One day recently, I met an elderly man who had undergone a tracheotomy and, as a consequence, was on oxygen, permanently. Wherever he went, he had to go with a heavy oxygen bottle, and this meant he could not go very far away from base. I asked him how life was for him, and he told me that once he got up, he used to go into the garden, sit on a favourite seat and look down into the grass.

There, he saw things he had never seen before, and he loved watching insects, bugs and small spider’s webs – a multitude of life-forms, all taking place before his eyes in that mini-world. He said he had never had the time to see, and enjoy, such things until he became ill. 

Winter Hill from Blackrod 

When I was a younger man, one of my favourite rest day’s relaxation was to go rambling the local Lancashire hills, to White Coppice, near Chorley, or over the moors by Winter Hill and the  radio / TV mast – by now more than likely covered with mobile phones’ antennae, too.  Jack Frodsham and I oftentimes set off alone together, and with our ‘butties’ and ‘flasks’, we would be as happy as ‘sand-boys’, no matter the weather – sunshine or rain. My friend, Jack, used to say: “Never let the weather put you off, whatever it is – just get out and go”, and I think that advice was good, for, in our climate of changing Lancashire weather patterns, one must ask, would we dare to venture out at all, on most days? Jack did not need any guide books; he knew all the foot-paths and by-ways by heart, as he had been walking – on doctor’s advice – for many years.  This came about, above all, because he had suffered a heart attack, and his doctor had advised him to take exercise, especially walking.

One day, I remember, we were up on the moors, somewhere above Abbey Village, and he turned to me and said: “No money could buy what I have. I have greater wealth than any millionaire. Look at this wonderful view, breathe in the pure air, feel the freedom, and at the same time I have a wonderful wife and family, so what more could I want?”

It was a great joy to walk with Jack and to have his company – in silence, as well as in conversation – and after he died, there was a sad sense of loss. Then, he was missing from his usual place in Church, and even today, his walking boots are still by the side of his gravestone in our cemetery, now seriously weather-beaten, some 20 years since he last used them. 

 All this puts me very much in mind of the following well known quotation: 

“Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?..Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith?” (Mt. 6: ; 26, 28 – 30) 

Jesus, quite definitely, asks us to look at what is around us, to consider all the beautiful things we see, and for my part, I can readily understand why people at the sea-shore stare and enjoy the sea-gulls, why those ducks on the pond in ‘Shrugs Wood’ give so much pleasure, why the leaves of the trees bud, live and die, the blue sky in all its wonderful varietal forms, with clouds changing shapes – I know of people who play games identifying their shapes and what they look like – so fascinating! But then, we need little ‘romantic’ imagination, to allow ourselves to identify with what is already there in the glowing, friendly, eyes of a child, the affection of the bent, old gentleman, with a gnarled face and lines of wisdom, etched so deeply; then, we may ask ourselves; “Do we believe”, based on what we see, what we observe, deeply, and what we then think?  There is so much to learn about all that we see, about all the things around us, and how all this affects us, from ‘cradle to grave’. 

Gerald Manley Hopkins got it right in this poem – though, I agree, it may not be to everyone’s taste or understanding. He wrote it in the beautiful Welsh countryside, when at St. Beuno’s, in 1877, and he thought it might be his best poem.

Gerald Manley Hopkins

The Windhover – To Christ Our Lord 

I caught this morning morning’s minion,

Kingdom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding

Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding

High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing

In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on a swing,

As a skate’s heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding

Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding

Stirred for a bird, —the achieve of; the mastery of the thing! 

Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here

Buckle! AND the fire that breaks from thee then, a billion

Times told lovelier, more dangerous, O my chevalier!

No wonder of it: sheer plod makes plough down sillion

Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,

Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermilion.

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formatting of the document.  Readers are, therefore, advised to visit the website

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An Image that Conjures up our Passing from this World to the Next.

This week, we have had the funeral of Barbara Jakiemczuk, who was a very quiet and highly respected parishioner.  It was not as if I had any long conversations with her, but she was always there with her husband, Ilian, in Church, on a Sunday at 9.30am, or Saturday at 6.00 pm. She may not have been noticed by many parishioners, but then again, she may, for it was not difficult to recognise her prayerfulness and ‘presence’ at Mass. After the funeral ceremony, in conversation with a parishioner friend, with whom she used to meet each week, I heard she was very good company and they both enjoyed a good laugh, together! Of course, it helps, enormously, to have displayed a photograph of the person who has died, as this aid to memory brings to the congregation the erstwhile ‘real’ presence of the deceased – even though there is a chance that this intensifies the great sadness felt at the so recent loss of someone we love. In this photo we see the demur and quiet, loyal and straightforward Barbara, enjoying a drink at some party, with family and friends.

Barbara Jakiemczuk 

The Mass, which she attended so regularly each Sunday, is a foretaste of the Heavenly Banquet. This puts me in mind of the ‘Kingdom of heaven’; this quite wonderful image may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. (Mt. 22: 2)

Wedding Feast at Cana 

Clearly, Barbara in the picture, is engaging in conversation with somebody, and once again I am reminded of the ‘Dynamism of Heaven’. We cannot pass round the white wine at Mass, nor break into engaging conversation with those present, and yet the spirit of what we are about is just as dynamic. Each other person, who belongs to the worshipping congregation, in particular, is important, and, as our Sign of Peace shows, that the ‘neighbour’ to whom we turn, at this special point in the Mass, is a friend already, or a friend to be made – or should be! 

By contrast, there is a beautiful Eucharistic hymn entitled, “O bread of heaven”, and in its last verse it has these lines:

Beloved Lord in heaven above,

There, Jesus, thou awaitest me;

To gaze on thee with changeless love;

Yes, thus, I hope, thus shall it be: 

Many years ago, the phrase ‘Changeless Love’, always, conjured up in my mind a certain ‘stillness’ before the Blessed Sacrament, and, without wishing to offend anyone, a rather boring existence! Over the years, I have come to realise that there is a real ‘dynamism’ in being still, quiet, and at peace, before the Blessed Sacrament – ‘drinking in’ the real presence of the person of Jesus, in his greatest attitude of love; for me, this realisation has had to be acquired, as the dynamic aspect of it was unappreciated as a younger monk. It may be that to some, even now, adoration before the Eucharist can appear to be lacking in dynamism. 

