I Met God Today

I saw God today! No, let me rephrase that! What I saw were glimpses, darting into my vision and then gone just as quickly - a kingfisher, not once, not twice, but three times - a trinity of reminders, if they were ever needed, of the beauty of God's holy creation. I say ‘reminders, if they were ever needed’ because all afternoon I had been bathed, washed, drenched in green, above and below, things in themselves and in canal bank reflections ... beauty and wholly, wholly aware of the holy, of God’s holy presence with me and around me, making everything a glimpse, making everything radiant, making everything radiate, making everything a prayer yes, I saw God today!                                                                                                                                                                                       19.07.2020

Tonight, we set our clocks back an hour.  Autumn is reaching its end. Winter is approaching. The sun is further away from us each day and its warmth lessens. The trees are ever more rapidly shedding their vividly-coloured tapestry of leaves. The migrating birds are gone. Outside my window, our two squirrels are hoarding horse chestnuts all day long. The light is changing and colours are fading. Nature is entering into its time of rest.  We've come to the point of the year when the nights are longest, when we have more time in darkness than in daylight.  This year, perhaps, we are each living that longest night with a greater intensity. These are dark times in the life of each and every person. This long, seemingly endless, time of pandemic and repeated lockdowns, is not easy. And my spirit is jangled - often.  Tonight, as I sat in our convent chapel in the darkness, my spirit was not at peace. I cried. I told God what God knows already. In a quiet whisper, I poured out my pain: &q

Apt words for these times from today's Evening Prayer: "Hold firm and take heart" - Ps 26(27) Who would ever think that advice on motorway signs would one day quote the Psalms!? #holdfirm  #trustinGod  #keepthefaith  #allwillbewell  #covid19  #Godiswithus

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Reflection on the Gospel  Matthew 22:34-40 25 October 2020  The opening line of a poem by the late Mary Oliver could have been taken from Jesus’ teaching in today’s Gospel: “My work is loving the world.” One of the Pharisees asks Jesus to name “the greatest commandment of the Law”. This incident is one of the so-called ‘controversies’ recorded by Matthew, where, in true Jewish form, Jesus debates aspects of Jewish teaching with Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees. Over these last weeks, we have heard some of these discussions. Here, a lawyer approaches Jesus, addressing him as “Master”. The title seems respectful but there is an agenda - the Pharisees are trying to catch out Jesus. Motive notwithstanding however, there is nothing particularly unacceptable or remarkable in this question. Jewish tradition holds that there are 613 commandments in the Torah - both positive and negative (dos and don’ts) - governing all aspects of life. Discussion and debate