07/02/2022

The Ark contained only the Law brought down from Sinai by Moses; its resting place in the Temple became the centre of the worship of the Old Testament. The Centre of Worship for the New Testament is the presence of the Son; for three years the reality of the person Jesus, known to be the son of Mary and thought to be the son of Joseph but revealed by his teaching and deeds to be the Son "born of the Father before time began." 

The people were in awe at the deeds of this Nazarene. Illness was being cured as they listened to him. Devils were expelled from the most sinful of men; such was his power that health could be restored by the touch of his garment.

Today the presence of Jesus is still the centre of  our worship. He is present in the Sacrament reserved in our "Tent of Meeting"; he is present in the Mass and he is present in the faithful who receive the distributed hosts.What people have their God so close to them as we do? 

This Liturgical Presence was instituted by Our Lord even before the Sacrifice it recalls and the twelve (including Judas) were consecrated to be priests by the Lord our God, on his knees performing the service of a slave, to be authorised to act in memory of him.

Jesus promised to be with us even to the end of time. Sin seems to be the order of the day not only in the world but also in the Church and in the institutiions within her dedicated to prayer and support for the faithful. I can only acknowledge this reality and turn to Father, Son and Holy Spirit praying for the intervention to turn us sinners back to the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Dear Lord the beauty of your creation is captivating in its being and awe-inspiring in its detail please let not the beauty that we see hold us back from seeking Father, Son and Holy Spirit with the Love that is right worship. May your Mother and all the saints who together with us form your Mystical Body support the Church, blocking the sinners and revealing those who are selflessly dedicated to you.

 06/02/2022

Guide me Lord in my understanding and keep me away from myself, letting me be open to the inspiration that is available to all men as we read the Old and New Testments. Isaiah blessed by God and dedicated to his Word, is the source of many "according to the Scriptures"we read from the lips of Jesus and all the Apostles.

The heavenly vision is beyond my ability to recreate in my imagination by building on  his words. The wish to see God as he really is is somewhere at the back of my being. It is in my soul and not in my mind. St Paul has seen the Lord. He has attacked the first Christians but been dragged into the Church and filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit that is Father Son and Holy Spirit. This is what he preached and it is  possible for me to see this preaching in my imagination for all of those in his teaching are human beings. The Son too is a complete human being but with the same being as the Father and Holy Spirit and this is beyond my comprehension but I can worship and be in awe.

St Luke records that Jesus had begun his mission before the calling of the Apostles. The crowds with him witnessed the miraculous catch and listened to his words. Were these first witnesses to the Word a mixture of Jew and Gentile; did they retain their awe at the miracle of the Lord; did they continue with their daily lives or did they drop everything to follow him?

Dear Lord let me become as those first witnesses full of awe and with a sincere belief in Grace come to an appropriate way to continue to know Faith Hope and Charity, avoid sin, and ultimately be granted a heavenly vision that can be shared with all in the Love that is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 05/02/2022

Solomon's wisdom is proverbial. It is a gift from God to repay him for asking for it. Goods of this world followed on from it. Both the wisdom and the riches were God's gifts to David's son. The humanity of Jesus is also of David's line. "God does not have favourites".

The people were lost when Jesus escaped across the lake. The Apostles had exhausted themselves during their first missionary journey and Jesus had compassion on them and took them by boat to a deserted place to rest. When they arrived it was to a crowded place as many had anticipated Jesus' evasion. So Jesus continued his teaching of them for they were like sheep without a shepherd

Jesus' teaching for us is the same as it was then; Love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart and thy neighbour as thyself. I have been taught that since my birth as have all who have witnessed Christ's message. We are to know Father,Son and Holy Spirit and to love one another following the teaching given to us all. 

Jesus did not teach that new generations would have new teaching . In fact, he warned us about false prophets. Heaven and earth will pass away but my Word will stand. "God does not have favourites" for each and everyone of us is that as God cannot be more or less and is always Evergreater.

Dear Lord each of is unique and known fully by you. Let me continue to grow in your Love and sustained in this way grow to be ever faithful and sincere in my thoughts and my prayers. "Fear not for I am with thee always."

 04/02/2022

The religion of the Jews revealed to his Chosen People by the Lord our God, Father Son and Holy Spirit is coming to an end in Herod's palace just as its splendour is upheld by David's praise in the 1st reading.

The People broke the covenant too many times but the Lord still remains with them although their worship has lost its Temple.

