30/04/2022

The Apostles decided that their preaching of the Word was more important than looking after the bodily needs of the destitute who had  professed believe. A lot of questions are raised by this. St Paul tells his flock that he has never accepted anything for his mission but has carried on working to provide for his own keep. The Church in Jerusalem has taken the first step in becoming the Institution she is today. We are told that many of the Temple priesthood had chosen to follow Jesus. 

These heredity priests must have continued in the service of the Temple and carried with them the consciouness of being different than the common people. All our priests are faced with this dilemma. They are to be servants in the manner of the washing of feet shown to them by Our Lord and they are to "priests for ever" having received the Sacrament of Holy Orders

Corruption amongst our clergy and hierarchy cannot be denied. Sinfulness of individuals cannot be ignored. We cannot save our Church by reverting to older forms of liturgy and dress. We have to save our Church so that there will be Faith on earth when Jesus returns. Total faith in the Lord, knowing Father Son and Holy Spirit and sincerity in prayer will keep us free from sin for that is what our God wills.

Is it really down to us to save our Church? I feel helpless and alone. "I will be with you till the end of time" are the words on which I rely. Is it possible to be in the Church as founded by the Lord but separated from the institution that has tainted his memory.? Is there really a "Church of Love" based on John and the Marys who remained with Jesus until the end on Calvary.?

Dear Lord you know everything including all time on earth; let me grow in my striving after the way of life you have revealed to all of us through your Apostles and Church. Let your Church become what you intended  it to be and may all your sacraments be confected with the true belief that you are doing the same for us in your eternity. May the prayers of Mary and all your saints bring peace and healing to all suffering souls on earth and in Purgatory.

 29/04/2022

There are some sayings from scripture that have stayed in my mind all of my life "My yoke is easy and my burden is light" is one of those that disturbs me as I cannot avoid sin no matter how hard I try. I need to avoid sin to prove to myself that I can live with God's forgiveness and avoid the burden of a guilty conscience which for me is far from light. How can Jesus say that the horror of calvary and the sins of the world are light for him?

St John tells his readers of so long ago and of all times that to live in the light we must avoid sin and this too has stayed in my mind. "Making God a liar" is something that I have no wish to do but listening to St John's words, I seem to be doing this continuously as even after confession I fall again into sin so easily.

St John tells us that the willing sacrifice of the Son has taken away the sins of the whole world; but I know that  I and the whole world still are unfaithful and continue to sin. Jesus tells us that he has reveaed the Father to us so we are abe to know Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We do not need knowledge and intellect to live our lives in the light of God but we must trust Jesus' "dad" in heaven as the little children he has created us to be.

Dear Lord each day I turn to you and you know that I still am not living in the security that is the result of sinlessness. Forgive me my sins and let the prayers of St Catherine who knew the same Churchly problems that we have today add her prayers to Mary's that the grace of God will be recognised by all ofus who are suffering on earth today.

 28/04/2022

The history of the first days of the Church continues with  the Apostles before the Sanhedrin. Peter's answer to the High Priest is the Truth for all times . "Obedience to God comes before obedience to man". Peter whose faith has been recorded in the Gospels; both his faith and his apalling weakness are recorded, is filled with the Holy Spirit as he answers his accusers. The Church was right then but as she grew and became the political force she was for centuries the conflict between human power and obedience to God was increasingly decided in favour of human politics.

So many failings by the Popes over the centuries are indeed grave sins and huge stumbling blocks confusing the faith of sincere worshippers and losing milllions of souls who were born ready to obey God but lead astray by the weakness of the  Church. Stalin's "How many divisions has the Pope?" signifies the complete ending of Papal Political clout but our Church has inherited "earthly" structure as a human institution and wealth, the preservation of both seems to have become more important than the the mission given by Jesus to distribute the saving grace won on the Cross by the loving humility of our All Powerful God.

John the Baptist's words are also true for all times in that he tells us that even if nobody agrees with us, the words from above are far superior to "earthly" values. We must be true in mind word and deed. Our creator's revelation of himself Father, Son and Holy Spirit can be refused by millions of souls but "Anyone who believes in the Son has eternal life; anyone who refuses to believe in the Son will never see life: the anger of God stays on him.".

Dear Lord I know that I am responsible for my own soul which is free to choose your grace. I have the will to do that but know that I have often failed and put the earthly vices of the flesh into the time that you have given me. The only thing that can keep me alive is the knowledge that your love for sinful humanity includes me and that you know me as I truly am. May Mary and the Saints in Eternity continue their timeless adoration and seek to share the graces that you have given with all the suffering souls here on earth and in Purgatory.

