Peter Blog a few random thoughts

This morning while having Breakfast  (Crunchy Nut Cornflakes for those who want to know) I was watching as usual the News. On it's Friday morning slot I was watching a thing on New apps. This week I ears pricked up at the conversation. This chap had made an app for us to slow down and meditate. Or as modern commentators like to call is mindfulness. So here is the definition I have found on this "new" concept. " A mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique." I have unpacked this thought about it. Read about it and now I realise that this can be defined by one simple word and that is yes you got it one Prayer.  I think that this modern thinking on meditation and mindfulness is a God given opportunity by the Church and  Christian communities to talk about Prayer. For me it is one of the most powerful too...

I am asked often how did I know what God wanted me to do? I always answer that actually I am not sure. A vocation is a calling by God to serve him. For all of us it is a process of prayer and listening to that call. For some of us it is to be married and have children others it is to be single and for others it means religious life as a nun of a priest or a brother. But vocation is not something you do it is something you are. You are a teacher, you are married you are a priest. So it becomes part of you it becomes a way you live your life. All your thoughts and actions come from the fact that you have been chosen by God to live this life. It has its challenges it has its up and it's downs but we stick with it. Why? Because Jesus says " you did not choose me, no I chose you "  So do not be scared. The road of listening to the Lord is sometimes tough, sometimes we ask why me but it is something that we need to take the courage and put out into the deep and hold the hand...

Yesterday during Mass we heard again the account of Jesus teaching his disciples to pray. I was reflecting that often with prayers that we say often say them too fast and do not really get into the depths of the prayer. Once in a Confirmation group we challenged the young people to listen to the words again by reflecting on what the words actually mean and how challenging they are actually to say and pray.  So maybe the next time we say the Our Father let us reflect on what it actually means and what the words actually mean to us. How fantastic it is to call our God Our Father. This personal relationship with Our God who loves us that he is close to us and wants the best for us always. So let us slow down listen to the words that we say and pray the Our Father in a different way.

So we have started our Lent observance we have started with the things that we have given up. I wonder how it is going. Have we been tempted? Temptation is everywhere around us especially when we know that we are trying hard to give something up or not to do something over lent. When we rare trying our best there seems to be temptation around every corner or in every cupboard. We can learn from the person of Jesus. Jesus went and prayed. He asked for help. We can do the same. We can ask the lord for help. Lent is a time when we renew our selves in the love and knowledge of Jesus. We also through self-denial and prayer and works of charity get to know ourselves better too. I find that the best thing if I am tempted to have some sweets or chocolate for example is not to have it in the house. Get rid of the temptation out of the house know what triggers us. Through the prayer and holy season of lent let us through the help of God and the community of the Church get closer to the pers...

This week we have started the Holy Season of Lent. For many people it appears on first hand to be a depressing time of year. They look and see that it is a time when they give up things like Chocolate other nice things. On embarking on the season they are only looking towards the end. I have heard people say “Only another 3 weeks and then I can eat chocolate again.” But, I feel that they are missing the whole point of Lent. I often call Lent the joyful season of Lent.  And when I say this people think I am half crazed. Let me put it this way. When you have had a spring clean, when you have dusted and tied the house put things in its rightful place how do you feel? You may feel tired because it has been hard work but you feel a lot better with yourself and your surroundings. You have a sense of job done and satisfaction.  The same can be said with Lent. It is hard work and sometimes we feel it is too difficult and yet it is by fasting, prayer and charity we have a spiritua...

Jesus today goes out and reaches out to the Outcast in society. I wonder who our social outcasts are. Those who do not fit in to what we think as “Normal.” Do we go out of our way to accept and help them? Do we go out and touch them and listen to them. Or do we go along with convention and join everyone else in casting out those who society will not help. 

My first experience of football was as a young boy when my Father took myself and my brother to  see West Ham play. I think that it was against Norwich and was a 0-0 draw. In the years to come as a family we followed West Ham even sharing my Brothers season ticket. I like many others enjoy watching and getting involved in football.  I also, like many others, was shocked and stunned to learn that the rights for  Premiership  football was worth 5 Billion pounds. I can’t help thinking that we are about to out price the Beautiful game and as it makes more and more money that greed and power will destroy what Gary Linker and others calls Grass roots football. And because of this and the rise of the foreign players in the top league sadly in my life time I cannot see us ever winning the world cup. This is not meant to be a piece on just the greed of  Premiership  and the rise of money that goes with it. There is a deeper issue here. We live in a socie...