A PROPHET IS ONLY DESPISED

PRAYER MOMENT           

          

Friday 1 August 2014, St Alphonsus Liguori  

A PROPHET IS ONLY DESPISED

Pause. Be still in the presence of God.

Reading: “A prophet is only despised in his own country and in his own house.” (Matt 13:54-58)

Reflection. There is a saying that it is not so much the message as the one who gives the message. The message can be perfectly sound and wise but I just can’t take it coming from this person. When Jesus came to Nazareth they did not listen to his words. They simply focused on who he was. “This is the carpenter’s son. Where did he get this wisdom?”  In other words they couldn’t take it that one of their own should appear to be wiser than they were. We have a word for this: jealousy! It is an obstacle to openness and growth. Jeremiah met the same reaction in today’s first reading (26:1-9). “You shall die. Why have you made this prophesy? A person half my age said something inconvenient and challenging to me two days ago and I wanted to forget it, but I am still pondering it!

Prayer. Lord Jesus, help us to be sensitive and receive the movement of your Spirit which blows where it wills.” (John 3:8). Amen..

David Harold-Barry SJ

A FIRE BURNING IN MY HEART

PRAYER MOMENT           An invitation to take a few minutes to ponder the excerpt below from the readings of today and listen to what the Spirit of Jesus is saying to me.                

Thursday 31 July 2014, St Ignatius Loyola,  

A FIRE BURNING IN MY HEART

Pause. Be still in the presence of God.

Reading: “I would say to myself, ‘I will not think about him, I will not speak in his name any more,’ but then there seemed to be a fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones.” (Jer 20:7-9)

Reflection. We say we are disciples of Jesus, and we are. Yet we know that when the going gets tough and the vision fades we find ourselves weakening, avoiding, even running away. Ignatius was, like his contemporaries, a man of the church, brought up in the faith and he observed the feasts and rituals. But his heart was elsewhere until that moment of recuperation at Loyola and especially the profound deepening of that awakening at Manresa. In those eleven months the fire began to burn and became “imprisoned in his bones.” He taught us what it was to radically follow Jesus to the extent of resilience and joy in the face of huge misunderstandings and obstructions. He became so rooted in “God, our Lord” (a favourite phrase) that he could always remain calm, focused and joyful no matter what challenge came his way.

Prayer. Lord Jesus, teach us to be generous and not to count the cost but strive to do your will in all the circumstances of our life. Amen..

David Harold-Barry SJ

WHY IS MY SUFFERING CONTINUAL?

PRAYER MOMENT           An invitation to take a few minutes to ponder the excerpt below from the readings of today and listen to what the Spirit of Jesus is saying to me.                

Wednesday 30 July 2014,  

WHY IS MY SUFFERING CONTINUAL?

Pause. Be still in the presence of God.

Reading: “Why is my suffering continual, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?” (Jeremiah 15: 16-21)

Reflection. The prophets were prophets not just in words but in their lives. Jeremiah’s anguish is the anguish of people to day – in Syria in a violent daily terrifying way and in Zimbabwe in quiet non-violent (for most) desperation. Why is it continual? Why does it go on and on in cold season and in hot? We need to be careful not to stop there and end in futile anger and bitterness. It doesn’t help. In the midst of his pain Jeremiah (in this passage) says, ‘Your word was my delight and the joy of my heart.’ The prophet is overwhelmed by his woes but he finds within himself the joy and delight of being in a deep bond with Yahweh. Jesus expressed similar frustration, ‘How long must I be with you?’ (Mark 9:19) but he also rejoiced (Luke 10:21). We are called to move beyond the frustration and pain of our daily lives to the inner conviction that it has meaning and is the fruitful dying of the seed that will bring a harvest.

Prayer. Lord Jesus, our pain is also your pain. You have shared, and continue to share, our sorrows. Help us to draw strength – and joy too – from your being with us in our daily struggles. Amen..

David Harold-Barry SJ

I AM THE RESURRECTION

PRAYER MOMENT           An invitation to take a few minutes to ponder the excerpt below from the readings of today and listen to what the Spirit of Jesus is saying to me.                

Tuesday 29 July 2014,  St Martha

I AM THE RESURRECTION

Pause. Be still in the presence of God.

