Weekdays of 7th Week of Easter

JESUS CONTINUES HIS LAST SUPPER DISCOURSE: HIS PRAYER

Meeting Jesus through the Gospel

1. Sit quietly, recollect yourself. Concentrate on Jesus. Call on the Holy Spirit. Take your time. There is no rush and there is no fixed rule to follow. Be free in the Spirit.

2. Be aware that Jesus is with you. Use a mantra if you like, e.g. ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ..’

3. Read the passage with Jesus who was there and in the Holy Spirit who inspired it.

4. Note the words and sentences that strike you.

5. Pray about these and ask the Lord to speak to you through his Spirit.

6. Keep a journal of the inspirations you are given for your life. Jesus is present to you and he is speaking to you.

7. If the passage is a ‘dramatic’ one try and live the passage in your imagination. Remember it is not just imagination because Jesus is present now with you. Put yourself in the scene.  It is the Holy Spirit who makes Jesus rea

 

Monday 17^th May, 7^th Week of Easter

 John 16:29-33

29 At the Last Supper His disciples said, "Ah, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure! 30 Now we know that you know all things, and need none to question you; by this we believe that you came from God." 31 Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe? 32 The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, every man to his home, and will leave me alone; yet I am not alone, for  the Father is with me. 33 I have said this to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

We can feel the sadness in the air. Those precious days of God in Jesus walking this earth have come to an end. These are his last words before his death. The disciples think they are beginning to understand him. He tells them that the time has come when they will all run away to save their skins and leave him to his fate. But though they are gone he will be in constant and loving union with his Father. Like a lamb among wolves he will be alone, but he is not alone. He is in conscious communion with Abba. Suffering cannot be avoided. It is a dark mystery. In our suffering we too need to be in constant union with our Abba, a father who cares and loves infinitely more than the best of earthly fathers. Have you had this experience? It can be yours.

Tuesday 18^th May  7^th Week of Easter

John 17:1-11a

After saying this, Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you; ² so that, just as you have given him power over all humanity, he may give eternal life to all those you have entrusted to him. ³ And eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ⁴ I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. ⁵ Now, Father, glorify me with that glory I had with you before ever the world existed. ⁶ I have revealed your name to those whom you took from the world to give me. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷ Now at last they have recognised that all you have given me comes from you ⁸ for I have given them the teaching you gave to me, and they have indeed accepted it and know for certain that I came from you, and have believed that it was you who sent me. ⁹ It is for them that I pray. I am not praying for the world but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. ¹⁰ All I have is yours and all you have is mine, and in them I am glorified. ¹¹ I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us.

We have heard previously of ‘the hour’ but now it has come. It is the hour when Jesus will make the supreme sacrifice out of love for his Father. Obedience has brought Jesus the hatred of the leaders. They will kill him and he will offer his life as ‘a ransom for many’. He will give eternal life to all who accept him as their Lord and Saviour. They will live in the intimacy of the divine Family. It will be a relationship of love of which we now have no idea. He has completed his work. He has revealed God as Father, Abba, who treasures each of us with a love beyond limit. His love makes him welcome his prodigal children with a hero’s welcome. Jesus has made this possible. He is glorified in our being God’s children. By your life in God do you bring glory to Christ?

Wednesday 19^th May

John 17:11b-19

Jesus continued to pray to his Father at the Last Supper:

11b keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us. ¹² While I was with them, I kept those you had given me true to your name. I have watched over them and not one is lost except one who was destined to be lost, and this was to fulfil the scriptures. ¹³ But now I am coming to you and I say these things in the world to share my joy with them to the full. ¹⁴ I passed your word on to them, and the world hated them, because they belong to the world no more than I belong to the world. ¹⁵ I am not asking you to remove them from the world, but to protect them from the Evil One. ¹⁶ They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. ¹⁷ Consecrate them in the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world, ¹⁹ and for their sake I consecrate myself so that they too may be consecrated in truth.

God loved the world so much that he sent his only Son into the world. He still loves the world. He sends us anointed by the Holy Spirit. He doesn’t want to take us out of the world but wants us to build up the world. Jesus prays that we do not embrace the values of the world taught by the Evil One. Rather we are to be consecrated in the Truth. In the midst of the world we are to live according to the values taught by Jesus in the Gospel. In your life, do you live by the Word of God? Are you salt to the earth and a light to the world? If each believer truly lived as Jesus would in their circumstances the world would be a different place. Do people around you see a 21^st century Jesus in you or just someone like the rest?