It happened that Barbara’s funeral was on the 22nd February, the feast of the Chair of St. Peter.  This means that, in truth, it is the feast of the whole Church – the Church consisting of the whole family of God’s baptised children, and, quite deliberately, the Church focuses attention on the Office of St. Peter and his successors as this is the mark of unity – of singularity – which binds this ‘Family of God’ in the ‘togetherness’ of the Church.  This great feast celebrates this essential UNITY. But, I want to take this aspect of unity a little deeper, for I am sure that, when certain things occur in our lives, this not just by chance, or accident.  St. Peter was involved closely in Barbara’s life, and death. Also, It is no accident that Peter is often shown with the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, for Peter stands with Jesus as they welcome God’s friends to their salvation.

St. Peter Receives the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven from Jesus 

During the liturgy of the funeral, I had a glorious ‘vision’ of the faithful and loving Barbara at Heaven’s gate, and St. Peter was there to welcome her – just as ‘old friends’ are wont to welcome each other. Then graciously, and courteously, he leads Barbara to Barbara’s greatest friend – Jesus, the one who is the Gate of Heaven for us; Jesus said: “I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” (John 10; 9).  The joy of meeting Jesus – the first person we will meet after death, (cf1 Thess 4; 17) was enormous, and she had tears of love and gratitude in her eyes, for the infinite, and undeserved, love she was receiving. My ‘vision’ went on to show me Barbara, who could not help but recite, in her heart, the ‘Magnificat’ of Our Lady – Mary the Mother of God: “My soul glorifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my saviour, for he has looked on the lowliness of his handmaid and all generations from this day forward will call me blessed.” (Luke 1; 46-48). After meeting Jesus, and enjoying his lovingly warm company, Jesus himself takes her to meet, who else but his Mother. This meeting was supremely happy, with hugs and kisses, tears and laughter, all round. Barbara and Our Lady were kindred spirits, but then came the joy of meeting God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, with more of the same happiness and affection, and each moment driving home that greater understanding of the majesty of the Three Persons in the One God – unity and diversity known to us as a faint shadow of likeness, from our family experiences on earth. Soon, she was mingling with her other relatives and friends, and many new people, all ‘wrapped’ in the dynamic joy of God’s kingdom.  How wonderful it was as conversation ‘bubbled over’ – all interspersed with beautiful silences of mutual love and understanding, never before experienced.

Silences of Earthly Mutual Love and Service – a Pale Shadowy Reflection of the Joys of Heaven

Quite soon, she was to think of all those still left behind on this earth, struggling with so many, seemingly, insurmountable challenges; you see, Barbara then saw the world, and all who live there, as it really is – a shadow-land – where people are taken up by the unimportant things, rather than putting their concentrated efforts into the life-giving, essential things, that are all to do with God and his Kingdom. Shakespeare got close to it, putting these words onto Macbeth’s heart. 

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,

To the last syllable of recorded time;

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools

The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.

(Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 5, 19–28) 

I come back ‘down to earth’ and would say that it is interesting to ‘replay’ the sorts of visions that may come to us, when engaged in the ordinary things of life!  It is interesting to reflect, that Barbara Jakiemczuk, unknown to all ‘intents and purposes’ to me, and, possibly, to almost everyone in the Parish Community of Leyland, St. Mary’s, may well be one of the most important of Parishioners in the eyes of God!  

May she, and all the faithful departed, rest in peace.

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 At a recent ministers’ fellowship meeting, one of my brother ministers came out with the rather profound statement: “I don’t consider myself to be ‘religious’!”  I agreed that I felt the same, but this opening gambit needs further explanation.  According to my dictionary, religious means spiritual, sacred, holy and implies aspects of devotion, piousness and, to some extent, a sense of duty.  Religion, I think, in its truest sense, encapsulates all of these, though over centuries, it seems to have lost much of its original meaning, becoming corrupted by human misuse until it almost becomes something unsavoury and not to be countenanced – something less than normal – often a term of derision, or weakness, in fact.  The main point I want to make in this blog is that actually religion should not be considered ‘something additional to the life we lead’, but is, in fact, completely integral, to that life. When my friend the minister said he did not consider himself to be religious, the interpretation that makes sense is that he really wanted to distance himself from “religiosity”, which for many people refers to that corruption of the word ‘religious’ over the course of centuries. 

Coming back to true meanings, in pronouncing oneself as feeling ‘religious’ one would need to be very careful, otherwise it would begin to sound like a person was taking pride in oneself, and in one’s achievements.  Very few of us would take kindly to some person saying of himself that he was holy or pious, or that his actions were always in line with the sacred, the devout and the dutiful.  Surely, such descriptions would sound much better were they to be applied, truthfully, by an objective observer, and this puts me in mind of last week’s article, where one of the themes centred on the observation: “Thou art a soul in bliss.”  

Religion, in its true sense, is concerned with our way of dealing with human belief(s) in a divine power.  Experience tells us that there are many different systems of beliefs – i.e. different religions – and also, many different concepts of divine power – i.e. belief in one god (monotheistic), or indeed, in a plurality of gods, (polytheistic), but the essential element of all religious beliefs is that there is some power above, and far beyond, all man’s capabilities – infinite, creative power, far beyond our wildest imaginings, and our (human) relationship with that power.

The Big Bang – Flaring forth of the primeval fire ball possibly 13.7 billion years ago.

(Some of the most recent astronomical discoveries reveal distant galaxies, many millions of  light-years away from earth, and that these are travelling away from us at speeds in excess of a million miles per second.  This contributes to the ‘Big Bang’ Theory.) 

However, for the purposes of this blog, I think it is necessary to leave behind the general discussion and narrow things down to the particular.  Christians believe in the power of one God – almighty and everlasting – all powerful and all loving.  Unfortunately, not everyone can accept this idealism and there are many different, sometimes controversial, sometimes comical ideas of what God is, and this brings us, inevitably to consider the nature of God – and our relationship with Him. 

The Nature of God:

WAATCH EAGHT – T’ BOSS’S GETTEN ‘IS EYE ON THI

Many, I am sure, picture God as some kind of policeman, or avenging angel, even

some kind of manipulator, and woe betide anyone who steps ‘out of line’.