Reading: “I am the resurrection. If anyone believes in me, even though he dies he will live and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:19-27)

Reflection. Martha was a friend of Jesus and he used to call at her house. We have two memorable sayings from two visits that are recorded, this one and the one in Luke10 about choosing ‘the better part’. Paul, and later theologians, had much to say about the resurrection. But here we have Jesus simply saying ‘I am’ the resurrection. He does not go into an explanation about what happens. He himself, a person, the Word of God, is the resurrection. Attachment to him, a relationship to him, - in a word - belief in him, becomes a new life in us, a life that simply is. We have to use words like “lasts forever, eternal”, but the heart of the matter is simply a present moment that ‘is’ both here and after. We call them ‘the dead’ but they are more alive than we are. They now live a life that fulfils everything we ever longed for, I have always understood that Shona culture has a strong sense of the ’living dead.’ Well, here it is fulfilled in a joyful way that we cannot even begin to conceive.

Prayer. Lord Jesus, you are the resurrection. Help us to enter into this joyful realisation that you fulfil everything we long for at our deepest level. And may this faith reflect back into our lives so that we are witnesses of the resurrection. Amen..

David Harold-Barry SJ

EXCEPT IN PARABLES

PRAYER MOMENT           An invitation to take a few minutes to ponder the excerpt below from the readings of today and listen to what the Spirit of Jesus is saying to me.                

Monday 28 July 2014,  

EXCEPT IN PARABLES

Pause. Be still in the presence of God.

Reading: In all this Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables; indeed, he would never speak to them except in parables. (Matt13: 31-35)

Reflection. There are three parables in our readings today; two are in the gospel – the mustard seed and the leaven – and one in Jeremiah (13:1-11) - about the loincloth. They are each strikingly vivid, the fruit of keen observation of daily life. The images are of things you can see and touch. They are not abstract sayings. A loincloth is an intimate piece of clothing illustrating the close relationship of God and his people. The loincloth is spoiled – and so, it follows, is the relationship. Parables, Gerhard Lohfink says, are designed to ‘disturb’ – to shake up – the hearers. We have many about the kingdom of heaven. The two today are full of future hope. We do not see it now but all the peoples of the earth will ‘shelter’ in the kingdom which is like the leaven which inwardly transforms the world. A parable is like a challenge. There is no one explanation. Each of us is called to confront the parable and draw from it what comes to us for our nourishment.  

Prayer. Lord, teach us to examine the parables for ourselves. What do they mean for me? Send us your Holy Spirit to guide our understanding and give us our daily bread. Amen..

David Harold-Barry SJ

Yes, we can do it

Yes, we can do it

I am not interested in blaming anyone. It is really not their fault. But the fact is we are subjected to poor quality work day in day out. To work is a human right and to gain the satisfaction of doing a good job is part of it. Who can be satisfied with bad work? Recently we had a shower put in which involved a receptacle in the floor to catch the water. The problem is the receptacle was not right under the shower but to one side of it! So the water did not go where it was supposed to go! Did the good man even notice? What joy do you get from such work?

Ian Smith came to power fifty years ago this year and, in his deeply offensive way, warned against a fall in standards. His prophecy is fulfilled but it was a prophecy he and his colonial colleagues had decided would be fulfilled by their refusal to take steps decades before to share their expertise with others. In recent years much of the expertise that remained in the country left for greener pastures, leaving us in the hands of people who try their best but are unwilling to admit that, actually, they don’t know what they are doing.

Trial and error – “try it; it might work” – is acceptable when there is no other way. But there is another way: “Ask and you will receive.” This is actually the time honoured way to gain knowledge. Children do it all the time. But adults can be too proud, or too insecure, to ask. So we blunder on bouncing from one crazy effort to another. Solomon knew he was unskilled in leadership (I Kings 3) so he asked for help.

He asked God. You can also ask people – or books. Do we read books? Do we search for answers there or on the internet? Visiting houses I often see photos, ornaments, bric a brac – but no books. I was once much impressed when I went to a house where there was a funeral and as we waited I noticed the room stacked with books. I took down one or two and noticed that each one had an inscription inside the front cover, R. G. Mugabe. It was 1978 and yes, it was the house of our future president and we were at the funeral in Kutama of his brother, David.

Jesus once talked about the kingdom of heaven being like a treasure hidden in a field or a pearl of great price. There would be no easy way of gaining them. A person would have to “sell everything he owns” (Matt 13:44). What is this “everything”? It is his fear of making a mistake or losing his comfort and security. If we want something we will go to all lengths to get it. The most beautiful thing a person can want is to fulfil their task in life. In that way they are fulfilled and their work lives after them. They have built on rock.  

