Joy and sorrow

4 October 2011

Fr Bill Rooke celebrated Mass with us on The Feast of St Francis of Assisi

My hand is upon you. You are mine. Rejoice with me.


11 October 2011

Psalm 95 v 1-7
1 Come, let us cry out with joy to Yahweh, acclaim the rock of our salvation.

2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving, acclaim him with music.
3 For Yahweh is a great God, a king greater than all the gods.
4 In his power are the depths of the earth, the peaks of the mountains are his;
5 the sea belongs to him, for he made it, and the dry land, moulded by his hands.
6 Come, let us bow low and do reverence; kneel before Yahweh who made us!
7 For he is our God, and we the people of his sheepfold, the flock of his hand. If only you would listen to him today!

Be faithful in the small, the humble things.

Picture of Jesus in his eyes was so much sorrow.
The Crown of Thorns was on his head and he was resigned to what was to come.
There was no reproach in his eyes, only sorrow and such a deep longing for the return of his love.
He willingly accepted all that came to him, for love of us all. His eyes swam in unshed tears for his beloved people led astray by the adversary.
So willingly and for love of us he gave himself completely on our behalf to free us from the yoke of slavery to sin. As we keep looking into his eyes his very tears become like pools of living water flowing from his face making us clean.
His heart is overflowing with precious blood and water until we are surrounded and encompassed by the flow. We can all feel the love , the support, the strength, the hope to carry on doing the work he has called us to, helping to save souls by prayer fasting and good works and by keeping our eyes on him.

Touch us heal us have mercy on us

Notes from meeting 27 September 2011

Where two or three are gathered there I am in the midst.
Anointed by the Spirit

Healing praise (We seek healing for ourselves and for others)

Jesus touch me,
Jesus heal me,
Jesus touch us,
Jesus heal us.

Repentance praise. (We repent for our own sins and failings and those of others)

Do not weep for me but for yourselves and your children


Kyrie Eleison, Christe Eleison, Kyrie Eleison
Son of David have pity on me

Revelations 6 v 9-17
9 When he broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of all the people who had been killed on account of the Word of God, for witnessing to it.

10 They shouted in a loud voice, 'Holy, true Master, how much longer will you wait before you pass sentence and take vengeance for our death on the inhabitants of the earth?'
11 Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to be patient a little longer, until the roll was completed of their fellow-servants and brothers who were still to be killed as they had been.
12 In my vision, when he broke the sixth seal, there was a violent earthquake and the sun went as black as coarse sackcloth; the moon turned red as blood all over,
13 and the stars of the sky fell onto the earth like figs dropping from a fig tree when a high wind shakes it;
14 the sky disappeared like a scroll rolling up and all the mountains and islands were shaken from their places.
15 Then all the kings of the earth, the governors and the commanders, the rich people and the men of influence, the whole population, slaves and citizens, hid in caverns and among the rocks of the mountains.
16 They said to the mountains and the rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us away from the One who sits on the throne and from the retribution of the Lamb.
17 For the Great Day of his retribution has come, and who can face it?'



Picture of a person sat on a river bank full of worries and concerns.
Jesus came to them and held them close in his arms so that their hearts touched.
Jesus took the person down to the water and anointed the person with water from a horn.
Then others came dressed in white and took the person up to the top of the bank with a shout of great Joy.

Restore us, O God

Notes of Meeting on 20 September 2011


Grace poured out on us.

There is hope for the Church

Psalm 80


1 Hear us, Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,
shine forth 2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Awaken your might;
come and save us.
3 Restore us, O God;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.
4 How long, LORD God Almighty,
will your anger smolder
against the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears;
you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
6 You have made us an object of derision to our neighbors,
and our enemies mock us.
7 Restore us, God Almighty;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.
8 You transplanted a vine from Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it,
and it took root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 Its branches reached as far as the Sea,
its shoots as far as the River.
12 Why have you broken down its walls
so that all who pass by pick its grapes?
13 Boars from the forest ravage it,
and insects from the fields feed on it.
14 Return to us, God Almighty!
Look down from heaven and see!
Watch over this vine,
15 the root your right hand has planted,
the son you have raised up for yourself.
16 Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;
at your rebuke your people perish.
17 Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
the son of man you have raised up for yourself.
18 Then we will not turn away from you;
revive us, and we will call on your name.
19 Restore us, LORD God Almighty;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.

