31/10/2021

St John's visions recorded in the Apocalypse is a continuation of Old Testament witness revealed to the prophets. They are great spiritual experiences that must have been clear to the visionaries themselves but truly difficult to explain to others. Within our time the end of time cannot be conceived by our brains. We are told about it. God is beyond our minds to grasp and so those granted mystical experiences fasten their their minds on images that reveal the greatness of their experience but do not really communicate; knowledge of God comes only from God to the soul that is ready.

John in his letter is sure that we can be sure that the Love of Father Son and Holy Spirit is with us all and that we will see God for we will be like God. That is the wonder that has been given to us for we have been created and adopted by Love.

Does our Lord mean that we have to live our lives in poverty? The riches of this modern world mean that the poor who are always with us live in more bodily comfort than the richest of Roman Emperors. "Rich", "poor" are always subjective. The Beatitudes have inspired so much of the world's social policies even in the obviously non Christian parts of the World but was our Lord founding a Human Political System?  

The Kingdom of God is not anything political but should be found in every individual Soul. The Beatitudes are for me to ponder and practise. Kings, Presidents Emperors and Popes have the same mission as do I. Know Love Serve now to be ready for the wonders God has prepared for us.

Dear Lord, today we remember the Souls of the departed that have been taken up into your Love. May their intercessions led by Mary support our efforts to live the life  outlined in your "Beatitudes".

 30/10/2021

St Paul is concerned that we all remember the Jews. Remember that they are still beloved of God in the special way revealed in the Old Testament. The emnity shown to Jesus by his own people was a necessity for the mission of the Incarnation to be completed by a real death. Jesus' death was a complete annihilation. One accompanied by the unimaginable suffering. Suffering that was accepted in God's total freedom which is eternally aware of the "before" and "after" of our time.

Jesus is our "Lord and our God" and we too set up walls of sin against his message by our own human will which also has a freedom limited only by the  non-divine capabilities of our humanity. I sit at this machine which is the work of human hands and know that my intention is to start the day with prayer. What a wonder is the machine which encircles the whole world with Man. But what a greater creation is the Earth and all that is in it!

Pride and egoism are the roots of all sin and will reap their reward. Humility that refutes arrogance is God's Will for us; we must constantly battle to accept this for there are places at the wedding banquet that have been prepared for us Jew and battling Christians alike.

Dear Lord help me to not just say the right words but to find their true meaning in the way that I live my life always in the loving presence of Father Son and Holy Spirit.

 29/10/2021

St Paul is writing to the congregation of converts that is in Rome. He is intense. He knows that his correspondents are mostly Jews and he feels a great unease as he meditates and ponderss upon his own message. He has seen the Risen Lord and has heard the message tasking him with responsibity and mission. The height and the depth of Paul's faith in Jesus cannot be matched and he feels a great sorrow for educated as a Pharisee his knowledge of the historyof the Chosen People is a huge foundation on which to erect the comparitively recent events in Palestine.

The Risen Lord is now the Church and Paul realises that he and all believers are the Body of Christ and that it is as partof this body that we are saved. He is so desperate that his fellow Jews accept this that he offers his own damnation in exchange for the salvation of his people. This is truly a terrible image. 

Could I accept Hell for myself? St Paul is certainly in excess here. No one reaches heaven by his own efforts. He himself teaches that it is by a free gift that we receive salvation. Faith can become Good Works; but bargaining one's soul for the sake of another is not on. The excess of St Paul here makes for good rhetoric but our Master does not need the destruction of any soul. He accepted the horrific destruction of his own body. As a human he must of been out of his mind at the pain of it but as God he knew that his sacrifice was an acceptable offering to Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Truly God is beyond all my imagination but I hope that my small efforts to know him can grow into loving service if I can keep control of my sinful nature.

Dear Lord send me help to do your will and continue to care for those of mine who ar particulry in need of help. Let all of your people feel the love you have for your chosen ones.

 28/10/2021

St Paul makes the analogy between citizenship of Rome and being part of the Body of Christ. It must be about 20 years since Jesus was known personally in human form. The Good News had spread rapidly and there were groups of believers scattered throughout the vastness of the world that was ruled from Rome. It is an amazing thing that this bizarre teaching had captured the imaginations of so many diverse people. The Jews were somewhat prepared to continue to worship one God. For them one of the great difficulties was to accept the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit which although, revealed in scripture  had to be discovered and meditated upon. The Gentiles had even more to discard before accepting the teaching of the Apostles and their disciples. They knew stories of the Gods and local temples made great demands on them. They knew of the thinking of the philosophers. Rising from the dead???

