We bring before you the people of Venezuela and the horrific earthquake that has hit that country around the capital and beyond. We pray, almighty God, that their resilience will be strengthened by your sheltering them under your wings. We pray for those who are still trapped, yet alive; we pray for the souls of the dead and all who mourn the loss of loved ones. Bless the search teams; we pray for the sniffer dogs which can detect human life; for the rescuers as they prepare for finding any bodies, alive or dead; we pray for the miracles whenever a person is found; we thank you for the life of the baby that was found alive, and the child today.
Lord help us to hold all in our prayers and so touch them with our concern and our love. Into your gracious keeping we commend all in need, despair and without hope at this time. Amen.
Raymond Raynes, a former Father Superior of the Community of the Resurrection Mirfield, once asked a group of young people he was teaching: “Can anyone tell me what a saint is?” A young lady on the back row shot up her hand and said, “Yes, Father, a saint is a dead Christian.” Fr. Raynes thought that to have to be dead in order to become a saint was rather depressing.
A more positive answer is that of Archbishop Alban Goodier who wrote:Let us remember that to become saints we have only to be what God wants us to be; To do what God wants us to do; To forget ourselves and never forget God. In order to achieve this we need: Perfect simplicity with regard to ourselves, Perfect contentment with all that comes our way, Perfect peace of mind in utter self-forgetfulness. And all this becomes easier the more we realize the absolute goodness and greatness of God.
Today is the feast of St. John the Baptist and any examination of his life shows us that in every sense of Archbishop Goodier’s description of a Saint, John the Baptist ticks all the boxes.
God wanted John to be a person of prayer, of zeal, of conviction and of action and he was all these things.God wanted him to be a voice crying in the wilderness of a self-centred and self-preoccupied world that people were to prepare themselves for the coming of God amongst them as the Saviour. He would deliver people from all that prevented the love of God growing in their hearts and who would return them to a rightful relationship with Him through repentance – a turning of their lives back to God. John fulfilled all of God’s hopes.
He never sought anything for himself except to serve God. So he could say to his disciples about Jesus . ‘Look, there is the Lamb of God’ and, later, when his disciples told him that Jesus was also baptizing and everyone was now going to him rather than to John, he replied simply that Jesus must increase whilst he, John, decreased. He showed forgetfulness of self whilst never forgetting who was God. When John came briefly onto the centre stage of the sacred drama which would bring Jesus to lead and love His Father’s people into the Kingdom, John was happy with His work as Fore-runner or as the other John put it more beautifully, The friend of the bridegroom. He attracted the crowds and had close disciples but when the time came he faded quietly into the background. Eventually he was arrested and thrown into prison because of his outspokenness towards the sin of the King, Herod.
Then he was beheaded.
And throughout all that happened to him, he was at peace because he was full of God. He recognized the greatness and goodness of God. It was God that John Proclaimed. It is what made him a saint. One of the special Eucharistic prayers for Saints days tells us what a saint is called to be and once again, John the Baptist fulfils this role perfectly.
In the darkness of this passing age They [The Saints] proclaim the glory of your kingdom. Chosen as lights in the world,they surround our steps as we journey on towards the city of eternal light where they sing the everlasting song of triumph. In communion with angels and archangels and all who have served you on earth and worship you now in heaven, we raise our voices to proclaim your glory,
The connection between the saints in heaven and us on earth who are also called to sainthood is that in God’s scheme of things, we are all one, at least in destiny if not yet in substance. St Paul often referred to God’s people as God’s holy ones or saints and thus reminds us that sainthood is about holiness. Holiness is not something we can buy off the shelf or award ourselves, or even earn through trying to gain pious brownie points. It is a gift of God which is His alone to give. It comes to us through the grace he pours into us. We can call that filling us with God. We can call it becoming saintly.
Archbishop Goodier, said that Christ came not to call saints but to MAKEsaints and often he does this out of weak, sinful and unpromising people. Saints are not only models of holiness for us to imitate, they are reminders that God’s grace can outshine every human flaw. Despite all our worst efforts God simply loves us into holiness and that is both comforting and encouraging. And, just as the example of good people around us help to encourage us in our life of faith, so the saints who have travelled this often rough and rocky road can be a great help.
St. John the Baptist brings us in touch with the unique examples of holiness which he shows us in his own life. He turns our vision towards God because that is what his life was all about. To to be inspired by him, to share his vision is surely an excellent reason to go along with him as a special heavenly friend. Our friend and as John said, the friend of the bridegroom (John 3: 29) The one who has an intimate closeness to Jesus himself. And that closeness is brought home to us in a particularly spectacular way in the event which precedes John’s birth, which we know of as the Visitation.
