31/07/2021

I have been listening to readings in church for more years than the "Jubilee" and I cannot say that  this reading has stayed in my mind. Usually there is something that draws my attention even if it is wrongheaded of me. Maybe it is that the drama played out in Herod's court has overshadowed the maths of Jubilee. I will have to resort to Wikipedia after this reflection to understand. 

Moses had received the instruction from God and it seems that the Jubilee was the Sabbath Day calculated in years. It appears that no work should be done in that year and the whole nation of Israel should just trust in the Lord to provide. I wonder how many times this was carried out in 100% obedience. 

The Psalm calls us to give thanks and praise to God for his gifts. Political Justice is ours for we rule according to God's revealed Law. 

Those days of  "revealed law" were long gone when we join Herod who is paying the price for a sinful union with Herodias. There is no sign of Justice at his court and no sign of righteousness in his behaviour. The Jesuits have a name for bringing God into the world of politics. They also have a name for casuistry. Their target " For the greater Glory of God" has often been missed by the successors of St Ignatius. The wealth of their order should be an embarrassment to their vow of "Poverty". If the wealth of the order is divided by the number of their priests the "collective wealth per priest" is staggering.

Now I see that it is the dangers of acquiring material wealth and being tied to a patrimony that  are guarded against in the reading from Leviticus. 

Dear Lord, you know what help I need. To know, love and serve you becomes more difficult the farther  we get away from the events of scripture. Open the eyes of your Church to the guidance that you provide by your revelations and let us have more "holy" priests than "clever" ones.

 30/07/2021

St Paul is nothing if not forthright. He is strong in his humility. Uriah Heep has given self-conscious humility a bad name but St Paul sees himself as "least of all Apostles". He  knows that the good works he has done are entirely down to the Grace of God. He knows God to be eternal without beginning to his Being / Existence for that is what His Love is, an Existence he shares with us and all his creation. But what about the Sovereignties and Powers? Can it be said that these are the pagan, the Canaanite Gods? St Paul seems to view these as co-existent with God. No man can understand the Ever Greater, but we all can know what it is that God chooses to reveal to each individual soul that he creates to strive after him. We can be sure that the "Sovereignties and Powers" are greater than us and that they are known to God for he has revealed himself to them.

Jesus Son of the Father, conceived by the Holy Spirit born of the Virgin Mary asks us to consider how poor quality fruit comes from the poor quality tree. Rottenness in a man's words and deeds is a  product of evil in his heart. 

The Church founded by Jesus has, over centuries  tried to come to terms with "by their fruit thou shallst know them". 

How can it be that the Sacramental Perfect Holiness of the Incarnation,  the Crucifixion  and Resurrection is in the hands of the " Unholy" merely because those same hands have been "consecrated" by an oftentimes equally Sacrilegious superior?

Dear Lord, Let me sincerely devote my remaining life to you. Let those who know me be aware that I am trying to live a life based on your revelations within Hope that the Love and Forgiveness of the Last Day will include all of them too.

Holy Sacrifice Unholy Ministers

The sinfulness of many clergy in England seems to be concentrated in lack of Chastity but the problem that I see is in Parish Priests and Bishops who distribute the Sacraments to people who are openly living disordered / sinful  lives. 

I know that there may be a "forest" in my eye but saying a Mass and giving Communion to those whose Pride is in their sin is an indefensible sacrilege and failure to show the "Way the Truth and the Life" to those who need guidance to avoid their  prideful "primrose path" . Jesus saves us from our sins he doesn't tell us to pretend that we don't have any.

I like the possibly unconscious contrast between Clergy and Laity.  # 1128 It follows that "the sacrament is not wrought by the righteousness of either the celebrant or the recipient, but by the power of God. There is a caveat in the final sentence Nevertheless, the fruits of the sacraments also depend on the disposition of the one who receives them.

    Have they got it right.?     Are the recipients more important than the minister?

                

           Does "ex opere operato" here really mean "going through the motions"?

THE SACRAMENTS OF SALVATION

1127 Celebrated worthily in faith, the sacraments confer the grace that they signify.⁴⁸ They are efficacious because in them Christ himself is at work: it is he who baptizes, he who acts in his sacraments in order to communicate the grace that each sacrament signifies. The Father always hears the prayer of his Son's Church which, in the epiclesis of each sacrament, expresses her faith in the power of the Spirit. As fire transforms into itself everything it touches, so the Holy Spirit transforms into the divine life whatever is subjected to his power.

1128 This is the meaning of the Church's affirmation⁴⁹ that the sacraments act ex opere operato (literally: "by the very fact of the action's being performed"), i.e., by virtue of the saving work of Christ, accomplished once for all. It follows that "the sacrament is not wrought by the righteousness of either the celebrant or the recipient, but by the power of God."⁵⁰ From the moment that a sacrament is celebrated in accordance with the intention of the Church, the power of Christ and his Spirit acts in and through it, independently of the personal holiness of the minister. Nevertheless, the fruits of the sacraments also depend on the disposition of the one who receives them.

