Word in the Hand

Circle of Protection I call on the mercy of the Sacred Three To send circles of angels To protect me. And the mighty Archangels To stand over me To shield me with their wings. To the North, stand Michael, Prince and Warrior To the South, stand Gabriel, Speaker of Truth To the West, stand Raphael, Healer and Defender To the East, stand Uriel, Lightbearer. May they be comrades in arms Guardians of faith Beacons against the darkness Sentinels of God's Love Amen wordinthehand2010

I stretch out my arms to you I stretch out my soul, like a land without water.

  Matthew 10 Don't be afraid. Aren't two sparrows sold for only a penny? But your Father knows when any one of them falls to the ground. Even the hairs on your head are counted. At the crossroads on Holy Island there is a cafe, Massie's, an islander cafe; family-run for generations. The menu recognises the needs of the traveller; comfortable, warm, not too posh;  with hot drinks in mugs, tasty sandwiches and toasted teacakes. For the good weather, the hardened pilgrim or those with dogs there is a garden area with with a thick privet hedge on one side. In the hedge live the Massie sparrows; hundreds of them; generations of them from the palest fluffy grey of the fluttering fledglings to the striking bronze filigree of the patriarch males. These feathered families live just as the human islanders do; out of season gathering together for warmth, finding food where they can, holding onto reserves of energy to survive the ceaseless easterly...

Gospel Luke 16:19-31 Jesus said to the Pharisees, ‘There was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and feast magnificently every day. And at his gate there lay a poor man called Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to fill himself with the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even came and licked his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. ‘In his torment in Hades he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus in his bosom. So he cried out, “Father Abraham, pity me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.” “My son,” Abraham replied “remember that during your life good things came your way, just as bad things came the way of Lazarus. Now he is being comforted here while you are in agony. But that is not all: between us and you a great gulf has been fixed, to stop anyone, if he wanted ...

And so I have called out to you, Lord, and in the morning my prayer will come before you.

 You will show me the paths of life, the fullness of joy before your face, 

You will lead me out of the trap that they laid for me – for you are my strength.

Tell me the way I should follow, for I lift up my soul towards you.

 The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven. 

Luke 16:1-13 Jesus said to his disciples, ‘There was a rich man and he had a steward denounced to him for being wasteful with his property. He called for the man and said, “What is this I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship because you are not to be my steward any longer.” Then the steward said to himself, “Now that my master is taking the stewardship from me, what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go begging? I should be too ashamed. Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that when I am dismissed from office there will be some to welcome me into their homes.” Then he called his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, “How much do you owe my master?” “One hundred measures of oil” was the reply. The steward said, “Here, take your bond; sit down straight away and write fifty.” To another he said, “And you, sir, how much do you owe?” “One hundred measures of wheat” was the reply. The steward said, “Here, take your bond and write eighty.” ‘...

Let your face shine on us, Lord, let the light of your face be a sign. You have given me joy,

 Lord, you are in our midst, we are called by your name.  Do not desert us, O Lord our God! 

May the God of peace make you perfect and holy; and may you all be kept safe and blameless,  spirit, soul and body, for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

and a sword will pierce your own soul too   Gathered into my arms As bloody and helpless as the first day. The warmth of your mortality leaching away Into the ungrateful earth. I glean my treasure trove from all that remains. The smell of skin, a childhood scar, Calloused hands, Earnest dark eyes Fading now. Rememberings Of your cheek against my breast, Arms around my neck, hands entwined in hair. Not this remnant of humanity But my heart’s pride, My Son. wordinthehand2010

A strange faith - that wears an instrument of torture around its neck. And celebrates a Feast Day in its honour. The Crucifix of San Damiano (Assisi) What is this? A work of art rescued from an abandoned church by a madman? A delight of medieval symbolism and Iconography? What are you looking at? The goldwork; the brushstrokes; the artistry; the form; the perfect proportion? What am I looking at ? I am looking at you. Shrugging off the imagery and artifice to stand before you naked, vulnerable, scarred, human. Asking you to be with me- to be my body in a world that needs me – and you say you are not worthy. Look at me – I am the Christ Born in the gutter, a refugee, an outcast. Illegitimate, impoverished, faceless. Do I remind you of anyone Look at me – I am the Christ, the Son of the Living God Abandoned by my friends, betrayed, denied. Mocked, tormented, condemned by those I came to save. Have you been here? Look at me – I am the Christ, Son of the Liv...

O Lord, teach me your paths, and I will come to your truth. Make my heart simple and guileless, so that it honours your name.

“You are my shelter and my strength, my God, in whom I trust.”

Assisi - Walk from San Damiano to Rivo Torto The afternoon sun raises a shimmering heat haze through the parched olive groves. Conspiring old hags, the ancient groves reveal their own vision in answer at my musings. Ancient? We are ancient; twisted arthritic creatures, old even when Francis walked this way with his brothers; old when Chiara left through the door of the dead for a life much less ordinary. Some of us kin to the groves of Gethsemane; to that garden where the Christ found a refuge for his tears; where the treachery began; in faith, our lives spanning your faith. And in our lives  -a parable. Across the ages, from Christ to Francis to the present – we have been a birthplace for life; for sunlit  sustenance; for the food of angels, Olives, a treasure and a fundamental part of  life in this place; food and drink; a bowl of olives, good bread – virgin oil – a feast for the senses. Each year, where does this harvest come from...

Salt-laden breezes carry gulls' cries and seals' songs Mermaid lullabyes in a seathrift cradle Storm built walls of foamy ocean Seahome calls. Tucked against the length of her, the coble’s oar shivers Remembering the thrum of the waves; windblown hair Tension of muscle over bone; wood against iron Boat; body - one. Spectral sailors cry and call in vain; whilst in the graveyard The wild sea woman cast in stone, can do no more trapped now, in Gothic grandeur ‘Save Our Souls’. Grace Horsley Darling (24 November 1815 – 20 October 1842)  the daughter of a lighthouse keeper who,aged just 23, along with her father, saved 13 people from the wreck of the SS Forfarshire. Buried, within yards of the sea, in St Aidan's Churchyard, Bamburgh, Northumberland - we can all be heroes response to the Round Robin Photo Challenge http://roundrobinphoto.blogspot.com/2010/08/round-robin-challenge-fenced-in.html

my heart rejoices, heart and soul together; while my body rests in calm hope. Lindisfarne Abbey;Holy Island

Keep us safe, Lord, while we are awake, and guard us as we sleep

A shoot springs from the stock of Jesse, a scion thrusts from his roots: on him the spirit of the Lord rests, a spirit of wisdom and insight,  a spirit of counsel and power, a spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.  The fear of the Lord is his delight.

Lord, you will give us peace, for all you have done, you did for us.

behave like people who are going to be judged by the law of freedom

  Luke 14:25-33 Great crowds accompanied Jesus on his way and he turned and spoke to them. If any man comes to me without hating his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple. Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. ‘And indeed, which of you here, intending to build a tower, would not first sit down and work out the cost to see if he had enough to complete it? Otherwise, if he laid the foundation and then found himself unable to finish the work, the onlookers would all start making fun of him and saying, “ Here is a man who started to build and was unable to finish.” Or again, what king marching to war against another king would not first sit down and consider whether with ten thousand men he could stand up to the other who advanced against him with twenty thousand? If not, then while the other king was still a long way off, he would send envoys to sue for peace. So in the same way, ...

Bless those who persecute you: rejoice with those who rejoice and be sad with those in sorrow.

'Christ is the Love between us'

The kingdom of God  means  peace and joy brought by the Holy Spirit