Roshi's ramblings

Over half term my parish priest was kind enough to arrange 2 days of activities for me to shadow him and see what the reality of the vocation was.   This post is a reflection on day one. The day started at quarter to 9, meeting at the church for to pray the office of readings and morning prayers.  It was my first time using a missal for it as I usually use an app on my phone, so there was some initial confusion about which page markers to use and when.  It's a lovely way to start the day and saying the psalms aloud with another person is markedly different from hurrying through it on your own. Definitely gave me time to properly think about the messages in the readings. After that we celebrated morning mass in the lady chapel and I assisted as a server. Following the service a man came to fix the flooring in the vestry so we quickly visited the charity shop to see how it was doing and then went to the vicarage to walk the dog before heading to the local crematori...

It's been a while since I've been on here to post anything, but thats due to life being incredibly hectic at the moment thanks to it being the exam period at work.  As soon as it's clear I promise I'll be back with reflections on my first 4 meetings with a member of the diocese's vocations team, the joys of filling out massive registration forms and what it has been like to shadow a priest for 2 days. For the time being i hope I don;t become frazzled by marking lots of exams! Roshi

A personal prayer today, written by myself to reflect the current turmoil in my life! Lord, thankyou for giving me the strength to stand by my convictions and to make the tough choices I have had to recently. Help guide me towards discerning your will for my future and in finding what the next steps in my life should be.   I entrust myself to your whim, I have faith you will lead me towards happiness. Amen

God's Timing The vision that God has given And the things that He has planned, May not happen right away Or in ways that we understand For often God's preparing us For when that day arrives When we will see the outworking Of God's vision in our lives Though it tarries, wait for it, For it will surely come God's timing never comes too late, He'll accomplish what He's begun God is never slow to act; He will surely bring it to pass We need not be anxious and despair, But have peace within our hearts For when it comes, we'll be released Into what the Lord's prepared, So we will fulfil all that He's planned As we are being gently led. © By M.S.Lowndes

A simple one this week. A prayer originally by St. Francis of Assisi. It's also the basis for one of my favourite hymns.  Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. Amen

  So here's another biggy. Evolution!   This seems to be the main bone of contention between science and religion at the moment and has radicals from both sides screaming and shouting at one another. I am a scientist. I know that we have the theory of evolution and that it is pretty much fact that we did evolve from a common ancestor shared with chimpanzees. We can only call it a theory because we don't have definitive proof of every single step. In science everything is a theory until you can prove every single part of it with solid evidence. That's why there aren't many laws of science but plenty of theories. It does not mean that theories are not true, just that we don't know the entire picture so one or two bits we say may be incorrect. In all experiments conducted on recreating the primordial soup that led to life they have had to add in a Base of DNA (one of the building blocks of it) in order to kick start the creation of life.   I believe that God knew t...

Came across this poem in hearing the call:stories of young vocation.  It sums up for me what the calling can feel like.  It's definitely scary but ultimately worth it. 'When I became a Christian I said, Lord, now fill me in, Tell me what I'll suffer in this world of shame and sin. He said, your body may be killed, and left to rot and stink, Do you still want to follow me? I said Amen - I think. I think Amen, Amen I think, I think I say Amen, I'm not completely sure, can you just run through that again? You say my body may be killed and left to rot and stink, Well, yes, that sounds terrific, Lord, I say Amen - I think. But, Lord, there must be other ways to follow you, I said, I really would prefer to end up dying in my bed. Well, yes, he said, you could put up with the sneers and scorn and spit, Do you still want to follow me? I said Amen - a bit. A bit Amen, Amen a bit, a bit I say Amen, I'm not entirely sure, can we just run through that again? ...