1129 The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation.⁵¹ "Sacramental grace" is the grace of the Holy Spirit, given by Christ and proper to each sacrament. The Spirit heals and transforms those who receive him by conforming them to the Son of God. The fruit of the sacramental life is that the Spirit of adoption makes the faithful partakers in the divine nature⁵² by uniting them in a living union with the only Son, the Saviour. 

 29/07/2021

Today the Church remembers Jesu's special friends; the sisters Martha and Mary and their brother Lazarus. The readings are both from St John. The first used to be very popular at weddings. The reason being obvious but at the same time somewhat wrong-headed as the Love that John is praising is much more than the human affection that is the reason for the wedding. God's Love is his very being. It is his Truth and his Life. The Son laid down his life acting out the being of God in atonement for the sins of our world. God's Love can be the target we aim at in our human life always remembering that  the perfect Love of the Trinity results in the Crucifixion of the Son which on the third day becomes the Resurrection.

Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. In her grief Martha complains that Jesus has let them down as if he had been quicker he would have been able to prevent Lazarus' death but so strong is Jesus' charisma that she believes there is still hope that God will listen to his prayer for the death to be reversed. Jesus' enigmatical " Your brother will rise again" produces the still dissatisfied " I know that he will rise again on the last day." Is Jesus exasperated when he answers?  There is nothing enigmatical about the statement that follows and Martha's response is an unambiguous statement of faith in the Lord.

Lazarus is one of several "risings from the dead" performed by Jesus during his time on earth but they all were eventually followed by death. Jesus himself rises to a new form of Life, an everlasting life that he promises  to us if we truly cooperate with him in the way that we live this our only time that  is gifted to us by the Father, atoned for by the Son and supported by the Holy Spirit, the Love that is all three.

Dear Lord you know what a mess I am making of my life which has received so much from you. Let me be true to your teachings and faithfully avoid all sin and occasions thereof.

 Moses face is something that we have not witnessed the like since his death. It has to mean something. It has been given a name by Rabbis writing in the Christian era. It is the manifest Glory of God visible om earth. It is the burning bush in the face of Moses for Moses was the Chosen One of God. Jesus revealed the same on Mount Tabor . It made such an impression that the chosen witnesses wanted to stay on the Mountain." Chosen" is the key word. We cannot achieve a sight of the true majesty of our Triune God. God choses. He allows us to choose to follow the teachings of his revelations butt he is always himself  beyond our freedom to grasp.

Jesus' wounds are  the visible sign of the Glory that have happened here in this world. St Thomas could only utter "My Lord and my God!". Jesus encourages us "Blessed are they who have not seen and yet believe". There is nothing in this world stuffed with an abundance of good things that can approach the everlasting Glory of God. If we are chosen it is the sight of his Glory that becomes our out-of-time  heavenly Eternity, that can never fade

Dear Lord may I work and pray this day without distraction. Let me know your Will and be true to it..

 27/07/2021

Moses speaks to God as a friend. He implores God for the safety of his people., the motley crew that came with him from Egypt. Some of the rabble were undoubtedly Sons of Israel but there were others who had tagged along. This rabble spent some time in the desert moving their flocks from pasture to pasture. Moses used this time to become closer to God and to teaching this revelation to his companions who seem to be completely in awe of him. When God knew that Moses had done a good job the motley crew had indeed become the chosen people.

Jesus explains how he has created good souls to live in our world but that there are some born to be evil for the "enemy" is still active in the world scattering evil amongst the Good.  It is not an easy image for me to get hold of. It does sound as if some are born of the Devil. The sin of Adam is still with us all at birth it is our need for Baptism but who are the darnel? Are not all we humans children of God or are we the motley crew collected by Moses to mould into God's chosen people?

Dear Lord I am sure that I am a sinner but that I do strive to do your will. May the prayer of our Mother and the Saints fill me with gifts of the Holy Spirit so that my striving is pleasing for you and productive for me.

 26/07/2021

Again the people of the Lord challenge the teachings that they have received from a chosen one of God. They have witnessed the plagues in Egypt; they have experienced the Passover; they have seen "walls of water to the left of them and walls of water to the right " but Moses has turned his back to pray on Horeb so like little children they campaign for a return to worship of idols that surrounded them in Egypt. Poor old Aaron was unable to resist them. Moses made of sterner stuff and fortified by the Lord in his anger breaks the tablets that have already been broken by the actions of the people. The story of the Sons of Israel continues in the same way until the coming of Jesus. 

The Jewish heritage of the "True Man" of Jesus is celebrated today the feast of the parents of  Mary the Mother of God. Jesus stays on the Earth for 33 years and for all that time he was true to the religious code of his ancestors. He was to complete the Law and through his Crucifixion and Resurrection perfect the relationship between God and the whole human race.

