As we enter Holy Week we remember Christ’s suffering, his painful death and his resurrection. Although it is a sad time, it is also at the end, a very joyful time as he has opened the gates of heaven for us and we have a path to eternal life.

Having prepared this way for us, Jesus has become the great High Priest who is constantly interceding for us before the Father. He never has or will stop loving us even though how could we have done anything to deserve this?

Not only has he done and continues to do all of this: he also listens to our prayers and answers them. As I review my life and what has happened to me and those around me, I can see those times when he has been most present. During great suffering he is always there, comforting us and making a way forward for us.

What is most interesting and amazing is that you can see how he has paved the way to answer our prayers even before we ask. Many times, I have seen miracles happen when I have asked for help and these miracles were based on actions taken in the past with no idea of what the future held.

He is that still, small voice inside us that is so gentle in his encouragement and sometimes in his warnings. If only we would listen to him more and accompany him more.

God bless you and I pray that he will help you to draw nearer to him,

1 Kings 19 11:13

And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; ¹² and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire, a still small voice.

The leap of faith is just the beginning of a long and sometimes very weary and dry battle to maintain that faith and grow in it. There are days when I feel very distant from God and question whether I am doing enough, praying enough and if I am failing all of the time. Lent is especially difficult because we put ourselves under so much pressure to show our thankfulness to Jesus and to deprive ourselves in some way as he did when he fasted in the desert for 40 days and nights. Covid has made this especially difficult this year.

Various priests have had advice to give over the years about how we can ‘tackle’ Lent and I particularly like the idea that rather than abstaining from something that gives you pleasure, it would be a good idea to work out how you can use your time in Lent to help others. Giving to charity, increasing donations, offering help to someone who needs it when you can. This year, I particularly liked Pope Francis’ idea of how to fast. I have pasted an image containing his ideas below. His ideas can be a framework for trying to alter our negative behaviour patterns and strive to be better christians.

I know we are coming to the end of Lent and entering into Holy Week, but it is good to reflect on what your Lent has been like and to come to terms, in prayer, with what you have succeeded in and what you feel you have failed at, and offer all of this to God who hears our prayers and comforts us.

God bless you and may he be with you on your journey through Holy Week with him,

It is very difficult to sit still for a long period of time and empty yourself to allow God to speak to you. I think it takes a lot of practice and to enter into a deeper contemplation, you have to try first of all to find peace within and shut out every worldly thought. Not easy, especially when you are suffering and worldly concerns take over.

First of all, you need to relax yourself (there are exercises for this and do message me if you would like an example), find a quiet place, and try to shut out any noises that are happening around you. You can focus on either a passage of scripture or you can just gaze at the Cross and allow your mind to empty ready for God to speak to you or just to sense his presence.

It is very rewarding when you have spent time doing this – you can feel refreshed, at peace and you can retain that wonderful feeling and remember it when you once again have to face the struggles of everyday living. It is especially good when you are going through very difficult times and just need time out to put it all to one side and share your burdens.

I make sure I spend time in prayer daily. I may not achieve that great sense of God speaking to me or being beside me all of the time, but I always feel better for it.

Matthew 11 28:30

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

May God bless you with his presence and comfort you,

For years I have attended courses, read recommended books and have really enjoyed most of them and felt that I did receive something each time in a spiritual sense. Alpha, Life in the Spirit, diocesan Lent and Advent courses, Celebrate events in my area etc. etc. I have lead a prayer group for a number of years and belonged to others.

I think that growth as a christian does involve educating yourself and being with people who have similar beliefs. You can fill your whole life with what is available out there, but I seem to have got to a point where I feel unfulfilled. Each course or group I attend, I feel something is missing and an urge to get out there and actually put into practice what I am living mostly in my mind and also to question the fruitfulness of what I am involved in.