Paul's words about a  prophet in Palestine were not the Adonis story reworked. Paul had seen the Risen Lord and his testimony, inspired by the Holy Ghost, became a testimony to the true way of life ordered for us by Almighty God. We have to accept that the belief of the first Christian was supported by the Holy Spirit and that it is God's will that there should be a Church here on Earth.

Jesus in the Gospel chooses those who were to become the Apostles but not before a night of prayer. The Love of the Trinity is a complete "prayer" way beyond the imagination of man.

It is a tribute to the veracity of the Gospel narratives that the name of the traitor was not glossed out. Jesus chose Judas. Jesus chose Peter who denied him and the other Apostles too. It is only the women and John who display any fortitude during the three days of horror in Jerusalem. 

Jesus chose our Church's first leaders. We want to believe that he continues to do so. The instant communications of our modern world reveal that today there is still as much treachery to the Lord in our Bishops as there was in the original twelve.

Dear Lord help me to find guidance and support today as I still believe that you are with us. May your Mother support all mothers who find each day a struggle to cope with sickness and motherhood.

 27/10/2021

The words of St Paul provide me with what I felt yesterday. The remembered words of "prayers" inspire me to pray. To pray in my innermost being with the certain knowledge that my praying is well appoved by my saviour in the eternal Trinity. My own words, as now, may seem confused and incoherent but my soul is known, as are the hairs on my head, and accepted into heaven to join  with the Saints in everlasting prayer and holiness. This is my hope.

A striving towards holiness is always acceptable to God. Hope will not be in vain except...........Jesus warns us that the Father even in his mercy can lock the "narrow gate"against us who misuse our human freedom and there is always the possibility of seeing the joys of eternity but not receiving them. Thus we must clearly understand that our placement in humanity, in the Church or Society, is always to be questioned and meditated on for "the last will be first and the first will be last".

Dear Lord help our rich and our leaders to think carefully about where they stand in relation to You. Let me too not be overcome by my own weak words and always know that all good comes from you. 

 26/10/2021

St Paul's letter to the Romans is not of the simplest to understand. He says that we are and we are not "saved". He says that the whole of creation is waiting for its renewal that is salvation. He says that God's Creation our physical Universe was created incomplete so that it has been yearning from the beginning for the Word to fulfill its task. We are all waiting for this completion and then we will know Salvation. We are still locked into our bodies and it is only when we are complete in our human freedom that we will be saved.

Jesus too in this morning's parables counsels patience. We can care for the "mustard seed" and witness its growth; we can add yeast to flour water and salt and witness the lively dough which is the result. These processes take time. We cannot witness the actual growth of the seed or swelling of the dough. God works in our beings in the same way.The Holy Spiirt the Son and the Father is the complete Being that will take us to Salvation which is ours but not yet.

Dear Lord may I come to better understanding than the above of your Being and of your Will for me.

 25/10/2021

Jesus is challenged today by the synagogue. It is a challenge that reveals the depth of the feeling about keeping the Law that was in religious leaders of his day and can still be seen in the surving "Chosen people". Jesus had performed healing in front of all the congregation. The healing is an obvious good and power was certainly revealed in the one who performed it. But all "work" was suspended on this the seventh day. God rested and so must man.

Jesus responds by a severe condemnation of  hypocrisy. In this case it is a "hypocrisy" that flaunts its piety by public demonstrations of prayer and fasting. I am writing this as a public demonstration of my sense of relationship with God and so I too must read my own words and act in accordance with them. I must know that my sins are forgiven by this same Jesus who is  followed by some but not all of his own people. 

The Holy Spirit moves us to pray and to truly believe that we are Coheirs with Christ. St Paul continues to emphasise this staggering fact which supported the early Church and which would do the same today if we were not confounded by our own hypocrisy which blocks the opening up of our being to the power of the  Love of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Dear Lord help me to show your Love to all of mine who are known to you and in all things let us know that "thy will be done" is not fatalism but a true submision and recognition that only "Good" comes from you.

