Month: March 2021

I bind unto myself today…

Today, 17th March, is St. Patrick’s day, Patron Saint of Ireland.

Patrick’s first experience of Ireland didn’t begin very well. Raiders from Ireland kidnapped him from England and took him into slavery. We aren’t exactly sure from where.
We do know, because he told us himself, that his grandfather (Potitus) was a priest and his father (Calpornius) a deacon. As this was before the two Missions from Iona and Canterbury they must have belonged to the Romano-British Church which had links with the Roman occupation. The Church of Ninian and of Kentigern (St Mungo) where established in the Dumfries and Glasgow areas with developments in Cumbria
Ancient place names often leave clues and in Cumbria there is Mungrisedale (Mungo) and Patterdale (Patrick dale). There is a well at Glenridding (southern end of Ullswater) which, whilst Victorian, is called ‘St Patrick’s Well’ and is claimed to be on a site of an older well where Patrick was baptized. (along with a number of other sites stretching around the country!)

A true fact is one that Patrick supplied. When he was kidnapped he was 16. We know this from one of the two certain writings that he left us. In his Confession he says that he was about 16 years old. This would date the event about 406.

In the edition of the Confession published in 2011, a translation by Pádraig Mc Carthy, Patrick left us an indication of his spiritual nature and the humility with which he was to follow Jesus Christ. He said:

My Name is Patrick. I am a sinner, a simple country person and the least of all believers.

He spent 6 years as a slave before he managed to escape. By that time, his faith had grown stronger. He confessed to having gone away from God and did not keep his commandments.
The Lord, however, “opened my awareness of my lack of faith. Even though it came about late, I recognized my failings. So I turned with all my heart to the Lord my God and he looked down on my lowliness.” Patrick went on to say that even before he fully knew the Lord, Christ “guarded me.” Even before he came to wisdom and “could distinguish between good and evil,” he knew the protection and consolation of that of a father caring for a son. These were important insight of Christ watching over him because it was something that would shape his life, mission and ministry.

Alongside this growing faith in Christ, Patrick felt a yearning and desire to open the Irish people to faith in the Good News of the Gospel. He became attentive to the voice of God speaking to his heart and so his vocation became stronger and stronger.
When he escaped from Ireland he knew that one day he would be back.

He didn’t return home nor to England at all. He had a feeling that the British Church might not honour nor encourage his vocation.
So, he spent many years in Europe and awaited God’s moment in preparing spiritually, theologically and personally. Some time in this period the Irish Church gained its independence from Britain and Patrick begged the Pope to send him as an Apostle to the Irish. He arrived about 432. He set up his base in Armagh and from there, the Good News was preached. A record in one of the Papal annals recorded, briefly but with approval, ‘Patrick flourished.’

But it was a ‘flourishing’ which needed all of Patrick’s strength, faith and determination.
The pagan religion was not to be defeated easily and there are times when Patrick had confrontations, not least with the High King and his religious pagan leaders who saw the threat of Jesus Christ to their livelihood, power, influence and way of life.
In the end Patrick and Christ prevailed.

Patrick’s faith was deep and prayerful. It was centred on the Holy Trinity and his relationship with God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This faith compelled him eagerly to share the Gospel and Salvation of Jesus with the people of Ireland.
Everything was centred on God and He was certain of God’s protection and blessing.

Patrick expressed his Trust in God in what is known as a Lorica. A Lorica, or Breastplate prayer, is essentially a ‘protection prayer’ in which the petitioner invokes all the power of God as a safeguard against evil in its many forms.

As we have seen, Patrick knew his need of God and the prayer enshrines this and it therefore has an appeal for us today in our own particular need. We know it today as St. Patrick’s Breastplate often sung in churches on Trinity Sunday. Whilst there are many who say that it was written after Patrick’s time, there is little doubt that it enshrines Patrick’s theology and spiritually. It contains the essence of his belief and also his certainty of God’s love, protection and blessing of him and of his mission.

There are many versions of it but the one most used is that composed by Mrs Alexander in 1889 for St Patrick’s Day.

The beginning of the Hymn anchors Patrick’s belief in God in a powerful way.

I bind unto myself today
the strong name of the Trinity
by invocation of the same,
the Three in One and One in Three.

Our life is bound up with the Holy Trinity. We are enfolded by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit who protects and flows into our lives. This is union with God who holds, cherishes and nourishes us. We belong to God and God pledges his total presence and eternal life to us. It deserves praying over
Part of the hymn becomes a Protection Prayer in its own right.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

This is such an intimate and personal prayer.
In Jesus each of us is surrounded, circled by his presence. This is sometimes known as a Caim Prayer, a circling with God’s love and protection. This is a favourite theme of Irish and Celtic spirituality. We call upon God and He circles with His protective love. He is with us every day of our lives and is our joy and our comfort. So we can say that Our God is with us and we are with Him.