 27/04/2022

Nicodemus has been drawn to the Lord by what he has heard and seen. He is afraid because he knows that the Temple does not approve of this wandering rabbi from Galilee and so comes to Jesus secretly in the night. John's retelling of this event must be from Nicodemus or Jesus himself. Jesus tells Nicodemus directly that the Father sent the Son to enable humanity to be saved from its sinful nature and to live in the light of God.The words he heard that night must have stayed with Nicodemus for he it is who helps with the burial of Jesus' corpse. 

The disciples had been dispersed by the crucifixion but brought back together in witnessing the risen Lord and filled with the Holy Spirit to have the power to preach even in the Temple itself. The people who listened to them must have been convinced of the truth that they told as the Sanhedrin was afraid to move in public against them in the Temple.

Jesus told Nicodemus that in this world we have to believe to be able to share in the eternal life of God. Our lives do not end with death. Jesus has shown us the way to live in the light of the Love of Father, Son and Holy Spirit but there were many then who preferred the darkness of evil. 

In today's world,  Jesus' words seem to have been reversed for it is evil that boasts and flourishes in the light and the good that has it head down. I have not made the efforts that I could to bear public witness to God's truth and although I record these thoughts and prayers I am too nervous of criticism to really publish them out loud.

Dear Lord let me always be ready to receive your grace and to do your will in this world. Let me not be afraid and have the courage to challenge the lies that this world abounds in. Please show me the way and let evil be rebutted. Let my prayers for the sick and suffering join those of Mary and all the saints and may the Holy Spirit calm the inward turmoil in which many of us live.

 26/04/2022

The Christian warrior whose feast day has been transferred to today, has been given the name St George. I remember that when the calendar of saints was reviewed and renewed some 50 years ago there was a great public outcry that the authenticity of the patron saint of England was questioned. This outcry came mainly from those who neither then or now believe in God.

John's vision of God's timeless universe continues with a proclamation that evil has been defeated. We all know that evil is still with us in our hearts, in our neghbourhoods, in our nation. Men "marry" men, bodies are adapted by whim; babies are forcibly removed from wombs. God looked on his creation and saw that it was good, but not good enough for modern man who knows better than our Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The early church was prepared to be hated by political authorities and the pagans amongst whom they lived. The Church today is despised for the deceptions perpertrated by the prelates and clergy over the centuries and particularly today as this device I am using means it is hard to conceal anything.

John's message to Christians of all time is that  we must not falter in our faith in God but always stand up for the Truth as revealed to us in Holy Scripture. We are to be judged by God and not by "likes" in social media.

Dear Lord how can you continue with your love for sinful man? My own sins mock your passion and cruel death. Our world to which your Church seems to have subjugated itself is monstrous in its deeds and in its standards. Let my thoughts, words and deeds be worthy of the salvation you have won for us and let the prayers of Mary and all the saints begin to bring about the changes for the better that this earth is so greatly in need of.

 25/04/2022

The scriptures that are read at mass everyday are the true record of God's revelations to mankind. That is why we read them. St Mark tells us that Jesus gave his Apostles the mission of spreading his Good News to the whole world. I wonder how many of the "signs" of believers are to be seen this morning around the world. We all know that with  a few clicks  of the mouse we can be anywhere in the world and without moving I can find out what the weather is like in any place on earth. Will anybody today  be reporting the handling of snakes, drinking deadly poison, speaking with tongues?

I had never before thought of the Epistles read at mass as being real letters. I treated them as general instructions to the early Church. Today I realized that St Peter is writing to his friends. He is a real man and so are the recipients  with friends in common. They are personal messages which today would be via Twitter or Instagram. Paper has stood the test of time and these ancient "e-mails" are still with us and their messages are still true guidance for all the peoples of the World.

I do not know of any of the letters that have been preserved in the canons of scriptures that speak of the signs as recorded by St Mark. I have no doubts about  "Whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven", I welcome the mercy that comes to us through the Sacraments of the Church but am I ready to try drinking "Domestos"?  Is this lack of faith or normal self-preservation?

Dear Lord I know the sins that I have committed and relive the shame when I remember them. I know my sins but only you can judge my faith, hope and charity. Father, Son and Holy Spirit strengthen my resolve to worship you from the deepest part of my being and let all my deeds be done in the knowledge of your presence. May Mary and all the saints add my intentions to theirs as we come together in praise of your glory.

 24/04/2022

The acts of the apostles begin in the Temple. They meet everyday and many listen but are afraid to join them. The sick  are brought in the hope that being in the presence of the Apostles will bring them to health. 

John has witnessed most of the events of Jesus public life. He, faithfully following the commands of the dying Jesus, has cared for Mary as if she were his own mother and he has been tortured and exiled for his Faith. 

His vision begins with the command to record it all. What we read is the result of this command. It is very diffficult for us to know the meaning of all the otherworldly sights and symbols John does see; just as it is difficult to understand other Old Testament similarly prophetic experiences.

