Introduction
Is mankind a product of random forces,
making its pointless journey from uncreated nothingness
to its meaningless, inevitable end? Is life
“a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
signifying nothing”? Few might spell out
such a hopeless, negative philosophy but many in our
Western world seem to live in the shades of it.
Yet our Western history and culture
is based on the Judaeo-Christian belief of a loving,
caring God who has created all that is for union with
Him, and the human race to be the means of establishing
His Kingdom as eternity succeeds to time. Our Western
history and culture bear witness to a host of gifted
men and women who, through intellectual thought and
expression, through wisdom, through study and teaching
and through the inspired imagination have given a glimpse
of eternity in time.
All committed to a religious tradition
would say that such gifts are from God, each given for
the good of the one and the many and to reveal the nature
of reality. One gift, little understood in the modern
world is that of the direct word of God to the individual
person. It is a gift known and experienced in most religious
traditions: the Judaeo-Christian tradition is rich in
such witness. Indeed, response to the gift has in many
cases changed the course of history. Such were Abraham,
founder of his nation, Moses, liberator of it, and many
prophetic voices were ministers of the word as it was
revealed to them; Saul of Tarsus turned in his murderous
tracks as he was confronted by The Word Made Flesh and
and after his conversion pioneered the Christian Gospel
to the Gentile world, Augustine of Hippo was re-formed
as he responded to the voice in his garden. Luther,
reformer of the faith, Julian of Norwich, the mystic,
John Wesley evangelist and evangelical dynamic, Dorothy
Kerin, healer and counsellor – all heard and witnessed
to the Voice within the heart and mind. And that Voice
was one and the same.
For over twenty years I have had such
a gift and it has been dispensed to me daily as I meditated.
At first – over a period of about a year –
it flowed into the mind and I wrote down what I believed
was being given me, typing it up later in the day. Every
morning I rose early to give time for the operation
– this was both required and gave great joy; and
I looked forward to meeting with the message again in
the evening.
Within the message which I was given
to write was the identity of the writer. I was left
in no doubt that I was being addressed by The Incarnate
Word and it was required of me to respond to it for
my own sake and for such reasons as would be shown.
And this I have done for over twenty years.
The Word is powerful to fulfil all
that He wills and purposes: that Word is Love
Much of what I have received has been
prompted by given passages in The Bible which is my
sacred text, or “Holy Record” as it appears
in the words given me. After a few years I felt that
I should follow the daily liturgical readings –
the ones read corporately by the Church throughout the
year and individually by many. Usually the writing which
these evoked proceeded from the text, but not always.
I have learnt much from what I have
received, and my faith has been deepened and broadened
by it. I believe the Writings have been given for sharing
and I feel a special and deep bond with many of those
with whom I presently share them. And I have the conviction
that He who has spoken to me will speak to them in a
similar way – a way similar but inevitably unique
and appropriate for them.
What is the process I use? First, prayer
( I pray the Lord’s Prayer and the Anima Christi)
then I read the given passages and, with open and dedicated
mind prepare to write, never knowing what will be given
and not using the usual thought processes. After writing
I spend a short time in silent contemplation - that
is engaging in a cultivated, relaxed silence. All is
done by 7.30. a.m. at the latest. No day begins without
this joyful discipline.
Maranatha
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