is the “heart,” the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 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. Today’s feast reminds us of just how important the heart is to us. Jesus’ heart led him through his journey 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. Jesus’ Sacred Heart enables him to be the Shepherd in the Gospel today who goes in search of everyone who is lost. Sometimes this love and mercy seem foolish to us 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 does not mean that everyone will be found because some of us do not want to be found and some of us even when found do not want to return. But the love of Jesus’ Sacred Heart will always look, will always search, and will always wait. This Solemnity 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 blessed, holy, safe, and healthy Friday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: Each time I encounter today’s Gospel, Jesus teaching the disciples to pray the Our Father I can feel the emotions well up within me. For you see I have a special memory that centers on this prayer. The Our Father was one of the last prayers I prayed with my father before he died 37 and a half years ago. It was a December night in 1982, I was in my father’s hospital room late that night and as I was about to leave he asked me to pray with him. I was more than happy to do so, and I asked him what prayer he wanted to pray, and he said, “The Our Father.”
I began to say the words and notice that my dad was not praying so I stopped and asked what was wrong. Dad said, “I don’t remember the words.” His illness had begun to affect his mind. So, I said, “No problem” and suggested that I say a few words of the prayer and that he repeat them after me. Do you know how hard it is to say the Our Father when you have to stop and think about what you are saying? Well, we got through the prayer and dad became very peaceful and for the most part remained peaceful over the last few weeks of his life. I have always remembered that moment. I would like to add little anecdote to this reflection on the “Our Father” and my own father. Four years after my father died, I was ordination to the priesthood on June 18th. The day after my ordination I was going to celebrate mass for my family who had come to New York for my ordination. It was a Thursday morning just like today. I awakened early that morning and wandered down the hall to the monastery and retreat house chapel to look at the readings and prepared for my very first mass with my family as a priest. When I got to the Gospel, I could not believe what I read. It was today’s Gospel from Matthew about Jesus teaching his disciples to pray, specifically to pray the Our Father. I put the book down and tears welled up in my eyes and I just sat there for about an hour unable to prepare any more. All I could do was remember that evening in the hospital four years earlier. I had wanted my dad to see me ordained but that was not to be but on that Thursday morning 34 years ago, I realized that he was with me and had been with me all along. I have never prayed the Our Father at mass, during the rosary or at any other time and not thought about that moment. What power there is in this simple prayer, what a gift this simple prayer is to all who pray it. I would invite you at some moment today to pause and slowly, deliberately pray the Our Father. Listen to the words. Realize what God offers you through the words of this simple prayer and what God asks of you. By the way thanks Dad! Have a blessed, holy, safe, and healthy Thursday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: “God loves the cheerful giver.” This little sentence found in St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians seems to really sum up today’s Gospel (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18). Jesus challenges us to be humble people of prayer and service.
In the Gospel we hear those familiar phrases. “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. When you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.” In each case the most important reward comes not in the world knowing that we do things but in God knowing. I think the grace and the challenge of the message of our Gospel is that what we have is a gift from God and in sharing this gift it becomes far more profound than we ever thought it could be. However, for this gift to have power, impact and abundance we need to share it – not for our glory and praise but for the glory and praise of God. Have a blessed, holy, safe, and healthy Wednesday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: “Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.” Perhaps this simple refrain often connected to Psalm 51 might be a key to understanding and living out Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel (Matthew 5:43-48). To love one’s enemies, to pray for those who persecute us, we first must realize that we too are sinners; we too have hurt others and at times made life difficult for others.
There are no perfect people out there in the world, no one can claim perfection, thus if we wish mercy and forgiveness, we need to be willing to offer it too. Now I am not saying it is easy, if it were Jesus would never have included it in his teaching and I would not be writing about it this morning. Living a life of faith is often difficult and always challenging. Perhaps the key to making it work is prayer. If our first response to the challenge, to the difficulty, to the struggle is prayer rather than anger, resentment, and judgment then we have the chance to imperfectly live the Gospel message. Today’s Gospel is not about excusing offensive acts or being lenient with people who hurt us. It is not about looking the other way and letting people just do what they want. Today’s Gospel is about how we trust in the presence of God as we live in the midst of an imperfect world. It is about how we react to people and situation that hurt us. Do we seek vengeance, do we expect to extract our pound of flesh or do we pause and through prayer place the person, the situation in God’s hands? Prayer can be a way of offering another Christian love. It can be a way of seeking mercy and forgiveness and also offering mercy and forgiveness. Prayer is not going to make our world perfect, but it can be a starting point for us becoming the people of faith that Jesus asks us to be today! Have a blessed, holy, safe, and healthy Tuesday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: Given the negativity, anger, misinformation, violence of our world and the bad things that often seem to happen to good people living with a generous and willing heart is not always easy and sometimes is downright frustrating. At least it seems that way to me. I truly want to follow the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel (Matthew 5: 38-42), “Give to the one who asks of you and do not turn your back on the one who wants to borrow.” Yet, time and time again I struggle with the Gospel way that Jesus outlines today.
