15/01/2022

Was Saul chosen to be king because he looked like one? His appearance is important enough for it to be recorded. Jesus' looks are never commented on although all the subsequent potrayals show him as a strikingly good looking young man.

Does it matter? Well, human beauty has to be a pale reflection of the glory of God. Our first impressions of a person are always of his/her face and body. The women of the middle-east both Jew and Gentile rarely appeared unveiled.

Our modern attitude to this veiling of women is that it is a form of subjugation forced upon females by the males of society. Those who accept the practice see it as a reservation of a woman's beauty for the eyes of her family only, as all men are easily tempted into sexual desire.

Sexual desire is the great tempter. This is still known and made use of by the entertainment industry and by advertisers in all cultures. Many of our clergy have been destroyed by desire which has been slaked by abuse of the innocent and covered up by their power as priests. Sexual desire can be mutual but even in marriage the desire is in the person of the  one feeling it for we are all an entire single person created by God.

Jesus is here to fill us with the Holy Spirit for it is the will of the Father that sinners have to be saved from the great temptions of wealth power and desire.

Dear Lord save us from the occasion of sin and let us not be captivated by the hedonistic values of our sinful world So many of our leaders and priests gifted by you have lost their calling to the power of lust. May Our Lady and the saints plead that we may be protected from human desire so that we may know ourselves and ultimately look at you without shame.