09/12/2021

Isaiah brings words of comfort now and to come. Jesus leads us to question what can it possibly mean to   say that up to now the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence and the violent are taking it by storm. Jesus always assures us that his kingdom is not of this world but the only interpretation of this mysterious saying that comes to my mind is that he is talking about his own people on earth who before John the Baptist had no way of avoiding the backsliding and apostasy that is recorded throughout the Old Testament.

This interpretation is quite satisfying to me as it fits in with my conception of Jesus and his mission to save us. There are many occasions that Jesus' sayings are outside the framework in which I tackle the meaning of  my being and life in this world. Faith in the goodness of God as expressed in Isaiah is my hope for all God's people. There is ,howeve, no reason that everything I read in the Bible should keep me in comfort. Jesus told us that he came to bring strife. Sometimes this strife is internal and can in fact become prayer.

Dear Lord always  let scripture call me to truth and let Father Son and Holy Spirit be my Faith Hope and Charity.

 08/12/2021

The Lord our God is without beginning or end. He is all powerful which means he creates billions and billions without limit of possibilities for the world and the universe. He is all knowing so he is aware of all the possibilities  for each individual life human and non human. He is all loving for aware of the sinfulness bequeathed to us by His first man he knows that he himself can make atonement for Sin only by making it his. 

In an existence that is completely out of time God knows that he can become truly human to save us from our sins and so a woman as perfect as Eve before the fall is created sinless and ready to become the Mother of the Incarnation, Man and God.

St Paul seemingly effortlessly praises God and tells us that we are always known by Father Son and Holy Spirit. God, the Evergreater, chose to humble himself out of his total love and total awareness of each of us to become the man who would renew sinful manknd but did not do so by curtaiing  his gift to us of human freedom. Mary made the right choice. Thanks be to God and all praise to Mary our Mother.

Dear Lord may all of us who hear today's passages from scripture know that they are your truth revealed  to us. May the intercessions of the wonder of Mary and all the saints protect me and mine from the evil of sin.

 07/12/2021

The collect of of today's mass asks the Lord to continue to give us saints like St Ambrose to govern wisely as he did. The present state of our Church is not something that is new. St Ambrose' Church was troubled by Arianism as was much of the East. The clergy were often too human and there was little peace as the tribes of Asia were continually on the move creating havoc as they went. The collect asks for us to be "governed" but Jesus gave the command to care for us. 

As we the sheep have become more aware of ourselves as believers "being governed" is no longer an option. We need to be led with loving care by pastors who can show us the way to holiness not the way to "berettas and lace". Pastors who truly know that the sacaments are the grace of Father, Son and Holy Spirit brought to us by the Passion of Jeus the man, Son of God truly of the same substance as the Father Son and Holy Spirit.

The OT readings today are beautiful as literature and beyond compare as statements of how God loves and cares for us. Can my whole hearted response to the message and to Jesus' search for the lost sheep bring me to the joy of heaven? 

Dear Lord the institutional nature of Your Church seems have to corrupted it into a human thing when it should be You on Earth. Sends us your guidance to how to return to the wellspring, your Resurrection so that when you return you might find faith on earth.

 06/12/2021

Isaiah continues today with the theme of joyfulness at the coming of the Lord. Jesus works a miracle in very strange circumstances and before many witnesses. The doubters immediately find fault but Jesus who is the reality of God immediately answers them and offers proof of Jesus' the man's divine origin and power.

Here we have a contradiction of Jesus' later words when he offers no proof but the sign of Jonah. The people came from all around to hear him. The Scribes and Pharisees came to witness and cast scorn.

I listen to obey the teachings that I have tried to follow all my life and to bolster my faith. I follow the Church's liturgical calendar but only the readings. The signs of weakness in the state of Christ's body on Earth grow ever greater for me. I don't understand why God can tolerate the blasphemies that are perforemed each day by anointed hypocrites who serve not God but their own egos and perversions.

