Hereford Catholic

19/10/2023

SHEMA YISRAEL

I originally set up this page during the pandemic to encourage christians worried about the illness sweeping our world. Now we face a plague more onerous than Covid-19. This sickness threatens us all, the children of the promise, the suffering church and all men and women who prize freedom and peace. It’s called antisemitism, and it’s a pathological hatred of Jews and Judaism. Antisemitism is among the oldest hatreds in the world.

The forces of darkness mass against Israel. Even as I write rockets rain down on Israel and hostages cower in darkness and terror. Yet terrorist supporters openly march our streets, shouting for the death of Israel and the end of the free world as we know it.

We give thanks for our origins always: Jesus is a jew, his mother a jewess, the founders of our faith were jewish. Terrorists like Hamas, Fatah, Hezbollah, Boko Haram, Isis and the rest are coming against us determined to s***f out the light of Christ. They range against all who purport to follow the Judeo-Christian roads to redemption.

Many of us wring our hands not knowing what to do. Start be reciting this the most ancient of prayers:

‘Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad.’

It’s a simple prayer to recite and it can be prayed anywhere. To learn it listen to the prayer set to music by Misha Goetz and Shae Wilbur and called ‘Shema (A Prayer for Israel).’ (See link in last post.)

Recite the prayer in English thus:

‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.’ The prayer is from Deuteronomy chapter 6.

I have walked the groves and meadows of Israel, swam in her lakes and seas and laughed over coffee with friends in the street cafes of Eilat, Tel Aviv and Tiberias. Israel is a beautiful land and its people are the heralds of God’s advent among men.

‘For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.’ Job 19

19/10/2023

Stand with Israel
Pray for Israel
Shema Yisrael

iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/album/id13869...Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/4NRfb4... ://itsmishamusic.comhttp://sha...

17/06/2022

Hereford Catholic continues to grow as it reaches more and more people around the world. Many thanks. Please let us know what you like about the page. Which articles do you like the best? What would you like to see more of in the future?
May God bless you and keep you in his eternal loving care.

26/05/2022

ASCENSION DAY

Why did Jesus leave us? Why not stay on, take over the world and free all mankind from every kind of want? The answer lies in our freedom, our God-given liberty to embrace the power of the divine. For the next nine days we pray again for a the living wonder of the Holy Spirt to fall afresh on all believers. Christ goes to prepare a place for us that where he is there may we be also. We should rejoice. To know Jesus is to know God, to understand on a personal level that the power behind the universe loves us and sustains us. The sorrows we feel at parting are transient; the joy of the resurrection eternal.

30/04/2022

THE RESURRECTION OF THE CHRIST

The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the best attested historical fact of all antiquity. Yet too little importance is given to the resurrection. Affirm this truth: On the Third Day Jesus rose from the dead. This is the central tenet of the Christian faith. To know this truth is to be changed. To understand this truth is to be granted the ability to change your life for all eternity.

Yet it is too often woefully misunderstood. Atheist and agnostics jeer, openly deriding the claims of Christ and his children. In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 15, he spells out the gospel by which we are saved. Christ died for our sins. We cannot stand before the perfection of God as fallen men and women. Thus the penalty paid by the crucifixion of Christ takes away all the imperfections that besmirch us; all the barbed wire and barriers that separate us from our Father in heaven.

On the Third Day Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to the Twelve Disciples, then 500 of the believers and finally to Paul himself. Paul goes on to say that without the resurrection of Christ there can be no resurrection for us. How can we be raised, people asked, cowed by disease and illness and bodies that fray and fail as we age? Paul points out that we are sown in death as seed of wheat and we will be raised incorruptible. That means we will have new bodies untrammelled by the sins and setbacks of this earthly life. Our body will be sown in dishonour but raised in glory, sown in weakness but raised in power. Death has been swallowed up by Christ’s victory. The everlasting life of the believer starts now, here, as you pray: Jesus have mercy on me a sinner, pardon and forgive me all my sins. Confirm and strengthen me in all goodness. I know that my redeemer liveth. Alleluia!

