Seven Blessings of Christmas

 

Apologies for the lack of new light from through the old windows of this blog. We must bounce back not only full of light but also full of colour and Christmas cheer. So here goes my  antidote to the seven deadlies: pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth.

1. A Time for Humbleness

'Away in a manager no crib for a bed The little lord Jesus lay down his sweet head...'

Vist the most humble person you know this Christmas. Chances are you emerge with straw in your hair.....

2. A Time for Generosity

• You put others first
• You are inspired to be creative
• You upcycle   and empty the home
• You have an excuse to shop
• You make a gift to charity through careful spending
• You have an excuse to treat yourself by buying double tickets
• You feel better about yourself

3. A Time for Serenity

It is the Christmas music season and there are plenty of opportunities to attend Christmas Classical concerts or listen to carols by candelight. Just attended a fantastic one this Thursday-OLTRE LO SGUARDO Oderigi Lusi Come un balenìo meditazione per orchestra liberamente ispirata a “La Ballata del vecchio Marinaio” di Samuel Taylor Coleridge programma Cappella Palatina REGGIA DI CASERTA

4. A Time for Thankfulness

The annual Christmas card ritual gives us the opportunity to reconnect with old friends and relatives and thank them for their friendship and kindnesses throughout the year.

5. A Time for Self Control

The peace of Christmas can inspire and fire us up to seek new opportunities for self-development in the year ahead,,,,

6. A Time for Self Constraint

Well maybe not on Christmas Day eh! But we can plate up leftover meals for older relatives and family....

7. A Time for Activity

'Deck the halls with bells and holly'.....

Time for woodland walk perhaps?Watch Kylie Flavell on You Tube make her festive wreath. Defy you not to be inspired!

Quarantine 2020: Spring Pruning for a Bumper Harvest

WEEK ONE: ASSESSING  WHERE TO PRUNE

'Everything has seasons, and we have to be able to recognise when something's time has passed and be able to move into the next season. Everything that is alive requires pruning as well, which is a great metaphor for endings.'

-- Henry Cloud

List  5 things  missing from your life right now- your interests

List  5 things that are not missing - your  stresses

List 5 things you wish you were missing- your goals

Study the Life Chart below and decide which aspect of your life  contains the most dead wood...........

Decide where the pruning is needed:

       -  Physical Environment?

       -  Health & Fitness?

        - Fun, Recreation & Entertainment?

        - Career/ Business?

        -Finances and Wealth?

         -Love Life?

         - Friends and Family?

          -Personal/ Spiritual  Development?

WEEK TWO: PRUNING FOR NEW GROWTH

'Natural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning by study; and studies themselves do give forth directions too much at large, except they be bounded in by experience.'Francis Bacon

1. Physical Environment 

It is probably easiest to start with our physical environment when we begin the actual process of pruning in our lives.  Only by cleansing or living environment of what is no longer needed, do we actually see what we do need.

- Work/Study

                  

How often do we lose time searching for a work document we need in a drawer or on a computer? Usually the first thing we do when trying to  organise our paperwork is to throw away what we don't need. Burn it or bin it. Then with the small pile remaining organise it!

 -Home

                                           

               There is nothing like spending time in a place to decide  if we like it eh!    

               With the extra time gained we can purge our living space from the clutter of unread magazines and papers, surplus ornaments and unused gadgetry. Then we can survey our life from an empty coffee table!                   

 -Personal

Likewise with the wardrobe and other personal items! It's out with the old but without having the easy facility of coming in with the new! Time saved in shopping can be devoted to organisation!

 2. Health and Fitness

So what can you purge here? Expensive gymn membership? Gruelling morning exercise routines? Can these better be replaced by something cheaper and more social?

       

3. Fun, Recreation & Entertainment

Maybe there is little to prune in this aspect of your life?

But much time for the arranging and planning of same.

4. Career/ Business

There has been huge changes for all of us. For many it has been learning how we can do or jobs from home; for some sadly the necessity of searching for new employment. For all it has new the challenge of trying to connect with our clients in new ways; purging outmoded means of communication and marketing.

5. Finances and Wealth

Following on from what has been already stated it has been a case of necessity is the mother of invention. And creativity is fostered by abundance of time... and YouTube how-to videos!

  6. Love Life

'Love in the time of Cholera ' indeed! Haven't read it myself but I bet it was quite a challenge!   So what can you purge that can improve your lovelife? Selfish behaviour could be a starting point for all of us!

