Back in 2005 I published my first book. At present I am writing another. Writing is a challenge I enjoy. It takes discipline but it is also important to have something to say! In the context of the Bulletin of St Joseph’s Church’s I hope that the main words will not be mine but the Word of God.

Any week that I am privileged to pen a few lines for you I will try to leave most to the Word of God. Occasionally, I may feel the urge to launch into some topic or opinion. But honestly I am not sure that it matters all that much what I think in comparison to pondering the only Word that matters.

What is the Spirit saying to you this weekend as the Word is spoken to us as individuals and as a community gathered for worship? The traditional way to begin any time of prayer, reflection or reading of the Word is to call upon the Holy Spirit for guidance:

 Come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of your faithful

And enkindle in them the fire of your Divine Love

Send forth your spirit and they shall be created

And you will renew the face of the earth.

 In the 1 st Reading of the Mass taken from the prophet Isaiah we hear:

 The Lord will wipe away the tears from every cheek….

See this is our God in whom we hoped for salvation

When was the last time you cried and why? Offer this memory to God and ask His blessing. He comes to wipe away our tears not always by taking away the pain but by telling us that He is our hope and that salvation will be ours. We may cry again but we know that we are never alone. Be it day or night He is with us as our Saviour. Let this truth sink deeply into our minds and hearts.

In the 2 nd Reading when St Paul writes to the Church at Philippi he reinforces the consolation offered by Isaiah:

There is nothing I cannot master with the help of the One who gives me strength

Note that St Paul says there is nothing that cannot be mastered with the help of God. Let that become part of every day and every night. I am never alone and that is the source of my hope and confidence. Pray fervently that you will allow God to come that close to you.

To make us even more confident of this protection listen to the Psalmist:

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want

During the week you will have an opportunity to hear the Word speak to you again in prayer.

And while you pray the Scriptures remember a prayer for me! Aidan Troy,