TEK CARE, MATE, T’BOSS IS IN A BAD MOOD TODAY –

MUST ‘AV GOT EAUT WRUNG SIDE O’ T’BED

All joking aside, I cannot do better than to fall back on some of the most basic of precepts.  Last week, the readings at Mass described the Creation i) of the earth, land, sea, sky, birds, fish and beasts, and (ii) of man and woman, in God’s own image and likeness.  From here, I think, we must go deeper, to register our beliefs that God made us to ‘love him and serve him, in this life, and to be happy with him for ever in the next’.  In creating human beings, it is important to note that there was no compulsion; God did not have to make us; God could easily have managed without us – all of us; God made us out of love and for no other reason, and the very important point to note here is that the ‘love process’ is ‘two-way’.  God loves us – enough to create us – and he wishes nothing more than that we should love him in return.  We do that by serving him – by doing his will – and this brings me back to the discussion that forms the opening subject of this blog.  The two-way process of love is what religion (and religious), is all about, and strange as it may seem, forms part of a wonderful insight very much connected with that prayer of divine genius, the ‘Our Father’. The phrase “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” is fundamental and central to the conversation. God’s will is absolutely basic, sublime, fascinating and as beautiful as the face of ‘Love’ itself – for God is Love, and God’s will, for us, is the face of utter beauty, mercy, peace and fulfilment; it is God, Himself. Now, is that ‘religious’, or is it simply a matter of being human? 

The will of God converses with us each day, each moment, throwing out invitations for us to respond. God gives us a ‘golden divine thread’ to knit a pattern that belongs to this life, then goes on for ever and ever, in the next. God wants us to accomplish marvels, even in the small and seemingly uneventful life we lead. Wouldn’t anyone who is Love want this?  And, in absolute confirmation of all this, we have the exclamation of the one who, some 2,000 years ago, was the most fully ‘complete’ and ‘human’ being on earth, and is now Queen of Heaven. At the Annunciation, the angel told her she would become the Mother of God’s Living Word – the Mother of Jesus – and Mary, once she had absorbed the stunning news, that she would be the Mother of the Messiah, the Mother of God, said, “Be it done to me, according to your word”.   Mary lived an unobtrusive, quiet and obscure life, unknown to the great leaders of her time, fully in God’s will. Yet we know that she is acclaimed in the book of Revelation as somehow ‘over’ and ‘above’ the cosmic creation.

“A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun,

with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” Rev 12: 1.

 From that moment onwards, that was the ‘leitmotif’ – the recurring theme – of her whole life. It was because she lived God’s will, so perfectly, that she became the Mother of God. In the book of Revelation we have the description above, of the greatness of Mary in the plan of things. She is ‘Queen of all Creation’.

 God’s plan for us: 

One of the main arguments for the existence of God (St. Thomas Aquinas, 1225 – 1274) comes from the design and order of things – there being a purpose, a directive principle, in all the works and processes of nature. Thus, everything in nature, every living thing, has a dependence and inter-dependence on everything else – and all in accordance with the plan of a supreme power.  The conclusion, here, is that the whole design is so large, and of such complexity, that it could not have happened by chance – the chance being an immeasurably large number, (so large as to approach infinity), to one against this being true – and we are part of that design. We may say we were born in 1984, 1979, 1962 or whenever. Actually God has had us in his mind from before time began – always, we were part of His plan; he had always thought of us; he always loved us; we always were close to his heart. And it is, precisely, the living of God’s will that makes each person become fulfilled, in his or her vocation. In other words what happened for Mary, in much smaller proportion, happens for us. 

Take a small green leaf in an arrangement of flowers. If that small leaf was not there, the arrangement would be out of harmony. If the smallest little plant in the garden were absent, then something would be missing in that garden.

Each of us has our own place, within the ‘Grand Design’ of things. Blessed John Henry, Cardinal Newman, mentioned in last week’s blog, wrote a prayer or meditation on this point:

Man’s Relationship with God: 

So, to be angry at God’s Will, especially in moments of difficulty and suffering, to be antagonistic, or to feel that life is just a series of monotonous moments, filling in the time we are alive, is simply an unintelligent way to think and act.  The intelligent way would be, always, to accept God’s will with love, full in the knowledge that this – our acceptance – is pleasing to God, but in order to ‘yield’ fully in this way, we would first need God’s grace – his gift – which would allow us to be open and honest in recognising our NEED for God.  Once having come to that ‘standard’, it would be most helpful to train our minds and hearts – as Cardinal Newman states – in putting (ourselves) without reserve into (His) hands; in our ‘training’ the help and support of other like-minded people would be a blessing, for then we would have the advantage of learning from others, wise in these ways.  From a purely ‘earthly’ or ‘human’ point of view, and without reference to God, it would be just too difficult to be wisely intelligent and ‘rejoice’ in all that ‘providence’ might send us, but once we recognise our NEED for God, then we have our life on the ‘right track’, and this is what the saints, mentioned in last week’s blog, achieved.  This argument leads, inexorably, to the implication that to be fully human, using our intelligence to the full, a person needs to be closely attached to God – to be on the ‘Royal Road to Sanctity’ in other words. Without an awareness of the Divine, one of the greatest gifts a person has – intelligence – cannot be exercised to the full!

I think it a truism to make the point, that those who are saints – those who are fulfilled, human beings – will be people who practice their religion. They will value the sacraments, frequently receive Jesus in Holy Communion at Mass, and join in activities that are externally religious, for example, spending time in prayer, helping others, being loving people. But, over and beyond all that, there is an awareness of something else, something purely of their nature, and of the nature of the cosmos in which we live. Put simply, we are all creatures made in the image and likeness of God; it is inherent, therefore, in our nature to be calling out for joyful and positive reference to him – in fulfilling his loving plan for us – as we respond to his will, in our lives. 

What is Religion then? It is, essentially, very much akin to our experience of life, when we act according to our nature – a nature that is created in the image and likeness of God – and seek out that supreme, divine power that created us. 

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formatting of the document.  Readers are, therefore, advised to visit the website

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 “Thou art a soul in bliss; but I am bound

Upon a wheel of fire, that mine own tears

Do scald like molten lead.” 

(Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’ (Act IV, Scene 7)) 

‘Thou art a soul in bliss’. In last week’s blog, Father Jonathan wrote a moving account on the subject of ‘Purity of Heart’, and something of the life and sufferings of Blessed Chiara Luce Badano, who died in her late teens of a terrible cancer.  Purity of Heart is what I would call the ultimate goal of those who wish to love God with their whole mind, whole soul and with all their heart.  Of such holy people, any observer may well be able to say, “Thou art a soul in bliss”.

Beatified – Cardinal John Henry Newman and Chiara Luce Badano  

One can point to others, in recent news items, who have also become ‘blissful souls’ – Blessed John Henry Newman, who was also beatified just a few days before Chiara Luce,  (September 2010), and, as I understand it, the process of beatification of Pope John Paul II is already well underway for the summer of 2011, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and within our own life-times, we have seen the canonisations of holy men and women, Padre Pio, Father Damien of Hawaii, Maximilian Kolbe, Maria Faustina Kowalska … .. the list is constantly growing … .. and seemingly at an increasing pace.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Father Maximilian Kolbe 

However, to obtain the ‘full’ picture, we must look at the rest of what King Lear had to say: “… but I am bound upon a wheel of fire, that mine own tears do scald like molten lead.”  This, to me, seems to reflect something terrible, something rather dreadful and terrifying, in process.  On the one hand, we have the wonderful image of a soul who can look on God, in the full knowledge that pure love flows both ways – love and friendship and trust.  Otherwise, we have a soul in torment, ‘bound upon a wheel of fire …’ and this at once puts me in mind of the parable of Lazarus, who, having died and gone to heaven, cannot help the rich man who, in awful torment, sees Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham and cries out: 

“Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.‘ (Luke 16:24.)

Lazarus at the Rich man’s gate – Fyodor Bronnikov, 1896 

The second image does not bear thinking about, but think about it we must.  The parable, given by Jesus, was given for a purpose – a very serious and meaningful purpose.  We cannot, and must not, ignore it, as if it were some story without intent. Having made the point that there are many people who enjoy God’s favour – favour in the world today – we can also see many examples of the ‘Rich Man’, who ignored Lazarus’ pleas when he was barely alive and starving, when he would willingly have eaten the leavings from the Rich Man‘s table, scraps that were given to the dogs.  We can see many examples of people turning their backs on God and, by their actions, saying: ‘I do not want to be your friend – you are nothing to me – I do not believe in you’.  We can see many examples of people, who, through their pursuit of riches, power – self-advancement of all kinds – turn their backs on those-in-need in the world, ‘dishing out’ slavery, injustice, deprivation, inhumanity – even genocide – to millions ‘tagged’ with the name ‘Lazarus’. 

Of course, this rejection of God and His love, is the essence of sin – and we are all sinners – even those blessed with sainthood.  Well, that’s a depressing note to hit!  We began with those who, through purity of heart, can be seen as souls in bliss, and now, we’ve hit rock-bottom – we’re back to sinners and sinning!  But, it need not stay like that.  We have one great ally on our side.  Jesus came to live as a man among us.  He came for one reason, and one reason only – to free us from sin and eternal enmity towards God – and this gives us hope, and a promise of a bright future, if only we will accept him and his great gift – the gift of himself in self-sacrifice – pure atonement for all our sins.  

It is very sad, I think, that many today, and all down the years – reject Jesus and his wonderful gift – the gift of life, of love and of happiness for ever in heaven.  I find it hard to even contemplate the alternative.  Shakespeare’s words make me shudder.  The reality – the loss of God’s friendship – would be a disaster.  Let us pray, then, that God will help us, with his grace, to hang on to the first part of our quotation from King Lear – but not the second:  

“Thou art a soul in bliss.”

Chiara Luce Badano as a young attractive healthy girl 

All human beings search for the good in life – as they see it, and underneath, all, in their own way, are seeking happiness. When you begin to really think about this, there are so many different aspects; our present culture in England finds many of the young are ‘wounded’ people – those who are wounded, already, because of events in their young lives – those ‘wounded’ because of a physical condition, perhaps from birth, (i.e. those born deaf, blind, with learning difficulties, or with genes that could make them ‘unbalanced’, psychologically).  All will make choices at every stage of their lives – choices that affect all that happens to them, subsequently. In most cases, the making of choices is not done in isolation, but usually in the context of those who are a part of their lives, and involved within the events that happen to them. Some can make choices that will lead them to the finding of true, internal, happiness, despite an external condition. Others make choices that can be mistaken and harmful, many times leading to anguish in many different ways. St. Augustine of Hippo argues that, even when we sin, we are seeking happiness, and we will then learn, if the choice is a bad one, that happiness is not to be found down that route. Some can ‘wrap themselves in cotton- wool’ and think they are as ‘happy as can be’, without taking into account what this world is really like. They – like ‘Howard Hughes’ – can live in a ‘bubble’ of their own making, thus losing touch with the realities of this world.

Chiara Luce Badano helping younger girls in living the Gospel 

Essentially here, we are discussing every person’s search for happiness. But, Jesus has his own ‘recipe’ for happiness and this can be found in the ‘Beatitudes’ (Matthew 5; 1-12 or Luke 6; 20-23). Sometimes, the opening phrase of each ‘Beatitude’ reports Jesus as saying: “Blessed are you … …”; and sometimes, they begin: “Happy are you … …”. Our liturgical texts, at present, use the word ‘happy’. It sounds a weaker and rather less noble word than ‘blessed’, and yet it has the advantage of being easily understood; it also corresponds more with our experience of today’s ordinary life. Jesus’ recipe’ for happiness is diametrically opposed – runs ‘clean counter’ – to what the ‘world’ would expect. For instance, one thing he says, in Beatitudes, is: “You will be happy, if and when, you are in tears”.

Chiara Luce Badano a few months before she died of a painful cancer in 1991 

Jesus is inviting us to look again at what happiness is. We imagine happiness is something akin to a state of pleasure for our senses giving us continual emotional ‘highs’. Jesus says something quite different … you will be happy not only when you feel good feelings, but when you actually face up to reality, and ‘link’ with it. This implies a continual, obstinate searching for the good. If one spends all one’s life living for what is good – trying to build good all around one, then one will find happiness. The ‘Gospel-person’ realises that evil is so widespread, and deep, that it has no limit. To overcome evil, there must be no limit to doing good; it must never have a boundary. This is the message of the Beatitudes. 

