when a child leaves the breast
for solid food
it does not look back
it grows
the seed is nourished by earth
then spreads towards the sun
so: taste the scarlet sky
open towards wisdom
hide no longer in yourself
you came here like a star
that had no name
enter the nigh
Blog: Pictures-Books-Reflections
What lessons is life teaching you?
Posted on by James Woodward
Life is a series of lessons, some of them obvious, some of them not.
We learn as we go that dreams end, that plans get changed, that promises get broken, that our idols can disappoint us.
We learn that there is such a thing as human support and that there is also such a thi
Ambrose
Posted on by James Woodward
At 33 Ambrose had it all - a successful career as a lawyer, an important position as governor of Milan, the approval and friendship of the emperor, and a large estate.
Then the bishop of Milan died. At this time, about 374, heresies threatened to destroy the Church. The bish
Always on the way?
Posted on by James Woodward
We always fall short, always remain other, and yet are always on the way. I am always on the way, it seems, on this pilgrimage, to having eyes according to God’s eyes, to having a heart according to God’s heart. My wandering eyes, my divided heart makes me realize the truth
Charles de Foucauld
Posted on by James Woodward
CHARLES DE FOUCAULD (Brother Charles of Jesus) was born in Strasbourg, France on September 15th, 1858. Orphaned at the age of six, he and his sister Marie were raised by their grandfather in whose footsteps he followed by taking up a military career.
He lost his faith as an ad
Stillness
Posted on by James Woodward
stillness
Whatever you hoped,
you will not find yourselves in the garden,
among the growing plants.
Your lives are not circular like theirs:
your lives are the bird's flight
which begins and ends in stillness--
which begins and ends, in form echoing
this arc from the
Advent
Posted on by James Woodward
God our Father,
you loved the world so much
you gave your only Son to free us
from the ancient power of sin and death.
Help us who wait for his coming
and lead us to true liberty.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spi
Advent Antiphons
Posted on by James Woodward
O Wisdom,
Holy Word of God
You rule all creation with power and true concern.
- Come teach us the way of salvation.
O Sacred Lord
and leader of ancient Israel
You communicated with Moses at the burning bush
and gave him the law on Mount Sinai
- Come to set us free by Your migh
Wisdom is knowing that comes of loving.
Posted on by James Woodward
Wisdom is knowing that comes of loving. It is a conjoining of knowledge and love that I have been trying to find, first of all, in human embodiments, as ‘’a person in the persons’ I have known. I encounter it whenever ‘‘heart speaks to heart,’’ whenever a person w
Hot sweet and spicy beetroot soup
Posted on by James Woodward
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 large beetroot, grated
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
pinch of sugar
200ml/7fl oz beef stock
Greek yoghurt
chives, chopped to garnish
This is a Dig In recipe.
Method
1. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a m
Isaac Watts
Posted on by James Woodward
Isaac Watts - (1674-1748), English hymn writer
Watts was born July 17, 1674 at Southampton, England, the eldest of nine children. His father was a Dissenter from the Anglican Church and on at least one occasion was thrown in jail for not following the Church of England. Isa
Listen to Older People!
Posted on by James Woodward
Robert C Atchley, Spirituality and Aging, John Hopkins University Press 2009 -
This book is a reminder that sometimes wisdom is reserved for those who have had a lifetime of listening, study and reflection. This mature book is a compendium of wide-ranging research t
Potato and Pumpkin Cheese Bake
Posted on by James Woodward
Potato and Pumpkin Cheese Bake
(Serves 4)
Cooking time: 1h20 minutes
Ingredients:
500g small potatoes, halved
750g pumpkin, chopped
125ml apple cider
280ml salt reduced vegetable stock
1 small sprig of rosemary
1large red onion, halved and thinly sliced
3 bee
Christ the King
Posted on by James Woodward
Today the cycle of the Churches year ends as we commemorate and celebrate Christ the King.
Here are some prayers and images -
Almighty and merciful God,
you break the power of evil and make all things new
in your Son Jesus Christ, the King of the universe.
May all in heaven and
Finding Wisdom?
Posted on by James Woodward
Perhaps religion best helps us to dig and question and search for truth and wisdom? This coming week all of us will be given the opportunity to discover something new about who we are and how God holds this process of living and loving..... consider this:
Asking my questions
My favourite politician!
Posted on by James Woodward
Climbing the Bookshelves: The Autobiography
by Shirley Williams 432pp, Virago, £20
Few politicians are loved or even liked.Shirley Williams was and is an exception. The warmth of her mellifluous voice can unfreeze the frostiest public meeting. Rumpled, unbrushed and lat
The métier of blossoming
Posted on by James Woodward
If humans could be
that intensely whole, undistracted, unhurried,
swift from sheer
unswerving impetus!
If we could blossom out of ourselves,
giving nothing imperfect, withholding nothing!
From Denise Levertov, The métier of blossoming
The Boundaries of Personal Power
Posted on by James Woodward
When we are young, we imagine that we are doing everything ourselves. We have our work because we deserve it. We believe that we generate our own opportunities, our own luck, our own unstoppable bodies. There must be something to this, we intuit, that our fate varies acco
Elizabeth of Hungary
Posted on by James Woodward
St. Elizabeth was born in Hungary in 1207, the daughter of Alexander II, King of Hungary. At the age of four she was sent for education to the court of the Landgrave of Thuringia, to whose infant son she was betrothed. As she grew in age, her piety also increased by leaps and b
The scandal of Care?
Posted on by James Woodward
Poor dementia care in hospitals
costing lives and hundreds of millions
Published 17 November 2009
People with dementia - who occupy a quarter of all hospital beds - are staying far longer in hospital than people without the condition who go in for the same treatment.
This is