There is also a version which ends like this:
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me

This reminds us that when we are living close to Jesus Christ we live close to all others. Our being bound to Christ is inclusive and extensive. And if we live trustfully, faithfully, and open-heartedly then others will see us in Him and much more importantly see Him in us. That is what Christ achieved in Patrick’s life and ministry and mission.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The prayer, Christ with me (see above) has been set to music by Arvo Pärt. It is very beautiful and moving. The two versions I know are sung by Voces8 and The Sixteen.

The version of the Confessio, ‘My Name is Patrick’ translated from the Latin by Pádraig McCarthy is © 2008 The work itself was published by the Royal Irish Academy 2011 and is available from them price 5 euros. It is also available on Amazon.

A note in the Confessio invites people to copy and distribute the text but also to remember that it is still subject to copyright law and should not therefore be distributed or copied for monetary gain.

The words of the Hymn by Mrs Alexander, Patrick’s Breastplate, “I bind unto myself today” is in many regular hymnbooks or can be viewed on one of the hymnal sites on the web.

Look at the birds of the air !

Another Tweet from my friend Joyce

This little robin sees signs of new life in the buds on the tree and looks forward to renewed joy. You just have to wait and trust. The Future is here! Don’t keep running around and chasing what is already in front of you.
You may well know this little ditty by Elizabeth Cheney

Said the robin to the sparrow,
‘I should really like to know,
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and worry so.’

Said the sparrow to the robin,
‘Friend I think that it must be,
That they have no Heavenly Father,
Such as cares for you and me.

Of course the Sparrow is only half right. Our Heavenly Father certainly cares about the birds of the air but he does care for us too and he provides for all we need, even if that isn’t always quite what we want! Why not read and pray over Matthew 6:25-34 (NRSV or in your favourite version if you prefer

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 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? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? 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? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own.
Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

Spring officially begins on March 21^st but Nature doesn’t always check the Calendar . Which is fine because the sooner Spring begins the better. We could wait a while longer but why don’t we take to heart what Pope John Paul II said in the picture quotation above. Let the Future begin today.

And don’t spoil it with anxiety and worry. There are two words which are underpinning this time in our lives and in our world. Kindness and Trust. Let God be kind to you and in return Trust Him. That’s what Jesus teaches. Do not worry.! Easy to say; harder to do I know. But The Robin has arrived and the other birds are singing. Those vulnerable creatures trust God and rejoice. Why can’t we?

[Mr G & Joyce]

The Scripture quotations contained herein are from The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, and are used by permission. All rights reserved.

A handup not a handout

For many years I have been a supporter of the Big Issue magazine. This is for 3 reasons. First I want to support the Vendors. They get half of the sales money. This means they are growing in self-sufficiency and getting the help they need as they move from homelessness into accommodation, the cost of which is a responsibility they need to develop if they are to survive and grow. Perhaps more importantly is the self-esteem and self-respect that they receive through their interaction with others. Perhaps most important of all, they are simply human beings as we all are and sharing a common humanity brings a responsibility of care on all of us.

During our various lock-downs, many in our society have been challenged by real hardship. Such groups of people don’t get a lot of publicity and the homeless are, for some, an inconvenience. Alongside many other socially disadvantaged groups, they have struggled, but also the compassion which I see again and again, mixed with practical concern has brought hope to many.

The Big Issue Foundation was created to funnel that practical help to those in need as well as to campaign in raising awareness on issues surrounding homelessness. But during lockdown it isn’t easy for people like me to find a vendor. Shops like the Co-op stepped in and sold the magazine and one way I could help was to take out a Subscription, which I did. I know that money raised in this way reaches the vendors.
It also feeds the second reason I buy Big Issue. It’s an excellent magazine with a lot of interesting articles.This week’s magazine includes a piece from Jay Blades of the Repair Shop BBC TV programme for example.

It also tells some sad news about Amanda Hill.
Amanda , the first Big Issue Vendor in Cardiff, has died suddenly at the age of 43.
She is typical of many vendors who have been helped but who have also brought joy to others.

Liam Geraghty, writing about her in this week’s magazine speaks of her as a woman with a “heart of good intentions”, who took “took every opportunity offered” in her five-year spell selling the magazine. The Big Issue helped Amanda off the streets and into long-term accommodation.