One of the eight ‘Blessings’ is: “Blessed are the pure in heart, they shall see God”. Purity of heart is much wider than purity in sexual affairs, though it includes the latter, and impurity in sexual matters will break the heart. In this narrow sense, it is easy to be cynical and think that purity is just for those people who are simple minded and do not live in the real world of constant impurity and evil.  The larger, wider, meaning concentrates on what it means to be single minded and focussed, undivided, unmixed and resolute in what we do – to desire and will one thing, and one only.  Purity of heart has God as its one and only focus. 

One of the most beautiful expressions of ‘purity of heart’ was when a young man in Religious Life wrote a ‘love’ letter to Chiara Luce Badano.  This young religious could never have written to a girl still alive on this ‘mortal coil’, in the way that he wrote to this ‘saint’ – alive in Christ – even if dead to the world. He wrote admiring her beauty, her eyes, her face, her engaging smile and her personality – words of love, in this love letter that Chiara Luce would only receive, in heaven. But, what struck me, above all else, when I heard it, was that he wrote: “It is not your physical beauty that I really love, but that beauty of soul that is so apparent in you – it is this that makes me say, ‘I love you’”.

Chiara was declared ‘Blessed’ by the Church on 25th September 2010, and there was then a whole series of celebrations concerning this young girl and her life, tragically cut short, for she was only 18 years of age, when she died of osteogenic sarcoma, – one of the most serious and painful forms of cancer.  

Chiara’s Parents – Ruggero and Maria Teresa Badano 

Throughout her terminal illness, she was supported by her parents, by those with whom she was united in the family of the Focolare Movement, by the doctors and nurses and many other friends. Her loving acceptance of her ‘lot’ – incurable cancer, et al – with great joy, and her continual concern for others was remarkable – a sign of holiness that has affected many people. Her life was an expression of holiness ‘in the mystical body’ – embracing those who remain and those who have gone before – somehow caught up in a ‘holiness of unity’.  This is not very surprising, when we remember that all Christians are united, with others, in the one body of Christ; this means we are all involved with each other, for good, or for bad.

Some of the 25,000 people at a vigil in St. Peter’s Square Rome – And other celebrations at the beatification of Chiara Luce Badano September 26 2010

 If anyone wants to look up more about Chiara Luce Badano, then look up the website http://www.chiaraluce.org/ and click on the small Union Jack for the English Version.  At present only the section marked “life” has anything in it. There are other websites available if you search under the name Chiara Luce Badano.

The evening (and night) of Thursday, 20^th January was very cold, indeed, temperatures falling to well below freezing – and with fog to make matters worse.  On this evening, the main event of the ‘Churches Together In Leyland’, ‘Week of Prayer for Christian Unity’ was to be held here in St. Mary’s. The ‘One Voice Choir’ – an ecumenical choir made up of Christians from the main denominations – was to be present and they always give a great ‘boost’ to every celebration. Those who attended were resolute members of the different congregations, braving the cold, as even the Church was not warm enough; our enormous building, in certain damp conditions, can take heat ‘poured’ into it all day long, and still feel cold. 

In complete contrast, was the ‘warmth’ of the liturgy that had been prepared by members of different Christian groups in Jerusalem, and which took on a ‘Spirit’ of its own, with the support of all who were present.  Its theme was ‘All things in common’. 

The leader began:  GOD WHO CALLED ALL LIFE INTO BEING

All replied with conviction:  THE EARTH, SEA AND SKY ARE YOURS

Your presence is within and without us: IN THIS PLACE AND EVERY PLACE

Every atom is full of your energy: EVERY FACE CARRIES YOUR IMAGE. 

The singing was robust, and joyful, with the Choir leading the congregation; then, after listening to God’s Word, and viewing slides depicting the many activities of the ‘Churches Together in Leyland’, we came to the sermon.

The Holy Spirit hovers! 

By the gift of God, the Methodist Minister and myself, a Catholic priest, had got together to plan this ‘important’ part. Planning had not been easy because both of us are busy people, but ‘fortune favours those who try’ and fortuitously we met on the previous Tuesday, at the United Reformed Church, noontime Unity Service!  Seated afterwards, with a delicious bowl of home made soup, we came up with the idea that, briefly, we would talk about the ‘blessing’ that the other’s Church was – for each of us. 

However, overnight, a doubt was to appear in our plan. What about the Anglican, URC, and House Churches* present?  We could not leave them out – but, how could we include them? Somehow, from our joy and love with each other, we came up with the idea that the congregation could give the sermon, each to one another, by each person, turning to their neighbour, and sharing the ‘blessing’ another Church was for them. 

Outside it was freezing cold, but inside it was a great and real pleasure to experience the warmth – and strength – of our unity, as Christians, to hear the joyful murmur of conversation, for a few moments around the Church, as people took up this exercise – showing that ‘Each Church Is A Blessing For The Other’. Without referring to the Catholic Church – as others should speak about that – I can say that, for me, the Methodist Church is a blessing by its mark of ‘seeking holiness’, and in its devotions. The Anglican Church, for me, is a blessing for somehow managing to retain the elusive, but central quality, of ‘Englishness’ – expressed in its ceremonies and its choral music. The United Reformed Church is, for me, a blessing in the evident presence of Jesus among the people, in their love and concern for others; and the House Churches* (or equivalent) often have the mark of freshness and zeal, that you feel in the ‘Acts of the Apostles’ in the first ‘Church of Jerusalem’. In passing, the Methodist minister included in the ‘Blessing of the Catholic Church’, for him, had been the visit of Pope Benedict, to Britain in September 2010. It touched me, deeply, that a Protestant should express himself in that way. 

Many people commented on the beauty of the service: it had been prepared, so carefully, by our brothers and sisters in Jerusalem; with Jesus present among us, and with his Holy Spirit, we added to the love, so evident in the prepared text in front of us.

 Many but united!

All this makes me think above, and beyond, the Ecumenical Service. There is a song, I know, that has as a refrain, “You’re a gift for me, and you are a gift for me”. This refers, not to other Churches, but to other individual people and, it is true. The other is a ‘gift for me’, because the other, in all his, or her, otherness, has something I do not have. I do not need to force the other into my own mould, nor does he, or she, have to force me into theirs. We can be complementary, united and different, like the three Persons in the Holy Trinity, about which, one true thing we can say is that God the Father is not God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit is neither God the Father nor God the Son, and yet they are – All Three – One God. 