 7. Friends and Family

No excuses for not phoning your mother now eh! Seriously by improved frequency in communication comes greater empathy and understanding. Time for this needs to be made by pruning in other areas of your life so this can be maintained long term.

 8. Personal/ Spiritual  Development

With a serene domestic environment, more creativity, improved relationships and new focus and less selfishness, we are moving closer along the path to sainthood anyway! It is not going to take much effort to try to add a little more spirituality to our daily life.

WEEK THREE: GRAFTING AND PROPAGATING

Conversion is not the smooth, easy-going process some men seem to think... It is wounding work, this breaking of the hearts, but without wounding there is no saving... Where there is grafting there will always be a cutting, the graft must be let in with a wound; to stick it onto the outside or to tie it on with a string would be of no use. Heart must be set to heart and back to back or there will be no sap from root to branch. And this, I say, must be done by a wound, by a cut.

John Bunyan

Grafting our physical space by adding newplants and flowers  

Grafting our Health and Fitness by adding invigorating new                                                 regimes.         

 Grafting our recreation, fun and entertainment by watching new                                                                    films, plays and operas.                                

Grafting career and business development by cultivating business ideas and  new partners and clients.

Grafting our finances and wealth by greater creativity and connections.                                    

Grafting our love life by more communication and better behaviour

Grafting our relationship with friends and family by more frequent communication and assistance.                                                                    

Grafting our personal and spiritual development by more personal reflection, reading and discussion.                             

WEEK FOUR: FERTILIZING NEW GROWTH

“The lotus is the most beautiful flower, whose petals open one by one. But it will only grow in the mud. In order to grow and gain wisdom, first you must have the mud --- the obstacles of life and its suffering. ... The mud speaks of the common ground that humans share, no matter what our stations in life. ... Whether we have it all or we have nothing, we are all faced with the same obstacles: sadness, loss, illness, dying and death. If we are to strive as human beings to gain more wisdom, more kindness and more compassion, we must have the intention to grow as a lotus and open each petal one by one. ”
                                                           ― Goldie Hawn

Now you are ready to go back to the lists you made in week one. Wow our lockdown is nearly at an end! You've assessed your tree of life. You've considered what makes it  blossom and what makes it wither. You've pruned it of its dead wood. You've grafted some fresh green wood from which you hope to see some new green shoots this year. Shoots which  will become our new strong branches that will bear fruit. 

Renovated physical space→ Greater enjoyment of sharing it 

Improved Health and Fitness→ Greater energy and more zest                    for life

 New sources of recreation, fun and entertainment→ Greater 

                                                                                          sense                                                                                               of well-being

Refocused career and business goals →Greater sense of personal                                          fulfillment

New sources of finances and wealth→ Greater personal security                                            and freedom

Revitalised love life→ Greater sense of personal contentment

Improved communication with friends and family→ Greater                                                                        connection with our roots

Great personal and spiritual development→Greater blossoming                                                                       in all areas of our life.

Easter 2020: Time of Hope or Time of Fear?

We live in an unprecedented time in our lives. A time that will never be forgotten. A recent Guardian article about Italy reported:

'A generation has died': Italian province struggles to bury its coronavirus dead

'Coffins awaiting burial are lining up in churches and the corpses of those who died at home are being kept in sealed-off rooms for days as funeral services struggle to cope in Bergamo, the Italian province hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

As of Wednesday, Covid-19 had killed 2,978 across Italy, all buried or cremated without ceremony. Those who die in hospital do so alone, with their belongings left in bags beside coffins before being collected by funeral workers.

In Bergamo, a province of 1.2 million people in the Lombardy region, where 1,959 of the total deaths in the country have taken place, 4,305 people had contracted the virus by Wednesday. The death toll across the province is unclear, but the situation has become so intense that on Wednesday night the army was brought in to move 65 coffins from the cemetery in Bergamo town and take them to Modena and Bologna in Emilia-Romagna.'

Yet that was written two weeks go now on the 19th of March. The death toll here in Italy continues to rise with the figure now standing at 14,681 (4th April). We are losing on average over 700 people each day. Across much of the world we are faced with a similar picture now. The virus is still spreading fast. But- as one recent headline stated: 'Fear is spreading faster than the virus'.
However amid this fear is not shared by everyone. We read on the 24th of March in USA Today:

'Italian priest with coronavirus who gave his ventilator to younger patient has reportedly died'

'An Italian priest who contracted the new coronavirus died after he gave up a ventilator so a younger patient could have one, local media reports say.

