Category Archives: General

6 th Sunday of Easter

Love me , keep my commandments.

And my Father will give you another advocate.

These are our hope inspired sentiments.

This is our will and our fate.

I was up very early for the dawn chorus.

The air misty, the garden vibrant with life.

In May all is growing , sonorous.

Still , mind filling , with no stress or strife.

And later I stood in front of the Coates rood screen.

A lone survivor from before the the Reformation.

Here too in deep countryside, the senses were keen.

Here we create our own little holy Zion.

And thus the past and present merges.

And early summer hope surges.

……..

Keep my commandments

I give you an advocate

This is his promise

……..

See John 14 : 15 – 21

Saturday of the 5 th week of Easter

So the churches grew strong in the faith.

As well as growing daily in numbers.

But is our belief as light as a wraith.

Despite his manifold wonders.

I am touring The Lindsey Open Churches Festival.

A feast of architectural beauty.

So much here is epochal.

And reminding us of our greater duty.

I stand inside the magnificence of the Church at Stow.

Here is its towering nave and chancel.

No greater beauty can bestow

Here is all Saxon and Norman substantial.

And these rural churches stand to faith witness.

And to history an eyewitness.

……..

The churches grow strong

In faith as told in the Acts

Now they bear witness

………

See Acts 26 : 1-10

Friday of the 5 th week of Easter

We hear that our members disturbed you with demands.
And have unsettled your minds.
They came from many lands.
Brought by many winds.The apostles send greetings to brothers of pagan birth.
In Antioch , Syria and Cilicia.
All should be welcome from the whole earth.
Commoner and patricia.

It has been decided by the Holy Spirit.
Not to saddle you with any burden beyond these essentials.
We should welcome all, with or without merit.
Or any burdensome credentials.

Are we welcoming.
Or are we resisting.

…….

Their demand disturbed
And unsettled people’s minds
Do we do the same

……

See Acts 15 : 22-31

Thursday of the 5 th week of Easter

It would only provoke God’s anger if you imposed on the disciples.
The very burden that neither we nor they were able to support.
We must lay aside our scruples.
Despite occasionally things being fraught.This silenced the whole assembly.
And they listened to the wonders worked through pagans.
Hope is never empty.
For all our daughters and sons.

I shall return and rebuild the house of David
I shall rebuild it from its ruins.
Hope is never faded.
For escape from all our sins.

In the early days God made his choice among you.

He read your heart , you too.

……..

Lay aside our scruples

We impose on all people

And then just have faith

………

See Acts 15 : 7-21

Wednesday of the 5 th week of Easter

They told how the pagans had been converted.
And this news was received with the greatest satisfaction.
By God, they knew they never would be deserted.
Theirs was not a belief based on abstraction.The letters of Dionysius were read at mass .
Explaining that as Christians they followed local customs.
They were people of heaven, voyaging through a spiritual pass.

They were not part of the usual temporal systems.

And thus we are part of society.
Yet set apart , looking to another world.

In all our variegated variety.

Young or old, smooth or gnarled.

The early church was prepared for martyrdom.

Our own beliefs and courage are more random.

………

Part society

And part people of heaven

In variety

………

See Acts 1-6

Tuesday of the 5 th week of Easter

The Prince of this world is on his way.
He has no power over me.
Over him no one has any sway.
He is the eternal ever present key.

The King holds the sovereign’s sceptre with cross.
Representing the monarch’s temporal authority.
But his gain is not the greater’s loss.
There is an ultimate greater superiority.

Jesus said, I am going to the Father.
For the Father is greater than I.
Even a King cannot see any further.
Nor see through the ultimate mystical eye.

Before the eternal being .
We all , Kings and commoners lack seeing.

….. ..

The Prince of the World
Is now on his way to us
By authority

…….

See John 14 : 27-31

Monday of the 5 th week of Easter

Anyone who receives my commandments and keeps them.

Will be the one who loves me .

This is the holy income.

Which makes us truly free.

At the coronation the King receives the golden spurs.

Symbol of knightly virtues and chivalry.

With them he proves he is truly yours.

Subject to service and the Trinity.

Melted down by Cromwell .

Remade for the second Charles.

Thus can be reforged all that is not well.

And now given to the third Charles.

Thus nothing is destroyed for ever.

We can always rejoin what we sever.

……..

Receive his commandments

And then always keep them close

Is one that loves him

………

See John 14 : 21 -26

5 th Sunday of Easter

The Lord is the living stone.
Chosen by God , yet rejected by men.
But with him we are never alone.
More inspiring even than meditative zen.

At mass today they sang Zadok the Priest.
And a Te Deum in honour of the king.
Of music and liturgy a veritable feast.
And so we honour as we sing.

To think that Zadok anointed King Solomon.
And that is still used in our coronation ritual.
And then the Supertunica is put on.
To emphasise that the King’s coronation is spiritual.

Thus we are all a royal priesthood.
And still at the anointing, time stood.

…….

The Lord living stone
Rejected by men , chosen
By God and by us

…….

