Today's Gospel is from Matthew 15:29-37. It describes Jesus performing miracles of healing and a vast crowd of people had gathered and followed him for several days. He looks out and says: "My Heart is moved with pity for the crowd... I do not want to send them away hungry and possibly collapse on the way back." They have a little food between them, Jesus blesses it, breaks it, gives it to his disciples and from there to the people with seven baskets full of leftovers. What I want to focus on is not the miracle, but Jesus' statement that "My Heart is moved with pity." It's a fine enough description in English, but in the Greek, it is called splaghchnizomai, which means "be moved in the inward parts". It comes from a word meaning internal organs, a deep gut-level response, "visceral feeling/reaction".

Have you ever experienced this? Something so powerful, it turns your insides out and can make you feel physically ill? We've all seen those commercials of starving children or helpless animals on TV before. That's how Jesus probably felt or worse to see those people before him starving for physical and, more importantly, spiritual food. I get the feeling when I see someone suffering and there is nothing that I can do to ease their discomfort. I can only pray. To be honest, prayer might be the only thing that can help, and we should take great joy in the fact that we have a way to help, we believe and have faith that prayers will be answered, and we have the gift of asking others to intercede and lift their voices in prayer joining our own.

Lord God, how perfectly, how intimately, you must understand and experience our joys, our burdens, and our sufferings with us. How connected you are to all we go through. If this is true, it's unimaginable what you must have experienced on the cross with the weight and pain of all sin, all the suffering in the world. It makes our trials easier to bear because, at mass, you unite your very self within us. You become part of us and, likewise, we become part of you. We do not walk this road alone, because you share and understand, better than anyone else, what we are going through.

Lord, help us to develop a greater connection with you, give us the grace to be moved in our inward parts by love, compassion, mercy and all the gifts and blessings that flow from you. Let us act swiftly and come to the aid of those in need. Perhaps, our own crosses, our own struggles and trials, are preparing us to have that tender heart of mercy toward someone in a similar situation that they can find hope and peace in the midst of the storm. We ask this and all things in the name of the Father who created us, the Son who died for us, and the Holy Spirit who lives within us. Amen

It's never safe, and it's rarely very easy
It's a wild ride and it can make me queasy
Even though your heart might break
It's never more than you can take
It's quite a risk and you might lose a lot
And still, you gotta give it all you got
It's dangerous, that much is true
It's dangerous, and it's coming for you
Some call you crazy, others "out of touch"
To some it is crazy, it's all a bit much
He turned love totally upside down
He came to serve, not the other way 'round
His love was radical and reckless and free
To show a crazy world how it really ought to be
He was passionate, but tender and mild
And he looked with the eyes of a child
He went to the outskirts and healed the sick
The infirm in the flesh or in the spirit
The very light of the world died
For the sake of the life of the world
He challenged our thinking, had a wild streak
But you'd be amazed if you heard him speak
So, even in the risk and the danger
There is something even stranger
None of it matters, none of it could
Because he isn't safe, but he is good

Come sit with me by the fire
Take in the glow and warmth
The lights are low and the night is young
Time for a chat, a look back
The mood is fine and all is divine
Sit back, relax, and ease your mind
Let's pause and now rewind the time
To replay the moments: highs and lows
Looking at some decisions you chose

Come sit with me for a little while
Come close and let me hold you child
The storm outside is full of fury and sound
But in here you are on safe solid ground

Come sit with me for a moment or two
In this space, it's just me and you
Let me tell you a story from many years ago
A tale of love and honor suffering and glory
But there is something else you must know
It is as yet unfinished even to this day
Still, it remains the Life, the Truth, the Way

It begins at the beginning the first husband and wife
Everything was perfect and they knew no strife
They walked freely with God in complete honesty
And all the world was blessed in perfect harmony

We remember those around us
That make us feel special and loved
We celebrate the many blessings
Showered on us from up above
We give thanks for the food we share
We gather together 'round the table
With laughter and hugs we show we care
And pray for those who are not able

Lord, I don't know where to begin. Life has thrown me a crazy curveball right now and I'm feeling a little anxious about it. I know that this is supposed to be a time of joy, celebration and thanksgiving, but I haven't been feeling it quite so much. I know there are lots of things to be joyful and thankful for: friends, family, my faith, food, water, clothing, shelter, a good job, being alive, being able to see a sunrise or sunset and the list goes on. Thank you for these Lord, and please help me always be mindful of the many blessings you have given me in my life!

