The people said No, we want a king.

So that we can be like other nations .

The Lord then came and stood by.
Calling as he had done before , Samuel.
Who does the lord look in the eye.
Whom does he choose to tell .

Whether David or Mary often the weakest .
And they respond the best .
They are put to the test .
And listen more than the rest .

What do we do when we hear .
Do we say , here I am.
Or perhaps we don’t care.
We are more tired sheep than lamb.

We are free.
But we have to see.

……..

During the long night
We often receive the call
And what do we do

…….

See 1 Samuel 3: 1-10, 19-20

I was pouring out my soul before the Lord.
I have been speaking from the depth of my grief and resentment.
Hannah’s entreaty was stored.
Leading to ultimate contentment .

I cannot get the film ,A hidden life, out of my mind .
One man , Franz Jagerstatter’s fight against tyranny.
Greater honesty and courage you will not find .
He only offered a peaceful no to infamy.

A simple farmer .
Tilling in solitude under the sky
Husband and father.
Condemned horribly to die .

At the end was his silent prayer answered.
We do not know but his future is assured.

…….

Pause pray silently
Forget your endless troubles
They have even more

……..

See 1 Samuel 1: 9-20

 
Why are you not eating , why so sad.
Am I not more to you than ten sons.
About the things we have. let’s be glad.
And not worry too much about the lost runs.

Hannah was taunted and miserable.
Because her rival called her barren .
We too ignore what’s on the table .
For our own love is not barren .

Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.
And at once they left their nets and followed him.
Are we too slow to respond our own zen.
Too slow to respond to a whim.

Give me the courage to get up and go .
And about it , not be too slow.

…….

When the call is made
Do we hasten to answer
Or stand on the shore

……..

See 1 Samuel 1: 1-8 and Mark 1: 14-20 Us

I baptise you with water.
But someone is coming , someone who is more powerful.
And this was firewater
Something all powerful .

Do we remember the date of our own baptism.
What a pity that we’ve forgotten it.
This holy chrism.
A lamp for us lit.

But why did he need to be baptised.
He who need bow to no one .
But was content to be despised.
He did it for everyone .

We may not remember .
But it will help us be tender .

……..

Our own baptism
Lost in our own memory
But so important

…….

See Luke 3 : 15-16,21-22

 
God’s love for us was revealed.
When God sent into the world his only son.
If only we listened we would be healed.
A crown of immortality won.

Our love is always conditional.
His is always unconditional.
Our life is transitional.
His life was inspirational.

Let us love one another.
Because love comes from God.
Yes but we cannot cut the ego’s tether.
We just make the nod.

But we could do a lot better.
If we cut our ego’s fetter .

…….

We are told to love
But we just love those we love
That’s the way of love

……..

See 1 John 4: 7-10

 
Grant that the nativity of the Saviour of the World.
May be revealed ever more fully to our minds.
May our doubts be furled.
And blown to the winds.

When we listen to the orthodox ritual.
We are immersed in sound , smell , beauty and holy voice.
And the Archbishop’s words make us less of an individual.
He asked us to come together to rejoice.

A light has risen in the darkness for the upright.
The Lord is generous , merciful and just .
God has arrived in the smallest child, not might.
And we will not end up just as dust.

So we can rejoice.
With one voice.

……..

We come together
Rejoice in the saviour.
He is as a child

……..

See Entrance Antiphon of Mass and. The Collect

Behold the Lord, the mighty one has come.
And kingship is in his grasp and power and dominion.
Sound the drum.
Shout aloud your opinion.

Then Herod summoned the wise men privately.
He asked them the exact date on which the star had appeared.
Thus Christ was manifested to the gentiles publicly .
To this our own insights are geared

God used the wise men to make clear his vision.
Now he needs us too to help this task.
Are we extending his dominion.
If not we will be taken to task.

We all have a role to play .
Great or small we cannot say.

……

We are all wise men
Coming from far to worship
That is now our task

……

See Entrance Antiphon of today’s Mass and Matthew 2:1-12

If you refuse to love, you must remain dead.
To hate your brother is to be a murderer.
Harder done than said.
We can’t always recognise who is our brother.

He gave up his life for us.
We too ought to give up our lives for our brothers.
But I hope you won’t think of me any the less.
If I say I haven’t given up my life for others.

The injunctions so obviously true.
So worthy of praise .
So hard to do .
In this moral maze .

But what harm in reading it .
Even if you can’t do it.

…….

I read the bible
I nod wisely at these words
And then do not much

…….

See 1 John 3: 11-21

No one who has been begotten by God sins.
Because God’s seed remains inside him.
Who believes wins.
This is no wishful whim .

