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caffeinechic · 4 years

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Good Omens Fic Recs 1/?

I went to fix a link in this post and managed to delete the entire thing like an absolute fool.

But my complete annoyance with myself won’t be bested with my determination to post this lot. So here I go again. I am so sorry if this has shown on your dash a million times. And sorry for the double links / tagging as I honestly went half mad over even the basics. This is where I am with life.

I have about 300 Good Omens fics bookmarked at this point to trying to pull out my absolute favourites sent me down a re-read (and in many cases a re-re-re-re-read) rabbit hole, which was an absolute joy so no complaints here!

These are just some of the ones that have just really stuck with me for one reason or another so I’ve gathered them up under the cut

4 Authors I just need to do like a HUGE rec for as they’re life ruiners. How dare they be this good. HOW DARE THEY.

@princip1914 @princip1914

Yeah I started pulling out the bookmarks I had for @princip1914 and realised it was...everything they’d written. All of it. Just...all of it.

But my particular favourite out of an outstanding batch is the following - which I have read approximately 70 squillion times. It stuck with me for so long in a way that I don’t think many fics have, ever. I actually can’t recommend this enough:

Doubt Thou The Stars Are Fire

“But how,” Aziraphale gasped, agonized and close to tears. “How can you be sure. Crowley, dear, you got thrown out of heaven for questioning everything. How can you be sure about this?”

Crowley loves and Aziraphale doubts. God intercedes. A groundhog day kind of situation ensues wherein Aziraphale has to fall in love with Crowley over and over again as a human until he gets the point. Highlights include: delivering medical care in rural Louisiana, stargazing in Vegas, strangers on a train, and teaching middle school.

@bestoftheseekwill @bestoftheseekwill

Same “problem” with @bestoftheseekwill - READ EVERYTHING. Oh my god, the human AUs, THE HUMAN AUS.

Special shout out to Acts of Service which was the first Human AU I’d read and got me completely hooked and now whenever seekwill posts I immediately read.

Acts of Service

"You seem very familiar to me. I can’t say why that is." As Aziraphale spoke, Crowley turned away from the fire, and Aziraphale was momentarily concerned that the spell had been broken, that he had crossed some invisible line. But Crowley smiled and brought his beer to his lips.

"Maybe we met in a past life. Does your lot believe in that?"

"Past lives?"

"Yeah."

Aziraphale smiled into his wine. He was sure Crowley was poking fun, ever so slightly, but he liked it. "Not strictly speaking. No."

Crowley shrugged, taking another long sip of his beer. “A mystery then."

After receiving direct instruction from God, village reverend Aziraphale leaves his countryside congregation to serve the underserved and in-need at an urban church in London, a transition made all the more complicated by the mysterious and handsome Crowley, who always seems to appear when Aziraphale least expects him.

OH!! but also

That this could be the kingdom

- this one sat with me for a while. Stunning

I have lived my whole life with a wrecked heart. Fr. Aziraphale Fell’s present mirrors his past, as long ago roommate, classmate, and former friend Anthony Crowley reappears in his life in an unexpected and disarming way, challenging Aziraphale’s choices, and bringing him back to the breaking point, when he made a decision he couldn’t take back. It isn’t temptation, it’s revelation.

@mygalfriday @mygalfriday

Ah here, listen - I went to get my bookmark list for @mygalfriday and just ended up re-reading all 12 fics this week.

i can't say the words, so i wrote you into my verse

Aziraphale blinks as it slowly dawns on him exactly what he’s looking at. Crowley has a tattoo. Well, another one anyway. Unlike the small serpent curled just beneath his temple, this one takes up far more space.

And listen if you don’t read the blind date au series then I don’t know how to help you!

I couldn’t find Rend_Herring Found @rendherring @rendherring on Tumblr but I had to put my phone and my head down after I read both of these.

The Lightness of You

God should not have built them with such discrepancy, made them need for love, and long for wholeness, then left them to their own devices.

This Soul Outstreaming

“Why did you come here?” Aziraphale interrupts. “Why do you keep doing this?” All the saving, he means, all the chasing after Aziraphale he does. It can’t only be that he’s not keen to endure a replacement. That can’t be it, not anymore. He’s going to get himself in trouble, and then it’ll be Aziraphale’s fault.

Crowley’s mouth shuts with a click. He shifts uncomfortably in his seat, reaches for the handle of the fork and taps his fingertips against it before setting his hands in his lap.

When he speaks, it’s very soft. “Don’t you know?” he asks.

Aziraphale, unaccustomed to his heart refusing to translate why it throbs with such haste, shakes his head.

Fics that, to me, are just stunners. I love them so much.

Slow Show - @mia-ugly @mia-ugly Honestly if you’re seeing a rec list WITHOUT slow show...I’d be legit surprised In which temptations are accomplished, grand romantic gestures are made, and two ineffable co-stars only take four seasons of an award-winning television program to realize they’re on their own side (at last, at last.)

