SOMETHING BETTER

PRAYER MOMENT Friday 30 January 2015 SOMETHING BETTER Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within. Reading: “For you not only shared in the sufferings of those who were in prison, but you happily accepted being stripped of your belongings, knowing that you owned something that was better and lasting.” (Hebrews 10:32-39) Reflection. There are those who say that after this life there is nothing. You just fade away and that is the end. Sickness, death of family members, exile and loss become disasters without meaning. It is hard to get into the mind of people who have no belief beyond this world. They are often very good people who give themselves for others. They probably find it strange that people of faith might say, “something better” is missing from their world view. It is this ‘something’ that the author of the letter to the Hebrews has discovered and wants his fellow Jews to understand. The God who spoke through the prophets has appeared amongst us in the person of Jesus and torn apart the veil between the human and the divine. Prayer. Lord, grant us the joy and the endurance to know that it the midst of the challenges we face there is “something more” awaiting us here and hereafter. Amen. David Harold-Barry SJ

THROUGH THE CURTAIN

PRAYER MOMENT Thursday 29 January 2015 THROUGH THE CURTAIN Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within. Reading: “Thtough the blood of Jesus we have the right to enter the sanctuary by a way which he has opened for us, a living opening through the curtain, that is to say, his body … so as we go in …” (Hebrews 10:19-25) Reflection. We live in a world charged with the presence and activity of God but we are often not aware of it. Some people are never aware of it. It is like with a blind person who moves about in our world the same as the rest of us. But he does not see what we see. He knows all the things are there because he has heard them described or touched them but there is a curtain preventing him from seeing them. The curtain marking off the Holy of Holies in the Jewish temple stood for this veil, this distance, that exists between us and God. The author of Hebrews says we have entered this sanctuary, passed throught this curtain, because of the sacrifice of Jesus “for you.” This is our faith; the curtain is there but it is not there! Prayer. Lord, we thank you for leading us into the presence of the Father even in this life. Give us joy and confidence in the midst of the many challenges and sorrows we face. Amen. David Harold-Barry SJ

SEEING AND NOT SEEING

PRAYER MOMENT Wednesday 28 January 2015 SEEING AND NOT SEEING Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within. Reading: “To those who are outside everything comes in parables, so that they may see and see again but not perceive; hear and hear again and not understand.” (Mark 4:1-20) Reflection. Jesus has just told the parable of the sower which both hides and reveals the message of the reign of God. It hides it by speaking of a farmer going about his work and the different results he gets. One can simply get caught up in that everyday story and go no further. Our daily activities can be absorbing and leave us little appetite to penetrate their meaning. To rinse our eyes and open our ears is to come to understand God at work in all things. “He (is achieving) the eternal perfection of all whom he is sanctifying.” (Hebrews 10:11-18). Prayer. Lord, give us the eyes to see you at work in every event of our day, the ears to hear your word in every sound. Amen. David Harold-Barry SJ

YOU PREPARED A BODY

PRAYER MOMENT Tuesday 27 January 2015 YOU PREPARED A BODY Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within. Reading: “You prepared a body for me. You took no pleasure in holocausts or sacrifecs for sin. Then I said, ‘God, here I am! I am coming to obey your will.’” (Hebrews 10:1-10) Reflection. The author of Hebrews continues the development of his teaching about Jesus as the priest, the one who offers – not symbolic sacrifices – but his own person. He gave himself, becoming a human being with a body like ours, and entered into the human drama of birth, childhood, maturity, work, skills, fustrations, misunderstandings, condemnation and death. He lived his life with such integrity, such purity, that human life itself was lifted out of its cramped cage into freedom, meaning and joy.We participate in all this because, as our priest, he has gone on ahead of us and all we have to do is follow. Prayer. Lord Jesus, High Priest of our new life in God, help us to know you that we may love and follow you. Amen. David Harold-Barry SJ

