06/08/2024

What I call "reflections" are my attempts to tell myself how to react to the passages from scripture that are part of the liturgy of the Catholic Church in the UK. God knows that my intentions are honest. Why would anyone try to deceive God? 

I know that I have often tried to "kid" myself. Long ago, Jesus warned us that saying "Lord, Lord" in public achieved nothing. We have to listen to the revelations made by God and act in accordance with his commandments at all times in our lives. 

I am always trying to peel the onion that is the accumulations of my being after 80+ years of life to become the sinful soul aware that I am, as much as were Adam and Eve, naked in the eyes of their creator and mine.

In today's first reading from Daniel the visionary is himself a naked mortal soul looking beyond the stars that fill our Universe into the eternity that is filled with the Glory of God. In the Gospel, Jesus takes Peter, James and John apart to show them the glory that he has as Son of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

They, of course, do not want to lose the perfect Faith of that imponderable moment, but come down from the mountain with Jesus in awestruck speechlessness but mystified by what could be the meaning of "rising from the dead".

Dear Lord I thank you for the words that I have found to help me be the man you created to live a sinless life within the fullness of your Love. I can bow my head over this keyboard in the safety that comes from your grace and is strengthened by the prayers of Mary and all the saints. Help me to avoid sin and to persevere in prayer as I am soon going to learn the meaning of "rising from the dead" as I face you "the first fruits" and your judgement of my lifetime of thoughts, words and deeds. May my prayers become part of the chorus of praise led by Mary and may my soul be cleared out of the debris created by my sinful life. I am praying to and through Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Lord hear my prayer. Come Lord Jesus Come!

 05/08/2024

The Holy Spirit completed and sealed the revelations made by the Eternal God to us in the time in which our mortality has its existence. Since those final events in the "upper-room"  "God", with all that word implies, is truly present in the Eucharist. "The Body of Christ" is with us and confected by the "actions of a priest ordained by the Holy Spirit" and will be so until the end of time.

God had already guided his people in created time since the days of Moses. The Incarnation, however, was still necessary for sin to be forgiven. The people whom IAMFATHERSONHOLYSPIRIT chose to be his witnesses before all mankind had failed in their mission but "God loved his Creation" so much that the Word was begotten of the Virgin Daughter of Israel.

In the readings for the mass of today there is conflict between two Prophets. The Psalmist pleads for the inspirational guidance of the Holy Spirit. Jesus feeds the five thousand with bread that is of this world but miraculously made available out of two loaves and 5 fishes.

The Holy Spirit is present in all congregations that come together to praise and thank God. The Jews of the Old Testament tried very hard but ultimately failed to match themselves to the righteousness that is the spiritual template of his image and likeness created from nothing by Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

We have only hints about the end of time. I see that what we have made out of "go out and teach all nations" is nowhere near the righteousness taught by Jesus and echoed in baptismal promises to which Christian mankind has never fully adhered. 

Many of the first Christians came to the end of their lives in disappointment that Jesus had not returned from the Father. I, too, although aware that no-one can know the mind of God am also disappointed, especially as I am aware that the present Church resembles more and more the worldly, superficial  religion of the Pharisees and Sadducees that Jesus condemned and has thus also failed, as did its predecessor, in its Divine Mission.

I am sure that God loves us and is always with those who open themselves to the grace that  overcomes on our behalf, the devil, the world and the flesh. The battle has already been won on Calvary but we still have to wait for the Second Coming when God will be All in All. Maranatha, come Lord, Jesus come.

Dear Lord, you know that as I wrote the above there was indeed an unvoiced complaint going through my mind. You know that many of us are still shaken in our faith by what seems to us  your inaction against the evils that are perpetrated in this world, some of which are done by those who also proclaim your name. I know that you warned us about this before you left us, but I am only a man and a sinner who has to crumble in gratitude for the joy that trying to answer your call brings to me. Help me this day to stay away from sin and to act only in faithful charity. May Mary and all the saints support all sinners both here and in Purgatory and let penitence become part of our being so that  we too will be able to "Glorify the Lord and rejoice in God our Saviour" with the "wholeness" that is also a witness of the "good" you saw in your creation.

 03/08/2024

I am always aware as I begin these "jottings" that they are not planned in anyway as to follow an overall pattern. They are literally my "thought for the day" prompted by the mass readings as published on the web by "Universalis". That is why they are always the same and yet have different words.

The prophets in the Old Testament always preached the same warnings. "Never forget that the Lord, IAMIAM, is Holy and you are to follow him into human holiness by keeping his commandments". Living on earth we, each individual one of us, has to be aware that our lives are being lived in the heart of Almighty God and that every moment we live, we have to live never forgetful of obedience to his commandments, praise of his glory and an overwhelming gratitude, words cannot express the depths of this emotion, to the  Saviour, we know as Father,Son and Holy Spirit, who has reveled himself to mere children.