17/04/2022

GOODBYE MR BLUE

A recent song by Father John Misty - a stage name - tells the story of a couple drifting apart. She’s become a successful career woman and is away often. The singer is left looking after her cat, Mr Blue. It’s a sad song and as such finds reflection in a novel by Myles Connolly published in 1928. Connolly, a devout Catholic, wrote Mr Blue shortly after the publication of Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Mr Blue is a succinct rebuff to Fitzgerald’s despairing view of opulence, adultery, loneliness and murder. By contrast Connolly’s Mr Blue tells the story of a young man who gives away his inherited wealth and seeks to follow Christ. The narrator tries to dissuade him from his folly.

The book inspired many Catholic activists, among them Dorothy Day. In the book Blue argues that it is no good urging people to go back to church. Bring Christ to them, he says and he lives among the poor and destitute. He dreams of making a movie set in the future: Mankind is reduced to slavery, living in vast factories. In a remarkable anticipation of the drug culture and social media of our own time, people, he says, are controlled by an anonymous global authority. Sounds dystopian? The events of the past two years prove it is already with us.

In the book the Christian faith has been s***fed out and almost all who profess Christ, killed. One last priest survives and returns undercover to celebrate Mass one last time. As bombs target the priest, something extraordinary happens.

Catholicism demonstrates that there is a point to our sufferings. This is no blithe pollyanna creed but a journey to make. A journey to Christ’s tomb and onwards to the full joy and experience of the resurrection. Here on Earth at times it becomes an almost intolerable pilgrimage. Yet at the end we shall life inherit. The birth, death and resurrection of Christ have been attested by hundreds. We have seen him and we have eaten with him, we learn. He is risen.

Connolly set out to make people, ‘more aware of the strange and tender God who by His birth and life and death has given individual birth and life and death…a radiant and prevailing glory and an everlasting importance.’

Although the book has a tragic end it carries within it a flame of hope. The song, however, conforms to popular media and carries no hope. The cat, Mr Blue, dies in the singer’s arms. That is the end for the singer. Like the song the secular world has no credible comfort to offer; it has no answer to death. Yet for us a new beginning beckons. We rise up with hope this morning, hope that all our tears and mourning for those we love is not in vain. We are confident of the resurrection. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Rest in peace, Mr Blue.

16/04/2022

The Saturday of Holy Week is a strange empty day of sadness and despair. Our God lies dead in a tomb. Placed there by his disciple, Joseph of Arimathea. Laid in the tomb before the Sabbath, a day we keep holy, a sabbath unto God, this was the most terrible Sabbath day of all. As the friends of Christ mourned so we lament.

In Jerusalem at the Wailing Wall people still write prayers upon little slips of paper and place them in the gaps between the huge stones. This wall is all that remains of the ancient Temple of the Israelites. We wait for it to be raised up, to be rebuild. We cry before these ancient stones that the rocks of our hearts to be made flesh.

This day all our troubles and despair, all our ills and inconsistencies, our failures and hurts descend into the tomb. It is a long thin slit in the rock. We think of he who had died and the torment and suffering he endured. The stones cry out and the waters of life are stilled. The stone portico of our certainties, of our hopes, of the temple has split and darkness covers the land.

Jesus lies dead in the tomb....or does he?

09/04/2022

HOSANNA

The trial and condemnation of Jesus is in marked contrast to the Triumphal Entry that first Palm Sunday. As Jesus rode into Jerusalem crowds greeted him, strewing the way with palm fronds and chanting Hosanna. They welcomed him as king, as messiah. Yet just a few days later Jesus is betrayed into the hands of the wicked and condemned to death.

The case against him bears examination. It was not the result of popular fury but an illegal jumped-up trial conducted at the dead of night. Under jewish law night time trials were illegal. Cases had to be heard in daylight. Trials were to be conducted in an official place not in a private home - still less in the house of Caiaphas. This was all done to avoid confronting the crowds of supporters thronging Jerusalem. Moreover cases could not be heard during Passover. In any event a guilty verdict had to be delayed one day to allow for clemency. Evidence had to be heard from two witnesses who were to be questioned separately. This never happened. Worse still no witnesses for the defence were called.

One might ask what difference does this make? The outcome was pre-ordained.

