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Wednesday of Week 6 in Ordinary Time

The dove finding nowhere to perch.
Returned to him in the ark.

Noah was a hero , we remain in our church.

Quite often in the metaphorical dark.

We are surrounded by the flood waters.

Of silent indifference.

Even from sons and daughters.

But we take heart in endurance.

Noah lifted back the hatch of the ark.

The surface of the ground was dry.

Perhaps for us the future is not too stark.

Disbelief and disinterest have met their high.

And so unsighted we look for the shore .

Whether we will find it, we are not sure.

……

The floods around us

Of indifference rising

Will one day soon fall

……

See Genesis 8 : 6-13, 20-22

Tuesday of Week 6 in Ordinary Time

I have made you a light for the nations.
So that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth.
These are our true foundations.
For new everlasting birth.I am at the Paul Cezanne exhibition.
Every brush stroke joy’s creation
This can also be a spiritual rendition.
And a noble oblation.

A friend chants the Buddhist Nam myoho renge kyo .
This also is a different path .
A way to know and grow
And a knowing cause and effect footpath.

And at mass today I immersed myself in the Credo.
Others may justly use nam myoho renge kyo

…..

Find solace in art
Or just in Buddhist chanting
Or in our father

……

See Acts 13 : 46- 49

Monday of Week 6 in Ordinary Time

Why does this generation demand a sign.

I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.

We ask ourselves , how should we worship at this shrine.

As we search for the cause of creation.

I search restlessly for the truth with reason.

But today alone in church I felt this heavy presence.

As if I was not alone , leaving behind unreason.

Here was true reason and real spiritual essence.

And all I was doing was staring at a window.

There was no new vision or insight.

The feeling came , neither fast nor slow.

It was just an instinct of having new sight.

If we let the mind wander free .

From doubt we may be free.

…….

We live restlessly

Doubts come and go ceaselessly

We should just relax

…..

See Mark 8 : 11-13

6 th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Till heaven and earth disappear not one dot.
Will disappear from the law until its purpose is achieved.
But we will be reduced to naught.
Unless perhaps we have believed.

Whether we are mere electrical currents in the brain.
Or the home of an immortal soul.
This body is just shifting sands of grain.
What we call me is neither the part nor the whole.

But we are obsessed.
With our transient being.
Not realising how we are blessed.
Not truly hearing or seeing.

This life is drawing to an end.
And then we will or will not transcend.

…….

Who we ask are we
Immortal soul or just brain
But we do not know

……..

See Matthew 5 : 17-37

Saturday of Week 5 in Ordinary Time

For dust you are.

And to dust you will return.

We follow our star.

And we wait our turn.

I was thinking about some disappointment.

But I may not be here for very much longer.

It might only be a temporary development.

So best be stronger.

And why worry about oneself.

You’re happier thinking of others.

Themselves and Yourself.

Freeing us from our mind’s cloying tethers.

We walk through the cemetery.

And realise all this is just temporary.

……

If we are just dust

Then that is where we come from

And we return to

……

See Genesis 3: 9-24

Friday of Week 5 in Ordinary Time

They brought to him a deaf man.
Who had an impediment in his speech.
He is the helmsman.
To whom we beseech.

We take our senses so much for granted.
Until they are taken away .
We do not appreciate what it is to be stranded.
And to be for a lifetime at bay.

But gradually our senses fade.
There is no going back.
Our price for life dearly paid.
Pulled slowly by life’s relentless rack.

Ephphatha, he said to the ears ,be opened.
Let our faith in new life be heard , reawakened.

……

We also are deaf
To so much testimony
We need to listen

…….

See Mark 7 : 31-37

Thursday of Week 5 in Ordinary Time

Man leaves father and mother, joins himself to his wife.

And they become one body.

And to each other defer for life.

And become a greater somebody.

My eyes mist over

When I see this.

My life is in clover

There is nothing I miss.

My love for my wife.

Is so great.

She is my life.

Even if she’s always late.

We are one .

Nothing can be undone.

……

Husband and wife joined

Nothing can them ever part

If they are in love

……

See Genesis 2 : 18-25

Tuesday of Week 5 in Ordinary Time

God said , let the waters term with loving creatures.

And let birds fly above the earth within heaven.

We know his words are our teachers.

By them we try to be driven.

I was trying in my dreams to think of others not myself.

How difficult it is to be objective, detached.

To rise above the self.

To understand to what we are truly attached.

I try mindfreeness without frills.

Rather than mindfulness.

Just letting the mind roam as it wills.

Making no effort to direct it and no second guess.

All night I watch the thoughts passing by.

And try to go to sleep with a sigh.

……

God saw it was good

This was his own creation

Out of his great love

……

See Genesis 1 : 20- 2 :4

Monday of Week 5 in Ordinary Time

They laid down the sick in open spaces.
Begging him to let them touch even the hem of his cloak.
We would not be fit even to tie his shoe laces.
We poor aspiring folk.

