11/03/2024

I have always had the vague idea that John's Gospel differs from the others in that it is more like a memoir and commentary written long after the events than a journalistic narrative as are the other three. I must have picked up this idea from sermons that I have listened to and books that I have read but it is vague as I have never studied the Bible in a systematic way.

In this morning's Gospel Jesus is remembered on his return from a visit to Jerusalem as coming  back into Galilee. John comments that although Jesus had previously remarked that the Nazarenes had showed no respect for him, he still returned to Galilee and this time was well received as his words and deeds in Jerusalem had also been witnessed by Galileans who had  been present for the feast.

At Cana the "court official" asks for Jesus to cure his son who was sick in Capernaum. Jesus gently reminds him that it is not right to put our God to the test. Jesus shows in his life on Earth that it is possible for us to live a life of righteousness. Our Father knows all of his creation and the official's son who is certainly more than a sparrow,  is cured. 

It is not by the signs and portents that are sought by the Jews, or intellectual discourse dear to the hearts of the Greeks that we will come to the never ending life of heaven but by keeping our minds and hearts uncluttered by the things of this world and by being open to receive every word from the mouth of God for he has created us to receive the Love that is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Dear Lord, let me be guided this day only by your Love. Let those events of long ago which were the result of your incarnate presence on earth be remembered with the gratitude that can never be enough to respond to you, the Ever-greater. May Mary join her prayers with those of all the saints that we can come to the purity of atonement that will be the result of Purgatory for all sinners who begin their repentance in their Earthly lives.

 10/03/2024

During our lives on Earth we all have to give "Glory and praise", we have to worship our God who is beyond our comprehension. There is nothing that can limit God who has revealed himself to be a "One" that is a "Trinity" of persons. Jesus prays to the Father and His Prayer is the Holy Spirit who is his begetter in the womb of Mary,Theotokos. That is the Glory that we worship with love in our hearts.

St Paul is a conscientious pastor and his letters are written to his fledgling churches not to be debated but to instruct the pagans on how to receive the free gift of grace, which before was limited to righteous Jews, that will confirm them in the faith that will lead to everlasting life. 

We too should just accept that God has revealed himself completely by the words and deeds of the Jesus who was nailed to a cross and died in agony so that the world could be purged of the damage caused by sin. The death had to precede the  Resurrection to reveal the Justice that is God's. 

That Resurrection provides us with the grace to live our lives in safety. We can know, love and serve our God not because we can serve and be served by a human institution but we can become part of the Spiritual life that is unseen by eyes but is the Body of Christ built up by the God-given mission of St Paul. It is the Spiritual Union of all Saints and repentant sinners alive in their bodies on Earth, God's own in Heaven and those learning how to repent in the Justice of Purgatory .

It is this Church that Jesus promises will never fail. We have only ourselves to blame for the chronic failures that are witnessed to by the accumulated wealth and worldliness of an institution claiming for itself to be the  Body of Christ on Earth and which very soon after its foundation forgot "my Kingdom is not of this World."

Dear Lord, I pray that I am not completely wrong-headed in my reaction to the failings in deeds that the Church cannot hide any longer. Their poor performance at the inquiry into "coverups" should have informed them that the promised inspiration of the Holy Spirit ("when men take you before tribunals the Holy Spirit will speak for you") was nor there for them. Even a resignation would have done more for their credibility . May the hierarchy of England and Wales review first of all their own faith and then guide their sheep in the truth that results in the way to life. May Mary than whom there is no other human closer to Our Father who is her son and the Holy Spirit beseech you to help all sinners to open their hearts to the infinite grace that You Father, Son and Holy Spirit bestow on all of creation.

 09/03/2024

We are all part of this world created by God. There has never been an era in times past when the world was as full of the works of man as it is today. Mankind is the greatest of God's creatures. We are the image and likeness of Our Father and this is revealed in the works of man which have come into existence out of the freedom God has given to us.

Jesus tells us that the Pharisee in the Temple stands before God and thanks him for his self-satisfied moral superiority. 

In the world of today we lose ourselves in creating new wealth out of the material of the Universe, in the delights of uncreative sexual pleasure and calm any disquietude we might feel by altering the function of our brains with chemicals which we ourselves manufacture. For the most part mankind does not give a thought to anything beyond the material of this Universe even though we all know that our bodies are not everlasting and will wear out. Mankind has become its own god until that moment of departure, the end of this life, death.

