23/01/2022

The people listened attentively as Ezra read the Law. The congregation was able to see him as he read for he was standing on a dias. He also explained the significance of the language he was reading for the original language of the scrolls had developed and changed as all languages do. The Hebrew of Moses is not given Canonical Status neither was the Greek, Aramaic or Latin of the original converts. It is not the words but their meaning and spirit of their meaning that instruct us in God's revelation. 

There are some who demand that Latin be the language of our Liturgy but God tells us clearly that obedience to the spirit of the words is what he wills for us. God knows everything always and completely so how could he need us to use one of our many human languages in preference to all the others. The Sabbath was made for man and man has many different tongues, but God's revelation is one, Father Son and Holy Spirit.

St Paul develops a classical image of the political state to quell the dissent that was arising in his flock because of human jealousy. Christians are not millions of  Popes and priests. The Church was given authority by Jesus and there are clearly defined roles enumerated by St Paul. The Church was given authority not a power to be wielded against its flock. Great is his gift to our clergy but they too must  constantly be aware that their trappings of office are only the same dust to which we shall all return.

Jesus is invited to read and preach in the Synagogue. He must have been recognised in the first thirty years of his life for the qualities which were to bring him to the Resurrection. Even this supreme witness was not enough evidence for many both then and now.

Dear Lord your priests are beset on all sides by their own weaknesses and the antagonism of the secular state even by the backsliding of their overseer Bishops; increase their fortitude and protect them from becoming stumbling blocks rather than guides to the Way, the Truth and the Life. May Mary and the heavenly host of Saints and Angels protect your church and her priests in the struggles that we all face here on earth.

 22/01/2022

It cannot be possible that Mary was among the "relatives" who sought to restrain Jesus on the grounds that he was mad. People of different generations have latched on to the existence of "relatives" of the Lord to deny the virginity of Mary and to search for a historical "bloodline" culminating with still living "descendants" of Jesus.

The Gospels recall and recount Jesus' life on earth which is God accepting the limits of our human freedom even to accepting death.

The death he accepts is not our simple end of human life but the complete humiliation of nakedness in public, totally under the control of his torturers. Nothing that has ever happened is remotely approachig the imensity of this historical event.

We are his "mother and his siblings" if we know him the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is easy to say "Lord, Lord"but we must from the depths of our beings follow his example, doing what is right in this world until our end of life when he can call us to the eternity that he relinquished to show his love for his creation.

Dear Lord I have not the eloquence of David to express my grief at my sinfulness. There is still part of me that resists your will. Let me truly know that you are Father and care for us thy children especially those like me who go astray. May Mary and all my heavenly siblings help me to avoid the sinfulness that hammered you to the cross.

 21/01/2022

At the basilica dedicated to St Agnes in Rome there is a curious painting of a Pope and Cardinals falling through the floor into the the catacombs which are under that floor. The painting remains in my mind as does the incident but I cannot remember the name of the Pope.

Our recent Popes are certainly memorable for they are the leaders who have remained in office while it has been the Church that has tumbled.

We have Our Lord's asssertion that he will be with us always so we are not afraid no matter how saintly or otherwise have been the Popes of my lifetime. Pope Pius 12th was a remote unwordly figure in the Vatican; a prisoner of Fascism, of whom we knew very little. Today Pope Francis is, as are so many public figures, a prisoner of the Media of whom we know too much.

Francis has been chosen by God, as was St Peter, to be the Shepherd of the Church on Earth. He is  old  and yet he is as active as a much younger man. His often thoughtless replies to journalists' loaded questions are the cause of much upset to the flock he is supposed to guide but when his letters are studied calmly he is within the teachings of Our Lord and Master.

Dear Lord you know the errors we are all making in our lives in this age of mass media. We know too much and yet are full of mistakes. Let our minds be cleared of human concerns so that the way is open for You who are the Way, the Truth and the Life.

 20/01/2022

The Old Testament is the recorded history of the Jewish nation and its Covenant. This is a revelation of God's will for mankind for the Jewish nation is  composed of the people chosen by the Lord. Thus it is that when the story of the first kings is told, God is an intricate part of it. Our relationship with God is concerned with our personal behaviour for we have the Son as our teacher and as our example and His kingdom is certainly not of this world. The Old Testament is of this world guided directly by the Creator.

The eternal will of God knows the Word and the Spirit and is totally aware of everything that can happen in all of our time. He is not controlling us but has given us the freedom to live and to choose how we are to be. Saul and David are chosen by God but bring strife into their relationship. The psalm is praise for the light of living and we can read it in the light of the New Testament as praise for the new way of lving that is the Resurrection.