Thursday 20^th May  2010

John 17:20-26

Jesus continued to pray to his Father at the Last Supper:

²⁰ I pray not only for these but also for those who through their teaching will come to believe in me. ²¹ May they all be one, just as, Father, you are in me and I am in you, so that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me. ²² I have given them the glory you gave to me, that they may be one as we are one. ²³ With me in them and you in me, may they be so perfected in unity that the world will recognise that it was you who sent me and that you have loved them as you have loved me. ²⁴ Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they may always see my glory which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵ Father, Upright One, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these have known that you have sent me. ²⁶ I have made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them.

What do unbelievers see? They don’t see Jesus. They see us and our parish. If they are to come to know Jesus it is through us. People are not moved so much by words as by what they see. It is what they see in us that will move them to believe or not. Jesus prays that we may have a unity in love the like of which cannot be found anywhere in the world. It is to be unique to his community. It springs from the heart of each member where dwell the Holy Spirit and Jesus. All the members are then united through the Holy Spirit in him. Unity will be unconsciously manifested by their mutual love and fellowship and constant acts of love. Onlookers must be amazed: “See how they love one another!”. Is this the goal of your life, of your parish community?

Friday 21^st May 2010

John 21:15-19

¹⁵ When they had eaten, Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?' He answered, 'Yes, Lord, you know I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed my lambs.' ¹⁶ A second time he said to him, 'Simon son of John, do you love me?' He replied, 'Yes, Lord, you know I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Look after my sheep.' ¹⁷ Then he said to him a third time, 'Simon son of John, do you love me?' Peter was hurt that he asked him a third time, 'Do you love me?' and said, 'Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed my sheep. ¹⁸ In all truth I tell you, when you were young you put on your own belt and walked where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and somebody else will put a belt round you and take you where you would rather not go.' ¹⁹ In these words he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to God. After this he said, 'Follow me.'

Peter denied Jesus three times. Now Jesus reinstates him. Three times he has him profess his love before the others. Jesus does not look at our past but at what we are and what we can become. Peter’s weakness now becomes his strength. He will not betray again but will die for Jesus, as he once professed he would. Jesus tells him to feed his sheep and lambs. The more we love Jesus, the more we will look after his community. Love for Jesus is the source of pastoral ministry. The more we love Jesus, the more we minister to his flock.   The flock does not belong to the pastor. “Feed my sheep”. Each pastor must give an account to the Shepherd of his care for his sheep. None should be lost through his negligence. Are you a good pastor? Jesus prayed for Peter. Do you pray for your pastors?

Saturday 22^nd May 2010

John 21:20-25

²⁰ Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them -- the one who had leant back close to his chest at the supper and had said to him, 'Lord, who is it that will betray you?' ²¹ Seeing him, Peter said to Jesus, 'What about him, Lord?' ²² Jesus answered, 'If I want him to stay behind till I come, what does it matter to you? You are to follow me.' ²³ The rumour then went out among the brothers that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus had not said to Peter, 'He will not die,' but, 'If I want him to stay behind till I come.' ²⁴ This disciple is the one who vouches for these things and has written them down, and we know that his testimony is true. ²⁵ There was much else that Jesus did; if it were written down in detail, I do not suppose the world itself would hold all the books that would be written.

Peter is now ‘leader’ and he represents authority in the Church but who is the anonymous ‘disciple whom Jesus loved’. He stands for the ‘little ones’ of the Church whom only Jesus knows and loves. They have no position in the hierarchy. Yet they are close to Jesus and lean on his breast. They do not run away but stand at the foot of the Cross. They are the ones who passionately love Jesus with all their strength. They live and die for him. They are the heart of Jesus’ Church. They are the ones whom Jesus holds dear. The witness of the Beloved Disciple remains, likewise there will always be “beloved disciples’ in the Church and so in the world. Each one could tell their own story of life with Jesus. If written the books of the entire world would be insufficient. Are you one of these disciples?

 "Peter's Fish" as served to tourists on the banks of the Lake of Galilee today

The Feast of the Ascension C

The Feast of the Ascension C

Acts 1:1-11. Psalm 46:2-3. 6-7. 8-9. Rv.6. Ephesians 1:17-23. Luke 24:46-53

You will be my witnesses, indeed to the ends of the earth.

