There is nothing but joy in today's readings. There is the prospective joy of the two mothers to be, the Messianic joy promised to Zion and our own joy as we share in the joy contained in the words of the OT and the new. The alternative reading from St Paul is a definition of Christian acts and interaction with one another.  I don't think that St Paul was present at the Sermon  on the Mount but his letter contains the basis of that which has become in time Catholic Social teaching expounded in millions of words in thousands upon thousands of books. There is nothing more beautiful in any writing  than the Holy Spirit inspired paean of joy to our Creator by the bearer of His Son, that is the Magnificat. 

In these modern times, Jesus, true God and true man, was  in an embryonic state that would be  approved for termination of pregnancy. Lord what have done to thee?

Dear Lord send us your Holy Spirit that we can have the power to truly withstand the evils that we condemn but still allow to happen. Many are condemned but few change their ways. Help us Jesus.

 Today our Church faces God directly and professes our total belief in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in persons three but one God collectively and individually. When clever people and non-Christians mock this seeming contradiction we can say that this is evidence of the revelation that has come to us. If we were trying to convince / evangelize the unbeliever such a proposition as "The Trinity" would not have been conceived.. The Risen Christ, a stumbling block for his people and a joke to the Greeks, was difficult  enough for St Paul to preach. I find that I can say yes to these articles of faith because that is the gift I have. I thank the Lord that the faith given to me is more important than the evidence of church failures of which each day brings more instances. God is one and three, Jesus who  was truly dead, an empty corpse, is living now and will protect His Church until the end of this universe. All is for, by and in God!

Dear God , help me to praise and know what it truly is to Love and Serve you in my life and at the End may your Mercy bring all of us into that blessing that can be ours if you so wish. 

 The wisdom sought is the Wisdom that comes from God . This wisdom is to know God. God is beyond  our wisdom to comprehend . His gift to us as humans is to be able to understand that no matter how delightful is  our pleasure in his creation,  the world, the universe, matter we are not seeing God . And when science can see the very ions that compose matter that is also not God. It is wisdom from God that reveals to us the everlasting glory of our Creator and the Holy Spirit that is his love for sinful man is brought to us by the Sacrifice of the Son. Human knowledge continues to increase like a virus it grows every hour, every second of every day but our knowledge of God is complete in the Church whose teaching is teaching essentially the same as in the first century. The Pharisees recognised that they were in a hard place but Jesus was not setting a problem for human logic to answer he wanted them to believe that in Him was all the Wisdom of God.

Dear Lord you know me for what I really am. Let me not this day tangle myself up in the thickets of my self love but continue to know that you are my Lord and my God, my Creator and my Protector my Saviour and my Sanctifier.

 The Old Testament is different from the New. The first reading seems to suggest that the rewards of  knowing God are to be found in this world. We are alive and praising the Lord because our fathers did so. There is no trace left in the world of the generations who did not live rightly but the righteous are blessed not in heaven but in the here and now. 

Jesus throughout his teaching insists that his kingdom is not of this world. The real, not in a parable, fig tree arouses some sympathy for it was not in season and so could not have been expected to have fruit. Here we see the humanity of our Lord as the poor tree gets blasted  because Jesus is hungry. After that we see the human nature again which in anger lashes out at the merchants who by making money are making a mockery of the holiness that should be there in the world's only place of true worship.

Jesus told the Pharisees that the only sign that they could expect was the "sign of Jonah" The withered fig tree seems to contradict this but Jesus uses it to reinforce his teachings about true belief; if we have faith we will move mountains. Not only faith but also forgiveness in our hearts so that Our Father in heaven, which is not some remote geographical location but a" being with God", can forgive us and welcome us into his domain which is not of this world.

Dear Lord you know what it is that I need. Please this day let me stay aware of your Glory and I hope that I can do something that makes you delight in me.

 Today's first readings proclaim the role of Priesthood in our religion while at the same time give us grounds to question it. "Then there will be no need for neighbour to teach neighbour etc". The letter to the Hebrews makes it clear that Jesus' one sacrifice is enough for it has redeemed the World . In the Gospel Jesus anticipates his passion. death and resurrection and offers up the first Eucharist. If we are to follow the teachings of the Church we have to reflect and do a lot. Our priests repeat "over and over again" as does Jesus the scene in Mark's gospel. The Love in the Father's creation can be in our hears if we open them to the Holy Spirit and seek the aid of Our Lady and of all the saints. It is we who must do this turning to the Lord in our freedom. Our wills must do the Will of the Father for there is nothing in this world without  our Triune God.

Dear Lord let me retain throughout the day the prayerfulness that I have started with. May I not forget that I and all your church are supported by the ceaseless prayers of Our Lady and all the saints.

 Today's first reading is a prayer. God is praised and acknowledged to be all powerful. The writer is convinced of God's greatness and asks for signs and portents of that greatness to inspire the rest of mankind. Later in the Gospels Jesus will answer that prayer. "The Sign of Jonah"

Today's gospel has the the disciples walking "in a daze" behind the Lord. They have had an overload of revelation and seem to have not yet understood the point of Jesus' mission. For James and John, Jesus is still going to restore the kingdom of Israel and they request places of honour. Jesus' answer is his awareness of what is to be but he is not explicit in his reply. Jesus is sometimes annoyed with his followers "get thee behind me Satan" and chastises them. Jesus is always conscious of his being "True God and true man". The disciples see the man and understand him as such. The Crucifixion and Resurrection are going to change all that. 

Dear Lord let me be aware of my sins and learn how to avoid them. Let me know that "amazed" is the right way to be when trying to approach you. Let seekers after office in your Church take note of Jesus' reply and learn to rely on the Holy Spirit.

 Today's feast of The Venerable St. Bede takes us into England many miles from where Jesus walked . However he lived the life of The Church as she had developed for the 600 years since her foundation. he followed the rule of St Benedict and grew to be renowned for his learning. The same resurrection faith that had taken St Pail on his missionary journeys had not changed and St Paul would have been at home with the liturgy and office of the monks of Jarrow. We today are 1500 years from St Bede and still strive to follow his example and the teaching brought from distant Palestine to these islands.

Dear Lord inspire with your Eucharist the followers of St Benedict whose commitment to their own founder and whose vows to you have, lamentably, been shown to  be lacking in these days. Inspire them to holiness so that we the laymen of your church may find in them  guidance to the Way, Truth and Life.

The salt has lost its savour. Was Jesus speaking to us directly about the situation that is present in St Bede's own land and the adjacent island. It is hard to believe that corrupted priests are truly able to continue to receive the Grace to confect with Jesus the blessed sacrament especially when they then distribute God's Body to those they know not to be in the state of Grace required to receive You. The salt has lost its savour. The Religious Orders in this land have vows of poverty but huge riches in buildings bank accounts and travel.

Dear Lord let your words refresh "the salt  of the earth" and let not your bishops hide corruption under their bushels; let them not pander to "modern" sensibilities but preach your Truth as revealed through the scriptures. Preserve me too in the salt of your grace and let not my anger blind me to my need of your mercy. May our end times still have the Faith to welcome You.