John's eye-witness account of Jesus appearances in their midst in the upper room is also beyond my understanding. This is not a vision, which could take place in the consciousness of the visionary and be unobserved by others. Jesus is a body; he is the same body that had been laid in the tomb transformed to another level of being. St Thomas touches and feels the wounds that had been received so painfully to bring the grace of salvation to us all. We do not need to see but we do need to believe. Jesus blesses us for Faith; he knows the limits of our understanding.

The resurrected Jesus, his life and death,  the Acts of the Apostles, the mystical visions of John, the Good News, all are from Father, Son and Holy Spirit with the loving purpose of enabling us to use our freedom to live lives pleasing to the Lord of All and to found his Church to administer his sacramental grace here on earth. 

Dear Lord let my soul be filled with love for you with all the sins driven out. Fill your priests with the holiness you breathed on your Apostles and let us the sheep feel confident in our pastors. May Mary and all the saints please help those in my family and in all the world who need curing and comfort..

 23/04/2023

John and Paul are able to respond verbally to the accusations of the Temple authorities. They were not overawed by either the rank of their interrogators or the location in the Temple. On the contrary the rulers, elders and scribes were nonplussed by the authority displayed by the uneducated fishermen. Their main problem however is that they too were filled with awe at the miracle that cured the man, who was well-known to them. Their professional minds, however, could not adjust to this new happening, the Good News, and so they conferred/conspired with each other how they could keep control of the situation.

Their "damage-limitation" strategy could come up with nothing better than a warning to stop proclaiming this "Good News" which was, in fact, the result of their crucifying the "Name" that was the object of their ban. The elders, scribes and teachers were probably a mixture of the sincere and cynical and when faced with a problem that forced them to truly open themselves to the Word, Father Son and Holy Ghost they chose to protect the Temple, the institutional Church in which they served.

In our times 2022 the same attitude is more than evident in the Priests, Scribes and Eders who claim to serve the institution that waas given to us by our God to strengthen our resolve to live according to his will as revealed through the prophets and especially though himself as Son and humanity from Mary.

Dear Lord you founded our Church to be your physical presence on earth and the source of Sacramental Life. Please do not abandon us to the whims of the Godless who blasphemously "go through the motions of Priesthood, but in their morality provide us only with lies and scandals. Let my heart be true to your revelations and personal teaching during your time on earth. May Mary and all the sinless souls, the saints, of Heaven share with us the superabundance of Holiness which is the Glory of Eternity and let us too share like the Sidonian woman in the scraps that fall from your heavenly banquet.

 22/04/2022

I have always wondered what "in the name of Jesus" means. Two or three are gathered "in my name".Today it is "by the name of Jesus" that the cripple walked. I know that "Jesus" is not a magic word. There is something greater than "magic" here. I can explain it to myself by thinking that "the name of Jesus" must mean the "being of Jesus", true man and true God, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father. One Substance, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. One God. Nevertheless each time I see "in the name of Jesus" I have to question myself anew.

Peter speaking before the High Priests is the same man who previously three times denied knowing our Lord . He proclaims the Resurrection and tells all then present and us todaythat  Jesus is the only "name" by which we can be saved. Again I wonder what  "name"is.

St John's account of the third self revelation of Jesus is a return for the fishermen of Galilee. They have their livings to earn and no Jesus to guide them. They can't even catch anything but on the shore there is a fire and somebody cooking fish. They see the Lord but do not recognise him. Then John has his eyes opened and reveals the Lord to Peter, the foundation stone chosen by Jesus to be the Church, his "name" on earth. 

Dear Lord it is my hope to be able to see clearly your will for me and for all mankind. Your love for your creation and for me cannot be doubted in the light of your thirty three years on earth followed by your Resurrection. I, an undeserving sinner, lacking in uderstanding, hope to learn the faith in "your name" that is the only way to Faith and Love. May the saints and Mary intercede for all the suffering souls on eath and in Purgatory

 21/04/2022

The miracle in the entryway to the Temple was witnessed and later attested to by Jesus' own people. Peter makes it quite clear the "cripple in the portico" was a well known figure in Jerusalem. The miracle occurred through the power of Jesus and was being witnessed by the same Jews who had bayed for his death.

This time Peter is true to the Lord and, as the leader of the infant Church, is righteous in his behaviour. We can be sure that the ones converted were sincere in their regrets at their sin of, as a mob, demanding the death of the already tortured Jesus. The very public death of the Lord had been witnessed by many in the crowd witnessing Peter's proclamation of the Resurrection and showing the power of God by the curing of the cripple. Some of them would be part of the five hundred to whom Jesus showed himself .