27 July 2014                Sunday 17 A

I Kings 3:5-12             Romans 8:28-30          Matt 13:44-52 

AMEND YOUR BEHAVIOUR AND I WILL STAY WITH YOU

PRAYER MOMENT           An invitation to take a few minutes to ponder the excerpt below from the readings of today and listen to what the Spirit of Jesus is saying to me.                

Saturday 26 July 2014,  

AMEND YOUR BEHAVIOUR AND I WILL STAY WITH YOU

Pause. Be still in the presence of God.

Reading: “Amend you behaviour and your actions and I will stay with you in this place. Put no trust in delusive words like these: This is the sanctuary of the Lord.” (Jeremiah 7:1-11)

Reflection. Juda was a small corner of the earth in those far off days, two and a half millennia ago. But it serves to this day as an example of what can go wrong. Jeremiah had the dangerous task of telling them they were double dealers. They were trusting in their status as Jews with the temple, the covenant and the promises but this had no effect on their behaviour. They exploited the vulnerable, murdered and committed adultery and then went to the temple and said, “this is the sanctuary of the Lord. We are OK here.” We see the hollowness in their lives. The challenge is to see how much relevance this has for ours. Being comfortable in my prayer and going to church or whatever I do is no guarantee that I am living the covenant relationship with Jesus who gave his life in unspeakable circumstances. To live that relationship was dangerous for Jeremiah, dangerous for Jesus and in one way or another the sign of our authenticity is that it is dangerous for us.   

Prayer. Lord, teach us to live the relationship you draw us to. Help us to see the ways in which you call us to live with honesty and courage. Amen..

David Harold-Barry SJ

WE ARE ONLY THE EARTHENWARE JARS

PRAYER MOMENT           Apologies for my silence the last few days. I had no access to internet while in Chinhoyi.                   

Friday 25 July 2014, St James

WE ARE ONLY THE EARTHENWARE JARS

Pause. Be still in the presence of God.

Reading: “We are only the earthenware jars that hold this treasure, to make it clear that such an overwhelming power comes from God and not from us.” (2 Cor.4:7-15))

Reflection. Can we reflect for a moment that we are part of a great movement of God’s out-pouring of energy in our world, in our universe? James was one of the inner core of Jesus’ closest companions yet he doesn’t open his mouth in the gospels and is killed by Herod early on. He is not the James of the Council of Jerusalem, nor the author of the letter of St James. But if we know nothing about him, other than the occasional mention in the gospels, we know that he was part of that great movement where God embraces humanity. He played his part even if we don’t know the details and he came to know he was an earthen vessel and that it was all God’s work. As we look around our own world we can feel helpless and inadequate. What can I do? Well, the amazing thing is that even I can do something. I have my role. Maybe no one will know. But some will know. We can all touch the lives of others and it is the power of God at work.  

Prayer. Lord, teach us to have great trust that you are at work in our world. May this knowledge give us joy, peace and renewed strength for our task in life. Amen..

David Harold-Barry SJ

I FOUND HIM WHOM MY HEART LOVE

PRAYER MOMENT           Apologies for my silence the last few days. I had no access to internet while in Chinhoyi. I send now what I failed to send then.  Then I will prepare opne for today.            

Tuesday 22 July 2014, St Mary Magdalene

I FOUND HIM WHOM MY HEART LOVES

Pause. Be still in the presence of God.

Reading: “I will rise and go through the city; in the streets and the squares I will seek him whom my heart loves.” (Song of Songs 3:1-4)

Reflection. Mary of Magdala is the only person in the gospels, besides the key people, who gets her own feast. She stands out as the disciple who is drawn to Jesus, not because she was  cured of a disease or astonished by his “teaching with authority” but because she was drawn and  absorbed by  love. And, if she is the same person whom we find in Luke 7, it was the experience of knowing she was forgiven that transformed her. She witnesses to that essential part of who we are; to love and be loved is the start and finish of our being. God calls us to keep his commandments, the first expression of the covenant. But they are only the groundwork of a relationship which is fully lived in love. We are to come to know God’s love for us and come to a great desire to respond in love..  

Prayer. Lord, teach us to know your love for us, expressed in so many ways in our life. Help us to stop and see what is before our eyes. Give us a deep love for you and for one another. Amen..

David Harold-Barry SJ

TO LOVE TENDERLY

PRAYER MOMENT           An invitation to take a few minutes to ponder the excerpt below from the readings of today and listen to what the Spirit of Jesus is saying to me.                

Monday 21 July 2014

TO LOVE TENDERLY

Pause. Be still in the presence of God.

