Today's first reading is a prayer. God is praised and acknowledged to be all powerful. The writer is convinced of God's greatness and asks for signs and portents of that greatness to inspire the rest of mankind. Later in the Gospels Jesus will answer that prayer. "The Sign of Jonah"

Today's gospel has the the disciples walking "in a daze" behind the Lord. They have had an overload of revelation and seem to have not yet understood the point of Jesus' mission. For James and John, Jesus is still going to restore the kingdom of Israel and they request places of honour. Jesus' answer is his awareness of what is to be but he is not explicit in his reply. Jesus is sometimes annoyed with his followers "get thee behind me Satan" and chastises them. Jesus is always conscious of his being "True God and true man". The disciples see the man and understand him as such. The Crucifixion and Resurrection are going to change all that. 

Dear Lord let me be aware of my sins and learn how to avoid them. Let me know that "amazed" is the right way to be when trying to approach you. Let seekers after office in your Church take note of Jesus' reply and learn to rely on the Holy Spirit.

 Today's feast of The Venerable St. Bede takes us into England many miles from where Jesus walked . However he lived the life of The Church as she had developed for the 600 years since her foundation. he followed the rule of St Benedict and grew to be renowned for his learning. The same resurrection faith that had taken St Pail on his missionary journeys had not changed and St Paul would have been at home with the liturgy and office of the monks of Jarrow. We today are 1500 years from St Bede and still strive to follow his example and the teaching brought from distant Palestine to these islands.

Dear Lord inspire with your Eucharist the followers of St Benedict whose commitment to their own founder and whose vows to you have, lamentably, been shown to  be lacking in these days. Inspire them to holiness so that we the laymen of your church may find in them  guidance to the Way, Truth and Life.

The salt has lost its savour. Was Jesus speaking to us directly about the situation that is present in St Bede's own land and the adjacent island. It is hard to believe that corrupted priests are truly able to continue to receive the Grace to confect with Jesus the blessed sacrament especially when they then distribute God's Body to those they know not to be in the state of Grace required to receive You. The salt has lost its savour. The Religious Orders in this land have vows of poverty but huge riches in buildings bank accounts and travel.

Dear Lord let your words refresh "the salt  of the earth" and let not your bishops hide corruption under their bushels; let them not pander to "modern" sensibilities but preach your Truth as revealed through the scriptures. Preserve me too in the salt of your grace and let not my anger blind me to my need of your mercy. May our end times still have the Faith to welcome You.

 The very first days after the Ascension were days of loss and fear as they had been after the Crucifixion. However, Jesus had confirmed that his kingdom was not of this world and that his was a spiritual kingdom where the important thing was to worship and know the Father. At this time the disciples were still Jewish by faith and the new Church was to them as wonderous  as the new life of the Resurrection. Jesus had told them that they would have to make judgements about others' sins but they knew that only God could forgive sins. We are not told what was Mary's reaction to these events which had resulted from her "Yes" to God's messenger but she was at the heart of the church that was formed of he group of women and St John who stood at the foot of the cross.

Dear Lord, when I try to think of what you do in creating the world and showing your love for the human race I know that it is hopeless for me to try to create a meaningful picture that connects the shattered kaleidoscope that is your revelation. I am confused but know that everything that is is dependent on You for you are the source of all being. Help me to do your will and to understand your Will for me.

 The Holy Spirit was manifested in the original  believers in no uncertain way. The follow-on to Luke's gospel leaves no room for quibbles. The foreigners did understand the preaching that they heard in their own languages and were amazed because they knew that those speaking were from Galilee. The Holy Spirit was seen as a fire which touched all present in that room including the women. I have never seen this even at my most receptive to the power of God, in the Holy Sepulchre at an Easter Vigil or in the peace of my own garden. I have been saved from sinfulness by the power of the Holy Spirit and although I try to accept this in true humility there is still a small voice in the back of my conscience that boasts that I did it myself forgetting the Creator Father the saving suffering of the Son and the continuity of the Holy Spirit. Forgive me most Holy Trinity.

Dear Lord may I not forget what I am typing here and truthfully open my deepest place to the directions of your Holy Spirit. Let me follow your first commandment completely and thus be protected from all temptation to break any of the rest.

The Gospels for today both confirm the Apostolic foundations of our Church. Christ breathed on them and The Holy Spirit filled their hearts. Sins are to be forgiven by these men. This is what is promised by the Christ who is Head and Body of the Church. We are part of this Body as are the Clergy. We, who do not have the authority which comes directly from God to forgive sins, need the clergy. We need the clergy and today I hope that all priests, bishops and pope take to heart what they read:

                                                       Bend the stubborn heart and will;
                                                       Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
                                                       Guide the steps that go astray.

