30/09/2022

God's revelation of himself to Moses "I am who I am" tells us once and for all that God exists. Moses Job and I know that we too exist. The nature of conscious being is to know itself. Job knows that the source of his consciousness is the all powerful other whose actions are witnessed by him each day but cannot come under his control. The irony of Job's interrogator "You must be very old by now?" is definitely the human reason responding to its own thought and so Job is one with the unenlightened Philosophers of Ancient Greece who were similary using human reason to unravell both the physical universe and meaning of human life.

The psalmist is responding to his joy that he is alive. He is one of the lucky ones who has benefitted from God's revelation to Moses and grown in knowledge of the Lord .He knows that God is the all powerful creator. His joy is in the now we can all know in our human time. He does not in this prayer look for anything greater than this moment his heart burst with the joy of life and thanks to his Creator.

Job knows the"after life" as a place of vague shadows. He has no concept of reward and punishment for his life. The response to the psalm "Lead me,O Lord, in the path of life eternal" speaks of "heaven" but is probably a late addition. Jesus is completely forthright. His revelation is the total truth of Father Son and Holy Spirit and he makes it quite clear that  if we reject him and his obedience to the will of the Father then it is Hell that awaits us after death.

Dear Lord we all pray that we may fulfill our lives in accordance with your will; that we avoid evil and shout for joy for the Spirit, upholder and saviour of our being, is always with us. May Mary and all the saints in Eternity help us to build a Great Wall of Faith to protect all the world from the evils of the fallen angels. May trust and belief in Father, Son and Holy Spirit sustain me throughout this day, keeping me and mine from sin.

 29/09/2022

In the visions of  God's Glory granted to the prophets there are always spiritual beings who are usualy in motion around God. Jesus too talks of angels ascending and descending. Mary's total obedience to God's will at the Annunciation was relayed by an angel; Gabriel carried her "fiat"into heaven. At the Nativity crowds of Angels sang their joy at the Glory of God.

There is not much more that can be said about this order of being which definitely is not human and must therefore be  called supernatural for it is unknowable to our human senses. We know that they are real for God has often used them as messengers to inform his people on earth of his intentions beyond our comprehension. 

The overweening pride of Angels is seen as the advent of evil into God's created being and no matter how long I live and pray to be only in the presence of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the non-created Evergreater Glory and Love,  I have a resentment that my best intentions, my commitment my sincerity are  perpetually at war with the non-human source of the sin of our race. 

Our Father in heaven knows that as Job, I do not curse him but more than Job can only be totally awed by the human life of Son in Jesus and his continuing Eucharistic Presence. God  is Evergreater, Power and Glory and also Evergreater Humility Love and Mercy which he shares with each human body and soul especially with those who are damaged by sin to the extent that their pride leads them to deny the Word and refuse the Mercy that has been poured out endlessly on Calvary.

Dear Lord lead me not into temptation but deliver me from evil. Let me stay true to your teaching and know that there is no danger in life greater than the refusal of your merciful love. Let me focus on your cross and your Mother present with you at every moment of your humanity and may she with all the Angels and Saints lead us to victory against the evil one the creator of Evil and Enemy of God. 

 28/09/2022

Not many records of how the first men reacted to their own being within the temporal reality that they inhabited have survived. Although the Book of Job was written much later than its historical setting it presents a man  who recognises that all that he sees and hears and touches is  the work of another being than himself. He knows that God is the Evergreater by his natural experience and by the memories of his forebears which have survived since Noah. Job is presented  as certainly pre-Abraham  and  his "words"  as an acceptance of God and his realities by a man unenlightened by revelations but accepting of his own experiences.

Jesus  enlightens all by telling us that our Faith, our commitment to him cannot be selective. We have to follow him all the way. We have to recognise that there are no comfort zones in which to lay down and rest our consciences and our belief convinceing ourselvesthat we are following God's will for us. Filial devotion or necessary work do not replace the the total commitment that Jesus , Father Son and Holy Spirit, shows on his way to the Cross. Jesus the perfect Man is not only the way, the truth and the life he is also both Judge and standard against  which we will be judged. We all have great need of God's Mercy if we are to be fit for the Kingdom. 

Dear Lord for a few moments each day I pray. Let my prayer be acceptable. Guide me on the way to your Holiness that I might be cleansed by touching the hem of your garment. May Mary and all the Saints who have lived their lives without turning back be with your Faithfull and support us by their prayers.

 27/09/2022

Job gives vent to his despair  as he laments the futility of his life. He sees the grave as rest from the evil fortunes of this life. he knows that he is but wishes that he were not. He has been conceived and born into  meaningless futulity and the only solution for him is the peace of the grave. Job bitterly complains to God whom he accuses of being the obstacle to his happiness in life. However he does not deny the existence of God or of "being" after death.

The Samaritan villagers deny entry to Jesus for he is on his way to Jerusalem, to Zion, and bypasing their Temple Mount, Gerizim. As usual the disciples know what is "right" and demand that the village in question should be destroyed. John is portrayed later as the beloved disciple, the Apostle of God's Loving Kindness but here he is truly a "Son of Thunder" with the reaction to the slighting of the Lord worthy of  rashness of St Peter at his most thoughtless.