We are told that Jesus is referring here to the Black Mustard which can grow to more than two metres high; but it is still not a great tree to shelter all the birds of the air. There is probably something greater than a shrub here. The little seed of faith has covered the whole earth.  The Jews who listened and later recorded in the Gospels these stories of Jesus were familiar with the style that spoke in parables but didn't really understand them until after the Resurrection. It was then they truly began to worship Jesus as Son.

Dear Lord today let the events of your revelation be in my mind to keep me from sin. may i learn to make a true and lasting atonement for all my sins.

 25/07/2021

St John's memories of his time with Jesus are one of  the main sources of our faith. Some of the details are quite odd. The men needed grass so they could sit down. The scraps filled  12 baskets. Had the people brought empty baskets with them? Jesus had to get out of the way quickly because he knew the crowd wanted to proclaim him king; the Messiah. The prefiguring  text from Kings would have been familiar to scribes and Pharisees amongst the crowd thus adding to their sense of awe at the doings of the carpenter's son.

The passage from St Paul is another straightforward statement of his experience of the Risen Lord.. We have been called to recognise God and to live lives that are worthy; that give praise to God.. We must let go of ourselves and become prisoners along with Paul, held fast by the chains of hope. We are united by one Lord who transcends everything so that we are able to have a faith that is perfect and must not be be broken for it is the One that is the Lord.

Dear Lord, forgive me my sins and let my remaining time be spent in holiness undisturbed by envy and greed.

 24/07/2021

Today Moses seals the Covenant. His promise to God is made permanent and now blood is forbidden to the people. It is the life that is only offered to God. It was unbelievably horrific for the Jews of Jesus' time to hear him say "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink." For centuries they had followed the law as set down by Moses  and had become meticulous in the slaughter of animals for the Temple and for the table. But Jesus is crystal clear that he is offering himself as the perfect sacrifice. 

We have no alternative other than to believe.  We have to ask ourselves why we do not spend more time before the Blessed Sacrament . How can it be that God is kept in the tabernacle? How can the nature of bread and wine be changed? To maintain this simple level of believe we have to become the "little ones" of the Gospels. We have to be able have complete trust in the words of Our Father in heaven and the Mission that Jesus passed on to the Twelve Apostles. We have to believe that there is a Church created by God built on the Rock (a very human one) and that the priesthood is called by the Father and authorised  to repeat the words of the Last Supper and thus confect the Blessed Sacrament along with Eternal Sacrifice  of the Son and the support of the Holy Spirit.

To maintain this simple function the Church has grown into the mess that it is today. Jesus tells us that the darnel is sown by an enemy and that it won't be sorted out till the last day. This too I have to believe. Does it mean that I have to turn a blind eye to priestly sinning and clerical abuse? 

Dear Lord I know that I am a sinner and can find forgiveness in your Church. Please let me follow your will for me and turn back to the Church even though it offends me by its self serving and backsliding. You will be the Judge.

 23 July 2021

The readings today are templates for us to learn from. They are targets for us to attain. St Paul knows that the Law will no longer bear fruit . Jesus has changed everything. The crucifixion has completed the Law. Our lives are now in the Resurrection. The living lord is the life that now I can live in this body. 

St Paul's teaching seems to be stark like a Corbusier building but St John's is an abundant   Baroque image. We can see the vine and feel the life that is surging through the tangle of its branches; we can feel the brambles tugging about it trying to hold it back. This is our life that grows in Love because that is the will of the Father. Each day we need to grow in this Love and bear the fruit that is the result of Calvary.

 Supported by the Holy Spirit , St Brigid lived her exemplary life in accord with these images of our life in God. Jesus tells us that our  lives are with him and that we can bear fruit. Fruit that is holiness and the avoidance of sin. There is a penalty to pay, however, Jesus makes no bones about the fate of those cut off from the source of the Life in holiness that he wills for us.

Dear Lord let not these morning dedications to you become a source of pride .let them be an opening of my heart to you and a reparation for the sins I have committed,

 22/07/2021

In celebrating the Faith and Love of St Mary Magdalen, we go to that moment when all was lost for the disciples. She with the other Marys had seen the moment of death which terminated all hope. Jesus was no more. Peter's weakness had been made manifest. Judas had sold him. Only John had remained with the women until the death. 

Nobody had anticipated that Jesus' hints of his resurrection would become the reality that Mary was the first to witness. Nobody witnesses the resurrection. This first witness didn't instantly recognise Jesus. We are in an empty space of History and those who had organised the Crucifixion rapidly began stories that were more acceptable to their Old Testament culture and beliefs 

The pattern for Jesus' appearances is established in this first encounter. First the unknowing, then a joyful recognition followed by a departure. This first encounter also has the strongly physical element that St Thomas demands as the price of his belief "Don't hold me" has been the subject of many paintings and meditations and all sorts of nonsense have been speculated out of this scene.

