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  Entry into Jerusalem (scene 1) Duccio di Buoninsegna [ Web Gallery of Art ] Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road  (Matthew 21:8; Gospel for Procession of Palms). The Commemoration of the Lord’s Entrance into Jerusalem Gospel for Procession of Palms   Matthew 21:1-11  ( English Standard Version Anglicised: India)    Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,   saying to them,  “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me.   If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them’, and he will send them at once.”   This took place to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you,    ...

  Maybe they don't want to be saved CLICK HERE

Venus is dead as a doornail as far as life is concerned. Life as we know it, at any rate, and already I'm drifting off-topic. Geologically, though, we've know that there's still metaphorical life in Venus. Or was, until very recently. Orbiters have sent back evidence of geologically-recent volcanic activity, including images of shield volcanoes and lava flows. But we had no direct evidence of a volcano that's active now. Until scientists sifted through data recorded and stored in the early 1990s. Observing Venus: Five Millennia in About 700 Words Telescopic Views Pulp Fiction and the Radar Astronomers Missions to Venus SAR, Science and Magellan Active(?) Volcano on Venus: Maat Mons From the Magellan Archives: a Changing Volcanic Vent — — And New Lava Flows, Maybe Hot Spots, Sulfur Dioxide, Venusian Volcanoes and Acronyms Missions, Maps, Maat Mons and Mor e "Greater Admiration" More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Views of Ven...

The Raising of Lazarus Caravaggio [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel     John11:1-45  [11:3-7,17, 20-27, 33b-45]    ( English Standard Version Anglicised: India)       Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.   It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.   So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”   But when Jesus heard it he said,  “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Continue at Bangor to Bobbio .

  I was going through a prayerful reflection that was using visualization.  The idea was that it took you to the Nativity scene where you met Jesus, Mary and Joseph.  I'm not used to this type of prayer for a lot of reasons, but the reflection continued with a focus on an embrace by Mary. This may sound really strange to some of you, if this is not your particular type of prayer, but it brought to mind a memory from long ago that I thought I'd share.  When I am in the right mood, and open to this type of prayer, I have found it quite powerful in the past, so I try to be open to it when invited to do so. Anyway, I was probably somewhere in my early twenties and I walked into my mom's kitchen.  I can see her standing there and we started talking.  I don't know if I needed the hug or if she did, but I seem to remember her saying that hugs are important, especially for people who live alone, as she embraced me deeply. I remember it felt so good, an...

    March  2020 Lockdown Grief Friday, 27th March, in a village outside Birmingham, Brian noticed that he wasn’t feeling right, that he was much more tired than usual. Managing to get himself to work he cocooned himself away in his office, leaving early, at four, to go home and straight to  bed, praying  that the  extraordinary tiredness would soon lift. Next morning, though he found getting up extremely  d ifficult,  he swallowed some pills with an energy drink and dragged himself out the door. After all, as store manager for a large supermarket, he needed to be there for his staff, his customers, his community.  He owed it to the people to show up, especially amidst the panic buying. He  hoped, that today,  the shelves would be, at least, half stocked for his customers. Nevertheless, he knew that even if this were the case, that still the toilet roll supply couldn’t keep up. It barely made it out to the floor before it disappeared...

Imagine, just imagine meeting Jesus in person.  What would you say to him?  How would you react?  Would you start complaining to him, or would you drop to your knees? In John's gospel ( Chapter 4, Verses 5-42 ) we hear the account of a Samaritan woman who goes to collect water in the middle of the day.  There are reasons that she went at that time of day.  I'm not going to get into them right now, but, as the passage unfolds, she comes across Jesus sitting at the well, resting, because he was tired. They have an interesting exchange, and you definitely should read the entire passage, but here's what I don't want you to miss . . . After the woman encountered Jesus, and once she realized he was a prophet, maybe even the Messiah (the expected savior), she ran into town (leaving her water jar behind!) and told the people: “Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Christ?” What did Jesus say to her that was so significan...

Betelgeuse, the bright red star in Orion's right shoulder, is a semiregular variable star, with small periods of 185 days and 2,100 days and a main period of around 400 days. It will explode at any moment, and we're right next door. If I had any sense, from one viewpoint, I'd talk about the ozone hole, denounce forever chemicals and promote a 'Save the Panda' fund I'd set up. Or maybe indulge in free association inspired by Revelation and Gematria, and slip in hints that your only hope is to give me money. Yeah. That kind of trouble I don't need. Besides, I suspect the weird mix of numerology and Bible trivia that infested 'Christian' radio during my youth is no longer in vogue. 1 So instead, I'll look at the last two times Betelgeuse was newsworthy. Then I'll talk about cosmic scale, stars and whatever else comes to mind. Headlines! Science Distances, Safe and Otherwise Estimates and an Example Looking Ahead, Looking Back ...

  Blind Pensioner with a Stick Vincent van Gogh [ Web Gallery of Ar t] Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   John 9:1-41  ( English Standard Version Anglicised: India)     [For the shorter form (9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38) omit the text in brackets.]   As Jesus passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.   [   And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”   Jesus answered,  “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.   We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.   As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ]   Having said these things,]  he spat on the ground ...

"You have no bucket, sir, and the well is deep: how could you get this living water?" Today, in the liturgy, there is the choice to have again the beautiful, gloriously rich story of the Samaritan Woman. I was struck for the first time - and I've listened to and read the story many , many times over my nearly 70 years -  by the simple,  everyday way in which the woman talks to Jesus - "You have no bucket..." It made me think how easy it is not to trust that God is God and that he needs no bucket.  How often do we think, that's impossibly ? How often do we lack  Faith in Jesus to give us what we need. How often does our action say, "You have no bucket..."  "How are you going to do that?"   

  Christ and the Samaritan Woman at the Well Johann Zick [ Web Gallery of Art ] At Mass yesterday I was struck by these beautiful words in the special Preface used when the Gospel of the Samaritan woman is read. The Preface is always addressed by the priest to God the Father. For when [Jesus] asked the Samaritan woman for water to drink,  he had already created the gift of faith within her and so ardently did he thirst for her faith,  that he kindled in her the fire of divine love. Please continue at Bangor to Bobbio .