Friday of the 2nd week in Lent

For him I have accepted the loss of everything.
And I look on everything as so much rubbish.
But thoughts still will take wing.
Giving in weakly and weekly to every wish.Someone I thought was less than generous.
Then I remembered condemn and you will be condemned.
Am I not too ungenerous.
So better than to break is to mend.

I have not won.
But I am still running.
I am not done.
And not entirely failing .

Do not judge.
And they will not you, judge.

……..

If you accept loss
And accept it as rubbish
Then you may yet win

…….

See Philippians 3 : 8-14

Thursday of the 2nd week in Lent

A curse on the man who puts his trust in man.
He is like dry scrubs in the wastelands.
And we , do we have a spiritual plan.
Are we to be swept away by time’s shifting sands.
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A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord.
He is like a tree by the waterside.
He will reap the ever flowing heavenly hoard.
And always will have a true and loyal guide.

The words of Jeremiah made a profound impression.
Here was a simple choice we all have.
Focusing on the spiritual brings an end to tension.
All that is material will never be a lasting salve.

It’s more devious than any other thing, the heart.
And the Lord searches the heart.

………

Put not trust in man
But put your trust  in the Lord
That is the best way

…….

See Jeremiah 17: 5-10

Wednesday of the 2nd week in Lent

Anyone who wants to be great among you.
Must  be your servant.
In our spiritual life we wonder how we can break through.
And become more fervent.
I dreamt that I was hearing an intimate mass.
Suddenly I knew I had to be less self centred.
In a dream commands seem to have more force and mass.
Some sort of truth place is entered.And in a dream we seem born anew.
Believing all we are told.
It’s as if we always knew.
Of profound truths as yet revealed or untold.

As we know the son of man came to serve
Not to be served and thus it comes about that him we serve.

……….

Man’s son came to serve
And not we know to be served
Can we do the same

……….

See Matthew 20 : 17-28

Tuesday of the 2 nd week of Lent

Cease to do evil.
Learn to do good.
Just marvel.
And survey the Holy Rood.
Search for justice.
Help the oppressed.
With nobody missed.
Or repressed.Be just to the orphan.
Plead for the widow.
Indeed for every woman and man.
High and low.If you are willing to obey.
You will eat of the good things of the earth and here to stay.

………

Cease to do evil
And learn always to do good
Plead for the widow

………

See Isaiah 10, 16-20

Monday of the 2 nd week in Lent

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Be compassionate.
As your father is compassionate.
Is our response adequate.
Or in our actions are we always late.

Do not judge.
And you will not be judged.
Or bear a grudge.
Especially if Il- judged.

Do not condemn.
And you will not be condemned.
See in everyone a gem.
And a friend.

What you measure out as an amount
Is what you will be given back as an amount.

……..

Be compassionate
Father is compassionate
Judge not or be judged

……..

See Luke 6 : 36-38

2nd Sunday in Lent

I trusted.
Even when I said I am sorely afflicted.
We are tested.
Yet pardoned.We sang the hymn , Breathe on me breath of God.
Fill me with life anew.
That I may love as I am loved by God
And do what you would do.

The lyrics and tune make a profound impression.
They seem in short verses to sum it up.

They start to answer every question.
From the Lord’s very cup we seem to sup.Breathe on me breath of God.
To do and to endure , dear God.

………..

Breathe on me God’s breath
And fill me with life anew
To do and endure

……

See Psalm 115

Saturday of the 1st Week of Lent

I say this to you love your enemies.
And pray for those who persecute you.
Not easy to do but the sentiment puts the mind at ease.
We should not  expect always what is our due.In this way you will be sons of your father in heaven.
Because he causes his sun to rise on bad men aswell as good.
We don’t need to get even.
It’s a question of not insisting on the should.

If you love those who love you.
What right have you to claim any credit.
We can sometimes accept we don’t have to sue.
Rather than transmit we can occasionally submit.

He tells you you must be perfect.
As your Heavenly Father is perfect.

……..

Love your enemies
Pray for your persecutors
All quite difficult

……..

See Matthew 5 : 42-48

Friday of the 1st week of Lent

He shall live.
Because of the integrity he has practiced.
We pass through life’s unrelenting sieve.
Held to account and analysed.But if the upright man renounces his integrity.
Is he to live.
It’s about our honesty.
Do we always take or are we prepared sometimes to give.

But you object.
What the Lord does is unjust.
Perhaps we need a reset.
If we are to claim we are just.

We just, to the end, have to keep going.
Until we come up against the final reckoning.

………

We do have a choice
Whether to live or to die
We just have to think

…….

See Ezekiel 18: 21-28

St Peter’s Chair

But you , he said.
Who do you say I am.
Are our doubts laid.
Or held up by some rational dam.Then Simon Peter spoke up.
You are the Christ , son of the living God.
But can we taste faith’s overflowing cup.
Are we like Peter convinced and awed.