We have not seen the Living Lord but have the special grace to maintain our belief promised by Jesus. The Church has to proclaim what in terms of our humanity is an impossibility. The Church from the first days had to present a justification of the belief; the first  preachers had known the human Jesus, They had seen him crucified. John and the women had seen the moment of death and the placing in the tomb. They too had been shocked by the Resurrection but their total commitment to the resurrected Christ was able to convince thousands who had not seen; to convince millions throughout history that  the resurrected Lord is still with us and has "appeared to Simon".

Dear Lord let this day be a holy one  and let me dedicate the work of my hands to caring for the wonder of your creation that is your world.

 21/07/2021

The record of God's support for the Sons of Israel continues. The people are pretty well fed up that they have come this far to have to face the deprivation of hunger. The writer feels that this is a deliberate testing of them prepared by God. God certainly answers them and the phrase "Bread of Haven" makes its appearance into our Christian vocabulary. 

Angels don't eat as they dwell always as they were created  to be  themselves in the presence of the Lord; they share in the totality of being that is God.

 God saves his people Israel. God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, knows each person and offers us freedom of choice to accept or reject his support  in this life. Jesus speaks to us in parables and some he explains and some he leaves it up to us to interpret. 

Each of us is  the ground where the seed is sown. We are sometimes like the well trodden path and let the "birds" take the seed. Sometimes we are the rocks and our lack of substance cannot support growth; sometimes the thorns choke our God-centred growth What we all have is the deep soil of being that was created in God's image and likeness . God help me to find that deep soil and to cultivate it well so that the seed can grow and proliferate.

Dear Lord let me grow in your Love; sustain me in my Faith and let my Hope for a regrowth of holiness in your Church be realised.

 20/07/2021

I believe the teaching of the Church based on her promised, by Jesus, infallibility . Credo. Moses believes in the "I am" that issued from the bush on Horeb. So do I.. His encounter is recorded in scriptures approved by the Church . The Bearer of God was kept pure by the Holy Spirit even though God having completely emptied himself grew as a normal  human embryo in the womb of his Mother.. Moses who was borne up by God stretched out his arms and the natural forces in the Cloud and Fire controlled the waters of the Sea. 

Moses is at the beginning of the Law and Jesus is  its completion. God's revelation of himself is here with us now.. Here and now!  Humanity has forever grown in strength and capability but God is always the same voice in the fiery bush the same strength to control the natural forces of our world. God is always the Ever Greater. Those who receive Jesus' personal revelation of himself as God and as Man are his family in this "here and now" and will be welcomed by him when their they have completed their allotted span.

Each of us is known and loved by the Father. The Son emptied himself  and joined us in human form to atone for the sins that I choose.  The Holy Spirit is our source of the fire of God's Love. The Church is the guardian of all that has been revealed.  As for me? I  must keep faith  and live the Way, the Life and the Truth as God intended for me; for I too am the recipient of God's Ever Greater abundance.

Dear Lord protect me this day from all sins and let me grew more and more aware of your presence in this "here and now".

 The parting of the Red Sea is an image that is part of our cultural heritage. It is not a Christian event; it is centuries before John the Baptist and it is very much an Old Testament event which shows how much God in his freedom, favours the Sons of Israel . What a panic must the Egyptian charioteers, Pharaoh's special forces,  have felt at the command to follow the Israelites into the sea bed exposed at that moment but soon to swamp and wipe them out. Our Old Testament is a Jewish text and battles won are always reported by the victors. "We won !! It is obvious that God was on our side. We won!!" Today's psalm is a masterpiece of triumphalism; it is hard not to be affected by its capturing of the victor's emotions.

We are Christians and have to find a way to accept that the Old Testament is also God's Word.; the Word that walked the world of the Old Testament but showed us the new life of the Resurrection . The Old Testament is very much alive in the men Jesus encounters with his teaching. The men that Jesus instructs to turn the other cheek are the same to whom God is real because of  his destruction of their enemies. Jesus has to keep repeating that his "Kingdom is not of this world" precisely because no other sort than a kingly Messiah had been awaited for centuries. What could be meant by the "Sign of Jonah". Jesus explains but until it happens no-one can understand.

Dear Lord let my faith in You remain at the forefront of my consciousness as I set about my daily tasks. Show me the way to overcome any temptation.

 18/07/2020

Jesus teaches that if a brother is at fault we must point it out to him. Ignoring sin only builds up Satan and allows our brother to continue to follow the "primrose path". Jesus also teaches that before we confront a brother with his sin we must be sure that we "take the plank out". Today many priests will be reading the same readings at mass. Given the state of Christ's Church in these Isles one cannot but wonder what they think these scriptures mean to them. 

Each of us can judge himself by the standards set out for us by the "Good Shepherd". And his standards are the Father's and ours too by the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Jesus calls us to holiness; a holiness that guided by the Holy Spirit is the same as His and the Father's.

There is hope for us in the Church as Jesus is more aware than we are of the failings of the institution he founded on Peter. Our hope is in the promise of Christ. "I will be with you always even to the end of time" We do not need anything more than this as no matter how weak the tenants of the sheepfold are, the owner loves and supports each one of us sheep.

