Experience Jesus Really. (Session 5)

 

Experience Jesus. Really. (Session 4)

 

Experience Jesus. Really. (Session 3)

 

Experience Jesus. Really. (Session 2)

 

Experience Jesus. Really. (Session 1)

 

The Voyage of the Coconut

‘All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.’

We know something is wrong, or missing, in ourselves and the world:- most men will feel the angst and push it down in duty, discipline and conformity and perhaps dull the pain of it with a few beers at the weekend or some other leaning post and stoically carry on. Even with a Christian foundation most feel a bit lost with all the longings of desire fighting to get out. We were made for Eden, for bliss, for eternity and the heart remembers the original design.

What does it look like for the few who make the leap to try to find the destiny we believe is calling us, to a life worth living? It’s dangerous, and it doesn’t always go according to (our) plan.

I came across a video about a prolific sailor and author from the US, Webb Chiles, which told of his life on the world’s oceans; he was the first US citizen to go solo around Cape Horn where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans clash rather violently, putting the best of sailors to the test; he also chalked up many circumnavigations. Out on the fringes of life there will usually be close calls and life threatening situations which will test the mettle and bring them to the end of themselves and I asked him if there were any memorable events like that. Another video he shared showed a couple of examples. There was something in the stories; some small details that reminded me of something. To some they would be barely noticeable, put down to chance or luck but to me; I recognized the Modus Operandi… a trail of breadcrumbs leading to a much deeper reality.

One of the stories described how during a voyage, some 300 miles from shore, he hit something in the water which caused the boat to summersault and threw him out. Afterwards the boat was swamped, still afloat but not sailable; just drifting with the hopeful expectation of reaching land eventually. He rationed his water to a few sips per day and a small amount to eat. And then a timely arrival; a coconut, with its life-giving contents still secure inside, floated casually by the boat. Webb swam to fetch it. It would enable him to survive for another week and so he made it to land alive. Lived to sail another day!

Years ago I read the account of the Voyage of the James Caird (a lifeboat) from Elephant Island to South Georgia. Frank Worsley navigated the small open boat through hurricane conditions 800 miles to find a fly speck of an island using celestial navigation, and saved the lives of his comrades just as surely as Shackleton’s legendary leadership did.

But the more impressive piece of navigation, to say nothing of timing, must be the Voyage of that Coconut. First it had to fall off the tree and land, softly, in the sand without breakage. Then roll gently to the water’s edge, picked up by the tide, and begin its seaward journey. And then, without rudder or sail, chart or GPS it crossed how many miles we don’t know, moved by wind and wave for a high precision rendezvous with an even smaller target in the ocean. As a scientist I can say that the mathematical probability of this confluence of events is approaching zero. Nature is anything but Precise; the Supernatural on the other hand is this precise. 

God honours our efforts, our work and our achievements and only steps in when we are at the end of ourselves if He has purpose. We are trained through adversity, not spared any trial or difficulty but with one aim in mind; union or reunion with Him. We are made for fellowship with Him. He is not a remote being or a mathematical enigma for us to solve but the Father’s sincere love for us manifest in His pursuit of us across the sea roads or mountain tops of the world. The revelation is the invitation or trail head of another journey, another voyage of sorts into the unknown and uncharted waters of the spiritual life and that is where, for me, the real adventure began more than 30 years ago after an intervention on land with a similarly ludicrous probability, but that’s a story for another day!

..even the winds and the sea obey Him!

Webb Chiles website

Fr Blount Homily

 

Fr Blount (Holy Hour) 2025

 

Fr Blount (Dublin) 2025

 

The unveiling of Opus Dei | Upfront with Katie Hannon

Why did you do it?

A few months ago there was a suicide near our home; a young lady jumped from a multi-story building. Her boyfriend quickly rushed to the scene and was overhead shouting “Why did you do it?” a common question to raise following such an incident. The young lady, crushed by the fall, groaned and breathed her last as the paramedics arrived.

It’s not an easy world to live in these days; suicide is one of the leading causes of death in young people and when we look at our world it is not too surprising is it. We have never been more connected to the world or more isolated from each other; never more separated from our true identity as children of God. Being driven to despair may not be a long journey.

The mind and heart can be fragile and we are subjected to a very high degree of trauma every day through news from around the globe as it happens; through pressures in life from every side; and that’s before we factor in the malevolent supernatural beings whose plan is our annihilation. So, quite a lot to contend with on a regular monday morning.

Other pressures are more specific and personal to our lives that can drive people to despair. As Christians we have a way to deal with these things from deliverance prayer, where there is demonic oppression, to counselling and healing prayer. And I believe the key to prevention of suicides; is prayer for one another; especially from or for your loved ones as the primary means of intervention; other things can also be helpful of course, but only God can make the difference in our lives; only He can deal with our invisible wounds. Like in Isaiah where it says about Jesus ‘The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners’ And He will do it if we call on Him.

Its an ill wind that blows no one any good

Many years ago, when the Church of England (C of E) made the decision to allow women clergy, there was an article in a satirical magazine which, having noted that many people left the C of E, as a result, it reported that God had also left. On asking the Archbishop of Canterbury for a comment on this latest news, he answered “it’s a bit of a blow, but we’ll manage”.   