Reading: “This is what the Lord asks of you: only this, to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly before your God” (Micah 6:1-8)

Reflection. These words of the prophet Micah, written around 720 BC, represent an astonishing maturity in understanding of the message of the covenant between God and his people. God does not want exterior sacrifices of “calves one year old or rams by the thousand”. He wants or human hearts to turn to him. President Jimmy Carter of the United States was so impressed by these words that he worked them into his inaugural speech when he became President in 1977. They summed up his programme and they stand as a challenge down the centuries not just to the mighty but to every person who wants to draw closer to the source of life. The three aspirations call, not just Jews and Christians, but all people of good will to engage with, and become people for, others.

Prayer. Lord, help us to live these simple words – to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly before your. May all in power and out of power be drawn to live in this way. Amen..

David Harold-Barry SJ

Let them grow

Let them grow

Italians are having fewer children and are worried about the drop in their population. Yet, together with other European countries, they are trying to halt the flow of migrants coming from Africa and Asia, desperate for a better life. Migrants are not “one of us” and welcoming them is perceived as causing all sorts of problems.

Discrimination on the basis of difference is alive and rampant despite the most dramatic scrapping of it in South Africa in 1994. All the current wars in the world – Syria, Iraq, Palestine and the Sudan – are based on difference. They are different from us. We are unable to take the time to discover how much we have in common, as human beings, and we quickly grasp the obvious differences and make them a basis of division.

One way to struggle against this tendency we find within ourselves is to look at people as people who, like us, are doing the best they can to fulfil their dreams. Jesus had a simple image to illustrate this. While growing up in Nazareth he noticed that farmers waited before they weeded their fields. The weeds were everywhere to see but if they tried to get rid of them they might also get rid of the good seed they had sown. So they waited. “Let them both grow till the harvest.” Then it will be time to sort them out.

There have always been fanatics who claim they alone are real Christians or real Muslims and the other lot should be forced to conform. The Donatists of the fourth century claimed that anyone who had compromised during the persecutions were not real Christians. And there are people who say similar things about Catholics today. Jesus does not think like that. He knows, as Augustine put it, there are people outside the Church who are really in – in the sense that they live Christian values. And there are people in the Church who are really out; they are baptised but they do not live as Christians. So who knows who is who?

And further, within each of us there is much good but also much evil. How are we going to separate them? If we are unable to sort out ourselves it is unlikely we will be able to sort out anyone else.

And perhaps it is even more complex in that the evil within us is the flip side of our goodness. Our weaknesses are the shadows of our strengths. I once worked with a man who was a great organiser. He got things done. But he was impatient of anyone who thought differently. Jesus knows us pretty well (John 2:24) and is gentle and patient with us. Can we be the same with others?    

20 July 2014                Sunday 16A

Wisdom 12:13-19       Romans 8:26-27          Matthew 13:24-43 

BUT HE SAID TO THEM

PRAYER MOMENT

An invitation to take a few minutes to ponder the excerpt below from the readings of today and listen to what the Spirit of Jesus is saying to me.             

Friday 18 July 2014

BUT HE SAID TO THEM

Pause. Be in the presence of God.

Reading: “Look, your disciples are doing something that is forbidden on the Sabbath.” But he said to them, “Have you not read …?” (Matt 12:1-8)

Reflection. We can see three steps in this story of the hungry disciples picking ears of corn on the Sabbath. First, the Pharisees see a petty incident as a chance to control Jesus and bring him within their power. Second, Jesus challenges their attitude and invites them to step into the wider picture. And third, we are left with a sense that they reject the invitation and retreat into their “comfort zone.” The question is posed to us every day: we meet an incident and we have a choice. I can take the safe option which reinforces my usual way of doing things and leaves me in my comfort. Or I can stop and think for a second: is this a moment where I can do something different and rise above my usual “safe” response to challenges?

Prayer. Lord, we ask for courage to face the challenges that come our way. Teach us to respond well to small things so that one day we will come to overcome big ones. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

I WILL GIVE YOU REST

PRAYER MOMENT

An invitation to take a few minutes to ponder the excerpt below from the readings of today and listen to what the Spirit of Jesus is saying to me.             

Thursday 17 July 2014

I WILL GIVE YOU REST

Pause. Be in the presence of God.