Barriers, and the breaking thereof - @cardinaldaughter @cardinaldaughter Ezra Fell has long been comfortable in his loneliness. He’s content to simply run the Soho Public Library and otherwise keep to himself. However, when a handsome stranger bursts in one evening with a baby, frantic and in need of help, Ezra finds those carefully constructed barriers he’s long maintained begin to crack.

Perhaps it’s time to let them fall.

Anthophilia - @fortinbrasftw @fortinbrasftw Anthony J. Crowley's life seems like it's finally falling into place: his floral shop has begun to gain an undercurrent of appreciation in the design elite of London, and he might have even finally found a boyfriend who looks just right lounging on his Tenreiro sofa. Things seem almost perfect, until one day the empty shop across the street is leased to frumpy fellow Oxford alumni, who doesn't seem to remember Crowley nearly as well as he remembers him, which really shouldn't bother him as much as it does - it was ten years ago after all, and it wasn't even that good of a kiss.

The road to rapture has a lot of pit stops - @emmagrant01 @emmagrant01 Five times they kissed over four thousand years, and one time they actually meant it.

Demon and Angel Professors - Ghostinthehouse - not 100% sure that this is also their tumblr handle so if anyone can confirm that would be great! They're professors. They're married. Their students don't realise. Cue shenanigans.

Multiple short arcs with one-shots (and often pauses) between them. Characters continue from one arc to the next. It's marked as complete, because each short arc is complete in itself, but there will be more arcs and one-shots in the future.

The Grinch Who Sold Christmas - @forineffablereasons @forineffablereasons Anthony J. Crowley, a big-time attorney from London, is sent to small-town Tadfield to close a deal before Christmas that would sell out half of high street to a fancy developer and put him up for partner at his firm. The deal will run the local businesses out and change the landscape of the town forever, but that’s none of Crowley’s business; he’s just doing a job.

But as the town invites him to share in their lives and their hopes and their holiday celebrations, and as the enigmatic Aziraphale invites him to share in something more, Crowley starts to wonder: if everything has its price, is he still willing to pay what this deal will cost?

Slow - write_away It started like this: A boy with the ability to warp reality met an angel and a demon and he made assumptions.

You might say it started like this: An angel and a demon found a marriage contract hung on the wall of the angel's bookshop. They didn't question it.

It also could have started like this: Once upon a time, the angel told the demon he went too fast. The demon took it to heart.

Aziraphale and Crowley find themselves somehow married. Crowley fears going too fast. Aziraphale forges ahead. Neither know how to ask questions of each other.

You, soft and only - @thehoyden He hadn’t expected a sudden lapful of angel.

“Very sorry about this,” Aziraphale said, and kissed him.

A Bushel and a Peck- @thehoyden Sometimes, a family is a demonic nanny, an angelic cook, and a kid who isn't actually the Antichrist.Or: Crowley helps Aziraphale secure a different position at the Dowling Estate.

Long is the way, and hard - Kate_Lear The first time Crawley meets the angel, the celestial being is twisting its shining white robe in its fingers and looking wretched. It hardly spares him a glance as he shifts from snake to human, and Crawley is a touch put-out. It’s taken some practice to be able to do it so fluidly.

A story of Crowley's thoughts about Aziraphale, from the Beginning to the present day.

And also of temptation, and want, and whether - for a Fallen Angel - redemption is possible after all.

the 21st century, in which they finally work it out - @fieldbears @fieldbears This is light speed in comparison to the last few centuries of their relationship, but Crowley is barely holding on to his patience.

A Few More Rescues - @poetic----nonsense @poetic----nonsense 5+1 Times Crowley Rescued Aziraphale According to the Romantic Tropes of the Era, and One Time Aziraphale Turned It Around on Him (plus Prologue)

The Cottage, the Husbands (series) - Dragonsquill A demon and an angel fall in love and decide to take on the monumental task of living together in a cottage by the sea.

#good omens fic recs #good omens fic #good omens #ineffable husbands #ineffable spouses #my recs

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frmartinshomiliesandreflections · 4 years

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15th February >> Fr. Martin’s Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Mark 8:1-10 for Saturday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time: ‘I feel sorry for all these people’.

Saturday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Mark 8:1-10

The feeding of the four thousand

A great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat. So Jesus called his disciples to him and said to them, ‘I feel sorry for all these people; they have been with me for three days now and have nothing to eat. If I send them off home hungry they will collapse on the way; some have come a great distance.’ His disciples replied, ‘Where could anyone get bread to feed these people in a deserted place like this?’ He asked them, ‘How many loaves have you?’ ‘Seven’ they said. Then he instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and handed them to his disciples to distribute; and they distributed them among the crowd. They had a few small fish as well, and over these he said a blessing and ordered them to be distributed also. They ate as much as they wanted, and they collected seven basketfuls of the scraps left over. Now there had been about four thousand people. He sent them away and immediately, getting into the boat with his disciples, went to the region of Dalmanutha.