 God is king of all the earth. Sing praise with all your skill

May he enlighten your mind so that so you can see what hope his call holds for you.

Repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be preached to all nations.

 Shrine of the Ascension Jerusalem

Jesus said to his disciples, 'So it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, ⁴⁷ and that, in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses to this. ⁴⁹ 'And now I am sending upon you what the Father has promised. Stay in the city, then, until you are clothed with the power from on high.' ⁵⁰ Then he took them out as far as the outskirts of Bethany, and raising his hands he blessed them. ⁵¹ Now as he blessed them, he withdrew from them and was carried up to heaven. ⁵² They worshipped him and then went back to Jerusalem full of joy; ⁵³ and they were continually in the Temple praising God.

The shrine of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives

  









Tradition has it that this is the footprint of Jesus in the shrine of the Ascension 

Do you witness?

Jesus came to this world on a mission. The world was in darkness and death the end to an aimless life. Jesus came to reconcile us with God and give us the invitation to become the children of God. He lived among us and was God’s love made visible. He revealed God’s love by healing the sick, forgiving sinners even till his death on the Cross.  His Father rewarded him by raising him to life and seating him on his right hand.

He walked the earth only for a few years but he must give the invitation to everyone throughout the world and throughout the ages. Humiliated and mocked on the Cross he had died offering his life for us. For this he was given all authority in heaven and on earth. Today we celebrate his return to the Father.

            His mission is by no means finished. He handed it on to his disciples. It is for them to proclaim to the world that he is Lord and reconciles us with God and offers us the Holy Spirit to become children of God. “You will be my witnesses even to the ends of the earth”. This is the mission of all his disciples down through the ages till the end of time.

            As witnesses his disciples will proclaim what they have seen and experienced. The disciples had spent time with Jesus and eaten and drunk with him after his Resurrection. In the same way if we are to be his witnesses we too must experience him in our lives. We must know him personally. Without experiencing his goodness and compassion we will never be able to witness. Is the reason why so many do not witness to Jesus because they do not know him, but only know about him?

After his Ascension the disciples returned to Jerusalem in great joy. They were full of enthusiasm to receive the Spirit and begin the mission. The Ascension tells us that we are all to be witnesses.

“Do not leave Jerusalem till you have received power” .We need to be anointed by the Holy Spirit as the disciples were on Pentecost day. Only Spirit filled people can witness to the world. Pentecost is for everyone.

             For too long we have experienced an attitude of dependency and immaturity in the Church whereby we have left everything to the hierarchy and to the priests. The Church has suffered and still suffers from this clericalism. The faithful have not been encouraged to use the manifold gifts of the Spirit. Now is the time for all members of the Church to carry the responsibility of witnessing to Jesus as Lord. The gifts bestowed on the laity for mission should be given free rein to bring the Gospel to the world and the world to Christ.

How can you witness to Jesus?

Father, may we not just look up to heaven but go forth to bring light to the world by our lives

Weekdays of 6th Week of Easter

Meeting Jesus through the Gospel

1. Sit quietly, recollect yourself. Concentrate on Jesus. Call on the Holy Spirit. Take your time. There is no rush and there is no fixed rule to follow. Be free in the Spirit.

2. Be aware that Jesus is with you. Use a mantra if you like, e.g. ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ..’

3. Read the passage with Jesus who was there and in the Holy Spirit who inspired it.

4. Note the words and sentences that strike you.

5. Pray about these and ask the Lord to speak to you through his Spirit.

6. Keep a journal of the inspirations you are given for your life. Jesus is present to you and he is speaking to you.

7. If the passage is a ‘dramatic’ one try and live the passage in your imagination. Remember it is not just imagination because Jesus is present now with you. Put yourself in the scene.  It is the Holy Spirit who makes Jesus real.

