Ignem Veni Mitteri in Terram.

I have come to bring fire to the earth.
They came to slaughter the lamb.
What then is our pride worth.

Have a look at Alberto’s work.
The martyr’s painting in the English College.
Here we see St Edmund put death by dirk.
Such courage we can only acknowledge.

When a martyr was announced.
The students sang below the picture.
Thus their voice was never silenced.
Their loyalty was to scripture.

So will we too set the world alight.
Or of our true destiny will we lose sight.

———-

Set the world alight
That is our true destiny
Just have the courage

———

See Luke 12: 49-53

You should make every part of your body .
As a weapon fighting for God.
What does all this embody.
As on and on we plod.

Sin will no longer dominate your life.
Since you are living by grace and not by law.
Cynicism is rife.
None of us are without flaw.

You cannot be slaves of sin.
And at the same time slaves of obedience.
But we still  attempt to grin.
And put it all down to experience.

Saint Paul got it right.
But the race to his finish will be tight.

………

Are we slaves to sin
Or slaves to obedience
That then is our choice

……..,,,

See Romans 6:12-18

Christ will cause everyone to reign in life.
Who receives the free gift that he does not deserve.
Despair and unbelief are rife.
God from fear,us preserve.

We were at St Margaret’s
Our fallen colleague ,mourning.
We could have no regrets.
At a life well spent for others working.

The antiphon rang out.
The psalms were glorious.
Here was no doubt
He was victorious.

Thus we can only surmise.
Into life he will arise

———-+++++———

Celebrate his life
He is gone for now that’s true
But he will return

———-++++++——

See Romans 5:12,15,17-21

How beautiful on the mountains .
Are the feet of him who brings peace.
Here indeed are flowing fountains.
Our life will receive a new lease.

We are mourning our friend
With tribute and prayer.
We pray he will ascend.
We determine to dare.

Violence will not win.
Hate will have its day.
kindness and hope are twin.
Our fears to lay.

So perhaps his passing will be our gain.
If our differences are not our bane.

………

Kindness is the key.
Respect despite difference
That is surely key

……….,

See Entrance Antiphon

The Lord had been pleased to crush his servant with suffering.
If he offers his life in atonement.
How will it be our passing .
Have we taken all our life or lent.

I am thinking of my friend and colleague.
Cruelly taken from his brothers .
With service , he was always in league.
Always caring for others.

Not for him the lure of high office.
Or ambition.
Only public service .
A true rendition.

Now his life is given.
And our hearts are riven.

…….

Will they say of us
We gave our life in service
Or we thought of us

……,

See Isaiah 53: 10-11

 
When they take you before magistrates and authorities.
Do not worry about how to defend yourselves .
What then are our priorities.
Can we take pride in ourselves.

Virtually all people conform to government decree.
My family certainly did after our first martyr.
But the Stonors remained true, paying week after week their fee.
I wish I could have that sort of courage for a starter.

I am at their house in Oxfordshire.
Pausing in the room where Edmund Campion stayed.
His heart with love afire.
Soon to be cruelly arraigned.

But now by this gentle Chiltern hill.
All is peace tranquil and still.

……..

Where does courage lie
Is it in conformity
Or in seeking truth

……..

See Luke 12: 8-12

When a man has nothing to show except faith in the one who justifies sinners.
Then his faith is considered as justifying him.
How then do we all become winners.
Is all our future based on fates’ whim.

We can by our own efforts do better.
But can we have faith just by trying.
Do we have to be part of the select fitter.
Or can we obtain redemption by doing.

St Teresa had faith in spades.
But that was not enough.
Her whole life a struggle , braving spiritual cascades.
Often travelling far and rough.

So I think we have to do both.
Have faith and not too much sloth.

…….

For redemption
Is it just faith or good works
I suspect it’s both

……..

See Romans 4: 1-8

Man is justified by faith .
And not by doing something the law tells him to do .
What then if we have insufficient faith.
What then are we to do .

I am in Athens studying the ancient Gods.
Immortal yet with so many human faults.
Perhaps in their frailty they had a point , these Gods.
Because we like them have so many faults.

So I can’t justify myself by the little good I do.
Nor by my questioning faith
So what am I to do.
Perhaps try harder with what I do and with my faith.

I had better just keep muddling on my way .
It’s not a lot but what more can I say .

……..

Justified by faith
Or just by the deeds we do
What if then neither

…………

See Romans 3: 21-30

Pain and suffering will come to every human being
Jews and Greeks aswell.
To the Agora in Athens walking.
All seemed well.