Dear Lord may I this day put all my trust in you and in the prayers of Our Lady and of all the saints aware that the institution is faltering but the Word is standing for ever.

 17/07//2021

The Israelites, descendants of Abraham , were not the only ones to leave Egypt in the Exodus. We are not told anything about them. They are grouped together  as peoples of "various sorts" .and could be the source of the backsliding and "golden calf" that greeted Moses when he descended from his encounter with the revelation of the Lord. "The chosen people" have many instances of backsliding recorded against them without the assistance of foreigners. The owner of the vineyard  sends many messengers to his tenants and they refuse them all with violence even to the extent of the Crucifixion of the Son 

Today's psalm is a beautiful praising of the Lord and of all his deeds. It also contains "The first-born of the Egyptians he smote" followed by the response. "His love is everlasting". Again we are faced with one of life's realities God cares for us but pain happens. Everlasting Love is more than a counterpoint to the pain of this world. This world is a temporary place it is not the Truth of  the  Kingdom of eternal Life  to which The Son shows us the Way.

Matthew quotes Isaiah. The disciples and Jesus were descendants of the Exodus and the the first church is a development of the synagogue and included Temple worship, the ritual slaughter of animals as offerings to God. They even met in the the Portico of Solomon. We must accept that everything in the Old Testament results in John the Baptist and that that break with the past was not instantly realised with the Resurrection.

Dear Lord I do not always understand the workings of your providence.  Let me accept the promptings of Your Holy Spirit so that the Way the truth and the  Life become intrinsic to my being.

 16/07/2021

Today Moses and Aaron are rejected by Pharaoh and then receive instructions from the Lord . Again we are faced with a quandary as the Lord is very explicit that he will destroy the heirs to the power of the Egyptians. The favouritism shown to the descendants of Noah and Abraham always has its reverse side in the treatment of the nations.. Today hundreds have been swept away by floods in Northern Europe. Always throughout history death has occurred  randomly and we cannot understand the workings of divine  Providence. We know that  God does not wish harm for any Human. We know that he is free to work his Providence how he will. We are free to question and deny or pray for acceptance of the divine will. 

Jesus  ( God's eternal mercy ) walking through a corn field is brought to task for not reprimanding his followers for breaking  the Sabbath. The scruples of the Pharisees are shown up for what they are. Jesus does not tolerate this nonsense and he points out that David in the past and the priests in the present continue to break the rules of the Sabbath. The spirit of the law is what God requires of us not tithes of mint.

We do have a problem with accepting the Providence of God. our riches and comfort are always most welcome, but pain too and illness are equally parts of the life we have received as human beings. We can be sure that the salvation known from all eternity is far greater than any suffering we know or witness in our present life. 

What were the Pharisees doing walking with Jesus on the Sabbath?

Dear Lord I need your support in everything that I try to do. Let me live as if each day were my last.

 15/07/2021

The record of God's intervention into the history of his People Israel continues with Moses' being instructed about what he must do as a vehicle for God's Providence. We must not do a "pick and mix" with the Bible for it is a divinely inspired record of God's revelation of himself. It tells us that God is pure "Being" and we must know that God gifts of this Being and that we are because of the Will of God and we are his Humans but God is still "ever-greater" no matter who goes to the edge of space and returns alive. Moses is filled with the Holy Spirit and the Word of the Father and although the message for the Egyptians is severe, it is God's Will that Moses must deliver.

Today Jesus does offer peace to his followers in contrast to the pain to be delivered to the Egyptians if they do not comply with the message delivered by Moses. Sometimes the words of scripture do become a "heavy burden" for our humanity to bear. Nothing in our relationship with God is made easy. We must cooperate with all our being and avoid the nonsense that the World offers us about the essence of our being; "male and female" he created us. Humanity is a wonderful thing but only if it continues as St Bonaventure did to give the Glory to God.

Dear Lord you know how I am and that I desire to do your Will. Help me to be more aware of your Holiness as I go about my tasks this day. Let me see your Glory even in the garden pests I must do battle with today.

 

 14/07/2021

The most unlikely vision of God's reality; a fire in a  bush. Moses was sure that he did see God. The burning bush was the Being of God. Eternity touches our world. God's revelations of himself to the Jews is the source of our belief in God; the cause of our striving to grasp hold of the source and meaning of life. Jesus the complete God  who is Man shares the genes of Moses. At the time of Moses, Egypt was the great power and had an intellectual elite. God didn't choose one from the elite to receive his revelation but Moses a poor soul in the vastness of the desert. Jesus praises God for not revealing the Son to the "learned and the clever" but to the "little ones" who are chosen by Jesus.

