An 80’s Brummie on a musical Journey!
An 80’s Brummie on a musical Journey!
The television was not flat in the 80’s but chunky and heavy.
Boy George was singing from it “Do you really want to hurt me?”
Birmingham, a small part of Le Bon’s Planet Earth, my home city.
Announcing!
‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her.
Mary’s response to the Angel Gabriel is one of faith and devotion. It is one of trusting fidelity. It is one of love, pure love.
Dewfall: Even the Angels Pause to Adore!
Dewfall: Even the Angels Pause to Adore!
The Old Testament of the bible introduces us to the dewfall of God’s saving, redeeming, nurturing grace.
God’s word encourages us to dwell in contemplation, within the very centre of our hearts.
On the anniversary of the Birmingham pub bombings.
On the anniversary of the Birmingham pub bombings.
Christ’s Ardent Love Still Burning.
Christ’s Ardent Love Still Burning.
August sunshine fast fades from view, as September waits in the wings.
Grey rain adorns the heavens while the approaching autumn wind sings.
This year is hurtling by straining for the finish, life’s race needs winning.
Love
Love
Silence attracts, it has the power to overwhelm.
Descending into the catastrophic human realm.
Where breath is finite and death a moment away.
Grief is clinging, removing words, silence wins the day.
The heart breaks, shattered into fragments of memory.
Your People Come In Procession
Your People Come In Procession
Gathering
with an air of waiting.
Chattering excitedly
anticipating it will be raining,
prepared for a seasonal drenching,
Pilgrims
arriving from many regions,
travelling from afar
in prayer filled pilgrimage,
to seek Mary’s maternal intercession.
Fragility
Fragility
Waiting for instructions, just breathe slowly and steadily for a few moments….
Then blackness, nothingness, sleep perhaps, a time to let go of the senses.
Brittle, the ailing body trusting to another for healing, for restoration.
Please all the people all the time?
Please all the people all the time?
Serenity Courage Wisdom
I have been called a lot of things over the years.
Friendly banter from friends, peoples and peers.
A vocation, a bridge builder not a people pleaser.
Eucharist: Love Woven
Eucharist: Love Woven
Silence covers the church this January afternoon.
The outside cold seeps inside, the air is bracing.
The bench creaks a welcome, a time to fine-tune.
Arriving to embrace stillness, slowing the hearts racing.
Frantic noise and clutter of Christmas activity fades.
Holy Mother of God
Holy Mother of God
All these things she contemplated in her heart.
Gabriel, the messenger of the Almighty for a start.
A rush of refreshing wind, a flash of the brightest light.
A word spoken from a place far beyond human sight.
A child to be born to her the Immaculate Maiden.
Holy Family
Holy Family
Strength takes hold of the situation, as the frail maiden is close to bearing her child.
Joseph, noble, faithful, leaving his fears behind, accompanies his betrothed to Bethlehem.
A wondrous birth in the vulnerability of a broken-down stable did not shake his resolve.
Just Moving On
When a priest dies and I have had the privilege of knowing them, and sharing parts of their ministry, I am reminded of the Ordination Mass, the scripture readings, the ritual, the anointing of hands.
Holy Innocents
Holy Innocents
Herod raged, brought down a terrible affliction.
Ripping hearts from flesh, an untimely eviction.
Breath banished from innocence, extinguishing light.
Thriving in our world the spirit of revengeful spite.
Hatred crawling towards the shores of grief.
The Arrival of the Shepherds.
The Arrival of the Shepherds.
The shepherds left their fields
They never did that, not even for the Sabbath
an angel proclaimed a word and that was enough
off they went all of them, walking towards a stable!
They knew there was room for everyone at that table.
And the angel left her.
“Gaudete in Domino semper”
And the angel left her.
These final words from the gospel reading at Mass for the 20th December in Advent conjure up all kinds of thoughts. Especially for me about the immediate aftermath for Mary when the angel Gabriel left her.
Dementia:The Dishonest Thief
Dementia: The dishonest thief.
A cloud of confusion covers.
Understanding has deserted, frustration smothers.
Fearful expressions adorn bemused faces.
Struggling to make sense of these sudden unfamiliar places.
Advent
Advent
Waiting
in the gathering gloom.
Peering pensively into misty,
menacing skies, swirling overhead,
an anxious foreboding fills this room.
Advent
Advent
Patiently waiting for the Christ’s birth,
that reveals the simplicity of a divine message affirming our human worth.
From heaven sent, the Saviour wrapped in flesh,
the very word of love, one whispered in time, that is forever meant.
A season of vigilance, this is Advent.
A lifetime, my Lifetime
A lifetime, my Lifetime
(English Accent and an Irish Name)
I am just one Immigrant child,
dressed from the trappings of poverty;
hand me down clothes clinging to me,
inherited from an inner-city dwelling.
A lifetime begins to utter its unique telling.
Christ Speaks
Christ Speaks.
In the wilderness
That place of chaos and indecision
Here, Christ speaks,
whispering softly to the heart.
The heart,
the chamber of emotions,
the house of our fickle, changing moods.
Remembrance
Remembrance
Remembrance
A constant melody
Weaving through time’s swift passing
Recalling stories spoken
Songs of victory
Dirges of defeat
At times brutal
At times peaceful
At times mournful
Tinged with the hopeful touch of familiarity
Remembrance
Reduces us to stillness
Moves us to sile
Presence
Presence
Stumbling feet arrive at the tabernacle
as solid lights flicker within the shrouding, surrounding darkness,
trembling knees brush upon the autumnal stone floor,
while watery eyes turn expectantly towards the Lord; my anxieties cease.
Christ Greeting!
Christ Greeting!