Where do you live.
Come and see.
How do we thrive .
Faith is the key .

One of those who became followers was Andrew.
Andrew said we have found the Messiah.
Out of the well of truth he drew.
He had found the true via.

If we hear the call do we follow
Or in indecision wallow .

……

If we hear the call
Do we follow straightaway
Or do we just wait

……..

See 1 John 3: 7-10 and John 1 35-42

Let us be God’s children.
For that is what we are .
The love we have for grandchildren.
Is the love he bears our star.

I was looking at the plastic penguin in the bath,
Calm , bobbing gently , floating.
Oblivious to all life’s stress .
Never changing, forever smiling .
Perhaps I should be more like it , not less .

And the light playing on the tapestry.
Fitful , yellow, illuminating the story .
Jesus is at the door, holding the lamp by the church vestry .
Again all is calm but leading to glory.

It is in little moments.
That the heart consents.

……..

Meditation
Can come in little moments
It comes and then goes

……..

See 1 John 2

 
A light that shines in the dark.
A light that darkness could not overpower.
We are saved if we want by our own ark.
We have no need ever to cower .

For overpower , read it’s first meaning.
In the old translation ,comprehend.
Light will always end up winning .
But comprehension is not always the end.

We cannot comprehend The God of the Universe who is a child.
We cannot comprehend a God who is entirely self giving .
Meek, mild then reviled.
Never taking always loving .

If I truly believed , if I was held in union.
Then what joy then there would be in communion.

……..

I dreamt I believed
Then communion was joy
There were then no doubts

………

See John: 1-18

The Shepherds hurried away to Bethlehem.
And found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger.
It is not always about us but about them.
There is in reality no stranger.

Luke’s story can seem naive,
Mere legend , a fairy tale.
But there are many strands in this weave .
Buried deep is the holy grail.

Poverty is here from first to last.
And so too is  utter Rejection
The Shepherds are outcast.
The virgin birth, a unique annunciation.

We should not read the Gospel.
We should live in its spell.

…….

Selfless attention
Is how you read the Gospel
Look for the meaning

……..

See Luke 2: 16-21

His sceptre of power rests upon his shoulder.
And his name will be called messenger of great counsel.
Our sight is obscured behind our ego’s  great boulder .
We know but we cannot in all honesty tell.

I was thinking of Anna the Temple prophetess.
84 years old she served God night and day with prayer.
With age we can grow jaded , everything seemingly profitless.
Disappointment lies on us like a crust , layer by layer.

But Anna was not cynical , hopeless or bitter .
A poor widow she placed all her trust in God .
Would I not be happy in my old age in the Temple and fitter.
Can  we not remain happy however flawed.

Let me be more like Anna calmly waiting.
Death will come easily after such praying .

……..

Are we like Anna
In old age keeping hopeful
With no resentment

……..

See Entrance Antiphon of todays mass

 
Nothing the world has to offer.
Remains for ever .
Not accepted of course by the scoffer.
But true for every endeavour .

In my dream I came to my death and passing .
But then I had this feeling of transcendent joy .
A great light seemed to be looming.
I had not felt such vigour since being a boy.

But in the next dream I had a chance to save someone.
I chose the youngest ,cleverest and best looking.
I realised immediately the wrong I had done.
I should have chosen the weakest not walking.

At death a great light comes for the weakest .
And not necessarily for the strongest.

……

My hope was kindled
By the dream’s light at passing.
It’s for all people

…….

See 1 John 2: 12-17

In the presence of kings I will declare your will.
For your commands have been my delight.
We only know ourselves when we are asleep, still .
When we realise truth does not lie in might.

Who is greater the one at table or the one who serves.
Yet here I am among you as the one who serves.
We like to think the mighty gets what he deserves.
That we the lowly have greater reserves.

But in truth we are two persons .
One intent on reaching ever higher.
Selfish , angry and everything worsens.
Or content , humble , a kind of lay friar.

Do we have the courage to stand apart from the herd.
Will we ever, at any cost, have our true  voice heard.

……..

Where truly are we
Is it when we are awake
Or when in deep sleep

……..

See Entrance Antiphon of Today’s Mass and Luke 22: 24-30

God is light , there is no darkness in him at all.
If we live our lives in the light, we are in union one with another.
Can we resist this demanding call.
Can we treat all as our blood brother.

Herod had all the male children killed.
Who were two years old or under.
His sheer cruelty chilled .
All mercy cast asunder.

But in our society how do we treat our innocents.
Do we nurture all life however feeble.
Do we value above all, innocence.
Do we treat all as worthy people.

