Author: stuart

  • If we had but a glimpse…

    After the Eco-Retreat at Cae Mabon this past weekend… Pe caem gipolwg yn unig ar y byd fel lle gorffwys, a fyddem wedi ein cyfareddu gan y stori sanctaidd? Wedi ein hanrhydeddu wrth i fywyd cyfan droi’n ddiwrnod o baratoi. Yna, efallai y down yn gyd-grëwyr y wawr, gan ailddychmygu’n ddwyfol gelfyddyd a harddwch coll…

  • Women of the Passion

    Women of the Passion. Women of the Passion is a series of ten reflections on an image created by Chloe in chalk-pastel. Originally separate, now gathered here in one place to read in sequence. The second image was the result of a moment’s inspiration and serendipitous sunlight through a window onto the picture. Who is…

  • Shaking off the dust on The Way

    Knowing when to stay, knowing when to leave is one of the most challenging invitations for discernment that we will ever encounter and no this is not about the politics shenanigans surrounding the dreaded ‘b’ word.  When is it time to move on, to shake the dust from your feet and to continue on the…

  • The Way and the Transfiguration

    If you expect me to tell you to get out and climb a mountain this week in order that you’re face shine enough to suggest to those around you that you have been face to   face with God, as Moses and Jesus have in the Bible story of the Transfiguration then you’ll be disappointed. …

  • Courage to Love

    It’s easier to hate than to love, so they say.  Love takes hard work.  Though I’m not so sure about this for some people put a lot of effort into their hate and some are lazy in Love.  It takes great courage to love. For as we hear from St. Paul, Love is patient; love…

  • Ordinary – extraordinary

    Before indulging in the Johannine wedding feast we ought to set this story in its January context, why it is told during epiphany.  We begin to celebrate the Epiphany on 6th January, a festival which arose in the second century, largely in response to Greek and Hellenic festivals noting the position of the star Sirius,…

  • Shadows in the stars

    I won’t claim to be able to explain that beautiful, mystical reading we hear from the gospel of John at Midnight Mass except to say that if we listen closely to the lyrical tones of that haunting poetry attempting to describe one of the most perplexing moments of this earth’s history we might just catch…

  • Autumn Despair, Spring Hope

    You wept bitterly in the early autumn sun. Golden tears turned from the sky earthed. Your glorious array of colour vibrant life Littered away in a stray breeze released. Grieving the splendour once a majestic arch stands alone bereft. Mourning life stood proud in the sun now desolate carpet of decay. The last goodness leaches…

  • Self Image – Creation Time

    On the First Sunday of Creation time we begin with ourselves.  For our good intentions to come to fruition we must take responsibility for our heart. In Mark’s Gospel we read:  “This people honours me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me”     James reminds us not to forget the self image…

  • Gathering Hope

    RS Thomas’ poem The Bright Field is over quoted perhaps, but maybe with good reason.  It touches on the nerve endings of faith, the places we are anxious to itch, but are unable to scratch with conventional religion.  So when the sun broke through the clouds to illuminate the small field on which the Coda…