None of us lives to himself.
If we live we live for the Lord.
And none of us dies to himself.
If we die for the Lord.

Whether we live.
Or whether we die.
We are the Lord’s as we die.
But are truly that while we live.

People stress about Christ’s divinity.
But we know he is certainly a true signpost.
Thus we can pass the long night in serenity.
We have an anchor, we are not lost.

Doubts rise they fall.
But we continue to pray and to call.

……

We live for the Lord
Because we die in the Lord
That’s all we can do

…….

Do we then exist
Not a separate entity
But humanity’s

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See Romans 14: 7-12

If anyone does not hate his own father.
And wife and children.
And his mother.
And brothers and sisters and children.

And even his own life.
He cannot be my disciple.
Who ever does not bear his own cross in this life.
Cannot be my disciple.

We just have to put Christ first.
Not wealth or reputation.
It’s for him that we must thirst.
And resist life’s endless temptation.

He must come first.
Because he will be there at the last.

……

We must put Christ first
He must come before this life
He’s our future life

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See Luke 14 : 25 -33

We though many, are one body in Christ.
And individually members one of another.
We can find true freedom in Christ.
And we can seek to work with each other.

Having gifts that differ according to the grace given us.
Let us use them .
There is no me , only us.
We are not just an ego , we are them.

If in prophecy, according to our faith.
If service in our serving.
One who contributes in his generosity in faith.
If one who exhorts in his teaching.

There is so much in Paul’s Romans to understand.
And frankly to recommend.

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Our different gifts.
All must be used to the full
That’s all we can do

….

See Romans 12: 5-16

Our ownership is in heaven.
And from it we await a saviour.
O , how we long for our true home in heaven.
Where finally in God we will find our own saviour.

Our saviour will transfer our lowly body.
By the power that enables him.
To be like his glorious body.
Subjecting all things to him.

This body is nothing.
A mere shell of our glorious soul.
The soul is everything.
The body though will soon free the soul.

This is our delight.
This our freedom’s fight.

……

Heaven our owner
We cannot be body’s slave
We must seek freedom

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See Philippians 3 : 20-21

And I heard the number of the sealed.
One hundred and forty four thousand.
Our fate will be revealed.
We are saved in our countless thousand.

We are all a saint.
We will not be acknowledged.
Even if sometimes  faith is faint.
We are noted and counted.

Why because we have tried.
Struggled , prayed.
Sometimes failed.
Doubts raised and then laid.

The well known saints are in heaven.
But we too will end up, we pray, in some sort of heaven.

……

We will all be saints
Because we have tried and failed
Just never lose heart

…….

See Revelation 7

My conscience bears me witness.
In my Holy Spirit.
We will seek spiritual fitness.
But only with the help of the spirit.

I have great sorrow and anguish unceasing.
In my heart.
Doubt increasing.
Where does all this finish , indeed where did it start.

Paul feared estrangement from his community.
I fear a lack of true faith abiding.
We all have our demons in our deepest entity.
A sense of losing our belonging.

But we are never cut off from Christ
Because he waits patiently for us , our Christ.

…..

Sorrow and anguish
Often abide in our soul
But we will win through

….

See Romans 9 : 1-5

″

God is for us.
He did not spare his own son.
Who then can be against us.
All things shall be given graciously by his son.

Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect.
It is God who justifies.
Who is to condemn God’s elect.
He is love embracing us in spiritual ties.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ.
Shall tribulation or distress or persecution.
Separate us from the mercy of Christ.
We need suffer no fear or depression.

As we take communion.
We know it is no mere symbol , he is in the communion.

….

If God is for us
Who then can be against us
We need have no fear

..  ….

See Romans 8 : 31-39

The spirit helps us.
In our weakness.
It sustains us.
Helps us with meekness .

We do not know what to pray for.
But the spirit intercedes with us with groanings.
In our heart we know what to pray for.
If only we could forget our moanings.

Today I think of the Blessed Richard Leigh.
His service and sacrifice.
He has received his heavenly fee.
For he had paid the price.

They died for the universal church and the Eucharist.
And we now remember them in the Eucharist.

….

Faith is not wanting
Courage neither not wanting
They have paid the price

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See Romans 8 : 26-30

Jesus went out to the mountain to pray.
And all night he continued in prayer.
It’s just enough to pray.
What really matters is prayer.

It can be short.
Or long .
It’s God we court.
In spiritual song.

By day.
Or during the night.
What does it matter what we say.
We just seek the light.

In words we pray.
Or without words we pray.

…..

So all through the night
Jesus knelt in quiet prayer.
Can we do the same

.. ..

See Luke 6 : 12-19

God be merciful to me.
A sinner.
Let me understand and see.
Hopeful , though a sinner.

