Lydia , a purple goods seller.
Was a worshipper of God.
Not yet s Christian but a God believer .
But soon to become a believer in the Christian God.

We all go through this same process.
We know instinctively there is a designer.
Order, we feel, cannot come out of mere mess.
But are we loved by this organiser.

And then we hear the Christian message.
Like Lydia in the Acts of the Apostles.
We ponder , we manage.
But sooner or later we will become one of the apostles.

Because truth is inevitable.
This we know is no fable.

…….

We’re a worshipper
But then what do we worship
It’s the Christian God

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See Acts 16: 11-15

I will ask the Father.
And he will give you another helper.
To be with you for ever.
And ever.

This extraordinarily powerful John’s Gospel.
Whatever our trials we are not alone.
That we know and we can tell.
We don’t even need to atone.

We have his promise.
I will not leave you as orphans.
And what a promise.
Unlike an earthly father he does not leave orphans.

What an overwhelming relief.
He conquers all despairing mind’s mischief.

….

We are not alone
We will never be orphans
We have our father

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See John John 14 :  15-21

If the world hates you.
Know that it has hated me.
Before it hated you.
This we can truly see.

I am inspired by St George Preca’s life.
A saint of the modern age.
He leads us to new life.
New inspiration from a distant age.

He trailed and blazed .
The role of laypeople.
Saying they must be engaged.
We can be taught not just by clergy but the people.

A society of laymen.
To teach the catechism to all men.

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If the world hates you
Know that it has hated me
It we persevere

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See John 15: 18-21

This is my commandment.
That you love one another as I have loved you.
There is no better commandment.
For me and you.

But so easy to say.
So difficult to do.
As elusive as a sun’s ray.
Not for the many but the few.

We try to love others.
As we love our family.
But they remain the others.
And not our family.

But we know what we have to try.
So that’s what we’ll do , we’ll try.

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The great commandment
That we love one another
We fail so often

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See John 15: 12-17

Abide in my love.
If you keep my commandments.
You will abide in my love.
Just as I have kept my father’s commandments.

These things I have spoken to you.
That your joy may be full.
And that my joy might be in you.
Our joy is indeed full.

And what joy to be rambling.
The Wolds unfolding.
The distant view of the Cathedral seeing.
Mind in the present focusing.

The wonders of nature.
Nothing else need feature.

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Abide in my love.
If you keep my commandments
You abide in love

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See John 15: 9-11

I am the true vine.
And my father is the vine dresser.
We see imperfectly the true line.
But we attempt to make a sincere prayer.

I am, he said, the vine.
You are the branches.
We will grow, we will be just fine.
We are connected to his holy branches.

Abide in me.
And I in you.
We pray he is here now with me.
And with you.

We remain connected.
We will be resurrected.

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He is the true vine
And we are the true branches
That is what we pray

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See John 15: 1-8

Peace I leave with you.
Jesus said to his disciples.
Peace I give to you.
Now we are his disciples.

Not, he said, as the world gives.
Do I give to you.
Thus he saves.
Me and you.

Let not your hearts be troubled.
Neither let them be afraid.
But so often our hearts are troubled.
Too often we are afraid.

He told us, I am going to the Father.
And we pray too that we are going to the Father.

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Peace I leave with you.
Let not your hearts be troubled
We must believe him

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See  John 14: 27-41

You will be dragged before governors.
And kings for my sake.
But these martyrs are saviours.
They died too for our sake.

I lay tossing, worrying.
And started to concentrate on Blessed Richard as living.
I was not saying words as in praying.
But I felt him close comforting.

How extraordinarily real.
As if he was just with me.
Not some distant ghost but really real.
Understanding and listening to me.

Was this just a mind induced dream.
How could something so real be a dream.

……

We dream of the saints
But they seem living here now
Why shouldn’t they be

.. …

See Acts 7: 55-60

Truly I say to you.
Whoever believes in me.
Will also do the works that I do.
Because I am going to the father who is in me.

