FAN INTO A FLAME

PRAYER PAUSE

Wednesday 1 June 2016, St Justin  

FAN INTO A FLAME

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “That is why I am reminding you now to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you.” (2 Timothy 1…12)  

Reflection. We can see it in other people how they struggle, sometimes at great cost, to develop their gift. I have recently become aware of what the poet and Jesuit, Gerard Manley Hopkins, went through not just to write poetry but to find his way in a world where he felt he was a stranger. I think we all feel that at times. The call is to develop our own particular being, our “thisness”, with confidence and inner joy, so that “Christ plays in ten thousand places,. Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his”, to quote GMH..

Prayer. Lord, teach us to develop the gift that you give each of us. Amen.

BLESSED IS SHE WHO BELIEVED

PRAYER PAUSE

Tuesday 31 May 2016, The Visitation  

BLESSED IS SHE WHO BELIEVED

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made to her by the Lord would be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:39-56)  

Reflection. Mary’s faith opened a door. Elizabeth senses that something new was happening and she was witnessing it. These two women celebrate a dawn which is hidden from everyone else at that moment. And faith continues to open doors today, transforming lives, situations, families, peace conferences. Mary believed it would all happen despite the appearances she witnessed of her son’s rejection, suffering and death. She went on believing and God continues to work among us despite the adverse things we see and hear each day.

Prayer. Lord, may we have the faith of your mother to help us when clouds gather and there seems no way forward. Amen.

THE STONE REJECTED

PRAYER PAUSE

Monday 30 May 2016  

THE STONE REJECTED

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “It was the stone rejected by the builders that became the keystone.” (Mark 12:1-12)  

Reflection. A few days ago I was with some sisters some of whom were from Pakistan. They live in a charged atmosphere where the Christian faith is under attack, sometimes physically when churches are burnt and people killed. But they stay. Rejection of the gospel is always with us and Jesus tells us this in the parable of the vineyard which we read today. Rejection sharpens us and pushes us to think: what am I doing? Am I on the right path? Rejection can strengthen us and confirm us. We have to examine it. Perhaps it is telling us something..

Prayer. Lord, help us to be open. Sometimes you nudge us in unexpected and painful ways. May we welcome you whatever way you come. Amen.

STRETCH BEYOND MY GRASP

STRETCH BEYOND MY GRASP

I was astonished yesterday to hear the BBC Outlook account of the South African who fell off his boat in the middle of the night into the Indian Ocean. He kept himself afloat for 28 hours before he was rescued. At one point he was visited by a shark and on another some sea bird swooped to attack. But most traumatic of all was when the people on his boat turned round to look for him and he saw them but they did not see him and sailed away. Eventually a stranger who heard his plight set out to look for him and found him.

As I heard the story I knew that if it had been me I would not have lasted an hour. That he could resist thirst, hunger, tiredness and keep his hope alive is just amazing. It makes me wonder at us humans; what endurance people are capable of, what limits they can stretch to. When we have no choice we can call on reserves of physical stamina and inner strength we never knew we had.

But what if we have a choice? What if the stretch we are called to comes, not from some outside event like falling overboard, but from some inner conviction we have come to? There are many who have done so in politics (Lincoln, Mandela) and in the arts (Shakespeare, Vermeer), in sport and so forth. One who has touched my life and the lives of many others is Ignatius Loyola, a sixteen century Spaniard. He came to a conviction about a course he had to follow and nothing would deter him. At one point he set out for France to study even though it was said, the French “put Spaniards on roasting spits, but he never had any kind of fear.”

Where does a person get such courage and conviction? Either on Thursday or Sunday this week many Christians will celebrate the centuries old festival of Corpus Christi (The Body of Christ). It recalls the moment on the day before he died when Jesus gave his followers a simple rite of extraordinary significance. In a matter of fact way our earliest account of what happened runs like this: “on the same night he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and thanked God for it, and he said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this as a memorial of me.’”

