Today’s Thoughts: “Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.” (St. Teresa of Calcutta, MC)
The Canaanite woman in the Gospel (Matt. 15:21-28) today is a woman of prayer. She puts herself in the hands of God. She is at God’s disposition and she knows it. But she remains persistent, she hears God’s voice deep in her heart and because of her faith her daughter is healed. Will we have faith enough today to put ourselves in the hands of God? Will we have faith enough today to listen to God’s voice in our hearts? Will we have faith enough today to bring hope to those we love? Have a great Wednesday everyone!
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Today’s Thoughts: If you have ever made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land chances are that when you visited the Sea of Galilee you took a little boat trip out on to the sea with your group. During you voyage today’s Gospel story might have been read. Now I am guessing when you took your trip it was a beautiful sunny day and the waters were calm but the tour guide or perhaps the priest with you after reading today’s Gospel asked you to pause and think about being in the boat on a stormy sea. They might have asked you to put yourself into the story. What would your reaction be? How would you feel being tossed about in a stormy sea?
It is a stormy scene in today's Gospel and it might be worth taking some time to reflection on the personalities whom we find in today’s story. First, there is Jesus. He has left the disciple and taken some time to pray. Yet ever the Good Shepherd he comes to them during the storm by walking on the water. It's useless to quibble about what, why and how this walking was accomplished. It is just important to know that Jesus was watching over his sheep like any Good Shepherd. Our next character is Peter. As we learn throughout the Gospels, Peter is always the impulsive one, he wants to be with Jesus on the water. Is he testing Jesus? Does Peter’s ego get the best of him thus at this moment he wants to be special, he wants to do something miraculous? Who knows what going through Peter’s mind at this moment! What is important is that Peter finds out that he cannot do it alone. So, he asks Jesus for help – “Lord save me!” It is a lesson that we all must learn in times of crisis, we need to put our trust in God and God will save us, perhaps not exactly as we would like but in a way, that will ultimately be best for us. Finally, we have the other disciples who must have just holding on in the boat for dear life totally awe by what was happening. Imagine their reaction as the winds and waves suddenly stop and the boat became perfectly calm. What was the purpose of this moment in their journey with Jesus? Perhaps it was a moment of faith building. If so I think Jesus’ mission was accomplished because in the Gospel we hear, "Those who were in the boat showed him homage, saying, 'Truly, you are the Son of God.'" Now just like on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land standing amid a calm boat we might ask ourselves – If we had been there in the storm, would Jesus have directed his words to us? "Oh, you of little faith, why did you doubt?" Many of the disciples were fishermen by trade. They knew the sea. They knew its power. They probably had been in a boat before during a storm. Fear can cause even the best of us to doubt. We are asked today to trust in the presence of God in our lives even amid life’s storms. Jesus is the Good Shepherd; he always comes to the rescue of those he loves. Why is it that we like the disciples often find it so difficult to trust that Jesus is with us even during the storms of our life? Let us have faith and trust today and always in the Good Shepherd, the Faithful Sea Captain – Jesus! Have a great Tuesday everyone. Today’s Thoughts: “Jesus teaches us another way: Go out. Go out and share your testimony, go out and interact with your brothers [and sisters], go out and share, go out and ask. Become the Word in body as well as spirit.” (Pope Francis)
Perhaps this is what Jesus meant when he asked the disciples what they had when they were confronted with such a large crowd. Yes, the miracle of the loaves and fishes took place that day. Yes, Jesus took a few loaves and fishes and fed over five thousand people. But before he did it he asked the disciple what they had. Jesus asked the disciple to give out what they had. God always provides and most of the time it is through us. Often, we look at ourselves and think, “There is not much here! I certainly don’t have enough to satisfy the crowd!” But we do and as Pope Francis says, if we go and share, if we go and become the Body of Christ then great things will happen. Miraculous things will happen. The world will be fed! The question for today is “What do we have?” The challenge is to “go and share!” Have a great Monday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: “You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope.” (Thomas Merton)
I used these words from Thomas Merton not long ago in another one of my daily reflections but I thought they spoke to our scriptures today on this Feast of the Transfiguration. We might not know how or why but by God’s grace our lives can be transformed into something wonderful if we are willing to embrace this moment with courage, faith and hope. We also need to remember that on this day 72 years ago an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and three days later another one was dropped on Nagasaki. We live today in the hope that Jesus’ transfiguration will always remind us that, despite our human tendency toward acts of violence and death, our lives, the world, can be changed by God’s power to give new life! Blessings on this Feast of the Transfiguration to everyone and please pray for an end to all war and violence in our world. Have a great Sunday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: Something to think about from Thomas Merton as you journey through the day. It is certainly something that Herod did not think about in our Gospel (Matt. 14:1-12) today!