Monday 10^th May 2010

6^th week of Easter

John 15:26-16:4

When the Paraclete comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father, he will be my witness. ²⁷ And you too will be witnesses, because you have been with me from the beginning. ¹ I have told you all this so that you may not fall away. ² They will expel you from the synagogues, and indeed the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is doing a holy service to God. ³ They will do these things because they have never known either the Father or me. ⁴ But I have told you all this, so that when the time for it comes you may remember that I told you. I did not tell you this from the beginning, because I was with you;

In countries with atheistic governments Christians are openly persecuted, with prison sentences, deprivation of property and in so many other ways. They have to go underground. In other countries they are misunderstood and marginalised. In others they are mocked and people openly work against what they hold so dear. Jesus tells us it is because they do not know either him or his Father. They may be sincere but they are unenlightened somewhat like Saul was before he met Jesus near Damascus. Persecution in one way or another will happen to us. Jesus has forewarned us. We are not to be afraid because we are not alone. Jesus  has given us his Spirit who stands beside us supporting us in every way. To receive him we need a living faith and union with Jesus. The presence of Jesus needs to be real to us through constant prayer. Jesus is victorious.

.Tuesday 11^th May

6^th Week of Easter,

John  16:5-11

  But now I am going to the one who sent me. Not one of you asks, 'Where are you going?' ⁶ Yet you are sad at heart because I have told you this. ⁷ Still, I am telling you the truth: it is for your own good that I am going, because unless I go, the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸ And when he comes, he will show the world how wrong it was, about sin, and about who was in the right, and about judgement: ⁹ about sin: in that they refuse to believe in me; ¹⁰ about who was in the right: in that I am going to the Father and you will see me no more; ¹¹ about judgement: in that the prince of this world is already condemned.

 While in the world Jesus was restricted. When raised to the glory of his Father, from that intimate union in love he sends the Spirit. Jesus is ever present to his disciples through his Spirit who lives in them. His presence will be a dynamic presence but will not be an external one as when in flesh and blood but an inner presence in each one. Through the believer the Spirit witnesses to those who want to see. Through believers proves that the world sinned by not believing in Jesus. Their lives will be a manifestation of an irrefutable holiness. Look at the likes of Mother Teresa. The righteousness of their actions proclaims the love God has for people. The world condemned Jesus as a criminal the innocence of their lives in him proves it wrong. Are you such a believer?

Wednesday 12^th May

6^th Week of Easter.

John 16:12-17

 ¹² I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you to bear now. ¹³ However, when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking of his own accord, but will say only what he has been told; and he will reveal to you the things to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify me, since all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine. ¹⁵ Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine. ¹⁶ In a short time you will no longer see me, and then a short time later you will see me again. ¹⁷ Then some of his disciples said to one another, 'What does he mean, "In a short time you will no longer see me, and then a short time later you will see me again," and, "I am going to the Father"?

The Spirit of Truth will guide you into all truth.

The Holy Spirit is the life of the Church and he is to be the life of each member. We are to have fellowship with the Spirit. He has taken the place of Christ Jesus in teaching and guiding us. He inspired the Gospels of the first century. He applies them to the situations of the twenty first. He does this through inspiration as he did then. The inspired Word is a living Word. The Spirit applies it now to our lives. The teaching of the Church and the Gospels are in harmony because they both come from the same Spirit. Likewise we must daily welcome the Spirit into our lives and beg him teach and guide us through the Word to understand our life situation and make the decisions which will lead us to happiness now and for ever. Do you?

Thursday 13^th May

6^th Week of Easter.

John 16:16-20

¹⁶ In a short time you will no longer see me, and then a short time later you will see me again. ¹⁷ Then some of his disciples said to one another, 'What does he mean, "In a short time you will no longer see me, and then a short time later you will see me again," and, "I am going to the Father"? ¹⁸ What is this "short time"? We don't know what he means.' ¹⁹ Jesus knew that they wanted to question him, so he said, 'You are asking one another what I meant by saying, "In a short time you will no longer see me, and then a short time later you will see me again." ²⁰ 'In all truth I tell you, you will be weeping and wailing while the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.

We too may ask what this little while means. At his crucifixion the disciples were plunged into grief. It was the Lord’s battle with Satan. Though apparently defeated he won through his obedience and was raised to life triumphant. He is now with us both to the community and to each individually. It is through our faith and in the Spirit that we ‘see’ him now. Life is to be life with him. We are to meet him in prayer, receive him as food, experience him within ourselves, meet him in others and serve him at all times. The Christian life is life in Jesus through the Spirit. Do you make Jesus the conscious centre of your life so that you live for him and one day will die for him and so seeing him face to face become like him in his divine glory for ever?