Simple! But it was an act charged with inner strength for all who participated in it. It was Jesus’ way of sharing everything he was and did with us. He actually wanted to give us his life so that we would stretch ourselves as he had done. You can see it in the gospels: He gave everything he possibly could give. That is the height of human achievement, to give everything. There is “no greater love.” Looking at myself, looking at my contemporaries, looking at our politicians and other leaders, I ask myself are we really stretching ourselves? ‘Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?’ (Robert Browning)         

29 May 2016                           Corpus Christi

Genesis 14:18-20                    I Corinthians 11:23-26                       Luke 9:11-17

BY WHAT AUTHORITY?

PRAYER PAUSE

Saturday 28 May 2016  

BY WHAT AUTHORITY?

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “The chief priests and the scribes and the elders said to him, ‘What authority have you for acting like this?’” (Mark 11:27-33)  

Reflection. Jesus has just driven the buyers and sellers out of the temple, provoking this reaction. The leaders are not asking him this question to get the real answer but to trap him. Authority that is one sided is no authority and so Jesus refuses to answer. If they really wanted to know he would have told them and a dialogue would have been set up. We look at how authority is used in our society. Is it a dialogue or an imposition from above? Democracy seems to be the only use of authority that really sticks. Other forms wither. It takes two – at every level of society – to exercise effective authority. Authority comes from augere, to grow.

Prayer. Lord, help us to listen so that every use of authority is an exercise in growth. Amen.

A WITHERED TREE

PRAYER PAUSE

Friday 27 May 2016, Augustine of Canterbury  

A WITHERED TREE

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “Look, Rabbi,” Peter said to Jesus, “the fig tree you cursed has withered away.” (Mark 11:11-26)  

Reflection. Mark brackets the faith of the woman with an issue of blood in chapter 5 with story of Jairos. Here, in chapter 11, he brackets the lack of faith shown in the temple practices with the story of the withered fig tree. It is as though faith is evaporating as the gospel progresses. We may feel something like that today; we have moved from a time of faith to one of unbelief. Yet it is not as simple as that. Mark is about to describe the last days of Jesus, his suffering and death from which deep faith will emerge in the early church. We too look at our time and see the purification under way.

Prayer. Lord, may we welcome your action among us today and see how you are at work everywhere in our world. Amen.

A PEOPLE SET APART

PRAYER PAUSE

Thursday 26 May 2016, Philip Neri   

A PEOPLE SET APART

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” (I Peter 2:2…12)  

Reflection. The early church was conscious of her identity as a radically new community and she spent time, as it were, forging her identity. The church in opposition to “the world” has a long history. Today we know that the line between light and darkness is not so clear cut; it runs right through the life of each of us and there is much light outside the church and much darkness within. Yet the divide remains – even if it is within rather than “out there” between “them and us.” Our prayer is to discern between the light and darkness within ourselves as well as in the world and let the light shine.

Prayer. Holy Spirit, help us to know where you are calling us and give us the discernment to let you light shine. Amen.

THEY WERE IN A DAZE

PRAYER PAUSE

Wednesday 25 May 2016   

THEY WERE IN A DAZE

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem; Jesus was walking on ahead of them; they were in a daze, and those who followed were apprehensive.” (Mark 10:32-45)  

Reflection. We are two thirds of the way through Mark’s gospel and the disciples have still not understood what it is all about. All this talk about becoming great meaning being the servant of all, and embracing suffering and death, made no sense. It was counter cultural. And the gospel message today still goes against the way many of our contemporaries – and maybe we too – see life. It does take long for the “Joy of the Gospel” to sink in. We must be patient with ourselves. If we are really seekers, we will get there – as the disciples eventually did.

Prayer. Lord, may we ponder the words of the gospel and may they become the default orientation of our lives. Amen.

YOU WILL BE REPAID WITH HOUSES

PRAYER PAUSE

Tuesday 24 May 2016   

YOU WILL BE REPAID WITH HOUSES

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “There is no one who has left (everything) for my sake and the sake of the gospel who will not be repaid a hundred times over, houses … land … in this present time …” (Mark 10:28-31)  

Reflection. It sounds a good text for the “gospel of prosperity”, the view that following the Lord will give us wealth and prosperity. This is to distort the meaning. The message of the gospel is that “leaving” family and property means having that “poverty of spirit” that places God and his call to us above everything else. Family and property must not get in the way. Some actually “leave” family and property to become servants of the community but for most it is a fundamental attitude of putting the Lord and his Good News above everything.  

