Tag: Mr G

Dear Francis …

A few words to St Francis on your festival day, October 4th.

Dear Francis,
You were led from your raucousness and debauchery.
As leader of the pack,
they gathered around you, your disciples,
attracted by a charisma that lit up their lives.
Of course, your pockets held the wealth
which made living as free spirits so easy.
You took it all for granted.
The centre of your life was within you,
focussing on that self which has ruined so many.

But another Charisma sought your energy.
Different followers waited to be your disciples.
Different values, to be ripened by true joy.
Perplexed, perhaps that you were losing direction,
uncertainty gripped that carefree heart
and nothing satisfied.

From the centre of things, you were called to the margins,
where your destiny would discover you.
Kneeling, questioningly, in the dereliction of San Damiano chapel,
you were led to examine your own crumbling life.
In the midst of your despair, Jesus spoke to you,

“Francis, rebuild my Church.”

At first, a physical task,
drawing others to your side as only you could,
but there was so much more to come.
You did not always get it right. None do.
That is why God comes among us often,
casting his grace over us, like rose petals at a wedding.

It is said that, near death, Jesus gifted you with stigmata,
scars, wounds of Christ, as marks on your own body.
But you had received these on your heart long ago,
when you walked as a companion of Jesus.
The Way of the Cross gave you Stations of prayer
by which you were able to shepherd poor, unloved,
uncared for humanity; vulnerable animals;
dancing birds, whose capricious flight was a sign of God’s joy.
And you did not forget the rich,
who more than most need to walk with you, into heaven.

[Mr G. St Francis day 2023]

Equinox

Photo by Mr G of the Gaia Globe exhibited at Chelmsford Cathedral.

AUTUMN EQUINOX

Today, September 23^rd, is the Autumn Equinox in the Norther Hemisphere. It’s the Spring Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere

According to my sources, mainly the British Met. Office, the Equinox defines the transition between the seasons of the astronomical calendar. It is a key part of the earth’s orbit around the Sun. There are two each year – Autumn and Spring.

It occurs when the Sun crosses the path of the equator and is poised exactly between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
During equinox, day and night are about the same length (12 hours each).
The word Equinox means this. It is made up of two Latin words – ‘Equi’ meaning equal and ‘nox’ meaning night.
From today, in the Northern Hemisphere the darkness of night becomes longer as winter approaches.

This balance and interaction of darkness and light affects our daily life but it also affects our spiritual and physical life. Physically many animals slow down or hibernate. Our daily life is affected by darkness. Nature goes into sleep mode. Shortly the trees will drop their leaves and the buds of next year’s foliage and plants will be dormant. Physically we may become more lethargic and as the weather becomes colder, staying indoors is more welcome. Though we follow our daily life, our bodies would love to hibernate. That is a generalization, but spiritually we become more aware of nature, of the creative change of the world around us. At the beginning of this cycle, we often celebrate Harvest and we give thanks for God’s goodness towards us in the provision of food. For our ancestors the curing and storing of food was vital to carry them through the harsh winter months. This thought can remind us of those without food and who are coping with disaster in places such as Morocco coping with its earthquake; Libya with the floods; Ukraine with the evil of the Russian invasion. These are but three of the needs we need to pray about and act upon. In the United Kingdom, poverty, financial hardship, and the need for Food Banks, remind us of our duty to those in need. We should add to that the plight of the world’s nomads, forced to flee their countries because of violence, imprisonment and the inhumanity meted out to them on a vast scale.
It is at a time of Equinox that we are invited to pray and act for a better world. A world where all are equal and a remembrance that every one of us owes our existence to our Planet Earth, which sustains us, and to our Creator God. All has been planned to be held in a creative tension which ultimately is not about who gains what territory and power, but to a finely balanced Universe over which we have no control or power; except, of course, the power of destruction in which we are all engaged at present. We do and should have gratitude as the world turns and our life is altered for a time and a season. Thankfulness should be at the heart of everything we are and do.
A thankfulness which must embrace everyone who are tenants of the earth.

