30/04/2024

Stoned at Lystra, St Paul is the victim of his own people. The Resurrection appears to the Jews of both Jerusalem and the diaspora as a confidence trick perpetrated by a group of blasphemous, irreligious apostates who have to be killed.

This had also been the attitude of Paul when first we met him as Saul who looked after the garments of the more active stoners of St Stephen. It also became the attitude of the church hierarchy to those who preached a different version of Christianity from what had become the doctrine that they had had revealed to them.

The early Churches of the Fathers had been able to communicate with each other even though they were separated  by hundreds of miles. They were able to organise and attend the great councils where they met face-to-face. A native of Central Anatolia could become a bishop in Lyons. This ease of communication was a result of military road building and dubbed "Pax Romana" but it is not "Pax Christi".

The Peace of Christ is God's gift to each one of us. It does not depend on roads or electronic networks but on our own will to conform to the will of God. It is, however, violently resisted by the Prince of this World. 

Who is the Prince of this World? He is anyone of us who forgets that Jesus reveals the True Life of the Spirit. He is anyone of us who denies God by promoting his own flesh into being the idol that he worships. He is anyone of us who does not recognise his own sin and thank God for his redemption. He is anyone who misleads himself and others into believing that we can build a heaven for all men on this Earth.

Dear Lord, help me to continue to walk in your light as if following you not only as you walked from village to village in Palestine but also as you stumbled bloodstained and derided carrying your cross to Calvary. Help me to let my loved ones also learn that your words are Truth and the Way to the Eternal Life that is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Help us all to know that the wonders of this physical universe are all created by you to show us that even though they pass away your Love never changes but is always the ever-greater being that having opened ourselves to Your Grace, we have no option but to worship. Save us all Lord, Jesus.

 29/04/2024

The message from God delivered in those long ago first days of Salvation and announced to the world by those who had seen the risen Lord, has never changed. We have all been created out of  nothing by the Love that is Father, Son and Holy Spirit and we have to consciously bathe ourselves in that Love so that we can avoid sin.

We can live without fear in this world only if we avoid sin. Only if we follow the completed revelation of the Father, made by the Son and accept our inner voice that is the Holy Spirit can we live this today in union with all of humanity, living and dead. I can become part  of the spiritual body that in the flesh of this world deserted by most of his followers, despised and humiliated, knew and forgave in that moment of death, the sin of us all .

The only words that can justify that moment of intolerable isolation were spoken by Jesus at his Last Supper and are repeated daily in the masses celebrated at altars throughout the world. That is why our priests always have to be righteous and the institution that they serve has to proclaim the Resurrection by word and deed. 

The New Holy Family of Mary and John was also founded on Calvary. This is the Silent Church that is truly not of this World. It is the unseen loving heart of Jesus' foundation. It is the Communion of Saints and will be our sanctuary and salvation until the end of time.

Dear Lord, you  never cease to pour out your loving mercy but I have often ignored the promptings of my conscience and continued in the sin that tore at your flesh on Calvary. May these my morning prayers guided by the Church of Peter truly unite me with the mutual loving kindness that cared for Mary and John even as the intolerable agony of sin strove to break your acceptance of  your unique mission. I pray that I can become pure of heart and that even this sinner can be welcomed into the New Creation at the end of time. Amen. Maranatha, come Lord, Jesus Come.

 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.

 27/04/2024

The preaching of Paul and Barnabas was not accepted by the Jews of Antioch (Isparta) and so they moved on to Iconium ( Konya). Jesus had warned that his message would not be received as good news by everybody, but only by the elect.

I am always worried by "predestination" which could have the meaning that no matter how I strive sincerely to follow the Gospel the result, my eternal reward or punishment, has already been decided by God and I can do nothing about it.

Whenever this topic comes into my mind I have to comfort myself with the truth that Father, Son and Holy Spirit have not given spiritual life to anyone with the intention of inflicting damnation on them. The sin that Jesus saves us from has always been freely chosen by the sinner.

The great community sins that are  dominating our world today. Gaza, Yemen, Haiti, Burma, abortion, homosexuality, gender choice, coverup by bishops are all committed in the first instance by one human person choosing to defy God.

As I write this, the chain of sin that is resulting in another death in Gaza, can only be broken by  individual combatants refusing to obey orders. Jesus sought pardon for his executioners. He had previously told his disciples on their first mission to shake from their feet, the dust of towns that did not listen to the good news; he did not order any other punishment.

Nothing is impossible for God so we all have to implore him to fill the hearts of us all with the wonder that John's Gospel reveals to the whole world. The "Love" that is Father, Son and Holy Spirit has taken on the flesh of Mary to become "God with us", "The Way, the Truth and the Life" and that "Whatever you ask for in my name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask for anything in my name, I will do it."

Dear Lord, Help me know your will for me and do it. Help me to avoid the sin that surrounds me and save me from the snares that I always encounter even as I focus all my being on you. May my prayers be joined to those of Mary and all the saints and let me live out my lifetime with my heart open to your loving mercy, Dear Jesus save me from myself and let your Mercy overpower all the evil that we choose to thus pollute the creation which you Love. Maranatha Lord, Jesus come soon!