Jesus is again bodily present with the disciples and confirms that he has substantial being to be recognised by our senses. He is not a spiritual entity, a ghost, but has a fully human body although it is not contained by the rules of the physics of this world. His body and soul exist in the Eternity that we call heaven, There he is truly head of the Church and adored by his mother, who now shares the body that she carried on earth, and the souls of the saints who have lived their lives on earth in accordance to the will of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Dear Lord let me be true to the message preserved by your Apostles and Evangelists. Let me be faithful in thoughts word and deed and let me end my life in secure Faith Hope and Charity. May Mary and all the saints continue in their support of the suffering innocent ones on this earth and look with kindness on my sick relatives and all the peoples of this world.

 20/04/2022

Everybody knew what had happened in Jerusalem. Jesus the Nazarene had been betrayed by the relgion which had always been favoured by God. The disciples then listened to their "companion's" detailing of the prefiguring in scriptures that showed that the Messiah would have to suffer to complete the will of God. Their hearts burned but then there was no companion. Recognition/ Departure is the theme of the first New Testament accounts of the Risen Lord. 

The first miracle in the Temple can be seen as the work of God through his infant Church. Peter is the chosen leader of the "institution to be"characterised mainly by its failings when the chips were down.John  together with the Marys returned the Love of God with as much ardour as is possible for a human being.

Peter (authority) has grown the Church to the extent that "Church" means the institution that is more human than divine and works to protect itself more than to lead us in the Worship that continues the Temple, the place of God in this world. John and Mary, the Church that is in the hearts of men still burns there. When asked about this the risen Lord, Father Son and Holy Spirit warned Peter "What is it to you?"

Dear Lord my soul is not calm with the Faith that you have revealed. I will myself to search out for the Hope. The Love is weak; not the force that filled the Early Church. Let my awareness of sinful clergy and prelates not block out the glimpses of goodness I know are in the Institution. May Mary the sinless continue to lead all the Saints and I pray that all the suffering ones known and alone will be bathed in the Mercy that flows out of your side.

 19/04/2022

I have been away from home during the Easter period and now want to make up for that absence. I wasn't absent in thought though and each day tried to recall what the events celebrated at Easter mean to me.

The resurrected Jesus is not recognised at first sight. He reveals himself to the ones he chooses. Thomas who wasn't chosen refuses to believe the testimony of his fellow disciples. Jesus is able to say "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet still believe". There are far more of us in this category than there are eye-witnesses but we can be sure that they have recorded  the truth that was revealed to them.

All the disciples except John and the three Mary's got out of the way when it seemed that all was lost. Jesus forgave them by his choosing of them to be witnesses of his Resurrection and to spread the Good News. 

The Holy Spirit was evident among the new converts of the Temple. I have been baptised but have never been aware of Holy Spirit working in me. These thoughts and prayers come from somewhere and if I have been chosen they are the work of the Holy Spirit for not one of us can achieve salvation and the sight of the Risen One by his own efforts.

Dear Lord you know my sinfulness let me gain the forgiveness that comes from Father, Son and Holy Spirit through the Passion and Resurrection. May Mary and all the saints support all the suffering ones of this world and in purgutory where deserved punishment wipes away all guilt.

 14/04/2022

Our Lord tells us that we have to serve each other as he served the world. From St. Paul's letter we can understand how integral to the religion given to us by Jesus is the Mass. It is the sacrament created for us by Father, Son and Holy Spirit even before the death and resurrection that it is. This last meal of Jesus before the Passion is not any ordinary meal as he enjoyed with sinners in Galilee but the first Mass of ordination whereby the twelve were ordained into the new priesthood to replace the Temple that would soon be reduced to rubble.

Dear Lord, we need the Holy Spirit more than ever before as your created new priesthood crumbles into the dust, Let all priests who say this Mass both in cathedrals and churches be renewed by their presence with you at this memorial and let their service be a true reflection of the life you lived for the salvation of all men. Dear Lord save thy people who are truly the lost sheep looking for a shepherd. Maranatha.

 13/04/2022

Jesus knows that he must be betrayed. He knows that the will he shares with the Father and Holy Spirit can only be fulfilled by his acceptance of his having to  face up to the power of Satan and becoming a willing sacrifice. Jesus is a complete man and has to control his human emotions and fears. I don't think that God (himself) limited Jesus' human will, other than begetting him without sin, in any way. The man Jesus is as Adam should have been walking with God in the garden.

I cannot know the ways of God. Who can understand the complexity of human life in this moment that I am living? The wonders of creation are real and I also know that my being is real. The event of the  Incarnation really happened, the Nativity, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection are  historical events in the same reality that Augustus and Tiberius were emperors;  the Child was immediately attacked by Satan working through Herod; Jesus grew and began his mission; he was immediately attacked by Satan in the desert and now at the end of his life he is sujected to an assault by Satan on his mind and body in the garden and on the hill.

