26/09/2016

Good Morning
My day is normally well under way long before Prayer for the Day.
Early mornings are especially good from March to September but even in darker days it’s amazing what you can accomplish in those early hours

The only time I’ve resented them are when I’ve been up all night travelling without having had the balm of sleep.
I can remember one grey dawn getting off the ferry at Rosslare and trudging with my suitcase to the awaiting train.
As always, I sought out one of those non-smoking compartments which existed in those days, only to be joined by a little old man in a flat cap who sat down opposite me and lit up his first cigarette.
“Excuse me”, I said politely, “but do you realize it’s non-smoking here?”
“O don’t worry at all,” he said, “sure they’ll never find out at this hour of the morning.”
I realize that with Ireland’s history such an attitude to authority, its rules and regulations, is very understandable but is it all that different from what we see all around us day by day?
- Speed limits that can be flouted when there is no one to impose them
- Tax returns seeking legal loopholes to avoid payment
- Borderline expenses claimed at work
- Legal ‘sick’ days to be used up before the end of the year...the list is endless
In my youth I would have questioned why so many prayers in our Establishment Church focussed on “those in authority” rather than people’s more personal concerns, and I wouldn’t suggest a return to that.
But there are times when we would do well to restore our sense of solidarity and citizenship when we recognize each others roles and contributions in society and prayed for each other in those roles as we work for the common good.

Lord, bless our world, our country, our communities and help us all to work together for the creation of your kingdom here.
Amen