Lord, you are the Prince of Peace. Right now, I could use some peace of mind, body and spirit in this crazy world.
You are the King of the Universe and all creation; help me rest in the knowledge that everything is under your command. You are in control.
You are the Divine Physician, healer of body and mind. Please Lord, heal what ails me physically and cast out any fear or doubt with your perfect love.

In the meantime, help me find my strength and comfort in You. Help me carry this cross of mine and, by it, help me to become more holy, more empathetic to those who are also in need of Your Comfort. Walk with me Lord on this road I am on and, if necessary, carry me.

Sometimes it's hard to see you, and sometimes it seems you are far away. Give me the grace to see with eyes of faith and seek you and find you all around me in big and small ways. But you say: "I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future. You will call on me and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me, and you will find me when you seek me with all your heart". (Jeremiah 29: 11-13)

Help me see you in someone who smiles at me as they pass by, the joy that comes in a walk outside on a nice fall day, the incredible beauty of a sunrise or sunset, on a good day with little pain, or having the strength and endurance for a long day and still feeling good afterwards.

Lord, I trust you. Help me trust you in this too and lean on the support and encouragement of my friends, family, spouse, church, and most importantly, You my Lord God. Please help me make a speedy and full recovery, so I can get back to the great work that you have so blessed and gifted me to be able to do. Help me continue to find joy in the job and strength for the journey. Bless my work Lord, that it may be a blessing for others and a blessing for you that others might change lives and hearts for the better and bring people closer to you!

AMEN

Today, Catholics celebrate the Presentation of Mary (by her parents to the church). In the days of old, the church was the primary medium of education and, in some cases, parents would dedicate their first born to the church as a sort of tithe giving back to God in gratitude for the first fruits of their blessings.

When we are young our parents took us and presented us to the church, and we are placed in the care of wise men and women to be taught and brought up in the life and the way and the truth. This is in hopes that we would grow in wisdom and age and favor before both God and man. When we are a little older, we can choose to present ourselves before the Lord and confess by our lips and our actions that we believe and serve. We take ownership of our faith. It is not simply our parents' faith anymore.

The presentation is an offering, a sacrifice, a return in gratitude of blessings. Let us, then, come daily before the Lord Our God and present ourselves to Him, to thank Him, to offer Him all our joys and sorrows, blessings, temptations, work and play. Let us begin by presenting Him with our day.

What would happen if WE would rededicate our hearts, our days, and our lives to Christ our Lord? Doing it can't make things any worse than they are by not doing it. So why not give it a shot?

What would drive me to make a journey so far
What would give me patience through obstacles
What would give me such joy to finally arrive
And to be where you are one more time
I think it must be love

It is love that gives me the strength to go on
It is love that propels me when the road is long
It is the stars to guide me when the sun is gone
It is the joy that arises with the first rays of dawn

Isn't it crazy that I need you like water or air
That I would expire without you always being there
It is medicine to which none can compare
If it is all I have, still, I will not despair

It is love that goes beyond all measure
It is pure love which is the source of highest pleasure
It is the Father's love the most precious treasure
It is the soul's embrace the sweetest gesture

There is no distance too great or too small
That I wouldn't go to answer your call
There is no path that I wouldn't take
And no way that I could ever forsake
A friend in a time of trouble or need
It's written in my core, it's part of my creed

It's love that is so incredibly amazing
It's love that sets my heart a-blazing
It's love that puts my mind at ease
It's only love's sacrifice that truly frees