In these days, have we all become learned and clever and so are ignored by God? How are we to become the "little ones" the poor when we in live in a world which has grown so much since  Jesus' day. The "learned and clever" provide answers to both these questions We can  live with "material wealth" without becoming attached to it . The patrimony of Peter must be protected. The virtue of poverty is extolled but nobody chooses to be poor except our vow-takers who lack for nothing and used to crowd out our airports together with the  Pope's "Airport Bishops". I have to love know God love him and obey him. I do not have to be comfortable in my Faith, but I must be certain that I am chosen by Jesus in my baptism and that I can can face death with confidence in the Lord's mercy.

Dear Lord help me to to follow you in everything that I do; may I never lose sight of your being knowing  that everything that is is because of You.

.

 

The Church presents us with readings that begin with the story of Moses.; not the Moses the leader of the Exodus but the young man confused in his self-perception; a messed-up Moses who in fear of pharaoh' s punishment flees to the desert of Midian to keep a low-profile for a while . Jesus is again at his sternest ; he doesn't curse the towns but presents to them and to us the fate that awaits us if we hear and reject the Word of God. 

The hope and promise brought to the Hebrews by Moses and to the whole world by Jesus is for us all who although stuck in the mud of our present world reality can see ourselves in dependence on God and respond 

                "in your great love answer me, o God with your great Love that never fades."

Dear Lord.  your Love brings us mercy let me return to you from the desert of sin that blights my life and messes up my soul.

                    

 The place of the Israelites in the realm of the Egyptians had radically changed and the once welcome guests had now  become  a potential for danger. The Pharaoh attempted the first "Final  Solution" and it failed as have  the many subsequent pogroms and persecutions. Pascal puts forward the survival of Jews as evidence of the existence of God.  We certainly have to be sure that Israel owns a special place in God's providence as revealed by the history of the  world. 

Jesus' formation of his first  commissioned ministers shocks us . What can it mean that "He has not come to bring peace to the Earth" The Gospel continues to emphasise this point. he will bring a sword. This text has even confused Moslem preaching; it must be wrong as God message is Islaam i.e. Peace. "My Kingdom is not of this world".

We must confront this statement and try to understand how our gentle Jesus could express in no uncertain terms such a starkly confrontational expression of his mission . We have to understand how this is not an expression of intent but a realistic facing of the truth of the events of his life on earth. Jesus never pretends in order to sweeten the pill of his reality.; God's will.  He knows hat he will be tortured to death. Can this brutality ever be considered Peace.? We too will have to face this earthly death which leads to the peace of reconciliation in Heaven.

Dear Lord let me this day be careful to acknowledge that the Father wills nothing that is not good for his creation. May Our lady and your saints in heaven support me as I try to avoid sin.

 Sunday 11 July 2021

In today's readings we hear God's Word. The Word that is with God before now, now and fore evermore. We see God choosing Amos and other prophets before and after him to keep Israel on the right path. St Paul's paean of praise takes us with him into a knowledge of God's purpose that is almost like a direct revelation from God.. We are known and chosen by the Father in his eternal being to serve and receive the Love that creates the entire universe and at the same time knows each one of us Person to person

The culmination of revelation is the Son who speaks to all the disciples face to face and presents the twelve with a mission which requires a total commitment without worldly cares. A mission that seemed to succeed over the centuries although it was continually threatened to be taken over by the World. 

Today we have a new "Remnant". We continue to believe the revelation of the Father; we try to follow the Son and we pray through the strength of the Holy Spirit but the ordained and commissioned  have in many ways lost our trust. What can we do in the face of so much worldly and personal corruption displayed by your Church. You are still with us Lord "Shake us all up".

Dear Lord I am in need of ministers who convince me  that they truly believe what you taught .It is rotten to be in doubt because of the wickedness of a few who have broken their vows and re-crucified your Son. Let me see before I die a renewal that is not self but totally Christ - centred . Have them forget about cover-ups and billions in property and look to the commission in today's Gospel. I am a sinner and know that I should first look in my own eye. Father forgive me.

 "Seek the Lord, you who are poor and you hearts will revive" is the response to today's psalm. Everything that is to thought or remembered about God is beyond our understanding. Trying to put yesterday's events back into my mind requires great effort but the readings today require me to be conscious of events from thousands of years ago .They tell of the Lord's relationship with his people and of his steadfast Love. Jesus continues to demolish the argument that he is from Satan. 

We have to know that although God loves us all equally; Jesus has won for us all redemption from sin; the Holy Spirit is with us all; there are people who hate and despise us who acknowledge that we are here by the infinite Will and Love of the Father. We are to be poor in spirit without the overweening pride of humanity first seen at Babel. The world is so full that we cannot take it in; but for God even the sparrows are known  so  "Seek the Lord, you who are poor and you hearts will revive".

Dear Lord this sinner prays for forgiveness and continues to seek your Mercy.

 Israel is reunited with Joseph and the whole tribe settle in Egyptian controlled territory and are thus saved from famine. This joy of course, as do all things human, fades away in time and the Israelites grow into a problem in the Egypt of Moses' time. God's providential care of his people continues in human time and in our world . In Jesus' day all these history's of God's dealings with his people were well known and supported the Temple. The Prophets who were gifted by God to preach to Israel were known from Synagogue preaching.