Prayer. Lord, your first words were, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Help us to live this blessing. Amen.

THEY WERE ASTONISHED

PRAYER PAUSE

Monday 23 May 2016   

THEY WERE ASTONISHED

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “The disciples were more astonished than ever. ‘In that case,’ they said to one another, ‘who can be saved?’” (Mark 10:17-27)  

Reflection. Does the gospel still have the power to astonish us? There is always the hazard of taming it. It was not like that at the beginning. The disciples were often shocked by Jesus’ words. Mark almost delights in telling us how they kept missing the point. It is a hard a lesson even today. The rich young man feels he is doing OK: he keeps the commandments. But the kingdom, the transformation of our world today, calls for more than that. Jesus set out his teaching in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5). He called for a radical freedom from being tied to the normal ways of the world so as to reach out to the “poor” who came in many different ways.

Prayer. Lord, give us a free spirit so that we are not tied to our “possessions” but become free to respond to you in the different ways you come to us. Amen.

NATURE ABHORS A VACUUM

NATURE ABHORS A VACUUM

I accompanied the Gonzo family to the airport to see their daughter off. We said our farewells and after she had boarded the plane we watched it take off and followed it with our eyes until it was a tiny dot. They would miss her around the house and occasional letters by e mail would not make up for her constant presence. But they would fill the space left by her going with other things.

A farewell is always painful but we know it can also bring new life: new life for the one who goes and new life for those who remain. It is a rupture in the life we are used to but it can also be an opening to something new. Recently I was staying with one who had just lost her husband. Like many bereaved people she finds it hard to manage this new experience but she is fortunate in finding new energy to face the future.

At this time of the year the Church puts before us a strange word: “Trinity”. In what is called in the West “the middle ages” – between antiquity and modern times – people were at home with the name. Oxford and Cambridge, and later Dublin, all had their “Trinity College,” which were among the highest centres of learning at the time. They wanted to give them the most august name they could think of but could hardly call them “God College”. But that, in effect, is what they have done.

It did not happen at once but over the centuries the Church became accustomed to the revelation of God as “Trinity” as a result of her reflection on how the revelation of God worked. The Book of Proverbs speaks of God creating Wisdom “from everlasting” as a “master craftsman” and delighting in his work. The Church sees this as describing Jesus, who is also God’s Word. He dwelt among us and through sharing our life and death, revealed God’s purpose.

Then the time came for Jesus to depart and disciples strained their eyes to heaven watching him go. But, in effect, he did not go. He gave them his Spirit which was himself no longer limited to place or time, to religion or culture, to rich or destitute, to healthy or sick. God continued to dwell among us and give life and delight to all his people and even the animals! The disciples now lived a totally new experience, evident in every page of the Acts of the Apostles.

So the word “Trinity” describes the three ways of being, or - to use the language of the early Councils - “persons,” of God. John Bradburne of Mutemwa used to speak of the “the thought, the word and the voice” as three words describing a single reality. John used to worry whether he was being heretical! I see nothing heretical here though we always have to remember Augustine’s warning: “if you think you understand God, it is not God.”

There is no need for us to gaze into the sky. God is with us. God lives in us. But it does mean we have to open up our emptiness and allow God to enter.  

22 May 2016                                       Trinity Sunday

Proverbs 8:22-31                                Romans 5:1-5                         John16:12-15 

HE WAS INDIGNANT

PRAYER PAUSE

Saturday 21 May 2016   

HE WAS INDIGNANT

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “The disciples turned the children away, but when Jesus saw this he was indignant.” (Mark 10:13-16)  

Reflection. The disciples were doing what people normally did: keeping children “in their place.” They weren’t supposed to mix with adults. But Jesus turns this “normality” on its head, as he so often did. The little children have a place among adults: they challenge adults to open their minds and to see things through the eyes of children. And they remind adults of the wonder and openness and innocence of childhood, lest they forget. Because adults take shortcuts and can often only see the small world of self-interest. People like Pope Francis welcome children’s questions at public gatherings. President Kennedy had young children in his time and they used to play in his office while he worked.