Christ greeting
Gently touching
Caressing the fabric
of love’s own making.
Not in earthquake, fire or thunder
But in a stable, in awesome wonder!
Welcoming with generosity
Embodying a divine intensity.
Beyond the confines of night
Beyond the confines of night
Hushed prayer,
born from the stillness of existence,
confirms the whisper of a gentle breeze,
where life resides far beyond the confines of night.
Mass of Thanksgiving.
Mass of Thanksgiving
Since 1864 over five thousand entered through the open door, souls cared for and loved, accompanied in the fragility of life by the service of the Little Sisters of the Poor.
Welcome Home
Welcome Home
I walk alone into the church on a sun soaked, summer afternoon, where the light streams through glass windows, these, the buildings eyes, that concentrate upon the soul, discovering the beauty, the potential, gazing upon grace.
The Seamless Garment
The Seamless Garment
John 19:23
“When the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took his garments and made four parts, one for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was without seam, woven from top to bottom”
Jesus, the Christ.
Priest, Prophet, King,
Messiah, the Chosen one, the Beloved Son.
"Do Not Be Afraid"
“Do Not Be Afraid”
Waiting
in the early hours,
surrounded by sombre darkness,
breathing in steadily
the approaching dawn freshly appearing;
welcoming the security of the sacred,
bringing a hopeful awakening
anticipating the gladdening morning light
soon returning, accompanying life’s living
Corpus
Corpus
Kneeling in silence, the gleaming brass candles flank the bright gold monstrance
Thoughts drift towards prayers, those invoking beauty, beholding the real presence
Heaven hovers over the still summer air, holiness inhales a perfume of incense
Greeting our Godhead, uttering sighs of gratit
Hopeful Yearnings
Hopeful Yearnings
Ghostly shadows
of parishioners past,
sparkle in the colourful shards of light
that stream through stain glass in the afternoon sun
shimmering, dancing upon the static altar stone on the sanctuary.
Sacred Heart: Love. Purest Love.
Sacred Heart: Love. Purest Love.
What have I discovered
in the stillness of a moment,
in the emptiness of a church pew,
in the flickering light of heartfelt prayer?
What I have discovered
in the stillness,
in my own emptiness,
in the prayerful flickering embers, is love laid bare!
Love.
Trinity: Father, Son and Spirit
Trinity: Father, Son and Spirit
The Trinity is a prayer that begins each day
A movement of love that helps me upon my way
A sign is made, it begins on my forehead
The Father resides in my mind, may I by him be led
I swiftly invite the Son into my eager heart
Within here may the love of God pla
Synod: Accompanying
Synod
Accompanying
The tent is enlarged
The boat is secured
The doors are opened
The people enter in
The fresh air of hope
The Christ embraced
The fire of the Holy Spirit
The waters that soothe
The hospital for sinners
The mercy of the Almighty
The broken received lovingly
The Eucharist
The Joyful Arrival of Life
The Joyful Arrival of Life!
Christ has Risen!
Death could not cling,
the smothering clothes of oblivion fell from him.
The human condition could not extinguish the light of his divinity.
Worship
Worship
Worship springs from the desire to return love
To be lifted from the earth, to soar far above
Before I ever loved Christ, he has loved me first
His very presence quenched my deepest thirst
Words form in my heart, a whisper, a shout, a cry
As I tremble with anticipation, quivering with
St Patrick: An Easter Rising
St Patrick: An Easter Rising
Early morning,
swirling rain sweeps through the garden, ruffling the early arriving Easter daffodils.
Soon the March sunshine
peeks through grey clouds, easing the storming, heralding a fresh anointing of calming.
Ashes
Ashes
Ashes
A seasonal call.
Reflecting upon Adam’s fall.
A cry for repentance
A reminder
That there is
A time for everything.
For prayer
Heartfelt penance
Fasting too, and of course giving
And a dose of determined forgiving.
Nothing Ordinary
Nothing Ordinary
Sacred vestments have turned a shade of green, advancing the liturgical journey.
Although to be honest, there really is nothing remotely ordinary about seeking eternity.
Love is still the word that defines, blessedly refines, prayerfully shapes each conversation.
“A few dates fondly remembered”
“A few dates fondly remembered”
April 19th 2005
Our German Shepherd, the 265th
Emerged upon St Peter’s central balcony,
A blessing for the whole world,
A devout soul, he spoke quietly of his own simplicity,
A humble, gentle worker from within the Lord’s vineyard,
Possessing an immense talent
Advent Fades
Advent Fades
Advent fades, as December days race towards a finish
Purple and rose candles emptying for darkness to diminish
Flickering in defiance, revealing the sacredness of the season
In the stillness of blessed simplicity, love becomes the reason
For God loved the world so much he gifted hi
Advent Waiting
Advent: Waiting
We are a people who are waiting…
From the very first light of dawn
as a day flickers into new life, we wait
Winter clouds drift
across icy morning December skies,
cold the wind that blows
Fastening a protective coat
around a shaking frame,
facing the bleak time of waiting
O
Announcing
Announcing
Arriving silently, shrouded in beautiful light, the angel spoke softly, wisely
Announcing good news from God above, words of a covenant, words of love
Amazed by Gabriel’s revelations Mary visited the place of sacred silence within
What could this mean? A maiden soon to be a mother, th
The Baptist
The Baptist
Emerging from wild wilderness striding towards us, a word of common sense
Advent’s fearsome figure, a warning to flee from complacence to repentance
John the first of his name, flowing cleansing water, ruffling Love’s magnificence
Making paths straight, declaring unworthiness before
Gregory Fox
Gregory Fox
Urban as they come, never late
slinking through the slats in the closed gate.
Gregory, I have named him, looks towards me quizzically.