FAN INTO A FLAME

PRAYER MOMENT Monday 26 January 2015, SS Timothy and Titus FAN INTO A FLAME Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within. Reading: “That is why I am reminding you to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you.” (2 Timothy 1:1-8) Reflection. Timothy and Titus were among the many helpers of Paul and they represent the ever widening cooperation of those who first received the good news. Years ago we used to think of the church as being the business of bishops, sisters and priests. Today, especially since the Second Vatican Council, we rejoice in the ever widening cooperation of all the people of God in the the mission of Jesus. There are two ways we can engage in this mission: one is assisting in the pastoral work of our communities and parishes. The other is in the intense application of our gifts wherever we are engaged. This latter work may never have any direct link with the church or religion but in engaging in the world with integrity we are truly cooperating with the mission of Jesus. Prayer. God, our Father, help us to cooperate each day in the great work of bringing your reign, your kindom, to reality in our world today. Amen. David Harold-Barry SJ

OUT OF HIS MIND

PRAYER MOMENT Saturday 24 January 2015, St Francis de Sales OUT OF HIS MIND Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within. Reading: “When his relatives heard of this (that such crowds were gathering Jesus could hardly have a meal), they set out to take charge of him convinced whe was out of his mind.” (Mark 3:20-21) Reflection. Mark is the most blunt and raw of the gospel writers. He does not shrink from giving us a sharp and immediate picture of events and feelings. Clearly Jesus’ family were dismayed by his activities. They could not understand the burning urgency with which he pursued his mission. His every waking moment was devoted to proclaiming the new world that God was creating. I am reading the life of Abraham Lincoln at the moment and you can get a taste of that urgency, that ambition to serve, in his life too. In our complex time we look for that sense of ‘driveness’ in our leaders in the church and in the world - and also in ourselves! Prayer. God, our Father, we see in Jesus one who was absorbed by his mission to announce your reign of justice and peace. Help us too to be intent on witnessing to this mission. Amen. David Harold-Barry SJ

WRITTEN ON THEIR HEARTS

PRAYER MOMENT Friday 23 January 2015 WRITTEN ON THEIR HEARTS Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within. Reading: “When those days arrive – it is the Lord who speaks – I will put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts.” (Hebrews 8:6-13) Reflection. The letter to the Hebrews describes Jesus, the new high priest, as a mediator, a go-between, a munyai, one who fixes things and brings about a new situation. This new thing is described as a new covenant. The old covenant in Sinai was a sign of a reality that has now come. And this new covenant is described as an intimate relationship with God. His laws would no longer be written on tablets of stone but on the hearts of his people everywhere. From now on people will know what to do. The Spirit will teach them. We know what to do! Our difficulty is to find our way to doing it. The Spirit of Jesus helps us. We are called to listen. Prayer. Lord Jesus, help us to listen to the your Spirit speaking to us in our hearts. Amen. David Harold-Barry SJ

ONCE AND FOR ALL

PRAYER MOMENT Thursday 22 January 2015 ONCE AND FOR ALL Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within. Reading: “He has done this once and for all by offering himself.” (Hebrews 7:25 - 8:6) Reflection. Warming to his theme the author of this letter now concentrates on the one great offering of Jesus of himself in Jerusalem before the Jewish leaders, before the Romans and on Calvary. This one act stands for all time as the event which halts the drift of humanity into meaninglessness and self destruction. It not only reverses it but lifts all creation into a new life of purpose and fulfilment. It is done once and that is sufficient for all time. It is also done “for all” because it embraces all humankind, except those who, mysteriously, deliberately opt out of this saving drama. So the author describes the fulfilment of everything the Jewish priesthood symbolised and everything the priesthood of the followers of Jesus long for. Prayer. Lord Jesus, High Priest of our new life in God, we thank you for the gift of your self offering which we remember and in which we join each time we celebrate the Eucharist. Amen. David Harold-Barry SJ

A PRIEST FOR EVER

PRAYER MOMENT Wednesday 21 January 2015, St Agnes A PRIEST FOR EVER Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within. Reading: “Melchizdek is king of Salem, that is, ‘king of peace’; he has no father, mother or ancestry, and his life has no beginning or ending; he is like the Son of God. He remains a priest for ever.” (Hebrews 7:1-3,15-17) Reflection. The letter to the Hebrews centers on the theme of Jesus as priest. In calling his disciples to be his witnesses he shares with them this priesthood. We are all priests in that we share in the offering of our lives together with Jesus to God. And we all receive the divine life for ourselves and for the world. Those we call ‘priests’ among us have the role of focusing this offering and receiving this life for all people, not just Christians. And these priests are instituted, ordained, to do this offering and receiving in the focused action of the Eucharist. To celebrate the Eucharist is to ‘collect’ in one charged act the thanksgiving of human beings to God for inviting us to share in his life through offering our lives and receiving his so that the two become one. Prayer. Lord Jesus, we thank you for the gift of the Eucharist through which we become one with you in a ‘marvellous exchange’. We give our poor selves; you give your divine life. Amen. David Harold-Barry SJ