See 1 Peter 2 : 4-9

Saturday of the 4 th week of Easter

If you ask for anything in my name.
I will do it.
We must keep alive the devout flame.
And follow his holy writ.

I am watching the King’s coronation.
How wonderful to see the Christian symbolism.
A ceremony, almost as old as the nation’s creation.
An exposition predating any ism.

How moving the anointing.
The king in a simple shirt.
Vows, honestly given, the wellspring.
And then with orb and sceptre girt.

And finally holy communion.
With the nation in communion.

……

Ask for anything
In my name, I will do it
So then let us ask

……..

See John 14 : 7-14

Friday of the 4 th week of Easter

Do not let your hearts be troubled.

Trust in God still and trust in me.

So our spiritual efforts are redoubled.

We make this plea on our knee.

I was really irritated by something.

And then I read these words.

A calming bell will ring.

We forget past and future like high flying birds.

And in the church today.

All was quiet .

No more to say.

A holy diet.

Calm the mind.

Forget the grind.

………

Do not let your hearts

Be troubled, trust in God still

And then trust in me

………

See John 14 : 1-6

Thursday of the 4 th week of Easter

Stephen filled with the Holy Spirit
Saw Jesus standing at God’s right hand.
We are listened to whatever our merit.
And whatever our land.I am looking at Zurbaran’s portrait of St Francis.
How can we match his ecstasy.

Leading us from the abyss.

To him , this was no fantasy .

As I watched him surrender everything.

I too wondered if this was not the route to happiness.

Prayer could take wing.

Leading to greater tenderness.

I left the exhibition on St Francis’s art.

Strangely moved and struck to the heart.

………

Stephen filled with the

Holy Spirit saw Jesus

Standing at God’s hand

………

See Acts 7 : 55-60

Wednesday of the 4 th week of Easter

Philip said, Lord , let us see the father.

And then we shall be satisfied.

Why do we persist with all this bother.

Don’t we know we truly have our guide.

But I persist in asking for proof.

Jesus’ ministry is not enough.

There he teaches, here I stand aloof.

And this question is not small stuff.

Have I not been with you all this time, Philip.

And still you do not know me.

But I would like a bit more of a fillip.

Before I can clearly see.

To have seen me , is to have seen the Father.

So how can you say, let us see the father.

……..

Let us see Father

But see him, see the Father

Yet still we question

………

See John 14 : 6-14

Tuesday of the 4 th week of Easter

How much longer are you going to keep us in suspense.
If you are the Christ tell us plainly.
You are going where , you come from whence.
We continue to ask this sincerely.I have told you before but you do not believe.
The works I do in my father’s name are my witness.
And for us , if we ask, we will receive.
It has nothing to do with our own fitness.

The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice.
I know them and they follow me.
We only ourselves have to make the choice.
And we do not have to pay any fee.

I give them eternal life.
They will never be lost in this or the next life.

…….

Tell us are you Christ
Do not keep us in suspense
Told, we must believe

…….

See John 10 : 22-30

Monday of the 4 th week of Easter

I am the good shepherd.
The one who lays down his life for his sheep .
To understand , we do not need to be lettered.
His gift is ours to keep.The hired man, since the sheep do not belong to him.
Abandons the sheep and runs away .
He acts on on a personal whim.
He does not know or understand the way.

As soon as he sees a wolf coming.
The wolf attacks and scatters the sheep.
For them there will be no homecoming.
And we all , will weep.

I know my own and my own know me.
Just as the father knows me.

…….

He’s the good shepherd
He knows his own and knows me
But do I know him

…….

See John 10 : 11-18

4 th Sunday of Easter

Anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate.
But gets in some other way is a thief and a brigand.
Let there be an end to all hate.
Let faith be quickened .

The one who enters through the gate.
Is the shepherd of the flock.
Our turn will come, we just have to wait.
And to knock.

The gatekeeper lets him in.
One by one he calls his own sheep.
And one day too we will be let in.
This is a promise he most certainly will keep.

The sheep know his voice.
But we have to make our choice.

……..

You must use the gate
To enter in the sheepfold
Is that not the way

…….

See John 12 : 1-10

Saturday of the 3rd week of Easter

God is light.
There is no darkness in him at all .
We only have to keep this in sight .
And we can walk tall .

If we live our lives in the light.
We are in union with one another .
Our prayers will rise like a kite .
And it will be as light as a feather .

The blood of Jesus , his son
Purifies us from all sin.
His vision as bright as the sun .
As supple and strong as tin.

As long as we keep him in sight.
We are surrounded by light.

……..

We know God is light
There is no darkness in him
So keep him in sight

……..

1 John 1 : 5-2 : 2

Friday of the 3rd week of Easter

Immediately it was as if scales fell away from Saul’s eyes.
And he could see again.
Thus we can overcome all our minds’ lies.
And all is mounting gain.As I heard these words at mass , carefully listening.
It was if I too truly believed for the first time.
The story of the road to Damascus is so convincing.
And the outcome so convincingly sublime.

Suddenly you are listening to a biblical story.
And something clicks .
An opening in the clouds to glory.
A house built with solid bricks.