We are told what we need to do to be good christians but I wonder if most of the time it is all intellectual rather than practical. We are ticking boxes by attending a service/Mass, going on various rotas to help out with these from singing in the choir to making coffees, etc. We join groups and talk about our faith. We read books to help us understand more. But I feel that this can lead to emptiness if it isn’t followed up by reaching outside of our comfort zones more and putting ourselves at the service of others. This can be very challenging. We need to ask God for direction in our lives and for help in finding out how we can use our talents to help others more and where we are best placed to do that.

Although we do need to spend time in prayer, study and joining with others to worship God, let’s let our willingness to help others also be a priority, with love and in Jesus name.

God bless,

Matthew 5:16

 ….let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

When we went into the first lockdown, I did question why churches were being told to close and cease all services. This did seem to be against our right to freedom of religion and we needed our churches more than ever, particularly at the beginning, because there was so much fear around (and there still is). At a time when we should have been able to go to a peaceful place and pray, we were told the doors had to be closed and we should all stay at home.

We all followed these rules, of course, as our governments were in charge of reacting to what was going on and we needed to do what was best for everyone. With hindsight, I am sure they wouldn’t do this again and just as now during this lockdown, we can pray and have services in our churches, we would have been able to do so before.

I do think however that church and state should be completely separate. The church shouldn’t interfere in politics (unless decisions are being made against strongly held beliefs) and the state shouldn’t interfere in the running of our churches. By giving in so easily in the first place, we weakened this position.

Psalm 46 says God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. The reality is that there will be difficult times, but God promises to be our refuge, our hope and ever present help in trouble and was with us in all that we went through.

We have learnt a lot in this pandemic: how to care for one another, empathise with others’ grief, slow down and reflect on the world around us and strive to look after ourselves mentally and physically. Despite the awful and sad death toll, we can try to take some positives and grow spiritually.

God bless and be with you and strengthen you,

We all make mistakes and I don’t think anyone would say that they feel they have never sinned. They may be small or big sins and we constantly fall into temptation to commit them. It could be such sins as gossip, judging people, using the office phone for personal calls, etc. It is easy with the smaller sins to feel that it isn’t really sinning as they are so trivial, but these smaller ones do lead to bigger ones as we travel further along that road of losing that sensitivity that we have about making the wrong choices. We lose that ‘gut feeling’ and instead think that it isn’t right, but so what, it doesn’t really matter, does it?

It is a good practice at the end of the day to think about what you have done and whether you think you did something that wasn’t right but also to recognise those things you did well. This examination of conscience helps us to keep in touch with our inner sense of sinfulness but also to recognise when we are travelling along the right narrow path and giving ourselves a pat on the back. We can also ask for God’s forgiveness and help to avoid sinning again. The petty sins are the worst because they can become habits and we are constantly tempted by them. God is also ready to forgive the bigger sins and knows just how much we suffer when we live with these sins on our conscience.

Below are the words from another prophecy received by my husband. Whenever he did receive God’s words, they were always very loving and concerned for us all to make the right choices to be with him – here is an extract about making the right choices and repenting:

“There are none righteous, just the guilty.  It is the children of My flock who acknowledge their wrongs and repent and I wait ever patient, ever loving for those who have strayed, those who deny their sins, to awake and look to Me for forgiveness.  When will you realise that sin itself is rebellion?  It is the very thing which prevents you from accepting My forgiveness, for how can you truly accept forgiveness when you still secretly covet your sins? Yielding to temptation and falling is not a foregone conclusion; resist temptation and the tempter will flee from you for I am ever present, ever watching to ensure you do not receive trials beyond what you can endure.  So strive to live your life in goodness and purity and I shall ensure you never fall.  Do not walk straight into temptation, for this is like testing Me, testing your faith.  It is far better for you to avoid temptation wherever possible for no-one on this earth truly understands how the gift of faith works, so it is important that you always strive to recognize and accept our guidance so you may never unknowingly sin against the Word or Spirit.