Gospel (USA)

Mark 8:1-10

They ate and were satisfied.

In those days when there again was a great crowd without anything to eat, Jesus summoned the disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a great distance.” His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?” Still he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They replied, “Seven.” He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute, and they distributed them to the crowd. They also had a few fish. He said the blessing over them and ordered them distributed also. They ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets. There were about four thousand people.

He dismissed the crowd and got into the boat with his disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

Reflections (4)

(i) Saturday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

This is the second time in Mark’s gospel that Jesus feeds a large crowd in the wilderness, the first feeding having occurred less than two chapters earlier. At this point in his gospel, Jesus is in a region that would have been inhabited predominantly by pagans. The fact that the disciples had already witnessed Jesus feed a large crowd in Jewish territory shortly before makes their somewhat despairing question all the harder to understand, ‘Where could anyone get bread to feed these people in a deserted place like this?’ It seems odd that the disciples have learned nothing from the earlier feeding. If Jesus can feed a Jewish crowd in the wilderness, why could he not now feed a predominantly pagan crowd? The disciples seem to have lacked an expectant faith. The fact that God had already provided for a hungry crowd in the recent past through Jesus did not lead them to expect that God would provide for another hungry crowd in the present. The question of Jesus, in contrast to the disciples’ question, was rooted in an expectant faith, ‘How many loaves have you?’ Jesus expected that God would provide again for this predominantly pagan crowd, even though the resources seemed meagre, seven loaves and a few small fish. This would be God’s work, which is why Jesus first gave thanks to God for the seven loaves and the few small fish, before feeding the multitude. Jesus teaches us to have an expectant faith, even in the face of situations that seem beyond us, humanly speaking. We can all be tempted to pose a version of the disciples’ somewhat despairing question when the task before us seems beyond us. However, Jesus shows us that if we engage with such situations out of our prayerful communion with God, then he will often accomplish far more than we could have imaged possible.

And/Or

(ii) Saturday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

In the gospel reading the disciples find themselves faced with a situation which they feel is beyond them. There is a large crowd of hungry people in a deserted place with no means to feed them. Their desperation comes through in the question they ask Jesus, ‘Where could anyone get bread to feed these people in a deserted place like this?’ There are times in all our lives when we feel like the disciples. We find ourselves facing into a situation which seems beyond our capacity to deal with. We wonder how we are going to manage. In the gospel reading the disciples discovered that the Lord enabled them to deal with the situation and to feed the crowd. Working with very few human resources, seven loaves of bread and a few small fish, Jesus made it possible for the disciples to feed the crowd. Sometimes in our own lives too, the Lord enables us to do something that we would be quite unable to do if left to our own resources. The Lord can work powerfully through the few resources that are at our own disposal if we offer them to him and invite him to come and use them. Saint Paul knew this from his own experience. He wrote in his letter to the Philippians, ‘I can do all things through him who gives me strength’.

And/Or

(iii) Saturday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

There are two questions asked in today’s gospel reading. The question of the disciples is a somewhat despairing one, ‘Where could anyone get bread to feed these people in a deserted place?’ The question of Jesus is much more hopeful and already points to how the crowd will be fed, ‘How many loaves have you?’ When we are faced with a situation that seems beyond our resources to deal with, it is important to ask the right kind of question. Some questions only increase our sense of powerlessness. Other questions encourage us to take whatever step we can take, no matter how small. Jesus wanted his disciples to take whatever step they could take to address the hunger of the crowd. There were some resources there which they could place at the Lord’s disposal. They could not feed the crowd on their own, but their contribution was essential to the Lord’s feeding of the crowd. As people of faith, we believe that the Lord wants to work through us for the good of humanity. It may seem as if our resources are very limited before the task in hand. Yet, if we are generous with those resources and invite the Lord to work with them, he can accomplish far more through us than we could ever imagine.

And/Or

(iv) Saturday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Different people react in different ways to the same situation. In today’s gospel reading, there is a striking difference between the reaction of Jesus and the reaction of the disciples to the sight of a large hungry crowd in the wilderness. The disciples’ question, ‘Where could anyone get bread to feed these people?’ suggests that they wanted Jesus to send the crowd away. Jesus’ question to his disciples,‘How many loaves have you?’, suggests that he wanted them to make some effort to feed the crowd. Jesus got them to bring him the little food they could find among the crowd. Then with those few resources of seven loaves and a few small fish, he fed the crowd, with the help of his reluctant disciples. The gospel reading suggests that the Lord will always encourage us to give ourselves in service to others, even if we may feel that our resources are inadequate, that we have very little to offer. If we are generous with those few resources, the gospel reading suggests that the Lord will then work with them and through them in ways that will often surprise us. The Lord can work wonders through the very ordinary resources and gifts that we possess. He asks us to do what we can with what we have, but he will always do so much more. If we are not willing to do the little we can with what we have, the Lord’s own capacity for ministry to others is curtailed. The Lord needs our resources, small and inadequate at they may seem, if he is to continue his good work in our own time and place. If we are generous with our equivalent of the seven loaves and few fish, then, in the words of Saint Paul to the Ephesians, the Lord’s power at work within us will be able ‘to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine’.