Friday 14^th May 2010 Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle

6^th week of Easter

John 15:9-17

⁹ I have loved you just as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be complete. ¹² This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you. ¹³ No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends, if you do what I command you. ¹⁵ I shall no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know the master's business; I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father. ¹⁶ You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last; so that the Father will give you anything you ask him in my name. ¹⁷ My command to you is to love one another.

Jesus is speaking to us also. Those who love and believe in Jesus will never feel at home in this world. We will adjust ourselves to life here and work for the welfare of our fellows but feel ourselves exiles. We have an inner longing for the life with Jesus to which we are called. Now is the time when our love for Jesus is to grow and like a child in the womb is formed for life in the world so we are formed for life in the family of God. It is the Spirit of God who will fashion us. Like the woman in childbirth suffers so do we believers in this world but like hers it is not an aimless suffering. One day we will live face to face with Jesus in God’s family. Do you experience life like this? Are you preparing for life?

Saturday 15 ^th May 2010

6^th Week of Easter

John 16:23-28

23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father, he will give it to you in my name. 24 Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. 25 "I have said this to you in figures; the hour is coming when I shall no longer speak to you in figures but tell you plainly of the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name; and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you;  27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from the Father. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father."

By rebirth in the Holy Spirit we are brothers and sisters of Jesus, the only begotten of the Father. Jesus called his Father Abba, Dad, the term of affection used in Aramaic by children to their fathers. The Spirit teaches us to use the same term in addressing God. Such is our relationship with God – one of intimacy and the confidence of a small child with a loving and tender father. Our elder Brother, Jesus, won this for us by his Death on the Cross It is his gift to us. So in Jesus’ name we must approach God with total trust because we are his children whom he loves dearly and for whom he will refuse nothing that is for our good. Do you relax in the arms of Abba, like a child in its mother’s arms (Psalm 131:2). Relax, all is well and all will be well.

6th Sunday of Easter C Reflections

Meeting Jesus through the Gospel

1. Sit quietly, recollect yourself. Concentrate on Jesus. Call on the Holy Spirit. Take your time. There is no rush and there is no fixed rule to follow. Be free in the Spirit.

2. Be aware that Jesus is with you. Use a mantra if you like, e.g. ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ..’

3. Read the passage with Jesus who was there and in the Holy Spirit who inspired it.

4. Note the words and sentences that strike you.

5. Pray about these and ask the Lord to speak to you through his Spirit.

6. Keep a journal of the inspirations you are given for your life. Jesus is present to you and he is speaking to you.

7. If the passage is a ‘dramatic’ one try and live the passage in your imagination. Remember it is not just imagination because Jesus is present now with you. Put yourself in the scene.  It is the Holy Spirit who makes Jesus real.

 

The 6^th Sunday of Easter C

Acts 15:1-2. 22-29. Psalm 66:2-3.5-6.8. Rv.4.Apoc. 21:10-14. 22-23.  John 14:23-29

The Holy Spirit and we have decided not to saddle you beyond the essentials.

Let the peoples praise you O God. Let all the people praise you.

The Lord God and the Lamb were the Temple.

We shall come to him and make our home with him.

 John 14:23-29

Jesus replied: Anyone who loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make a home in him. ²⁴ Anyone who does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not my own: it is the word of the Father who sent me. ²⁵ I have said these things to you while still with you; ²⁶ but the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you. ²⁷ Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace which the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. ²⁸ You heard me say: I am going away and shall return. If you loved me you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. ²⁹ I have told you this now, before it happens, so that when it does happen you may believe.

 The Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name

will teach everything and remind you of all I have said to you

The home of God

Jesus told his disciples he was going away. They felt bewildered. How were they to manage after he had gone? He was their life. Everything centred on him. He was their strength. They were not afraid when he was there. None of the Jews were able to outwit him in an argument. He reduced them to silence with his answers. They felt at peace when he was there. But now he tells them, he is going away. They feel lost, afraid and heading for a life of emptiness. But Jesus tells them, “Let not your hearts be troubled or afraid” In fact he says “If you loved me you would have been glad to know I am going”. He is going to his Father and he is going to come back to them and not only to them but to all who love him. It will be in a new way.