He has used the power of his arm

Notes of Meeting on 13 September 2011

Picture of Jesus pulling a person out a the pit of darkness.
Jesus used not only his hand but his whole forearm which he clapsed around the arm of the person. It was as if he was using his whole strength and giving every ounce of himself to save that poor soul who so nearly lost their eternity to perdition.
How much effort and care and love Jesus took in saving this soul who looked to be so nearly lost.
The words from Luke 1 v51-52 came to mind:
51He has used the power of his arm, he has routed the arrogant of heart.
52 He has pulled down princes from their thrones and raised high the lowly.
The person pulled from the pit wasn't poor in riches but poor in spirit, lacking the Holy Spirit. The person had led a life without Jesus centered on money and position and worldly things. We have all at some stage and to some extent done the same, how wonderful that with his grace the Holy Spirit worked and continues to work in us.
Jesus gave himself body and soul to to free us from the pit. His love is so great he expends himself time and again enabling his Holy Spirit to work in our lives transforming us, making us fruitful and to be like him in all things
Jesus then raised this person up. It was as though this person was now a new creation. Their heart now mirrored that of Jesus.  Jesus says "You little child are mine. I hold you in the palm of my hand."
 
Psalm 20
1 May Yahweh answer you in time of trouble, may the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary, give you support from Zion!
3 May he remember all your sacrifices and delight in your burnt offerings! Pause
4 May he grant you your heart's desire and crown all your plans with success!
5 So that with joy we can hail your victory and draw up our ranks in the name of our God. May Yahweh grant all your petitions.
6 Now I know that Yahweh gives victory to his anointed. He will respond from his holy heavens with great deeds of victory from his right hand.
7 Some call on chariots, some on horses, but we on the name of Yahweh our God.
8 They will crumple and fall, while we stand upright and firm.
9 Yahweh, save the king, answer us when we call.

Dear Lord,
Fill our minds with your wisdom, knowledge and discernment.
Unblock our ears and help us to listen with compassion.
Loose our tongue to speak your words of comfort.
Melt our hearts and fill them with your love.
Anoint our hands with the power of your healing and;
May we always be willing to walk the extra mile for those in need.
Amen

The Holy Spirit is our Helper

Notes from Meeting on 6 September 2011

A picture of Jesus upon the Cross with tall grass and a thicket of thorns growing around the base so that people could no longer see Jesus' suffering or sacrifice.
Those of us trying to get through to Jesus seemed unable to do so.
People were praying, fasting and doing good works but as fast as we tried to remove the grass and thorns they returned like a barrier. The grass and the thorn represent the things of the world that Satan has sown to obscure the truth of the Cross and Jesus' suffering on our behalf.
Then everyone called on the Holy Spirit and suddenly a beam of light cut through the grass and thorns so that Jesus could be seen and known again.
The Sword of the Spirit the Word of Truth cuts through everything and lays all things bare. We need to rely and call on our friend The Holy Spirit so that things that seem impossible to us are mad possible by Him who is the Holy Teacher. We need to put on the full armour of God and do everything  in and through the Holy Spirit. With Him we cannot go wrong. We will need no strength or great acumen only the humility to call on Him in all things. He cannot fail us because the Father's love is so great for us and the Son's sacrifice on our behalf so precious and effective.


John 14 v 26
but the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you.
2 Corinthians 6 v 14 - 18
14 Do not harness yourselves in an uneven team with unbelievers; how can uprightness and law-breaking be partners, or what can light and darkness have in common?

15 How can Christ come to an agreement with Beliar and what sharing can there be between a believer and an unbeliever?
16 The temple of God cannot compromise with false gods, and that is what we are -- the temple of the living God. We have God's word for it: I shall fix my home among them and live among them; I will be their God and they will be my people.
17 Get away from them, purify yourselves, says the Lord. Do not touch anything unclean, and then I shall welcome you.
18 I shall be father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to me, says the almighty Lord.