 24/10/2021

Today's readings emphasise our Jewish origins. Jeremiah, contrary to his proverbial reputation, is full of Joy for the people of the Lord are saved and they know it. And they know to whom their thanks must be given.  Our Jewishness continues in the Letter to the Hebrews. We can be sure that God wants us to continue the Temple Sacrifice but one that is offered by a sinless High Priest; A High Priest who is both priest and victim.  Jesus' sacrifice to the will of his Father is "once for all"; is eternally repeated with the Father and the Holy Spirit and with the People of God who form his body active here on earth; active with his Mother and Saints in heaven. Our Mass.

It is from this that the Church teaches that the Mass does not depend on the holiness of the minister. The "once for all sacrifice" is in the timeless eternity which we the followers can access here on earth through the ministry bequeathed to his Church  by our Sinless High Priest ; Jesus of Nazareth.

No wonder we are joyful for our lives are not in vain. We have God who has destroyed our sins and wiped out our guilt and who is always with us to the end of time.

Dear Lord I believe all that you have have taught us. You know the prayer of my heart. May Our Lady and all the Saints inspire our leaders to seek the holiness that is not of this world that they follow the way this mass and all masses lead us to Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 23/10/2021

The Law is the rules for living as revealed to Moses and subsequent Prophets. Jesus frequently points out to his listeners the folly of following this Law in all its finicky details, without being aware of its inner meaning. Pharisees are usually castigated for this their main fault. I think that Pharisees are always with us and sometimes closer to home than I realise. 

Hypocrisy in religion goes with the territory. Those of us familiar with Moslem countries are often ready to recognise the way the behaviour of devout citizens changes as soon as they are beyond their borders.

St Paul, one of many converted Pharisees, has taken Jesus to heart and knows that now the rules for living are totally Spiritual. He knows and teaches that Jesus our God has condemned sin by his death and resurrection and that the Holy Spirit is here for us to call upon to guide us. If we follow only the natural law without any regard to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit we will achieve death. God wants us to achieve the Life which is prepared for Spiritual natures in communion with God.

Horrific sacrilegious deaths as befell the Galileans are not the result of special guilt on the part of the victims of Herod's anger. Jesus makes it clear that natural disasters are jut that and not brought about by individual guilt. The tower fell because it was poorly constructed and was not targeted at the 18 who died. Jesus tells us that we all can perish; that our bodily death can happen at any moment of our earthly lives but we can avoid total death, as in the incidents detailed, by repenting. We have to actively seek the Mercy of God.

The gardener's patience can win survival for the fig tree but only because:

 "I take pleasure, not in the death of a wicked man, says the Lord, but in the turning back of a wicked man who changes his ways to win life."

Dear Lord let me always be aware that you have charted for me a life to aim for Life with you. Let the prayers of Mary and all the Saints be heard in your Church and backstabbing hypocrisy be recognised and condemned.

 22/10/2021

St Paul's words about his natural human self are totally my own experience and I am a lot older than he was when he wrote his letter to the Romans. Jesus too speaks from his humanity to his listeners. We know so much about our world and can forecast what will be the weather but we do not interpret what it is for us to be alive and to use our "times".

We are created by God to be his people on earth and these are our "times" not to be repeated. Our creation is our now and we have to see that this is our one life that has to be used as it was intended by our Maker. St Paul gasps out his knowledge of humanity's wretchedness and pleads for a "saviour".

Dear Lord let me humbly know that the words of St Paul are also my own reality and let me too truly give thanks to God through the grace of Jesus  who speaks for Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 21/10/2021

Jesus brings division because his message is complete Truth and cannot be fudged to make it easier for us to follow; the  baptism which he is to face is salvation bringing torture and death on the cross. We are still weak from the sinful lives we have led and so sometimes are the playthings of evil. But evil is not Truth although it may be a reality of our experience.

St Paul makes clear Jesus' teaching that we have to leave sin behind us and train ourselves, our bodies, to practise virtue in all that we do. God is merciful but we should not presume on that mercy and continue to sin

There is only one Way, Truth and Life and when we do not act accordingly we are the division, the fire from heaven the disruption to family life. It can be avoided but it is up to us to accept the salvation freely offered to us who are "created freedom". The choice is stark Life or Death. Which do I want?

Dear Lord , let my actons live up to my words and help me to seek out your foregiveness which your human suffering has brought to the wotld.

 20/10/2021

The words of St Paul are clear messages to those  who have argued and still argue that the law of Love frees us to ignore the Mosaic 10 Commandments. We have to use Love to clense our bodies of all sin and strengthen them by the Law of Righteousness. We have to have a singleness of purpose about our lives. We live by Grace for we do not want to receive the wages of sin. In sin we are dead but Jesus has bought for us by his acceptance of death a Life that is Eternal.

