A message from Fr John

Dear Friends

Good morning - I hope you’re ready for the ‘Beast from the East 2’

It was the feast of St Paul Miki and his companions so I began to think about some of the extraordinary Jesuit missionaries from the 16th Century who travelled across the Far East, many of of whom never returned. They were men of great faith and intelligence who worked hard to understand the language and culture of the people they lived among.

It got me to think about the Chinese building on Madamswood; I had no idea what it was was and so I looked it up on Google - as you do. It is a Taoist temple and I must confess I know practically nothing about Taoism. So I looked it up on the Jesuit website and found this remarkable Taoist prayer which has so many resonances with our own St Francis of Assisi and Pope Francis.

Save Your Servant

Save your servant, O Sustainer of Life,
From too early a death.
Free me of that affliction of believers
Who so easily become rigid of heart
In their journeys to you.
Make my heart like the green willow tree
That easily bends in the wind,
That bows gracefully before the storm
Only to raise its head again with renewed life
When the angry clouds have moved on.
Fill me this day, I pray,
With the strength of your Spirit,
The strength to be flexible and ever-green.
Create within me the heart
Of a disciple of life,
A heart that is gentle and meek.
Let me learn a lesson from your daughter water
Who seeks the lowest path,
Ever yielding and humble,
Yet wears down the strongest stones into sand.
In her I see the wisdom of the Tao:
The hard and strong will fall;
The soft and meek shall overcome.

Ed Hays

We will hear in today’s Gospel that Jesus, in the midst of all is work of preaching and healing, had to find space for quiet prayer. Let us too find that quiet space in our hearts to listen to the voice of the Father with the confidence of the Spirit.

St Joseph, companion in prayer, pray for us

Every blessing

Fr John

Special prayers this week for Ruth please