Sunday ofWeek 21 in Ordinary Time

On the day I called you answered.
You increased the strength of my soul.
What is doubted should, but seldom is revered.
What wearies me should, but does not relieve my toil.
I had a nightmare in the night.
My wife’s gentle touch had to calm me.
Long hours passed before a dim first light.
When it came to hope , I could not hear or see.The mass today was barely understood.
The church at Combloux was crowded.
The communion seemed to give no spiritual food.
Then I stared at the stained glass window, light framed.

And now in its Jesus translucence.
I seemed at last to find some sense.

…..

I called, you answered
And you increased my soul’s strength
From doubt to some faith

……..

See Psalm 137

Saturday of Week 20 in Ordinary Time

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How have I so earned your favour.
That you take notice of me.
We must not waver.
For we have not yet paid our fee.

I am reading a Daphnie du Maurier short story .
Everything goes wrong on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
We all find our different way to glory.
Yet as for others , we they condemn.

As I this story we all fail in a different way.
And suddenly we know it.
Maybe it is something we do or say.
We make a miss more often than a hit.

But salvation comes in unexpected ways.
For we cannot escape his gaze.

……..

Have I earned favour
That you take notice of me
Have I paid my fee

…….

See Ruth 2

Friday of Week 20 in Ordinary Time

It is he who keeps faith for ever.
Who is just to those who are oppressed.
In every endeavour .
However stressed.I walked down the hill in Montepulchiano.
Glorious Tuscan views on either side.
Carried on by the busy flow.

I went with the tide.

And then at the bottom of the hill.
In church , I listened to nuns singing the Salve Regina.
Here all was quiet and still.
There was no need to want to be in a larger arena.

But before I left Montepulchiano.
I took care to have a soothing Aperol aperitivo.

….

Keep faith for ever
Justice to the oppressed
This must be the way

.. ….

See Psalm  145

Thursday of Week 20 in Ordinary Time

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I tell you you will see greater things than that.
You will see heaven laid open.
Our soul magnifies the Lord, a greater Magnificat.
Nothing of promise need be left unspoken.
Assis’s Upper Basilica was seething.
I took refuge in the Lower for Vespers.
Calmed by the early hymn singing.
Forgetting for a moment ,  for truth comes in whispers.
It steals over one.
Joy does not come in a moment.
It is not easily won.
First we must dispense with all resentment.
Allowing a sense of the present .
And then the Lord sends his present.
…….
You will see great things
Will see heaven laid open
Definite promise
…..
See John 1: 45-51

Wednesday of Week 20 of Ordinary Time, Saint Rose of Lima

For him all things were created.
In heaven and on earth , visible and invisible.
Everything is weighted.
His truth infallible.
The walk was hot and tiring.
I took refuge in the Monastery of S. Agnes.
Vespers was starting .
The nuns voices angelic, dispelling all sadness.
Nothing heard more beautiful;  I walked back by S. Michele.
Originally a pagan temple ,  a church of the sixth century.
The Etruscan arch from 300 BC .
The medieval aqueduct ,a place to tarry.
Here was an extraordinary weight of history.
And I was going to remember this walk’s  story.
……..
All things created
In heaven and on the Earth
Visible , invisible
…….
See from today’s Vespers , Canticle , Colossians 1

Our Lady, Mother and Queen

Who can be saved then, they asked.
For men, Jesus told them, this is impossible.
Truth for us is so often masked.
For God everything is possible.
The pictures stretched out in the Priori Gallery.
Endless Madonnas, interest flagged .
And plenty of Calvary.
And feet sagged.
And then in front of one picture , the anthem  played.
Ave Maria Grazie  plena.
Suddenly the heart surged
Here was an end to all dilemma.
Here was no longer a joyless visit
Truth and faith were explicit.
……
Who can be saved then.
For men it’s  impossible
For god possible
…….
See Matthew 19: 23-30

Monday of Week 20 in Ordinary Time

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If you wish to be perfect, sell what you own.
And give the money to the poor.
Treat everything as just a loan.
There is only one lasting amour.

I am in Perugia Cathedral.
I can barely follow the Italian.
But I am amongst the people.
Seeking a spiritual medallion.

And then I found the Madonna delle Grazie.
She is pregnant , inscrutable.
My faith may be hazy and lazy.
But she stands there immutable.

The tourists ignored her stare.
But she still is the source of all our care.

…….

Wish to be perfect?
Give all you own to the poor
But do we do it

………

See Matthew 29: 16-22

20 th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Have a care for justice, act with integrity.
For soon my integrity will be manifest.
For now we can only act with sincerity.
If we are to pass this lifetime’s test.I am in the Lower Basilica at Asssi.
And at the end of mass they sing the Ave Maria.
This is the time to make one’s plea.
Here just for a moment all is pia.

A  Franciscan monk walks slowly  by.
The church is closing.
One still leaves with a questioning sigh.
Despite sadnesses you feel something is reassuring.

In the piazza the light is pinking.
And now it is the sun and not the soul sinking.

….  …

Have care for justice .
And act with integrity
For your time will come

……..