EQUINOX

Sun poised over equator
heralds the day of equal light;
equal darkness.

Earth catches her breath
in a moment of cosmic stillness,
bringing to mind the delicate balance
of solar existence,
of which we are but a small part.

Seasons turn in an astronomical process
in which our human participation is not required.
We are the result of a divine plan,
of an eternal equality over which we have no control.
This global moment is our reminder that
in our vast, unfathomable universe
we are of little significance.

Yet, in the heart of our Creator God,
we are loved and held
because of another Equinox,
not on the equator but on Calvary,
where darkness became light
and a new direction was shown to the world.
It is called Love.
Together, with all on earth
we are invited to embrace it.

[Mr G. 23^rd September 2023]

Swallows go south

**Swallows near Tarn Hows. Gill Henwood**

This is a photo taken by my friend, Gill Henwood, of swallows preparing to leave us for different climes. It is a sure sign that the Season are changing and that Autumn will soon be here. (Though the heatwave in Britain at the moment suggests that there may be a short delay!)

Today I received a letter from another Lakeland friend, Lesley, and she too makes reference to the Swallows. This is what she said:

I have been watching the swallows gathering on the wires that weave this way across gardens and fields. It is interesting to watch the birds jostle to claim and make space on the wires for themselves, some more forcefully than others.

They look so vulnerable. It is hard to imagine the long journey they are preparing to make back to their winter quarters. Soon they’’ll go, flying through difficulties but obviously with an inner certainty about it all. They are held through and beyond the struggles in God’s fantastic plan of Creation.

Even the sparrow find a home
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
My King and My God.
Happy are those who live in your house,
ever singing your praise.

[}Psalm 84 v 3-4[]

Lord, your psalmist sings of the birds, the sparrows and the swallows
finding a home and a nest in your presence
where you take care of them with tremendous love.
They fly now to winter pastures but they trust you on that long journey
and they know confidently that you are near them
and enfold them in your love.

May we be filled with that same confidence, trust and faith
wherever our lives journeys take us.
May we find our home in you,
May our song of praise, like the bird song,
sound out in joy and thanksgiving.

[inspired by Psalm 84 v 3]

Lammas Bread

August 1st is Lammas Day. On this day, particularly in rural areas, it is cutomary to give thanks to God for the gifts of food and the provision of all we need to sustain life. In more ancient times, the beginning of August coincided with the harvesting opf the crops for the milling of flour and thebaking of bread. The ‘first loaf’ was sometimes present to the local church and became the bread used at the Eucharist or the mass – Hence Lammas – Loaf Mass.

Two tales of Bread

Torn from plastic wrapping,
The slab of bread, processed flour,
tumbles unappetizingly, onto the plate.
It is a source of calcium, good for the bones,
with Iron and Niacin, B3 of course,
a small sprinkling of Thiamin adds to the cocktail
of goodness and well-being.
Yeast, salt and water is tinged with Rapeseed Oil,
reminding of spring fields painted radiant yellow.
Lest we lose sight of all this goodness,
Calcium proportionate adds a chemistry lesson
for our delectation and preservation.
Not forgetting, of course, those amazing emulsifiers
E472E and E481
all doused with ascorbic acid.
Bread. Yummy!

Mr Deakin’s Bread

The oven door opens in Mr Deakin’s bakery.
Wafts of delicious, tantalizing
aromas fill the air, tempting the nostrils
with the unmistakable freshly baked bread.
Sacks of flour wait quietly for their turn.
Mr Deakin knows the Miller
who lives near the farmer,
who gathers the crop dancing
in the breeze of his own fields.
We take home the bread still warm.
Crusty yet yielding if pressed,
giving off a rich enticing smell,
whetting the appetite.
Held in trembling hands of expectation,
we break off a little, raise a morsel to our lips.
And another.
Real bread!

[Mr G]