You are Peter.
And on this rock I will build my church.
But we of course do not have the faith of Peter.
We will never build any church.

But at Mass today, these words, I believed.

And felt strangely inspired and relieved.

…….

He said you are Christ
And son of the living God
Do we say the same

…..

See Matthew 16: 13-19

Wednesday of the 1st week of Lent

The only sign that will be given.
Is the sign of Jonah.
But for us what is this sign .
Of Jonah.
Is it redemption .
Or what we don’t expect.
Of temptation.
Or lack of respect.Is it disappointment.
Or belief
Or resentment
Or relief.

It a sign of crucifixion.
And Resurrection.

……..

The sign of Jonah
It’s of crucifixion
And of resurrection

………

See Luke 11: 29-32

Tuesday of the 1st week of Lent

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Our Father in Heaven.
May your name be held holy.
Here is the best prayer to seek heaven.
Especially if we say it slowly.

Your kingdom  come.
Your will be done.
We never need to be struck dumb.
There is a crown to be won.

Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts.
Thinking with heart and head.
And so we try to go through life without regrets.

If you forgive others their failings.
Your heavenly father will forgive your failings.

…….

Our Heaven father
Please forgive our trespasses
And forgive others

……..

See Matthew 6 : 7-15

Monday of the 1st week of Lent

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Insofar as you neglected to do this to the least of these.
You neglected to do it to me.
These words never put me at ease.
For from this commandment we too often flee.
He will place the sheep on his right hand.
And the goats on the left.
So where do we stand.
Will we be left bereft.
Are we the sheep.
Or the goats.
Will we rejoice or weep.
They are probably already written, our test  notes.
I fear I will fail .
Or not live to tell the tale.
.. ….
We neglected these
They the least of his children
And so we may  pay
……..
See Matthew 25 : 35-46

Ist Sunday in Lent

The kingdom of God is close at hand.
Repent and believe the Good News.
So we are told, but are we not more than just a grain of sand.
Soon washed away whatever our virtues or views.Doubts abound.
Depression descends.
Are we ill or are we sound.
Are we at the beginnings or the ends.

The time has come.
He said.
But we hesitate to believe, struck dumb.
Do we feel with the heart or the head.

Who knows whether we are alone.
But we pray we can atone.

….   …

The Kingdom of God
Id close at hand so we’re told
But do we repent

……..

See Mark 1 : 12-15

Saturday After Ash Wednesday

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It is not those who are well who need the doctor.
But the sick.
Who really are we against, who are we for.
For long are we tested, slowly burns the candle’s wick.

What I thought should I give up for Lent.
Thinking of myself I thought.
Thus in my half waking dreams a message was sent.
The world is great, I am naught.

But it’s as hard as mindfulness.
There you have to ponder nothing.
Still I am prey to restlessness.
Even if now I can think of  almost everything.

But still we try to think of others.
And not of our own bothers.

……..

I need a doctor
But of course only when sick
And perhaps I am

….. ..

See Luke 5 : 27-32

Friday after Ash Wednesday

 

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Let the oppressed go free and break every yoke.
To share your bread with the hungry .
We need to put on a new cloak.
As we seek another country.

I read Isaiah in the small stone chapel.
During the hour of the Blessed Sacrament.
Here was an end for a moment to all struggle.
Just silence was the new commandment.

A humbled contrite heart, O God.
You will not spurn.
However flawed.
We still can learn.

I left the chapel reluctantly.
Quietly , slowly.

…….

Break every yoke
Share your bread with the hungry
Seek a new country

……..

See Isaiah 58 : 1-9 and Psalm 50

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

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Moses said, see I set before you life and prosperity.
Death and disaster.
But our faith is beset with timidity.
As we fail to recognise what should be our true master.

What gain is it for man to have won the whole world.
And to have lost or ruined his very self.
But day in , day out we just live for this world.
Forgetting what should be our true inner self.

For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it.
But anyone who loses his life for my sake, that man will save it.
Still we are not spiritually fit.
Will we reach for heaven or descend into the pit.

Alms giving, prayer and fasting.
The message of Lent , are we receiving.

………

We won the whole world
We ruined our very self
We found out at last

……..

See Deuteronomy 30 : 15-20 and Luke 9 : 22-25

Ash Wednesday

Come back to me with all your heart.
Fasting , weeping , mourning.
But we ask , how to make a start.
It’s so difficult , this fast keeping.The Ash Wednesday mass was packed.
Full of young people and families.
Maybe  500 people I tracked.
Seeking heavenly keys.

At the words of the psalm we felt deeply moved.
Have mercy on us Lord, for we have sinned.
Faith is still felt so strongly though nothing is proved.
Our hopes and fears rustled through the church like the wind.

With so many it took so long to receive our ashes .
Pondering as we queued , soon we will be but ashes.

……..

Come back with your heart.
Fasting, weeping and mourning
But always there’s hope

…….