Jesus does not answer Peter's question directly. As usual he illustrates his answer by a parable. We are to be stewards of grace and all that we have for nothing is ours except the mission that is life. Jesus is speaking to us all and there are varying degrees of response to his gift of Life in Grace. There is a clear condemnation of perpertrating acts of power over the weak and of doing nothing. 

Many of the original disciples and converts became more and more disappointed as the Lord whom they witnessed ascending upto Heaven, did not return. We are still waiting and that is our mission supported by Grace.

                    "Blessed are those who have not seen but still believe" 

Dear Lord, I ask that this day I will remain in your Love and that all of us accept your will for us, knowing that your providence never wishes us ill.

 19/10/2021

St Paul tels us that sin entered the World with one man and that we have inherited that sin. The Incarnation of the Word is so much greater that we can all receive of his abundance and avoid the permanent death that we have inherited. St Paul does not answer the question that we all ask as to why God does not use his all powerful freedom to eradicate Evil in its totality. My generation knows of huge evils perpertrated by men on men and also of their own petty sins.

Jesus tells us that we must all be ready when the master returns and elsewhere that be must be ready for the wedding feast  We have to face the problems that our freedom brings to us. Our freedom is part of the created human soul and each one is known to the Father . The souls of the Haulocaust and of  Unit 731 must have been saved by the Love that is the Creator. The Innocents of abortion must be with God.

St Paul of the Cross sought to be able to be with Jesus in the Garden and on the Hill. The Passion of The Son has redeemed the World but not explained the continuation of evil amongst men.

Dear Lord you know that I can accept your Will for our Church and World but as a lowly creature I cannot come to an understanding of my sin and the sin of the whole world. If this lack of understanding be sinful may it be taken awy from me.

 18/19/2021

This morning's readings are all about mission. Jesus gives strict instructions to the 72. I have always wondered how or what was the "peace" that could return without being/becoming part of the receiver.72 is also a large number of appointed messengers. What was it that they were supposed to teach.?

St Paul, however,was filled with the Holy Spirit and had seen the Risen Lord, All the first teachers of our Faith knew that God's plan for humanity had been revealed, for Jesus had been crucified and in the Risen Lord they had witnessed Eternity here on Earth.

Even though they were so close to the Source there were however those who chose to argue rather than accept the teachings of Jesus as remembered by the Apostles. Some are named here and that handful becomes a multitude as we journey through time in Human History. Millions of souls have tried to be part of God's plan and millions more have rejected it in favour of their own version of the Good News. We know that Jesus will be with us until the end of time and that what he has prepared for us is beyond our wildest imaginings.

This life would be so much easier if we could all live as children knowing that our missiion is  "to know God, love and serve him in this life and be happy with him in the next".

Dear Lord thank you for your teaching recorded in the Scriptures and for the Church that was first brought to us by St Luke and all the Apostles.

 17/10/2021

We must never let go of our Faith which has been given to us as a free gift but a gift that has been won for us by suffering. Not our suffering but that which was freely accepted by God Himself. The man Jesus walked the earth and took on the pains predicted in Isaiah. 

This is the Great Event of which I can but glimpse a passing shadow of its reality for it is God's own choice to complete the task broken by Adam for which the unknowable Love had  created time and  the whole of our Universe. God in his Perfection chose to share the joy of his being with all of creation and especially with the least of us.

The least of us must be the Greatest. We must not seek to bolster our own beings for doing that means trampling on the least. We are not pagans and must be the servants of the least. Our High Priest and God suffered not only the pangs of death but also the dissatisfaction achieved in our souls by the temptations of the devil. Our Church founded by Jesus out of his body and blood given up in sacrifice on the cross has always been beset by the weaknesses of the humanity it is to redeem. Another commandment from the lips of Jesus is this warning; "This is not to happen among you".

Dear Lord you who know all my secrets let the fire of the Holy Spirit burn out all my waywardness and let that same fire from the Scriptures of today be received by all your Church on earth as it is in Heaven.

        

 16/10/2021

Jesus tells us that whenever we have to declare our faith in him the words will be provided. For the last few centuries not many of us have had to face the secular authorities in the form listed by Jesus. The Inquisition is not mentioned but that reversal of roles by our Church to become the accuser instead of accused is a regretable use of power by Chruch and State.