First, it exonerates the Jewish people of the charge of deicide that gained traction in later years. This lead to the horrific persecution of the children of Israel. The disgrace of anti-Semitism still poisons the hearts of men. To worship Christ is to continue the faith of the people of God. It is impingent upon us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, not to seek common cause with those who would sweep Israel once more into the sea.

Secondly, the trial of Jesus was conducted by an elite of corrupt leaders who, confronted with the truth, the word made flesh, feared for their position. It is important to realise they did not use the law but abused it. They did not follow the law, but rejected it. They lied when the truth stood before them. Amidst the ruptured politics of our own time we see many parallels and we learn from them.

Thirdly, Jesus was tortured and crucified by soldiers of the Roman army, an occupying force. Roman governor, Pontius Pilate was warned by his wife to pull back. It was Pilate who allowed the body to be taken down and laid in a tomb by Joseph of Arimathea. Later it would be Rome with her legions and learning, her roads and imperial system that was used to spread the gospel. Everything that happens in the Bible happens for a reason. It is part of a divine plan which unfurls through our own lives and witness.

Fourthly, Joseph of Arimathea was a secret follower of Jesus and a member of the elite. He had disassociated himself from the Sanhedrin and its illegality. Joseph here represents the true believer intent on honouring Christ. It is to his own tomb that he takes the body. This grave, then, represents the end to which we all come. For the believer it will be the scene of our greatest triumph. Jesus will rise from the dead, stepping out of the tomb of a friend. The message of Holy Week is that God is in control. The implication is that we should put our trust in he who is above the spiteful agencies of man.

30/03/2022

Night Flight From Cairo

Social media never forgets. We are told whatever is written never quite disappears. Trolls work through posts to unearth a tweet put out in jest, a remark made in a moment of anger. The past comes back to haunt us. Worst of all there is no forgiveness. Teenagers report old posts surfacing at interviews. That wild night out, that endorsement of a now discredited band or politician means cancellation with no right of appeal. Control of new media is not in the hands of open minded individuals. Our new viziers outdo each other to embrace every way-out nostrum trending on twitter.

Yet there is hope for those with difficult pasts. Contrast new platforms with an ancient organisation operating outside the bounds of political correctness, using as its manual a book widely ridiculed by the twitterati. I am doing a new deed, it tells us. One of the best expositions of how God feels about us is the Book of Isaiah. It’s a prophecy, a reflection and an invitation to trust. The book has three targets, ancient Israel, the modern church and you the individual. It should be read slowly and thoughtfully, for it is a key to faith.

Isaiah 43 v 16-21 which will be read in Catholic churches at Mass this coming weekend, refers to divine power making a way through the sea for the Israelites after their escape from Egypt. The flight started on the night of the first Passover and it inspires us still. It’s a message for those still on the run from Pharaoh’s chariots - from the failure and tragedy of the past. Our faith is a statement of intent, not an apology. For the ordinances of our redemption are not the work of men but of God.

Easter marks the sacrifice of God’s only begotten son, a lamb without blemish, to the end that all who believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life. When Christ died on the cross he paid the penalty - the death penalty - for all the wrong we did. We rejoice at his forgiveness. We will sing his praises as his people; a continuing big bang of praise that rocks the universe with Christ’s triumph. For he wipes away our tears, destroys our sins and remembers them no more. Neither do I condemn you, Jesus says. From the deceitful and the cunning he rescues us. One day what we call social media will pass away but the word of God will endure forever. At every Mass we mark the passover, the sacrifice of himself once offered, and our deliverance from the chariots and spears of our oppressors. To trust in Jesus is to forget the past and strain ahead for the prize, the freedom, to which we are called.

17/03/2022

THE TOWERS OF SILOAM

As the horrors of war unfold across this Lent it looks once again as if the forces of iniquity continue their remorseless advance. Pilate continues to mingle the blood of the fallen with shrapnel and cordite. The towers of Siloam fall afresh on the innocent and the defenceless. In our prayers we make intercession for Ukraine and for all victims of violence everywhere. Of our charity we pray for the oppressors that they may turn to Christ and leave aside the past and its lonely paranoias. At first glance it remains hard to discern a a divine reaction to the mess men make of life.

