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

Love one another.
As I have loved you.
In the dream’s frustrating smother.
While waking doubts grew.

Thw walk was long watching the clock.
The September sun warming.
We walked to st Enodoc.
The wind was wipping.

We arrived in the quiet church
Passing the flowering evening primrose.
The Eucharist continued its search.
The small congregation rose.

And then we heard John’s gospel.
Perhaps those words were possible.

——++++——

Love one another
But is all this possible
Maybe with some help

——-++++—-

See John 15: 12-13

I will turn their mourning into joy.
I will console them, give gladness for grief.
Purity can be found in the merest alloy.
Loneliness can turn into relief.

Thirty seven years of marriage to our credit.
A decision with no regret.
It is not I who have any merit.
To this kindest of women I am in debt.

If love is cut short.
And death claims its due.
Is there anything left to court.
Only the memories we knew.

Does beyond lie the emptiness of annihilation.
Or we dearly hope, reunion.

—-+++—-

Marriage does end
Death will always take its due
For reunion

—+++—-

See Jeremiah 31: 10-12, 13

Who is there left among you .
That saw the temple in its former glory.
The mist grew.
Here is a story.

Glastonbury Tor swam into view.
Rising above the Somerset Levels.
Asking a question of me and you.
Is it just natural or built against devils

What are the mysterious terraces.
What was the origin of the tower.
Out of the ordinary of all holy places.
Exuding a mysterious power.

The car drove by.
History left with a sigh.

—-+++—-

A conical hill
Arises out of the mist
Still a mystery

—-+++—

See Haggai 1:15-2:9

Herod had heard about all that was being done by Jesus.
And he was puzzled, and was anxious to meet Jesus.
Perhaps all this also applies to us.
Are we also prepared to make a fuss.

Do we talk out.
Or remain silent.
Dispel doubt
Or just stay quiet.

Perhaps we are puzzled.
Not sure if he is dead.
Content to be muzzled.
Not accepting all we have read.

Herod thought John beheaded
Where was this new man headed.

—-+++—-

Are people puzzled
By what we write say and do
So do we speak out

——++++——

See Luke 9:7-9

I am ashamed.
I blush to lift my face to you.
My pride is still not tamed.
And my fear too.

Nor our greed.
And our ambition.
Will I never take heed.
And give due rendition.

Am I satisfied with just a staff.
And one haversack.
At troubles just to laugh.
And accept all lack.

But I will keep going
Until my due passing.

——++++——

Carry just a staff
And a haversack only
But will we do it

——-++++——-

See Ezra 9:5-9 , Luke 9:5-9

It is not the healthy.
Who need the doctor but the sick.
It is not the wealthy.
Who need help but those given a kick.

We are like the tax collector.
Sitting by the customs house.
We don’t have to be a rector.
Or contrarily an unpleasant louse.

We just wait our turn to be called.
Patiently not knowing when it will come.
We can wait for disbelief to be felled.
It can take a lifetime for some.

I am still sitting.
Just hoping, waiting.

——+++—-

We await the call
For some that is a lifetime
Just be patient

—-++++——

See Matthew 9:9-13

For nothing is hidden,
but it will be made clear.
With faith little is sudden.
And it is down to us, not a seer.

Nothing secret but it will be known.
And brought to light.
Everything is quietly sown.
A distant slowly rising kite.

Do not test your belief in the Deity.
For it is necessarily unknowable.
We are merely questioning laity.
We are only fallible.

But we can read scripture.
As a touch searching the hidden future.

———-+++++——

A torch lights the dark
Scripture too lights the future
It is all we have

——++++——

See Luke 8:16-18

Da quaesimus omnipotens Pater.
In hunc famulum tuum Presbyterii dignitatem.
Grant we pray almighty father.
To this your servant the dignity of priesthood’s stem.

Innova in visceribus eius spirituum.
Sanctitatis acceptum a te Deus secundi meriti munus obtineat.
Renew deep within him the spirit of holiness’ drum.
May he hold the office, received from you God .and be in your debt.

I am at an ordination.
This solemn moment cannot fail to move.
A young man embarked on a new reunion.
All the rest of lift set in a new holy groove.

Censuramque exemplo suae conversationis insinuet.
And by the example of his manner of life may he inspire right conduct yet.

——-++++—-

A solemn moment.
A man gives up everything
For God whom he trusts

——-++++++——-

See The laying on of hands and Consecratory prayer of an ordination