God Father, Son and Holy Spirit are real and not the product of some human thinking. The revelations of Scripture are true and for our guidance. Our prayers are pleasing to God. Our moral code is a command of God. God is totally aware of everything, human, animal and insentient and allows humans to make use of the physical matter of all his creation. The work of Satan in our beings,sin,is abhorrent to him. Jesus has won salvation which he bestows on us as Grace, a free gift but our human freedom has to accept it for what it is; God's love for each one of us, even of Judas.

Dear Lord you know what is truly necessary for me; let me cooperate with your will and by accepting true guidance come to know you in the Glory that is your Eternity. May the prayers of Mary and all the saints bring about peace to all the wordly conflicts that destroy so many innocent victims along with the guilty and may my family members face up to the illnesses with which they are afflicteed and come to a realisation that there is nothing greater than you.

 12/04/2022

As is Isaiah, I too am despondent and worried by the state of God's Church. So many of us no longer believe in Father, Son or Holy Spirit. I cannot avoid keeping in mind the derelictions of holiness displayed by the  Church instituted so long ago. Israel has returned to the Promised Land and immediattely perpertrated injustices against the people living there. Few of the people of Israel are belivers in the God of their ancestors.

Faith is what God wills for us and I hope that we too will open our hearts to find that "all along my cause was with the Lord"so that "salvation will reach to the ends of the earth".

John's account of the last days of Jesus continues with the the last meal that Jesus shared before the Crucifixion. Jesus knows what is to happen on this night and morning; he knows what horrors await him and is troubled by this. He knows but is human and so is fearful at the thought. " At that moment Satan entered into him" sounds as if this was "spur of the moment" temptation but we know that Judas had already approached the temple authorities, offering a betrayal of his Rabi. 

Jesus tells the remaining Apostles that the will of the Father will be manifest shortly; that the Glory of Father, Son and Holy Spirit will blaze forth and that  Jesus  will be there alone. Peter as usual gets it wrong and promises a commitment that is beyond him. The words and life of Jesus have to be pondered if we are to come close to the understanding of them. Only Mary on this earth has achieved that for she too was the sinless chosen one of  God.

Dear Lord let my understanding support my faith as the prayers of Mary and all the Saints support your people as we struggle through the bleakness that surrounds us all here on Earth.We do expect to see your Glory. Could it be sooner rather than later; but thy will be done here as it is in Eternity.

 11/04/2022

I have always been embarrassed by Mary drying the feet of  Jesus with her hair. St John's account of the events commerated during Holy Week are different in many details from the other Evangelists. The important difference is in the timing which has occupied the minds of many scholars for centuries. Some have attributed the differences to the theological threads which can be followed in John, he still bears the title Theologian. 

The jar of costly nard is used by John to introduce the treachery of Judas, who is annoyed by the waste of money,as being premeditated.  Judas hypocritically attributes his annoyance to wishing to have used the money that could have been raised from its sale, to help the poor. It seems that poor Judas was a money-lover. Jesus' rebuke is still difficult to fathom. Is it a warning that we cannot hope by political means to bring about a human society in which there is equality of economic wealth ? We can be certain that it  does not mean that we should ignore the poor.

The reading from Isaiah is certainly a pre-figuring of the sufferings that Jesus has to undergo. The drying of the annointed feet with her hair is a unique event that is not recorded anywhere in the literature of the time outside the Gospels of John and Luke. The event was witnessed by the crowd of Jerusalemites who had followed the disciples to get a glimpse of both Jesus and Lazarus who had been raised from the dead.

Dear Lord let me come straight to you following the way of your graces. Let me know the essence and message  of the moments you spent on earth, Father Son and Holy Spirit in form of Man. Let me live life as you would have me live it in the avoidance of sin and with goodwill to all. May your mother and all the saints you have faithfully followed your ways on earth add their prayers to mine to help the sick and afflicted  in my family and in all the world.

 10/04/2022

Jesus is outside of Jerusalem looking at the Holy City. He is preparing for the must important event of History. The disciples are to find the colt and requisition it, for today Jesus is to be treated as a king. He is surrounded by a great crowd of disciples who believe that the miracles and the teachings will be manifest in some great way in Jerusalem. Will his power to do miracles result in the expulsion of the Romans and their supporters?

Jesus does not mount the ass but is lifted onto the garments that have been placed on its back as a saddle . Others of the crowd place their garments on the ground for Jesus to be carried over them. All this is an ancient, middle-eastern way of honouring a monarch. Thus mounted Jesus enters the Holy City to acclamations and waving of palm branches.

There were some pharisees in the welcoming throng and they did voice their displeasure at some of the cries of the crowd but there were more in the city plotting with the high priests how to contain the enthusiasms of the pilgrims who were arriving from Galilee.

