Word in the Hand

I have only been to Assisi twice; but somehow - as often is the case with sacred places- a part of me has always been there.  A part of me, I hope, still remains so if I never get there again in person then I can be there in spirit. Particularly for the second visit which seemed like a comedy of errors including driving (for the first time ever on the 'wrong' side of the road) across Italy, by myself, without a map having been diverted off the autoroute by roadworks and then, having arrived in one piece, finding my credit card deactivated - it's amazing how far 50 euros can go when that's all there is. Francis continuing to teach through example :) Assisi Undeniably, one of the most beautiful places on earth. Medieval buildings of pink granite, turned golden in the sun. Hot red geraniums, bold against the dark blue of a Northern Italian sky: the scent of olive groves, rosemary and lavender, and good coffee.  Magical, an inspired setting, worthy o...

Not all sacred spaces are contained; not all are typically holy. Not all are holy to those that visit - one of the reasons I love Lindisfarne is the mix of people who visit the same space for many reasons.  Crosby beach is not so far - 40 minutes as opposed to 4 hours drive away; on the opposite bank of the Mersey river. This side of the river mirrors the commercial sea trade that has sustained Liverpool for hundreds of years. The docks stretch north to the Bar where the river meets the sea in a turbulent exchange of fresh and salty waters; blue and orange cranes stand on tip-toes, spiderly graceful above the squat corridors of metal containers waiting for their boat to come in. Out to sea the air currents are harvested by 200ft tall wind turbines; their size only realised by the passing of a Mersey ferry.  In the shadow of all this marine industrialisation a few acres of tidal land has been declared of Special Scientific Interest and is a nature reserve attr...

Gospel  Matthew 22:15-21  The Pharisees went away to work out between them how to trap Jesus in what he said. And they sent their disciples to him, together with the Herodians, to say, ‘Master, we know that you are an honest man and teach the way of God in an honest way, and that you are not afraid of anyone, because a man’s rank means nothing to you. Tell us your opinion, then. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’ But Jesus was aware of their malice and replied, ‘You hypocrites! Why do you set this trap for me? Let me see the money you pay the tax with.’ They handed him a denarius, and he said, ‘Whose head is this? Whose name?’ ‘Caesar’s’ they replied. He then said to them, ‘Very well, give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God.’ I guess it's hard for people who are so used to things the way they are - even if they're bad - to change. 'Cause they kind of give up. And when they do, everybody kind of loses.(Pay it forward) M...

Gospel Matthew 21:33-43  Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people, ‘Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them. “They will respect my son” he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance.” So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They answered, ‘He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard t...