In the footsteps of Socrates and Plato.
The warm October sun shining .
Enough to make you crow
And then my passport went missing.

Philosophical thoughts abandoned.
Desperate searches of the orthodox churches I had visited.
Prayers not granted.
Flight cancelled , marooned, Everybody uninterested .

If disaster strikes, so much for theosophy.
Forget philosophy .

……..

When disaster strikes
We forget prayers
And just scream loudly

……….

His everlasting power and deity, however invisible .
Have been there to see in the things he has made .
For those who try everything is visible .
Every single one of our actions is already weighed.

For those without religion the concern is just with themselves and others , for better or worse.
For the religious there is a third component.
If God exists he has made the whole universe .
Our eyes are lifted to what he has made and sent .

We look at the countless stars .
Did he create all of this .
We are never alone, even if we ever reach Mars.
It is all around us, bliss.

Does anything much in our land.
When it is the merest grain of sand .

…………

Does anything count
When it is a grain of sand
In the Universe

To you you then who are God’s beloved in Rome.
Called to be Saints .
We maybe far from home .
But pray we can be freed of complaints.

The walk to the Mountain Monastery on Hydra of St Elias was long.
Five hours up and down in the heat.
This was no song .
But I wanted a prayer meet .

At the top the immediate prayer was not granted
But it was at the bottom .
As for the big prayer the answer is still awaited.
I’ll have to wait till another autumn.

The only answer I think I can say .
Is pray , pray then again pray.

……..

Every day pray
Then pray again and again
And keep doing so

….

See Romans 1: 1-7

I entreated and the spirit of wisdom came to me.
I esteemed her more than sceptre and throne.
Pray that I may truly see.
That I may know I am not alone.

I was dreaming that my candidate had won the race , I was no longer on the shelf .
I expected some job at least .
Then he just offered me a portrait of himself .
Where was the power yeast .

Then some important person paid tribute to me .
But I realised I was dead .
They were just lighting a candle to me .
All ambition was as heavy as lead.

So take prizes with a pinch of salt
Realise that all is in default.

……..

Where then is wisdom
It is not in this world alone
It is somewhere else

…….

Wisdom 7: 7-11

We may be led out of shadows and images.
Into the fullness of your truth.
Preserve us from rages .
Even after our long passed youth.

We always think we should have done better.
But we should view life like poo sticks thrown really slow.
They can be whisked away ever faster.
Or They get stuck in the eddies flow.

Once thrown our decision is taken.
Our chances sail their own way .
Why regret what cannot be changed to forsaken.
Long before we go grey.

We spend half our life fearing the future or regretting the past .
But the stick has been thrown , all that is in the past.

………

The sticks babe been thrown
It is too late now to change
That is in the past

….,,,,,,

See Collect of the day

Pardon what conscience dreads.
And give what prayer does not dare to ask.
Regret weighs me down with heavy leads.
Yet to this cynical world I wear a mask.

We always focus on the glass unfilled
Not that it is three quarters full.
We just see the last field still untitled.
We wallow in hope’s lull .

health ,career and relationships.
Nothing is quite right .
We are focused not on ahead but amidships.
We keep our own, not others’ misfortunes in sight.

But there is not something three quarters full in our health today
And that is total , it is death , live for today.

……..

Regrets fill our days
Whatever is not quite right
But death is much worse

……..

See Collect of the day

The one who searches.
Always finds.
Oh, the interminable researches.

God arranged that a worm attack the castor oil plant.
And it withered.
How often do I say I can’t.
How often have we dithered.

Jonah refused to do what was asked.
And he paid the price.
Our future is masked.
Often held in a vice.

But Nineveh would also meet its fate
Unless he acted.
He didn’t leave it too late.
Once no longer distracted.

We can do the same.
If our will is not too lame.

—-+++++——

We act like Jonah
If we come to terms with fate
And do it in time

———++++++——-

See Jonah 4:1-11

It is Mary who has chosen the better part.
It is not to be taken away from her.
We cannot know when we will depart.
Or indeed if it will be timely or fair.

But there is no need to assist how we are ended.
In due time it will come naturally.
Just allow me to be well tended.
Before I come to rest finally.

One day all our bustle will cease.
Only prayer then left but tasks to do, a million.
We will leave our crease.
And walk slowly back to the pavilion.

When the final breath comes.
Let me think of you , not count the runs.

——++++—-

The innings is done
The number of runs count not
It’s how we do them

———++++———

See Luke 10,38-42

The man left his home behind.
Abandoned his inheritance.
Will we escape the daily grind.
Immune to all circumstance.