After The Blessed Virgin Mary accepts God’s will that she is to be the mother of Jesus, she goes off to spend time with her cousin Elizabeth, who also is involved in a miracle of her own. Her barren womb is now fertile, by God’s decree, and in her womb is being formed the future John the Baptist. St. Luke tells us that as Mary greeted Elizabeth the child in her womb leapt for joy. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She proclaimed, Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. This moment led St. Anselm to begin his prayer about St. John the Baptist, with these words:
St John, You are that John who baptized God; You were praised by an archangel before you were begotten of your father; you were full of God before you were born of your mother; you knew God before you knew the world.
Anselm’s words are tremendous and absolutely vital if we are to understand something really fundamental about saints and about holiness and about ourselves. I have already drawn attention to the fact that Christ makes us saints and that holiness is a gift from God. Now – St. Anselm tells us precisely what that means. John the Baptist he says, was, full of God and that he knew God before he knew the world. St. Anselm says something very profound. Saintliness is all about God and God’s action in our lives. It’s about recognizing God at work within us, filling us with Himself. It’s as if God is filling the womb of our soul and we are carrying him as he leaps for joy within us.
And if we are full of God we shall indeed know him and this knowledge is far greater than anything we shall acquire in the world. Being full of God is something we should long to be.
5 years ago today, my dear friend Joyce Smith died suddenly and we have missed her ever since. So today I am posting one of her delightful contributions to this blog. The photos were all her own and this was centred on a Kingfisher and on her patience in waiting to see it. The final comment is about the joy and gladness of God given to all who seek Him, as Joyce certainly did.
My friend Joyce Smith has sent me this lovely tweet in 2021.
“This little kingfisher posed for about 15 minutes at Fisher’s Green. We might have been looking for the elusive bittern, but the kingfisher certainly made the trip worthwhile!”
We live in an ‘instant’ society where we want immediate action, results or answers. This is true in Christian terms too. Many prayers are filled with demands or browbeating of God. But in our relationship with God there is a need for us to be patient. Had Joyce failed to be patient she might have missed the Kingfisher. The ‘elusive bittern’ is a joy to come on another day. The Kingfisher kindly offered an alternative view. It must have sensed a bit of disappointment because it stayed still, posing for about 15 minutes. Long enough to enjoy its colourful presence. Long enough to remind us that sometimes it is the things least expected which bring us joy and enlightenment.
The Psalmist tells us to be still and wait patiently for God to drop by.
There is a Taizé song, Wait for the Lord, sung often in Advent, but appropriate to think about at any time when we long for God or for a sign of his presence.
The Taizé song tells us that God’s day is always near. His presence is close to us but we must prepare our hearts to receive him and clear away all the things that might get in the way and stop us meeting Him. His ‘Glory’ is rightly portrayed often as an amazing display of God’s holiness which is a shewing of God’s presence. It’s posh name is from the Greek, Theophany. An obvious example is the Transfiguration of Jesus on the Holy Mountain. A spectacular event but personally it is when we see God not with our eyes but in our hearts where God reveals himself in a special way. It may be an awesome thing but it is a source of rejoicing because, as the Taizé song and Joyce’s kingfisher tells us, those who seek and wait for God will be rewarded with joy and gladness.
Wait for the Lord, his day is near Wait for the Lord, be strong take heart Prepare the way for the Lord Make a straight path for Him The Glory of the Lord shall be revealed All the Earth will see the Lord Rejoice in the Lord always
Dandelion near Bradley Wood. photographed by Piers Northam
I confess that I love Dandelions. They are always welcome in my garden. They brighten the early Spring and they are a wonder to behold. Maybe if we didn’t take them for granted or, worse, wage war on them, we might appreciate the intricate sun flower in all its bright array. The golden dandelion, with its intricate and gorgeous leaf formation will still be bringing bright joy to otherwise dull verges, hedgerows, fields, wastelands, and almost anywhere, whatever we feel about them.
I find this story (which I’ve quoted on a number of occasions) great fun. A frustrated gardener wrote to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. In his letter he explained that his aim to have a perfect lawn was being thwarted by the persistence of Dandelions. They simply kept appearing no matter what he did. He had tried to root them out; he had smothered them with various chemicals; He had re-sown the most badly affected areas but it was all to no avail. In desperation he begged the Ministry to provide him with a solution to get rid of the Dandelions forever. After the usual delay, an official wrote back to him. The letter offered the Department’s considered advice: We suggest that you learn to love them.
We should indeed learn to love them, though I am not expecting total agreement about that!
Here’s a poem from someone who does agree with me!
Unwelcomed Save by children, Dandelion, I declare you Patron flower Of prophets.
Who would Believe such power Lies within The beauty Of your soft Geometric fluff Posed to take A ride On the wind And land in Uninvited places?
Mr G's Ponderings 