Reading: “Come to me all you who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest.” (Matt 11:28-30)

Reflection. Maria is a 58 year old woman who has worked hard all her life. She is weary and looking forward to retiring. Overwork, stress and restlessness are common today. I know another lady, twenty years older than Maria who cannot retire and is still burdened by many cares but she is calm and peaceful. Is it possible to be troubled and restless and yet at peace? Though it sounds contradictory I would say ‘yes.’ For someone engaged in the world today it is hard not to be pulled this way and that and to feel stress and frustration. But at the same time that person can, at a deeper level, be at peace. This is what Jesus is saying. ”In the world you will have trouble. But have courage, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33). And here we can quote Augustine; “You stir us, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”     

Prayer. Lord, we come to you seeking peace in the midst of our restlessness. Teach us to be calm in the swirl of our daily life. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

REVEALING THEM TO LITTLE CHILDREN

PRAYER MOMENT

An invitation to take a few minutes to ponder the excerpt below from the readings of today and listen to what the Spirit of Jesus is saying to me.             

Wednesday 16 July 2014, Our Lady of Mount Carmel

REVEALING THEM TO LITTLE CHILDREN

Pause. Be in the presence of God.

Reading: “I bless you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children.” (Matt 11:25-27)

Reflection. When someone says, “Have you heard the news?” we pay attention. Something new, especially if it has the aura of a secret, excites us. Jesus has been instructing his disciples at some length and then he suddenly breaks into spontaneous prayer to the Father. He rejoices that the Father is now being revealed. The cloud, which the people of the Old Testament laboured under for centuries, is being pierced and God is making himself known. When we are introduced to someone we can build a relationship. The Lord knows each one of us intimately but he wants us to know him, He wants us to open our hearts so that we can receive him and so become fully human. We glimpse that openness in children. They are full of wonder and the desire to discover. We, adults, are more cautious and on our guard..  

Prayer. Lord, give us the wonder and openness of children. Help us to approach you with our hearts and not so much with our heads. Teach us to drop our defences and our reserve and rejoice that you want to reveal yourself to us.. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

IT WILL NOT GO AS HARD

PRAYER MOMENT                      

Tuesday 15 July 2014, St  Bonaventure

Pause. You are in the presence of God.

Reading: “And still, I tell you that it will not go as lard with the land of Sodom on Judgement day as with you.” (Matt 11:20-24)

Reflection. If we are honest we will admit that  at times we see ourselves as “not like” (Luke 18:11) this or that other person. We are better. We are Christians. We know the truth, etc. But in this text Jesus says it will go easier for the notorious people of Sodom on Judgement day than for Capernaum. So we can’t be so sure of ourselves! Does the name Marilyn Monroe ring a bell with you? She was beautiful and luminous and the most famous woman in the world in her time. But she took her own life at the age of 36. She could not handle it. What we now know is that she was a deeply authentic person, searching for the truth about life and about herself. I was one of those many years ago who joined in the “Poor Marilyn” chorus. But now I see her life as a triumph.

Prayer. Lord, give us eyes to see. There are beautiful people all round us whom the world ignores and even despises.  But you do not. You love them and walk with them in their struggles. Teach us to know we really are all equal and together on this journey to you.. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

PRAYER MOMENT                      

Monday 14 July 2014, St Camillus. (Note. I may not succeed in accessing the internet tomorrow)

TO BRING A SWORD

Pause. Recall that you are in the presence of God.

Reading: “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth; it is not peace I have come to bring, but the sword.” (Matt 10:34-11:1)

Reflection. We would like things to go well. We want a secure predictable life with some comforts and maybe status. This is the sort of “peace” that Jesus says he has NOT come to bring! Camillus (born 1550), whose feast we celebrate today, tried to find peace in a dissolute life and ended up in hospital. We can only imagine what hospitals were like in the sixteenth century. Let’s just say they were not nice places. His lowest moment was also the moment when his eyes were opened and he went on to devote his whole life to the care of the sick. Is that not the sort of sword of which Jesus speaks? He wants us to go deep into our being and make choices that lead us to engage in the suffering of the world. .

Prayer. Lord, do not let us pass by. Open our eyes to see where you call us each day to be attentive to others and to our own spirit within where you dwell. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

Mechanics and farmers

There are three ways of achieving an outcome. One is when you are totally in control. A mechanic knows how things work. If there is a problem a mechanic can fix it, so long as the tools are there and there are no broken or irreplaceable parts. Mechanics don’t fail! They don’t have to pray to succeed. They can do it without praying.

