Thursday....be vulnerable.

Mass this morning was said by a visiting Australian missionary.

He gave three rules for spreading the faith. I forget the first two, but the third 'be vulnerable' stuck. 

We are often too concerned about 'looking good', being embarrassed, or respected. Being vulnerable runs counter to these. It is being exposed to the possibility of attack, of being harmed either physically or mentally.  He is saying to be ready to be laughed at, despised or ignored. A good way to think.

All quiet on the western front.Or all quiet in the dextra auricula.

 I wish I had a penny for every time I've seen bloggers begin ..."It has been quiet on the blogs lately".

Fair cop by TC for accusing me of too much copy and pasting. (Why do we have to drop the 'e'?). English must be a hard language to learn for foreigners. I hear TC saying it has been as hard for me!

I'm half way through my last week of leave. I'm restricted in the quantity of 'outside' work I can do. But I  am pleased with the cleaning and painting I have done to the outside of the house. I have to go to Eastbourne to help a retired doctor clean her apartment this afternoon. Actually she will not be there, and I will use my new ear buds while dusting.(Centre).

They are JBL's. I bought them after I lost one of my Apple earpods (far right). I wasn't that impressed with the Apple ones. Though , as you might expect for $200 (compared to $65) the sound quality was better in the mid to high range, they only had two hour's play time, had too many confusing features and were too small. The JBL's are rated at 8 hours between charges (though I haven't tested this yet) have just enough features, good enough sound,  and have those little 'handles' that make them easier to put in and prevent them falling out so easily. 

I've never bought ear pods to be trendy. Earphone connections for wired types are unsatisfactory. My first ear pods came free with my phone. They were Oppo and good until they melted in my pocket (I wasn't wearing my trousers). I bought a second pair of Oppos half price for $50 and we're good until after much use the battery time of the right one became a few minutes. After much deliberation S said to by a new decent set. Hence the Apples.

Have a blessed day.

Happy St Therese of the child Jesus day.

St Therese of Lisieux, as she was also known entered a cloistered nunnery at 15 and died at 25. Conditions must have been very harsh as so many saintly people died young. She was renowned for doing simple little things well. Though it can not be denied that she had extraordinary faith, and her deep spirituality was admired by all her fellow nuns.

Today's Gospel from the Gospel according to Luke
Lk 9:51-56

When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled,
he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem,
and he sent messengers ahead of him.
On the way they entered a Samaritan village
to prepare for his reception there,
but they would not welcome him
because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem.
When the disciples James and John saw this they asked,
“Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven
to consume them?”
Jesus turned and rebuked them,
and they journeyed to another village.

WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER

When the days drew near for him to be received up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Lk 9:51). Thus he begins his “great journey” toward the Holy City which required a special decision because it was his last one. Filled with a still too worldly enthusiasm, the disciples dream that the Master is going to meet with triumph. Instead, Jesus knows that rejection and death await him in Jerusalem (cf. Lk 9:22, 43b-45); he knows he will have to suffer a great deal. This is what demands a resolute decision. And so, Jesus goes forward taking decisive steps toward Jerusalem. This is the same decision we must make if we want to be disciples of Jesus. What does this decision consist of? For we must be serious disciples of Jesus, truly decisive, not “lukewarm”, as an old woman I knew used to say. No! Decisive Christians. (…) Now let us ask ourselves: At what point are we? What point are we at? In the face of opposition, misunderstanding, do we turn to the Lord? Do we ask him for his steadfastness in doing good? Or do we rather seek confirmation through applause, ending up being bitter and resentful when we do not hear it? (…) Let us thus ask Jesus for the strength to be like him, to follow him resolutely down the path of service, not to be vindictive, not to be intolerant when difficulties present themselves, when we spend ourselves in doing good and others do not understand this, or even when they disqualify us. No, silence and onward. (Angelus, 26 June 2022)