Prayer. Lord, you wanted to teach us to welcome the wonder and openness of children. Help us reverence this aspect of our journey. Amen.

THE TWO BECOME ONE

PRAYER PAUSE

Friday 20 May 2016   

THE TWO BECOME ONE

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “God made them male and female … the two become one.” (Mark 10:1-12)  

Reflection. At the heart of creation we find marriage. It is not simply a device for procreation to perpetuate the tribe. It is that, but in the revelation of the Son of God, the union of man and woman is a sign of humanity coming together as one. The successes and failures of our marriages mirror the successes and failures of our journey towards union or communion as God’s people. And reaching towards union, which married people have to do every day, is a sign of our reaching out to God and journey towards a complete union with God, a journey we have long since begun.     

Prayer. Lord, may we all be one as you and the Father are one. Amen.

CUT IT OFF

PRAYER PAUSE

Thursday 19 May 2016   

CUT IT OFF

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “And if your hand should cause you to sin, cut it off.” (Mark 9:41-50)  

Reflection. This is not a comfortable gospel. It reminds us of what happens even now under Sharia law. But clearly it was a way of speaking, in no way to be meant literally. Mark is insistent on the urgency of the coming of God’s reign. In chapter one, the phrase “at once” occurs seven times. So, any choice of phrase that can shake his hearers into action is used by Jesus. It was a time of decision. They had to choose. Were they with him of against him? And so it is today. The media constantly uses the word “urgent” for climate change, migration, ISIS and so forth. And the agents of the media are right. And the urgency that underlies all is the urgency of welcoming the kingdom of the Father.    

Prayer. Lord, our time is short; help us top welcome your coming with all our energy. Amen.

IS FOR US

PRAYER PAUSE

Wednesday 18 May 2016   

IS FOR US

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “Anyone who is not against us if for us.” (Mark 9:38-49)  

Reflection. John the disciple was indignant that someone, who was not “one of us,” was casting out devils in Jesus’ name. And Jesus gives his inclusive reply: “no one who works a miracle in my name is likely to speak evil of me.” The only “them and us” that should exist is the “them and us” of evil and good. The only division that should exist in the world is between those who are intent on evil and those struggling to do good and follow their conscience. 90% of migrants, we were told some days ago, at one time or another on their journey, have had to pass through the hands of unscrupulous trafficers who make millions out of their misery.

Prayer. Lord, may we always appreciate those who are trying to do good. Amen.

DESIRES FIGHTING INSIDE YOU

PRAYER PAUSE

Tuesday 17 May 2016   

DESIRES FIGHTING INSIDE YOU

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “Where do these wars and battles between you first start? Isn’t it precisely in the desires fighting within your own selves?” (James 4:1-10)  

Reflection. Wars that bring havoc and cause migrants to become refugees start within a person. They cannot deal with their anger, frustration, ambition, jealousy, and so forth, and so they project it outwards into violence against others. Then there is war. We know so well what goes on in our own heart and how easily our feelings prompt us to words and actions we later regret. Life in the spirit in every tradition calls for self-control or self-denial – whatever word you want to put on the ability to hold ourselves in as a rider grips the reins of their horse which is rearing to go

Prayer. Lord, teach us that self-control that enables us to be at peace even with those with whom we struggle. Amen.

NEVER COVER UP THE TRUTH WITH LIES

PRAYER PAUSE

Monday 16 May 2016   

NEVER COVER UP THE TRUTH WITH LIES

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “But if at heart you have the bitterness of jealousy, or a self-seeking ambition, never make any claims for yourself or cover up the truth with lies.” (James 3:13-18)  

Reflection. It is easily said – “never cover up the truth” – but what if you are netted by the police in a swoop and, though innocent, beaten until you admit you are guilty? This happened to a man I met yesterday. The truth cannot live and breathe in a context of lies unless a person has great courage, confidence and faith. We are so governed by fear that any words that will help us survive are preferable to the consequences of speaking the truth. Yet we know we have to build another context, one where courage can breathe and is not utterly crushed as soon as we try to speak the truth.

