Category Archives: General

2nd Sunday of Advent

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Everything was meant to teach something about hope.
From the examples scripture gives.
Helping us all to cope.
In all of us the future lives.
He who helps us when we refuse to give up.
Helps you to be tolerant with each other.
But first we must drink his cup.
Treating one and all as a brother.
United in mind and voice.
We may give glory.
It is our choice.
For it is our story.
Treat each other in the same friendly way.
As Christ treated you on the way.
…..
When we read St Paul
His words of hope inspire us
We need to listen
……
See Romans 15:4-9

Saturday in 1st week of Advent

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On every hill there will be streams and watercourses.
Moonlight will be bright as sunlight.
Coming our way are great forces.
Beyond all earthly might.

He will send rain for the seed you sow.
And bread that the ground provides will be rich.
As we set our hand to the plough.
And make our life long pitch.

Your cattle will graze.
That day in rich pastures.
As we negotiate every maze.
And listen to the pastors.
When we listen to Isaiah’s song
We feel it will right all wrong.
…..
Reading Isaiah
You feel all pain disappear
I’m great poetry
…..
See Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26

Friday of The First Week in Advent

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Take pity on us , Son of David.
Then he touched their eyes.
Our faith may be faded.
But we can reach the prize.

The blind men asked again and again.
And their faith was rewarded.
Taking away their unseen pain.
But we are too faint hearted.

Their faith deserved it.
And their sight returned.
We only have to commit.
We never will be scorned.

The talked about him all over the countryside.
But when it comes to us , do we just hide.

……

The blind men can see
They asked again and again
But then so must we

……

See Matthew 9: 27-31

Thursday of Week 1 in Advent

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Everyone who listens to these words of mine.
Will be like a man who built  his house on rock.
He needs to look for no further sign.
He only needs to knock.

So Matthew was a tax collector.
Despised by so many .
An image of the occupier cast by projector.
In the midst of need a man of plenty.

He had built his house on sand.
Rain came down and it fell.
The Lord took him by the hand.
And all was well.

Like Matthew we await a call.
And we are then in his gentle thrall.

…….

He called St Matthew
And we now await his call
I thought I heard it

…….

See Mathew 7:21, 24-27

St Andrew

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Follow me.
And I will make you fishers of men.
Let me see.
Again.

I doubt too much .
I see too little.
I try to stay in touch.
But my faith is so brittle.

At once leaving their boat and their father.
They followed him.
I need to see further.
If ever I am to find him.

How many of us just leave our boat.
We’re too afraid we won’t float.

……

He has called us
And then we just carry on
As we were doing

…..

See Matthew 4: 18-22

Tuesday in the First Week of Advent

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Bless you for hiding these things from the learned.
And revealing them to mere children.
Regret can be turned.
We can be more trusting like children.

I was regretting lost opportunities in my career.
Suddenly I snapped out of it, I hadn’t done so bad.
All we have to reject is fear.
There is no need to be sad.

Nobody knows who is the son.
Except the Father.
It’s like looking into the sun.
Truth retreats further and further.

Regrets come and then they go.
So we veer to high  from low.

…….

Nobody knows him
Except the Son who is gone
So we await him

……..

See Luke 10:21-24

Monday of the 1st Week in Advent

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I am not worthy to have you under my roof.
Just give the word and my servant will be cured.
Pointlessly , we always search for proof.
But doubt just has to be endured.

I just couldn’t believe like the centurion.
Or at that moment at all.
Perhaps I was too much of a utilitarian.
So I still had to wait a call.

But then a different moment comes.
Something perhaps this day in the psalm.
The truth is like distant faint drums.
Unheralded in a moment of calm.

If we knew it , we are all under authority.
But we are never anyone else’s property.

……

I am not worthy
To have you under my roof
But just say the word

…..

See Matthew 8: 5-11

First Sunday in Advent

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Non erubescam neque irrideant me inimici.
Mei eternim universi qui te expectant.
Let me not be put to shame say I.
Do not let my enemies laugh at me for an instant.

Of two men in the fields, one is taken, one left.
Of two women at the millstone, one is taken, one left.
We are not caught in this cleft.
We will not be left bereft.

If the householder had known at what time.
The burglar would come.
he would have  stayed awake and kept time.
Taken , there would have been not one breadcrumb.

Will I be ready at the last.
Have always maintained the fast.

……

Coming at an hour
When you do not expect him
But yes he will come

……

See The Introit at Today’s Mass and  Matthew 24: 37-44

Saturday of Week 34 in Ordinary Time

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Watch yourselves or your hearts will be coarsened.
With the cares of life.
The day will come and you will be trapped.
As with a knife.

Stay awake.
Praying at all times for the strength to survive.
All that is going to happen for his sake.
And you will yet thrive.

I was pondering this prophecy.
Realising cares need to be held in perspective.
Looking to the end constantly.
Soon all will be held in retrospective.

But then we worry about some future day.
But all that matters is this day.

…..

The day is coming
And it will be here quite soon
So think on today

….