See Joel 2 : 12-18 and Psalm 50

Tuesday of Week 6 in Ordinary Time

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¶Happy the man who remains firm when trials come.
He has proved himself and will win the trial of life.
He will not be overcome.
As he tries  to avoid strife.

After a long night I thought about Christianity.

I knew it was right , that it gives us eternal hope.
After the usual trail of negativity.
I felt a great release and happiness on an upward slope.

I pondered , death is just the final healing.
There is really nothing to worry about.
It is a sort of happy final sealing.
A gentle whisper rather than a loud shout.

The usual long awaited dawn came.
But something would never be the same.

……

Happy the firm man
Who proves himself when trials come
He will win life’s trials

…..

See James 1: 12-18

Monday of Week 6 in Ordinary Time

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My brothers , you will always have your trials.
But when they come try and treat them as a happy privilege.
As we tread along life’s long tiring miles.
Searching for God’s  distant elusive image.

Bereavement sadness is the first to surface.
In the middle of the night when we wake.
It is a sort of catharsis.
But it keeps one sad and awake.

But if you try to pray.
The mind can move forward.
And somehow one emerges from the fray.
Heading benignly shoreward.

Let me just live for this day.
Accepting that tomorrow is a new more hopeful day.

…..

We always have trials
They are just a privilege
Something to live with

…….

See James 1 : 1-11

6 th Sunday of Ordinary Time

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If you want to cure me you can.
Of course I want to, be cured.
Would we ask the same question of this man.
Is our faith truly assured.

These beautiful words of Jesus.
He will cure us if only we ask.
And he will free us.
If we stick to the task.

Mind you say nothing to anyone.
But go now and show yourself to the priest.
Do we have confidence to speak to everyone.
As we all approach our heavenly feast.

We can be cured.
That is assured.

…….

If you want to cure
Me you can, of course I want
to, be cured, he said

…….

See Mark 1: 40-45

Saturday of Week 5 in Ordinary Time

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If I send them home away hungry.
They will collapse on the way.
We too starve spiritually as we search for the other country.
We do not know what to say or do.

They ate  as much as much as they wanted.
And they collected seven basketfuls of the scraps left over.
We carry on , nothing daunted.
Making our way to
Our own Passover.

He sent them away immediately.
And getting into a boat he went to Dalmanutha.
Thus we pass obediently.
As we search every parameter.

There will for us be enough bread.
Whatever is said.

……..

He gave them bread and  fish
As much , more as they wanted
It’s the same for us

……

See Mark 8: 1-10

Friday of Week 5 in Ordinary Time

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Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears.
Then looking up to heaven he sighed and said ,be opened.
We live and we shed our tears.
Grief reopened.

Bereavement is not a closed wall.
It is a shut door with a window.
Some fitful light shines through and into the hall.
But eventually that door will open , we feel less low.

Thus time passes.
And heals.
Sadness retreats into the mind’s recesses.
Pain seals.

We may start to lose our hearing.
But we all the more will start seeing.

…….

Bereavement  is now
Like a door with a window
And some fitful light

…….

See Mark 7 : 31-37

Thursday of Week 5 in Ordinary Time

It is not fair to take the children’s food.
And throw it to the house dogs.
I watched the Holy Rood.
Something stirred my mental cogs.As the reading finished I looked up at the crucifix.
I felt a great feeling of peace.
That he could get me out of any fix.
As long as we pray without cease.

Are yes she replied but the house dogs under the table.
Can eat the children’s scraps.
This is truth not just another fable.,
But to succeed, we still must complete many more laps.

He said to her, for saying this you mau go home happy.
With him we may never need to be unhappy.

…….

It’s not fair to take
The children’s food from under
Table to serve dogs

……

See Mark 7 : 24-30

Wednesday of Week 5 in Ordinary Time

The Queen of Sheba came to test Solomon with difficult questions.
She brought immense riches with her ,camels laden with precious stones.
Perhaps we too ask too many questions, make too few suggestions.
As we think on the matter of celestial thrones.
On coming she opened her mind freely.
And Solomon had an answer to all her questions.
We may seek to act ideally.
And so do all from many nations.What, she said, I heard about you in my own country.
About your wisdom are true.
For truth are we hungry.
Do we seek it through and through.

We travel far .
Seeking truth from afar.
……..
We travel from afar
Seeking some holy riches
But do we find them
…….
See 1 Kings 10: 1-10

Tuesday of Week 5 in Ordinary Time

Is there such a God in your kindness.
To your servants when they walk in your way.
The question Solomon asked as witness.
Applies to all of us seeking his way .
Do we walk in his way .
Do we think of him on what path to take.
Do we walk towards his son’s sun ray.
And do everything for his sake.
Do we , like me forget him.
For much of the day.
Doing everything according to our own whim.
Forgetting to pray.
Do we walk in his way.
Only he can say.
……..
We walk in his way
Or that is what we should do
But do we do it
…….
See 1 Kings  8