BEYOND THE VEIL

PRAYER MOMENT Tuesday 20 January 2015 BEYOND THE VEIL Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within. Reading: “Here we have an anchor for our soul, as sure as it is firm, and reaching right through beyond the veil where Jesus has entered before us and on our behalf...” (Hebrews 6:10-20) Reflection. Yesterday I was looking for Southwark Cathedral on the south bank of the Thames in London. People I asked had no idea where it was though in fact it was close by. Built in 1106 it once dominated the skyline but today it is hidden away among buildings three times its height. My search can serve as a metaphor for penetrating the world around us to discover the divine in our midst. The cathedral is just one more building. This symbol of the divine is now hidden among all our buildings. The world has become more secular, yes, but beyond that veil, if we penetrate it and we can, the divine has been brought close to us. Prayer. Lord Jesus, teach us, in our secular age, to see tha you are in the midst of us though hidden by a veil. Amen. David Harold-Barry SJ

IN SILENT TEARS

PRAYER MOMENT Monday 19 January 2015 IN SILENT TEARS Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within. Reading: “During his life on earth he offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death, and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard.” (Hebrews 5:1-10) Reflection. The letter to the Hebrews gives us a revealing glimpse of the interior suffering of Jesus, helping us to ponder further his agony in Gethsemene. As a human being he knew what he had to suffer but his tears were not for himself but for our world; a world so slow to accept the gift of God, “peace flowing like a river.” It is hidden from us because we cannot bend ourselves to “submit” – the word Muslims use to describe their faith – to that gift. The silent tears of Jesus are for all those who suffer in body and spirit and mind. Someone said, ‘God is in agony until the end of time.’ He suffers with the people of Syria and everywhere else where human actions have frustrated his plan. He calls us back as he did the people of ancient Israel. Prayer. Lord Jesus, as we ponder your “silent tears” we know they are for us and our world. Help us to share the sufferings of others and do what we can to comfort them. Amen. David Harold-Barry SJ

Breaking out

Breaking out I am in Britain and the media is full of terror threats following the killings in France and Belgium. Efforts are being made to step up security as an immediate response but people are also asking fundamental questions. Why is this happening in the 21st century? Why are people behaving like this? We are beginning to realise that there are issues we have not dealt with in regard to relationships between Islamic countries and “the West.” As, for example, with the thirty year “troubles” in Ireland when almost 5000 were killed, so now a time will come when the issues will have to be addressed. But why does it take us so long to address them? Why is humankind so sluggish in facing the obvious? In a time in ancient Israel when things looked pretty dire Samuel appeared. His teacher, Eli, is old and blind and his sons are scoundrels. But it is this same Eli who sets Samuel on his way and he becomes a kingmaker solving Israel’s problems for a time. The legacy of Judaism and Christianity – not that they have a monopoly on this – was the rise of a succession of leaders who appeared at critical times to steady us and show the way forward. In the opening chapter of John’s gospel we see Jesus calling disciples; Andrew, Peter, Philip, Nathanael. In the chaos after his crucifixion they will take the infant community forward and, with astonishing confidence, give it direction. When Peter announced that they were going to accept pagans into the community the others were at first horrified. We read all about this now as part of the story of the early church but we would do well to zoom in on our present situation. Whether in Zimbabwe or in Britain we need the leadership that will break us out of mind sets that are not getting us anywhere. Samuel felt threatened by Saul, the very man he had made king. And Peter found himself in prison for doing what he knew he had to do. We look for great leaders who can make a difference but we can also create the climate where leaders can emerge by ourselves practicing the art of “breaking out” of our comfortable assumptions. We could begin by really asking questions. Maybe we know little of the societies far away from us but we can go deep into the issues in our own yard. Why are things the way they are? Do they have to be like that? Is there really nothing I can do except wait for someone else to do something? In perhaps the tiniest ways we can say with Andrew, “We have found the Messiah,” and we are going to follow him. 18 January 2015 Sunday 2B Samuel 3:3-10 1 Corinthians 6:13-20 John 1:35-42