What a wonderful difference it would make, to know that our attitude to the other, is that they are not a threat, not a problem, not a person to be absorbed into me, or to be rejected, but a ‘gift’ in their ‘otherness’. This is true, even if the other person is utterly different, by temperament and culture, and it provides a path to liberation, to think like that. 

We could begin to take on a different attitude of mind – if the cap fits!

If the cap fits! 

(* House Churches are more informal Churches; they exist all over England. People come together in an informal way, and praise God, read the scriptures, often celebrate a ‘breaking of bread’. They may or may not have a minister (as I understand it). They could meet in peoples’ houses; often they meet in local community halls or schools.)

Presently, we find ourselves in the ‘Week of Prayer for Christian Unity’. The main theme for the week is taken from a passage in the ‘Acts of the Apostles’: ‘Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common.’ (Acts 4:32). The theme for today, the third day of prayer, is ‘Sharing’. Briefly, here are some reflections on the subject of ‘sharing’. 

I think it is important, perhaps, to take another look at the above quotation. When we think of the meanings within this rather extraordinary statement, what would normally come to mind would be the money and goods of those first Christians. To share all that we possess – with others – is an amazing thing.  In the time of Communism, people used to say that the ‘first Communists’ were the ‘first Christians’. In the same chapter of ‘Acts’, it states: 

‘There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet and it was distributed to each as any had need.’ (Acts 4: 34-35).  

However, the phrase ‘everything they owned’, takes my mind to things much deeper than possessions – money, property and the like – and in promoting this idea, I am thinking of Pope John Paul II, when he was dying.

POPE JOHN PAUL II – IN FULL HEALTH AND SHORTLY BEFORE HIS DEATH 

His final illness was the last thing he ‘owned’. During those final, last weeks of March 2005, through to the date of his death, in the evening of Saturday 2^nd April, he did not claim his dying as ‘private, only unto himself’; he allowed the whole world to be with him in his passing, and this gave being to a great outpouring of love. Now, I hasten to assure you this was not showmanship; rather, it was very much in line with the spirit of the Act of the Apostles, Chapter 4. The BBC put it like this: 

The Pope’s death was immediately announced to the crowds gathered in St Peter’s Square. The news was met with long applause, an Italian sign of respect, followed by several minutes of silence as the crowd took in the news. “Our Holy Father John Paul has returned to the house of the Father,” senior Vatican official, Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, said.

And, Peter Kearney, the Director of the Catholic Media Office, Glasgow, wrote the following: 

“In a very special way he served, and taught, as he approached death. His illnesses and infirmities gave him a different way of preaching, as he was constantly exposed to the world in all his weakness. He said even 10 years ago: “The Pope must suffer, so that every family and the world should see that there is, I would say, a higher gospel: the gospel of suffering, with which one must prepare for the future”. John Paul II prepared for that future, that glorious future of eternal life with Our Father in Heaven, in his youth and in his old age, in the vitality of his early manhood, and the weaknesses of his many physical afflictions in old age.”

POPE JOHN PAUL II – HIS LYING IN STATE AND FUNERAL

And, according to the Internet’s ‘Wikipediea’: 

Pope John Paul’s funeral brought together the single largest gathering in history of heads of state outside the United Nations, surpassing the funerals of Winston Churchill (1965) and Josip Broz Tito (1980). Four kings, five queens, at least 70 presidents and prime ministers, and more than 14 leaders of other religions attended, alongside the faithful. It is likely to have been the largest single gathering of Christianity in history, with numbers estimated in excess of four million mourners gathering in Rome.

I think it is often the case that people are not very ‘open’ about what they do – even in families. We hesitate and don’t like to ‘share’, in that ‘inner-most’ sense, and this must be linked to a fundamental insecurity and lack of trust in those around us. But, what about those around us – the other ‘side of the coin’; does this not herald a call for the rest of us to be trustworthy? That the rest of us – all of us – should be safe to trust; is that a possibility, or just a dream? At least, we could make a start among those of our own circle, in family, among friends, even at work (where appropriate). Perhaps, we could learn from Pope John Paul II and not privatise our lives, too much. So often, we can be ‘locked’ into an individualistic viewpoint of ourselves – and others – much to our own harm. In fact, this attitude of secretive protection is one that business often fosters, (or should the word be ‘festers’): ‘we mustn’t let the rivals know how we go about things, in case we lose our edge over them’. Self-centredness will convince us and make us think we will be ‘lost in the herd’ when we share, and thus we will lose our individuality. However, it is not certain that this will happen. With others, sharing means we can benefit from what they have to offer – things that we do not have – and when we share, others benefit from the things we can give – things that they do not have. 

And so, I return to the cause for Christian Unity! Here too, our individualism, our own way of thinking, our inability to share, could prevent us being able, really, to listen to the other Christian person of another Church, who happens to have a different point of view. Furthermore, the other – ‘locked’ in the same ‘trap’ – will be unable to listen to us. So it is that misunderstandings and prejudices grow. Thanks be to God, that we live in the age of the ‘Ecumenical Movement’, a time when there is a positive convergence, among Christians of different groups, to dialogue and to share. 

Incidentally, it is interesting to note that Pope John Paul II is due to be beatified on 1^st May 2011!

I thought I had just about seen, or prayed, most of the beautiful accolades we give to Our Blessed Lady.  But, life is full of surprises and, often it is said, that one can learn something new every day.  Looking back over my life, I often refer to back the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the many lovely praises sung in that prayer: Mother of God, Mother of Christ, Mother most pure, Mother most chaste, Virgin most venerable, Virgin most renowned, Mirror of justice, Seat of wisdom, Mystical rose, Gate of Heaven … …  the list of wonderful names goes on and on.  That’s where I was – until last week – when the actions of a friend pointed my eyes in a new direction, to one I had never seen before – Our Lady, Undoer of Knots’.