Dear Lord came again to heal your body the church as you have done many times since you walked the earth. Our souls need thy Graces channelled through the actions of your priests. Lord send us sincere and holy priests.

 The straight-forward account of Paul's arrival in Rome is fleshed out by fragments from his letters to include hardships by land and sea. Paul himself tells how difficult it was for him to bear witness. In all his trials he was supported by the Holy Spirit and his personal understanding that he was doing work for God. He was an instrument that was part of and building up what is now called Christ's mystical body even to the extent of bearing the marks of Jesus' suffering in his own body. We are all to do the same. It is our flesh that will be raised from the dead when Jesus completes his work of Love for the creation of his Father with the sending of the Holy Spirit. That completion is what is called Heaven.

Dear Lord help me to keep myself free from sin this day. Let not my joy in the things of  things of this obscure my concentration on following you.

Peter got to the tomb first. He had to do something right after his failures both before and after the Crucifixion . "Get thee behind me Satan" .That time must have been a time of unbearable grief and self-condemnation for all of the Apostles. Somebody should have been watching Judas! Why didn't Peter keep on fighting. Where did you get to, Thomas/? Only John stayed with Mary and the other women to receive the corpse. The body was buried but today the resurrection confuses before it overjoys. They run Peter gets there first but it is John's account that we read today. Nobody can say that Jesus chose the sinless to lead his Church. He also said that he would support it the end of time.

Dear Lord fill all our souls with a fervent belief and love. Let our priests be truly holy so that the sacraments they administer will be filled with your real presence within our midst.

 Paul has demanded his citizen rights and shown us his complete break with the leaders of Israel, the people of the Lord. We are still the people of the Lord . These are the "Latter days", the time of the New Testament. The evangelists are busy remembering their days with Jesus and of understanding  the way taught by Him. The Evangelists are carrying God's message to the whole world as known by them. This New Testament, the record of the beginning of our new era is our guide for our journey through  life. Everything that has happened since then reinforces our belief or is dross to beware of. The anonymous disciples of those days hoped to see the "Second Coming". Are we even half ready yet?

Dear Lord it is only in moments that this human can withstand the immensity of even trying to know your Glory. Please help me to avoid sin and to strive to understand  how the Way, the Truth and the Life  is still in the Church that seems to be crumbling, Save us Lord Jesus.

We are somewhere iin first century Galilee. The resurrected Christ is spending time with his closest companions; the companions, who had deserted him during his agony, an agony that cannot be imagined as it was being undergone by both man and God. Their supposed  leader had completely denied his connections with the Lord and they were still not sure whether or not Jesus was to establish a kingdom of this world. It seems to be the height of perversity; but it  is what Jesus does. He appoints Peter, the thrice denier to continue to found and lead our Church the guide and guardian of all humanity from those days to to now. 

Dear Lord you founded your Church to be the conduit of your Sacraments; your Holy Eucharist.. May you and your Holy Mother still continue to guard us against the evil nonsense perpetrated by those who have no fear of man or God.

 All the readings for the day to be used at daily mass are repeated,  not often but sometimes. Today's is one of the sometimes. Thanks to modern technology it is possible for me to me to immediately check who was St Bernardino It is immediately obvious that he was no "anonymous Christian" being very well known in his place and time. Our Church teaches that as the Mystical Body all of us are connected by the Love that fuels the Trinity. So today our reading  has St Peter a fisherman filled with the Holy Spirit standing up and inspiring many in remembrance of a Franciscan who although not gifted with a beautiful voice was also able to inspire many to the extent that he is known as "The Apostle of Italy." Two thousand years after Jesus  walked the earth, I am able to see his Love connecting the Apostles, a monk of the fifteenth century and a sinner sitting at this machine. How can I say that I am not aware of the Holy Spirit?

Dear Lord show me your way to the Father, guide me with your Holy Spirit and let me have confidence in the Father's will for his Holy Church.

There is not much fudging in Jesus' words today. A total commitment is what is required if we are to follow him. Neither filial duty nor family fellowship can deter us from the road which is without  human comforts. Today we cannot meet Jesus on the open road but we do aspire to follow his teaching and example. Jesus tells us that we can find him in the homeless and deprived and it is to these poor that we must show the Love that Jesus has lavished on us all.

Dear Lord let my prayers be one with those of countless generations, known only to you, as  I pray that today I will follow your plough without turning back.