I am also always aware that I have to bequeath to my family and offer to my neighbours, to the world, a picture of a human being who is not focussed only on the things of this world but is steering his life towards the Eternal Joy that can be ours if we know, love and serve Father, Son and Holy Spirit during our lifetimes.

Dear Lord, I know that I am guided in these words by a sense of devotion to you. That I have to stifle the self that dominates and no matter how squashed is always there watching and niggling away at my confidence in my own integrity. Is this the sense of scrupulosity that caused your chosen people to become a faith that lost itself in "minute pious observances" to the extent it blanketed out  the Love which you had for them? Jesus is the complete guide for humanity flourishing in adversity and is the spiritual Church, the body of Christ, of which we are all called to be a part, the presence of Father, Son and Holy Spirit with us until the end of time. We are never alone in our struggles as Mary our mother and all the Saints from the perfection of heaven continue in the love that they practised on earth to make endless pleas for the Mercy that brings pardon to us on earth and to the Holy Souls who can be happy in knowing that they are not lost and that their punishment is just.Amen

 02/08/2024

I have experienced jealousy at what has been achieved by my relatives and former school mates as adults. Envy is a very unpleasant sin and can consume the soul of the one who is tainted by it. 

We know very little of Jesus' childhood beyond that he was "subject to his mother and father". His neighbours must have forgotten the time when he was lost and then found in the Temple chatting with Scribes and Pharisees in that they were shocked by his knowledge and eloquence when he spoke in the Synagogue.

During the three years that Jesus prepared the Jews for the final revelation he had many arguments with those who really listened to his words and understood their meanings. Jesus was indeed guilty of the "blasphemies" attributed to him by the both Sadducees and Pharisees.

Jesus taught for three years. He gave signs to the Jews for three years. He completed his mission on Calvary and on the third day the Glory of a new eternal creation burst forth in Jerusalem and all our sins can be resisted and forgiven.

Jesus, the Son, of Father, Son and Holy Spirit is our eternal and infallible Way, Truth and Life. We have to devote ourselves to doing his will and resist the temptation to live only in our worldly bodies, with minds filled by the Media. We have to resist the temptation to think that by doing harm to no-one we are obeying the second commandment. Love has always got to be a positive outgoing state of being.

Jesus is the totality of Divine and Human love but during his life-time he alienated his own family and near neighbours. He never forgot the first Commandment and he teaches us to do the same. Let us all learn to love God and thus grow in his image and likeness.

Dear Lord, I suppose that Mary was hurt by the way your relatives were ashamed of you. She knew you from the moment of conception and loved you as she cared for your infant humanity. You accepted that love as do all babies who are not harmed by their parents and were happy in her arms. You, who are Lord of All in the Trinity, weakly accepted the ministrations of your mother who although conceived and born sinless herself is still a creature as are we all. At the moment of your death agony you turned to her and John and created in your dying words to humanity a New Holy Family that is the Church of the Spirit that keeps you in its heart. Help me to be true to all that you and the Institutional Church teach so that I can continue on the way, the truth and the life that you have pointed out to me. May my prayers be heard and may this day be without sin. Amen

 01/08/2024

The image that Jeremiah uses in today's first reading could be interpreted as a metaphor for a doctrine of reincarnation as it is the same clay that is reused by the potter to perfect his new vessel.

The revealed religion practised by Jews before the coming of Christ does not have a lot to say about the after-life. The priestly opinion was that this world was the place where we followed the Law. At death we enter a place/state of half-life, Sheol, where there are delights and suffering.The Pharisees increasingly preached a general resurrection and judgement at the end of time.

With the incarnation, God, IAMIAMFATHERSONANDHOLY SPIRIT, reveals that his infinite being knows/loves each particle of created matter and that the sin created by his finite image and likeness can be forgiven, but only by the Son emptying himself and becoming truly a human being and by human suffering create the forgiving grace that is not created out of nothing but out of the humiliating pain of the public death on Calvary.

Even from the earliest times of the Church men have tried to reconcile the gentle peaceful message of Jesus with the more "hard sayings" and with the reality of the  horror of his passion and death.

Human intelligence is great enough to create machines to mimic human thinking and to understand the origin of life. We all, however must never forget that "Evergreater" creates out of nothing. We humans are always within Creation. We are known by God. We cannot escape the dragnet of death which for us is the end of worldliness. 

We are not going to be reworked by a potter but we will be judged by our deeds in this our only life and the same sweet, kindly Jesus "come to me for I am gentle and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for your souls" is not a "soft touch" but the crystal clear Justice of God although tempered by the mercy which we can all invoke. We only have one choice yes or no for God.

We can all also hope that "Hell is empty" but God cannot lie; "there will be weeping and grinding of teeth" is a strict warning from our merciful Saviour. It tells us that we are responsible for our own choices and that we are free to choose a way of life that will end either in joy, the infinite moment of knowing God, or in its alternative disaster from which there is no return.