But farmers do fail. They are not totally in control. They may have all the tools but they have no control of the weather. If there are poor rains the harvest will be in doubt. If there is too much rain there may be no harvest at all. So farmers are only partly in control. That is why they pray. We have a Sunday when we pray for rain; not too much rain, just the right amount, please, and at the right time!

There is a third way, and that is God’s way, where the outcome is totally out of control. He does not have the assurance of the mechanic, nor the hope of the farmer. He hands over the whole outcome to us. If we make a mess of it then it is our mess. Look at Syria. Look at Iraq. Or look closer to home. We have messed up and it is all out of control. Sure, God works behind the scenes, as it were, to help people make good choices. But if they refuse there is nothing he can do.

Jesus observed life around Nazareth and used a striking image to show God’s lack of control. He noticed how farmers sowed their seed. They scattered it as they walked. Some of it fell on fertile soil but a lot of it got lost on the path, where the birds made short work of it, or on the rocks, where the sun burnt it, or in the thorns on the edge of the tilled soil, where it got choked as soon as it sprouted.

These simple observations were like so many slides in a power point presentation. They bring out the fragility of the outcome in our relationship with God. It really depends on the receiver. As I write there are rockets flying both ways between Palestine and Israel. What is the point? What is the outcome? What can God do? Both sides are praying like crazy to him for help. But what can he do? And we don’t have to go to the Middle East. There are rockets flying in our families, our schools, our workplaces, our politics, our media, etc. God can’t do a thing and it is no good asking him.

In this third way God has handed over the outcome to us. The first words of Jesus in the first written gospel are; “The time is ready; the reign of God is close. Change your way of thinking, and believe!” It is up to us.     

13 July 2014                            Sunday 15 A

Isaiah 55:10-11                       Romans 8:18-23                      Matthew 13: 1-23

DO NOT BE AFRAID

PRAYER MOMENT                          

Saturday 12 July 2014

DO NOT BE AFRAID

Pause. Recall that you are in the presence of God.

Reading: “Do not be afraid. For everything that is now hidden will be uncovered.” (Matt 10:24-33)

Reflection. I have not counted the number of times Jesus says, “Do not be afraid.” He says it often in many different ways. Fear is our constant companion. If we live in a society like Zimbabwe fear follows us around. It is the companion that stops us speaking when we want to and holds us back from actions which we would like to take. It makes us deeply uncomfortable and we push it away, often with laughter. Why does fear have such a grip on us? We fear pain. We fear death. We fear annihilation, a word which means being made into nothing. Who was it who said, “We have nothing to fear except fear itself”? We sense that fear blocks our progress, our salvation. Will it really be so terrible if I take a step in overcoming my fears? All literature, including the bible, describes people overcoming fear. The bird has to leave the nest or it will die.  

Prayer. Lord Jesus, you call us to overcome our fear. You had to do this in Gethsemane. Help us in our many little Gethsemanes to rise above our fears and become in engaged in the issues we face. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

IF THEY PERSECUTE YOU

PRAYER MOMENT                          

Friday 11 July 2014     St Benedict

IF THEY PERSECUTE YOU

Pause. Recall that you are in the presence of God.

Reading: “If they persecute you in one town, take refuge in the next.” (Matt 10:16-23)

Reflection. Jesus is instructing his newly chosen apostles and telling them what to expect. His words describe what happened to Paul in his missionary journeys in Asia Minor. The early Christians discovered, almost with relish, that persecution was  a sign of the authenticity of the gospel. Where there is no opposition there is no growth. It seems the human condition requires struggle in order to flourish. In the reading from Hosea for today there are poetic images of growth: “he shall bloom like the lily and thrust out roots like the popar… he will have the beauty of the the olive and the fragrance of Lebanon. … Let the wise understand these words.” (Hos 14:2-20). The French pilot and poet, Antoine de St Exupery, wrote of “man measuring himself against the obstacle.” In the week of the Wimbledon and World Cup finals we can reflect how, for each of us, glory means struggle.

Prayer. Lord Jesus, as you entered your Passion you said “Now is the Son of Man glorified.” Let us see in our own struggles the raw material for growth and glory. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

I LOVED HIM

PRAYER MOMENT                          

Thursday 10 July 2014

I LOVED HIM

Pause. Recall that you are in the presence of God.

