Category Archives: General

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

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Between us and you a great gulf has been fixed.
To stop anyone crossing from your side to ours.
By our past we stand transfixed.
We are as from from heaven as the stars.

This parable of the starving Lazarus is disturbing .

The only character in a parable named.
We are nameless in our banqueting.
And we know we are shamed.

How often we ignored him at our gate.
We never were actually unkind.
What then when we die will be our fate.
Are we to hell consigned.

Every year I read this parable.
Little do we change, but it is unbearable.

……

Lazarus’ fate
Was to rise up to heaven
And what will be ours

….

See Luke 16: 19-31

Our Lady of Walsingham

 

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Grant we your pilgrim people rejoicing in her care.
May become a holy house fit for his dwelling.
This is our prayer.
There is no fate more compelling.

Trying to sleep at Walsingham.
For the first in a long time I felt such joy.
What is it about this place that breaks the spiritual dam.
And leads to the simple faith of girl and boy.

And then when feeling low and passed by.
The gift at confession of the litany of humility.
Is it mere coincidence that belief is not dry.
Or something else that gives such tranquility.

In such a place boundaries seem finer.
The barrier between heaven and earth narrower.

…….

Is heaven closer
In a place like Walsingham
I believe it is

……

See The Collect of the Day

Friday of Week 25 in Ordinary Time

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Though he has permitted man to consider time in its wholeness.
Man cannot comprehend the work of God from beginning to end.
We think we are secure in our own fastness.
We imagine everything will mend.

We place so much importance in our possessions.
But they give us so little lasting happiness.

They become our insistent obsessions.
And take away all tenderness.
Better to pass time with the sea.
Never still  yet never moving.
Never captured always free.
Part of time yet never passing.
And us, we come in with the tide.
And staying there, we go out with the tide.
…….
We are part of time
There is another beyond
Not captured by it
……..
See Ecclesiastes 3: 1-11

Thursday of Week 25 in Ordinary Time

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A generation comes , a generation goes.
But the earth stands firm for ever.
We have our highs and then our lows.
But eternal spiritual truths last forever.

Looking at the engagement photo of my grandparents .
They sit there so young and beautiful in 1912.
So appealing in their loving appearance.
But into their true life, how now can I delve.

They are dead these fifty years.
And my great grandfather, who prays for this priest.
Their lives now forgotten with their hopes and fears.
Their span not a freehold, only  leased.

But these good people lived.
And they will have survived.

……

Our lives come and go
The earth goes on forever
We are forgotten

……

See Ecclesiastes 1: 2-11

St Matthew

He said to him , Follow me.
And he got up and followed him.
We have no place to flee.
Is it meant for us,  this hymn.

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In Caravaggio’s painting.
We just see Christ’s hand and fingers.
To whom is it pointing.
Is it in our direction that it lingers.

Am I the old man looking away.
Which character do we represent.
What would do , we cannot say.
For whom is this call meant.

And he got up and followed.
Meanwhile, they will say of us,  we just wallowed.

……

To whom does it point
There are a few in the room
Is it meant for us

……

See Matthew 9: 9-13

Tuesday of Week 25 in Ordinary Time

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The hard working man is thoughtful, and all is gain.
Too much haste and all that comes of it is want.
Nothing honestly tried is in vain.
Nor need anything us daunt.

As usual I was using the night to worry.
Than I concentrated on the concept of loving people.
The whole thought kept me steady.
As if I looking at a beautiful restored steeple.

Perhaps start with a grandchild.
Or spouse or son or daughter.
And let the thought be filed.
For resentment it’s a kind of blotter.

Love can be everywhere.
We just have to stare.

……

Love does conquer all
We have to ponder on it
And something happens

…..

See Proverbs 21

Monday of Week 25 in Ordinary Time

 

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Lord who shall dwell on your holy mountain.
He who walks without fault.
There she shall walk, for on her was no stain.
Coming into her life’s work  only by default.

Yet she was the one who was  the faithful.
Her only thought that of service.
We who remember her are so grateful.
Truly she never did anyone any disservice.

Her guiding star , her Christianity.
Duty, everything stemmed from that.
Here was no vanity , only humanity.
To all that was required of her , she gave her fiat.

She kept her pledge, come what may.
Who can that gainsay.

….

Queen Elizabeth
Her guiding star was duty
To the very end

…..

See Psalm 14

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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No servant can be the slave of two masters.
He will hate the first and love the second.
And thus we are overtaken by life’s disasters.
Our fate is already reckoned.
There is only one master worth having.
And he is not visible at the moment.
Neither arriving nor leaving.
But still ever present.
An account of our stewardship will be drawn up.
And we may be told we are the steward no more.
We will be given a final round up.
And we will be searched to our very core.
We cannot be the slave of God and of money.
Of the few and not the many.
…..
Are slaves to money
Able to worship their God
Is it possible
……
See Luke 16: 1-13

Saturday of Week 24 in Ordinary Time

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The thing that you sow.
Is not what is going to come.
We may now be ever so low.
But now sound the drum.