And then the moment passes.
And to see, we need better spiritual glasses.

…….

Scales fall from our eyes
Suddenly we see again
And we know the truth

…….

See Acts 9 : 1-20

Thursday of the 3rd week of Easter

No one comes to me .
Unless he is drawn by the father.
We do not have to pay any fee.
We only have to try to see furtherI was at the early mass in the Cathedral.
And these words penetrated.
Here is a message for all people.
And where all our lives are weighted.

And I will raise him up at the last day.
It is written in the prophets.
There is nothing to pay
But we receive all the profits.

As I left I thought, if only you can believe.
You will receive.

…..

No one comes to me
Unless drawn by the father
Thus we can follow

…….

See John 6 : 44-51

Wednesday of the 3rd week of Easter

I am the bread of life.
Whoever believes in me will never be hungry.
Here is an end to strife.
As we enter another country.

He who believes in me.
Will never thirst.
This is the key.
Whatever befalls the worst.

Whoever comes to me.
I shall not turn away.
We do not need to repeat our plea.
We know the way .

We only have to seek.
And be accepting and meek.

……..

I’m the bread of life
Believe and be not hungry
Now and for ever

……..

See John 6: 35-40

Tuesday of the 3rd week of Easter

All wrap yourselves in humility.
Because God refuses to be proud..
So we try to achieve tranquility.
And not just trying to follow the crowd.

Bow down before the power of God .
And he will raise you up on the appointed day.
Meanwhile we remain awed.
So that all our debts he can pay.

Unload your worries onto him.
Since he is looking after you.
He looks after our every whim.
All the old ones and the new.

Your brothers all over the world are suffering from the same things.
We all can be spiritual kings.

……

Wrap yourselves humbly
God refuses to be proud
Bow down before God

……..

See 1 Peter 5 : 5- 14

St George , martyr

These sufferings bring patience.

And patience brings perseverance.

But then I suffer from so much impatience.

And sometimes lack perseverance.

Perseverance brings hope.

And this hope is not deceptive.

Really, wherever we are , we need never give up hope.

If we try always to be receptive.

Because the love of God has been poured into our hearts.

By the Holy Spirit.

Striking us with his gentle darts

Whatever our lack of merit.

We just keep trying.

Knowing we are thoroughly trying.

……..

All our patience

And all our perseverance

Does bring us real hope

……

See Romans 5 : 1-5

3rd Sunday of Easter

And so my heart rejoices.

My soul is glad.

We hear the psalmist’s voices.

How now can we be sad.

I was at the early mass not attending.

Then I heard the words of the psalm.

I thought, seize the moment in rejoicing.

Always accept it and be calm.

Insight can come very suddenly.

As with the breaking of bread at Emmaus.

Before they doubted , now they knew absolutely.

And the truth was revealed not just to them but us.

They said , did not our hearts burn within us.

And at communion so it is with us.

……..

At table he took bread

And he then said the blessing

And their eyes opened

……

See Psalm 15 and Luke 24 : 13-35

Saturday of the 2 nd week of Easter

They saw Jesus walking on the lake.

And coming towards the boat.

He did all this for our sake.

So that spiritually we might float.

This frightened them.

But he said , do not be afraid.

We are part of this new living stem.

Our ransom is paid.

They were for taking him into the boat.

But in no time it had reached the shore.

Like them , to him we devote.

We cannot ask for more.

We may not see him walking on the lake.

But that does mean we cannot do all for his sake.

……..

Walking on the lake

That’s something we cannot see

But we can ponder

…….

See John 6 : 16-21

Thursday of the 2 nd week of Easter

The Lord is close to the broken hearted.

Those whose spirit is crushed he will save.

There is no need to be downhearted.

We do need to remain in a black cave.

The mind traps us in the future and the past.

Regretting and fearing.

But all that matters is where now the fly is cast.

Throwing it and the result, accepting.

Many are the trials of the just man.

But from them all the Lord will rescue him.

We may not know but he has a plan.

He does not act on a whim.

But we must just have faith and hope.

And not always say nope.

……

In past or future

But it’s better to dwell here

Where we know we are

…….

See Psalm 33

Wednesday of the 2 nd week of Easter

Go out into the Temple.

And tell the people all about this new life.

But is our faith and zeal ample.

Would we contend with any strife.

They arrested the apostles and had them put on gaol.

But at night the angel of the Lord opened the gate.

Of course we don’t have the same role.

Nor will we suffer the same martyr’s fate.

But I wish I had that courage and be that keen.

What amazing perseverance.

But then I have only read not seen.

And can only hope for his reappearance.

So we struggle on.

Hoping for a new dawn.

…….

Into the Temple

They went to proclaim new life

And what do we do

………

See Acts 5 : 17-26

Another Country

Thoughts from a Christian perspective — by Edward Leigh

Category Archives: General

6 th Sunday of Easter

Saturday of the 5 th week of Easter

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Saturday of the 4 th week of Easter

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Saturday of the 3rd week of Easter

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St George , martyr

3rd Sunday of Easter

Saturday of the 2 nd week of Easter

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