Prayer. Lord, as we celebrate Pentecost, may we allow ourselves to let the Spirit breathe in our lives and make us witnesses of the truth to ourselves and others! Amen.

THE GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING

In 1665, Johannes Vermeer painted A Girl with a Pearl Earring. The girl looks over her left shoulder towards you and the pearl in her ear shimmers. Her coat is a bluey yellow and she has a blue head band with streamers in the same mixed colours. Apart from the perspective and photographic accuracy of every detail, what strikes the viewer is the light coming from the left bathing the whole scene with life in a way a photograph can never do. The girl speaks to us over the centuries and seems to say, “I know.” But what does she know? She is filled with light. It is natural light yet it takes us to the threshold of mystery.

There is a Christian feast twelve days after Christmas called the Epiphany, or the “showing of” the Saviour of the world to the gentiles. Teilhard de Chardin, a French Jesuit, who died in 1955, suggested the name should be changed to the “Diaphany”, meaning the “showing through.” God is not only revealed in Jesus but through all he has created. God shines through all things. The world is alive because God has shed his light on it.

But it is incomplete. Jesus opens the way for men and women to complete God’s work and he started by giving this task to a small group gathered in an upper room. They had come to know him as coming “from Nazareth” and had witnessed his teaching, his signs, his rejection, death, resurrection and ascension. Now they came to know him as coming “from heaven.” Now he is completing his work by sending them his Spirit. “God is ours,” Karl Rahner says of the gift of the Spirit. The work we do is our work but it is permeated by God. Rahner continues, “the strength of God vitalises our weakness.” His presence shines through our lives. We use our intelligence, our skill and our strength, but we allow room for the Spirit to give life to all three. There is to be a harmony, a resonance, between our initiative and that of the Spirit.

How do we shift these thoughts out of our heads into our lived reality? How do we interpret our experience of life so that, “we perceive over and over again with trembling joy that he is there, that he is with us: the Spirit of Faith in darkness, the spirit of freedom in obedience, the Spirit of joy in tears, the Spirit of eternal life in the midst of death?” (Rahner). Our world becomes lit up with this gentle light, as Vermeer lights up the young girl from Delft.

15 May 2016                                       Pentecost

Acts 2:1-11                                         1 Cor. 12:3…12                                  John 14:15…28

THEY NOMINATED JOSEPH

PRAYER PAUSE

Saturday 14 May 2016, Matthias   

THEY NOMINATED JOSEPH

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “They nominated Joseph … but the lot fell to Matthias.” (Acts 1:15-26)  

Reflection. We end Eastertide with the account of filling the vacancy in the number of the apostles left by Judas. The link with the twelve tribes of Israel and the choice of the twelve by Jesus is remembered one more time and then disappears for ever. There is no more mention of “twelve.” They nominated Joseph and Matthias to fill the gap and Joseph “lost.” But, if I am not wrong, Joseph reappears in Acts in other roles and it reminds me that no one is a loser in the Lord’s service. Maybe Joseph had lots of gifts that Matthias didn’t have. Maybe he played a key role here and there and so it is today.

Prayer. Lord, help us to rejoice in the work of everyone, from the “greatest” to the “least”, in the Church and in the world. Amen.

MORE THAN THESE

PRAYER PAUSE

Friday 13 May 2016   

MORE THAN THESE

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these do?” (John 21:15-19)  

Reflection. This is an uncomfortable question implying, as it seems to do, some kind of grading or favouritism. It is clear from the overall context of the gospels that this is not the point. To me it implies something like St Ignatius’ “offering of greater value” (Spir Exx #97), a call to greater generosity and love. Once more we see that the Church today should be preoccupied with love, rather than status or maintenance, a love that reaches out to those in greatest need: the poor, the migrant, the trafficked, the abused. Perhaps the Church is like a marathon now: the large crowds have fallen back and we are left with front runners whose ranks we can all join.

Prayer. Lord, help us to make our offering one of greater value, reaching out to the poorest of our brothers and sisters Amen.