 Jesus presents his disciples with a mission to preach to the towns of Israel and warns them that people are dangerous so they have to be on their guard. This is no the time for "turning the other cheek" they have to abandon the lost causes and get on with their task . Their words will come from the Holy Spirit so there  is no need to worry about their presentation skills. 

The closing sentence of this morning's Gospel, however, presents us with the problematic  "I tell you solemnly you will not have gone the round of the towns of Israel before the Son of  Man comes".

Dear Lord let me be active in my faith and let the littleness of insect bites be not my main focus today. You are my God and I  accept that even little problems are known to you. Everything  is in your loving care. praise be to you Father Son and Holy Spirit.

 Judah's meeting with the unrecognised Joseph is tortuous  in its "servants" and "fathers". The result of it however is pretty straight forward. The whole family (tribe) of Israel comes under the protection of one  of the great powers of the day. The crime of the brothers has this unanticipated positive result. God's Providence is something we cannot grasp easily. 

The whole of our world is subject to this Providence. God is ever-greater. We look at the stars as did Isaac and see the for ever expanse of  the universe and we know that God is greater than what we see. We use the seemingly limitlessness of the Web and "should" know that God is ever-greater . 3,000 years ago Israel was known by God in that huge region from the Tigris Euphrates to the Nile.. Everything was known to God and subject to his Providence and we too who inhabit a far vaster world are subject to the same limitations to our freedom 

This is what Jesus told us when he proclaimed the Kingdom of God is at hand. God is with us. His Providence is supporting my life in this world today and I have to acknowledge this loving support in my attempts to reciprocate his love by following his commandments. 

Dear Lord you know that it is easy for me to say "Lord, Lord" but being what those words imply is a whole different story. Let me find the support that is  your gift of yourself in your Church.

 The brothers of Joseph have no alternative but to go to Egypt to buy corn for their whole world is suffering from famine When they get there  they do not recognise their brother, but Joseph knows them; they do recognise, however,  that their predicament is the result of their crime against their brother. We do not usually see punishment for our sins in our present life. 

We live in a now that is touching heaven where we hope to know God and thus continue a life without end. For Joseph and his brothers their world is the only reality and righteousness and sin have their rewards here and now. Jesus' friends are chosen by the Lord to spread the Good News that our lives do not end with our deaths in this world. 

He commissions them with his own powers over evil and sickness and here we find the nucleus of our Church and our priesthood. Jesus is very careful to ensure that the Good News should be preached exclusively to God's chosen people; it is only after the completion of his mission  on earth that the Good News will be preached to all men. 

Dear Lord, we have been chosen by you to live a righteous life on this earth to prepare us to see your Glory. May your mother's pleas on our behalf together with those of your saints serve to strengthen us who are still striving in this world.

 

Wrestling with the Lord our God does not bear thinking about. A bout with Jesus would be possible for he is true man as well as true god. But physical wrestling with God is out of the question  We have to accept this as an allegory and thus the not eating of the sciatic nerve is justified. The avoidance of pork products does not have any justification ; it is accepted as a God's will so nothing more needed be said about it. Jacob who is Israel continues to wander through  the territory that bears his new name and is blessed by the Lord. What did he really do at Peniel? He saw God face to face and lived. No one sees God except those to whom He wishes to reveal himself . Speculation about this is non productive for me. I cannot understand it at all. 

Jesus wrestles with the devil possessing the dumb man. Well, he doesn't wrestle he just casts it out for that is His strength. Pharisees condemn this as being done by the power of Satan. Elsewhere Jesus retorts that a "house divided against itself is bound to fall". The people , i.e. we, are without a shepherd  so we must ask God to send us  shepherds to show us the way. The Church on earth touches the Church in heaven. It is in our Church on earth that we can find the shepherds and the guidance to join the Church in heaven. 

Dear Lord, let me not be blinded by the evil that I see and let all your clergy truly seek the holiness that you have made available to us all.

 Jacob's ladder is another image that is familiar to us from the Old Testament. It seems that the early revelations from  God were concerned only with life on this earth. The ladder is used by angels to ascend and descend to heaven; there is no mention of men among the traffic between our earth and God's heaven. Jesus brings us the Good News that his Way leads to eternal life. Jesus even refers back to the the prophets to assure us that the eternity "my kingdom is not of this world" he preaches is without beginning or end and so God is God of the Living. Abraham and the other prophets are living in that other creation in which we pledge our belief when we repeat our Creed.

Jesus restores health to the woman who touches his cloak. The man Jesus is completely God and completely Man. He is all knowing and so the touch and the faith which inspires it are completely known to Our Lord. "Your faith has made you whole". It is our faith that brings Jesus to our bodies n the Eucharist. The bread and wine of the mass  are not a garment as was the cloak of Jesus but are Body and Blood the Living Lord.