Herod's fault is the simple unthinking sin of the drunken man who the next day is horrified by the previous night's stupidity.  Herod liked to listen to John but was "perplexed" by him. This Herod is in a few words made human and so we can pity him for his weakness and pray for the forgiveness of his sins.

We all are perplexed by the Word by the Being of God by His manifestation even more so than our wonder at our own being.

The scene in Herod's court is a prefiguring of the one before Pilate which happened only a few years later. The outcome of this confrontation was to be the Resurrection for which John's Baptism had paved the way. 

Dear Lord my sins are always before me as is my repentance, just as Herod I am all too ready to sin but have a conscience that looks for forgiveness.Let me too as did David "put all my heart" into this prayer and let me live without sinning "just for today".

 03/02/2022

There are many who deny that Jesus appointed priests and that we are all at liberty to ponder the Word and act as personal priests. Today we hear  of  the first mission and there are the twelve who are appointed. Jesus needs to have no ceremony to directly access his own authority. He didn't authorise all of his disciples but only the twelve were sent. Their mission was to warn the people of their sinfulnes, to drive out devils and to cure the sick by a ceremony of healing.

Preaching repentance must have been  supported by the revelations of the Old Testament as the New was unfolding in them as they lived. Their preaching was hindered as the Temple and its Scribes and Priests were an organised religion with a calendar and all sorts of functionaries who must have  been all too ready to protest about these ignorant upstarts who were taking on their roles without any of the training and formation undergone over many years to serve in the Temple and read in the Synagogue.

Today our priests are the spiritual descendants of those twelve who inspired by the Holy Spirit and their nearness to the Son had the inspiration needed to walk into strange villages and begin to speak about God. Did they do this in the market place or in the Synagogue? I don't think that we are told; but the great leap of Faith inspired by the presence of the Lord, that was taken by these men of the first century is the example that we must all follow especially our Clergy. Preach, combat the devil and heal the sick is what our Lord first required from his priests and our Church.

Dear Lord let my prayers this day be sincere and without any guile. Let my thoughts be pure and focused on You. Let my love for Father Son and Holy Spirit govern all my actions and let me grow nearer without fear to the time when You will be my all in all.

 02/022022

The reading from Malachi is chosen as it can be interpreted as a foreshadowing of the incarnation. It is God's revelation to his covenanted people that there will be a future different from what they know now..

The psalm is another paen of praise and it is the Glory of the Lord that is praised. Praise that is netither petition or thanks. A praise from my very self to the Lord for his being. Creation in direct line to Creator; totally aware of the Father and wanting nothing but to be a poor reflection of his being.

The prophecies at the presentation of the Lord have become part the night prayers in the prayer guidance chosen over centuries to be followed by the clergy of our church and are familiar to all of us. The night prayer of the Church is the care we all need at end of life. The greatest thing that we can do during our lives is to bear witness to the Incarnation and having done so know that at our deaths we will see the Glory of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Dear Lord you the author of all were pleased to be presented to your Father in the way all of your people were. The humility of Father, Son and Holy Spirit continued throughout your eartly life to the supreme humiliation of your death on the cross. The Glory of your resurrection is my hope for Heaven. Let Mary and Joseph, Simon and Anna continue in their prayerful support all of us still bound here on earth.

 01/02/2022

Absolom, hair tangled in a tree, totally vulnerable meets a dismal end. For David the grief at the loss of his son is overwhelming. His kingship is bringing him nothing but sorrow after the original joy over the defeat of Goliath. 

Jairus daughter is dead and her family's grief is also overwhelming but Jesus is there and the little girl gets up from her presumed death bed. 

God knows everything; even in the moment that the pebble destroyed Goliath, he knows of the outcome of David's reign and supports him in righteousness and deserts him in his sin. God knows that the little girl will get up and complete her life.

The miracle on the way to Jairus' house tells that  God is ready to respond to faith. The woman then had an advantage as did all the people of 1st Century  Palestine (Jew and Gentile) for the incarnate one, the Son, was with them and performing wonders amongst people that they knew. She was living at a wonderous time AND  her Faith was correspondingly raised to a high level.  We are far from those days and the sense of the presence of God is weak amongst us. I do not really expect my prayers to be answered but look to live my life righteously and come to miracles in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Dear Lord you know me better than I do myself let me not forget Father Son and Holy Spirit and know that if I have Faith I will be strong both in Hope and Love. Pray for me Holy Mother and all the saints that I may be strong to resist all temptation.