God said , let the waters come together in a single mass.
And let dry land appear.
This then is the ultimate reality in every mass.
This our every hope and fear.

Genesis may be highly literary.
But its aim is to proclaim God as the mover.
This is something entirely hopeful and not scary.
The ultimate improver and remover.

So in this poem we read of God’s mission.
We are here for life without remission.

…….

What is genesis
Is it just legend or truth

It’s faith’s question

……

See Genesis 1 : 1-19 and Mark 6 : 53-56

5 th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cry and the Lord will answer.
And he will say I am here.
Sometimes we feel in the grip of a creeping cancer.
We are stuck, we cannot change gear.

Our mind dwells on disappointments.
What we ask , went wrong.
But it not us, just events.
It may have been a false tune , but it was our song.

So we didn’t get what we wanted.
Now we just have to move on.
Nothing daunted.
To a new hazy dawn.

And cry to the Lord if all else fail.
It always helps , without fail.

…..

We disappointed
Can just go on complaining
Or cry to the Lord

……

See Isaiah 58 : 7-10

Saturday of Week 4 in Ordinary Time

You must come away to some lonely place.
And rest for a while.
Life is at too much of a pace.
Running every mile.

There were so many coming and going.
That the Apostles had no time even to eat.
We are constantly thinking, sowing and reaping.
But life needs to be tied to a spiritual cleat.

So they went off in a boat.
To a lonely place.
Behind a prayerful moat.
At a slow pace.

They could be by themselves.
We occasionally need to be by ourselves.

…..

On and on we think
Never pausing or stopping
But perhaps we should

…..

See Mark 6 : 39-34

Friday of Week 4 in Ordinary Time

Continue to love each other like brothers.

And welcome each other like strangers.

And sisters.

Against all dangers.

Remember always to welcome strangers.

For by doing this some people have entertained angels.

We cannot know who are these his or hers.

Or coming from whatever deep wells.

If a Big Issue salesman approaches me in the street.

I wonder could this be an angel in disguise.

We never know who actually we greet.

To be judgemental would be unwise.

So when you meet have a care.

And for the unlikely be aware.

……

When we meet someone

They may well be a stranger

Or yes an angel

……

See Hebrews 13 : 1-8

The Presentation of the Lord

Now Master you can let your servant go in peace.
Because my eyes have seen the salvation.
Before my decease.
And for our redemption.

Which you have prepared for all nations to see.
A light to enlighten the pagans.
And to which we bend our knee.
In all of our lands.

Today I have put away the crib.
For another year .
But the child remains.
To take away every tear.

Christmas finally comes to an end.
But let us still attend.

……

We can go in peace
Because we have seen the light
For all nations

….

See Luke 2 : 22-40

Wednesday of Week 4 in Ordinary Time

A prophet is only despised in his own country.
Among his own relations and in his own house.
We seek and are denied our entry.
We feel no bigger than a mouse.

This is the carpenter surely.
The son of Mary, the brother of James and Joset.

But this is our view surely.

We can’t stop questioning every facet.

He is too familiar.

He has walked the countryside.

Perhaps we find the fact that God was here peculiar.

But can we at least not accept him as a guide.

And then in my dream I saw the door opening.

And faith started reviving.

…….

Yes he was despised

By his own country’s people

And are we the same

…….

See Mark 6 : 1-6

Tuesday of Week 4 in Ordinary Time

Do not be afraid.
Only have faith.
That’s all that can be said.
Although our faith is like a wraith.

Why all this commotion and crying.
The child is not dead but asleep.
We’re quite good at sighing.
And being like lost sheep.

But do we reach out to touch his hem.
Or are we too unbelieving or shy.
So we don’t seize this offered gem.
And we don’t keep him in our mind’s eye.

The child really was alive, just sleeping.

And here if only we knew it, is an end to all weeping.

……

The child was sleeping

Yet all thought that she was dead

That’s until he came

…..

See Mark 5: 21-43

Monday of Week 4 in Ordinary Time

Come out of this man.
Unclean spirit.
We do not know his spiritual plan.
Although we strive to hear it.

What is your name , Jesus asked.
My name is legion.
Truth is often masked.
From whatever region.

We too may be afflicted.
With many demons.
But with Jesus we can find them lifted.
If we have faith and do not demand reasons.

No one could secure him, even with a chain.
But for us there is a marked redemption lane.

….

Come out of this man
Jesus said to him and us
If we just listen

…..

See Mark 5 : 1-20

4 th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Seek integrity.
Seek humility.
With clemency.
And gentility.

Blessed the peacemakers .
They shall be called sons of God.

More than the warmakers.
For they are so flawed.

It’s better to aim to be blessed.
Than striving to be happy.