Many believed that the C of E (and the many other churches that followed suit) had opened the Pandora's box. Even so, it is hard to believe that only a few decades later, they would have gay and lesbian priests and bishops and the growing madness of acceptance of gender ideology to contend with. 

As to the effects in the pews I know very little; only a recent observation at an Episcopalian church in a remote corner of Kalinga Province in the Northern Philippines. During the American occupation missionaries penetrated the region and some towns became Catholic, others Episcopalian and one Sunday I was stranded in the latter. Whilst I could not participate in their service, as a Catholic, I decided to visit the church for my own morning prayers and stayed as an observer. 

The first thing I noticed was that they had a woman priest.  All the altar servers were girls. All the choir were girls. And the vast majority of the congregation were also women and girls. A few boys (under 10 years old) and 3 elderly men at the back waiting for their ticket to eternity were the only local males present. What happened to all the men? 

A few days later back in Tabuk (the regional capital) I met with people at the Catholic Cathedral and there was one chap who was from that town. He had been born Episcopalian but converted  and is now a Catholic priest serving in another town in the province. Perhaps the rest of the flock will likewise migrate!

Fr Blount .. Spend time in Adoration

 

Prophetic Warning from Our Lady

 

Fr Blount Video:-  link below

Prophetic Warning from Our Lady (Youtube)

Surrounded by Fools

 

The Flame of Love

 

Before anything bad happens

Just before Christmas we took a trip to one of the Islands in Romblon to have a few days of prayer. The place we stayed in was a garden resort up in the hills with cabins and a good  restaurant, very peaceful and conducive to ‘rest and relaxation’. Often when we travel, there are Divine Appointments made and this was no exception. Our host, a successful businessman shared his testimony with us as a storm rolled in which would lengthen our stay by 2 days as ships would no longer be able to dock at the port due to the size of the waves. 

His story began with another storm, in Manila some years before, where he became captive to the weather and floods and was unable to go to work. It was during this time that he reflected on his life. Although hard working, healthy and materially successful, he had no time for God. He hadn't been to church since his wedding, decades earlier and it occurred to him that he ought to get himself in good standing with God, as he put it “before anything bad happens”. A pragmatic businessman indeed! He followed through and as the floods permitted, he went to church with a shopping list of sins and made his peace through the sacrament of reconciliation.

Soon after, a crisis did indeed present itself. His son had an accident wake boarding; an ill fitting helmet left him with a skull fracture. A simple operation was needed and whilst in recovery they noticed an infection in the bone had developed which made things more serious. A second operation was conducted to replace that area of the skull. After this, his son was becoming forgetful and it was clear that something was still wrong. A friend suggested that he seek St (Padre) Pio’s intercession. He googled Padre Pio to find out who he was and also identified a shrine dedicated to him near the hospital and began a series of visits to pray for his son. 

After one of those visits he returned to the hospital and found his son’s bed gone:- he had gone in for a third surgery. At that moment he noticed a strong smell of flowers in the room aka the odour of sanctity (often noticed by devotees of Padre Pio during his bilocations). The operation was a success and his son regained all his faculties on recovery. 

Whilst God is relentless in His pursuit of each and every lost soul, it is only when he opened his heart to God and turned his life around that he was able to tap into the new and true life in God. In this case, it also enabled him to handle the crisis in his son’s life as a man of faith rather than relying on his own strength. This became a precursor to another miracle for his son’s healing. It was a wonderful introduction to the might of the intercession of the saints in heaven and God’s provision in our lives when we pray in faith.

‘Do you have a difficult work colleague or boss ?’

In my early career I was very blessed in having good Supervisors and Managers. They were good mentors and I benefited greatly from their experiences and the knowledge they passed on, as well as their friendship. So years later, when I joined a new company, it was something of a challenge to deal with a particularly difficult boss who was shaped in a rather different mould.

Of course we are all under authority of some sort and firstly I had to acknowledge that reality and accept his direction as legitimate and suffer in silence,but not passively. I sought a higher authority.

I noticed a nearby church which held Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament during lunchtime on Wednesdays and I decided that I would use part of my lunch hour each week to pray for him. And so week after week, month after month I went to the Holy Hour and prayed for my boss. Frankly his ways did not improve; but after a few months he was offered a good job in another company and left. I rejoiced and thanked God !

By now I was already in the habit of my Wednesday lunchtime prayer and decided to continue. This time I decided to pray for my immediate supervisor, who I got along with very well, and so again I prayed week after week, month after month and after a few months, he was promoted and I inherited the stapler, his desk, and his Job Title!

I was on a roll and quite fascinated at how God was bringing about the structural changes in our company. What next? I was running out of Bosses but there was one left, also a good chap, so I started to pray for him. Week after week , month after month I made my Wednesday pilgrimage for my colleague and a few months later, I left! Another opportunity opened up for me overseas.

Really there is no formula that we can apply with how God works. Especially if we have no fixed agenda in our prayer for others, we can simply watch Him work things out for us and for those around us.

We cannot get along with everyone, nor usurp legitimate authority but, we can change the world with prayer!