In Hebrew the verb, to be, is not used, for it is holy. God has no name to give Moses as he stands on the sacred earth before the in the burning bush. God has attested his being, as it was, as it is and as it will be. God, the reason for life, the logic of love, IS. Tell them I AM sent you, God tells Moses. Thus in Hebrew to say, ‘I am English,’ you say, ‘Ani anglit,’ literally: I English.

To look upon burning apartment blocks, smoking rubble and bombed out hospitals is to resolve to put an end to totalitarian repression. The old shrug which says, ‘that’s just the way things are,’ won’t wash in a post-Putin world. We have hope. The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong….for time and chance happen to them all. Christ is made manifest in suffering. Easter seals our affirmation of Christ’s triumph over death. He is the God of the living, not the dead.

Despite the bombs and missiles raining down on Ukraine, the bush has not burnt up. We have a limited future, one more year to bear fruit. We pray for liberation and we pray for the people of Ukraine. It is constructive to look away from pictures of destruction and see again cities and towns at peace. Imagine visiting and pouring money into her economy. Imagine walking those avenues and squares after the invader has gone. We shall remove our shoes recognising that the place on which we stand is holy ground.

10/03/2022

UKRAINE CANDLELIT VIGIL - HEREFORD ON FRIDAY

‘Do not worry, pray!’ Padre Pio, catholic saint and mystic, once urged followers. That’s the message from SFX Hereford. People concerned about Ukraine are invited to come along to Saint Francis Xavier Church on Broad Street, Hereford this Friday night at 7PM, 11 March for a Candlelit Vigil

Says John Cook who is organising the 90 minute vigil, ‘We can’t all go off and fight for Ukraine but instead of sitting at home watching television, horrified at what is happening in Ukraine, we can meet, light candles and pray.’ Prayers will be said for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. The country has a special place in the affections of people at SFX. Every year for several years, pre-pandemic, the Boyan Ensemble Of Kyiv gave a concert at the church whilst on tour. The choir is still in the besieged city.

Doors will open shortly before 7PM on Friday 11 March. The Candlelit Vigil is open to all and all are welcome

02/03/2022

FROM THE ASHES

This Ash Wednesday the daubing of ashes on our foreheads is especially poignant. For Ukraine burns under a thousand fires visited upon her by cruel invaders. At Mass this day the ashes used are the burnt remains of the palm crosses given out on Palm Sunday last year. In this we foresee Our Lord’s triumphal entry in Jerusalem. In Ukraine, we pray, ashes will likewise presage the ultimate defeat of evil.

At the start of Lent we remember the unfolding drama in ancient Egypt which led to the Passover and the deliverance of the children of Israel from the hand of the oppressor. Pharaonic Egypt was visited with plagues and disasters culminating in the death of the first born as the Spirit of God passed over the land. Only households that had daubed the blood of a lamb on the lintel and door posts were spared.

Lent is a call to deepen our understanding of the divine. These 40 Days culminate in Holy Week, marking the Passover, the Last Supper and the crucifixion. In Egypt Pharaoh was ultimately compelled to let the Children of the Promise go. Jews to this day recite the Seder, the story of their escape from Egypt.

Lent is also a time to pray for miracles. Not just the miracle of the resurrection but the incursion of the peace of Christ into the very hearts of men of evil. We draw nearer to Jesus as we pray for a miracle in Ukraine.

Only a few weeks ago Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky made an unlikely leader. Since then his bravery and courage has captured the imagination of the world. While many leaders cut and run and others wring their hands cavilling that they can do nothing because they are scared, he stayed to fight. He has become not only a hero but an inspiration. His example will serve future generations sickened by the weakness and moral cowardice of the west.

As a jew Mr Zelensky will be acquainted with the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. Moses led his people to freedom. Their pursuers - the most finely honed military force in the ancient world - were left floundering in the sea. Let us pray Volodymyr Zelensky and the Ukrainians are delivered of a similar miracle this Lent.

Zelenski şəklini harda görsəniz layk eləyin, paylaşın, ürək qoyun, alqışlayın, cəmiyyət tərəfindən dəstəkləndiyini bilsin. Eşq olsun 🇺🇦 🇦🇿