The thing that is sown is perishable.
What is raised is imperishable.
It is truly spiritual.
No mere ritual,  but lyrical.

The thing that is sown is contemptible.
But what is raised is glorious.
All this is truly credible.
And ultimately victorious.

The soul has its own embodiment.
And so does the spirit have its own embodiment.

…..

The thing that you sow
Is not then the thing to come
It is glorious

…..

See 1 Corinthians 15 : 35-37, 42-49

Friday of Week 24 in Ordinary Time

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If there is no resurrection of the dead.
Christ himself cannot have been raised.
This is our unsaid dread
For then how can he be praised.

If Christ has not been raised.
Then our teaching is useless.
But at this claim people stand amazed.
The truth is , it’s anyone’s guess.

We just have to have faith in the one.
Nothing can be proved, only assumed.
And perhaps we will win our crown.
And we hope we are not doomed.

But our body raised up too.
That is believed by all too few.

……

Will we be raised up
We only believe through faith
Nothing is proven

…….

See 1 Corinthians 15: 12-20

Our Lady of Sorrows


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This child , destined to be a sign of contradiction.
And your own soul a sword will pierce.
Heralding crucifixion and ascension.
Of salvation , an infinite source.Conceived in such hope.
Which died at the foot of the cross.
How could she possibly cope.
Or face alone her loss.

But despair gives way to joyfulness.
Mourning to meeting.
Despair to happiness.
Farewell to new greeting.

Thus for a time our unions are sundered.
But all partings will eventually  be ended.

……

Lady of sorrow.
Of great hope and of  despair
And redemption

…….

See John 19 : 25-27

The Exultation of the Cross

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The son of man must be lifted up.
As Moses lifted up the servant in the desert.
And he must drink death’s cup.
After enduring grievous hurt.

Christ chose annihilation.
Latin, Annihilatus reduced to nothing.
An utter and complete cessation.
But still in death’s ante chamber, loving.

No cross
No crucifixion.
No loss.
No benediction.

This is our story.
And the way to glory.

……..
What leads to new life
It’s Annihilation
If it’s on the cross
……..
See John 3 : 13-17

Tuesday of Week 24 in Ordinary Time

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A dead man was being carried out for burial.

The only son of his mother, a widow.
We who are so mercurial.
Cannot appreciate how it is to feel so low.
The widow, bereft of husband and only son.
Grieving with no possible support.
But Jesus was compassionate to anyone.
When all else fails, he is the last resort.
She did not even ask for anything.
Yet he felt sorry for her.
He, the eternal mainspring.
Nothing will him deter.
In our grief we may not ask.
But he is equal to any task.
……..
We may be grieving
But someone is listening
And he’s always there
…….
See Luke 7: 11-17

Monday of Week 24 in Ordinary Time

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I am not worthy to have you under my roof.

But give the word and let my servant be cured.
We do not need to search for proof.
Or to be self assured.
The centurion did not have to read the litany of humility.
Or to demand the holy presence.
He asked only for charity.
And was imbued with patience.
From the desire to be consulted deliver me Jesus.
From the desire to be praised deliver me Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated deliver me Jesus
From the fear of being despised deliver me Jesus.
The centurion asked only for duty of his men.
And yet was destined never to be forgotten.
…….
He did not ask much
Yet received much in return
That was his reward
……
See Luke 7: 1-10

24 th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Your brother here was dead .
He was lost and is found.
Our past is lost, we can barely look ahead.
The truth is hidden and too profound.

At Walsingham, reading the Litany of Humility.
Attributed to Cardinal Merry del Val.
It leads to a strange sense of tranquility.
In any setback, it’s good for morale.

From the desire to be esteemed deliver me Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled deliver me Jesus.
From desire of being preferred to others deliver me Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted deliver me Jesus.

From the fear of being calumniated deliver me Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed, deliver me Jesus.

….

From esteem’d desire
Please deliver us Jesus
From extolled desire

……

See Luke 15 : 1-32

Saturday of Week 23 in Ordinary Time

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There is no sound tree that produces rotten fruit.
Nor again a rotten tee that produces sound fruit.
We grow slowly from our root.
It is already laid out, our route.

All this anger, bitterness and depression.
It cannot be hidden.
It comes from within, this aggression.

By our fruits we are known.
So are we rotten within.

Have we reaped what we have sown.
To our denial and chagrin.

But there is hope, we can change what is within.
Resurrection is built in.

…..

We are a sound tree
We all can produce good fruit
We just have to try

…..

See Luke 6 : 43-49

Friday of Week 23 in Ordinary Time

All the runners at the stadium are trying to win.
But only one of them gets the prize.
And how can we free ourselves from sin.
Even with our our lows and highs.

 

 

 

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All the fighters in the stadium go into strict training.
They do this to win a wreath that will wither away.
our wreath will never start withering.
We can only hope that’s true, we just have to pray.

