Peter Blog a few random thoughts

https://youtu.be/vFRlV-9nFAI This poem that I was sent a few days ago looks at what this time has taught us about ourselves and the world around us. So I put this question out there for others to ponder. There were many responses but down in this blog Im going to look at some of the points that they had made. One of the things that you heard a lot was that there was little time. We lived in a world that was fast paced and always on the move. Everyone was in a hurry sometimes barging through you to get to their destination a few minutes earlier than they expected to before. Suddenly with the lock down measures we had to change over night. The last paced way of life suddenly for many of us became a lot slower. This meant that people suddenly discovered time. The sudden stoping of normal life meant that there had to be a new pace to life.  The world that was outside became inside. We have seen reports that people have had time to reconnect with themselves and learn to breath a lit...

A few days ago I watched the BBC News to watch a very moving piece about  a Woman who had died whose family had placed a yellow heart in the window. They posted it on Facebook and it has been an opportunity for other grieving families to reach out and help each other through their difficult time.  In my previous blog I mentioned the taboo about Death in society as a whole. I have witnessed many times the uncomfortable nature about talking about death. I remember one person telling me not to mention that their loved one had died that in fact they had just gone out into another room for a while. This was not the first time I had encountered peoples uncomfortable nature about death. I spoke to one lady a few years ago who had just lost her husband. I asked her how she was coping and how hard it was that they had died. She assured me it was ok and showed me her handbag. " Not a problem" she said " he's always with me he's never gone away" In side the handbag w...

In recent weeks we have seen a change in our society. The lock down has changed us all. Our freedoms that we have taken for granted. We have found new ways to connect with our friends and family. Going to Church is flicking on your computer and watching it on the screen. Life has changed. But, with all the clapping on a Thursday evening the Charity fund-raising for NHS Charities the talk of PPE  I believe things that we can do ourselves.  Lockdown has made us confront one or two things about ourselves and also society.  The first thing is that we have had to confront ourselves. Maybe at this time we can be invited to get to know ourselves a little better. To reflect on what makes us tick to unlock who we really are. In the silence and stillness of the world we have been faced with ourselves. Reflect on who we are not what others think about us or how many likes we get but on who we really are.  Maybe see where we can c...

What gives us life? Or where do we find life? These are the questions that jump out at me today in the Readings. Often we try and look for life in so many different places and often these places are short lived and actually are not life giving at all. They present short bursts of excitement but we are always on the search for more.  When I say all this I mean also myself. There are times when I seek the quick fix the pick me up this usually leads to mis understandings and broken relationships in some cases. This search for life is a search for joy it is search for what Paul says “ The things of heaven.” This means letting go of some of the things of earth of being detached from those things that keep us from the things of heaven. We make God’s out of these things and we worship them. We think that they give us life.  These things as the first reading says are Vanities they are things that pass they those things that often feel fun and attractive at the time and from the o...

Often we over complicate prayer. We try and make up long and complicated prayers. We sometimes treat our prayers in that we think that God wants us to hear. And also we pray for others but often forget to pray for ourselves. But, if we are seeking a personal relationship with the person of Jesus then we need both we need collective worship that lifts the soul and our hearts to the Father this may then lead to more of a personal reflection a personal prayer the prayer that leads from formal prayer to the prayer of the heart. We are in a personal relationship with the person of Jesus. He wants to give us what is good he wants to give us what we need and what’s in our hearts. Now, this does not mean that if we pray, say a new Bentley, that he will give it to us.  Then when we pray for something and don’t get it we complain that our prayers are not answered. And yet Jesus makes it quite clear what we must do. Ask: The psalm said “One the day I called you answered me O lord.” So ...

This week I had the strangest experience. I felt my phone behind while I was going to the Hospital. I felt for a while naked without it. What if people need me I thought? What if an important message comes in? What if I need to answer an email? What if I need to check my facebook status. What if I needed to take a photo of something. After a while realising that I did not have it to hand I began not to miss it. There was almost a mild panic attack. I began to reflect on how we have become people of doing that we are defined by what we do by. How busy we are. Someone was telling me the other day how busy they were how tired they were becoming how they felt guilty about resting or even having a cup of tea or going for a walk.  How have we become so obsessed with doing when after all we are human beings. We get our self esteem our sense of worth by what we are doing how wrong is this. True self esteem comes from knowing that we are children of God and that he loves us. I ...

In the Gospel today we have  today is one of those that we think we know back to front. When we see the first question that we come across he comes to Jesus and says what must I do to inherit enteral life. He quotes the book of Deuteronomy of what it means to love God. “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your strength and with your mind and your neighbour as yourself.” Maybe it's worth going through each of these.  With all your heart: We constantly strive to open our hearts to the love of God. We come and praise his name by this we are opening our hearts to his love. We may extend our hearts that our body show the extent of this love of God. We are on our knees we stand we extend our hands in prayer we love God because he is love and loves us. With all your soul. So when our hearts are open then its the soul cries out in love of the Lord look at the sound of Mary it states that that my soul cries out proclaims wh...