Lockdown took away her daily contact with people and recently she wrote of looking forward to “seeing the smiley faces of her regular customers”, once lockdown measures ended.
Sales Manager in Cymru, Tom Watts said: “Amanda had her ups and downs in the time we knew her, but we saw her joy in finally getting long-term accommodation near her family in the Valleys and becoming nicely settled on her pitch in Taff’s Well near Pontypridd, getting to know people and looking to build her sales long term as well.
“She bestowed the world with her presence and a heart full of good intentions, and she’ll be missed by her family, her friends, and all of us at The Big Issue in Wales.”
When she began as a Vendor in 2016 she and her then husband slept in a tent which suffered from the winter weather, not least during the 2018 storms known as the Beast from the East. It was difficult to keep dry and maintain body heat.

Amanda featured in the magazine many times over the years and “never turned down the chance to try something different”, according to Watts. He added: “Amanda could chat for hours about anything. She always strove to get what she needed from the world, she took every opportunity offered her, and she never let anything stop her for too long.” She “never turned down the chance to try something different”, according to Watts. He added: “Amanda could chat for hours about anything. She always strove to get what she needed from the world, she took every opportunity offered her, and she never let anything stop her for too long.”
Away from her pitch, Amanda was also a passionate swimmer and represented Cardiff in the sport from the age of 10. She wrote about her experiences for The Big Issue in 2020, giving readers tips on techniques and boosting mental health through the sport. The Big Issue bought Amanda a reconditioned rowing machine to help her exercise while in lockdown as arthritis in her spine and the strain of acting as a carer for her husband meant she was unable to go outside. She said the gesture “really cheered her up”.
Amanda had been in ill health for some time and just last week she revealed that she had been treated in hospital for pneumonia since the new year. She had recently split from her husband of 12 years and was in the process of finding a new place to live near to her children. Despite her health issues and housing troubles, Amanda always remained optimistic and last week praised her customers for supporting her with subscriptions to the magazine during the current lockdown.
In a Vendor’s View article she wrote the week before she died she praised Big Issue frontline staff for “always being there”, adding: “They have been doing so much for me during lockdown. I really want to thank them for the support, the food vouchers and the chats.” She was longing to get back to her pitch to see her customers once again.
In a poignant text following the interview, Amanda summed up why The Big Issue meant so much to her. “I’d like to say it’s built my confidence and with all my problems, if it wasn’t for The Big Issue I probably wouldn’t be here so a big thanks to you all.” Sadly, she is no longer here but Big Issue deserves thanking for all that she both received and ‘Gave.’

The third thing why I like Big Issue is that so many of the Vendors talk to me. I share something of their story and they share something of mine. They are ‘real’ people who relate to me. I’m certain I’m not alone in this.
And nor is Amanda alone now. I love the verse in St. Luke Chapter (V 32) where Jesus says: Do not be afraid little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom”.
Whatever belief Amanda may or may not have had, God’s love for her is unconditional and I pray that she is enjoying the love and completeness and safety of that Heavenly Kingdom and the joy of her heavenly Father’s pleasure.

Lockdowns have taken income away from hundreds of Big Issue sellers. If you are concerned please support The Big Issue and the vendors by signing up for a subscription. Just Google Big Issue Subscription to get the details. It’s simple.

By subscribing to The Big Issue magazine, you are not only keeping up-to-date on the key issues that matter but you are also doing good. As a social enterprise, Big Issue invest every penny made back into the organisation. That means that with every subscription, we are supporting people in poverty to get back on their own two feet. With your support, Big Issue helps vendors to achieve financial stability and overcome social disadvantages holding them back.

[Mr G]

A Collage of Spring

Snowdrops unfurling perhaps? This photo was taken by my friend Gill Henwood in her garden in the Lake District.

As we herald the unwrapping of Nature as Spring approaches, we have been delighted by, first, the cyclamen and then the snowdrops and winter Iris. Now it is the turn of Daffodil and crocus. So we say Thank You to the bell of Mary as she peals out winter or, should that be, as she ‘nods’ us towards Spring. Gill says the nodding snowdrops remind her of the Hymn, The Lord of the Dance.

Dance then, wherever you may be for I am the Lord of the dance said he.

It has been a joy to see, during the difficult and dark lockdown, the great signs of hope and colour and joy that are being painted by Nature. God is reminding us that we have so much to look forward to and so much to be grateful for, no matter what has been plaguing our lives. We should hold on to Captain Tom Moore’s favourite saying – repeated here in Nature –

Tomorrow will be a Good Day.

Below is a collage of spring from Gill’s garden though she is not responsible for the arranging. It may not, therefore be perfect but it is heartfelt. To borrow a phrase from Gill – this is a picture of sheer exuberance and delight.

First, here is a lovely Prayer to Spring by Robert Frost

Please notice the first Cumbrian bee of Spring! tomorrow will be a good day, full of honey!

[Mr G]