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

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

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

 
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

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

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

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

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

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

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

One day within your courts.
Is better than a thousand elsewhere.
Sometimes we are out of sorts.
We shed even the odd tear.

Saying the Rosary helps the soul.
It’s a kind of focused mindfulness.
And keeps us present and whole.
A slow progression out of a mess.

We start with the joyful mysteries.
Our hearts are raised by the luminous ones.
We are cast down by the sorrowful mysteries.
But victory over death comes with the glorious ones.

So the long night of questions passes slowly.
But all is not worry , we can remember the holy.

…….

A day in your courts
Is worth a thousand elsewhere
That is what we know

……..

See Psalm 83

The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant.
looking for fine pearls.
If he finds one of great value , a purchase is urgent.
And he sells all the other pearls.

I am reading the last page of Tolstoy’s Resurrection.
That night an entirely new life began for Nekhlyudov.
He was seeking a new type of perfection.
His thoughts arose like a dove.

He realised that we live in the absurd conviction.
That in life, given for our enjoyment, we are masters of our lives.
So much of what we hold dear is fiction.
We do not know what really thrives.

If we have been sent into this world to till.
It must be for some purpose and by someone’s will.

……,

Sent into this world.
We come for a purpose by will
Not for enjoyment

……..

See Matthew 13 : 44-46

A God of tenderness and compassion.
Slow to anger, rich in kindness.
Something beyond all reason.
And waiting for us to bless.

The newly fully grown wheat’s scent.
The music of  Schubert’s Rosamunde playing.
The gentle twilight, all worries spent.
The chorus of blackbird and wood pigeon singing.

The night gently invading the cottage garden.
Here for a moment I am close to God’s compassion.
A falling away of every burden.
And pointless passion.

Why worry if God is near
When you have nature here.

……..

God’s compassion
Tenderness and no anger
Is here for us all

……..

See Exodus 33

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed.
Which a man took and sowed in his field.
We ask, how can we, from doubt, be freed.
The truth seems divinely concealed.

As usual I spent the night asking is Jesus God.
Did he not say  , Before Abraham was, I am, is he the one.
Does it matter if he did not say I am God.
Is not his meaning clear in saying I and the Father are one.

The mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds.
But when it is grown , it is the biggest shrub of all.
I continue to search all the scriptural leads.

I wait patiently for the call.

Do these countless stars come from nothing.
Or from a celestial hand divining and guiding.

……..

The mustard seed
Is the smallest of them all
Yet a mighty shrub

………

See Matthew 13: 31 to 35