If you falter, do not agonize or fear – there is an infinite ocean of grace waiting just for you, waiting to invigorate and restore you with power and peace.  There is no to end to its length or depth and it is waiting for all who choose to embrace the Father, so immerse yourself now, accept the Father’s merciful, enabling help, his continued working in your life, his ongoing empowerment, to enable you to live for him.  For it is by His grace that you are not only forgiven but given the divine ability to live in freedom above sin.  This grace offered to you was achieved at great cost, the sacrifice of his Son, and My presence is a constant Memorial of this sacrifice, My purpose being to empower you to combat sin, to remove all wickedness and to sanctify you into righteous and godly people, to transform your entire nature into that or a glorious, holy and perfect bride.

Yes, My children, you can stand firm against sin in the authority given to you by My Son, yes, stand firm and you shall come before Me, not in shame or abject terror but in great joy with your remaining blemishes and imperfections purified, holy and at one with Me for all eternity as the perfect and pure bride of My beloved Son.  Amen “

God bless,

One of the greatest sources of worry comes through the media. When something happens or is about to happen they not only carry out the who, what, why, when, where but they bang on about it repeatedly daily, weekly, monthly just as if you are being brainwashed with news rather than given the news in a succinct and necessary way.

We all want to know what is going on in the world, but we don’t want to be constantly reminded at times when we need peace and to get on with our lives. Awful things are happening all of the time and the press have become news hounds, desperate not only for a story, but to share every possible aspect of that story until even our sympathy becomes jaundiced because we are full up to overflowing with the information.

It is difficult, but I think we would lead happier lives if we restrict the number of times we look at our newsfeeds online or programmes on the television. Once we have the gist of what is happening, we don’t need to go into the news so far that it overwhelms us. We just need to pray for the people who are badly affected by what is going on and leave them in God’s hands. Otherwise, by dwelling on it, we are becoming voyeurs on unhappy situations.

Whenever you do feel yourself becoming too worried or fearful, there are some wonderful bible passages – just like the one below and in my section containing bible passages in my welcome page – that we can pray and ask God to bring peace back to us.

Psalm 62:1,2

‘Truly my soul finds rest in God… He is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.’ 

It is so hard to work out whether you are spending enough time in prayer and in service to God. I am constantly battling with worldly distractions. I watch too much television and read many books that don’t add to my journey to God. It is hard to drag yourself away from things that you feel give you comfort or entertainment. But have you ever noticed that they don’t last long, you crave more. That is the sign of something that isn’t really fulfilling you in any sustainable way.

When I lost my husband and lie awake at night worrying, grieving and fretting about the future, the only consolation I found was in reading the Bible or anything of a religious nature. Anything else didn’t distract me enough or help with the process I was going through.

I think if we feel guilty about how much time we are spending with God, it is easy to reflect on how much actual time we do spend with him and often in my case it is: not enough.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, my husband had the gift of prophecy and here is one of the prophecies he received:

” You are My beloveds, being never forced to obey My will; you have always had the freedom to choose because our relationship is that of Father and child, not master and servant.  It is My desire that as you mature you will grow in My image, every detail of My character being lovingly and faithfully reproduced upon you, proving you to be My true offspring, destined to share in My majesty and glory, loving Me and obeying Me in a way a servant never could, without the slightest degree of remorse or resentment.  You shall come to a position where your attitude of obedience is such that you have no conscious knowledge of My will, for your will and desires shall be united with mine, indistinguishable, inseparable and impervious to all temptation and perversion with this attitude you shall attain the ultimate goal, the maturity and stature of My Son, the Christ, He who has an unwavering desire to perform My will.

But to achieve this first you must grow, prepare for this moment, for I am surprised by how many of you become distracted and diverted from your purpose and destiny by worldly temptations to which you constantly succumb, I understand this trait of human nature but in you My children there is no need for such diversion for the spirit is more than capable of strengthening you to withstand these temptations so forget your pride and come to Me, let Me embrace you, let the scales be removed from your eyes so you may perceive My plan for you and let the Spirit help you along the path of simple obedience.  To do this he must scrutinise your disposition, identify parts of your character which are not yet suited to a life of humble service and obedience, assailing and overcoming these citadels of obstinacy.  Then and only then will our relationship be complete, free from all hindrances, a relationship that will withstand all trials, a relationship which is pure and perfect, a relationship which endures for all eternity, built on the spiritual not the natural, your character uniquely fitted by My grace to perform the tasks I desire.

