The other day I decided to go for a run but after about 20 minutes realised that I'm not as fit as I'd like to be and so it turned into more of a walk - run - walk.
Exploring the town in which I live led me to travel down unfamiliar paths and I soon found my way on unfamiliar ground. I since realised that if we are to explore new areas we probably shouldn't do so when it's dark, raining and one's mobile battery is about to die.
My wife and I had an interesting discussion when I returned home, several hours later, cold, wet and suitably contrite.
What did I learn in this mini adventure? Sometimes in life different paths seem interesting but if we don't walk in the light of Christ we are headed for darkness and despair. I also learned about the kindness of strangers and the importance of better communication.
In life's daily journey let us remember the words of Christ:
"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not live in darkness but have the light of life." John 8:12
I was reflecting and thanking God recently for my amazing wife and the love she shows not only to me but to our unborn son.
Since we knew we were expecting a child, my wife has avoided any food or drink that might harm our baby and actively taken steps each day to protect and strengthen him. She avoids situations that might stress him and speaks to him regularly throughout the day. She will take extra care to have food and supplements that help our baby even if they cause her discomfort.
My thoughts are that all of us in a state of grace have an amazing gift within us. Do I take as much care of that grace within me as my wife does for our son?
My wife's example challenged me to do everything possible to remain in a state of grace: weekly confession and Mass, daily examination of conscience, regular conversational prayer with Christ and to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to me any areas of unforgiveness within that is preventing me from living a grace filled life.
Scripture itself speaks powerfully of the link between confession and efficacious prayer: "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." (James 5:16) When we remain in a state of grace we can powerfully impact our families by our prayer - being the leaders our wives and children need.
As I pray for and give thanks for my wife and son, I should also do the same for the great gift of grace and ask God to protect the gift within.
"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." - Philippians 4:4-8 If you had spoken to me six years ago about the power of positive thinking I might have thought you were a new ager with a naive and unrealistic view of life. St Paul's words to the Philippians however show that focusing our mind on what is pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy is not only a good thing but thoroughly Christian. There are a number of Catholic writers whose orthodox, traditionally minded views I share but I am repulsed by some of the venom they hurl upon other people. Rather than stating the truth with kindness they hurl ad hominem insults, attack swathes of people and fire denunciations before understanding what another person is trying to say. I was recently looking at some Catholic blogs and they were criticising the Pope, not for what he has said but because of what other people said he had said based on second hand reporting. They were attacking the Pope for courting popularity and presuming to understand his motivations for his recent interview - and thinking the worst. The writers didn't ask others to pray for him or suggest any practical course of action but left me feeling irritated and downcast. Perhaps if Pope Francis' detractors spent as much time in prayer as he does (including an hour's adoration of the Blessed Sacrament daily) they would experience - and exude more joy. In this blog I am determined to focus on what is true, noble and admirable and seek to encourage rather than condemn. This is not due to naivety but heeding the words of St Paul. Where I disagree with others, I seek to bear in mind the words of Saint Augustine:
“In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.”
Today is the day when the Cardinals gather in Rome to pray and vote under lock and key, hence the term "conclave" (with key).
A common misconception is that Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit chooses the next Pope. On the contrary, only scripture is said to be inspired. A cursory glance at history will bring to light about half a dozen Popes that were clearly far from good examples.
Benedict XVI, when he was a Cardinal, once made the same point: "The Holy Spirit does not exactly take control of the affair, but rather like a good educator ... leaves us much space, much freedom, without entirely abandoning us ... There are too many contrary instances of popes the Holy Spirit obviously would not have picked!"
What then are we to do?
Get on your knees and pray that the Cardinals allow the Holy Spirit to influence their choice and that they chose someone holy and strong.
One of my passions is ecumenism - built on a belief that all followers of Christ have so much in common that we should celebrate this and pray, evangelise and work together for unity in love. The sad truth that often strikes me though is that some Christians use inter-denominational events to entice and convert people from one denomination to another.
I know a number of friends and acquaintances brought up in the Catholic faith but due to poor teaching never knew the truth and beauty of the Faith. Sheep stealers are those who will undermine the Catholic Faith of those they meet and seek to convert them to a denomination instead.
