07/12/2023

St Ambrose whose feast day is celebrated today lead an extremely complicated public life as an Imperial official in  the complexity of the rapidly disintegrating Roman Empire. His achievements were certainly of this world. He was not himself personally a Christian when acclaimed Bishop of Milan and even had to be baptised before he took up his new role.

Today  when we look at many of the prelates who rule our Church today we are faced with the paradoxically opposite. They have all been, by the Providence of God, born Christians into a world which is also highly complex but now only vaguely aware of Jesus, his life death and resurrection. The Bishops have all professed belief in the teachings of Jesus but they have all inherited and  accepted the trappings and mentality of Roman Governors transformed into modern  business executives.

It seems that after his acceptance of the role of Christian Bishop, Ambrose gave up his wealth and lived an ascetic life, cared for the poor and did much to fight the heresies that were dividing the Church. The previous incumbent of his Milan seat had been an Arian.

My own impression nowadays is that Bishops have always been as they are today entwined within worldly "signs of the times" and are so concerned about not offending the sinners who rule our world built on Mammon and Hedonism that they have lost touch with the Kingdom of Heaven. 

Isaiah's hymn of praise is focussed on the Glory of God. The Psalm lifts our souls to behold the goodness of our creator. Oh that my mind could retain not only the words  "Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love hath no end" but also the tranquility of being that gives rise to them.

Jesus is speaking to all of us past present and to come. He tells us that "Lord, Lord" without the foundations of  sincerity, humility and love is "zilch". There is not one "role" or duty in this life more important than knowing the presence of Father, Son and Holy Spirit and acting accordingly. Popes, priests and prelates even saintly ones also only have one soul and as with all of us they need to be constantly aware that without firm foundations the house built on sand fell "and what a fall it had!"

Dear Lord let me continue to live in your love protected by grace which you offer freely to all men, great and small. Let me continue this day without sin and let me accept all that happens to me secure in that I am trying to live with my will aligned to yours. May Mary lead all the saints in  prayer, a reflection of your Glory, that we sinners on earth together with the Holy Souls may come to know in the depths of our beings that we can be forgiven for the evils we are letting loose in the world by our sins. Amen

 06/12/2023

Today Jesus has gone into the hills and crowds of people have followed him. He is one with us in his physical being and he himself knows that after three days our bodies are crying out for food. Water is not mentioned. Jesus has already made a huge impression on all those who have seen him and listened to his teaching and so they have not separated from him.

What is it about this preacher from Nazareth that captivates so many people who see and hear him.? As Jews they are familiar with the Scriptures. The Temple again dominates life in Jerusalem and is always crowded with believers particularly at the times of festivals. The Jews know IAMIAM. Nowhere in the world other than Palestine is there a nation devoted to knowing and serving one God who has revealed himself to them his Chosen People.

The Jews of the first century are not at all content in their political situation. They are now dominated by foreigners. Herod and Rome. Their history is one in which they are linked to God. They have a covenant and so those who agitate or are deemed to be agitating against these rulers and in support of the covenant can always find an audience.

Jesus' presence, words and deeds radiate  power and those who are following him can only relate to power that comes from God but is made visible in their great Kings. Even Jesus' closest disciples cannot get their heads round a "Kingdom of Heaven", not of this world.

The wonders that are Jesus' deeds in today's Gospel are all experienced as further proof that the one they surround in the hills of Galilee is indeed the one hinted at in their scriptures, the Messiah who will save their nation and become ruler of all the world.

Jesus is, however, the one who reveals the infinite capacity for love that is his being in Father, Son and Holy Spirit. His life, death and resurrection is not speaking to the "nations" but to  each individual person that he has created us to be in his Love and to use our share in his Love with every other being in his creation.

Killing other people is not a part of God's Providence. Each individual has to follow the way as did the first disciples and achieve for himself the place in the Kingdom that God has prepared for him. Throwing people to the beasts in the circus, beheading and burning at the stake, invading other nations have nothing that is holy about them. They are all doing the work of the devil.

We can only appreciate the horror of sin by keeping in mind that to erase its effect Father, Son and Holy Spirit had to become human and become the final and everlasting Sacrifice. These are not just words but are the Salvation of mankind.

Dear Lord, you know how I have begun this day. Let me not ignore your grace and continue to pray aware of the depths of my own needs. May Mary and all the saints plead for the grace that is needed by every individual in our world and in Purgatory to bring us into the merciful forgiveness of the outstretched arms of the crucified Jesus on Calvary.

 05/12'2023

The first reading for today's mass is a description of the world without sin. Even in the animal kingdom all survive without harming one another. Isaiah is filled with the Holy Spirit  and glorifies what living on God's Holy Mountain would be like for all creatures even the snakes.

Of  course, animals cannot sin and live soulless lives in the perfect innocence that is purely  instinct and genetic. They live in the code that is there at the moment of creation by our all powerful God.

