The Apostles James and John came with an outrageous question! It's as if they'd learned nothing at all from their time with the Lord. So He sets abouut teaching them again...cas

For whom are the Gifts of the Holy Spirit?

God gives each of us an immense amount to work with. Our task is to double the amount by trading and taking risks with it, by making use of Grace for the Kingdom of God. The stakes are high.

It's only the first Sunday in Great Lent! Finding the going tough so far? Hmmm. There's a bit more to come!

St. Paul reminds us to concentrate on those things that will last for ever. Mark's Gospel today shows us that we have to work hard to come to the feet of Christ. God bless your Lenten struggle! Hebrews 1:10-2;3, Mark 2:1-12

St. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus go to Pilate and ask for the Bloodied Body of the Lord.

See what happens when we are within the Apostolic Tradition! Aeneas raised from his bed, Tabitha from her death bed, the Paralysed man of 38 years raised to his feet. Christ is risen!

St. Paul called together the leaders of the Churches and warned them of the wolves to come. He reminded them that his service was at his own cost. The wolves in the Church are still there and those who make use of the Church for their own benefit are still amongst us - make sure that you are not one of them.

What do you think God is like?

The Roman Centurion was quite right to be hesitant about asking the Lord to visit his house.

St. Paul tells us to make use of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and in the Gospel we see an example of this in action. It is obvious though that there gifts are NOT for you! Matthew 9:1-8, Romans 12: 6-14

The Apostle Peter's life changed from killing fish to saving people.

But what about the Gift of God? Why work so hard for death when you can have eternal life? The Centurion knew this when he came to the Saviour asking for his servant to be healed.

St. Luke (2: 20-21, 40-52) treats us to a meditation on the two natures of Jesus Christ: Fully God - Fully Man. So does St. Paul writing to the Colossians (2: 8-12). Why? They both want you to know that your Salvation is found entirely in Him.

You were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body.

How to become a Saint. Focus on Jesus Christ.

The Lord shines into the place of greatest darkness.

Zaccheus does something unexpected.

The most beautiful throne of all.

Coming to Christ can be a painful experience.

Watch, be steadfast in the Faith, be brave, be strong. Let everything you do be done in love.

"Saint Cosmas came from Bulgaria where his devout parents provided him with a good education in Slavonic and Greek. They wanted him to marry but he was drawn by the love of Christ and, unknown to them, made his way to the Holy Mountain of Athos to become a monk at the Bulgarian monastery of Zographou. On the feast of the Annunciation at the Monastery of Vatopedi, he saw a woman among those serving in the Church and in the refectory, and he was grieved at first to observe this breach of the monastic rule, but overjoyed when he realized that it was the Mother of God who had appeared to him in this way.   "He was clothed in the holy angelic Habit and, after some time, was ordained priest. One day, as he was praying before the icon of the Mother of God, asking her with tears how to achieve his salvation, he heard a voice saying, 'Let my servant withdraw to the desert outside the monastery.' He was obedient to the will of God and, with the blessing of his Abbot, lived in silence from then on. Some years later, he was found worthy of the grace of discernment of thoughts and of beholding things happening elsewhere, as well as of other spiritual gifts. In the course of many years, he was the spiritual helper of a great number of monks. At the end of his life, Christ appeared to him saying that he would shortly have a great trial to endure from the Devil. Indeed, the prince of demons made his appearance next day with a host of his servants bewailing and bemoaning their inability to annihilate their great enemy Cosmas, who had held them in check for so long and gained possession, by his virtue, of the throne in Heaven that had once been Lucifer's. Taking a heavy stick, the demon beat the Saint so violently that he left him half-dead. As God allowed, Saint Cosmas died in peace two days later, on 22 September 1323. When the fathers came from the monastery to bury him, the wild animals gathered round. They kept silent until the end of the service, but howled unusually loud as his body was covered with earth. Then having paid their respects, they made off into the wilderness. Forty days later, the monks came to take up the body of Saint Cosmas and translate it to the monastery, but it was no longer in the grave. Where it now is God alone knows." (Synaxarion)

The feast of the fast

Wars, cruelty, pandemic, natural disasters, even inflation. So what does the Lord say? "You ain't seen nothing yet!"

Menial service turns out not to be menial at all. Acts 6: 1 - 7, Mark 15: 43 - 16: 8

Acts 26: 1, 12-20, John 9: 1-38 Utterly blind and now seeing Christ-God face to face. You too.