So My children be patient and trust in Me and you shall see all hidden depths of pride and self-satisfaction in your heart wither, your very nature transformed, your gaze fixed upon us, the glorious Trinity.  Your life holding nothing but our presence, ready and prepared for the call to walk with Me, to be forever embraced in My loving arms. Amen. “

I hope that you find this helpful – we are attuned to God and that little nagging voice in us is telling us when we are going off course. Try to listen to it; it isn’t easy but it is very rewarding.

God bless,

It’s a lovely sunny Sunday and I have just attended Mass virtually. I was thinking about how prayer affects you psychologically. Just as when the sun comes out and you find your spirits lifted, it can often be the same with prayer. Sometimes you can start praying and possibly it can be when you are feeling low or you are in a rush or you are doing it because it is a habit – a good one – but you don’t quite feel you want to – you feel as uplifted as if the sun has shone through the clouds on a grey day.

I make it a habit to always pray first thing in the morning – I use a morning and evening prayers book (A Shorter Morning & Evening Prayer – Collins), the Magnificat, the Simple Prayer Book and I also have a book by Stormie Martian called ‘The Power of a Praying Parent’ which I use to pray for my sons. Morning prayers can be very uplifting – you can use the psalms or bible passages from that day’s readings and let God speak to you in this time with him.

Sometimes it feels like a struggle to start, especially if I have a busy day ahead and want to get going. I try never to miss them out because it doesn’t matter how I feel when I begin them; at the end I feel uplifted, sometimes more than others and it draws me closer to God.

Prayers are basically conversations with our God. We need to keep in touch with him and let him know he is important to us. Just as with a relative or friend, you need to sustain that relationship in order to develop it and remain close.

There are no wrong ways to pray. Even talking to God and telling him how you are feeling and inviting him to help you is enough. Jesus taught us the ‘Our Father’ and just praying this and giving God time to answer is okay.

We can’t put God to the test but I can assure you that he listens to all prayers and has answered many of mine. Not necessarily in the way I hope but he is always there for me and will be there for you. I pray for a fruitful, loving prayer relationship for you and our God.

God bless,

This morning I have been thinking about the lives of the saints. In the Magnificat which is a publication I subscribe to, we have the daily Mass readings, evening prayer, articles and they write about the life of the saint celebrated on the day.

The thing that they all have in common is the struggle they faced and the sufferings they went through. I don’t think any of them had an easy life and when they have, they usually give most of their possessions away and live in poverty serving the poor.

Jesus said: ‘ it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 19:24). This is a difficult teaching for us to understand and carry through. Of course, we need enough for our own lives as we have to support ourselves and our families otherwise we become a burden on society. I don’t think that this means we give everything away. It just asks us to not store up surplus when others are going without; not to worship worldly things as this can get in the way of our love of God.

The saints could focus on God because they chose to live a life that allowed them to do that. Similarly, we all have that choice to make. How much we store up for ourselves and how much we give of ourselves and our possessions so that we can embrace a more christian life and draw closer to God.

In some countries, christians are being persecuted and killed for their faith. I was questioning myself today about whether I would be prepared to die for my faith and it did worry me about what my response would be when faced with the situations they are finding themselves in. We need to pray for that strength so that we can be ready if it should ever happen to us and stand up for our beliefs when attacked. This is happening more and more and not just physically, but as society becomes more ‘free to do whatever it feels like’ we may find ourselves being challenged more and more. Stand strong!

God bless,

1 Corinthians 16:13

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.

Isaiah 41:10

 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.