At times I want justice or maybe more so revenge, yes, I want an eye for an eye. I don’t like to get hit at all and I certainly don’t want to turn the other cheek. I am happy at times to go the extra mile but not always. You can have my jacket or coat as long as it is an old one and I have another. And it seems at times there are people on every street corner and subway stop if I give to everyone I will be broke within a day! Yes, often I fail when it comes to Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel and that bothers me! How can I be a person of faith, how can I be a Christian, a Catholic and fall so short? Jesus’ words are haunting words today and I have no answers. Sure, I have often rationalized – I can’t give to everyone; the money will surely be used for drugs or drink; they got what they deserved; somebody has to teach them a lesson; it’s too cold; I don’t have time; somebody else will help them; and on and on! But Jesus doesn’t give conditions or excuses he just says offer no resistance, turn the other cheek, give your coat, go the extra mile and don’t turn your back! So, I am still faced with my imperfection, I am still face with how to act and live. I have no intelligent answer, no sage wisdom of many years. All I can say is that it is perhaps good to pause and listen to or read Jesus’ words in Matthew’s Gospel today knowing that we are not perfect but also reminding ourselves that there is still much to learn, much to do. Perhaps, Jesus’ words make sure that we see the world around us and that we don’t close our eyes to it! Have a blessed, holy, safe, and healthy Monday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ our first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy seems to take us and the Israelites on a trip down Memory Lane. Moses reminds the Israelites and us what God has done. We are reminded of God’s faithfulness during a time of struggle, difficulty, affliction, hunger and thirst. We are reminded that God always cared for the Israelites, always saw to it that they had food for their journey of faith.
Two times in our first reading Moses reminds the Israelites that God fed those on the journey with bread that was “unknown to their fathers.” Even though they did not understand the nature of this bread, they were hungry, so they ate it and were strengthened for their journey. Our first reading reminds us to remember God’s faithfulness in the past so that we might be moved to be faithful in our times. In the journey of faith when we do not struggle, when times are good, we might be tempted to forget the bountifulness and the faithfulness of God. We might be tempted to go it alone. We always need to be reminded that all we have is a gift from God! In our today’s Gospel, Jesus, as Moses did, is inviting us to move beyond the limits of what we know and our experiences of life, and trust in the Bread that we do not know. We like the Israelites in the desert are hunger, perhaps not physically but spiritually. We are looking to be nourished and Jesus is offering Eucharistic Bread, His Body and the Eucharistic wine His Blood. we do not understand. Jesus teaching through out John’s Gospel on his Body and Blood is not part of our human knowledge or experience but we are asked to have faith, to trust, to believe and to enter into the mystery so that we will have the strength to make the journey of faith to the promised land, eternal life! Our Solemnity today invites us into a journey of mystery, the mystery of God’s love and God’s ways. When we celebrate the Eucharist, when we participate in the Eucharistic, we are challenged to believe more deeply in Jesus, in the presence of God in our life. We challenge to give our life for others just as Jesus did. At each Eucharist when we receive the Body and Blood of Christ Jesus says, I demand your life of you. I have given you mind now go and be my Body and Blood in the world! Have a blessed, holy, safe, and healthy Sunday everyone! 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. Jesus invites us to trust this 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 blessed, holy, safe, and healthy Saturday everyone! 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 as we listen 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 do not 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 does not 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 blessed, holy, safe, and healthy Friday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: As I reflect on the readings for the feast of the Apostle, St. Barnabas, which we celebrate today, I am also thinking about my Uncle Joe. June 11th is the anniversary of his death. He died 36 years ago today. He was my only uncle and I guess you could say I looked up to him, both literally and figuratively. He 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. Barnabas’ original name was Joseph. 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 blessed, holy, safe, and healthy Tuesday 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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