Thursday of Week 7 in Ordinary Time

Do not say I sinned and what happened to me.
For the Lord is slow to anger.
What do we really know, what can we see.
We always struggle right from our manger.
We fall.
But we will rise.
We receive the call.
But do we surmise.
But the cemetery awaits.
The great leveller.
He alone knows our dates.
And of course he is the revealer.Best to remember our grave stone.
To relax and maybe occasionally to atone.

….

Do not say I  sinned

And then what happened to me
He’s slow to anger

…….

See Sirach 5: 1-8

Wednesday of Week 7 in Ordinary Time

Whoever loves her, loves life.
And those who seek her will be filled with joy.
Why should depression be rife.
Where is the new pure alloy.This morning.
I did not want to emerge into reality.
I wanted to remain as I awoke from sleeping.
Everything seemed perfect and approaching eternity.

We can be happy.
And remain in the present.
Our thoughts can quieten not be snappy.
What a wonderful God given present.

But we cannot do it on our own.
It’s not something we own.

……..

Whoever loves her
Loves life and is filled with joy
Fight depression

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See Sirach 4 : 11-19

Tuesday of Week 7 in Ordinary Time

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Set your heart right.
And be steadfast.
Keep the light in sight.
To the last.After a difficult night.
I woke to an amazing sense of peace.
It was as if in my life there was new light.
Joy without cease.

There would be no more difficulties.
Problems would vanish.
An end to uncertainties.
All doubts would finish.

True, the feeling does not last.
But to it we need to hold fast.

…….

Just set your heart right
And try too to be steadfast
To keep light in sight

…….

See Sirach  2 : 1-11

Monday of Week 7 in Ordinary Time

Why, they asked, could we not cast the devil out.
This kind, he said, cannot be driven out by anything save prayer.
We don’t know  our own spiritual clout.
Or our own flairWe cannot judge ourselves.
But we all have something.
If we trust ourselves.
And have faith in everything.

Jesus took him by the hand.
And lifted him up.
He can take us too by the hand.
And lift us up.

But we cannot do this alone.
We have to have faith and atone.

……

Can we cast it out
We just cannot judge ourselves
And not on our own

……

See Mark 9 14-29

7 th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Do good to those who hate you.
Bless those who curse you.
Pray for those who abuse you.
Give to everyone who begs from you.I thought of these words from the Gospel writer.
When talking to an Israeli woman.
Whose son had been shot by a Palestinian sniper.
And yet still talked of peace for every man.

Or of the son of a Palestinian imprisoned.
Who still talked of peace.
Hate was jettisoned.
Searching for a solution without cease.

To one who strikes you on the other cheek.
Offer the other cheek.

……

To those who hate you
Pray for them as they abuse
Turn the other cheek

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See Luke 6: 27-38

Saturday of Week 6 in Ordinary Time . The Chair of St Peter

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When the chief shepherd appears.
You will receive the unfading crown of glory.
Relieving so many of our fears.
As we live out our story.

Pope Francis is ill .
And I am praying.
That he will go on remaining with us still.
Praying is hoping, is believing.

This unbroken apostolic succession.
For two thousand years.
Is not in question.
Wiping away unbelieving tears.

Onwards from St Peter.
We will not falter.

…….
Love the Chief Shepherd
Win the unfailing glory
That is our belief

……

See 1 Peter 5: 1-4

Friday of Week 6 in Ordinary Time

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For whoever will save his life will lose it.
That  we know.
But whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
Yes, in our heart of hearts this we know.

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world.
And forfeit his soul.
In the next world.
For what can a man give in return for his soul.

How these words from Mark pierce our soul.
They seem to be the whole truth.
We know that all that matters is really just our soul.
There is no other truth.

But too often we forget.
And our path is earthbound set.

……

If we lose this life
For his sake we will save it
Better to lose

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See Mark 8 34-9:1

Thursday of Week 6 in Ordinary Time

God bless Noah and said to him be fruitful.
And multiply and fill the earth.
It is good that his descendants are plentiful.
Let there be no dearth.I am near Gaza’s desolation.
In a Kibbutz filled with despair
Is there no resolution.
Everywhere fear.

Can we not live together.
Reject hate.
Altogether.
Accept one holy fate.