Our present day Church has been so weakened by the moral failures of its clergy that the words of any Bishop to defend a truth beeing trampled on by secular society and state is laughed at without thinking. Men cannot marry men. Sin cannot be blessed. Sin is always Satanic. Sexual "love" for the same sex is a complete delusion. Our bishops should look to themselves and denounce the great delusion that is homosexuality. They have to care for our souls and not pander to the nonsenses of our modern world.

I saw on television the reaction to the questioning about criminal coverups in their dioceses of 3 bishops and 1 Cardinal. Not one of them declared himself  for Christ. I am sure that the Holy Spirit was not with those men. How could he be there to support those men whose shame was palable and whose full guilt is known only to God.

Dear Lord help me to live in this sinful world without becoming more contaminated than I already am. Let faith bear fruit so that your supreme sacrifice is not rejected by sinful man and help us to avoid the sin that cannot be forgiven.

 15/10/2021

The image from the psalms that opens this Mass has alwys captured me by its intensity; how much more must it have inspired those living in the deserts of the Middle-East. I know "yearning" as an unidentified dissatisfaction within myself which is not at all specific. If it is true that it is God that I am missing I have to make an effort of will to direct myself entirely towards God the evergreater. St Paul tells us that it  is Faith that justifies Abraham. Forgiveness comes directly from God and is a free gift regardless of me.

The idea that we have to do nothing to be saved has been taken up by many throughout the Chrisitian centuries. But latching on to one idea and pursuing that is not the way to read the scripture or follow the way of Jesus. Jesus  is so much Love  that even the hairs of our head are known to the Father and the pardon seen by the Disciples in the Resurrection is brought to us by the Holy Spirit. 

Maybe my unidentified yearning is truly to know God and thus become fearless as I live a life in accordance to the teaching of the Gospels.

St Theresa sorted out her Order. How much more is she needed in today's mess of a Church.

Dear Lord, I who am so little are greater than I can understand for you know me in my sinfulness and are ready to pardon me. Let me truly open myself to your foregiveness.

 14/10/2021

St Paul whose faith in God never wavers, tells us that it is "Faith" that will bring us to salvaton. He does not tell us to avoid the rule for Life which is the example of living that Jesus gives us during his time on earth.I think that Paul's words are true by human wisdom; it is Faith that is the fount of all good deeds. Why would I bother to modify my behaviour to follow rules that curtail my selfish desires if I did not believe?

Faith is not to be found in outward show. Tombs, temples churches, liturgical observations are nothing if our faith is weak. We have to follow the "The Rule of Faith" and not lose ouselves in externals.

I have to question every one of my thoughts,  prayers deeds and keep them not in a straight jacket of "Law"but ask whether or not they meet St Paul's rule of faith and love through Jesus, living, dead and resurrected. Jesus is our Faith and he does not need anything from us except sincere hearts and minds open to receive the grace that has been won for us in an infinity of abundance by the Incarnation, Life, Death and Resurrection. 

Dear Lord you know me in totality of my being. Let me take care of my soul which you have justified. Let me avoid all sin and come to see you in your glory. 

 

 13/10/2021

Today both Jesus and St Paul condemn sinful living in no uncertain terms. St Paul tells us that we must repent from our sins and turn our being to the Truth that is God. He warns that there will be a judgement day which he calls the "day of God's anger" and that each of will then be judged according to the way we have lived our life on earth. He raises some questions about "judgement", however. We are forbidden to judge. What can this mean? He must be talking directly to some members of the Roman community he is writing to for we do have to judge if we are to avoid sinful companions and teaching.

Jesus is more targeted in his condemnation of the Pharisees and Lawyers who do judge others but ignore their own lack of love and toleration. There is no apology to the lawyer who complains about the insult;. only an even more direct condemnation.

I judge everyday; I condemn the clergy who although reading these passages of scripture everyday continue in their hypocrisy and vice. I condemn myself for the sins I have committed and the harm done to other people. I know that I do not have a full awareness of the horror that sin is to the perfect love of the Trinty.

Dear Lord, let me forgive those who trespass against me to be able to receive the free grace of your pardon that comes first to Jews then to Greeks and then to our whole world.

 12/10/2021

What does St Paul mean when he says that he is not ashamed of the Gospel that he preaches? He goes on to condemn the men who have failed to accept God even though they can see the wonders of creation. He condemns phlosophers who have come to love their own thoughts rather than recognize God as the creator of all. Impiety and depravity are the prisons that enclose Truth. So why is it that he says he is not ashamed to preach and live the Truth? Has he recently been mocked for his preacing? Has he been heckled by sophisticated layabouts. Has some superior "Hawkins of his day"chosen to argue against the possibility of the "Resurrection"? 

