02/09/2021

St Peter is chosen together with his work mates. It is God that chooses his followers and not vice versa. My backsliding is thus a direct refusal of God's grace; his calling of me. St Paul is well aware of how the attractions of sin can lure us away from the path revealed to us. He prays that our faith can be bolstered by knowledge and spiritual understanding. This is what we have to acquire. He also calls us to "perfect" wisdom. The ambiguity is mine; St Paul uses "perfect" as an adjective to describe wisdom. Perfect wisdom seems to be a tough target but we are strengthened by the absolute power of God.

St Peter is an encouragement to all Christians. He is not from the high and mighty nor is he from the absolute destitute. He does not waver in his first response but together with future Apostles leaves the boats and literally follows Jesus. This commitment has inspired many saints and unknown followers of the Lord. Peter's backsliding at the time of the crucifixion is almost as bad as Judas' but his remorse is accepted and as the forgiven one he is called to lead the first missions. His name is now "Rock"the place for the foundation of our Church too be laid.

Dear Lord let me  not stop from following you and trying to learn more about how it is you want me to live out my life. Let the prayers of your Mother and other saints bring me the grace which is the total being of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 01/09/2021

The letter from St Paul reveals that it was not only he who brought the  Good News to the towns of Asia Minor. What he still recommends has never changed. We need to keep our minds firmly fixed on our Father in heaven and on the graces that he has stored up for us to share in. We have this duty to live in the world  without harming our souls by being submerged in what is needed to stay alive. 

Every day that I try to do this seems like a failure as at least four hours is spent mindlessly in front of a T.V. I don't know how to subdue this as I do not have the will power to resist. I do try to keep the message of Jesus in my mind; that is why I try to start the day with the scriptural readings from the mass of the day but I still waste many hours.

This morning, Peter's mother-in-law must be in the minds of our clergy. They have taken vows to remain unmarried. Chastity is a requirement for all of us. We all know how difficult that is as sex is probably the greatest bodily pleasure that we can experience. We can pray for the help of the Holy Spirit in this regard and empathise with the guilt that human weakness brings to our Clergy.

We cannot, however,  understand or support how the successors of St Peter have put their biggest efforts into avoiding scandal and failed to be Christian by not confessing their sins. 

Dear Lord help me to look into my soul and scour out the remaining residue of selfish lust that is there. 

 31/08/2021

The imminent return, the parousia of the Lord is still to the forefront of St. Pauls mind as he writes to the Thessalonians. No-one knows when to expect the Lord's return and for this reason we need to avoid a spiritual sleep and stay wide awake. This teaching is even more important for us 2,000 years later.

Jesus is recognised by the the devil which obeys his command and thus impresses the synagogue. Public recognition of Jesus begins and crowds start to look out for him. His reputation grows and his followers increase; the authority he displays is recognised but the crucial break through into the mainstream of religion does not happen.

Our all powerful Lord does not use force; we are made in his image and likeness and thus have freedom to choose. Our choice is guided, however, by God's revelation of himself; by the Law of the covenant and by the recorded scriptures. Our Church too as founded by the Lord has the duty  and reality of being Christ at this present moment; the Sacramental Presence is the Real Presence and each day Christ through his Priests offers his Body and Blood as our spiritual food .

I really believe this and yet I am estranged from the Church which is more concerned with the things of this world rather than with being prepared for either the return of the Lord or our being called.

Dear Lord, help me to know your will for me and show me how to cooperate with it. Let me be known in the prayers of your Mother and all the Saints.

 30/08/2021

The early Church had many adherents who had known Jesus and who had witnessed the Crucifixion and been mystified by the Resurrection. They well knew that He had promised to return and eagerly looked forward to it "Maranatha " was never far from their lips or thoughts. But what about those who died before the "Parousia"? St Paul's words to day are to those for whom the delay in the Second Coming was unbearable . Their 1st Century world continued to function in  its usual way and up until the destruction of the Temple there were no signs or portents. Their fellow believers got older or sick and died.

It is a great sign for us  that  those Jews and pagans who formed the first congregations and received the first Sacraments were able to tolerate the result of their decisions to believe this new preaching, the  main point of which was the Resurrection and the awaited return. of Jesus.