We don’t need to be pro one or another.
But loving each other.

…….

Let God bless Noah
Let him fruitful, multiply
And be plentiful

……

See Genesis 9 : 1-13

Wednesday of Week 6 in Ordinary Time

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I will never again curse the ground because of man.
For the intention of man’s heart is evil.
Can we not comprehend our true scan
Do we not understand still.

I am in Hebron.
At the Tomb of the Patriarchs.
Here peace waits for a new dawn.
A place for all religions’ divine sparks.

But I see only the army.
Shouldn’t this be a place for all.
A place for a new spiritual journey.
Where we all can walk tall.

Surely all faiths are one.
Where we worship the one.

…….

Should we curse the ground
Because man’s will is evil
Or should we include

……..

See Genesis 8

Tuesday of Week 6 in Ordinary Time

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Do you not perceive.
Or understand.
Receive.
Or comprehend.

I am at mass.
At the Holy Sepulchre.
Reading now this gospel at mass.
Standing not 20 feet from Christ’s sepulchre.

It is dawn.
A gentle light hits the tower.
As on another long ago morn.
When a great light caused the soldiers to cower.

Here we feel at the centre.
At the start of a new spiritual adventure.

…….

Do you not perceive
Do we really understand
We just can but try

…..

See Mark 8: 14-21

Monday of Week 6 in Ordinary Time

Why does this generation seek a sign.
I say to you.
I will give this generation no sign.
Even though we are many not few.And he left.
And got in the boat.
We are bereft.
Trying to keep afloat.

Not enough of a sign.
Nor direction.
Nor a line.
Never enough inspiration.

But we keep praying.
And hoping.

…..

We all seek a sign
But we are not given one
We just wait in hope

…….

See Mark 8: 11-13

6 th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Cursed is the man.
Who makes flesh his strength.
And trusts in man.
And in his own strength.

Blessed is the man.
Who trusts in the Lord.
He is the man.
Whose trust is in the Lord.

He is like  a tree planted by water.
Who sends out its roots by the stream.
He will not be sent to everlasting slaughter.
Death does not happen as it may seem.

This sounds so reassuring.
In all our travails uplifting.

……..

Cursed then is the man
Whose only trust is in man
Just trust in the Lord

…….

See Jeremiah 17: 5-8

Saturday of Week 5 in Ordinary Time

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By the sweat of your face.
You shall eat bread.
He ran his  race.
It has all been said.

Till you return to the ground.
For out of it you were taken.
Even though we thought ourselves sound.
And not forsaken.

For dust you are.
And to dust you shall return.
Our final goal seems far.
Thwarted at every turn.

Like Adam we will keep trying.
And no doubt failing.

……

For dust that you are
And to dust you shall return
That is just our fate

……..

See Genesis 3 : 9-24

Friday of Week 5 in Ordinary Time

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The harvest is plentiful.
But the labourers are few.
We just have to be merciful.
And not mind where we are in the queue.

Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest.
To send out labourers.
To his harvest.
We are those labourers.

We each have a role ourselves.
To write or preach.
Or to be ourselves.
To search  and to reach.

We may not be able.
But we all bring something to the table.

……

Plentiful harvest
But just too few labourers
So we must do more

…….

See Luke 10: 1-9

Thursday of Week 5 in Ordinary Time

It is not good that man should be alone:
I will make him a fit helper for him.
A seed was sown.
For us and for him.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine .
In the heart of your house.
Everything will be fine.
Even the tiniest house mice.Your children like the shoots of the olive.
Around your table.
A picture of all love.
No mere fable.

A legendary garden.
Bringing us pardon.

……
For a man alone
Is surely not a good thng
God gave a helper

…….

See Genesis 2 18-25

Wednesday of Week 5 in Ordinary Time

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You may surely eat of every tree in the garden.
But of the tree of good and evil you shall not eat.
We are fallen , we can only ask for pardon.
As we stand in front of the judgement seat.
In the bible we need to look for echoes.
In Genesis the tree foretells the tree of the tree of the cross.
We always need to look for what follows.
And thus we see our gain and our loss.For all of us.
There is one thing we should not do.
But we do it, all of us.
And of course the result , we rue.

But shriven.
We are forgiven.

…….