            “God so loved the world that he sent his only Son” (John 3:16). Now Jesus promises that both the Father and he will come and live in each of his disciples. It seems too good to be true. God, the Creator who lives in unapproachable light will come and live in the heart of each of Jesus’ disciples. But it is true. There are however conditions for this to be fulfilled. We must love Jesus and accept him into our lives. We do this by keeping his commandments. He has given us ‘a new commandment’ – to love one another as he loves us and he has given in the Gospel many examples of how to do this. Our heartfelt love for Jesus overflows into action by our always doing what pleases him. So the Father loves us too and both he and Jesus come and live in our hearts. Our bodies become the dwelling place of God. This promise is not only for mystics and saints but for each and everyone who loves Jesus. It is for you.

            How can I keep his word? I am weak and sinful. The Father will send the Advocate, the Holy Spirit. After Jesus has gone away physically the Holy Spirit will come and he will be with us forever. He will teach us everything and remind us of all that Jesus has taught. He will be our strength and the fruits of his indwelling will be clear for all to see; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, humility and purity of heart. Furthermore he will give the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, understanding, courage, faith and respect for God.

            We have a treasure in our hands. We need to experience it. Do you take time daily to sit quietly and open yourself consciously to God dwelling in your heart? Have your family and neighbours ever mentioned that ‘there is something about you’? If not, ask yourself, ‘Do I enjoy the fellowship of God, Father, Son and Spirit?’

Father grant me the grace to experience the fruits of your indwelling. 

 Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you

Weekdays of 5th Week of Easter

"Salt to the Earth"

Reflections on the Sunday Readings.

What People Say

"spiritually stimulating and inspiring reflections...a wonderful book which will lead us and others to God," Bishop Anthony Poola, Bishop of Kurnool, India.

"deep and profound reflections which will nourish and sustain God-thirsting souls", Fr. Bernard Swarna D.C.L. Episcopal Vicar, Judicial Vicar, Archdiocese of Hyderabad, India.

"This book can transform your life" Fr. Kata Rajulu, Germany

"These reflections will serve their purpose if they encourage you to open the door to him (Jesus, Rev.3:20) and let him into your life. he will then dine with you and you with him and that will be another story - your story". From the author's Introduction.

If you would like to purchase this book just email me at jesus4ourworld@yahoo.com
price £6.50 + postage and packing 

Meeting Jesus through the Gospel

1. Sit quietly, recollect yourself. Concentrate on Jesus. Call on the Holy Spirit. Take your time. There is no rush and there is no fixed rule to follow. Be free in the Spirit.

2. Be aware that Jesus is with you. Use a mantra if you like, e.g. ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ..’

3. Read the passage with Jesus who was there and in the Holy Spirit who inspired it.

4. Note the words and sentences that strike you.

5. Pray about these and ask the Lord to speak to you through his Spirit.

6. Keep a journal of the inspirations you are given for your life. Jesus is present to you and he is speaking to you.

7. If the passage is a ‘dramatic’ one try and live the passage in your imagination. Remember it is not just imagination because Jesus is present now with you. Put yourself in the scene.  It is the Holy Spirit who makes Jesus real.

Reflections for the Weekdays of the 5^th Week of Easter

Monday 3^rd May 2010

John 14:6-14

Jesus said: I am the Way; I am Truth and Life. No one can come to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you know me, you will know my Father too. From this moment you know him and have seen him. ⁸ Philip said, 'Lord, show us the Father and then we shall be satisfied.' Jesus said to him, ⁹ 'Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? 'Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father, so how can you say, "Show us the Father"? ¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? What I say to you I do not speak of my own accord: it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his works. ¹¹ You must believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe it on the evidence of these works. ¹² In all truth I tell you, whoever believes in me will perform the same works as I do myself, and will perform even greater works, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ Whatever you ask in my name I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Other religions may talk of a Supreme Being, a God ‘out there somewhere’. We do not. God is a human being who ‘has pitched his tent among us’ (John1:14). He is Jesus. He invites us to be his friends. To live life to the full is to accept his invitation. It is a friendship which must grow day by day. Nothing more is needed in life. He is the Way and the goal.  We are to know him. He is and offers the fullness of human life. To know him is to live the authentic life. He is Truth. In him our life will blossom as no flower has ever blossomed. He is Life. This experience is to be ours now, not just ‘in some other life’. Are you having it? How are we to live? We are to live the life of Jesus in our world.   Are you?

Tuesday 4^th May 2010

John 14: 27-31

Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace which the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. ²⁸ You heard me say: I am going away and shall return. If you loved me you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. ²⁹ I have told you this now, before it happens, so that when it does happen you may believe. ³⁰ I shall not talk to you much longer, because the prince of this world is on his way. He has no power over me, ³¹ but the world must recognise that I love the Father and that I act just as the Father commanded.