Fr. Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, D03 AO62, Ireland.

Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Parish Website: www.stjohnsclontarf.ie Please join us via our webcam.

Twitter: @SJtBClontarfRC.

Facebook: St John the Baptist RC Parish, Clontarf.

Tumblr: Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin.

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olessan · 7 years

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Lately, I haven't been great at answering messages/replies/etc; when I do reply, it's often with a delay (not just here on tumblr).

I'm not ignoring anyone, I'm just.. tired. When I read a message, I go to answer, but usually end up stuck in a procrastination loop regardless of if I try to answer immediately or save it for later. I’ve been very lethargic, fatigued, and somewhat stressed in general, and often apathetic towards getting anything done. That includes actively interacting.

So, I'm here! I'm just quiet, lurking. Still arting too*. (OvO)/

*Starting on proper designs for my Warden/Hawke/Lavellan group too!

Elaboration/a soft vent under the cut.

I'm anxious and introverted and a lurker by nature and have felt increasingly drained for longer periods over the past year. I want to actively interact but have this overbearing fatigue that's hard to describe: it's like a fog, or a pressure constantly lingering, and is certainly not helped by some sleep issues I've developed. Hours, days, weeks, pass in a blur.

Sometimes I dwell on something I want/need to do and a mental switch flips and I simply can’t get the motivation to do it unless I force myself, even if it’s enjoyable. I’ve woken up tired nearly every day for the last four months, as well (despite sleeping sometimes in excess of twelve consecutive hours). As a result I’ve become more withdrawn. I’m increasingly irritated and feeling like I’m lazy, or not getting enough done (I hate being inefficient), but simultaneously am apathetic in varying amounts. Instead of doing the dishwasher and prepping dinner I’ve just spent over an hour sitting here doing nothing but absent-mindedly browsing, and now, typed out this post.

Which has also played into increasing my overall amount of stress. This cycle I started my period over a week early. The cycle before this one was over two weeks too long (nearly double the length). Both most likely caused by my stressing myself out over nothing, since it’s usually predictable down to a day.

But anyway -------------

I appreciate all of you (followers and those I follow); I've memorised quite a few usernames (I recognize a bunch of you in the notes instantly), and often browse blogs/check in/send the occasional friendly anon, but recently have rarely felt like I have the energy to keep up, or to be social in general.

Instead of shoving posts in my queue I’ve been putting them in drafts (about 3,000 between my main and FR sideblog) so I can tag them properly later -- you may get me reblogging some of your older posts when I eventually get my queue going again.

I’m trying to get my shit together, which includes getting a check-up but I can barely even motivate myself to do that knowing that I very much need a blood test. It’s been six months, I still haven’t done it.

So, I hope to interact more actively! One of the big tasks for myself this year is to address whatever health issues I’ve got and manage them so I can be productive again (and not as quick-tempered irl which is tied to anxiety)

If my attempts to sleep like most people do (i.e. at night, for 8 hours, in the same timeframe for more than 2 nights in a row) are any indication, it’ll be a slow process.

#/ filler tags because eh #/eehha #/don't want these in any tags you see/#/ and only the first 5 tags go in /tagged/[tag] page #/so weh #olessan oration #I'm going to tag this as:#mental health #since I'm whining about my fatigue under the cut #it's very much physical health too though #MY VERY BONES ARE TIRED #ME BONES #@ mobile users I'm aware readmores don't always work in the app (for some reason they do and don't sometimes wtf) sorry !

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frmartinshomiliesandreflections · 5 years

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16th February >> Fr. Martin's Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Mark 8:1-10 for Saturday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time: ‘They ate as much as they wanted’.

Saturday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Mark 8:1-10

The feeding of the four thousand

Gospel (USA)

Mark 8:1-10

They ate and were satisfied.