By doing right than always being contented.

Even if sometimes a bit crabby.

Lord , strengthen my weakness.

And May I show a little meekness.

…..

Witter be blessed

Then trying to be happy

It is doing right

….

See Zephaniah 2 and Matthew 5 : 1-12

Saturday of Week 3 in Ordinary Time

They are in search of their real homeland.

They can not have meant the country they came from.

We are always seeking another country.

For that is where we truly come from.

They were longing for a better homeland.

The heavenly homeland.

A better land .

Even if no more now than a strand.

Today at a funeral I pondered this.

Is the next life our true country.

Or is this life that we will miss.

Together with all and sundry.

But certainly this very old lady longed for death.

And with it a new heavenly breath.

…..

Where is our country

Is it this or another

But we do not know

…..

See Hebrews 11: 1-2, 8-19

Friday of Week 3 in Ordinary Time

Though he stumble.
He shall never fall.
We go through life with fumble after fumble.
Awaiting, none too patiently, his call.

I could not catch all the French reading.
But I certainly heard Esperance and Dure.
Life is full of hard things yet with hope arising.
So we anticipate, but never can be sure.

The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Their stronghold in times of distress.
As they seek their reward.
And slowly they progress.

However hard the trial.
We get through with a smile.

……

Life is often hard
But where there is life there’s hope
So we keep going

……

See Psalm 36

Saints Timothy and Titus( friends of St Paul)

I remember your tears.
And long to see you again to complete my happiness.
We pray that we can sweep away our fears.
And all our restlessness.

I was struggling to find the place in the book.
And somebody kindly helped me.
So at the Magnificat now, I could look.
And truly see.

It’s all about loving.
And caring.
Not shoving.
Nor denying.

It’s strange how one kind gesture.
Can be such comfortable vesture.

…..

It’s one kind gesture
That makes all the difference
To all that we do

…..

See 2 Timothy 1 : 1-8

The Conversion of St Paul

I fell to the ground.

And immediately heard a voice telling me.

Are we just too earthbound.

So that we never truly see.

Brother Saul , receive your sight.

Instantly my sight came back.

Yet we still wait for this blinding light.

Knowing there is something we lack.

You are to be a witness before all mankind.

Testifying to what you have seen and heard.

Are we hopeful or just resigned.

Only half listening to the word.

We are on our own road to Damascus travelling.

Hoping , listening , seeing and waiting.

……

When will the light come

Blinded yet one can still hear

We can only wait

….

See Acts 22: 3-16

Tuesday of Week 3 in Ordinary Time

I waited for the Lord.

And he stooped down to me.

While we wait our reward.

Knowing that he is the key.

He heard my cry.

He put a new song in my mouth.

We can only express a sigh.

As we search for him north and south.

You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings.

But an open ear.

Nor do you demand sufferings.

I know that you see and hear.

Your justice we have proclaimed.

In the great assembly gathered.

……

You see and you hear

And not demand sufferings

For that is enough

……

See Psalm 39

Monday of Week 3 in Ordinary Time

If a kingdom is divided against itself.

That kingdom cannot last.

But we are divided within ourself.

Upbeat one moment then downcast.

If a household is divided against itself.

That household cannot stand.

But to many are divided within themself.

Enmeshed in emotional quicksand.

No one can burgle his property.

Unless he has tied up the strong man first.

Our greatest defence is our liberty.

And for truth , our thirst.

If with him we try to be united.

To union with him , we will be united.

……

Our house divided

Will we be able to stand

Yes if united

…..

See Mark 3: 22-30

The 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

The people that walked in darkness.
Has seen a great light.
And we now must seek the greater stillness.
Keeping him ever in sight.

On those who live in a land of shadow.
A light has shone.
For us , who seek , we can never entirely know.
Even if we atone.

You have made their joy increase.
They rejoice in your presence.
But again and again we fail to find peace.

Not realising your omnipresence.

The rod of his oppressor.

Is now, we pray, all the lessor.

……

What’s our oppressor

Perhaps it is just ourself

Can we let it go

…….

See Isaiah 8 : 23-9 : 3

Saturday of Week 2 in Ordinary Time

He has passed through the the more perfect tent.

Which is better than the one made by men’s hands.

All that passes, by him has been sent.

Throughout all the spiritual and material lands.

A great worry and burden was lifted.

Then in my dreams another appeared.

It’s as if scales need to balanced.

That what is welcomed must be with what is feared.

But of course if we focus on ideas.

Rather than the physical present.

They will always lead to more and more ideas.

And on what often is not positive or pleasant.

We need to purify ourself from dead actions.

That can only lead to worse and worse reactions.

……

Focus on ideas

Rather than this the moment

Leads to more worry

…..

See Hebrews 9: 2-3, 11-14

Another Country

Thoughts from a Christian perspective — by Edward Leigh