The incarnation of God whose birth we are now awaiting has in complete humility emptied himself of the ever-greater power that is his being to assume the flesh that is the same "printed circuit" as Isaiah's lion and lamb.

Jesus is so much more than man that we cannot come close to imagining his greatness. In his perfection on Earth he is human but human in the way we all can be only when we attain the perfect "communion" with our Father. Jesus and the Father with the Holy Spirit is this "perfect communion"  beyond our grasp and yet he reaches out to us by becoming the human mammal that he creates to populate the world with beings that are in his image and likeness.

Human beings are limited by the flesh that is their body but unlimited in the freedom that is given to our souls. We all are able to understand the revealed will of the Father and follow the Resurrected Son who calls us all by name for the Holy Spirit surrounds us all.Thus we can all  give up the pride in self  that besets us and like Isaiah we can pray. We can all give praise for our world and our being and we can all respond to the will of Father, Son and Holy Spirit by becoming the "mere children" to whom God chooses to reveal himself.

Dear Lord, you looked on creation and saw that it was good. May I too grow to be more than just ashamed of the the way I have not responded at all times to your will and fallen by the wayside to sin without care. May this day be lived in holiness and may your Mother with all the "good" of your humanity continue to guard us against the wickedness and snares of the devil, the overwhelming pleasures of the flesh and the stultifying cares of this world. Maranatha, come Lord Jesus, come!

 04/12/2023

We have to think hard about the reading from Isaiah that is chosen for this first Monday in Advent. If we are to find predictions about the Messiah in his prayer we have to bear in mind that today's passage is more wishful thinking than it is an accurate prediction of what the Lord will provide for us, the many generations of Isaiah's future listeners.

Not one of the generations that have followed the life and death of this prophet has been able to say "Come, let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord" in the promised land. The History of Palestine has continued to be dominated by warfare as it is at this moment .

The Old Testament images of peace and holiness are always accompanied by reminders of warfare and the suffering of servants. We the slaves of God have always failed in bringing peace to the World. We all feel that it is an impossible task. 

So impossible that for more than a thousand years the leaders of our Church acted as rulers of kingdoms located here on earth only for us to be left to defend the "widows mite" being used to shore up the crumbling walls of magnificent palaces and  buildings rather than proclaim the truth of the "Resurrection".

Our Saviour did not ask for Legions of Angels to defend him on the day of battle that began in Gethsemane and was seemingly ended by "Eli, Eli Lama Sabachthani". 

In today's gospel, military power acknowledges the superiority of Jesus and explains why this is so. Has there ever been a war leader who has ever done this? St Leo the Great is credited with stopping Atilla from sacking Rome but he did so as the ruler of Rome not as a priest guarding the sacraments.

 It has taken many centuries for our Church to acknowledge the words of Jesus, uttered in public at his trial to that representative of Political/Military power, the one who held his life in his hands, but its primary purpose is still confused by the centuries of worldly power and unchristian living. We who are awaiting the birth of the Son of God are trying to prepare ourselves to celebrate in Holiness the arrival of the baby who is to grow in human time to be king of the eternal kingdom that is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

This Kingdom has never been found on Earth.

Dear Lord, please help me to find you in prayer. Let me remain in your Love with the integrity to believe what I say and to align myself with your will . Inspire all the fighters engaged in war to deny their commanders and refuse to continue killing. Each individual one of us among our billions can choose to do your will and you continue to give us the grace to do so. May your mother continue to support all the children you passed on to her and may we and the souls of the faithful departed find forgiveness for our sins. Come Lord, Jesus, Come!

 03/12/2023

Isaiah is certainly one of God's Chosen People. He is totally aware that it is through IAMIAM that he is, he has his being through God alone. He knows that he shares his being with all the other Israelites. He knows that in the past Israel has been justly punished for backsliding and he can see that sin is again beginning to dominate in the "Kingdom of this world". He asks God, the only Power capable of stopping this, to wrench open heaven and take sin out of the Chosen Ones.

God could have done this then and could do so now. Most people have wondered why it is that sin dominates our World. God could have prevented me from committing my habitual sins. There is no reason why our human lives should be dominated by the agendas of sinful egos linked to Satan that have the power to shape our culture and society.

St Paul thanks God for allowing the Church to grow. He thanks God for the preachers and teachers who have accepted the Holy Spirit and continue the mission of Jesus Christ. IAMIAM is not an unseen abstract idea of being and power. He is a person who knows us a Father, he is a Human being who knows us from the inside as a Son, he is the Holy Spirit bearing gifts of Faith, Hope and Charity.

Today we begin the countdown to Christmas. The readings for today offer for us to contemplate the Providence of God throughout History. 