 26/04/2024

The majority of those addressed by Paul in the Antioch that is in Central Anatolia are Jews and he makes no allowance for the "Godfearers", the gentiles who had attached themselves to the Synagogue. In fact being known as "Godfearers" implies not only adherence to the Jewish way of life but also knowledge of the scriptures for the two are inseparable.

Paul speaks to them as one people who have been saved by the perfect Sacrifice of the Son which is prefigured by the uncompleted sacrifice offered by their Father Abraham and he refers them to words of the Second Psalm.

This same second psalm is allotted to be the Responsorial Psalm for use in the Roman Liturgy for today. Jesus told us to listen to the Pharisees but "not do as they do". The much corrupted Church that was founded on Peter still has the message of eternal life and a liturgy prepared over centuries by men who were striving to live a life of holiness as did Our Lord.

St Thomas who has completely accepted Jesus as God, "My Lord and my God", still needs empirically rational certitude and points out to God that if he doesn't tell them the destination how can they know the way and so Jesus reveals for all time that "The Way, The Truth and The Life" is its own destination; it is the righteousness that is the never changing Eternity where we can all be part of the New Life that is the Resurrection.

Dear Lord, at this moment I am hoping that I can sincerely atone for my sins and cover myself with your Mercy asking to be forgiven and to resist any form of temptation. Let me live this day in your peace and not become the cause of sin in others. May Mary and the Saints in heaven include me in the prayer that it is to be in your presence and completed in the Love that is the Glory of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Help me by your Grace.

 25/04/2024

My personality has always caved in to those of us who are strong. I have very rarely been able to convince  others of my point of view. In my heart of hearts, however, I know that I was right to refuse last year's invoice from British Gas. I was right but ultimately accepted the power of that great concern. To accept a lie is a mark of my weakness. 

St Peter, who has experienced for himself the difference between weakness and humility, today preaches the humility that is at the heart of the second commandment. His replies, when challenged at the time of Jesus trial, were sinful weakness of which we must all beware in our lives on this earth.

We are all called to bear witness to Father, Son and Holy Spirit by the way we live our lives. We have to remember the self-fulfilled  pride that was the prayer of the Pharisee."Thank God that I am not as other men". He has become in his own eyes the epitome of righteousness and he scorns the publican, the sinner who asks for mercy.

Humility is not weakness. I am weak when I don't maintain the earnest devotion with which I start each day. I remember hearing at an AA meeting 40 years ago that if you think you've got humility, then you can be sure that you don't. 

There is something in my being that cannot be convinced by the overwhelming evidence of my weakness and tells me that I am as good as anybody else in this world. This could be the Lord who tells us that we are all known and loved because that is his nature. The only justifiable pride is to be humble in the Love of the Lord and pray that we all accept his gifts as unconditional displays of his bounty and not as tributes to the being that I am.

Dear Lord, you know how we are able to be blinded by success in this world and addicted to the acquisition of wealth. Help us all to try to come to an understanding of the immensity of the humility you showed in the Incarnation even before the death you underwent on the shame of the cross and then be sincerely thankful for this ultimate example of  human life lived for others. There is nothing that we can do in life that is better than the humble prayer on our knees when we ask for forgiveness and praise You for your Glory

 24/04/2024

As an old man myself, I can appreciate how St John can remember the experience of his youth. I mean by that the Evangelist is still able to recall the fluency of Jesus' discourse. My own memory, of course, does not retain the years that I spent with the Son of God. In fact most of my  memories are of my personal failures to remain true to the revealed Way, the Truth and the Life.

Sinful moments from my past keep on popping up into my consciousness and I have to make an effort of will to disperse them. I cannot recall any of the sermons I have heard. I can remember, however, that I listened more intently to some than to others. St John, of course, is inspired by both  Jesus and his care for Mary.

So, we have to listen to St John as if we were with him and the other Apostles in the warmth of Jesus' love and we have to hang on to the words for they are the Way, the Truth and the Life. They are the reason for me being aware that I have to conform my life to the Law of Moses and to strive after the Poverty, Chastity and Obedience that was displayed by the Church in the first years after the Resurrection, before the destruction of the Temple.

In the reading from the Acts that is appointed to be read by all Christians in the Course for Living that is the Universal Calendar of the Catholic Church we hear how the first Church of Jews and Gentiles is shifting its centre from Jerusalem to Antioch. We shall soon be calling ourselves Christians. 

So much has taken place since those first shoots that sprang up in the Glorious Light that is Christ, Our Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our faith has to grow in the hope that we shall all know the same perfection of love that was known personally  to Mary, Joseph, "his brothers", disciples, the lame, the blind, the possessed, Jews, gentiles, Romans, Pharisees, Scribes Chief priests and all those blessed to be living in Palestine during the human lifetime of our God on earth.

Dear Lord help me to keep focused on you as I go about my life today. May all of us alive today be awakened by the light of your Love. May all sinners come to realise the horror that is sin but also know that you welcome us in our repentance. May we all join our prayers to those of Mary and the saints and pray for the forgiveness your 33 years on earth has bequeathed to all mankind. May my soul find the peace you have prepared for me. I make this prayer in the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Marantha dear Lord, come soon. Amen.