Reading: “When Israel was a child I love him, and called my son out of Egypt.” (Hosea 1:11-9)

Reflection. The affectionate language of Hosea touches us. God is described as a parent who loves their child. The child becomes a teenager and goes astray but the parent does not withdraw their love. The parent waits. The teenager gets into all sorts of trouble but, while the Old Testament uses the language of punishment, it is not God who punishes – any more than it is a parent who punishes their wayward offspring. It is the teenager who makes choices and when they are bad choices they bring their own cost. The parent goes on waiting. And God waits for us, longing for us to turn to him. “I was like someone who lifts an infant close against his cheek, stooping down to him I gave him his food.”  

Prayer. Lord Jesus, you taught us the tenderness and mercy of God. Teach us to respond to such great love, especially by showing such tenderness and mercy to others. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN

PRAYER MOMENT                          

Wednesday 9 July 2014

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN

Pause. Recall that you are in the presence of God.

Reading: “As you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.” (Matt. 10:1-7)

Reflection. Chapter 10 of Matthew opens with a decisive choice: twelve men are named as the immediate helpers of Jesus in his mission. He sends them first to the “lost sheep of the House of Israel” with the instruction that they are to proclaim that the kingdom of God, or heaven, is about to happen, or is “close at hand.” We can interpret this as something that will happen to us, like a storm breaking on us in the rainy season. But, perhaps better, we can see it as something that breaks through us in the sense of something we actually do or find ourselves having the courage to do, some boundary we cross, some moment we recognise in our life as a new beginning. We become deeply engaged as never before, we “set out” on something new, something unknown, something risky. All this is the kingdom “happening” in our lives.

Prayer. Lord Jesus, give us the courage to become engaged in ways which draw us out of our comfort and security into new and courageous paths. You had “nowhere to lay your head.” May we too risk our lives that your kingdom may come. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

TOUCH HIS CLOAK

PRAYER MOMENT                          

Monday 7 July 2014  (Tomorrow, 8 July, I may not have access to internet)

TOUCH HIS CLOAK

Pause. Recall that you are in the presence of God.

Reading: “If I can only touch his cloak I shall be healed again.” (Matt. 9:18-26)

Reflection. The gospels are amazingly full of details. They are not abstract treatises on theology but descriptions of small events with big results. For all these centuries the story of a woman “who had suffered from a haemorrhage for twelve years” is remembered. The detail of how she comes up and touches the clothes of Jesus and is instantly healed is preserved for us. “Courage,” Jesus says to her, “your faith has restored you to healh.” A touch, a look or a word can be healing. After Peter denied him, Jesus “looked” at Peter. It was enough to change his life. In the little details of our day we can heal others, and ourselves too.

Prayer. Lord Jesus, teach us to be attentive to the details of our life: how we do the smallest things. Teach us to know the power we have to heal and give life to others. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

Shadows and hopes

Shadows and hopes

I invite you to google Plato’s allegory of the cave! He imagines prisoners shackled so that they can only look straight ahead. Behind them is a fire and between them and the fire are people holding up various objects whose shadows are projected on to a wall in front of the prisoners. They see the shadows and imagine they are the real thing.

Our lives are real and our concerns touch us concretely. In the last few days I have met people who tell me of what they are suffering in Zimbabwe today and their troubles seem especially painful. So there is no way I am going to use Plato to liken their woes to mere shadows. It would be an outrage to bring a spiritual solution to a physical problem.

But sometimes we do not see the reality behind our painful woes. We only see the woe itself. We cannot see beyond it because the pain is just too great. It is hard to pray when you have a severe toothache and it won’t help anyway. It would be better to go to a dentist.

Yet we must not miss the reality hidden in the pain. If you read the prophets rapidly you will get nothing from them. But if you ponder them a little a whole new vision emerges. They wrote in a time when hope was almost extinguished in Israel. Take Zechariah, for example; “Rejoice, heart and soul, daughter of Zion. See now how your king comes, riding a donkey. He will proclaim peace for the nations.” (9:9-10).

What is he talking about? Does it make any sense? Is it a sniff of opium to keep the people happy and docile in a time of great trial? No! It is the dazzling reality of God’s promise which we can hold on to despite the weight of our troubles. This is not pious nonsense but a hope that Paul held to in the midst of being flogged, stoned, shipwrecked, famished, cold, betrayed and all the rest (2 Cor.11).

This is the reality behind the words, “come to me all you who are overburdened for my yoke is easy and my burden light.” (Mt 11:30). It is easy to say these things but I do not apologise for going so. A number of films, books and songs today say the same. It doesn’t soften the pain but it gives hope that all this suffering will bear fruit in new life and joy, if we can free ourselves from our shackles and turn and see the reality..