A DOUBLE EDGED SWORD

PRAYER MOMENT Saturday 17 January 2015 A DOUBLE EDGED SWORD Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within. Reading: “The word of God is something alive and active; it cuts like any double edged sword but more finely; it can slip through the place where the soul is divided frim the spirit. or joints from the marrow; it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts.” (Hebrews 4:12-16) Reflection. Psychologists tell us that the life we are conscious of is the tip of the iceberg. There is a whole side of us which is hidden from us: the unconscious. It is a bundle of our history, culture and compulsions. It influences the way we think and act. We spontaneously respond to people and situations in good ways and in not so good ways. We often do not understand our own behaviour. God knows us better than we know ourselves. Augustine said he is closer to us than we are to ourselves. Our unconscious self need not be a tyrant out of control. It too can be redeemed and no longer be a master but a friend. Prayer. Lord, help us to become sensitive to our hidden depths. Come to heal us here too that we may walk in peace all our days. Amen. David Harold-Barry SJ

A PLACE OF REST

PRAYER MOMENT Friday 16 January 2015 A PLACE OF REST Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within. Reading: “Be caredul; the promise of reaching the place of rest God had for the Israeloites still holds good, and none of you must think he has come too late for it.” (Hebrews 4:1-5) Reflection. Television brings us the anguish on the face of Syrian women who have lost their husbands, children and home.There is no rest from their sorrow. Young people in Zimbabwe spend their day trying to sell belts, flags or juice cards. There is no rest from their struggle to survive. The letter to the Hebrews describes a rest that can be found in the midst of life, when a person ‘comes to Jesus’ in their labour and when they are overburdened and they ‘find rest.’ Can we say that it is possible to be deeply engaged in all that we do and still find rest in the heart of Jesus, a rest that is a foretaste of a final rest that one day will satisfy us completely? Prayer. Lord, help us to come to you when we labour and are over burdened and find rest for our souls. Amen. David Harold-Barry SJ

ONLY TODAY

PRAYER MOMENT Thursday 15 January 2015 ONLY TODAY Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within. Reading: “O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’” (Hebrews 3:7-14) Reflection. The poet says, ‘O to be alive,’ and life is the great gift. And we experience life moment by moment, each day. It has often been said how we can dwell on regrets for the past and plans for the future. But all we actually have is the present, today. As our marriage vows put it we live for one another ‘for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness or in health.’ But this living for one another is true of all relationships; with others, with myself and with God. We cannot control which of these we will live and we can miss the gift of life itself in the worries of life. The author of the letter to the Hebrews comes quickly to the point: to live fully is to respond to the Spirit of God, accepting each of our todays” with joy. Prayer. Lord, we do not always feel happy each day but let there be deep within us that peace that comes from knowing you are everything for us. Amen. David Harold-Barry SJ

COMPLETELY HUMAN

PRAYER MOMENT Wednesday 14 January 2015 COMPLETELY HUMAN Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within. Reading: “It was essential that in this way he should be completely like his brothers so that he could a compassionate and trustworthy high priest.” (Hebrews 2:14-18) Reflection. Perhaps we sometimes ask ourselves, ‘how actually did Jesus save us?’ We have been taught he did it by his death and we saw the huge statue on the hill above Rio during the World Cup of Christ with arms raised to the world. But, as St Anselm asked, do we understand what we believe? The letter to the Hebrews searches for an answer by saying Jesus was completely human. We long to be loving, kind, patient, courageous, imaginative and so forth. He was all these to an extent we cannot grasp. His response to insults, ignominy, persecution and death took humanity to a height beyond our dreams. Ruth Burrows says, ‘he was so human he was divine.’ It is in union with him that we become truly human and that is what salvation means. Prayer. Lord, help us to become ‘completely human’by our daily growing into the life you call us to. May the world strive, even if unconsciously, to reach the peak of humanity you lived among us. Amen. David Harold-Barry SJ