We are as frustrated as Isaiah by the power of Sin which is still strong enough to penetrate the walls of Faith Hope and Charity even of the preachers and teachers for whom we should be able, with St Paul, to thank God. All of us  can turn our souls to God's chosen source of the Humanity of Son and know that the Mother's prayers cannot be ignored and that she leads all the Souls of Heaven in constant prayer for the forgiveness of sinners here on earth and in purgatory.

Dear Lord, help me  to know your Love and grow in fellowship of the Holy Spirit, in the Spiritual Body that shares its being with you as its head, "Begotten not Made" and with all the created souls that are in this world looking for forgiveness, with the Holy Souls certain of your Mercy and with the Saints for whom you are All-in-All. Help me to find holiness so that the souls of all, especially those known to me can see that they can believe that the helpless babe in the manger is the Incarnate Son of the creator of all that is seen and unseen. and is the Crucified Jesus on the cross and the Immensity of the Resurrection. Help me to be true to theses words. Amen, Amen, Maranatha 

 02/12/2023

Today's reading from Daniel continues the vision. The writer seems to place the vision inside Daniel's mind, it is subjective. These fearful images of "beasts and horns" have no objective reality they "pass through his head" and yet he asks a bystander for an interpretation. Daniel knows that he is dreaming and yet still aware of his dream/vision he can find on another level himself as an observer and another witness who is looking at the vision in the same way that he is.

This awareness of dreams is quite familiar to me and also common to most of us, if psychiatrists are to be believed. In the Bible, dreams can be the way God reveals his Will for us. St Joseph's reaction to Mary's pregnancy was guided by a dream as was the flight into Egypt. Joseph gained political power in Egypt as an interpreter of dreams. St Peter was able to announce the end of the Jewish dietary restrictions as the result of a dream, but there is no record of Jesus ever breaking those same laws.

Jesus warns us yet again that both personal death and the "End of Time" will happen at any moment. We have to live righteously so that we are always ready for our souls to face their creation. Our world is now fuller than ever of spectacular works of man but "the cares of life" are distractions that happen if we forget our primary purpose and are on a par with chemically interfering with the working of our brains and thus changing our perception of the reality of creation. 

We can avoid all bodily sins for God's grace is freely bestowed for us all to share. Tomorrow the Church begins her preparation for the birth of the Son of God. He who is far greater than our Universe has been gestating in the womb of Mary the Virginial Mother just as did the creatures who will end  his human life.  

The primary purpose that Father, Son and Holy Spirit offer to us is life in the never ending Love that is the Being of God. We can do this now with the help of his Grace and at our "end times", personal or universal we can be ready to enter what he has prepared for us.

Dear Lord, you know totally what It is I am striving for. I am always concerned that I may be misunderstanding the teaching of your Gospel. I am sure however that my sins are truly mine and always unnecessary. I cannot escape my personal responsibility and hope that the greatness of your Mercy will find for me the penance to bring me back to the holiness you have won for all mankind. May Mary and all the Saints who know eternal joy implore that we on Earth and in Purgatory can pay the price needed for us to join them in the Glory that surrounds your being. Amen.

 01/12/2023

St John's Apocalypse is the last book of the Bible. Today's vision of Daniel is part of the same stream of visionary writing that is inspired by God. I have always found this mystical writing difficult to understand. Jacob's wrestling with God and the visionary ladder to heaven have to be believed if they are going to inspire the awe experienced by the writer.

There have always been amongst us people who have been given moments when in a "cloud of unknowing" their souls "see through a glass darkly" the presence of God and the spiritual creation which is part of his Eternity.

God wills that they should share these dreams and visions that portray his Otherworldly Glory. They can only do so in the language of this world and so God becomes the "Ancient of Days" and everything that Daniel saw is counted and recorded in detail as in  St John's Book of Revelations.

Today's psalm is again part of the so called "Canticle of Daniel". It is a hypnotic litany of praise for the deeds of Father, Son and Holy Spirit and it keeps us firmly fixed in this world as we review the whole of creation shining with the Love of God in the material reality of this world, here and now.

In the Gospel Jesus hints at signs of the "End Times". He has also told us that "it is not for us to know the time" of his second coming. He confirms that all of creation will certainly come to an end just as we are certain to die in this world. If we can remain firm of purpose and free from sin both our deaths and the end of the world can only be happy events for us. Praise be to God!

Dear Lord, I thank you for letting me feel secure in your Love. We will soon begin the countdown to your birth. Mary and Joseph will soon be walking to Bethlehem. The son was protected for 30 years before you began to make known the Kingdom of Heaven and brought redemption to us all. Let the hearts of the killers in Palestine be opened to your Love and realise that they are still spitting into the face of Jesus. They too can be saved by their right choices. Mary pondered the ways of Heaven on Earth and in Heaven she continues her instructions to the World as to the steward of the wedding feast in Cana , "Do whatever he tells you".