Jesus again offends the professional preachers of his day by not practising the minutiae of their faith. I often feel sorry for the Pharisees who were like me trying to do their best in a difficult situation. The man Jesus who so often offended them is God. How would I be if Jesus was still walking the Earth. How would I know that as a truth if the only sign was still the sign of Jonah.

I am not ashamed of what I write and think each morning but do know that no matter how poorly written those thoughts are reaching out to Heaven where they are understood for what they really are.

Dear Lord I place myself and all whom I know into your hands and ask for the endurance to come to a death that can be seen as embracing eternal life. Help me Lord Jesus to pray.

 11/10/2021

The mission entrusted to St Paul through his trust in the revelations made to him was carried out with a total obedience to the Will of God. His message was that God had made clear to all humanity that His was the Power and the Glory; that the Son Jesus had risen to a new life from being dead to bring a reconciliation with God for all nations not only the Chosen People. Paul's message was the resurrection that also awaits us all if we too can commit to God. 

The revelations made to Paul are to be found in his letters; the history of Jesus is recorded by the Evangelists in the New Testament and today we see Jesus facing up to the problems presented to his teaching by our lack of commitment. We have listened to his words, observed his way of life, heard of his miracles but still demand a "sign". Thus we refuse God's gift to us of freedom to choose the holy way and reject the Father of Lies. The Ninevites understood and trusted Jonah. Why do we falter in our belief in Jesus and the Way that he shows to us?

Dear Lord, let me be true to my own words and let me be open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit who is the essence of the Love that is the Holy Trinity.

 10/10/2021

Jesus' answers are sometimes enigmatical and require thoughtful responses. Don't call me "good" for only our Father in Heaven is good. Jesus' answer asks as if he is disavowing his Sonship or if not, what is he saying? Our Pope will be remembered for his "Who am I to judge?"In this answer he opens up the question that has been asked and debated since the Ascension of Jesus. Without the physical presence of Jesus in the world  who can we turn to for guidance?

Jesus words directed to the Apostles make it clear that the responsibility for guiding and guarding his children on earth is with those first intimate followers. They were chosen to do this and had done what had sadden the rich young man; they had left everything to walk in his footsteps.

Are we 2000 years later too rich to enter the Kingdom? The avowers of poverty live in huge buildings that could accommodate hundreds of refugees.The successors of the Apostles are overly concerned with managing the "patrimony" of the Church and keeping their heads down to avoid giving offence to liberals both secular and religious. 

The few Faithful that are left to attend the Liturgy are scanadalised by the weekly sacrilege  of the  Sacrament distributed to public sinners and usually prefer not to think about it.

I have lost my children to the world and so my family and I are truthfully in God's hands I can complain about "Church" but know that I am this "Church". God forgive me.

            For men it is impossible but not for God, for everything is possible to God.

Dear Lord let me again this day strive to be without sin and let not  seeking   wisdom become a substitute for loving and obeying you.

 

 9/10/2021

Today's Gospel reading is a one liner. It is the anonymous voice hailing the Mother of God. It is praise of Jesus in his humanity. It is awe at the humility of God who shares our Humanitity. We cannot bear to approach the ever greatness that is God. Our total universe is but a speck to him. There is absolutely no need for me to search for words. I should just accept that I can pray. 

The Lord speaking in the Old Testament is the same God who gives us "The Golden Rule" and the Lord's Prayer. He is totally in charge of his creation. Within that creation I have the freedom to follow his way or reject it. I choose to try to follow it but know that without the obedience shown by Our Lady I will continue to stumble as I go through life.

Dear Lord,  this day let me put myself totally within the Love and Humanity you have chosen for yourself; to ask for the care of all the Saints and Mary. You know what it is I ask through the Father Son and Holy Spirit. Hear my prayer.

 08/10/2021

Jesus' words  for us at the end of today's Gospel are a stark warning about the steadfastness of evil. Especially after a cleansing our devil will not give up but will find other ways to attack our souls. How many of us after hearing those words have tried to find some Hope in them? Jesus forceful preaching continues to offer the only sign; being, the sign of Jonah.