He dismissed the crowd and got into the boat with his disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha

Reflections (3)

(i) Saturday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Different people react in different ways to the same situation. In today’s gospel reading, there is a striking difference between the reaction of Jesus and the reaction of the disciples to the sight of a large hungry crowd in the wilderness. The disciples’ question, ‘Where could anyone get bread to feed these people?’ suggests that they wanted Jesus to send the crowd away. Jesus’ question to his disciples, ‘How many loaves have you?’, suggests that he wanted them to make some effort to feed the crowd. Jesus got them to bring him the little food they could find among the crowd. Then with those few resources of seven loaves and a few small fish, he fed the crowd, with the help of his reluctant disciples. The gospel reading suggests that the Lord will always encourage us to give ourselves in service to others, even if we may feel that our resources are inadequate, that we have very little to offer. If we are generous with those few resources, the gospel reading suggests that the Lord will then work with them and through them in ways that will often surprise us. The Lord can work wonders through the very ordinary resources and gifts that we possess. He asks us to do what we can with what we have, but he will always do so much more. If we are not willing to do the little we can with what we have, the Lord’s own capacity for ministry to others is curtailed. The Lord needs our resources, small and inadequate at they may seem, if he is to continue his good work in our own time and place. If we are generous with our equivalent of the seven loaves and few fish, then, in the words of Saint Paul to the Ephesians, the Lord’s power at work within us will be able ‘to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine’.

And/Or

(ii) Saturday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

And/Or

(iii) Saturday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Fr. Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, D03 AO62, Ireland.

Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Parish Website: www.stjohnsclontarf.ie Please join us via our webcam.

Twitter: @SJtBClontarfRC.

Facebook: St John the Baptist RC Parish, Clontarf.

Tumblr: Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin.

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frmartinshomiliesandreflections · 7 years

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3rd June >> Fr. Martin’s Gospel Reflection for Saturday, Seventh Week of Easter (John 21:20-25): ‘You are to follow me’.

Saturday, Seventh Week of Easter

Gospel (except USA)

John 21:20-25

Peter turned and saw the disciple Jesus loved following them – the one who had leaned on his breast at the supper and had said to him, ‘Lord, who is it that will betray you?’ Seeing him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘What about him, Lord?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to stay behind till I come, what does it matter to you? You are to follow me.’ The rumour then went out among the brothers that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus had not said to Peter, ‘He will not die’, but, ‘If I want him to stay behind till I come.’

This disciple is the one who vouches for these things and has written them down, and we know that his testimony is true.

There were many other things that Jesus did; if all were written down, the world itself, I suppose, would not hold all the books that would have to be written.

Gospel (USA)

John 21:20-25

This is the disciple who has written these things and his testimony is true.

Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved, the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper and had said, “Master, who is the one who will betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours? You follow me.” So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die. But Jesus had not told him that he would not die, just “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours?”

It is this disciple who testifies to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.

Reflections (3)

(i) Saturday, Seventh Week of Easter

I have always been struck by the concluding sentence of today’s gospel reading. It is also the concluding sentence of the fourth gospel. The evangelist declares that there were many other things Jesus did that are not mentioned in his gospel. He goes on to declare that the world itself could not contain all the books that would have to be written if everything Jesus said and did were written down. The evangelist may be indulging in some hyperbole here, but, nevertheless, he is expressing his conviction that the full mystery of Jesus’ identity cannot be fully expressed in any one piece of literature, not even in a gospel that is rooted in eye witness tradition, like his own. Even the four gospels taken together do not exhaust the mystery of Jesus. There is more to Jesus than all four evangelists together have managed to express. Each evangelist gives us an inspired portrait of Jesus. We are fortunate to have these four portraits of Jesus, even if no one of them and not even all four together, fully capture the mystery of Jesus, who was the fullest revelation of God possible in human form. Yet the gospels reveal all we need to know about Jesus for our lives of faith. They give us the portrait of Jesus that the Holy Spirit wants us to have. The Holy Spirit, working through various human agents, has given us this wonderful gift of the four gospels. This morning’s gospel reading speaks of the beloved disciple as the one wrote down, or caused to be written down, what we now know as the fourth gospel or the gospel of John. We give thanks to God this morning for all four evangelists and for the priceless legacy they have left us, under the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit, whose feast we celebrate this Sunday.

And/Or

(ii) Saturday, Seventh Week of Easter

This is the final weekday of the Easter season. The season of Easter concludes with tomorrow’s feast of Pentecost. We are back to Ordinary Time on Monday. As we conclude the Easter Season the two readings of today’s Mass are also conclusions. The first reading is the conclusion of the Acts of the Apostles from which we have been reading since Easter Sunday. It speaks of the arrival of Paul in Rome as a prisoner of the Roman authorities. Yet, even while under house arrest, Luke describes him as continuing to do what he had been doing since his meeting with the risen Lord on the road to Damascus, ‘proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ’. The gospel reading is the conclusion of John’s gospel, from which we have also been reading since Easter Sunday. Two other key figures in the early church feature in that conclusion, Peter and the beloved disciple. Peter has just been given his work by the risen Lord of shepherding the Lord’s flock. It just remains for the work of the beloved disciple to be clarified. His work was causing the gospel to be written that we have come to know as the gospel of John. This gospel is his legacy to the church. These three very different figures were key people in the Lord’s work in the world. Yet, we all have a part to play in that work, in accordance with our gifts and our abilities. To each of us, Jesus says what he said to Peter in today’s gospel reading, ‘You are to follow me’.