WE ARE NOT ABLE TO SEE

PRAYER MOMENT Tuesday 13 January 2015 WE ARE NOT ABLE TO SEE Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within. Reading: “At present, it is true, we are not able to see that everything has been put under his command, but we do see in Jesus one who was for a short while made lower than the angels and is now crowned in glory and splendour because he has submitted to death; by God’s grace he had to experience death for all humankind.” (Hebrews 2:5-12) Reflection. Maybe we are not familiar with the letter to the Hebrews. Whoever the author was he had a different view from the authors we normally read. He writes for the Jews and is intent on showing how Jesus fulfils all their longings. In doing so he opens up vistas we don’t often consider. That phrase, ‘we are not able to see,’ speaks to me of the world all round us where people are busy getting their children into school, starting their work again for the new year and generally going about their business. ‘We are not able to see’ how charged everything we do is with meaning for the present and eternity. We may think of it as ordinary and ‘just part of life.’ But every act and word, every least gesture, is a thread in the fabric we are sowing. We are making something that will last for ever and everything counts. Prayer. Lord, help us to see the place of everything in your and our creation. We are building something. Help us to make it a witness of your reign. Amen. David Harold-Barry SJ

THE TIME HAS COME

PRAYER MOMENT Monday 12 January 2015 THE TIME HAS COME Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within. Reading: “Jesus went in to Galilee. There he proclaimed the Good News from God. ‘The time has come,’ he said, ‘and the kingdom of God is close at hand’” (Mark 1:14-20) Reflection. We are back again in ‘ordinary’ time. Years ago when we studied medieval philosophy in an austere college in the woods and used to live ‘ordinary’ lives for two weeks around Chrismas with music and drama and freedom from timetables. I used to hate it when suddenly, around this time, we were back in what the church calls ‘ordinary time’ but which for us was the ususal rather extraordinary existence we then had. Now I realise that all time is precious and every ‘ordinary’ moment can be charged with the divine. Jesus announced the kingdom. It has come. But it has to be grasped and owned. Otherwise it remains simply ‘close at hand.’ Prayer. Lord, fill us with the joy of your kingdom which is both within and all around us. Amen. David Harold-Barry SJ

He will not waver

The clean slate of the new year has been rapidly spoilt by the Paris shootings and we remind ourselves those murders are just the ones that caught the world’s attention. There are countless others that go unnoticed. So we have landed with a bump once again in a year that begins to feel like the year just ended. So what’s new about 2015? Well, nothing noticeable so far, though some media have a way of telling us good news and hinting at the basic truth that the world is actually getting better year by year. One event can cheer us; the normalisation of relationships between the US and Cuba. For fifty years America has tried to isolate Cuba and cripple its economy. It has been counter-productive. It only made the Cuban authorities more hardened in their defiance of the Goliath next door. Now relations can begin to grow again. This is really good news and could have implications elsewhere, not least in the Middle East. Confrontation and violence, and we come back to the Paris killings, often leads to further confrontation and violence and a weary spiral develops that can take years to exhaust itself. But at some stage the two sides realise the pointlessness of it all and sit down to talk. Fidel Castro said in 2010, ‘the Cuban model no longer works even for us.’ And in Northern Ireland thirty years and nearly five thousand deaths after violence broke out in 1969, the two sides there finally sat down to work out an agreement that is steadily harvesting peace in a province charged with mutual mistrust for three hundred years. ‘Faithfully he brings true justice; he will neither waver nor be crushed until true justice is established on the earth.’ (Isaiah 42) Perhaps many persons do not see any particular energy behind the thrust towards peace and justice in our world beyond human longing and some kind of cosmic energy that keeps the world developing and evolving. And that is quite understandable and reasonable. Yet there is an energy; the energy of God’s spirit which groans together with our spirit in one great act of giving birth (Romans 8). This takes nothing from human effort and is in no way some kind of exterior force miraculously coming in to engineer human happiness. It is the stuff of humanity itself aching towards the divine. 11 January 2015 Feast of the Baptism of Jesus Isaiah 42:1-7 Acts 10:34-38 Mark 1:7-11