OUR LADY – UNDOER OF KNOTS – ORGINAL AND DETAIL 

The above, rather fascinating painting, pertaining to this devotion to Our Lady has been venerated in St. Peter am Perlach Church, Augsburgh, Bavaria, since at least 1700. The painting’s origins are not absolutely certain.  Some ‘Internet’ authorities put its origins as unknown.  However, it is authenticated by others as the work of an artist named Johann Melchior Georg Schmittdner, apparently inspired by a meditation made by St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyon, who was martyred in 202.  St. Iraneus described his meditation as follows: 

“Eve, by her disobedience, tied the knot of disgrace for the human race; to the contrary, Mary, by her obedience, undid it.” 

According to this more definitive authentication, devotions became known in the 18th century, originally for help in a difficult marriage. In the early 17th century, a noble couple were on the brink of divorce, and their priest prayed before Our Lady of Victory, holding up a ribbon (symbolic of the ribbon placed over the hands of a bridal couple) praying that all the ‘knots’ in the marriage might be untangled, and the marriage was saved.  Some years later, Hieronymus Ambrosius Langenmantel (1666-1709), a priest relative of theirs, who lived in Augsburg, commissioned this painting, ‘Our Lady Undoer of Knots’, for a family altar.  Of course, today’s common sense dictates that such devotion goes way beyond marital problems, and can be used in asking for help in any kind of crisis.

Observers have opined that the ribbon represents our lives; the knots represent the difficulties, sinful inclinations, addictions, interpersonal issues, and general struggles that affect our lives. Clearly, the painting tells us that Mary can come to our aid in these struggles and circumstances, if we seek her help. What can seem incapable of solution, to us, must be simple handiwork to the Mother of God – a loving Mother helping her children as loving mothers everywhere are wont to do every day. It must follow that, if we ask Mary – as our mediator – to help us, in heartfelt humility, trust, and faith, and have the same attitude to God, we may be sure that she will help us untangle, in some way, the struggles of our lives.” 

ST. PETER AM PERLACH CHURCH, AUGSBURG, GERMANY,  (HOUSES THE PICTURE OF MARY, UNDOER OF KNOTS) 

And, there we have it – Mary, Undoer of Knots! Now that’s a ‘new’ title for her! Please, Mary, help when there is no way out! In fact, all this it is the subject of novena pamphlets and booklets that explain the image of Mary with a crown of twelve stars and a fluttering blue mantle. Around her are the angels. Beneath her feet is the serpent – the one who ensnares and entangles.  “Knots are original sin and its consequences in all areas of family, work, and community life,” according to the pamphlets. In the painting, we see that while one angel hands the Blessed Mother a knotted ribbon, another to her right is taking the untangled part and perhaps preparing to return to earth below with it.  It goes on to describe the ribbon as having seven knots, each of these having meanings as follows: 

1st Knot: Our temptations – Please, Mary, Protect us.

2nd Knot: Our sins – Please, Mary, deliver us.

3rd Knot: our distresses – Please, Mary, succour us.

4th Knot: Our sorrows – Please, Mary, Comfort us.

5th Knot: Our fears – Please, Mary, Encourage us.

6th Knot: Our illnesses – Please, Mary, Alleviate us.

7th Knot: Our weaknesses – Please, Mary, Strengthen us.

As Mary once said at a very famous apparition site, “In prayer you shall perceive the greatest joy — and the way out of every situation that has no exit.”  Think of those words. Don’t you often find yourself in a situation that “has no exit”? How many times have you run into problems that seem to offer no positive outcome, got yourself into a corner, with no escape?  The point is that when we invoke Mary’s help, she untangles our ‘knots’.

In my view, I see all this to be a mysterious and quite beautiful image of Our Blessed Lady.  Very often, we think of the ‘knots’ in our lives as present, troubling, situations, but they also may well be problems we have had for years, perhaps deep hurts between husband and wife, anger, resentment, sinful inclinations, the absence of peace and joy at home.  A ‘knot’ can be a son addicted to drugs. It can be alcoholism. It can be guilt. It can be fear or depression or unemployment.  It can be many things – and all of them trouble.  But, this, apparently, is where Mary Undoer (or ‘untier’) of Knots comes in.  The point is that Mary comes to our aid in many, many different circumstances.

In the ‘old’ days, today would have been the feast of the Epiphany – the very important feast that celebrates the manifestation of Christ to the Magi.  However, despite the movement of the feast to the previous Sunday, we are still, spiritually, under the ‘banners and flags’ of the ‘Three Wise Men’ as they journey the thousand miles to pay homage to the new born ‘King of the Jews’ – a journey that is most relevant to us today.  

For one thing, many of us find that we live in very complex situations just as did the three Magi. Their learning told them that the star they followed was a sign of something very special, but they faced a hazardous journey. Presumably, they travelled as part of a large ‘caravan’: modern cinema portrays them as rich and learned, but even so, they still had to outwit the evil King Herod, who was no less than a murdering tyrant, insanely jealous and afraid of any hint or challenge to his privileged position. There is a lovely extract from St. Matthew’s Gospel that points to their skill: 

“Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him bring me word so that I may go and pay him homage. Whey they had heard the King, they set out….” (Mt. 2: 7-8)

Herod Meets with the Three Wise Men 

All too often, our ‘complexities’ arise because of the choices we make, always within the context of our lives and relationships and given the ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ sides of so many of our experiences. Take for instance the choices that lead to alcohol and/or drug addiction; take wanton decisions concerned with the misuse of the internet, and the results of such decisions; take our lazy habits of life and the effects of such habits on our lives and on those around us; takes decisions that lead to all sorts of criminal behaviour. In fact, one could take as a ‘catch-all’ for such decisions, the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’, all of which means, essentially, that we push God and the good of our neighbour to one side and concentrate on self and our own self-serving desires.  What we most often fail to realise is that such actions often result in our own self-destruction. But, to return to the Magi, they were ‘good’ men and their complexities, largely, came from the politics and personalities involved; in the same way, we, too, might be affected by complex situations and people – by the decisions made by others.  To many, it must appear that the position is hopeless.  Thank God, it is not! 

God can sort out the worst situations we experience – those we find so impossible to unravel – if only we let Him. We may be ‘locked in’ by the guilt of what we have done; we may have reached an impasse in the relationships we have entered; we may even be seriously ill and find the fear of dying so serious we cannot even speak of it. If you put your minds to it, it is easy to envisage a multitude of dire situations and their causes. For my part, I am grateful to have been able to accompany people in many such circumstances as they have journeyed through life, but I also know that, at the end of their journey, they have found the very same treasure that the Three Wise Men found – Love Incarnate – within, and around them. 