Don Giuseppe Berardelli, 72, was the archpriest of Casnigo, a town in northern Italy about 50 miles northeast of Milan.

According to Italian news site Prima Bergamo, Berardelli died sometime between March 15 and 16 and was being treated at a hospital in nearby Lovere, as his condition worsened.

A health care worker at the hospital told the Italian online news outlet Araberara that Berardelli was given a ventilator but the priest refused it so someone who was younger than him could use it.'

A man who clearly believed that death is not the end. Another man who shared that belief was C.S. Lewis. In another time, 70 years ago, he wrote his famous book: 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe'.  In this book- which was later made into a film- he portayed the hero of the story, the lion, Aslan, conquering death:

C.S. Lewis described Aslan as the alternative version of Jesus as the form in which Jesus may have appeared in in an alternative reality.The story is set in Narnia, deriving from Narni, Italy- Narnia in Latin. Easter 70 years ago in England. Easter 70 years later in Italy. To believers not a very different world: A world of dangers and fears but- at the same time-   great hope. Hope that death is not the end.  Hope that death has been conquered. 2020 years ago  outside a city wall in Jerusalem.

Surely it was this time- not ours- that was truly unprecedented? A time that was never  forgotten but recorded in detail by Jesus' followers.

 2020 years later. The younger generation will, no doubt, have their own tales to pass down to their grandchildren. Spring and Easter in the time of the Corona Virus. Tales of  the bad: the hoarding, fake news and fake fears.  Along with tales of the good:  from the donations in supermaket trolleys to the donation of the life-saving ventilator of Father Giuseppe Berardelli. Let's hope that along with the new tales they are still sharing an important tale from 2000 years ago. One that can truly give real hope in a time of fear.

The Walk to Emmaus

LUKE Ch 24: 13-24

13 That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles[a] from Jerusalem. 14 As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. 16 But God kept them from recognizing him.

17 He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?”

They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. 18 Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.”

19 “What things?” Jesus asked.

“The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. 20 But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. 21 We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago.

22 “Then some women from our group of his followers were at his tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report. 23 They said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive! 24 Some of our men ran out to see, and sure enough, his body was gone, just as the women had said.”

25 Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. 26 Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” 27 Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

28 By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, 29 but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. 30 As they sat down to eat,[b] he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. 31 Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!'

Moving On: A Lenten Journey in 2020

1. Choose Your Destination Or Be Open To Possibilities

Hebrews 11:8

'By faith Abraham, when he was called , obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going'

Sometimes we have a clear destination in mind when we set out on our spiritual journey. At other times, like Abraham, we set out with no fixed destination in mind and we let God choose it for us. Maybe the wisest way.

2. Clear The Decks

1 Corinthians 14: 40

'But all things should be done decently and in order.'

It would indeed make sense to put our house in order before we set off on any journey.
Sometimes this is just  minor matters like tidying up loose ends like responding to any outstanding emails or finishing off any work projects. At other times, it is the more important stuff; like saying the things we must to mend those broken bridges. With no unfinished business to distract us, we can get on with the business in hand. We are ready to depart on  life-changing travel!

3. Set off

Genesis 18:16

'Then the men rose up from there, and looked down towards Sodom, and Abraham was walking with them to send them off'

Don't they say that the hardest part of any journey is the first step! Remember though that this is not a journey you are doing on your own. There are millions doing the same Lenten journey in community with you. And none of you are solo travellers...

4. Be Open To New Sights and Experiences

Isaiah 7:11

'Ask for a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; make it as deep as shoel or as high as heaven'

Trust in your pilot. He will show you the way, sending his unique directions and portents. Pray that your eyes and mind are open to his guidance. 

5. Reflect On What You've Been Shown

John 8: 32
And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Your Lenten journey is now nearing its end. I'm sure it's been a good one for you. As Miriam Beard has said, though ' Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permament'  How has it changed you?

6. Share What You Have Learned and Move On

Romans 1:11
Writing to the church in Rome, Paul said ' I long to see you, that I may impart to you, some spiritual gift to strengthen you, but; that is that we may mutually be encouraged by each other's faith but you and mine'.

Spiritual gifts are freely given and should be freely shared. Don't we so often get more joy by giving than by receiving! Look around for someone in your unique circle who needs that gift today.

Could you be the one to rescue them from their rock of despair? Could you go on to rock their world? Who knoiws unless you throw them a rescue rope? One that's attached to a mighty rock. An anchor  rope that will never break, however strong the storm. Your journey has ended but God's journey has just begun....