Give Thanks in All Circumstances

It's Thanksgiving week and in this reflection, Fr. Dan invites us to give thanks whenever possible. And in moments of thanks this week, allow ourselves to open our hearts and minds to the love of God.

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Reading:

Luke 17: 11-19

As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten persons with leprosy met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying,
"Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!"
And when he saw them, he said,
"Go show yourselves to the priests."
As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply,
"Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?"
Then he said to him, "Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you." 

Photo:

Fr. Dan recorded this podcast from a hotel room in Las Vegas with this view.

Music:

• Opening and closing music, "I, The Lord," by Cyprian Consiglio.

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Encountering Solitude and Paradise

Have you taken an autumn walk? Have you encountered solitude and paradise? Listen to Fr. Dan Riley's reflection about the treasured sense of quiet that can lead to more open hearts so we can care for others.

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Reading:

Mark 10: 17-30

Jesus said to his disciples:

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother."

He replied and said to him, "Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth." Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, "You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples were amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to them in reply, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, "Then who can be saved?"

Jesus looked at them and said, "For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God." Peter began to say to him, "We have given up everything and followed you."

Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come."

Music:

• Opening and closing music, "Compassionate and Wise," by Cyprian Consiglio.

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Somersaults in Your Heart

Stand on our heads to begin anew! Ensure our hearts are open to God's reign given to us now. It's here for all the world. As we celebrate the Feast of St. Francis, let's not be afraid, for the Father has given us the Kingdom! Let's somersault our lives to celebrate God's coming to us in every moment.

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Reading:

Luke 12: 22-34

Jesus said to his disciples:

I tell you not to worry about your life! Don’t worry about having something to eat or wear. Life is more than food or clothing. Look at the crows! They don’t plant or harvest, and they don’t have store houses or barns. But God takes care of them. You are much more important than any birds. Can worry make you live longer? If you don’t have power over small things, why worry about everything else?

Look how the wild flowers grow! They don’t work hard to make their clothes. But I tell you that Solomon with all his wealth wasn’t as well clothed as one of these flowers. God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the fields, even though it is here today and thrown into a fire tomorrow. Won’t he do even more for you? You have such little faith.

Don’t keep worrying about having something to eat or drink. Only people who don't know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father knows what you need. Put God’s work first, and these things will be yours as well.

My little group of disciples, don’t be afraid! Your Father wants to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give the money to the poor. Make yourselves moneybags that never wear out. Make sure your treasure is safe in heaven, where thieves cannot steal it and moths cannot destroy it. Your heart will always be where your treasure is.

Music:

• Opening and closing music, "Do Not Fear," by Cyprian Consiglio.

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The Silence to Hear

Autumn is upon us. As a new season beckons, are we listening? Are we hearing? Do we even see signs of spring in the fall? Fr. Dan Riley, invites us to listen more closely. 

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Readings:

Mark 9: 30-37

Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee,
but he did not wish anyone to know about it.
He was teaching his disciples and telling them,
"The Son of Man is to be handed over to men
and they will kill him,
and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise."
But they did not understand the saying,
and they were afraid to question him.

They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house,
he began to ask them,
"What were you arguing about on the way?"
But they remained silent.
They had been discussing among themselves on the way
who was the greatest.
Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,
"If anyone wishes to be first,
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all."
Taking a child, he placed it in the their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
"Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me."

The Joy of Quiet (NY Times) 

Photos:

 The students from St. Francis in Buffalo that Fr. Dan cited in this reflection.

Photo by Fr. Dan of the Chapel before the students gathered in the Chapel. 

St. Bonaventure University Family Weekend visitors head to our Chapel, now re-sided with new windows. 

Music:

• Opening and closing music, "Vedahametam," by Cyprian Consiglio.

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Be New Wine For All

Let us be fresh wines for all. At times when many of our structures and institutions aren't working, Jesus invites us to be the new, to be the fresh, to be the wine skins -- the new containers full of fresh wine -- to live life now and help others. Fr. Dan walks us through this reflection with those key thoughts in mind. 

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Readings:

Luke 5: 33-39

And they said to him, "The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink." 

And Jesus said to them, "Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?

The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days." 

He told them a parable also: "No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it upon an old garment; if he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed.

But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 

And no one after drinking old wine desires new; for he says, `The old is good.'"

Music: 

• Opening and closing music, "Echo of Your Peace," by Cyprian Consiglio.

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