Dear Lord, let not the faith of your Church weaken under worldly pressure but let her and her priests remain steadfast and true to what has been passed on from you during the last 2000 years.  

 St Paul's "sting" is with him always. He has met the risen Lord on the road to Damascus. He has been taken into the seventh heaven of mystical experience. He has been saved by God from multiple dangers; even from shipwreck. He knows that his work is bearing fruit and that his Churches respond to his chiding at their backsliding. He knows that the Holy Spirit has brought him to an understanding of the Body of Christ that is the Church. One thing is sure of Paul is that he did great things for us all through his dedication to God; he never claims these fruits of his life for himself but it is always God's work that he acknowledges. But he still has a "sting"

Jesus the Son of the Trinity's  teaching amazes his neighbours and relations. He had not spent years in the school of a learned Rabi as had St Paul. Jesus is a bolt from the blue. His teaching is so complete that his hearers are totally baffled. So baffled that they dismiss it for how can such scholarly erudition be from the mouth of a woodworker who was at their beck and call whenever some building work was needed. Even the curing of the sick was from the laying on of hands and not seen as a miracle of God. St Paul had his "sting" and Jesus will undergo the attack of Satan face to face and will withstand it . Although St Paul wishes to rid himself of his sting he can welcome it as it in his weakness that he can know the power of God working within him.

Dear Lord, you know all my sinfulness; you know that I have cooperated with temptation to disobey your will for my being. Let me accept your grace in all its fulness to eliminate sin from my life. At this moment I know that it is possible; let that possibility become a certainty as this day unfolds.

 The drama of this scene with the Living Lord has captivated the imagination of believers since the early days of the Church. It is part of God's revelation of how his Resurrected body is the same as his Crucified corpse which was not in the Empty tomb. One celebrated image of this event presents St Thomas placing his hand in the wound of the Pierced One and the flesh depicted is in no way spiritualised; the body is indeed a real body. And this is the truth; the Risen Lord is complete as man and as God.

St Paul insists that the Church he is passing on to his followers is aligned to the the Lord. He is the "cornerstone" and we too are to be a holy place where Christ can be found. We can lead our lives in God's holy way and thus offer proof of "Happy are they who have not seen and yet believe". The Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son brings us God for us to welcome and adore. We do this with the help of Our Lady and all the saints some of whom, as did St Thomas, knew Jesus before and after his Resurrection; thus knowing at first hand that the Resurrected one  was indeed a real body.

Dear Lord, let my thoughts today be on you and your care for us. We see and hear signs and sounds of corruption but your words assure us that "your holy one will not know decay" but live for ever in the Love promised to us.

 Friday 02/07/21

The Old Testament provides us an illustration of God's care for his people the descendants of Abraham. Only the prophets were aware of that care at the times it was given. Our record is thus very basic and the length of days attributed to Sarah and Abraham, for example, stretched to emphasis the results of God's care. 

God is caring for us in exactly the same way as he did for our forbearers and now we know that this happening in the here and now. God's providence is not an exoskeleton limiting our movements we live freely in the times provided by God. We have always been presented with questions that we need to answer. In primitive times there was the question of with whom it was lawful to eat to maintain our special relationship with the Lord and it is questions such as this that so vexed the early Church.

Today we have an over-ripened Church that has  rules and is more of an exoskeleton than an open heart bringing God's  Love and thankful awareness of his Providence.

Dear Lord let me not forget that our Church and its rules originate in the deeds and promises of Jesus let me continue to seek the guidance of your Holy Spirit in all that I do secure in the knowledge that the prayers of your Mother and all the saints will always be with me.

 Today begins with another horrific story from the Old Testament. Can it be true that God tested Abraham in such an appalling manner. Why would God need such a proof of fidelity? God knows all even to thee depths of our feelings and beliefs. There is nothing more pathetic than the boy Isaac's question. "Daddy where is the lamb". God knows all  and, of course this episode reminds us instantly of God's own sacrifice of  himself through his Son. But we cannot ignore the question of how could God ask anyone to kill his child in praise of Him. One way round it is to ignore the narrative and take it aa a symbolic condemnation of human sacrifice in general and particularly the Canaanite practice of infant sacrifice to baal . 

 Did the believers Jesus preached to believe the symbolic message or did they believe the literal truth of the text of scripture. That the Jews of Jesus day were believers is illustrated by the general reaction to the miracle they witnessed. The learned see Jesus' action as a breaking of the law against blasphemy . "Who is this man to forgive sins?"; the people are in awe and praise God that he has empowered such a man as Jesus. 

In the scriptures God makes it clear that he wants only good for his creation but also that he is so beyond us in his being that we can only understand him by truly being in awe before him. 

Dear Lord, you know that I want to live according to your choices for me. May my part in your Church become clear for me You know the difficulties for us on earth. May Our Lady and your saints in heaven  support us with the abundance that is your grace