: How does the world give peace? We’ll give you money, position,  acclamation. You can have everything. What more do you want? But what about your heart? Can it give you joy, contentment, a happiness that radiates to everyone you meet? Only Jesus gives this and he promises it to ‘his disciples’. Are you one?  How to get joy and peace? There’s no well to draw from. There is no peace ‘out there’. There is only your peace and my  peace. There is no substitute for resting in the arms of a beloved. There is no substitute for falling in love with Jesus. Only then will you experience his peace, of having no fear of anything or anyone. He is with you. How to fall in love? The Spirit works from the inside. Get to know him. He can make it happen. That’s his task.

Wednesday 5^th May 2010

John 15:1-8

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch in me that bears no fruit he cuts away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes to make it bear even more. ³ You are clean already, by means of the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, as I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself, unless it remains part of the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing. ⁶ Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a branch -- and withers; these branches are collected and thrown on the fire and are burnt. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for whatever you please and you will get it. ⁸ It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit and be my disciples

We stand around a dying man. He is still there. He smiles. You hold his hand and you hold him. Then he’s gone. You hold his body. It’s not him any more. So it is with Jesus. If you live in him and he in you, then he is you. People touch him in you. People touched Jesus in Mother Teresa, in Padre Pio. Do they in you? We are to be the living body of Jesus as the branch is the living vine. How tragic for the world when through our sin Jesus is gone and people just hold a corpse. Unless we live in Jesus we cause irreparable damage to the world. Although they may not realise it, people long for the incarnation of Jesus among them in you and me. Only you and I can make it possible. “Remain in me and my words in you”. How? Through the Holy Spirit.

Thursday 6^th May 2010

John 15:9-11
I have loved you just as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be complete.

The Son is the perfect image of his Father and the Father sees himself in his Son. They are so perfectly one that they are one Being. There can be no closer union of two distinct yet identical Persons. Jesus loves us in the same way as his Father loves him. Though distinct he wants us to be one being with him. What must we do? We must open ourselves to his desire, for this is the purpose of our being born. It is here that we find the meaning of our life. It is to become the perfect image of Jesus the Christ and become one being through the indwelling of the Spirit. To be one being is to be one in action. In everything we become the manifestation of Jesus. This is to fulfil his every command. We become whole and so full of joy.

Friday 7^th May 2010

John 15:12-17
¹² This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you. ¹³ No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends, if you do what I command you. ¹⁵ I shall no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know the master's business; I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father. ¹⁶ You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last; so that the Father will give you anything you ask him in my name. ¹⁷ My command to you is to love one another.

How did Jesus love? Although God he became a man and lived among us. His love goes beyond emotional attraction. It makes us whole. It  makes us like God, sharing his life. His love made him pour himself out for our good, dying on a Cross for us while we were still his enemies. “He loved me and gave himself for me”. His love desires communion. Each of us is precious to him. His love makes him share himself with us in intimate dialogue, “I stand at the door and knock”, “We will dine together”. He commands that we love in the same way. With the Holy Spirit we can do so. His love shares his our own mission with us. “I chose you”. We are to live in deep love, with him and then as he inspires with his love for others and we will bear much fruit.

Saturday 8^th May 2010

John 15:18-21

¹⁸ If the world hates you, you must realise that it hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you do not belong to the world, because my choice of you has drawn you out of the world, that is why the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the words I said to you: A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too; if they kept my word, they will keep yours as well. ²¹ But it will be on my account that they will do all this to you, because they do not know the one who sent me.

Jesus came ‘from above’ and  proclaimed the truth without fear. He was hated because of it. He was the Lamb of God and “roaring lions open their mouths against me” (Ps 22:13) and hated him without cause (Ps 69:4). Jesus sends his disciples out “like lambs among wolves”. We carry the Word of God and must proclaim the truth to men who see things in their own way. We will be despised and even persecuted because of it. If we are true disciples of Jesus and live up to what we believe among people who see us as different and even as opposed to their views and practices, is it surprising that they will hate us as they hated Jesus. To be persecuted for the truth of Jesus is a gift, but let it not be because we are wealthy, powerful, political, or bearers of an alien culture.