40 Days with St. Paul of the Cross: “In the secret depth of the heart there is a certain hidden and almost imperceptible desire always to be immersed in suffering of one kind or another.” (St. Paul of the Cross – December 21, 1720 – Retreat Reflections)
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Today’s Thoughts: “How does this happen to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Words uttered by Elizabeth in today’s Gospel (Luke 1:39-45). Yet I think they are also words uttered by us at times when we recognize Mary’s presence in our life.
Yes, I firmly believe that I have been visited by Mary at moments in my life. Mary has come to me at times when I needed a mother’s presence either to comfort me or put me back on the straight and narrow. Times when I needed that hug or when I needed a stern but loving word to set me straight. Mary has come at times when the gift of family was strong and ever present and when I was alone and needed to know that family was still there. Mary walks into our lives often and like Elizabeth we often recognize her presence and God’s presence at once because something inside us leaps for joy. However, there are other times when it takes us a little longer to recognize her presence and the presence of God. Sometimes it is long after they have visited us that we are able to acknowledge their presence. Mary reminds us today that mothers are so important. They not only give us life. They carry us until we can face the world. They protect us. They nurture us. They teach us and they make Mary and Christ present to us throughout our lives! Perhaps like Elizabeth today as we think of our own mothers, as we think about pregnant mothers, as we think about all mothers, we should remember how gifted we are that the mother of our Lord should come to us. We celebrate this day in gratitude for all the mothers! Have a blessed and holy Monday everyone. 40 Days with St. Paul of the Cross: “I experienced some dryness and also some recollection, especially through the agonies of my Jesus. I remember that last evening…I was saying that the memory of the sad and sorrowful day of [Good] Friday was something to make one agonize and collapse. I asked my Jesus to make me collapse with sorrow.” (St. Paul of the Cross – December 20, 1720 – Retreat Reflections)
Today’s Thoughts: Many years ago, I decided that the Christmas after my mother died, I would not go anywhere for Christmas. It had been over 30 years since I had woken up in my own bed on Christmas. It had been over 30 years since I had not travel during the busy holiday season. Yet, when the time came, I once again chose to pack my bags and wake up in a bed other than my own on Christmas, I needed to be with the important people in my life!
There are some people who like to have people around them all the time, while others often prefer solitude. At times in life all of us like doing things by ourselves. We do not want any interruptions and we find that we can get the task done faster if we have the time to ourselves. However, there are moments in our lives when we need people there. In the Gospel today once again, we are told that Mary makes her way to Elizabeth. The story does not say why Mary went, just that she went in haste. I think Mary realize that this is one of those moment when she and Elizabeth did not want to be alone. When the gift of family and friends was very important. We might look at today’s Gospel as an ordinary moment in life. Two people, two family members connecting, yet Luke reminds us that it is often in ordinary moments that we encounter God’s grace. A simple greeting of hello and the movement of a child in mom’s womb happens all the time but for Elizabeth it was the grace of the presence of God. In a few days, we will begin celebrating the gift of Christmas and some people will make haste to be with others, perhaps not as many as in years past because of the virus, but some will travel, and others will zoom. Because there is something in each of us that knows that at this time of the year, we do not want to be alone. We can be with many or just an important few. We can be physically present with them but if that is not possible we look to other ways to be present, because there is something special about this time of the year. Perhaps it is the need to hear the voice of God in the people we love. Perhaps it is the chance to be enlivened by the presence of God by celebrating with people important in our life. Perhaps it is being reminded that God has chosen us no matter how unimportant we think we are. Perhaps it is because we need to believe that God is truly with us! Have a blessed and holy Sunday everyone and don’t forget to give God a little time today! 40 Days with St. Paul of the Cross: “I experienced sweetness mingled with tears of special contrition for my sins, and this before confession and also afterwards – and then it disappeared.” (St. Paul of the Cross – December 19, 1720 – Retreat Reflections.)