I treat my body hard and make it obey me.
I should not want to be disqualified.
This is my only plea.
I only have one guide.

I am the slave of no one.
Just everyone.

…….

I am no one’s slave
But I’m slave to everyone
That must be the way

…….

See 1 Corinthians 9

Thursday of Week 23 in Ordinary Time

 

 

 

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I trust in your merciful love.

Let my heart rejoice in your saving help.
A soul arises like the dove.
To be joined to our constant help.
When  death arrives.
We can take solace.
In faithful lives.
And recall what is flawless.
Faith and duty.
Service and commitment.
Now to greater glory.
A new advent.
And so a life passes.
And a soul rises.
…..
Death is not the end
But it is a new birthday
And a new lifetime
……
See Psalm 12

Wednesday of Week 23 in Ordinary Time

Happy are you when people abuse you.
Denounce your name as criminal.
All this is nothing new.
And it is pivotal.

As I listened to these words.
My mood brightened.
We may not be able to fly like birds.
But there  is no need to be frightened.

 

 

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Things may go wrong all the time.
Our life of career has not turned out as we hoped.
We are no longer in our prime.
But to this life we are not for ever roped.
Things will get better next time.

So our difficulties will be rewarded.
And they will be recorded.

…….

We may be abused
We may be called criminal
But it’s to the best

……..

See Luke 6 : 20-26

Tuesday of Week 23 in Ordinary Time

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If the world is to be judged by you.
How can you be unfit to try trifling cases.
We can take our due.
And receive new graces.

Since we are made to judge angels.
It follows we can judge matters of everyday life.
Even if we will never be approached by archangels.

our old ties will be cut with a celestial knife.

We hope to be washed clean.
And sanctified.
Until all is understood and seen.
And we have found our guide.

We hope to be justified.
And never have died.

………

We are sanctified
And in his name justified
We need to have faith

………

See 1 Corinthians6:

Monday of Week 23 in Ordinary Time

Dry yeast photographed on sieve
A small amount of yeast is enough to leaven the dough.
So get rid of all the old yeast.
There is no need to be low.
We have a place reserved at the feast.But we need to make some new bread.
Unleavened as it is meant to be.
Take up a new thread.
This should be our plea.

The sense of pride.
Is the old yeast.
We have now a guide.
An eternal high priest.

Leaving only sincerity and truth.
They are not the prerogative of youth.

…….

Pride is the old yeast
There is a new Passover
And a new leaven

…….

See 1 Corinthians 5 : 1-8

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

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The reasonings of mortals are unsure.
And our intentions unstable.
The restless ego is the lure.
And we wonder if all this is mere fable.

This tent of clay weighs down the teeming mind.
It is hard enough for us to work out what is on earth.
We see,  yet we are spiritually blind.
We cannot even work out our true worth.

It is laborious  to know what lies within our reach.
Who then can discover what is in the heavens.
We may preach.
But truly we are at sixes and sevens.

How can we ever know the intentions of God.
We are just too flawed.

…….

 

Unsure reasonings

unstable intentions

Are surely our lot

 

 

 

See Wisdom 9: 13-18

St Gregory the Great . Saturday Week 22

 

 

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Never have our speeches been simply flattery.

Nor have we looked for any special honours.

Even to save us from our Calvary.
We have, we hope not been fawners.
Sometimes depression seems overwhelming.
We have, it seems achieved so little .
But sit down , concentrate on the breathing.
We ourselves must not belittle.
Do not reject your deepest cravings
Just acknowledge them.
They need not end in suffering.
You need to be aware not numb.
You are not free when you do just what you like.
Only what your deepest self, your soul does like.
……
Ask your deepest self
What it really wants to do
That is happiness
……
See 1 Thessalonians 2:2-8

Friday of Week 22 in Ordinary Time

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John’s disciples are always fasting.
But yours go on eating and drinking.
But they went on searching.
And encountering.

Surely the search is what is important.
Not the behaviour .
Or rooting out the discordant.
What matters is finding the saviour.

The bridegroom is no longer with us.
But the wedding feast is not over.
The rest is superfluous.
He is gone yet still lives, the lover

We are mere stewards of the mysterious.
But we remain for ever curious.

…….

We can eat and drink
As we continue the search
That’s all we can do

…. …

See 1 Corinthians 4 : 1-5

Thursday of Week 22 in Ordinary Time

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God of might , keeper of every good gift.
Put into our hearts the love of your name.
However low I am give me a lift.
So that I do not myself blame.
Gently close your eyes .
And put a smile on your face.
Forget all the lies.
You have not yet run the race .
Follow the breathing.
And not the nagging thought.
Feel some  anxiety freeing.
This is what you sought.
Relax the shoulder.
Feel warmer not colder.
…….
Just feel the breathing
Forget all the nagging thoughts
Try to be happy
…..
See The Collect of the Day