As with all of Jesus teaching it has to be understood in the greater context of his Mission as revealed and recorded from the memories of the original apostles and disciples. Jesus tells us that we must be together in our opposition to evil. The dangers which we face are powerfuly united against us. 

I have remembered this passage everytime that I have sinned again aftrer confession. To find a realistic Hope I have to remember the Way, the Truth and the Life and return to Father Son and Holy Spirit never forgetting the aid of God's Mother who was praised by the anonymous voice from the crowd later in the same Gospel.

Dear Lord, you know how difficult it is for me to keep my mind on you. Let me be cleansed of all sin and send you angel to guard me against the asaults which are always as close to me as the air I breath.

 07/10/2021

The events of Our Lady's life are recalled in today's celebration of the Rosary. This great prayer follows the way of the Lord as witnessed by Mary. She is our example of perfected humanity; born without stain of sin; she is the womb in which Jesus was procreated from before time; chosen by God to not know mortality; she is the first Christian to enter heaven body and soul; the Church although founded on St Peter has its source in her obedient love. Her "let it be" signals in time the great changes brought into the world by Jesus the true Son of God in the humanity taken from Mary.

The Rosary is the second great prayer of the Church and does not require ordination to take it into Heaven. It is forever the ultimate in meditation and can be pondered on by all in any place on earth. 

Yesterday's reading showed us the way to pray and in today's there is the confirmation that as long as we keep faith with our God our prayers are welcomed by the Father. The Rosary follows the worldly footsteps of Jesus as witnessed by his mother and for those shaken by the crumbling of the Church Militant it is the unbreakable link to "Our Father who art in heaven".

Dear Lord let me renew my Faith, Hope and Charity by a return to  the Rosary remembering "Can you not spend one hour with me?"

 06/10/2021

Jonah's dialogue with God is recorded by human hands and arises from human memory; but,the conversation is divinely inspired and is recorded here and now in the scriptures to be read at the formal prayer of the Church. We who read and listen may find the haggling with God not in keeping with the ideas we have of God developed from the teachings of the Incarnate Son of God who is the culmination of the Old Testament prophets. 

Jesus never bickers with the Father. How can he? He is the Son of God and knows totally the Will which he shares in Love with the Spirit. Jesus is also truly human and so can experience the temptations we are faced with on a daily basis. His human anger cleared the temple of the money grubbers that polluted the Court of the Gentiles. Even after the Resurrection it is recorded that he ate and drank.

"I thirst" and a cry of utter despair immediately precedes his death. Is this God or Man who cries out so desperately?

Dear Lord help us to understand what it is that our prayer should be. It must not be a gabbling of words but the sincerity of believe shown in Our Lord's teaching and summed up in the words of the "Our Father". This "today" let me be true to my baptismal promises and reject all that is not You. 

 05/10/2021

Jonah continues with his mission doing the work as God directed him. The Ninehvites from high to low accept the Word as preached by Jonah and the city is saved from destruction. Martha sees Mary's devotion to the Lord as a shirking of her household work.

That Mary has chosen the better part is seen by most commentators as Jesus' commendation of life lived out in prayer. Permanent prayer is a state of mind that can keep a  part of our being trying to touch the Eternal Freedom that is God. For centuries it has been accepted that those who are chosen to follow Mary's path need to be kept away from the World. The sinful attractions of the world are not the only source of distraction, however, for the legitimate task of keeping body and soul together can overwhelm us by its necessity.

"Give us this day our daily bread" is not only a petition for the Eucharist. As with all of Jesus' words it means what it says. Martha is not condemned but rather she and we are advised that prayer is the better part. Raising our minds and hearts to God is something we all need to do. It is the reason for all Being. 

Dear Lord help those who have accepted your call to a life of  service and prayer to maintain the fervour of their ordinations. Help me to be guided by the Love that is within me. Let me seek your Mercy that I too may be saved as were people of Ninevah.

 04/10/2021

The Jonah narrative with dialogue gives me an insight into the mindset of the writers who recorded this interaction between God and man. Each sailor had a God to whom he made entreaty. There was no unity of belief. The sleeping Jonah was awakened to profess his belief and to petition for saving help. The sailors were said to be in utter fear as they realised that Jonah must be guilty of a huge sin, a defiance of the Lord. Jonah offers himself as the sacrifice that will appease the anger that has produced the storm. 

Natural events were considered to be the result of the anger of a god and the key to obtaining divine help was to find the right god to appeal to.

"The only sign you will receive is the sign of Jonah" 

"Who is my neighbour?"

