If you believe that God raised Jesus from the dead.
Then you will be saved.
How many hundreds of times is this read.
Again and again is faith craved.

But we are told.
we must believe in our heart.
Our heart cannot be cold.
This surely is the start.

I can believe emotionally.
I know it makes sense.
But I struggle to believe rationally.
Well I just need to launch myself over the fence.

To accept the light.
And know all is alright.

…….

Jesus raised from dead
Just believe this in our hearts
And all will be well

……

See Romans 10 : 9-18

I saw an angel, come down from heaven with the key of the abyss.
And in his hand an enormous chain.
What awaits , emptiness or bliss.
Nothing, mere pain or God’s reign.

We talk a lot of dying.
Less of death.
What are we missing.
Is it new breath.

The breath of the unknown.
Silent not existing in this world  yet strong.
An other sense of life and tone.
For this, if true, we long.

This earthly abyss.
Surely we shall not miss.

……

The key of abyss
Is held in the angel’s hand
And will we see it

…….

See Apocalypse 20 : 1-4

Yes I am a king.
I was born for this.
He had no country , yet was a king.
And precisely because he had none , he had to die for this.

What strikes me is his dignity.
His calmness.
His sincerity.
And other worldly ness.

Faced with this injustice.
We would fight and rage.
Be filled with resentful emptiness.
And what do we miss.

The power of acceptance.
Not resistance.

…….

He said I am king
But it was not of this world
That was his power

…….

See John 18 : 33-37

Blessed be the Lord, my rock.
Who trains my arms for battle.
I wish I could open this spiritual lock.
That I was of more robust mettle.

I find faith so difficult.
I wonder if I really believe.
Then something clicks , maybe even in default.
I understand then , I receive.

I can read the Gospel.
And then nothing.
And then by chance , a word and I can tell,
That this is everything.

So I keep trying.
And receiving.

…….

Blessed be the Lord
My rock trains me for battle
And I start again.

…….

See Psalm 143

The dead do not marry because they can no longer die.
They are the same as the angels.
We worry and fret and sigh.
Looking at all the angles.

I was in the church sitting quietly.
Looking at the picture of St Cecilia on the wall.
She is the prime example of living defiantly.
How in suffering to walk tall.

I left this place.
Enveloped in peace.
Involved in no virtue race.
Wondering without cease .

Should we just conform.
To our time’s norm.

……

Saint Cecilia
Died bravely for her beliefs
Would we do the same

……

Your promise is sweet

I rejoiced to do your will

For you are my Lord

See Luke 19: 45-48 and Psalm 4

If you had only understood the message of peace.
But alas it is hidden from your eyes.
We may search without cease.
But we fear irrationally we are surrounded by lies.

Yes a time will come when your enemies.
Will raise fortifications around you.
Even more so in our sixties and seventies.
Perhaps we just get what is our due.

They will encircle you on every side.
They will dash you to the ground.
They will deride.
For them nothing is sound.

But there’s always a new day.
It will be better, we hope, who can gainsay.

…….

The message of peace
Is just hidden from our eyes
It’s certainly there

…….

See Luke 19: 41-44

Pray continuously.
And never lose heart.
Never earnestly.
Just make a start.

The unjust judge said since she keeps pestering.
I must give this widow her rights .
And what does this say for our own avoiding.
And how we dodge spiritual lights.

If we keep praying.
We may be listened to.
Despite not really  trying.
And being one of many not the few.

Keep praying.
And keep asking.

……

Pray continuously
And try to never lose heart
We are listened to

….

See Luke 18: 1-8

If you trust in the Lord and do good.
Then you will live in the land and be secure.
We just need to take our spiritual food.
And resist the world’s lure.

If you find delight in the Lord.
He will grant your heart’s desire.
We will always remain on board.
Our faith on fire.

He protects the lives of the upright.
Their heritage will last for ever.
As long as they keep truth in sight.
Can we keep faith for ever.

You shall have a home for ever.
You will live for ever

……

Just trust in the Lord
You will live secure always
Try to keep the faith

…..

See Psalm 37

God has chosen them to give the eternal life.
That was promised .
Surely their sacrifice will suffice.
Given that their old age was missed.

I was looking at a village war memorial.
Seven names in this tiny settlement.
Who knows them now  or will tell their tale.
But are they not worthy of testament.

They would all any way be dead now.
But Reuben, Isaac, Fred and friends died so young.
I suppose with no children or grandchildren to follow.
They never made an ascent past a youthful rung.

But their name is inscribed.
And remembered.

……

God has chosen them
To give them eternal life
As also to us

…..

See Titus 1 : 1-9

Jar of meal shall not be spent.
Jug of oil shall not be emptied.
Just as Elijah had foretold the jar of meal was not spent.
The jug of oil was not emptied.

I was listening to Faure’s Sanctus in his Requiem.
In the other room Celebrity Come Dancing was on.
I know I greatly prefer the first item.
But all too soon this music was drifting away, gone.

I felt even more greatly drawn to all things spiritual.
Calming , not demanding.
Other worldly not material.
Joyous, soothing, inspiring

When all that is spiritual  is attempted.
The jug of hope is never emptied.

….   ..

When is our meal spent
Is our jug of oil emptied
Yes, if we lose hope

…….

See 1 Kings 17 : 10-16

Making a whip out of some cord.
He drove them all out of the Temple.
And how often in the market do we forget the Lord.
Do we always make him welcome.

He said, take all this out of here.
And stop turning my father’s house into a market .
In our own church is concentration all too rare.
Thinking about what to buy next  in the supermarket.

We were at mass in the Holy Souls chapel.
Here everyone will surely eventually end up in heaven.
It’s just a question of seeing it as a temple.
Good , lazy  , indifferent, an ante room to heaven.

There are countless holy souls.
And as many worthwhile roles.

…….

Worship in temple
Is sometimes very easy
More often it’s hard

…..

See John 2 : 13-22

There was a rich man and he had a steward denounced.
For being wasteful with his property.
Our fate is long ago announced.
But we are not necessarily called to spiritual poverty.

Draw up for me an account of your stewardship.
Because you are not to be my steward any longer.
We cannot rely on any friendship.
We may get weaker or stronger.

I know what I shall do when I am dismissed.
There will be someone to welcome me.
No opportunity missed.
Maybe not now but redemption, we shall see.

The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness.
He will us too, but we must acknowledge our unfitness.

……..

Are we too denounced
For being wasteful in our gifts
But we’re forgiven

……..

See Luke 16  1-8

I have come to consider all these advantages.
And successes.
As disadvantages.
And reverses.

I was at a requiem mass
We remembered old school friends.
They pass like late summer’s grass.
And now it’s too late to make any amends.

We thought of the autumn leaves.
Once green young and growing.
Death is inevitable , it never deceives.
Now yellow, beautiful and dying.

They have fallen gently.
And we remember reverently.

……..

They have now passed on
New dawn, they will never age
Now no more regrets

………

See Philippians 3 : 3-8

There is one thing I ask.
To live in the house of the Lord.
So what is our task.
And what will I be asked by the Lord.

At death we will be judged by our love.
Not by who we were or what we achieved.
That’s all that really matters above.
So why waste time on being aggrieved.

We will have run our race.
We pray we will not have exhausted ourselves for nothing.
Our eyes closing here we shall look the Lord in the face.
And his glance will be all discerning and loving.

By our love for him we will be judged.
But also for our love for all will we be judged.

……

At our own passing
We will be judged by our love
For him and for all

…..

See Psalm 26 and Philippians 2 : 12-18