See Luke 21: 34-36

Friday of Week 34 in Ordinary Time

 

 

 

 

 

01CBFCE2-FDDB-477D-9A19-B950125CE5DEHeaven and earth will pass away.
But my words will never pass away.
In his hands we are just soft clay.
Where will we end up on our hurtling sleigh.

On this crisp and clear November night.
I can see thousands of stars  arrayed.
Here in the country nothing pollutes light.
And all this transcendent wonder was made.

What now of worries and criticism.
How they are dwarfed by this splendour.
How insignificant our earth bound vision.
The stars a humming celestial choir.

But even all this will pass away .
And what of the word , will that pass away.

…….

We worry so much
Then we look at all the stars
Concerns put to shame

…..

See Luke 21: 29-33

Thursday of Week 34 in Ordinary Time

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Stand erect, hold your heads high.
Because the day of your liberation is at hand.
There is no need to cry.
We are destined for a better land.

We can derive comfort from our work.
Giving us a sense of purpose.
It may be something small , not a life work.
From depression a kind of Habeas Corpus.

I was reading about the Bill Nighy film ‘Living’.
About how even at the end we can find fulfilment .
Even in a small project beginning.
After a humdrum life , achievement.

We wonder what we are achieving.
It is in small ways , giving.

….

What do we achieve
Perhaps it’s very little
But it is something

…..

See Luke 21: 20-28

Wednesday of Week 34 in Ordinary Time

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You are not to prepare your defence.
I myself will give you eloquence.
At whatever expense.
And regardless of any consequence.

I wonder if we make if ourselves a fool.
By writing this sort of stuff.
Being to ourselves cruel.
Or a thing of just puff.

He tells us none of our opponents.
Will be able to resist or contradict us.
I wonder, they too have their moments.
So we will continue to discuss.

I’m sure it’s worth bearing witness.
Even if people sometimes think us witless.

……

You spread the Gospel
Are you holier than thou
Or do you do good

…..

See Luke 21: 12-19

Tuesday of Week 34 in Ordinary Time

 

 

 

 

 

2B64A3A1-081A-4F15-BF4B-F3B0F4400BF8So the angel set his sickle to work on the earth.
And harvested the vintage and put it in a winepress.
We hope we are all of the greatest worth.
We can’t be sure, we can only guess.

What does the Book of Apocalypse foretell.
Is it the world’s end.
Or is it apocryphal, who can tell.
Will it be a time to ascend.

More likely our sun will end a a red dwarf.
A billion years will pass.
Who knows into what we will morph.
We look through a distant dark glass.

But it’s no bad thing to be aware .
And  calmly to prepare.

……

The Apocalypse
Is it just apocryphal
Or is it the end

…..

See The Book of Apocalypse 15: 1-4

The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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I heard a sound coming of the sky.
Like the roar of the ocean, or the roar of thunder.
Truth though is more of the sound of a sigh.
But as we understand more, so the more we wonder.

Mary was such a delicate flower.
Yet of seismic change .
Her very weakness a thing of enormous power.
Beyond anything in our range.

A poverty stricken widow put in two small coins.
This poor widow has put in more than any of them.
Bringing together all the joins.
Although she only earnt a crumb.

So we are not judged by how great we are.
But by what  we give and are.

……

We may be feeble
Very young or very old
But we’re worth so much

……

See   Apocalypse 14: 1-5  and  Luke 21: 1-4

Christ the King

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He has taken us out of the power of darkness.
And created for us a place in the kingdom.
There is always a place of stillness.
As we start to ponder this wisdom.
I was walking home in country twilight.
Here all sound and colours were muted.
Gradually shadows lengthened from light.
Everything seemed diluted.
Jesus had allowed himself to be humiliated .
But we think he is the creator of all light.
But truth is so hard to see however long awaited.
It’s as if we were half in day and half in night.
So as the horizon vanished .
So my beliefs questioned .
…..
Seeing in twilight
Truth and sight are half hidden
As in what we’re taught
……
See Colossians  1: 12-20

Saturday of Week 33 in Ordinary Time

 

 

 

 

 

12501FB2-6DDE-4C33-9DC7-2E184F27ECADGrant the constant happiness of being devoted.
To you , because it is full and lasting happiness.
We search for a light unclouded.
And for a greater tenderness.

I was trying to get to sleep, stop worrying.
And pray for the souls in purgatory waiting.
I started with my mother and father remembering.
And went through all the others, names recalling.

It’s amazing how much better I felt.
Thinking about others and not myself.
The heart started to melt.
As it contemplated another self.

I don’t know if it helped  a suffering soul.
But it certainly stopped me feeling low.

……

Praying for others
May or may not help others
But it does help us

…..

See The Collect of today

Friday of Week 33 in Ordinary Time

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Take that scroll out of the hand of the angel.
Standing on sea and land.
Always there, our guardian angel.
But nothing can be planned.

At mass we were told about purgatory.
That people only escape from it with our prayers.
Is this  to be our story.
Before we can be taken upstairs.