See Isaiah 56 : 1, 6-7

Saturday of Week 19 in Ordinary Time

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The disciples turned the children away.
But Jesus said , let the little children alone..
What is the right way , who can say.
We do know how we can atone .

But we can say, to such as these.
The kingdom of heaven belongs.
Thus we pay all our fees.
And release ourselves from lifes’ throngs.

I was from the heat,  in the Cathedral, resting.
Here was all calm, silent and dark.
Stained glass light diffusing.
A place , weary legs  to park.

Take refuge in simplicity.
From every difficulty.

……

Children turned away?
But to these heaven belongs
To such as all these

…….

See Matthew 19: 13-15

Friday of Week 19 in Ordinary Time

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I gave you a land where you never toiled.
You live in towns you never built.
You eat now from vineyards you never planted.
All as it were, purpose built.

We have done so little.
And so much given us.
Yet all us so brittle.
And it always was thus.

But a land is promised.
For all peoples and all time.
It is not physical,  but in faith fulfilled.
Never ageing all in its prime.

We just have to reach out.
To pray and not to shout.

…….

Land given to us
It’s only spiritual
But that is enough

…….

See Joshua 24

Thursday of Week 19 in Ordinary Time

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You are to stand still.

In the Jordon itself.
We only have to say I will.
And be ourself.
Once I stood there.
By this narrow river.
The light burning clear.
The water barely moving downriver.
But here so long ago.
A great event happened.
This we know.
All mankind now gladdened.
Just a baptism for him and us.
Of a man called Jesus.
…….
If you just stand still
On the bank of the Jordan
You know history
……
See Joshua 3

Wednesday of Week 19 in Ordinary Time

Moses went up Mount Nebo.
And the Lord showed him the whole land.
The path to the promised land is narrow.
Full of chocking sand.
I stood once myself on the Mount.
All the Dead Sea Valley is laid out below.
A sea of sandy mounds, more than you can count.
Here in the mind’s eye you can, the Israelites, follow.And we too are destined not to enter our goal.
We wonder , we strive , we wander.
But we cannot know our true soul.
Only that it is real and tender.

But where we cannot go.
Others surely, the road will know.

………

We climb Mount Nebo
And we see the promised land
But we cannot go

……..

See Deuteronomy 34: 1-12

The The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

He has looked upon his lowly handmaid.
From this day forward all generations will call me blessed.
Really no more can be said.
No more need to feel stressed.Never was it known that anyone who sought thy intercession.
Was left unaided.
Do we we then need to succumb to depression.
In faith we just have to be persuaded.

We lie in bed awake.
All those worries invade .
But if we just say I give and not take.
If in her all our concerns are laid.

Then sleep will come slowly
But surely.

……..
His lowly handmaid
Blessed for generations
Seek intercession
……

See Luke 1: 39-56

Monday of Week 19 in Ordinary Time

God , triumphant and terrible.
Never partial , never bribed.
Speaking by parable.
Impossible to be described.
I went upstairs climbing.
And across the urban roof scape .
I saw a church roof shining
It seemed to transform the mind’s landscape.Even the distant sight of a roof.
Gave me joy.
From God you cannot remain aloof.
It is a constant alloy.

So keep watching.
And praying

……..
God the triumphant
Never partial nor bribed
Cannot be described
……
See Deuteronomy 10: 12-22

19 th Sunday in Ordinary Time

As soon as he felt the force of the wind.
He took fright and began to sink.
Our own hope seems pinned.
We struggle to find any true link.
Man of little faith, why did you doubt.
And as they got into the boat the wind dropped.
Sometimes our own faith enters a bleak drought.
Our spiritual ears seem stopped.

Peter could not do this alone.
He needed Jesus’ hand.

As a man he sank but spiritually he had grown.

He had taken a stand.
And at least he had the courage to jump.
While we too often just remain in a grump.
……..
He felt the wind’s force
And then he began to sink
Just as we all do
……..

See Matthew 14: 22-33

Saturday of Week 18 in Ordinary Time

 

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You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.
With all your soul, with all your strength.
From which all things should start.
And worth going to any length.

But do we do so.
Or think of other things more pressing.
Is that why so often we feel low.
And why we keep stressing.

When Prince Andrei leaves for the army.
His sister Maria  puts an icon around his neck.
To guide him in waters however stormy.
He touches her cheek with a loving peck.

It is a moment of touching faith as he leaves with a sigh.
It brings a tear even to a cynical eye.

………

Love the Lord your God
With all your soul, all your heart
Is this not the key

… …..

See Deuteronomy 6: 4-13

Friday of Week 18 in Ordinary Time

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Was there ever a word so majestic.
From one end of heaven to the other.
For all  the dead and the quick.
And for them, him and her.

I was dreaming.
What if the whole world was made of love divine.
That one could love everybody and every thing , all accepting.
Then truly all would be benign.

Then we wake with a start .
Worries swarm.
It’s time for a restart.
And then bury oneself in the duvet to keep warm.

But try and keep those thoughts on a spiritual lane..
In the hope of keeping sane.

