Day Three Papal Visit

 On the third day of the visit, Pope Benedict will celebrate Mass in Westminster Cathedral where he will also greet the people of Wales. 
Later in the day he will visit a home for older people and then be present at an open-air Vigil of prayer in London's Hyde Park.

 There has been a lot of words during the last three days of the papal visit

This passage in my mailbox was perhaps a message for me to reflect on the speeches before I post any thoughts on them.


Above photo crowd at Hyde Park Vigil

 

Be Still, Take Time
Wayne Muller
When we breathe, we do not stop inhaling because we have taken in all the oxygen we will ever need, but because we have all the oxygen we need for this breath. Then we exhale, release carbon dioxide, and make room for more oxygen.
Sabbath, like the breath, allows us to imagine we have done enough work for this day. Do not be anxious about tomorrow, Jesus said again and again. Let the work of this day be sufficient....
The world seduces us with an artificial urgency that requires us to respond without listening to what is most deeply true. 
In Sabbath time, we cultivate a sense of eternity where we truly rest, and feel how all things can wait, and turn them gently in the hand until we feel their shape, and know the truth of them.
The theology of progress forces us to act before we are ready. We speak before we know what to say. We respond before we feel the truth of what we know. In the process, we inadvertently create suffering, heaping imprecision upon inaccuracy, until we are buried under a mountain of misperception.
But Sabbath says, Be still. Stop. There is no rush to get to the end, because we are never finished. Take time to rest, and eat, and drink, and be refreshed. And in the gentle rhythm of that refreshment, listen to the sound the heart makes as it speaks the quiet truth of what is needed.
Source: Sabbath


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3 comments:

claire bangasser said...

Interesting, Phil, for I came here to know what you think of all this. I personally find little interest in following what is happening. But what you think of it and how you see it or feel it, is important to me.

An Anglican friend of mine called me as she was watching the Pope in Glasgow. My holy friend could feel the Spirit in the place...

Blessings.

Blue Eyed Ennis said...

Hi Claire,
I realise that my refelctions are what you wnt but I have not been feeling 100% these last few days so it is as much as I could do to put the factual links on.Also I need time to process what I have seen and heard. I did give a reflection after Day One and a brief one after Day Two so I have not done too badly.As the speeches have come thick and fast in the last day or so it would be wrong of me to rush off something just for the sake of it. I suppose twitteris better for the immediate minute to minute feedback but as I've told you I can't manage that. Sorry to disappoint.

Blue Eyed Ennis said...

I can say that the reception for the Pope has been terrific and much better than many anticipated. He has come across very well and I have warmed to him.