02/022024

 Anna was old in years and did odd jobs about the Temple because that is where she felt closest to the Lord. As another old person I can appreciate that she shared with Simeon a sense of disappointment that the longed for descendant of David had not yet appeared. 

Simeon had been promised that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah so they could still  hope in the Lord, for the  Lord was still guarding his people. His Temple was still being constructed.

Joseph approached the priests of the day with the appropriate offering and Father, Son, Holy Spirit, the true IAMIAM filled Simeon with the holy inspiration to proclaim what is still the Night Prayer of those who have devoted themselves to God in the centuries since that moment in the Temple.

My disappointment is that I am the only one in my family who has not been captured by Mammon. I pray and preach to myself, hoping, that my prayers for all my loved ones will be answered. Anna and Simeon hoped in the Lord and I too must follow their example.

Dear Lord, nothing is impossible for you. Please let the hearts and minds of those I love become aware that there is nothing that is secure in this world. You who are greater than the whole universe know each one of us. Let your Holy Spirit bring the Love and Joy that comes from you into the hearts and minds of all peoples. Let my prayers be heard as are those of Anna, Simeon and Joseph and let Mary's pleas as your Mother and ours bring to our world and to Purgatory the Mercy that has its never-ending source in you. Amen

 01/02/2023

Jesus chose 12 of his disciples to preach to others what they had learnt from him. 

The Mission given by Jesus to the 12 is to follow up on his teaching to the villages by putting themselves into the hands of providence and, without making any worldly preparations, become preachers of repentance to the villages of Galilee.

The villagers to whom the 12 preached were mainly Jews who were familiar with the Old Testament and who for centuries had known themselves to be chosen by God . The soil which they tilled was holy and the produce was for themselves and their families only. They knew that God willed it that they should govern themselves and not be under the yoke of idolaters no matter how powerful.

"We have found the Messiah" are Andrew's words to Peter after spending some time with John the Baptist who had pointed out Jesus to him and his companion. We have no record of what words the12 preached. but the totality of the message was no greater than "God is with us" for they, as had Andrew, had found the Messiah, "the Lamb of God".

At first the disciples hoped for a return to the days of David and Solomon for their expected "Messiah" was to rule for a thousand years. The mysterious "Lamb of God" was not to be understood until Jesus had completed his Mission for Father, Son and Holy Spirit, he is our Way, Truth and Life and although our Saviour and King, his Kingdom is not of this world.

Dear Lord, let me heed the words of David and be wise as Solomon to resist the tendency to sin that not only mars my life but crucifies Jesus your only begotten. We are all known by you in the timeless infinity that is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, unconfined Love and Mercy. Let my prayers  join those of Mary and all the Saints in unending praise and pleas for the Mercy that will overcome all my sinfulness and bring forgiveness to all sinners who repent and accept the Justice of your punishment in this world and in Purgatory.

 31/01/2024

I am still more aware of this world than I am able to understand the ways of God. I have no idea what it is that is so wrong about "census taking" that it requires the depth of punishment that the prophet Gad offers to David as the "Word of the Lord".

Mark who had seen and spoken to the living Jesus is still a man of his time as was David. The census only counted "fighting men" and ignored women and children and Mark gives the names only of brothers, the men of the same generation as Jesus, living in the extended family. 

I have always found it difficult to face the guilt of my sins that I have committed in the full knowledge that I am choosing to break the commandments that were revealed to Moses. Just as did David I have chosen to set up a scenario that will absolve me from guilt in my own mind but always come to realise that it is, I who sin.

Why did you let me break my word to you O Lord? Please change your Law to fit in with my sinfulness. "Let my sin be justifiable" has often been my plea. I have been more than attached to the sins of the flesh. David knows this sort of consciousness of a guilty conscience and pleads with God, just as I do, for in the centre of his being there sings the voice of his soul created to become sinless and live a life of holiness. 

"Happy the man whose offence is forgiven, whose sin is remitted"

Dear Lord, am I right in thinking that it is my choice that creates evil? Are there so many of us choosing to say "no" to you that there is so much "unholiness" everywhere we look? How can little children who have been born into this corruption that we have made of your providence, come to you? Peter's Church has lost out to this world. Let your unseen Mystical Body flourish even within the disgrace of the Institutional Church so that our souls can be united with Mary and all the saints to bring the grace of your Mercy to us all struggling on Earth and in the Justice of Purgatory. As always I make my prayer in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

 30/01/2024

We are free to live our lives in peace with our families, friends and nations but everywhere and at all times we seem to be incapable of aligning ourselves with the will of God. In the Old Testament IAMIAM was always able to forgive his people Israel and rescue them when that nation failed to do its duty.

God certainly believes in me/us. I can only speak from my own experience. I know that I have been rescued many times when I have been trapped by my own sins. David lost his son and was devastated. Jairus' daughter died before Jesus could come to her. Jesus reversed the course of nature and restored her to life.

Two thousand years ago Jesus completed  by his life, death and resurrection not only the revelation of  the wonder that is our Creator but also "the way, the truth and the life" that we are to lead if we to are to cooperate with the will of God.

I can pray today knowing that I am cared for by the unimaginable Love that is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I am shocked by the functionaries that claim to guide us along the way to truth and life. I am beginning to think that the Church founded on St Peter  never managed to become the Mystical Body of Christ on Earth and that the collapse of Christianity in Europe is a direct result of the Popes and Patriarchs of the first centuries building for themselves "Kingdoms in this World" in direct opposition to the words of Christ. How many of our Popes have not been Caesars in this world? Was it Emperor or Patriarch who was the leader of the Orthodox?