THIS SAME JOY I FEEL

PRAYER MOMENT (This has been a bit intermittent of late. I am on the move) Saturday 10 January 2015 THIS SAME JOY I FEEL Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within. Reading: “The bridegroom’s friend, who stands there and listens, is glad when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. This same joy I feel and now it is complete.” (John 3:22-30) Reflection. Our readings at this tail end of Christmas jump about a bit. There is no particular sequence and the guiding idea seems to be moments of intense revelation. Here is one where John the Baptist rejoices that he has achieved his goal. “It’s done. I;ve done it.” It is that celebration moment after winning the World Cup. And,as with the World Cup, we all participate somehow. We are all winners –even the losers are! Our joy comes from being introduced to the One who is able to fulfil all our longings – even our unconscious ones; all those things we cannot put into words but which we sense from time to time. ‘Complete joy!’ What a concept! Prayer. Lord, fill us with that same joy John felt; the joy of knowing that you have opened up humanity so that we can achieve all that we long for. Amen. David Harold-Barry SJ

OF COURSE I WANT TO

PRAYER MOMENT Friday 9 January 2015 OF COURSE I WANT TO Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within. Reading: “A man covered in leprosy implored Jesus, ‘if you want to, you can cure me.’ Jesus stretchd out his hand, touched him and said ‘of course I want to. Be cured!’” (Luke 5:12-16) Reflection. This whole period, from Advent through Christmas, is the introductory revelation of who Jesus was and what he came to do. It will be completed in Holy Week. I am in Preston, in the UK, and the Christmas lights are still on in the High St. They too are a revelation but possibly a remote and vague one to busy shoppers. We are thrown, so soon after Christmas, into the busy life of Jesus and the exerpt today ends with, ‘he would always go off to some place where he could be alone and pray.’ As we return to the full engagements of normal life in a new year we seek for a sharpened sense of the revelation of God. And times where we can be alone, in our mind and hearts, help us do this. Prayer. Lord, we believe ‘you want to’ give us life to the full. Help us to withdraw at times to dispose ourselves to receive that life. Amen. David Harold-Barry SJ

PRAYER MOMENT Wednesday 7 January 2015 THEIR MINDS WERE CLOSED Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within. Reading: “They were utterly and completely dumbfounded, because they had not seen what the miracle of the loaves meant; their minds were closed.” (Mark 6:45-52) Reflection. Gerry Hughes, who died aged 90 just before Christmas, was an author and spiritual guide and in the book I am reaing, God where are you?, he says more than once, ‘it took me twenty years to understand the meaning of this.’ He was referring to one or other insight he picked up along the way. The disciples too took ages to grasp who Jesus was and what he was doing. ‘They were utterly dumfounded’ were the exact word that Luke uses of them after the resurrection. The great thing is we do have the time to understand but we do need to keep hammering at the door so that our minds are opened. Prayer. Lord, let us not be satisfied with easy answers and ways; help us to ponder in our hearts the mysteries revealed in the scriptures and come to a deeper knowledge of you. Amen. David Harold-Barry SJ

SQUARES OF HUNDREDS AND FIFTIES

PRAYER MOMENT Tuesday 6 January 2015 SQUARES OF HUNDREDS AND FIFTIES Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within. Reading: “Then he ordered them to get all the people together in groups on the green grass, and they sat down on the ground in squares of hundreds and fifies.” (Mark 6:34-44) Reflection. Five loaves, two fish, groups of hundreds and fifties, twelve baskets and five thousand men. It is all very precise and makes one wonder seeing it was written down nearly forty years later. Yet planning and details are expressions of faith, hope and love. Our first reading today is about love; ‘let us love one another’ (1 John 4). And love is seen in action and fruitful action calls for deailed planning. It makes all the difference when we set about projects. And planning is an expression of hope because we don’t know how things will work out but it they are well planned they have a good chance of success. And faith is the whole ambience in which we take the plunge in the first place. Prayer. Lord, help us to show our hope and love in practical planning and action so you’re your reign may be revealed. Amen. David Harold-Barry SJ

Seeing only the wallpaper

Seeing only the wallpaper

‘A hard journey we had of it; the worst time of the year.’ T. S. Eliot describes the journey of the Magi and the journey of all of us towards knowledge. We make many false turnings and have a ‘hard time’ really getting to know another person. Even John the Baptist struggled to ‘know’ Jesus. Twice, in so many sentences, he says ‘I did not know him.’ It was a journey for him too.

