Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord.

Through Advent we are often occupied with our own particular need for salvation.   We are concerned with how far we are from God and Advent becomes a time of increasing our Faith.  But the Prophet Isaiah in Sundays reading looks beyond his own self and looks at the world around him and is conscious of how sinful mankind has become.   He asks God why he has let the world sink into  such a sinful place.   Surely He must care?   And yet it seems he has abandoned us.

But Isaiah looks forward to the time when God will come to the help of the just and oppressed.
Today in our world we can cry out like Isaiah.  "Why,Lord, leave us  to stray from your ways, and harden our hearts against fearing you?"   In our families our children are leaving their religious practices, in the world our children know little about chastity living and drifting into sexual relationships and in doing so they learn to despise marriage.    And of those who marry many ignore your law and often ignoring the hurt to their children, they divorce and ignore your commandment.    And the sins of the parents are too many times passed on to  their children.   For its stand on marriage, abortion, and euthanasia your Church has become a laughing stock by the sinners of the secular society.

How long, how long, LORD  will you turn your face from us.    As in this season Mary gave birth to Jesus help us to give birth to a new person within us, a new Church that is marked by faithfulness, and a desire to become saints, for only in holiness can we deserve your love.

Prepare ye the way of the Lord.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Translation of Luke 1: 28 in the Latin Vulgate by St Jerome.

.......et ingressus angelus ad eam dixit have gratia plena Dominus tecum benedicta tu in mulieribus..... If indeed we are to have a Year of the Bible and indeed praise St Jerome, as indeed he deserves to be praised, for translating the texts approved by the Church into Latin, the language of the Mass, then surely we should check what the Latin says according to St Jerome before we rush into translating into other languages.    In this case translating  from the Gospel of Luke, St Jerome wrote the above, which translates  "..and entering the angel said to her 'Hail full of grace the Lord is with you and blessed are you among women".   Now you do not have to be a scholar to realise that this means much more than 'highly favoured'.   So why I ask myself does the translation we read in our Catholic Church at the gospel read 'highly favoured' rather than 'full of grace'  Why is this important?   Because if she was born 'full of grace' t...
Read more

A Parish in Confusion.

  Dear Friends, With the COVID restrictions being eased this week, I am sending a special message to everyone in the Diocese, welcoming everyone back to Mass. Of course, the pandemic continues, so, we still need to be prudent and to take care in our churches and parishes: see the guidance the Diocese is offering. This last week, I was away, recharging the batteries and catching up on prayer and reading – but now back, all of a sudden there’s lots of news! There is news about Grandparents' Day next Sunday, about new regulations from the Holy Father on celebrations of the Mass in the Extraordinary Form and news from Bamenda. There are also a number of exciting invitations: to the Alton Day of Renewal, to an Ignatian Staycation, to the Fanning the Flame Summer Camp, and to the National Justice and Peace Network conference. There’s an Environmental Survey to complete and a new book to order. But this is above all a period of great joy, as we look forward to the ordinations in two weeke...
Read more

The meaning of 'virgo Immaculata'

Image
As you will see from the stained glass window the name given to the image is Virgo Immaculata.   Mary was the virgin who remained sinless and spotless.  Yes she would have been tempted by Satan, but as the image shows she kept close to God in prayer and all the wiles of Satan, the forbidden fruit he offered, depictdd by the apple, ended up stuck in his throat while the right foot of Mary crushed his head. "I will put enmity between Thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed", God tole the serpent in Genesis   Satan was no match for Jesus who was God made Man but he had overcome a mere mortal before in Eve, What a triumph it would have been to destroy she whom Jesus loved above al others - his mother.   But Mary kept close to Jesus and to God, the new Eve, and mother of the new children that the death of Jesus brought into being.    And as Revelations 12 tells us having failed to destroy the birth of Jesus Satan  went after her other chi...
Read more