Dear Lord, help me to understand how I can do your will and stay a part of your Church which is the spiritual community of saints. Mary accepted us as her children and John accepted her as our Mother. This is the heart of your Church which is the only way for us to do your will on earth and be taken into the Kingdom of Heaven.  Lead me not into temptation and forgive me for all evil created by my sins. Let all your people praise your name and strive for the holiness that you have created us for. May the Holy Souls remember as they await Mercy that they did and we still do pray for all sins to be forgiven. May the peace of God and fellowship of the Holy Spirit prove to be stronger than all the weapons of mankind.

 29/01/2024

King David is another character in the Old Testament in whom we can recognise  the same humanity that we are each now experiencing. He loves God and sings psalms of praise and dances before the Ark not because he is a hypocrite but because he is taken out of himself by the joy that our Love of God can bring into our hearts. He is also a sinner.

Everything that we do in this world will pass away. That is the nature of our "being". We know ourselves as a fact. The inner questions that can trouble us are to be partially answered at death but the full answer will only come when Jesus returns to complete the perfect creation that has been marred by humanity.

Other people are also facts. There are many of us who are born with bodily defects. The body that we know as a fact is shaped by our DNA. The  revolt against God that began in Eden has taken many forms over the centuries. Every soul ever created by Father, Son and Holy Spirit  has been faced with difficulties that have arisen from, created by the response of each individual's "Yes" or "No" to his/her place in the Providence of God.

We first become aware of "life" and of other people as our embryonic form develops to become the baby who can still obtain nourishment from its mother's body via her breast. This is true for most of us, but what about the demoniac who is host to "Legion"? What about those whose bodies do not function as they should? "The man born blind"?

Those whose genitals are indeterminate really can ask for their bodily defects to be righted but have to accept that their confusion about gender cannot become their excuse for sin. Our Father in Heaven does not punish the blameless. His Cross brings his Mercy to multitudes but we must not deny him. We have to say "Yes" to whatever God provides in this life to be able to access the Love that pours from the side opened by the lance.

Dear Lord, you know that my sorrow for those who are tortured by their beings and place in your Providence is an honest question not a stupid attempt to catch you out.You know that my faith is the faith of childhood Sunday School. I still strive to be sinless but can remember that the "innocent child" that wanted to be holy contained a devious sinful soul. I have changed but you know more than I how I still fall short. May Mary who, although sinless herself and with the perfect, for a human, sight of God, has felt the pangs of all the mothers of Syria, Palestine Israel Gaza and Yemen and still knows the pain of clasping the corpse of the Incarnate Son to the bosom that had fed Him, plead that the Grace won on Calvary force its way past all the barriers which we erect to protect our pride so that we can see the Wonder of your being as did your Prophets, Kings, Apostles and mere children.

 

 28/01/2023

The misuse of the freedom which is part of our being and is "an image and likeness" of the infinite freedom that is part of the being of Father, Son and Holy Spirit is the origin of sin. Today Moses reminds the people that they themselves couldn't bear the awesome inescapability that living each moment aware that "they are naked" brought to Adam and Eve.

He reminds them that IAMIAM had approved their "fear of God" and promised them prophets to show them the way through life. This promise was the renewal of the Covenant made to Noah and the Old Testament is the record of the Prophets' reiteration of the promise to the Chosen People living in the world, in the providence of God, modified by their own freedom.

All the guidance of the prophets has been completed in the Resurrection. All of us are able to access Love and Mercy for that is the purpose of the Incarnation and the teaching of the Apostles.

I who am alive today am aware of God and my responsibilities to my Creator through the teaching of  Scriptures and of the Church. St Paul and the Apostles are the guardians and interpreters of the  teaching of the Son of God. Jesus is the completion of God's Covenant with Humanity. 

He loves us and approves of our efforts towards knowing, loving and serving. He knows our humanity from the inside and thus knows that giving Him our undivided attention can only be achieved when "heaven and earth will pass away; my Word will stand and God will be All in All."

Dear Lord, may I avoid sin today. May my mind  and will search for you. May your Mercy suffocate sins before they catch fire. May  the unjust sufferings of the people of Gaza and Yemen come to an end. May the descendants of Solomon realise that without you Israel is just a race of humans that is different from other people. May Mary who is the only human to have ever known what "favoured by God" truly means lead the Saints in praise of your Glory and ask forgiveness for all the living and dead sinners that we are on earth and in Purgatory.

 27/01/2024

Today I am very conscious of my sinfulness and appalled by how easy it is for me to be filled with rage. However, I have not lost the part of me that looks to God for forgiveness and knows that I am guilty. My life on earth is so much better when I can truly love "my neighbour as myself" and put others before my own self.

All my sins come about because my miniscule "I am" becomes for me greater than the "IAMIAM" who chose David. David too knows that his fault begins when he allows himself to ignore God and plots to take Uriah's wife for himself. He also knows that his spirit can become steadfast again and his heart  re-purified if he returns to God.

God is just and so David has to be punished for he is directly responsible for the deaths of Uriah and the child.

I have been guilty of many sins and the remorse that I feel today has often passed away with time. The Eternity known by Father, Son and Holy Spirit is timeless and so my sins are ever present but forgiven in the Eternal Sacrifice. There is nothing that I can do to become deserving of this forgiveness except open my heart and mind directly to Heaven and sincerely say "Forgive me Father for I have sinned".

Dear Lord, let my heart become pure again and my soul steadfast to accept the just punishment that my sinfulness deserves. I think that these are not mere words but are myself prostrate before your Justice and Mercy. May Mary and all the saints continue to pray for me and all other sinners still living and for the Holy Souls paying the price of sin in the punishment of separation from thee in the pains of Purgatory.