And/Or

(iii) Saturday, Seventh Week of Easter

There are three characters in this morning’s gospel reading, Jesus, Peter and the beloved disciple. Jesus had just given Peter an important role in the church, ‘Feed my lambs, feed my sheep’. Peter then asks Jesus about the beloved disciple, ‘What about him, Lord?’ he said. In reply Jesus seems to say, ‘Look I have other plans for him. You follow me, in keeping with the role I have just given you’. Peter and the beloved disciple each had their own particular calling, and they were quite different. Peter was the chief shepherd of the church who gave his life for Jesus in the city of Rome where he was martyred. The beloved disciple inspired the writing of the fourth gospel and seems to have lived to an old age. The Lord had a different calling for each of them, just as his call to each of us is unique to each of us. There is something each of us can do for the Lord that no one else can do. Rather than looking over our shoulders at others, as Peter was inclined to do in today’s gospel reading, we have to try and discern the particular calling the Lord has given us and then be as faithful and as generous in our response to that call as we can. We cannot be someone else; we can only be ourselves. The Lord wants us to be ourselves because he has a unique role in his work for each one of us. There is some task that we alone can do for the Lord that no one else can.

Fr. Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, D03 AO62, Ireland.

Parish Website: www.stjohnsclontarf.ieJoinus via our webcam.

Twitter: @SJtBClontarfRC.

Facebook: St John the Baptist RC Parish, Clontarf.

Tumblr: Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin.

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romancatholicreflections · 7 years

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27th January >> Fr. Martin’s Reflection on Today’s Gospel Reading (Mark 4:26-34) for Friday, Third Week in Ordinary Time: ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like’.

Friday, Third Week in Ordinary Time Gospel (Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Canada & South Africa) Mark 4:26-34 Jesus said to the crowds, ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man throws seed on the land. Night and day, while he sleeps, when he is awake, the seed is sprouting and growing; how, he does not know. Of its own accord the land produces first the shoot, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the crop is ready, he loses no time: he starts to reap because the harvest has come.’ He also said, ‘What can we say the kingdom of God is like? What parable can we find for it? It is like a mustard seed which at the time of its sowing in the soil is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet once it is sown it grows into the biggest shrub of them all and puts out big branches so that the birds of the air can shelter in its shade.’ Using many parables like these, he spoke the word to them, so far as they were capable of understanding it. He would not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything to his disciples when they were alone. Gospel (USA) Mark 4:26-34 A man scatters seed on the land and would sleep and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Jesus said to the crowds: “This is how it is with the Kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.” He said, “To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private. Reflections (5) (i) Friday, Third Week in Ordinary Time There are times when less is better. We can want sometime to happen so much that we try to force it and in doing so we only manage to hold it back or even derail it. There is a time to be active and a time to be still and let be. In the first parable of today’s gospel reading, the farmer needed to be active in sowing the seed but then he needed to step back and allow the soil to interact with the seed in nature’s way. Jesus says that the kingdom of God is like that. Yes, God needs labourers for his harvest. Jesus once called on those he was sending out as his messengers to pray to God to send more labourers into his harvest. However, our labour is not the decisive factor in the coming of God’s kingdom into our world. It is ultimately God who will see to the coming of God’s kingdom. Like the farmer in the parable there will be times when, after our labour, all we can do is step back and allow God to do what only God can do. The farmer in the parable did not understand how the seed he had sown comes to maturity as full grain, ‘how, he does not know’. There is much about how the Lord works that we will not understand either. Saint Paul said of his ministry and that of his co-worker Apollo in his first letter to the Corinthians, ‘I planted, Apollo watered, but God gave the growth’. We do what we can and then we trust that the Lord will do what the Lord can, which is much more significant. The Lord is always at work beyond our human efforts. He will continue to work for the coming of his kingdom, even when our efforts seem insufficient to the task. And/Or (ii) Friday, Third Week in Ordinary Time The first of the two parables that Jesus speaks in this morning’s gospel reading seems to suggest that once the farmer has sown the seed he has to step back and allow nature to take over as it were. As he sleeps at night and goes about his business during the day the seed is quietly growing until the day comes when the crop is ready to be harvested. Jesus says that the kingdom of God is like that. In what sense is this true? Jesus seems to be saying that we have a part to play in the coming about of God’s kingdom among us; the seed has to be sown and only we can do it. Yet, the coming to pass of God’s kingdom in our midst is more God’s work than ours. Like the farmer, we cannot force the growth of God’s kingdom. We have to step back and allow God to do the work that only God can do. Saint Paul understood this truth very clearly and he expressed it very simply in his first letter to the Corinthians when referring to the coming to pass of the church of God in Corinth he said, ‘I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth’. The conclusion Paul draws from this reality is that people should not make too much of Paul or Apollos or any other labourer in the harvest, because it is always God who is the prime mover when any good is being done. Our contribution is very important, but it is God’s contribution that really brings the kingdom to earth. That is why we need to do all we can to further God’s work while at the same time leaving a great deal of space for God to work, and if something good comes out of it all, let the Lord be glorified and not ourselves. And/Or (iii) Friday, Third Week in Ordinary Time The first parable that Jesus speaks in this morning’s gospel is often called ‘the parable of the seed growing secretly’. Jesus is saying that there is some correspondence between the coming of the kingdom of God and the way the farmer, having thrown seed on the land, then has nothing much to do, until the crop is ready for harvest. Yet, even though the farmer is doing very little in between sowing and harvesting, the seed is working away during that time, producing first a shoot, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. Jesus appears to be saying that God can be powerfully at work in our lives even in those times when we ourselves appear to be doing very little. Sometimes we equate God’s work with our own exercise of energy. Yet, there are times in our lives when we can do very little, whether for reasons of health or for some other reason. Jesus suggests in that parable that even in those quiet times when we appear to have very little to show for ourselves, God can be working away in our lives for the good, working in us and through us. It was Paul who said that God’s power is made perfect in weakness. And/Or (iv) Friday, Third Week in Ordinary Time The first of the two parables in this morning’s gospel reading, the parable of the seed growing secretly, is only to be found in the gospel of Mark. It is an intriguing parable. Parables are like that; they are meant to make us think. Rather than telling us the message straight, they tease us into reflection. In the parable, once the farmer sows the seed he has to wait until the harvest. There is very little he can do between sowing and harvesting. He has to stand back and let the seed grow of its own accord. There are times in life when we too will need to stand back; there is a time to act and there is a time to wait and to recognize that the real action is happening away from us and without us. In our relationship with the Lord there is also a time to act and a time to step back and allow the Lord to act without any direct involvement from us. There are times when we need the humility to recognize that the Lord can work better in some situations if we do nothing rather than if we do something. What we do need and what we can pray for is the wisdom to know when to act, when to sow and to reap, and when to refrain from acting so that the Lord can work more effectively. And/Or (v) Friday, Third Week in Ordinary Time That first parable of the seed growing secretly suggests the mystery of growth. The farmer works hard to sow the seed, but then he has to wait. In a way he does not fully understand, the seed grows of his own accord. It is only when the seed is fully grown and the crop is ripe that the farmer can get down to work again. The wise farmer knows when it is time to work, and when it is time to stand back and wait patiently, and allow nature to take its course. We are not all farmers, but like the farmer in the parable we all have to try and get that balance between working to make something happen and standing back to allow something to happen. The balance between engagement and disengagement is important when it comes to all growth, including human growth, our own growth and the growth of others. The process of growth is not something we can fully control. That is especially true of our growth in Christ. There are certain things we can do to bring that about, but there are some things only the Lord can do. There comes at time when we have the allow the Lord to work his growth in us; that will often mean for us, easing up a little, doing less, making room for the Lord to work. Fr Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland. Parish Website: www.stjohnsclontarf.ieJoin us via our webcam. Twitter: @SJtBClontarfRC. Facebook: St John the Baptist RC Parish, Clontarf. Tumblr: Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin.