6 July 2014      Sunday 14A

Zechariah 9:9-10         Romans 8:9-13                        Matthew 11:25-30 

NEW WINE, FRESH SKIN

PRAYER MOMENT                          

Saturday 5 July 2014  

NEW WINE, FRESH SKINS

Pause. Recall that you are in the presence of God.

Reading: “Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; if they do the skins burst, the wine runs out and the skins are lost. No; they put new wine into fresh skins and both are preserved.” (Matt. 9:14-17)

Reflection. Here is another sharp image on the kingdom of God, which is “among you.” The prophet Amos spoke of “re-erecting the tottering hut of David” (9:11), but patching and repairing won’t do in the new dispensation. Jesus has come to do something new. True, the Old Testament and the tradition and culture of people are the foundations on which the kingdom will be built. But the reign of God will be something new. Our life, our faith, cannot be a compromise with our own convenience and comfortable habits. Marriages sometimes stumble because one or both of the partners are unwilling to forgive. Peace between nations falters because people are unwilling to make the leap of imagination needed. And in our own individual lives we cling to what gives us least trouble.

  

Prayer. Lord Jesus, give us the courage and imagination to live the newness and freshness you call us to. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

FOLLOW ME

PRAYER MOMENT                          

Friday 4 July 2014  

FOLLOW ME

Pause. Be there when Matthew is called.

Reading: Jesus saw a man named Matthew sitting by the customs house, and he said to him “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. (Matt. 9:9-13)

Reflection. The abruptness of the event astonishes us. Just two words and Matthew follows Jesus for life. But the two words label a whole history. Pope Francis used the event as his motto on becoming a bishop, “He showed mercy and he called him.” It sounds better in the Latin. Matthew (and Francis) grasped the astonishing initiative of God in searching for the sinner and calling them to new life and applied it to themselves. Pope Francis later made it his first point in his letter, “The Joy of the Gospel.” Mercy is the the greatest of the virtues. It contains all. It is the way in which God reaches out to his people, sometimes directly – as with Matthew – but normally indirectly and the pope, remembering the influence of his own grandmother Rosa, cites 2 Timothy, “I am reminded of your faith that dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice.”

  

Prayer. Lord Jesus, in mercy you come to us, your broken people, and raise us to share in the joy of the good news. Open our hearts to receive you and help us to share your joy with others. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

MY LORD AND MY GOD

PRAYER MOMENT                          

Thursday 3 July 2014, St Thomas  

MY LORD AND MY GOD

Pause. Be there when Thomas meets Jesus.

Reading: “Doubt no longer but believe.” Thomas replied, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “You believe because you can see me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” (John 20:24-29)

Reflection. John, in his gospel, has many themes and one of them is the journey to faith. We see it in the woman by the well (Chap. 4) and again in the man born blind (Chap.9). And here we have the journey of Thomas, a fairly sceptical character, (John 11:16). This is our journey too. A recently appointed bishop in Ireland (McKeown of Derry) said people “see the church as a series of things you do but in many cases there was no deep personal commitment to the faith.” Perhaps this is true not just of Ireland but of Zimbabwe. We see our faith as “things you do” rather than a deep relationship with a Person. Thomas had to discover it the hard way. It is unlikely there is any other way. Our journey of faith is a deep personal search for the One who, all the time, dwells within us.    

  

Prayer. Lord Jesus, you revealed yourself to Thomas and he was deeply moved. Help us to on our journey to come to a deep faith in you. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

WHATEVER KIND OF MAN IS THIS?

PRAYER MOMENT Apologies! This is yesterday’s. I struggle to post when not at base                            

Tuesday 1 July 2014  

WHATEVER KIND OF MAN IS THIS?

Pause. Be with the disciples in the boat.

Reading: “The men were astounded and said, “Whatever kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey him.” (Matt 8:23-27)

Reflection. We have the impression that in some way the disciples “got used” to Jesus being with him every day. But there were some signs he did that utterly shook them. This is one of them. He “rebuked the winds and the sea” and there was a great calm. So they ask, “who really is he?” We know the answer. He is a man, a human being like us. Yet we have come to know that he has expanded humanity to the point where it becomes divine. Ruth Burrows wrote, “He was fully human because he was divine.” In other words, he opened up humanity to the fullness of its possibilities. Every human being has the possibility for sharing in the divine. Those who have travelled far on this road we call “saints.”     

  

Prayer. Lord Jesus, you have revealed who you are and in doing so have revealed who we are. Help us to stretch ourselves each day to reach out to you who fulfil all our longing. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