Jesus is known for what he is by the devils that he casts out but he orders them to be silent. What about the people, the humans, were there none of them, who were also in awe of the miracles, able to recognise the Son of God? The  New Testament is full of incidents such as this. For three years Jesus walked and taught and even after the Resurrection there were more who refused to believe than those who did.

I believe, but my own life only bears halting witness to the Lord. I want to be aware of Father, Son and Holy Spirit every moment of consciousness; to know, love and serve to ready myself for the Eternity towards which God is pointing.

Dear Lord you know that the confusion which I make when trying to listen to the words of scripture can be cleared up by following guidance given by you to your saints. May Mary and all the saints help me by the prayers they make directly to you bathed in the Glory of your eternity, Heaven.

 19/01/2022

The victory of  David over the much stronger Philistine is part of the history of Israel and is a familiar story of the weak overcoming the strong. The theme is that the apparantly weak are in the Lord's care and so infinitely stronger than it seems for no-one can resist the power of God.

The Church of the New Testament was totally without strength in the beginning. Jesus was dead and so all hopes were dashed and the followers of Jesus must have been in despair. Some had literally given up their everything to follow him. Many of these had certainly expected him to oust the Hellenized, the Herodians and return to the Lord worshipped by their forefathers as rulers of their promised land. John does not tell us what he and Mary had expected from the Jesus they knew and loved.

The third day was still an unclear mystery to them. There was the empty tomb.No-one immediately remembered Jesus hints of what would happen to him. Many had left Jerusalem. Even the Apostles had dispersed. Some of them had wasted three years in attendance on Jesus. Their hearts were broken. They were weak and alone.

When they recognised the risen Lord, what a change must have overtaken them and they began to understand the meaning of the teaching and events they had been witnessing. The Church was weaker than it has ever been since then but the Lord was with this "David". 

Our Church today has all the trappings of power but needs to remember that it is in weakness that we find the Lord's truth and strength.

Dear Lord let us avoid the triumphalism of your Old Testament and find you in the teaching of the beatitudes and the example of your Son. Let the Holy Spirit be with us that we can recognise truth and become weak in the eyes of the world but filled with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  

 17/01/2020

The traditional sacrifices of the Temple were known by God but it was revealed to Samuel it is not them  that God wants; he  wants us to freely limit our freedom within the boundaries set by him. We have to be obedient to his will. Saul reaped the rewards of his wordly victory as did his people but sinned in not completing the task set by the Lord.

I have to face up to the disturbing truth that that task was the annhilation of the Amalekites. This reminds me that the Jews of my own time have had to face up to the evil of an attempted Final Solution. Saul stepped back from the slaughter that God seems to have ordered. In Europe the Gas Chambers continued their deadly tasks until stopped by force of arms.

I say I have to face up to this problem of evil in the midst of our created world but I cannot find a simple answer. Jesus came to rid our world of sin and yet we know how "sin" is flourishing in our world today and not only in our world but also within my being. Evil has the power to attract all of us as witnessed by St Anthony in his desert retreat. 

Am I to avoid evil only by isolating myself from the world or should I continue to do as I am doing at this moment and try to be permantly aware of my Maker and his Love for his creation as witnessed by his Son.

Dear Lord I know that you are all Goodness and Love for me. Let the prayers of your Church unite with those of Our Lady and all the saints of heaven to overcome the Evil that wants nothing but to disobey Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 16/01/2022

The Wedding Feast at Cana is the scene of Jesus first miracle according to John. It is not recorded at all in the other Gospels. John it is who was bequeathed the care of Mary; who stood at the foot of the Cross when all the other disciples had fled responding to horror of the Death. The wedding image of Isiah leads us into Mary's request for help in this human situation.

Before Jesus there was the Temple, Zion, Jerusalem a fixed location on earth where to approach God in all our humility. St Paul belongs to the Church that he preaches to all nations; the Church of Love that can be found in sorrow at the foot of the Cross.

The Resurrection draws back those who could not face the despair of calvary. The Father Son and Holy Spirit ensure that the salvation of all can be assured by the teaching of the Apostles and that teaching will be preserved by the Gifts enumerated by Paul given to each of us.

The immensity of this Gift, Salvation through the Church, makes it incredidible that there should be such lack of Faith anywhere on earth least of all among the clergy who are the ministers of the Sacraments and the leaders of their charges. None of the gifts listed by Paul lead to wealth or personal prestige but these are the dominant forces in our world and seemingly also in the worldly institute the Church of Love has become. God help us!

Dear Lord you know that there are times that I feel empty and useless; sinful and afraid. Let me never forget that I am your creation and recipient of your gifts which I need to share with all my family and all the bit of the world that I know. I make this prayer to you Father Son and Holy Spirit in the full knowledge that it is supported by Mary and all the saints in heaven.