I have often heard it said that ‘nothing is impossible’ to God. My novice master told us all in the noviciate at Ampleforth that ‘God can write straight with crooked lines’. That may give us a different idea of God. Just today, somebody asked me; “What is the only thing God cannot do?” I did not know, and so he explained; “God cannot stop loving each person in this world – even me!” 

The lesson, I think, in all of this, teaches us to follow the example of the Three Wise Men; we should continue the journey we are making in life – perhaps, much longer than a thousand miles – with many dangers and pitfalls along the way, then to discover the treasure we are seeking: God and his love. God provides the solution – the ONLY solution! However, controversially, we should not assume we will find God by our own efforts: a dying man, frightened, told me that his experience of God was that it took time to know Him: He reveals himself slowly, but surely, and then a fuller peace comes. Truly, I marvelled whenever I met this man as he lay dying, because I knew his complex life, and how great a peace he achieved. In the end, he longed to receive the Lord, in Holy Communion, as often as he could. His last words after receiving Viaticum, two hours before he died, were: “Glory be to the Father, to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.” I would hope those words might be mine, when it is my turn to depart this life, words spoken in gratitude and love for God, for His many gifts to me, and above all, his merciful love. 

My conclusion might prompt some to ask how am I to make ‘salt’ of all this ‘sand’. Life often puts seemingly insurmountable difficulties in our way.  How can I continue?  Ultimately, God asks the question and provides the answer.  Trust in Him and His infinite love and He will hold our hand along the way, carrying us where need be.  Do not be afraid, for as I said at the start, ‘God can write straight with crooked lines’.

Over Christmas lunch, with the other monks who live locally, conversation turned to a recent BBC TV programme called “The Nativity”. For me, it is not often possible to watch TV, but one elderly monk recommended it as, ‘one of the best presentations he had seen’ of the Christmas story. That was good enough for me, and so, using the ‘BBC I-Player’ over the past three days, I have managed to watch all four episodes, each lasting half an hour.  I found them absorbing. 

Of course, the story is so very well known to a good proportion of the lay population, and to we religious; firstly, there are the accounts of the Nativity in the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke, and then, secondly, one must add the many years of contemplations of these accounts throughout decades of repeated Christmas liturgical celebrations to arrive at anything like a summation of one’s knowledge of the subject. The totality of this experience may lead one to disagree with, for example, the interpretation of Mary that was inculcated into this TV series; yet such programmes certainly make one reflect – and further contemplate – the story surrounding these age-old events.  I believe this to be even more the case, for anyone who has been given the grace to visit the Holy Land.

Art Pictures (1) the Nativity (Martin Schongauer 1475-80) and (2) St. Joseph with the Child Jesus (Guido Reni c. 1635) 

As always, there are the age-old questions. For instance, take one aspect – how did St. Joseph cope with the challenge God put before him? He is portrayed by Matthew’s gospel as a God-fearing, just man, who found himself on the ‘horns of dilemma’, whether to follow the set, cultural, pattern of his fellow God-fearing Jews, or to follow the direct inspiration from God – this under-pinned and strengthened by his respect and growing love for Mary. In the final analysis, he acted against his own judgement, because he followed the advice given by an angel. His role in the events surrounding the birth of Jesus is crucial, because had he not taken Mary, his betrothed, into his house, it is likely she would have been killed. She was pregnant before marriage, and the punishment for an adulteress was death. And, what about Mary – how could she explain what actually happened? 

In the film, Joseph is a young and attractive young man, utterly in love with Mary; he is portrayed as rather stubborn, a man who did not readily yield to advice from his wife, and only comes to believe that Mary is to be the Mother of a divine child, at Bethlehem, when Mary was about to be confined.  The drama makes us aware of the struggle Joseph had, and again this is quite helpful – not so much as regards the accuracy of the portrayal of the struggle, itself – but as regards the fact Joseph felt, and had to deal with, that inward turmoil.   There is a strange passage in St. John’s Gospel that makes me wonder if the illegitimacy – from the human point of view – of Jesus, was a continuing ‘back-drop’ question in his public life: 

They answered him, ‘Abraham is our father.’ Jesus said to them, ‘if you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did, but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are indeed doing what your father does.’ They said to him, ‘We are not illegitimate children; we have one Father, God himself.’ (John 8: 39-41 and continue reading) 

One other point, among many, comes to mind. In the film, we are presented with THE most important intervention of God, in the history of mankind, and yet the events appear so mundane and ordinary. The people of Bethlehem and Nazareth simply continue to go about their own affairs, unaware of the greatness – the enormity – of what is happening in their midst. That phenomenon is also very much akin to our own experience, in today’s world. Each day, momentous events happen amongst the hum-drum of our daily lives: and again God is wont to ‘intervene’ – to enter into the situations we are in, and does so when we turn to Him in loving acceptance and when we are proactive in the doing of his will.  This is so in the little details of our lives, especially, in the relationships we have with others, but also in everything else as well – in the time we turn to Him with love in our hearts, in the time we pray, in the time we turn away from self-will, and so forth. A baby was born, in squalor, to the indifference of most people and the hostility of others, and that was the most important event in the long history of the cosmos. The Pope, in his recent publication called ‘Verbum Domini’, (on the ‘Word of God’), writes the following in a section called, ‘The Cosmic Dimension of the Word’: 

When we consider the basic meaning of the word of God as a reference to the eternal Word of God made flesh, the one Saviour and mediator between God and humanity, and we listen to this word, we are led by the biblical revelation to see that it is the foundation of all reality. The prologue of St. John says of the Divine Logos, that “all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made” (Jn 1:3); and in the Letter to the Colossians it is said of Christ, “the first born of all creation” (1:15), that “all things were created though him and for him” (1:16). 

Yes, our lives are very precious, and in all the everyday experiences we have, we can find God.  May our ears, our hearts, our minds be attentive to all God is doing for us, and may we follow St. Joseph – an essential actor, in the real sense – in ‘The Nativity’, the real story of how the ‘Word Became Flesh’.  He is THE model for all fathers, whatever the circumstances occurring within our families today.