Today’s Thoughts: I had a little sadness in pondering the readings today. Two stories of hope about women who were unable to have children and God blessed them, especially Elizabeth in her advanced years. We have two wonderful stories today alive with the theme that anything is possible with God.
My sadness comes from thinking about all the women who would love to have children but cannot. Perhaps they do not struggle with cultural shame like Samson's mother and Elizabeth, women of their time who were married and without children bore a heavy burden of embarrassment and shame, but I think women and their husbands of today do struggle with a personal sadness, a personal burden, a personal loss, a personal grief. My own sadness comes from the fact that so many women today who don't want children look to end their pregnancy when so many others would give anything for the chance to bring a child into the world. Perhaps it would be a wonderful miracle from God, the making of something impossible, possible if all who didn’t want children would not be able to get pregnant and all who wanted children would be able to get pregnant or maybe more realistically, if all who do not want children and become pregnant would just carry the child to birth and offer the child to those who cannot have children but truly want them. What a beautiful story, what a wonderful story of hope that would be. Through the intercession of Samson's mother and Elizabeth today I pray for all women who want to be mothers and all women who do not want to be mother that they might help each other make the life of children possible! Have a holy and blessed Saturday everyone! 40 Days with St. Paul of the Cross: “It even seems to me that I do nothing good – as is indeed true – but I trust in the great goodness of the Sovereign Good. May he be loved by all.” (St. Paul of the Cross – December 15, 16, 17, and 18, 1720 – Retreat Reflections)
Today’s Thoughts: The point of Advent and of Christmas in many ways comes down to being reminded that “God is with us!” Sure, we might say that is the point of every day, but during Advent and Christmas – Emmanuel – become a special focus, a special refrain. The great Dominican mystic Meister Eckhart gave a Christmas homily in which he said that Christ is born three times. Christ was first born over 2,000 years ago. Second, Christ will be born at some point in the future when he comes again and thirdly Christ is born every day in our hearts.
Yes, each day we have the opportunity to give birth to Christ. We have opportunity to bring to the world like Mary and Joseph, Emmanuel, God with us! We do it by following in Mary and Joseph’s footsteps, by say yes to God’s invitation to be part of this journey of faith called life. We do it by living our lives to the fullest, by sharing the image and likeness of God in which we have been created with the world. We do it by trusting in God’s love and by living in hope. My friends today is a new day so let us give birth to Emmanuel today through the hopeful living of our lives. Have a blessed and holy Friday everyone! 40 Days with St. Paul of the Cross: “The continual desire for the conversion of sinners does not leave me. I feel particularly moved to pray to God because I do not wish him to be offended anymore.” (St. Paul of the Cross – December 15, 16, 17, and 18, 1720 – Retreat Reflections)
Today’s Thoughts: In today’s Gospel (Matthew 1: 1-17), we are reminded that Jesus was part of the great human family. A family made up of saints and sinners and everything in between. It might seem tedious to read this long list of names many of whom we know nothing about and some that seem very familiar. I used to get so nervous when Matthew or Luke’s genealogy would appear as the Gospel, but over the years I began to feel comfortable with it and now I even look forward to proclaiming this Gospel. I guess I have grown familiar with the case of characters!
Isn’t that what life is about growing accustom to life. Seeing people and things differently, telling the stories that reminds us who we are and from where we have come. Remembering the characters good and bad that make up our lives and molded us into the people we are today. When we read or hear the genealogy of Christ whether from Matthew or Luke we are reminded that even though Jesus is God, he is also human, also part of this great human family and the characters, the women and men, who believed, who struggled, said yes and sometimes no, who embraced a relationship with God and sometimes didn’t, who lived life making it possible for Jesus to come into this world to embrace us with his love. Here’s to the characters in all our lives. Here’s to the characters of the human family. Here’s to Joseph and Mary the last characters in our Gospel story today who said yes that we might celebrate Jesus the Christ! Have a blessed and holy 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
April 2024
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