Jesus also tells us that the Publican in  the Temple is despised by the Pharisee but is favoured by God. 

As a publican he is not short of material wealth but the simplicity of his prayer tells us that he has the Hebrew awareness of God who has revealed himself to his people. He knows that in his life it is only his personal conduct that has any importance for he has to be the guardian of his soul which is the image and likeness of God. He knows that he has transgressed in his way of life. He feels guilt and knows that it is only God who can clean his spiritual slate of all his debts. He knows that there is an evergreater power and is in the Temple to confess his sins and seek the mercy of God.

Dear Lord, please forgive me for all my sins and let trust in you not become the self satisfied religiosity that you have warned us about so many times. As always it is in deeds that we follow you so let this, my morning prayer set the tone for today's living and help me to avoid sin today. May the prayers of Mary the Mother of your Son together with all the saints continue their pleas for us the sinners on Earth to open our hearts to your mercy and for those in Purgatory to welcome the Justice that is your will for them.

 8/03/2024

Hosea's images taken from the wonders of Nature celebrate God's creative fruitfulness. There is a very gentle warning, more of a reminder, that when we "stumble" we loose touch with the source of all that is fulfilling in our life on Earth.

The Psalmist hears a voice that he does not recognise in the depths of his being. He is inspired in his soul and realises that it is God who is addressing him in his spirit; Supreme Spirit speaks to his created image; to all the hearts that open to hear and recognise him as the one Source.

In the Gospel the one Source, incarnate on Earth, gives a straight answer to the question that is probably asked with ill intention. Jesus' charisma when speaking as Father, Son and Holy Spirit to his creatures is irresistible and the scribe who witnesses these words of Moses received from the Father now spoken by the Son is converted by the Spirit from guile to awesome agreement.

Our Lord blesses him accordingly. 

Dear Lord may the blessing received by the scribe in today's gospel have fruit in the hearts of all who this day hear it. May those who have lost their way to you in the tangles created by themselves and all mankind who should have learned by now that Salvation only comes from you and it is always there for us when we ask. May Mary, who has never been alienated from you, continue to guide from heaven the spiritual body of whose Head she is the Mother which we can all join in the spirit to cooperate in your praise in Heaven, Mercy on earth and Forgiveness in Purgatory.

 07/03/2024

Trick questions are usually asked of Jesus by those who felt threatened by his words and deeds. Those present at today's curing of the dumb man know that they had witnessed a miracle. As they try to make sense of what their eyes had seen and their ears had heard an opinion arose that it is through the power of Beelzebub that Jesus is able to command "devils" to obey him.

None of us can deny the logic of Jesus' rejoinder to the murmuring . For us, 2000 years later, it is a very small step for us to take from this to look at the state of the Institutional Church as she has been over the centuries since Jesus told us that "the kingdom of God has overtaken you". 

 In the very first days in Jerusalem arguments arose among the brothers. The apostles had quarrelled about personal power even when they walked behind Jesus on the final ascent to Jerusalem. Six hundred years before the Incarnation, Jeremiah had delivered God's message to the "nation that will not listen to the voice of its Lord their God nor take correction. Sincerity is no more, it has vanished from their mouths." We all still need to listen to that message today.

Jesus broke the power of the "strong man" but we have found him again in the depths of our being and have given him back his power by continuing to say "yes" to the Devil, the World and the Flesh by saying "no" to God. Each one of us has to be and can be perfect in our human freedom "even as your Father who art in heaven is perfect" and it is only by each one of us turning back to Father, Son and Holy Spirit that the face of the Earth will be renewed and we will reach the never ending holiness of God who art in Heaven.

Dear Lord, let me overcome all the sinfulness of which I am capable. Let me come near to you and let the Body of Christ on Earth be in the sincere spiritual community that can be found also within the corruption that has always disfigured your own Earthly foundation. May Our Lady who as carrier of your growing embryo can be considered the Church's prefoundation in your humanity continue to lead the heavenly body of which you are the head in praise and pleading for the second coming which will complete your will for material creation. Maranatha. Lord Jesus come. Amen

 06/03/2024

We the peoples who have heard the words of the Law from Moses and those who have tried to access the Grace manifest by the Incarnation have fallen far short of the of what Our Father wants for all his human creatures. We do not show in either our institutions or personal lives the behaviours that would inspire "No other people is as wise and prudent as this great nation!"