You eat from that tree
The tree of evil knowledge
And we will then die

…….

See Genesis 2

Tuesday of Week 5 in Ordinary Time

So God created every living creature.
And God saw that it was good.
Everything created in the past or future.
Is made by God so it is good.
What an amazing thought.
How positive and uplifting.
Everything has value, nothing is naught.
In its arising.But we corrupt
We destruct.
Disrupt.
And obstruct.

But it was good in the beginning.
And will be good at the ending.

……

God did creation
And he saw that it was good
But what do we do

……

See Genesis 1

Monday of Week 5 in Ordinary To me

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They laid the sick in the market place.
And implored him that they might touch his garment.
But of course we will never see his face.
We will never touch his garment.

As many as touched.
Were made well.
Will our spiritual goal be reached.
Who can tell.

Worried, we can only look at the statue of the Virgin.
But it is strangely reassuring.
Somehow we are no longer out but in.
Not failing but somehow surviving.

We may not see Jesus’ face.
But we have the Holy Spirit in his place.

…….

Laying down the sick
They tried to touch his garment
We have just spirit

……

See Mark 6 : 53-56

5 th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Woe, the Prophet writes, is me.
For I am lost.
I cannot, my future see.
My heart is held in frost.We are always  worried.
Everything seems too much, with no reason or rhyme.
But then I saw the churchyard where I will be buried.
I don’t know when, soon or later, sometime.Compared to those endless silent years.
What do all these worries matter.
Then there will be no laughter or tears.
Only a body to bury or ashes to scatter.But with luck the soul will live.
And in God’s presence thrive.…….

He says woe is me
Isaiah says he is lost
But still does live

…….

See Isaiah 6

Saturday of Week 4 in Ordinary Time

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Come away by yourselves to a desolate place.
And rest for a while.
We need to slow down in our race.
We don’t need to run the extra mile.

For many were coming and going.
And they had no leisure even to eat.
We need more resting and praying.
No need always to talk and to meet.

And then in church praying.
All seemed so true and believable.
It was the quiet meditating.
That made the scripture seem so true, reasonable.

But you have to sit quietly.
And reverently.

…….

Come desolate place
And rest here awhile alone
And then you can pray

…….

See Mark 6 : 30-34

Friday of Week 4 in Ordinary Time

Let brotherly love continue.
Do not neglect to show brotherly love to strangers.
Put giving not taking on the menu.
They are not our dangers.For thereby some have entertained.
Strangers unawares.
And great joy gained.
To dispel all grinding fears.

I often wonder.
If those I help are angels.
A thought which is tender.
Or who  knows what heavenly archangels.

So beware.
Be truly aware.

…..

Let love  continue
Neglect not to show strangers
All the love you have

…..

See Hebrews 13 : 1-8

Thursday of Week 4 in Ordinary Time

We have received your merciful love.
In your Temple.
A  peace dove.
And holy sample.The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent and believe in the Gospel.
In this and every land.
In every church and temple.

The thoughts were difficult.
But the psalm and acclamation were reviving.
More than any cult.
To be believed and soothing.

We listen, we hear.
We need not fear.

…….

Your merciful love
Is received in your temple
Here and for always

…….

See Psalm 48 and The Gospel Acclamation

Wednesday of Week 4 in Ordinary Time

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A prophet is not without honour.
Except in his home town.
We wonder how we can open our own home’s door.
Will we be met with a knowing frown.

If Jesus had difficulty
Why should we worry.
If people view us cynically.
There is no hurry.

And the same was with his relatives.
And amongst his own household.
Facing all these negatives.
Everything on hold.

He could do no mighty work there.
Except of course heal some sick there.

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Honour for prophets
Seldom arises at home
It’s the same for us

…….

See Mark 6 : 1-6

Tuesday of Week 4 in Ordinary Time

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My little daughter is at the point of death.
Come and lay your hands on her.
Will we find after death new breath.
Banishing all fear.

Come and lay your hands on her.
So that she may be made well.
Take away every tear.
So that we may tell.

Do not fear.
Only believe.
He is here.
Just receive.

Why are you weeping.
The child is not dead, she is only sleeping.

…….

A child is dying
Jesus says she’s not dying
She is just sleeping

……

See Mark 5 : 21-43