PJBelfast

A short blog. My wife and I are happily married 44 years on the 4th July 2025!. My friend Liz from Washington state says, in the USA they celebrate our wedding date every year - they call it American Independence Day!:) I have asked my wife Caroline for some sagely secrets to our enduring marriage. She came up with the majority of these self explanatory points: 1. Have a posture that always 'leans in' and never to "lean out"! 2. Have a disposition that overlooks differences 3. Live "We" instead of "me" 4. Say "sorry" a lot 5. Be each other's champion & cheerleader 6. Have Jesus as the third person in the relationship ( "a threefold cord cannot be broken" Bible) In the words of Spock "live long and prosper"! There, that wasn't long was it? Stay blessed. PJB

Thoughts on The Intermediate State   As I approach my three score and tenth year, I’ve been thinking a lot about where I plan on spending eternity. Nothing morbid, rather exciting really. The orthodox view is that we spend our existence after death, (as a Christ-followers), in a place of conscious bliss in the presence of Jesus. Here are some thoughts for your consideration.  Tertullian, one of the early church fathers, did believe that in the intermediate state (heaven) —what he sometimes referred to as Paradise —the soul continues to exist in a conscious and personal form , though not yet reunited with the ultimate resurrected body. He taught that after death; the soul is separated from the body and enters a waiting place. For the righteous, this was a blessed state—often associated with Abraham’s bosom or Paradise —while the wicked (those outside of Christ) awaited judgment in torment. While he didn’t describe the soul as having a physical body in this...

My wife and I had taken out travel insurance with Insure & Go, and thank God we did! Day one of our holiday in Vienna, we headed, by foot, to our walking tour of the city. We had no sooner passed a crosswalk when Caroline said the Green Man had started to flash. I ran across but twisted on my ankle on my right foot. I was sure I heard a crack, to find out later that I had fractured my fifth metatarsal bone. Initially it began to swell and we agreed that Caroline go ahead on the walking tour and that I return to the hotel and pack it in ice. We phoned the travel insurance company who advised us to go to the local University Hospital, where, through x-rays, confirmed the fracture, also giving us injections to stop a DVT happening.  Because we were British they required 400 euros before they would even look at my foot injury. They fitted a plaster (much to the joy and amusement of my grandchildren, who signed it with their felt tips?). The plast...

My friend Phil shared this article which I've entitled 'Lost in transition" "I was asked by my formators to prepare the Sunday reflection. In the formation house, that was a regular practice. Each of us would be given a reading to reflect on and share with the others. After sharing, the brothers will give an honest review, and comment on what you needed to have done better in your presentation. Like, we were training our eyes to see beyond the words. I had shared my reflections before. I even looked forward to it, most times. But this one was different. The Gospel reading for that Sunday was the same as today’s (Matthew 10:8). Jesus sending out the Twelve. “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons.” That line sat in front of me for four days, and yet nothing. Not a single meaningful thought came to my heart.  I started to feel empty—like someone who had always known how to cook but suddenly forgets what ingredients to use. I even told myself, may...