We believe that Jesus died and rose again.
And that it will be the same for those that have died in Jesus.
We pray that we are part of the same everlasting chain.
That this story is not just for him but for us.

He has sent me to bring good news to the poor.
To proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight.
We need only look forward to a greater grandeur.
And to everlasting light.

One day we will be fulfilled.
We do not how or when.
But this we know is willed.
For all women and men.

Today , tomorrow .
In joy and sorrow.

…….

Jesus died and rose
The same for those who believe
That is our belief

…….

See 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18 and Luke 4: 16-30

You have seduced me Lord and I let myself be seduced.
You have overpowered me: you were stronger.
But in this we are never in any way reduced.
We just have to pray for longer.

The Latin mass was beautiful.
But barely audible.
It was all a bit dutiful.
If thoroughly laudable.

And then after communion.
I walked past Cardinal Newman’s picture.
Something clicked , I was in union.
I felt God’s lure.

We may doze fitfully.
But we can never escape his gaze fully.

……….

You seduced me Lord
I let myself be seduced
And I am happy

……

See Jeremiah 20: 7-9

Make more and more progress.
In the kind of life you are meant to live.
But how, who can guess.
But first we have to forgive.

I was thinking again about the Nauria country.
Where everyone is loved as if they are one own’s grandchild.
And no one is just all and sundry.
And certainly not reviled.

But how could such a real country survive .
It would be wide open to the whole world.
Maybe it is only a thing of the mind, not live.
But a thing of heaven certainly and not any underworld.

But it is a nice thing to think of such a place.
A place for every type and race.

…….

And make more progress
In life you are meant to live
That is the best way

……..

See 1 Thessalonians 4: 1-8

Where can I flee from your face.
If I climb the heavens you are there.
We search in vain here for a place of grace.
A place of meaningful  prayer.

I dreamt today of a country called Nauria or Norah.
Arabic for salvation , Hebrew for divine light.
A place with a certain holy aura.
Another country with spiritual light.

Here everything seemed drawn in children’s colours.
And all was subsumed in love.
Where there was only care for others.
Rising like as a dove.

I woke into the real night.
And the  moon only gave  just enough light.

……..

A place called Norah
It came to me in my dreams
A place of true light

……..

See Psalm 138

How have I so earned your favour.
That you take notice of me.
We must not waver.
For we have not yet paid our fee.

I am reading a Daphnie du Maurier short story .
Everything goes wrong on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
We all find our different way to glory.
Yet as for others , we they condemn.

As I this story we all fail in a different way.
And suddenly we know it.
Maybe it is something we do or say.
We make a miss more often than a hit.

But salvation comes in unexpected ways.
For we cannot escape his gaze.

……..

Have I earned favour
That you take notice of me
Have I paid my fee

…….

See Ruth 2

If you wish to be perfect, sell what you own.
And give the money to the poor.
Treat everything as just a loan.
There is only one lasting amour.

I am in Perugia Cathedral.
I can barely follow the Italian.
But I am amongst the people.
Seeking a spiritual medallion.

And then I found the Madonna delle Grazie.
She is pregnant , inscrutable.
My faith may be hazy and lazy.
But she stands there immutable.

The tourists ignored her stare.
But she still is the source of all our care.

…….

Wish to be perfect?
Give all you own to the poor
But do we do it

………

See Matthew 29: 16-22

The disciples turned the children away.
But Jesus said , let the little children alone..
What is the right way , who can say.
We do know how we can atone .

But we can say, to such as these.
The kingdom of heaven belongs.
Thus we pay all our fees.
And release ourselves from lifes’ throngs.

I was from the heat,  in the Cathedral, resting.
Here was all calm, silent and dark.
Stained glass light diffusing.
A place , weary legs  to park.

Take refuge in simplicity.
From every difficulty.

……

Children turned away?
But to these heaven belongs
To such as all these

…….

See Matthew 19: 13-15

I gave you a land where you never toiled.
You live in towns you never built.
You eat now from vineyards you never planted.
All as it were, purpose built.

We have done so little.
And so much given us.
Yet all us so brittle.
And it always was thus.

But a land is promised.
For all peoples and all time.
It is not physical,  but in faith fulfilled.
Never ageing all in its prime.

We just have to reach out.
To pray and not to shout.

…….

Land given to us
It’s only spiritual
But that is enough

…….

See Joshua 24

 
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.
With all your soul, with all your strength.
From which all things should start.
And worth going to any length.

But do we do so.
Or think of other things more pressing.
Is that why so often we feel low.
And why we keep stressing.

When Prince Andrei leaves for the army.
His sister Maria  puts an icon around his neck.
To guide him in waters however stormy.
He touches her cheek with a loving peck.

It is a moment of touching faith as he leaves with a sigh.
It brings a tear even to a cynical eye.

………

Love the Lord your God
With all your soul, all your heart
Is this not the key

… …..

See Deuteronomy 6: 4-13

Was there ever a word so majestic.
From one end of heaven to the other.
For all  the dead and the quick.
And for them, him and her.

I was dreaming.
What if the whole world was made of love divine.
That one could love everybody and every thing , all accepting.
Then truly all would be benign.

Then we wake with a start .
Worries swarm.
It’s time for a restart.
And then bury oneself in the duvet to keep warm.

But try and keep those thoughts on a spiritual lane..
In the hope of keeping sane.

………

Words so majestic
And coming down from heaven
Try to remember

………

See Deuteronomy 4: 32-40