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frmartinshomiliesandreflections · 7 years

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27th January >> Fr. Martin's Reflection on Today's Gospel Reading (Mark 4:26-34) for Friday, Third Week in Ordinary Time: ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like’.

Friday, Third Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Canada & South Africa)

Mark 4:26-34

Jesus said to the crowds, ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man throws seed on the land. Night and day, while he sleeps, when he is awake, the seed is sprouting and growing; how, he does not know. Of its own accord the land produces first the shoot, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the crop is ready, he loses no time: he starts to reap because the harvest has come.’ He also said, ‘What can we say the kingdom of God is like? What parable can we find for it? It is like a mustard seed which at the time of its sowing in the soil is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet once it is sown it grows into the biggest shrub of them all and puts out big branches so that the birds of the air can shelter in its shade.’ Using many parables like these, he spoke the word to them, so far as they were capable of understanding it. He would not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything to his disciples when they were alone.

Gospel (USA)

Mark 4:26-34

A man scatters seed on the land and would sleep and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how.

Jesus said to the crowds: “This is how it is with the Kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.” He said, “To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

Reflections (5)

(i) Friday, Third Week in Ordinary Time

There are times when less is better. We can want sometime to happen so much that we try to force it and in doing so we only manage to hold it back or even derail it. There is a time to be active and a time to be still and let be. In the first parable of today’s gospel reading, the farmer needed to be active in sowing the seed but then he needed to step back and allow the soil to interact with the seed in nature’s way. Jesus says that the kingdom of God is like that. Yes, God needs labourers for his harvest. Jesus once called on those he was sending out as his messengers to pray to God to send more labourers into his harvest. However, our labour is not the decisive factor in the coming of God’s kingdom into our world. It is ultimately God who will see to the coming of God’s kingdom. Like the farmer in the parable there will be times when, after our labour, all we can do is step back and allow God to do what only God can do. The farmer in the parable did not understand how the seed he had sown comes to maturity as full grain, ‘how, he does not know’. There is much about how the Lord works that we will not understand either. Saint Paul said of his ministry and that of his co-worker Apollo in his first letter to the Corinthians, ‘I planted, Apollo watered, but God gave the growth’. We do what we can and then we trust that the Lord will do what the Lord can, which is much more significant. The Lord is always at work beyond our human efforts. He will continue to work for the coming of his kingdom, even when our efforts seem insufficient to the task.

