The necessity of choosing

The Office of Readings is such a gift – an extraordinary range of offerings.  Most are from the Church Fathers but some come from later writings and even – as today – from the twentieth century, the Vatican II document Lumen Gentium.  This chronological depth is a reminder of the vast history of the Church, a history going back even before Christ to the saints and the wonders and the wisdom of the people of Israel.  In committing myself to Carmel, I had a secret fear that I would be narrowing my vision; after all, our Carmelite saints – profound and grace-filled though they are – represent but a part of the Church’s vast heritage.  But this very vastness means that we have to be selective, not because we reject that which we do not choose, but because there is not time to take in good things from everywhere, even for the most accomplished reader.  Carmel offers us a kind of lens through which we survey the immense riches of the Church.    

Intercessions:

Cancer: Brian Davis, Bernard (and wife Angela caring for him), Jacqui, Theresa K, Fr Jon B, Catherine, Roy Seymour, Catherine Keeling

Siena, Elara – sick children

David OCDS – housebound

Sophia – blind infant

Grace – troubling ailments, job difficulties, family (deceased mother and health of father)

Lucia – Overwhelmed by weariness

Mark – brain infection

Defence of the unborn and the elderly

RIP Richard Parker, Martin Gilham, Sue Burton, Wojtek, Joy Smith OCDS