We need a sign from God to show us the way through the mess that is our miserable lot today.We have the sign of Jonah what more greater proof could we need that the Resurrection but so many of us are trapped in the worship or our own personalites that there is no room for God.

Dear Lord let me not grow bitter in my aloneness from the human fellowship and the wholenes of your presence in the Sacraments. I always am susceptible to my inner Scribes and Pharisees but you Lord know the unhappy truth that has been made of your comission by us the descendants of your Apostles. Help us, Lord help us.

 05/12/2021

The Old Testament today is a magnificent hymn of praise and thanksgiving. 

I should be able to feel that same sense of joy each day of my life for from Jesus I and all mankind have received freedom from the chains of sin. We have been saved from the power that Adam surrendered us to and after coming through the growth and pain of fighting for life and the nearness of God; slaves in Egypt; captives in Babylon; always individually prone to the sins of the world and the flesh; we have now the free gift, a multiple of Graces, Salvation acquired for us on the cross in great pain and suffering by the Son who has been subjected in total freedom to far more than we can ever realise.

John prepares the way of the Lord. Baptism has prepared my soul to be defended against the wickedness and snares of the devil . As I have grown, I have increasingly drifted away from our common purpose to know, love and serve God and on the brink of destruction brought back by the Loving Mercy of Father Son and Holy Spirit. The deserts of Godlessness are attractive but totally worthless and this what we should focus on during our lives.

Dear Lord let me not be side tracked by the sins of others but always put first my purpose to follow you wherever you wish to lead. You are my Lord and my God.

 04/12/2021

The teaching and the care of the "lost sheep" is to be performed without charge. The 12 were clearly told this. The Church has always also taught that the labourer is worthy of his hire. St Paul supported himself by tent making. The first Christians even collected money to support others who lived far away. We are not to make our lives a quest for wealth as we cannot serve "both God and Mammon". For centuries "tithing was a norm".

Our lives are all lived in the environment in which we were born and as time has passed material wealth has grown. Our Church too lives in the world and it seems right for her to care for the things created and made by our predecessors. All material things, however, will all fade away. No matter how careful and devoted to buildings we are they will all crumble. Preserving and repairing a Cathedral is a task that can easily absorb our time and fill our waking hours. Restoring a damaged manuscript or painting  also requires great concentration. But none of these tasks are required to bring us to holiness.

Church buildings are now a drain on the resources of a dwindling Church and worrying about them has grown to dominate our teachers and their overseers. We cannot let the the cares of this world even the legitimate ones, interfere with our striving after our true home. Consider the lilies of the field.

Dear God turn our thoughts always to the things of heaven and let us not get so absorbed in the things of this world that we neglect what is good for our own souls.

 03/12/2021

St Paul always speaks directly to us as he is all things for all men. It is a totaly amazing thing that happened in the first years after the Resurrection. Those men and women really did go out to the whole world. They could do so because of the roads that had been created over centuries and were now controlled by Rome. Rome was of great importance to Paul for he was a Roman citizen and so could make his famous appeal to Caesar. 

Jesus too was  influenced by Rome. He was born in Bethlehem because of the order from the Emperor to conduct a census. He was handed over to Rome in the person of Pontius Pilate so that his purpose could be fulfilled on the cross. He also orders us to be aware of civil authority but not to forget the greater authority of God.

Throughout the centuries after the proclamation of his order to the 11 apostles Apostles, confusion as to how authority was to be recognised within the Earthly institution, the Church, has been in conflict with the teaching of the Apostles first in person and then via the records kept by them and others. There must be some way to ensure that what our conscience tells us,  is true to God's Word. Jesus did give the "keys" to St Peter but in Rome today  there is still a hotch-potch of human politics and corruption which is certainly not what our Lord intended his Churh to become.

Dear Lord,  purge me from my sins and purge your Church of corruption so that the faithful are not scandalised and can be sure that your priests are truuly feeding your sheep with your body and blood as you directed them to do.