All these happenings were known to our God in the person of Jesus as he sat on the donkey in human time 2000 years ago. The hymn from the Phillipians is a meditation on the greatness and the complete humility shown by Father, Son and Holy Spirit to create the mercy that is still here for all of us. It is a hymn one of the most ancient New Testament texts and is thus a reflecton of how quickly the disciples were able to have an understnding of the events they had witnessed and recorded.

Dear Lord I can return only a miniscule fragment of the Love you have shown to all mankind. Of course all this is known to you and these words are for my benefit to remind myself to stay true to thoughts, feelings and deeds that are pleasing to you. May Our Lady who experienced the momentous events of Holy Week with pain and suffering lead all the saints to pray for those who today are suffering in a way that I can't imagine.

 09/04/2022

John tells us that the crucifixion of Jesus was not off the cuff but well prepared for by the the Chief Priests. "It is bettter for one man to die for the people" is still remembered and quoted to this day. Jesus the Nazarene was also the subject of gossip and rumour in the market- places and streets of Jerusalem. 

Was there anybody who had not heard that the Lazarus who had been dead and buried for four days had walked from his tomb still wrapped in his burial cloths at the behest of this man? Would he show up in the Temple on the most important days of their Jewish calendar? Were the words of scripture about to be repeated again and would a Son of David come to rule them? Would a new Moses sent by God lead them back to their freedom from Gentile rule?

The leaders of the Temple who knew, in their closeness to the political power of Herod and the representative of the Emperor in distant Rome, that the happenings of the days of the Maccabees could be repeated if there was even a hint of rebellion, claimed to be acting in the interests of their Jewish nation to save them from the results of rebellion. The High Priests are also human and were probably wise according to the wisdom of the world. Father Son and Holy Spirit know that the happenings in Jerusalem are necessary for the sins of the world to be be forgiven and in the Gospels the record of this forgiveness has been preserved.

We can read these remembrances of true events and wonder about the ways of our God for everything that happens in our world is the result of our freedom which we have to live out within the bounds prescibed by our heavenly Father, the "Dad" of Jesus and ours too.

Dear Lord nothing that we do or say or even think is unknown to you. You have created us to share in the Love that you are.Help me this day to reflect this love and  to bring pain to no-one. May Mary and all the saints keep my family in their prayers.Let faith hope and charity be my mainstays this day and as my time runs out help me to be true to you, my Lord and my God.

 08/04/2022

The Old and the New Testaments Mass Readings are presented to us by the Church as a record of the continuity of God's revelation of himself to all mankind. The persecution of Jeremiah can easily be linked to the treatment Jesus received in the Temple. Jeremiah's warnings of the inevitable results of the disolute living then current were totally disregarded."Denounce him, let us denounce him" was the cry of his "friends". Jesus too was to hear the crowd baying for his death.

There is an "Old" and a "New" testament and covenant. An integral part of Jeremiah's prayer is a wish for vengeance; for his enemies to be punished in a way that he can enjoy their downfall. Jesus' "turn the other cheek", "Father forgive them; they know not what they do"is a  total break with "an eye for an eye" and is seriously the most difficult thing that God asks of us.

Jesus brings God's mercy to all of us but we have to do our part. We need to know Father Son and Holy Spirit to worship our creator, saviour and inspiration and base all our deeds on Jesus ' own and thus avoid sin which only brings death

Dear Lord let all my being, body mind and soul, be guided by your Truth. Let me live sinlessly that I might bear witness to you at any time you choose to ask this of me. May Mary your mother who pondered your revelations in her heart add her prayers to mine that by your grace the suffering of the innocents will be reduced in this world and be compensated by your presence in the new life of eternity.

 07/04/2020

The unresponsive ones seem to be the majority of those listening to Jesus and they are enraged and frustrated by his words. Yet again the Son of God avoids those who wish to do him harm not by any attack but by hiding himself. The frustration and anger is aroused by this young man from Galilee by his words "Before Abraham was, I am". He could not be clearer than this in revealing his divinity. "I am" is how God revealed himself to Moses and for the scripture scholars, the priests and rabis these words were the height of blasphemy. Jesus must be out of his mind, a complete nucase!

The first reading is the covenant with Abraham; the eternal contract, the eternal promise  by God to care for the people who care for him. First to the Jews and then to the whole world. Belief in Jesus and in the new covenant which is within the Church, "I will be with you even to the end of time"is our guarantee that no matter how corrupt and unholy we find the institutional Church to be, Jesus, Father Son and Holy Spirit has not deserted us even if some of us "spit in his face" and mock his sufferings.

Dear Lord as we get closer to "your time" let us pray with sincerity of heart and mind and with true repentance for the sins which have resulted in the horror that was perpetrated in and outside the walls of your Holy City. You allowed your human body to be broken and overcome by death that we may come to know the eternity which touched earth at your resurrection. May the prayers of Mary and the saints in heven continue to support our broken ones still suffering on this earth today.