What is it to ‘know someone’? We can be like people who see the wall paper but not the wall. Wall paper is out of fashion but there was a time when people covered their walls in colourful designs of paper. Growing up I was sometimes reminded how, aged two, I made short work of an aunt’s favourite wall paper. Wall paper is what you see and admire but without the wall behind it would look a little silly.

When we see a disabled person we see the disability. We sympathise with the wife or husband who now has to care for their spouse who has Alzheimer’s or cancer. We knew the person before they were struck by this infirmity but we now find it difficult to spend time with them now that they are diminished and are ‘no longer the person I knew.’ But, of course, they are the same person. It is just that I have a problem making the journey to where they are now.

Perhaps it is even more difficult with someone who has always been disabled, physically or intellectually. Again, I see the disability and I find it hard to move beyond that to the person. Prudence is a young man in our l’Arche community in Zimbabwe who is disabled in mind and body. He is unable to ‘do’ anything. He just is. If you try to spend time with Prudence you will notice an amazing peace. I do not know for sure but he seems to accept every moment just as it is. He has no future and no past. He is just there teaching patience and calmness to anyone who pays attention.

The journey to know people is the journey to know God. It is the same journey. John is clear about this. ‘How can you say you love God whom you cannot see when you ignore those around you whom you can see?’ That’s the journey. And we need the wisdom of the wise men from the east to make it.

4 January 2015                        The Epiphany

Isaiah 60:1-6                           Ephesians 3:2-6                       Matthew 2;1-12    

    

I DID NOT KNOW HIM

PRAYER MOMENT 

Saturday 3 January 2015

I DID NOT KNOW HIM

             

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “I did not know him myself and yet it was to reveal him to Israel that I came.” (John 1:29-34)

Reflection. It may strike us as odd that within the space of few lines John says twice, ‘I did not know him myself.’ Maybe we can say he knew him as his cousin. They probably often met at each other’s homes. But John did not grasp who he was. And this is one of John, the evangelist’s, themes: how do we come to know Jesus. It has to be in the same way John, his cousin, came to know him – through a gift which we call faith. The New Testament is clear about this. All the disciples grew into faith, including Mary. That dawning of faith ‘like the dewfall’ is available to all people if they are introduced to it by parents, teachers, books, or experiences. There are many who ‘do not know him.’ Those of us who say we know him are called, like John, to make him known by how we live.

Prayer. Lord, help us to make you known by the witness of our lives. May we be ‘the salt of the earth’ for others. Amen.  

David Harold-Barry SJ

AMONG YOU – UNKNOWN TO YOU

PRAYER MOMENT 

Friday 2 January 2015

AMONG YOU – UNKNOWN TO YOU

             

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “There stands among you  - unknown to you the one who is coming after me; and I am unfit to undo his sandal-strap.” (John 1:19-28)

Reflection. Before Christmas we had Matthew and Luke introducing Jesus to us. Now we have John’a version. Here both John the Baptist and Jesus are already adults and the dominant theme is John the Baptist’s withdrawal. Even his words diminish. To the threefold question of the Pharisees he replies, ‘I am not the Christ.’ ‘I am not.’  ‘No.’ The Lord is ‘among us’ in this New Year and always but he is often ‘unknown’ to us and our ‘whizzing’ society, as john Bradburne used to call it. The challenge for us is to withdraw and allow God to come forward into our space.

Prayer. Lord, help us to welcome you into our life in this new year. Help us to go beyond the clutter and ‘know’ your presence. Amen.  

David Harold-Barry SJ

MAY HIS FACE SHINE ON YOU

PRAYER MOMENT 

Thursday 1 January 2015

MAY HIS FACE SHINE ON YOU

             

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord uncover his face to you and bring you peace.” (Numbers 6:22-27)

Reflection. This is a beautiful ancient Jewish blessing. And we know that to be looked at with love is life giving. The name Cardinal Bea might mean little now but he was a great man and once came to our college when we were juniors and he looked at me with gentle encouraging eyes. I have never forgotten it. Jesus looked at Zacchaeus in his tree and Peter after he denied him with such eyes. This is the blessing for the New Year for all of us. May the Lord shine his face on us.

Prayer. Lord, shine your face on us and give us courage in 2015 to engage in acts of justice and peace wherever we are in your world. Amen.  

David Harold-Barry SJ