28/04/2024

I have been aware of the importance of religion in my life for getting on for 80 years. I am always being surprised by how much more there is to know than I know now. I did know that St Paul had had problems with the Apostles in Jerusalem but did not know that there had been moves to have him killed. I did not know that the Greek speaking Jews were Jews by descent whose families had returned to Jerusalem generations beforehand. These are the Hellenists who sought to kill Paul in the first reading.

St John finally settled with Mary near Ephesus. It is probable that his surviving writings were distributed from there. There is a constant theme in today's letter and throughout the body of work attributed to him that God is Love and that his purpose in Creation is to reveal the Love that is Father, Son and Holy Spirit and to share it with the whole world.

The image of the vine has always caught the imagination of Christians and those among us who are artistically gifted have reproduced this image on paper and in stone and wood many times throughout history.We are to accept that the richness of the vine that is our community of Faith in Love is maintained by the fecundity of its branches that have to be pruned to remain fruitful. We are not told, however, what is to become of the grapes that are the end product of the fruitful vine.

God cannot be deceived and has told us that we are not to sin. St John tells us that we have nothing to fear if our consciences are clear in the light of God's revelation. I am not to make excuses for my sin. I must not manipulate my conscience in the light of "nowadays" for the sin of Adam is still the sin that ignores Father Son and Holy Spirit and the forgiveness of Calvary but in life focuses on Mammon until that moment when the sinner knows that he is naked in the Light of Truth where there is no place to hide.

Dear Lord, help me to remain in your Love and let me be at peace with you and sinless in this life. You have a place ready for all of us but we have to cooperate with your purpose. You know the difficulties that I can always find in life but help me to not be deceived by what I consider to be my primary purpose. Words pop out from my fingers but only you know how true they are. May My prayers become one with those of Mary and all the saints and the sins of all the living world and those of Purgatory be all forgiven that we can become one with the new creation at the end of time.