 06/04/2022

Today the readings begin with a prayer for compassion and acceptance of our penance which leads us to devotion. Devotion is what I strive after but I am still missing the mark as I am full of the "self" that shuts out God. As I lie in my bed I try to pray but I am soon drifting off into some reverie of past or imagined sins. 

The main readings today both contain dialogues about God. The king who thinks he has all worldly power, for the world tells him so, is confronted by open rebellion that is based on a belief that God is "ever-greater". Jesus continues to explain to the Jews that he is "Truth", true liberty,  but his listeners are convinced that they have no need to be made free; they are descendants of Abraham and inheritors of a Covenant.Jesus tells them their inner wishes and that they only desire to kill him. Jesus tells them that "sin" is slavery but openenss to the Word, to God makes us free as only living with God can make us.

Nebucadnezzar is shocked by the reports of the happenings at the place of torture and amazed to see a fourth figure also surrounded by the flames and he makes praise to the God who has saved His holy ones.

Jesus' will is totally at one with the Father's and so he can say "I came not because I chose but because I was sent by him". His choice is  agony, torture and death as a "true man" to lead sinful man to the Way, the Truth and the Life of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Dear Lord your words are Truth and they are Life let me sincerely clear my soul of sin and understand that you have saved us and forgiven our sins even though I/we continue to block out the graces that you have so freelly offered to all mankind. May Mary and all the saints continue to offer their prayers for all sinners and provide comfort to the sick and the dying here on earth and to the suffering Holy Souls awaiting final forgiveness.

 05/04.2022

Jesus continued talking to Pharisees and others in the Temple. God told Moses that "I am" and Jesus tells his listeners that "He is". He tells them that they will die in their sins if they do not believe that he is God.

I can realise that he is saying this because I have lived in this world always knowing that Jesus the Son is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit but what must it have been like for those listeners who knew this man as a carpenter from Galilee; uneducated, a poor man who had the temerity to stand in God's Temple and reprimand God's priests and scholars.

I can imagine the scene in the Temple but the raising up of the image of a serpent to cure snake-bite is a beyond me. The "raising up" does lead us to Jesus' own words "When you have lifted me up you will come to know" but did anyone there , including John, know that he was referring to the crucifixion. Why is it then that hearing these words many came to believe in him? What did they come to believe? 

Dear Lord that you are Father Son and Holy Spirit; that God is; is the centre  on which our faith is based. Let this faith increase together with the hope and charity we need to practise it. Let your ministers protect and increase their charges by sincere piety and selfless love. May Mary and all the saints pray for us especially those who are innocent and yet suffer in this world.

 04/04/ 2022

The story of Susannah is not accepted as a God's revelation by all who use the Old Testament. Biblical scholars are able to date the composition to the second century before the birth of our Lord although the events belong to the time of the  Babylonian captivity. Reading scripture becomes extrememly difficult even without the difficulties that the mind gets clustered with when considering text and historical details.

The story's core is a revelation and warning for us and our leaders. Accusation of sin in others is to be well avoided especially by leaders who have in their arrogance ignored the teaching of Christ and misled their charges. The cry " I am innocent of this man's death" is not heard at Jesus trial.  "Crucify him, crucify him" is the voice of the people. He was deserted by all even those who shortly before, had been jostling for a position in his Kingdom. 

Pilate is the one who cannot see the guilt attributed to Jesus by his accusers but he was the only one who could give a lawful sentence of death. Pilate judged by human standards but the High Priests who were the keeper of the Law, the examplar of God's revelation to his people pressured him, again by human standards "No friend of Caesar!" to give the verdict that their jealousy and malice demanded.

In the trial that we will all undergo we can be sure that the verdict will be perfect in Justice, Love and Mercy for it is Father, Son and Holy Spirit who examines us. We can only influence that verdict by being in our lives  true to the Word that is Jesus, our perfect teacher and redeemer,

Dear Lord help me to be ready for my death and judgement. Let my thoughts and words and deeds be without sin and responsive to "the one who sent you". May Mary and all you saints continue to obtain graces for us thy children on earth and for the Holy Souls still waiting for your mercy.

 03/04/2022

Our Christianity depends solely on the person of Jesus. Jesus during his time on earth taught his disciples the message of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He was then on earth true God and true man . He walked through Palestine giving evidence of his holiness. He is the Resurrection and the Life and is the Eternal being in which we can all share; it is the will of God that after experiencing life on earth we will come to see God's Glory as he really is. 