And/Or

(ii) Friday, Third Week in Ordinary Time

The first of the two parables that Jesus speaks in this morning’s gospel reading seems to suggest that once the farmer has sown the seed he has to step back and allow nature to take over as it were. As he sleeps at night and goes about his business during the day the seed is quietly growing until the day comes when the crop is ready to be harvested. Jesus says that the kingdom of God is like that. In what sense is this true? Jesus seems to be saying that we have a part to play in the coming about of God’s kingdom among us; the seed has to be sown and only we can do it. Yet, the coming to pass of God’s kingdom in our midst is more God’s work than ours. Like the farmer, we cannot force the growth of God’s kingdom. We have to step back and allow God to do the work that only God can do. Saint Paul understood this truth very clearly and he expressed it very simply in his first letter to the Corinthians when referring to the coming to pass of the church of God in Corinth he said, ‘I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth’. The conclusion Paul draws from this reality is that people should not make too much of Paul or Apollos or any other labourer in the harvest, because it is always God who is the prime mover when any good is being done. Our contribution is very important, but it is God’s contribution that really brings the kingdom to earth. That is why we need to do all we can to further God’s work while at the same time leaving a great deal of space for God to work, and if something good comes out of it all, let the Lord be glorified and not ourselves.

And/Or

(iii) Friday, Third Week in Ordinary Time

The first parable that Jesus speaks in this morning’s gospel is often called ‘the parable of the seed growing secretly’. Jesus is saying that there is some correspondence between the coming of the kingdom of God and the way the farmer, having thrown seed on the land, then has nothing much to do, until the crop is ready for harvest. Yet, even though the farmer is doing very little in between sowing and harvesting, the seed is working away during that time, producing first a shoot, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. Jesus appears to be saying that God can be powerfully at work in our lives even in those times when we ourselves appear to be doing very little. Sometimes we equate God’s work with our own exercise of energy. Yet, there are times in our lives when we can do very little, whether for reasons of health or for some other reason. Jesus suggests in that parable that even in those quiet times when we appear to have very little to show for ourselves, God can be working away in our lives for the good, working in us and through us. It was Paul who said that God’s power is made perfect in weakness.

And/Or

(iv) Friday, Third Week in Ordinary Time

The first of the two parables in this morning’s gospel reading, the parable of the seed growing secretly, is only to be found in the gospel of Mark. It is an intriguing parable. Parables are like that; they are meant to make us think. Rather than telling us the message straight, they tease us into reflection. In the parable, once the farmer sows the seed he has to wait until the harvest. There is very little he can do between sowing and harvesting. He has to stand back and let the seed grow of its own accord. There are times in life when we too will need to stand back; there is a time to act and there is a time to wait and to recognize that the real action is happening away from us and without us. In our relationship with the Lord there is also a time to act and a time to step back and allow the Lord to act without any direct involvement from us. There are times when we need the humility to recognize that the Lord can work better in some situations if we do nothing rather than if we do something. What we do need and what we can pray for is the wisdom to know when to act, when to sow and to reap, and when to refrain from acting so that the Lord can work more effectively.

And/Or

(v) Friday, Third Week in Ordinary Time

That first parable of the seed growing secretly suggests the mystery of growth. The farmer works hard to sow the seed, but then he has to wait. In a way he does not fully understand, the seed grows of his own accord. It is only when the seed is fully grown and the crop is ripe that the farmer can get down to work again. The wise farmer knows when it is time to work, and when it is time to stand back and wait patiently, and allow nature to take its course. We are not all farmers, but like the farmer in the parable we all have to try and get that balance between working to make something happen and standing back to allow something to happen. The balance between engagement and disengagement is important when it comes to all growth, including human growth, our own growth and the growth of others. The process of growth is not something we can fully control. That is especially true of our growth in Christ. There are certain things we can do to bring that about, but there are some things only the Lord can do. There comes at time when we have the allow the Lord to work his growth in us; that will often mean for us, easing up a little, doing less, making room for the Lord to work.

Fr Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland.

Parish Website: www.stjohnsclontarf.ieJoin us via our webcam.

Twitter: @SJtBClontarfRC.

Facebook: St John the Baptist RC Parish, Clontarf.

Tumblr: Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin.

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