Dear Lord, help me to do your will and condemn the sin that has dirtied my soul. Let me be overcome by the Love/ Grace/ Hope/ and Sorrow that is the mixture of feelings the Holy Spirit inspires within me. Out of this mix I can find Faith Hope and Charity to address you directly in prayer knowing that my words are encouraged by the unity of my prayer with that of the faithful on earth, your saints in heaven and Mary the mother of us all including the Holy Souls who are in the atoning safety of Purgatory.

 31/07/2024

In the first reading Jeremiah is "fed-up". He has felt the inspiration to preach God's Word, but he is reproached by those you hear him. He knows that it is God's truth and not some human thinking that he preaches and yet even "loan-sharks" do not receive the hatred that faces him.

He has never done anything contrary to the will of God. In fact, he has loved to hear God's voice in the Scriptures and in his heart but God lets his enemies have the upper-hand to the extent that he questions the value of being born.

Part of God's reaction to Jeremiah's woes is to reassure him that he has been preaching the Word. He must not change the message of God to suit the world of his generation.

In my life time I have witnessed far too much backsliding by those who should be leading us on the way, truth and life by demonstrating that they too believe and are guided by  the words that they preach.

Jeremiah did not limit his complaints to human words only. He faced up to the worldliness that was corrupting the chosen people and tarnishing their devotion to the crystal clear message that he knew came from  God. He knew that both people and temple, sheep and shepherds would, in time, incur their well-deserved punishment but it was himself who was duly punished by the hypocrites who hid their corruption under priestly garments and ostentatious display of "holiness" for his temerity in attacking the reality of their Godlessness.

Jesus always challenges us. He is the perfection that Father, Son and Holy Spirit offer us as the example to which we should aspire. Sometimes his words themselves become the "hard sayings" collected by Bible-Scholars. The image of the "treasure" being found, but not revealed to the owner of the field, does not add to my concept of fair practice in business and if the treasure is himself, the Resurrection, the Word, the Kingdom of Heaven this becomes the hardest of all "hard sayings".

There is nothing in scripture, however, that we should avoid or ignore.

 Dear Lord, help me to find the truth in all your "sayings" and deeds recorded in the Bible. Let me access the meanings which may be hidden among the words. Let my mind be open to receive the completed will of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Help those who are always preaching their own version of the morality which should rule our life on Earth lose their self -love with which they re-hammer the nails into your hands and feet. 

May my prayers join with those of all the faithful to counteract the influence of the World within your Church which has sullied you foundation  since Apostolic times. They are much interested in the "signs of the times" but your cross is the sign for all times and the teaching, life and death of Jesus is our never changing road-map to your Eternal Glory. Let my prayers open my heart to receive your grace and pardon here on earth as do the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Amen

 30/07/2024

The background music to my sinful life over the last twenty years has been a realisation that our Church has never been true to the Mission given to the Apostles. That "sweeping statement" has become my response to the reality which I face each morning when I wake up. 

Jesus preached to the chosen people who for centuries had been "the apple of God's eye" but had always treated God's bounty as their due not as the gift that our consciousness of reality is to us all.

Today I cannot see that our Church has ever been any different from the "Law" that Jesus came to fulfill. I think that, as a Catholic, I have been for all my life one of the "Anonymous Jews" who demanded the execution of Our Lord. 

St Paul is aware that Jesus changes everything as he, the Son, is the total revelation of the Father, Himself and Holy Spirit. Moses and all the  prophets did not fulfill God's will for his people by condoning their backsliding to become no different from their neighbours.

Our ancestors born into the Church in any of the generations since Apostolic times have always been guided by a human organisation that focussed its attention on its place in the world of Mammon, power and possessions. Any individuals who sought the truth of the Holy Spirit and did not follow the misguidance of Popes and Bishops were ruthlessly condemned and even killed.

In the first centuries there were many of us who tried to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, who recognised that "Church" was much more than the exoskeleton that was the Hierarchy of Clerical Orders.

 "I have sought you with all my heart, let me not stray from your commands."

But  God never forgets. Jesus has never left us alone. "Do as the Pharisees say, not as they do". He grew up until he was thirty in the perfect example of the Holy Family. He was unknown until he began to open himself to the eyes of his generation and in the process became unrecognisable to his family members.

His last words from the cross were to John and Mary and in these words I can find the hope that means that God is not letting us go our own way on the sweet road to perdition that is the "dust" of bodily life.

Our souls are the breath of the Holy Spirit, the sweet source of God's grace and we can have faith, hope and love still in our lives even though we Christians too have repeated the sins of the ancient Jews. 

God does not love us because we are wonderful but we are wonderful because God loves us.

Dear Lord, I always have to ask for grace to call me back to reality. I give myself over to you knowing that I have been filled with sin for most of my life. I know that your Church has had many holy priests but they retained their holiness in spite of the failing organisation. Our generation is guided by the desires of the flesh and the cupidity of mammon please show all the world that you are God, the Supreme Being who out of Love for sinful man chose to be in human flesh, only you  could pay  the price for the Mercy you shower down on us.