They must have had  hearts completely open to the Lord and teachers whose words rang out with sincerity and joy. The immensity of the hope enkindled by the real presence of the Holy Spirit is still freely available for all peoples. The Scriptures are still a source of wonder and joy and we are still the same human beings created by the Lord to live righteously knowing that we have been saved to share in the fruits of  Ever Greater Love the source of which is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Dear Lord let me never become satisfied by my efforts to know, love and serve you. Help me to be true in all the little ways that lead to you.

 29/08/2021

There is no ambiguity in Jesus. He always he talks straight to us . Sometimes he may be difficult to decipher; sometimes he is beyond my comprehension; but always his message is straight and clear.. Yesterday I  had  difficulty but today there is no missing of his direct teaching. 

It is always easy to spot hypocrisy in others but applying our judgement to ourselves is always more difficult. Jesus definitely rejects the trappings attached to the Law as reveled to Moses; but the Law itself is from God and revealed on Mount Horeb. He gives us a complete condemnation of  all sin and it is my state of mind that leads to the injustices that begin his list. Adultery and fornication are such a big part of life in this modern world and are justified by all practitioners of vice who so doing reject the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Our Church furnishes many examples of all the nastiness that fills all mankind once they give up their   inner consciousness of God and his revealed teaching.The only thing wrong with our Church is its failure to be our Church as founded by Jesus.

Dear Lord let not my frustration and anger with our modern pharisees occlude my vision of my own soul and let the sincerity of my will be matched by reality of deeds. 

 28/08/2021

Well I  am back now after being away from Monday to Friday. It is the feast today of St Augustine. The choice from St Paul could remind us of The City of God but Jesus was insistent that his sphere was not a human kingdom.. Love one another after first being sure to put God first in our consciousness is Jesus' foundational message. 

The master in the parable is pretty tough. The one who buried the talents probably didn't feel secure even when he knew that he couldn't lose his buried treasure. Saving my soul seems to be my object in life and that poor servant tried to do just that. What is it that he didn't do? I hope that Jesus is not teaching that the fruits by which we will be known are the spiritual equivalent of Dollars which in Capitalism are the only measure of value. If that is so I have no idea of the meaning of this story of failure in life.

St Paul's message seems to be much more Christian telling us to live quietly and earn our own living and to continue loving our neighbours.. Jesus' teaching is always direct even if enclosed within parables and so I will keep on pondering and praying to find the right answer to this one.

Dear Lord I thank you for the weather and the warmth of our welcome of this past week. May we all grow in the kindness and love of thee.  

 22/08/2021

The people listened to Joshua and agreed to join him in recognising the Lord as the only true God. They would abandon worship of any other deity local or foreign. This solemn assertion by the whole people in the sight of God proved to be too much for them as time passed.

The nuptial image of Christ's Church is not just obedience (though many object because of this) but sacrifice. Husbands must be ready to sacrifice anything for the love of a wife. Christ is to be obeyed by the Church created by his Cross. He is worthy of obedience and a husband too should strive to be worthy of loving obedience. The nuptial bond is as much a mystery as our very being; it is the same as the bond between Christ and his Church and thus is created the one body; Christ's mystical body, our Church. This is the solemn teaching of our Church. Is it proving to be too much for us?

The people stayed with him a long time; they had been overawed by the miracle of the feeding of the5000. Some had seen him walking on the water; all had been enthralled by his charismatic presence and some had listened to his words. As Jesus had anticipated, some of the some who had listened were not at all impressed. . He knew that what he was going to say would not be welcomed as good news. He knew this but did not water down his message to avoid giving offence. 

Many of Jesus teachings are hard to accept even to the extent that the human weakness of some of our pastors doesn't allow them to be true to God's words. His words in all their complexity and stark reality are indeed "the message of eternal life".  Peter's powerful acclamation of the Lord proves to be too much for him  to continuously live up to; nevertheless, we get a glimpse of the vastness of God's loving Mercy in the subsequent events of his  life and especially in its ending.

Dear Lord may the words of my Baptismal renunciations be with me for the rest of my days. Let me live up to the cleansing of that moment and never fail to be open to the promptings of The Holy Spirit.