Our Lord accepts the challenge of the smartypants lawyer and the parable of the " Good Samaritan" is heard for the first time. I am sure that there are people in the world who have never heard this parable, But where I am now it is the original source of a social policy that aims to care for the weak and poor of our country. The care for other people that is the boast of our leaders is extended to the poor of all nations and every day we see appeals to help victims of war and natural disasters.

We need not be ashamed of this secular  implementation of Christian values. But what about our neglect of God most obviously seen in the treatment of the unborn? The procreation of a human being is treated as an individual natural disaster and the unborn are destroyed before they complete the first stage of life that has been given to them by God.

How can we face up to our responsibility for this sin. Biden is wrong in his interpretation of his own role in politics; he  puts himself outside the Body of Christ by his words and public deeds; so why does he bother going to mass let alone to communion?

Dear Lord help me to overcome my sins and let me always act in accordance with your teaching. "Where shall I go? You Lord have the words of eternal life.

 03/10/2021

Darwin's Theory of Evolution certainly put paid to the Garden of Eden. The discussion continues to this day. But did it really tell us that God did not create mankind? The explanation of a mechanism does not deny the reality of its maker. All scientific knowledge is about ways and means; but does it answer the questions it raises about God?

Science tells us that humans are one species. The Bible tells us that we are all made in the "image" and "likeness" of God. Jesus tells us that we can choose to follow him in doing the will of the Father. Be we ever so clever, we are miniscule in the presence of God. We do not come before the Lord to show the greatness of our being. God knows all and is our Father. Humanity has a lot to show in the use of the World's resources but it is less than our offsprings' creations in a sand pit when compared to the ocean. Atomic weapons are an unbelievable use of the power that holds atoms together but nothing to our ever expanding universe.

We have to know that we are as children in the shadow of God, and that our Triune God is ever present in the persons Father Son and Holy Spirit. Today the Mass will be celebrated in the presence of millions of individuals  and those millions who are united in their DNA arising from the Love generated by the Trinity will become united in their communions with the Body of Christ; our Church here on earth united with the Mother of God and all the saints who are bathed in the Glory that we cannot imagine.

Dear Lord I know you care for all without favourites let me commend all the illness in my family to you. Thy will be done. Let all my prayers be directed by the inspiration of You Father Son and Holy Spirit.

 02/10/2021

We are always in the hands of God who knows everything that we think and do. We can receive rewards or punishments according to our deserts. Baruch teaches that there is nothing random about Old Testament disasters; they happen in response to the misdeeds of the chosen people.

Jesus teaches that we have to become as innocent as children to receive the Grace of the Kingdom of Heaven. The disciples receive clear teaching directly from God. The Kingdom of Heaven is God and there the human idea of ranking is not valid. 

We can be sure that if all that we do on earth is in response to the will of God taught by Jesus then we too can be protected by Angels who are blessed to be always with God. They are timelessly aware of and worshiping the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Their eternity touches our time. when we become innocent enough to know of them.

Dear Lord you know how far I have strayed from the Grace of my Baptism let the support of my Guardian Angel defend me from the temptations with which the fallen angel always surrounds me. Your Mother and all the saints continuously keep me before you; let the Angels too come to my aid.

 01/10/2021

Today we receive warnings from the Scriptures both old and new. We remember "litle" St Therese whose short life was full of bodily suffereing but whose soul sang as she walked her "little" way to heaven. 

There was nothing "little" about this Carmelite who fought her way into the convent. She stormed the Vatican. What must the Pope have felt about her breach of protocol? Such a short life but with a devotion that is infinitly greater than that of my 80 some years.

Her "Little way" has inspired many of us but with what distate must she and all the other monastic saints view the shenanigans of the monastries of this day and age. The reforms of her namesake have crumbled when faced by the realities of living with "vows" in the 20th Century. How many of her spiritual descendants could look their "Little" sister in the eye given the state of the order of which she is an adornment.

We have always been warned that we all can crumble and miss the only goal of our lives. Today Jesus is no less harsh than Baruch."Little" St Therese has the soubriquet "of the Child Jesus" but her life was devoted to the Crucified Son of God manifest in Holy Spirit which filled her soul with Love.

Dear God let those words keep me true to the Way the Truth and the Life. Give the strength to know that St Therese in heaven and all the other Saints led by your mother continue to intercede for your weakened Church here on Earth and that it will not fall no matter how shaken by our sinful lives.