The Jews have certainly followed Moses "Do not forget the what your eyes have seen nor let them slip from your heart, all the days of your life rather tell them to your children and to your children's children". The descendants of Moses have certainly done this. The occupation of Palestine is a deliberate attempt to steal land and possessions by force of arms and accumulated wealth from the rightful owners. The continued slaughter in Gaza is as great a sin as the Gas Chambers of Auschwitz  and ensures that strife will continue and evil flourish in this our material world.

The Institution that Jesus founded on Peter has over the course of two thousand years acquired vast wealth and possessions and claimed to be the one source on Earth for the grace that enables its followers to follow the Law as completed by Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Can, however, the institution that, during its growth in this world, has perpetrated evil and crimes in the Pharisaical Hypocrisy condemned by the Son of God be said to be the completion of the Law for righteous living revealed through Moses?

Jews, as are all other humans, have always been "of this world" and inconsistent in their history as the "chosen people". It was their humanity, however,  in the person of Mary that God chose to carry his only begotten son. It was a Jew's arms that were spread out and nailed to the cross for them to be able to enclose all humanity in his love. At his trial he told us all, disciples, scribes, priests and Caesar "My kingdom is not of this world". 

The Kingdom of God is not located in any institution or building but in "every word that comes from God" which finds its place in human hearts and is revealed in this world by their deeds.

 We all have been given the freedom of will to choose and to build "the Kingdom" in  the depths of our being. This is the purpose of my every breath.

Dear Lord, you know my shame and failure to live up to the standards that you have revealed to us all. Help me to know your grace and use it to serve you and learn how to love you in service to others. May Mary who knew Gaza in her worldly life and who as she witnessed your torture and crucifixion can never forget how we have always inflicted pain upon each other, pray that each human being who is about to inflict pain and death on a fellow human has a vision of his own death and resist the evil that he is able to avoid. May we all on earth and  in purgatory receive Mercy and completely forgive all others who are harming or have ever harmed us.

 05/03/2024

Today's first reading is not historically accurate. In fact it was written many centuries after the event it depicts. The Gospel reading similarly took on the form it has for us today more than 300 years after the events which completed God's revelation to his people on Earth.

Why then am I reading and pondering on myself alive in the world today in the light of these deeds recorded as words, that can be disputed by scholars, from long ago? I do believe in God. I do believe that he knows me. I do believe that everything in this world passes away into nothingness except for the reciprocal Love between God and his people.

Daniel tells us that God has always had a special love for the descendants of Noah. He does not tell us that he cares nothing about other humans who are often portrayed in the Old Testament as sinners whose idolatry should be driven from the face of the Earth. The chosen people similarly fall into the quick fix for their longing for God by sacrifice to a Golden Calf rather than the long but sure way to righteousness that God reveals to them through his prophets.

St Peter asks Jesus about how we can live righteously in a world filled as it is with other human beings whom we cannot know with the intimacy that we know ourselves and try to know Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The first link of the golden chain that binds us all in the mystical Body of Christ is forgiveness. Our God knows everything and forgives everything. God does not want to punish anyone. My childish sins are forgiven as is the Godless inhumanity of today in Gaza and the graver sins of my adulthood.

My God calls out to me from his Old Testament and from his Incarnate words and life in the New. Sometimes the weight of the guilt of our personal sins seems to overwhelm us but Jesus tells us by his words, death and resurrection that  "forgiveness" is real and begins with us who are forgiven in ourselves in as much as we forgive others. God has created us as free beings who are responsible for the way we live out our time on Earth. Thanks be to God.

Dear Lord, help me to retain the sense of being known to you throughout this today and let my anger be controlled so that I can forgive but not forget that we can all implore your mercy not only for ourselves but for all, friend and foe alike. May Mary who only knows sin as the pains of the  passion that Jesus accepted to generate forgiveness for all mankind continue to lead the Angels and Saints in their praise of you and in pleas of Mercy for sinners on Earth and in Purgatory. God forgive us our trespasses and let our forgiveness of others become as complete as your own. Amen