A Vision.

 And I found myself in a large Cathedral.  At the back of the altar there were twelve chairs and the last chair on both sides were turned at right angles to the other chairs.   I asked the priests sitting on them "Where is Jesus, the Lord my God, that I may kneel and worship Him?".   And they answered "But why worship Jesus, worship our God instead"   Next to the Altar I found a chapel and indeed there was in a Tabernacle, Jesus my Lord and God.  But the chapel was bare, there were not chairs on which to sit, nor any kneelers on which to kneel, and I was too old to kneel on the stone cold floor, for I could never have stood up again.    Then I heard the voices from the chairs,  "But why worship Jesus, worship our God instead"   I made my way to a Church, where I was sure I would find Jesus, the Lord my God.   But as I knelt in front of the altar, I looked up and I could not see Jesus, the Lord My God.   I asked a priest "Where have they taken my Lord?"   "See", the priest replied "He is in that far corner"   "But should he not be in the place where he was sacrificed?" I asked..   And from the Cathedral altar I heard those voices again, "But why worship Jesus, worship our God instead"   And the two priests in the right angled chairs stretched out their hands to clutch me.    Then I went to another Church and I knelt before the Altar.   But when I looked up, again I could not see the Tabernacle containing Jesus, my Lord and God.   I asked another priest "Where is Jesus, My Lord and God?"  The priest pointed to the altar "See, there is a safe.   It contains many hosts that will be distributed as Holy Communion at the next Mass.  "But I want to adore Jesus, my Lord and God" I replied.   "Well" the priest replied "there are times, when due to the demands of the faithful, one host can be adored, and I will find out the times for you"    Again I heard the voices from the Cathedral chairs "But why worship Jesus, worship our God instead"   And I saw in the centre chair a priest wearing a mitre, who smiled at me.   "If we remove Jesus from your sight, we will remove him from your heart".

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