No life is expendable.
All life is valuable .

…….

We condemn Herod
But are we now innocent
How do we treat them

…….

See 1 John 1 and Matthew 2 : 13-18

 
Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first.
Also went in , he saw and believed.
Have we yet quenched our spiritual thirst.
Have we yet the truth received.

At the start of the Gospel my mind wandered .
There wasn’t much witness of the Resurrection.
Then at the end I actually listened and believed .
Thus our mind wanders in and out of inspiration.

It has taken only two days From the wood of the crib.
To the wood of the cross.
I  would but cannot fib.
My belief is often covered in moss .

St John Only stayed to the end.
Will we also stay true to our end .

…….

Belief comes and goes
Will we be true to the end
Or just run away

……..

See John 20:2-8

 
Graciously grant that we may imitate them.
In practising the virtues of family life and the bonds of charity.
Boxing Day comes and less family life is the theme.
And why not less jocularity and a bit of insularity.

I was dreaming how I could rid myself of bodily ills.
And what delight was it to float free of it for a while.
Wouldn’t it be nice to rid myself of all the bills.
Do you know, death might not after all be such a trial.

Did you not know that I must be busy about my father’s affairs.
But they did not understand what he meant.
We know that he was distancing himself from life’s cares.
One day to we will emerge into light from this earthly tent .

One day we will break truly free .
We will not be the past we will just be.

…..

We love family
Sometimes we must be alone
That is the balance

See 1 Samuel 1: 20-22, 24-28
and Luke 2: 41- 52

How beautiful on the mountains.
Are the feet of one who brings good news.
Joy comes flowing in fountains.
We know what life to choose.

I was reading of the conjoined twins in India getting a job, on a mission.
What courage, what an example to us with some petty worry.
Our hearts can only fill with compassion.
We shed a tear, what a heart warming story.

Take hope from the smallest thing.
Those that are tiny , helpless.
Think what joy they bring.
They are the greater, we the less.

No doubt the stable was draughty, the straw was itchy .
But what divine light giving redemption from someone so titchy.

…….

Some are so helpless.
Their courage shows up worries
Try to look outwards

……..

See Isaiah 52: 7-10

 
Come quickly, we pray, Lord Jesus.
And do not delay.
We know you have come only for us.
We cannot keep our impatience at bay.

That those who trust in your compassion.
May find solace and relief in your coming.
Now there is joy though there will be passion.
To save us there must be a reckoning.

I was questioning how you could create a hundred billion galaxies.
But then I remembered the joy of the mass.
Just live for this moment , forget fantasies.
We only see through a dark glass.

Just accept joy.
It is pure alloy .

………

Who made Universe
Is it God or pure science
I will never know.

……….

See Entrance Antiphon of Today’s Mass

I am going to send a messenger.
To prepare a away before me .
It has taken so long for me to register.
The truth to understand and see.

I was listening at Mass to the Magnificat.
For just a moment it all seemed so true .
It was as if I was bound by fiat.
But of course the feelings went in a minute or two.

But then I woke in the night and asked myself.
How would my life change if I was sure this was all gospel.
Surely all worry could be left on a high shelf.
All that would matter would be The Gospel.

Next morning I determined to act like the saints.
With five minutes I was back to the usual complaints.

…….

I heard and believed
I waited and then doubted
Cycle continues

……..

See Malachi 3:1-4.

 
This is the child I prayed for.
Now I make him over to the Lord for his whole life.
We are his property , there lies the open door.
We have only to lose our own strife.

My soul proclaims the greatness of of the Lord.
And my spirit exults in God my saviour.
We can only magnify our life to him and cut life’s cord.
That is then is the test of all our behaviour .

So we are his mere property.
There is only one thing to magnify.
Herein lies true liberty.
We no longer have to ask why.

If only we could be more like Mary.
Life and the future would be a lot less scary .

……..

The Magnificat
Is then for everyone
Now and for always

…..

See 1 Samuel 1: 24-28 and Luke 1: 46-56

 
My love is like a gazelle.
Like a young stag.
Is belief emotional or rational.
Bewildered we zig and we zag.

My beloved lifts up his voice.
He says to me ,come my lovely,come.
Belief is not just a thinking choice.
It is a distant insistent drum.

Come then my love.
My lovely one come.
Hiding in the clefts of the rock , my dove.
This call from God, a nearby insistent hum.

In my dream I asked if faith is instinct or reason’s treasure trove .
But really it is just passionate love.

…………

Is God proved by faith
Or is reason the sure key
I think it is both

……..

See The Song of Songs 2:8-14