Like Thomas we say Lord.
I do not know where you are going.
We cannot understand this leading spiritual cord.
And we are fearful as to where we are going.

But we take heart.
We hear he has in his father’s  house many rooms.
This surely is a welcoming start.
We will not lie forever in catacombs.

So let not our hearts be troubled.
Let hope be redoubled.

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Our hearts are troubled
Not knowing where we’re going
There are many rooms

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See John 14: 1-12

If you had known me.
You would have known my father also.
From now on you do know him, it is me.
And you have seen him also.

St Athanasius confronted Arianism.
That the son is inferior to the father.
Yet another defeated ism.
For the Son is equal to the Father.

If not then we are not saved.
The Father did send himself to us.
With Jesus as man and God we are saved.
He is both God and us.

He is both God and man.
And we are man.

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Jesus God and man
Not inferior to father
And sent to save us

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See John 14: 7-14

He appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee.
Who are now his witnesses to the people.
They truly could see.
And we now are his people.

Like Thomas I ask.
Lord we do not know where you are going.
Finding faith is my task.
And I can only progress with praying.

But I hear what he says to me.
Let not your hearts be troubled.
Believe in God, believe in me.
With this I must be consoled.

I pray I’ll go that place.
And that he has prepared that place.

…..

He appeared to them
They became his witnesses
We have that task now

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See Acts 13: 26-33 and John 14: 1-6

I will sing forever of your mercies.
My mouth will proclaim your fidelity.
Through all doubts, embracing your mercies
Sending our thoughts heavenly.

I walked up the hill.
The psalm singing.
That simple phrase , what a thrill.
Meditating.

We do need to sing out the message.
That he is the fount of mercy.
Divinity’s presage.
That web are worthy of mercy.

Keep singing.
And hoping.

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Sing now of mercy
Proclaim your fidelity
That is our duty

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See Psalm 79

Come to me all who Labour.
And who are heavy laden.
He shows every favour.
We are bidden.

I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you.
And learn from me all you the rest.
For I am gentle and as lowly as you.

For my yoke is easy.
And my burden is light.
There is no need to be uneasy.
As long as we seek to do right.

We can take comfort.
If we trust in him to make the effort.

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His yoke is easy
We know his burden is light
We just must have faith

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See Matthew 11: 25-30

If you are the Christ tell us plainly.
Jesus answered them , I told you and you do not believe.
He has also told us plainly.
Yet we struggle to believe.

The works that I do my father’s name.
Bear witness about me.
We are the same.
We still do not clearly see.

You do not believe.
Because you are not among my sheep.
And we do not always believe.
Are we among his sheep.

My sheep he said, hear my voice.
Do we listen, do we hear his voice.

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Christ tells us plainly
Yet still we do not believe
But we have the chance

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See John 10: 22-30

Like the deer that yearns.
For running streams.
So my soul yearns.
For you my God in my dreams.

My soul is thirsting.
For God.
When can I start appearing.
Before the face of God.

I will come to the altar of God.
My joy, my gladness.
O God, my God.
On the harp I will give you thankfulness.

They will bring me to the holy mountain.
Where you dwell on the mountain.

…..

Like the yearning deer
My soul yearns for you , My God
As for running streams

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See Psalm 42

I am the sheep’s door.
All who came before me are robbers.
The sheep did not listen, I am the door.
And we, we are the doubters.

If anyone enters by me.
He will be saved.
He will find pasture in me.
He will never by sin be enslaved.

The thief comes only to kill.
I came that they might have life.
Enjoy this truth to the full.
Explore it strenuously.

Enter by the door.
Seek truth , explore.

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As he is the door
We can only walk past him
There’s no other way

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See John 10: 1-10

Go into all the world.
And proclaim the gospel to the whole of creation.
We are that world.
This is our inspiration.

Whoever believes will be saved.
But whoever does not believe will be condemned.
But is our faltering belief enough to be saved.
Or are we so faint hearted we will be condemned.

But as I started reading .
I felt so inspired.
Believing.
And perhaps not condemned.