Lazarus is not resurrected in the way that Jesus is. Lazarus was dead and Jesus brought him back to this life. Lazarus' tomb can still be seen in Cyprus. He died again. Jesus is resurrected into the New Life that he distributes to all his people and to guide and help us to be true to his message of Love he has left us the Church in which can be found sacraments which convey to us the body and blood that was  God and man walking, teaching suffering and dying long ago in Palestine.

As Easter approaches I am praying for the sincerity that is all I can offer to my Lord; that my will be truly aligned with his and that I am ready to do penance for all my sins.

Dear Lord you know that I am making efforts to know your will; you also know that my heart is not yet pure and that unloving thoughts are often in my mind and unkind words on my lips. May Mary and all the Saints continue to support your people on earth and place those of mine who are all known to you in your special care.

 02/04/2022

Nicodemus is blamed with listening to the words of Jesus simply because he pointed out the need for Authority to follow its own rules. The Temple guards who are reporting on the disturbance to the Chief Priests are most definitely impressed by Jesus'words to the extent that they indirectly criticize their bosses by insisting that they have never heard words spoken so convincingly.

The Leaders will not listen to the report or to one of their own who only reminds them of their own rules. Their minds are closed to anything other than a condemnation of this Nazarene from Galilee that hotchpotch of Jews Samaritans and Pagans. We are one up here for we know that Jesus is indeed Mary's Son who is of David's line and born in Bethlehem, although in a cattle shelter.

Can we condemn the priests and temple authorities for their iron-necked opposition to God; to Jesus, Father Son and Holy Spirit? They were well versed in scriptures; they knew the "suffering sevant" songs and God had supported them for centuries. Now they refuse to believe even the physical miracles worked by Jesus. God has given us all freedom to decide within the constraints of the 10 Commandments. The continuing persecution of Jesus was based on their interepretation of the Law which Jesus was bringing to fulfillment.

 His are the only words for us and them. "God forgive them for they know not what they do".

Dear Lord we know that you know everything and are all poweful and we but sinful men. We all ask ourselves why it is that evil still exists in our world when Salvation has been won for us. We find it hard to keep on facing this same problem. Let my heart and mind be open to all that you teach us through your Life on Earth and hear our prayers together with your Mother's and all the Saints' that all men might be saved and come to the Eternity that is your promise to us.

 31/03/2022

Moses is faced by an incredible sight when he returns to the camp. For some reason the people have  decided to make their own "god". How can it be that those who received the Word of God through Moses felt that they were lacking a divine protector? God is ready to accept this challenge to his Glory and will confer his blessing only on Moses and his descendants. Moses pleads on behalf of the the degenerates his people are showing themselves to be; he is answered by the Love of God.

Jesus as remembered and written by John can tell us more about our place with God in his Creation. His listeners have studied the Scriptures. They know the history of their ancestors. They are familiar with the cycles of righteousnes followed by backsliding, punishment, remorse and forgiveness but have not yet learnt to love God in their hearts.

It is good to hear his words today. It is good to ponder them in our hearts. They are addressed to Jews, God's favoured ones to whom he has revealed himself, by Jesus a Jew in his humanity but before the touch of eternity that shatters historical continuity. We have even more to ponder for we are living after the Cross and Resurrection. We know that Jesus' words are uttered by Father, Son and Holy Spirit and that they really do bring life.

Dear Lord send your Holy Spirit into the hearts of all your people so that by pondering your Way Truth and Life we will be able to withstand the temptations that surround us all in Godless societies. Evil is being done everywhere as I write this. Forgive us so that You become our only goal on earth that we may behold your revelation in the world to come.

 01/04/2022

The passage from Wisdom was written long ago but it is still true today. Skipping through the internet there are to be found many sites where virtue is condemned, where true comments are scorned and the makers of those comments vilified. There are many sites where the bloggers and commentators praise themselves for having "come out" claiming that their sinfulness is not condemned by God.These sites are all alike in that one man/woman writes them as if they are the only opinion in the world.

I too am one man writing this. I am writing so that I have a remembrance of my prayer; not to praise myself and leave a record of me behind. I am trying to turn my life to God and to avoid the sin that crucifies my Saviour and offends the Holiness that is Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 

Jesus went back to Jerusalem alone. He was not with the disciples but  still taught in the Temple, where he was recognised. The Rabi from Nazareth. In front of many listeners/witnesses echoing their thoughts and words, he proclaimed himself to be "sent by God", "the Messiah". Jesus shouted this out but he was not taken by the guards. His time had not yet come. The Father was not yet ready to accept in our time  that sacrifice made in the eternity of Father Son and Holy Spirit.

Dear Lord, let me be true to you and to your will for humanity. This prayer is me in my secret room trying to do what you have shown to be the way to holiness. There is nothing that I need except your love for all sinners to show the way to Mercy that will modify your perfect Justice. May Mary and all the saints support thy children who today are directly attacked by Satan and his human agents.