………

Words so majestic
And coming down from heaven
Try to remember

………

See Deuteronomy 4: 32-40

Thursday of Week 18 in Ordinary Time

Thin sowing means thin reaping.
The more you sow the more you reap.
And there will be less weeping.
And to higher spirituality you will leap.It was night but I could still hear them harvesting.
With no moon there were thousands of stars.
Here was the universe and nature quietly becoming.
And far in the distance on the high road was the slight murmur of cars.

Unless a wheat grain falls to the ground and dies.
It remains only a single grain.
But if it dies.
It yields a rich harvest to all our gain.

Anyone who loves his life loses it.
Anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it.

………

Thin sowing thin reaping
The more you sow more you reap
And much less weeping

……..

See 2 Corinthians 9: 6-10 and John 13: 24-26

Wednesday of Week 18 in Ordinary Time

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So stay awake.
You do not know either the day or the hour.
At the harvest so much is at stake.
If we care to make good flour.

I was watching the harvesters late at night.
Their lights on , engines pounding.
A looming orange pink twilight, what a sight.
Nature overcome, a vision of power sounding.

But at harvest everything is about timing.
Just as in Jesus’s warning.
To the bridesmaids to keep the lamps burning.
And to keep the oil refilling.

We do not know the hour when we are called.
We may end up appalled.

……

You must stay awake
Not knowing the hour or day
When you will be called

….. ..

See Matthew 25: 1-15

Tuesday of Week 18 in Ordinary Time

Jesus called out to them saying.
Courage, do not be afraid, it is I.
They never stopped praying.
We never stop saying, why.
I went to a funeral of a nurse.
She’s probably done more good than most of us.
For better or for worse.
And all without any fuss.She never walked on water.
But I’m sure she said , be not afraid.
To all, a kindly mother and daughter.
All her many kindnesses will now be repaid.

Maybe she has no obituary in the Times.
But she was a woman for all times.

……..

When Jesus called out
Were they still water afraid
Did they find courage

……

See Matthew 14: 22-26

Wednesday of Week 22 in Ordinary Time

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He left the house and went to a lonely place.
The crowds wanted to prevent him leaving.
Sometimes we too cannot keep up with the pace.
And we too have problems with believing.

If Jesus had to flee to a lonely place.
I think we can be forgiven for doing so too.
To escape from life’s endless chase.
We can begin life anew.

Sometimes it is best to be alone.
In thoughts and prayers.
A chance to rejoice or maybe atone.
A place of joy and occasionally tears.

So Jesus continued his preaching.
And we continue our searching.

…….

He then left the house
And went to a lonely place
To  now pray alone

…. ….

See Luke 4 : 38-44

Monday of Week 18 in Ordinary Time

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Jesus withdrew by boat to a lonely place.
Where they could be by themselves.
We must sometimes leave the race.
If we want to be truly ourselves.

The disciples said this is a lonely place.
And the time slipped by.
But Jesus fed all the people in that place.
And saved many a sigh.

I was on a boat myself today.
It is good occasionally to be alone at sea.
A chance to worries lay.
And further to see.

I’m afraid I ran aground.
It teaches you to take everything in the round.

………

He withdrew by boat
But then he fed five thousand
And not desert them

………

See Matthew 14: 13-21

The Transfiguration of the Lord

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There, in their presence, his face was transfigured.
His face shine like the Sun and his clothes became white.
Their sight unlike ours was not blurred.
He became white like light.

He did this so that during his passion.
They would remember  this blessing.
But instead they cleared  with faces ashen.
Apart from John they didn’t stop running.

But we too forget the light.
Obscured by the world’s cares.
We neither have hearing nor sight.
We forget our blessings, but remember our tears.

One day we will climb the mountain.
And be forever certain.

…….

His face transfigured
His clothes were as white as light
But we do not see

…….

See Matthew 17: 1-9

Saturday of Week 17 in Ordinary Time

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So may your ways be known on earth.
And all nations know your saving help.
We all have our worth.
As long as we seek your help.

The words of this psalm are so familiar.
What is said in prayers for Parliament.
To help us all look to the distant far.
And to be in this moment present.

Let the nations be glad and exult.
For you rule the world with justice.
You do not need to look always for a result.
But you do need  seek out all injustice.

Let the people praise you.
O God, let all the peoples praise you.

……..

Let people’s praise you
Let all the people praise you
Let nations be glad

……..

See Psalm 80

Friday of Week 17 in Ordinary Time

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Raise a song and sound the thimble.
The sweet sounding harp and the lute.
We search for a sign, a symbol.
Our own music need never be mute.

I am reading the life of composer Carl Davis.
Listening to his World At War.
And hearing war’s threatening basis
So powerful and moving a score.

And yesterday  I watched Shindler’s List.
Portraying so profound a tragedy.
No true music , can we resist.
In its tones can we find some remedy.

Music reaches our inner soul.
And help keeps us whole.

…….

Sounding the thrimble
The sweet sounding harp and lute
And raise a song too

…….

See Psalm 80