We just have to read.
And in us in planted a seed.

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Go out to the world
Proclaim the gospel to all
That is our mission

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See Mark 16: 15-20

And immediately scales fell from his eyes.
And he regained his sight.
Paul suddenly saw through the lies.
He was freed by this great light.

And as I read these words.
Suddenly scales fell from my eyes.
This was truth not just more words.
And I too saw through the lies.

Thus this delicate thing called faith Comes, falters, stays and goes.
As delicate as a wraith.
Caught in doubting flows.

But we hold on.
And fight on.

…….

Scales fall from our eyes
We read and start to believe
But we must have faith

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See Acts 9: 1-20

Remember Christ for whom I am suffering.
Bound with chains as a criminal.
Still for us suffering.
And all this is absolutely real.

We already in this joyous Easter season.
Start to forget the passion.
We start to question and reason.
Forgetting the fundamental lesson.

He suffered.
He died .
He resurrected.
He appeared.

Whatever doubts there are, he is here now .
And this in our hearts we know.

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We remember God
He suffered, died
He did this for us

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See Timothy 2: 8-13

Let our joy then be in him
He rules forever by his might.
We just have to accept him,
And we shall see the light.

Cry out with joy all the earth,
O sing to the glory of his name.
With him there is no dearth.
Always living , always the same.

O render him glorious praise.
Say to God how wondrous your deeds.
To God , our hands we will raise.
No longer are we  broken reeds.

We start to worship .
We will observe our worship

…….

Our joy is in him
He rules forever by by might
We shall see the light

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See Psalm 66

Jesus said, I am the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me shall not hunger.
And we keep searching throughout our life.
Our faith seems so slender.

And he said, whoever believes in me.
Shall not thirst.
We wish we could see.
Not worry about being last or first.

Why worry about bread.
Or indeed what we possess.
It’s all temporary when all is said.
Whether we have more or less.

We will survive.
We will thrive.

……

He’s the bread of life
With him we shall not hunger
That is what we hope

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See John 6: 30-35

Then they said to him.
What must we do to be doing the work of God.
This is the same question we put to him.
How do we do the work of God.

This, Jesus answered, is the work of God.
That you believe in him who was sent.
A simple command from God.
Do we believe in him who was sent.

This is the eternal question.
The command is so simple.
But again and again we keep asking the question.
As if it was not so simple

We just sincerely have to believe.
And then bounteously we will receive.

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How to do God’s work
It’s to believe in God’s sent
Not so difficult

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See John 6: 22-29

He took the bread and blessed and broke it.
And their eyes were opened.
And when we receive it.
Our eyes too are opened.

But before we do not recognise him.
We may walk and listen but that is all.
So the key is taking communion.
The Eucharist really is all.

First we have to listen to scripture.
As the disciples did on the road to Emmaus.
These words of scripture.
Are now written for us.

Will we allow him to walk on.
No we must not let him
walk on.

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When he blessed the bread
They both  then recognised him
And we do the same

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See Luke 24: 13-35

They saw Jesus walking on the lake.
And coming near the boat.
He did this for our sake.
That we too on life’s ocean stay afloat.

They were frightened.
But he said to them do not be afraid.
Are we enlightened.
Or just afraid.

Was this just a trick of the light.
What did they really see.
Will these miracles put us right.
What do we really see.

We will never see him walking.
But we just keep hoping.

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He was on the lake
Walking towards them afloat
And we believe this

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See John 6: 16-21

If this undertaking is of man it will fail.
But if it is of God you will not be able to overthrow them.
And that is what counts about this tale.
It never did fail.

Does that mean it comes from God.
Who knows.
But these disciples had an honest faith in God.
They suffered death and blows.

Only they knew if they saw Christ resurrected.
Would they have died for a lie.
I believe they saw him resurrected.
That this was no lie.

We have a difficult task too , guided by faith.
We cannot see with our eyes , we only have faith.

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This plan did not fail
Men prepared to die for it
And then what of us

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See Acts 5: 34 – 42