“To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us - and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, and is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.” (Thomas Merton) Have a great Saturday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: The Gospel reading today focus on the human struggle, lack of faith. Often, we think we know what is right. We think we know what is best for ourselves and those around us. We think we know what God wants. Then someone comes along, like a Rosa Parks, a St. John XXIII, a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a Thomas Merton, a St. Teresa of Calcutta, a Blessed Oscar Romero, a Pope Francis and they point us in a different direction, sometimes telling us we are headed down the wrong path, but always showing us just where God can be found.
We don’t like to be wrong and we are not always excited to have someone ruin our plans after all, what do they know about us, about our life, about our faith. We might not put them to death like the Israelites often did to their prophets but we often reject their way of thinking, their insights, their spirits, the gift of their faith, hope and love. We call to mind tradition, dogma, or doctrine. We point to order, cost and what makes us comfortable. We at times dismiss them as misguided and unimportant or we point to their faults and failings. When we do this like the people of Nazareth we make it almost impossible to God to work in our lives. We make it impossible for the ordinary things in life to become extraordinary. O God, in your great love keep us always open to the voices of your Word and strengthen our faith so we will always recognize your presence amongst us! Friday blessings to all! Today’s Thoughts: Where is God’s dwelling place? In a house? All around us? In heaven? In the Kingdom? In the Ark of the Covenant? Within us? Where does God dwell?
Well the answer to all the questions above just might be “Yes.” In our reading today from the Book of Exodus, Moses sets up a dwelling for God, by following God’s instructions. For the Israelites at that moment God’s dwelling place will be the Ark of the Covenant along with the Ten Commandments. This becomes the place where God visits and communicate with his people. Moses follows God’s instructions and creates a place for the Ark, and a place where God can dwell. God comes there and communicates with his people. He lets them know when it is safe to move, and when to stay. He dwelt with them and protects them as they journey through life. In the Responsorial Psalm we hear, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!” What is the psalmist talking about? A physical place? The world around us? This world is God’s creation. He made it for us so we would have a place to live. All of creation is beautiful and holy. The sparrows have their nests, and God protects them. We have this world for our home, the world God created. The psalmist says he would rather live one day with the Lord than a thousand with the wicked, but those who will be with the Lord for eternity will be with the Lord for eternity. And those who will end up with the wicked will be there for eternity too. These words echo Jesus’ words is the Gospel today. He says everyone will die, but the good will make their way into the Kingdom and the wicked will make their way into the fiery furnace. As again, where does God dwell? In all of creation and in our hearts. If we open our hearts to God and recognize his dwelling within us, then we will live with him forever in the Kingdom. The question today is – Does our soul yearns and pines God and is our heart crying out day in and day out for the living God? Have a great Thursday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: The Gospel for today (Matt. 13:44-46) talks about the Kingdom of God and Jesus uses two images for the Kingdom, a buried treasure and a fine pearl. In the case of the treasure the person sells everything and buys the field where the treasure is buried and in the case of the pearl the merchant too sells everything in order to buy the pearl. In other words, when it comes to the Kingdom of God we must be all in because it is worth more than anything else.
I thought the following quote from St. Ignatius of Loyola seems to say the same thing about the Kingdom of God as Jesus in today’s Gospel but St. Ignatius says it a little differently! “God freely created us so that we might know, love, and serve him in this life and be happy with him forever. God's purpose in creating us is to draw forth from us a response of love and service here on earth, so that we may attain our goal of everlasting happiness with him in heaven. All the things in this world are gifts of God, created for us, to be the means by which we can come to know him better, love him more surely, and serve him more faithfully. As a result, we ought to appreciate and use these gifts of God insofar as they help us toward our goal of loving service and union with God. But insofar as any created things hinder our progress toward our goal, we ought to let them go.” Have a great Wednesday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: “Spirituality without a prayer life is no spirituality at all, and it will not last beyond the first defeats. Prayer is an opening of the self so that the Word of God can break in and make us new. Prayer unmasks. Prayer converts. Prayer impels. Prayer sustains us on the way. Pray for the grace it will take to continue what you would like to quit.” (Sr. Joan D. Chittister, In a High Spiritual Season)
In the first reading today (Exodus 33:7-11, 34:5b-9, 28), we are told that God spoke to Moses face to face, just as we would speak to another person. We might say that this is a nice definition of prayer, talking with God, intimately and honestly. Prayer is a two-way street, it requires us to speak and also listen. If we approach prayer in this way then good things will happen, challenging things will happen and we will be sustained in our journey of life. Have a great 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
April 2024
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