But I wonder if this is right.
Would a merciful God make us wait.
I think I believe that when we die, we see the light.
We are never too early or too late.

But really who knows.
Maybe we’re just laid out in rows.

……

What’s purgatory
So are we all going there
Or can we skip it

……

See Apocalypse 10: 8-11

Thursday ofWeek 33 in Ordinary Time

The Dome of the Rock (Qubbet el-Sakhra) is one of the greatest of Islamic monuments, it was built by Abd el-Malik, Jerusalem, Israel

As Jesus drew near Jerusalem.

And came in sight of the city, he shed tears over it.
But this was to be no mere requiem.
And hope  was  to be in the future lit.
Jerusalem meant two realities.
A present city and future salvation.
A spiritual and physical jewel among all cities.
For now and all creation.
They will leave not one stone standing.
Because you did not recognise your opportunity.
But a new future was arising.
And hope fulfilled till eternity.
Thus Jerusalem is for ever .
Never will they say of it it is never.
….
Thus Jerusalem
Is the eternal city
It is so ordained
See Luke 19: 41-44

Wednesday of Week 33 in Ordinary Time

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You are worthy of honour and glory and power.
Because you made all the universe.
A mysterious and beautiful flower.
For better or for worseI was at Farm Street.
Staring at Pugin’s reredos.
A vision of heaven to greet.
And to remove all loss.In my vision I saw a door open.
And heard a voice like a trumpet.
A path to glory wide open.
All was now set .

We can see the sublime in art.
But it is merely a start.

…….

When we look at art
We are lifted to heaven
We start a journey

……

See Apocalypse. 4: 1-11

Tuesday of Week 33 in Ordinary Time

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He was too short.
And could not see him for the crowd.
Like Zacchaeus we may hope to court.
But we feel cowed.

How often do we feel short of stature.
And in so many ways.
It may just be part of our nature.
We so often miss out on the sun’s rays.

But he climbed the tree.
And Jesus looked up.
If we try, there’s always a way to see.
And to look at reality close up.

And come down, will he say.
I must stay at your house today.

…..

The crowd is too dense
And no one notices us
So just clean me the tree.

….

See Luke 19: 1-10

Monday of Week 33 in Ordinary Time

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Let me see again.

Receive your sight.
Nothing does he disdain.
Or ignore any plight .
I was reading this on my mobile phone .
Then , out of juice it went dead.
But the prayer remained., I was not alone.
No more needed to be said .
There is one prayer always answered.
Lord have mercy on me a sinner.
Then we have a clear conscience  redeemed.
And hope comes out the winner.
Sometimes our prayers go unanswered.
But one is always answered.
……
So  many prayers
And nothing seems to happen
But one is answered.
…….
See Luke 18: 35-43

33 rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

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I am the Resurrection and the life.
Whoever believes in me even if he dies will live.
Here at last was an end to mental strife.
Now I could truly live.
I heard these word on Remembrance Sunday.
And in that moment I truly believed.
A new life, a new day.
An eternal truth revealed.

When you go home , tell of us and say.
For your tomorrow we gave this day.

But when we go home can we all doubts lay.

And celebrate their resurrection every day.
But for that moment I believed.
and hope was received .
…….
We die but will live
That’s the eternal promise
What joy to believe
……
See John 11 : 25-27

Saturday of Week 32 in Ordinary Time

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Since she keeps pestering me.
I must give this widow her just rights.
Do we also hear peoples plea.
During all those long nights.

Are we like the unjust judge.
With neither fear of God or respect for man.
Always having to respond to a pestering nudge.
Only looking after our own clan.

Will not God give justice to his chosen.
Who cry to him day and night.
Even when he delays to help them there and then.
For they are ever in his sight.

We may not to others listen .
But to us does he hasten.

……

Are we listening
Or respond to pestering
And is God the same

……

See Luke 18:1-8

Friday of Week 32 in Ordinary Time

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People were marrying wives and husbands.

Right up to the day Noah went into the ark.
They can only be stretched so far the elastic bands.
The end  the same however we have made our mark.
I was at the memorial mass of an old friend.
I had been at his wedding fifty years ago .
Someone on whom you could depend.
To cheer you up when low.
Some of the congregation believed in resurrection.
Others no doubt did not.
Both enjoyed Faure’s celebration.
Accepting our lot.
But this is much more than a tribute.
It is a Bon voyage and cheery salute.
……
Memorial mass
Is much more than a tribute
A sign on the way
…..
See Luke 17: 26-37

Thursday of Week 32 in Ordinary Time

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The Lord established for him
A covenant of peace.
And made him the Prince.
We can pray without cease.
But we still fail to convince.I was at the mass for deceased Oratorians.
Most of them who died this year were my age.
Of every type , not all like me , historians.
For death they have now earned their wage.

And so the rope draws ever tighter.
Pulling us towards the cliff.
You can be a great and noble fighter.
But the result is the same , you’re  a stiff.

But the hymns were calming .
If not entirely reassuring.

….

The final is here
We approach the end at last
Is there more to say

…..

See Today’s entrance Antiphon