People agonise whether God exists.
Why worry , we know the truth.
Our spirit exits .
We feel it , sense it, in truth.

We can feel it in a quiet moment.
The world seems to stop.
We are neither locked in the past, fearful of the future, we are in this moment.

Like Paul , we say , I have fought the good fight.
I have finished the race, I have kept the faith, I will see the light.

…….

I’ve fought the good fight
And I have finished the race
I have kept the faith

……

See Luke 18 : 9-14 and 2 Timothy

To set the mind on the flesh is death.
To set the mind on the sprit is life.
The body encounters death.
The soul meets life.

What does it matter if you leave ten pounds or ten million.
It’s useless to the body in the coffin.
Irrelevant to the soul, even if a penny or a billion.
Yet why do we worry so often.

To set the mind on the spirit.
Is life  and peace.
Everlasting spirit.
Eternal peace.

You are in the spirit.
God dwells in your spirit.

…..

The flesh will just die
The spirit will just live on
So do not worry

..  ..

See Romans 8 : 1-11

I know that nothing good dwells in me.
That is in my flesh.
What is wrong with me.
Why be imprisoned in this flesh.

I have the desire to do what is right.
But not the ability to carry it out.
Give me strength I pray to seek the light.
To put doubts and fear to rout.

I do not do the good I want.
But the evil I do not want, I keep doing.
I am in spiritual want.
Doubts , depression festering.

But there is hope.
All that matters is hope.

…….

The good that I want
Is just not what I can do
So I keep trying

….

See Romans 7: 18-25

For when you were slaves of sin,
You were free in regard to righteousness.
Where we wonder is sin.
It can only be defeated in consciousness.

But now that you have been set free from sin.
The fruit you get leads to righteousness
The choice is ours salvation or sin.
Again it’s down to consciousness.

Jesus said , do you think I have come to bring peace.
But rather division.
Because we must accept or reject his peace.
That is the division.

Father against son.
Son against father though his son.

….

We are given choice
Are we for or against him
We just must decide

.. …

Pope and King in Rome
Praying together today
Reconciliation

See Romans 6 :19-23 and Luke 22: 49-53

One’s life does not consist.
In the abundance of one’s possessions.
All that matters is the spiritual list.
Not the list of possessions.

The rich man said to himself you have ample goods.
Relax , drink and be merry.
But they were not for him these goods
Others would enjoy them and be merry.

This night God said .
Your soul is required of you.
His fate was laid.
And this is our fate, me and you.

We might die this very night.
Yet still encounter new light.

..  ….

Yes this very night
Our own  soul may be required
So assume nothing

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See Luke 12: 13-21

The harvest is plentiful.
But the labourers are few.
Our life is full.
And life is new.

Pray to the lord of the harvest.
To send out Labourers.
To his harvest.
At all hours.

I am sending you out.
As lambs in the midst of wolves.
Let us shout.
Now to spiritual peaceful arms.

Carry no money bag, no knapsack on the road.
And greet no one on the road.

……

Harvest’s plentiful
But the labourers are few
But we too are they

……

See Luke 10:1-9

Are not five sparrows sold.
For two pennies.
Our faith should never be cold.
As we walk our life journeys.

And not one of these sparrows.
Is forgotten before God.
He is there for us in our highs and lows.
Given mercy even if flawed.

Why even the hairs of your head.
Are numbered.
When all is said.
We are never forgotten , always remembered.

We need not fear, despite our sorrows.
We are of more value than many sparrows.

…

The hairs of our head
Are numbered by our true God
We’re not forgotten

…..

See Luke 12 : 1-7

We hold that one is justified by faith.
Apart from the works of the law.
But what is faith.
Is it separate from the law.

Is God the God of Jews only.
Is he not the God of gentiles also,
With him at our side we are never lonely.
He is for us also.

Yes, of Gentiles also.
Since God is one.
A wonderful including word , also.
Yes the only truth, God is one.

Are we defined by law or just faith.
No we are defined by law and faith.

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Justified by faith
Or are we held by the law
In truth it is both

…..

See Romans 3 : 21-31

But woe to you Pharisee.
For you tithe the mint and rue every herb and neglected justice.
Cannot you not see .
Cannot You understand that compassion is the root of justice.

Why did Jesus question the Pharisees.
It was because of their lack of compassion.
Nothing to do with personalities.
Or even his coming passion.

Woe to you, he said, you are like unmarked graves.
And people walk over them without knowing.
To convention they were slaves.
Not seeking or questioning.

Compassion is everything.
That is what matters, the thing.

..   ..

It is compassion
That is what matters to all
We just must show it

…..

See Luke 11 : 42-46