I would never make myself penniless.
Nor then will I ever be raised up.
We always hold ourselves in readiness.
Refusing the offer of the spiritual cup.

Poverty and humility.
A world away.
Far beyond our meagre ability.
Well , who can say.

But we can look at the steps of the master.
And perhaps we might progress a little faster.

———++++——-

Our humility
Is so many steps away
But we can just try

———++++———

See The Entrance Antiphon of the Mass

Let the little children come.
Do not stop them.
Their voices a gentle hum.
A life force from a small stem.

Teach me to think that  glorious way.
Seeing the world in fresh paint.
In primary reds and greens, lit by the sun’s ray.
All without  worrying restraint.

Let me welcome the kingdom.
Like a little child .
Sensing a simple wisdom.
With nothing defiled.

Do not turn any child away.
They are truly here to stay.

——-++++——

What is most precious.
The life force of all children
However tiny

———++++——

See Mark 10:2-16

I tell you solemnly unless you change.
And become like little children you will never enter.
All this may seem strange.
But it is pious simplicity at the centre.

Sometimes we must lay aside doubt.
Not agonise over the rational.
Not worry what it’s all about.
Remember it’s emotional.

Consider it all new .
Exciting.
Joyous to view.
Riveting.

Being just little.
Can be a great acquittal.

…….

Welcome the little
It can lead us to greatness
By very small steps

……

See Mattthew 18:1-5,10

He brought our fathers out of Egypt.
To give us a land where milk and honey flow.
We who are free cannot rewrite the script.
Be we ever so high or low.

I am bidding goodbye to the sea’s eternal gaze.
Why do I find that look so Lovely yet depressing.
Is it because she does not give me plants to raise.
The sea is a desert never blooming.

She rises and falls with the moon.
Caring nothing for our whim.
I will not see her any time soon.
The sun dips beneath her rim.

I miss the green wold.
Full with tale untold.

…………

Our land overflows
Not just with milk and honey
We are truly blessed

……….

See Baruch 1:1-15

Carry no purse , no haversack, no sandals.
Salute no one on the road.
We need to light no candles.
To keep our prayers flowed.

I was walking the coast path.
The only company sea and sky.
Rain washing away the narrow footpath.
Nothing about me was dry.

There was a lot of slipping
I was waking very slowly.
Not thinking , just concentrating.
On the cliffs far below, nothing holy.

Mindfully walking.
Is as good as praying.

—-+++—-

The sea quiet below
Not a sound from crashing waves
Prayer in itself

—-+++——

See Luke 10: 1-12

You believe just because I saw you under the fig tree.
You will see greater things than that.
Standing at the top of the garden you notice the sea.
Distant , peaceful calm, blue, grey and flat .

I am at Trebah Garden, gently walking, freed from toil.
Here Mediterranean plants prosper , so much to discern.
Nurtured by rich Cornish acid, humid soil.
Hydrangeas, rhubarbs, rubber plants and weeping figs, a fern.

But I was here nearly forty years ago .
With my friend the great Tony Hibbert .
Long before it was open to all the public on the go.
It was a wild neglected jungle , care’s desert.

I think I preferred it then, we were all alone.
But let others enjoy and learn, I must not moan.

—-+++—-

A country garden
Place to quietly meditate
But best be alone

——-+++——

See John 1:47-51

Lord, do you want us to call down fire.
To burn them up.
But he rebuked their ire.
And they went to another village to sup.

The light over the sea turned black.
A storm raged in with biting rain.
I walked back grateful for my mack.
This total isolation was my gain.

I took refuge in Pentireglaze.
The orchard’s apples ripening.
The sea’s rage lost to all gaze.
The herb garden contentedly sowing.

And now a glorious sunset rose over the tillage.
I walked in my mind slowly to another village.

—-++++——

Black over the sea.
Rushing towards the shoreline
Retreat then homewards

-—++++—-

See Luke 9:51-56

Then he will turn to the prayers of the helpless.
He will not despise their prayers.
Often our dreams are hapless.
Gloom in layer upon layers.

We look back on our career highs.
And think how little we have lit .
The dark mere is shallow in relation to its size.
But our gaze can not for all that penetrate it,

And then I remembered a prayer to enlighten me.
Guide me , strengthen and console me.
I promise to submit to all that you desire of me.
And to accept to all that you allow to happen to me.

Let me only do your will .
The dark landscape cleared of its own free will.

—-+++—-

Oh Holy Spirit
Beloved of my own soul
I do adore you

—-+++—-

See Psalm 101