The sheep stealers seem to be consistent in the following steps:
1. They will ingratiate themselves with Catholics and be friendly to them but start subtly undermining their faith - ridiculing aspects of faith that they disagree with. The sheep stealers will almost always claim that the Catholic Church hates scripture and is just interested in money. Quite rightly - most people of goodwill will realise that this is not the way a true Christian Church would behave.
2. The next ploy is to invite Catholics to their places of worship where they are told that Catholicism is about guilt and they instead preach freedom. They will be introduced to people who say they were "raised Catholic, but found Christ." - quite often they will be people who were simply nominal Catholics, went to a Catholic School or happen to have had Irish or Italian parents and the odd religious image in their home.
3. Thirdly they will be invited to "be baptised" regardless of whether they are already baptised or not or perhaps to sign a form professing their membership of a particular church. They will of course also be invited to take part in various courses and made to feel more and more part of their new spiritual home.
4. It is only when the Catholic is firmly an ex-Catholic that they are then introduced to the importance of parting with as much of their money as possible to their newly found church and how God will bless them so much for this.
The irony of those people who have left the Catholic Church for another "bible believing church" is that they have left an organisation that compiled and wrote the Bible and uses scripture as the greater part of the Mass for assemblies that on the whole have nothing more than one or two verses of the Bible and a lot of one person's interpretation of it.
The greater irony is that having been told that the Catholic Church is rich and obsessed with money they may end up in a community that spends more time asking for money than it does on proclaiming scripture.
Let us pray for genuine Christian unity and protection against those that would undermine Christ's Church.
Today is Maundy Thursday and we recall the words of Christ, "A new commandment I give to you: love one another as I have loved you." [John 13:34] The English word 'Maundy' is generally held to be come from the Latin, "Mandatum novum" from this same passage of scripture. Love is the essence of our faith.
Today's liturgy is a powerful celebration of the depth of the love that Christ has for us and an invitation to us to respond to this love. The Church recalls his washing the feet of the disciples before his betrayal, the institution of the Eucharist and ends with a solemn procession of the Blessed Sacrament to an altar of repose symbolising Christ's journey to the Garden of Gethsemense where he will be betrayed. It is for this reason that Christians will traditionally watch with Christ and pray at this time, perhaps for an hour in remembrance of his rebuke to the apostles, "Could you not watch with me one hour?" [Matthew 24:40]
In England to this present day, the monarch will give specially minted Maundy Money to the poor as a sign of Christ's care for all. In the past the King or Queen would also wash the feet of the poor in imitation of Christ although this practice stopped after the overthrow of the last Catholic King, James II.
Enjoy the haunting simplicity of the piece below thanks to two priests called Thomas. St Thomas Aquinas wrote the words in the 13th Century and the Spanish Renaissance composer, Tomás Luis de Victoria produced the Officium Hebdomadae Sanctae (Office of Holy Week of which this is part) in 1585.
The commandment we are given on this day, to love as Christ loves us, is not easy. The Pange Lingua reminds us that this literally means loving to death, the shedding of his precious blood. It is no coincidence that the Mass was instituted at the same time as this great commandment. The words, 'Ite Missa Est' from which we get the word 'Mass' do not just signify that it is time to leave but are a call for us to bring Christ's love to the world around us even if this involves sacrifice.
Pange lingua gloriosi corporis mysterium,Sanguinisque pretiosi, quem in mundi pretium Fructus ventris generosi, Rex effudit gentium.
Tantum ergo Sacramentum veneremur cernui: Et antiquum documentum novo cedat ritui: Praestet fides supplementum sensuum defectui.
Genitori, Genitoque laus et iubilatio, Salus, honor, virtus quoque sit et benedictio: Procedenti ab utroque compar sit laudatio. Amen.
Sing, my tongue, the Saviour's glory,of his flesh the mystery sing; of the blood, all price exceeding, shed by our immortal King, destined, for the world's redemption, from a noble womb to spring.
Down in adoration falling, Lo! the sacred host we hail; Lo! o'er ancient forms departing, newer rites of grace prevail; faith for all defects supplying, where the feeble senses fail.
To the everlasting Father, and the Son who reigns on high,with the Holy Ghost proceeding forth from each eternally, be salvation, honour, blessing,might and endless majesty. Amen.
People sometimes ask me why I am so positive. Life is not always easy but we should never be discouraged. Why focus on what drags us down when we can focus our energies and attention on what is positive? This is not New Age but is traditional Christianity:
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."