The patience of Father, Son and Holy Spirit with humanity is very much part of the Revelation that is to be found in Scripture. God listens to our cries.  His Love knows the reality of our sometime helplessness. As Job we sometimes face the wall and scream out against the perceived unfairness in our lives. As John and James we demand the destruction of the perceived enemies of God. Jesus knows that our freedom has to be curtailed but not by an act of the Father rather by us bringing our freedom into line with his, the Evergreater. Jesus listens but continues to another village.

Dear Lord me let me listen to your teachings and follow your example. I must not give in to any perception of futility in my Life. I must not react in petulant anger against the  thriving of Evil over good that is still part of this world. May I never lose sight of the support that is the  prayer of Mary and all the Saints in eternity. May St Vincent de Paul uphold the members of the society that bears his name, in their work for the needy and poor of this world.

 26/09/2022

We do not know much about Angels. We have assumed from the few mentions of them in the revelations of them in both Testaments that they are spiritual beings created by God and bearing witness to him in a spirtual creation that exists about God as "Thrones and Dominions". From these the tempter fell. Satan is his given name and in the Book of Job it is Satan who attacks God in his very being as he had done with his temptation of Adam and Eve.

We have so much to consider when setting out to live our lives according to the self-revealed guidance of God. The basis of everything in my being and life is that I am not the only being. I am one of billions of others equally known to God who is the Evergreater Father Son and Holy Spirit known by Love which creates our World. Words can go only so far in explaining our human situation. Sometimes they can go too far and in trying to match my brain to the recorded thoughts of intelligences far greater than mine I am feeding my own ego when I do understand and, more usually,  wasting a lot of time when I don't.

In Jesus days on earth he lived a completely human life. He knew all the conflicts that fill our beings. He needed human food; he ate and drank and got rid of the waste in a purely human animal way. He got footsore and wrapped his face to avoid the dust of the deserts. He rubbed the dust from his eyes and he knew that all his disciples both then and now have to face up to the great temptation of putting ourselves before not only God but also our neighbour. We have been taught nothing greater than when Jesus tells us to call our Father and his "Dad" for then we are true to our being, children; the brothers and sisters all created to know love and serve in this world in preparation  for the Eternity in which we will  completely know God as he knows us.

Dear Lord help me this day to be true to your teaching and never forget that the sacrificial death you accepted in atonement for my sins was as real as my own will be but far worse for you emptied youself in an Evergreater humility which can only fill us with awe for human thoughts and words cannot approach the enormity of your Saving Act. May the Saints led by Mary continue to share the grace that they now have in super abundance with your struggling people on Earth especially with your clergy in the Church they lead and care for.

 25/09/2022

Amos paints a picture of what was the luxury of  life known by the rich in the Midle-East of his day. As with all ancient civilisations this lifestyle was built on Military power and slavery. Amos' inspiration is to warn his fellow Jews that in "the day of the Lord" those who delight in the transient goods of their times will lose them.

St Paul continues his formation of Timothy by extolling the virtues of faith and love and  to always remember the promises that he made when he professed his belief in the Resurrection and thus has come to know Father Son and Holy Spirit. He too must be ready for "the day of the Lord" which now can be specifically identified as the "Appearing of the Lord". The Second Coming of Jesus.

Jesus himself tells the parable of "Richman and Lazarus". In this he makes it quite clear that it is only in the human "now" of our life on Earth that we can open our hearts to the revelations prepared by the Old Testament and continued in his human life with us on Earth. He has indeed returned from the Dead place of Dives and the relationship between God and his creation has now been made clear. Blessed are we who have not seen but believe and blesed is the infinite Mercy of God which has revealed the way, the truth and the eternal Love that he has prepared for us.

Dear Lord may I this day avoid sin and not be so engrossed in life that I forget you. May all your priests take St Paul's words to heart and strive to become as Timothy and Paul his mentor. May Mary continue in  her loving and sorowful support at the foot of the cross even in the face of the great blaspemies that we on Earth are perpetuating.

 24/09/2022

The translation of the words of Ecclesiastes is beautiful poetry which held my attention to the very end. Each day we face on awakening the wonder of being alive in this wonderful world. The writer captures the flavour of Youth for whom the delights of this world are being revealed and increased as the body grows to maturity, but his purpose is to warn that this too will pass.

In my youth I was aware that I was living in the sight of God. I knew then that I would have to answer for the deeds of my life. My conscience was never at rest. I was acutely aware of my sinfulness. I still am for this is to be human.

Even my attempts at prayer and meditation are in danger from my sense of self. My vanity is the vanity of vanities, puffed up ego that can always find excuses to turn me away from God. Jesus tells us to keep his words constantly  in mind. Constant prayer keeps  our souls open to the Holy Spirit who fills the world with the Loving Grace that is the being of Father Son and Holy Spirit. It is Love that we must welcome in the mornings when we are awakened by the same Grace from the terrors of the night which are the result of sin.

Dear Lord, there is nothing I can say that is fitting for you so all my prayer has to do is  know you and accept your will for me in my sinfulness. May Mary and all your angels and Saints pray that we on Earth can come to a destruction of our pride and truly know that you are our Lord, our God and our Eternal Now.