For I do not want you to live in ignorance,
brothers/ sisters:
all our ancestors
were under the cloud
and all went through the sea,
and all were baptized into Moses
in the cloud and in the sea.
and all ate the same spiritual food
and all drank the same spiritual drink.
For they were drinking the spiritual following rock,
and the rock was Christ.

Nevertheless, with the majority of them
God was not pleased
for their bodies were scattered in the desert.
Now these things occurred as a pattern of us,
so that we are not people who desire evil things
as they desired evil things…

Be thou a bright flame before me,
Be thou a guiding star above me
Be thou a smooth path below me
Be thou a kindly shepherd behind me
Today – tonight -forever
Amen.

St Columba

Do you not know that
all those running in a stadium
run
but one receives the prize?
run persistently so that you obtain it.
Moreover everyone who competes
must be disciplined in everything.
So they (do this) to receive a perishable crown,
but you an imperishable (one).
I, for that reason,
in this way I run
not aimlessly,
in this way I box
not beating air.
But I discipline my body
and I bring it under control
lest somehow
preaching to others
I might not be shown to be not what I should be.

Teach us, good Lord,
to serve thee as thou deservest;
to give and not to count the cost;
to fight and not to heed the wounds;
to toil and not to seek for rest;
to labour and not to ask for any reward,
save that of knowing that we do thy will,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

St Ignatius

Free – I am!
from all (people)
I have put myself into slavery
to all (people),
so that I might win
the greatest (number).
And I became to the Jews
as a Jew
so that I might win Jews.
To those under the Law
(I became) as one under the Law –
not being myself under the Law
so that I might win those under the Law.

To those ‘free from the Law’
not being free from the Law of God
but ‘subject to the Law’ of Christ
that I might gain those ‘free from the Law.’
I have became weak for those who are weak,
so that I might gain those who are weak,
for all (people) I have become all things
so that by all means I might save some.
I do all things on account of the gospel,
so that I might become a sharer in it.

O Love, O God who created me, in your love recreate me.
O Love, who redeemed me,
fill up in me whatever part of your love
has fallen into neglect within me.
O Love, O God, who first loved me,
grant that with my whole heart,
and with my whole soul,
and with my whole strength,
I may love you.

Gertrude the Great

But we have not exercised this right,
but we endure everything,
in order that
we might not put an obstacle in the way
of the gospel of Christ.

Do you not know that
those who work in the temple services
eat from the temple services
(and) those who serve at the altar
share in (what was sacrificed) at the altar?

So too the Lord commanded those who proclaim the gospel
to live from the gospel.

But I have not used any of these (rights).
And I have not written all this
so that something will happen in my case.
For it is better for me to die than-
no-one will deprive me of my boast.
For if I preach the gospel,
It is not a boast for me
Because the necessity lies on me,
for woe to me if I do not preach the gospel.
For If I do this of free will,
I have a reward.
But if ‘unwillingly’
I am entrusted with a responsibility.
So what is my reward?
That preaching the gospel free of charge
I will present the Gospel free
so as not to make full use of the my right
in the gospel.

Grant, Lord,
that we may hold to you without parting,
worship you without wearying,
serve you without failing;
faithfully seek you,
happily find you,
and forever possess you,
the only God,blessed now and for ever.
Amen

St Anselm

Am I saying this according to human (authority)
or
does the law not say this also?
For it has been written in the law of Moses:
‘You shall not muzzle the ox,
as it threshes.’
Is it about oxen that God is concerned?
or
for us, by all means, he is speaking!
that is: it was written for us,
because the one ploughing ought to plough in hope,
and the one threshing ought to share in the harvest, in hope.
If we sowed spiritual things among you,
is it a big thing for us to reap material things?
If others share in this right from you,
even more so us.

Thank you, dear Jesus,
for all you have given me,
for all you have taken away from me,
for all you have left me.

Thomas More (c.1478-1535)

Do we not have the right to eat and drink?
Do we not have the right to take along a sister, who is wife,
like the other apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?
Or do only I and Barnabas not have the right not to work?

Who ever serves as a soldier (providing) all his own rations?
Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit?
Or who shepherds a flock and does not eat some of the flock’s milk?

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, union;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy,
For your mercy and for your truth’s sake. Amen

Am I am not free?
Am I not an apostle?
Have I not seen Jesus, our Lord?
Are you not my work, in the Lord?
If I am not to others an apostle,
still surely I am to you all,
For my proof of my apostleship is you all, in the Lord.
My defence to those who investigate me – is this.

O Lord Jesus Christ,
stay beside me to defend me,
within me to guide me,
before me to lead me,
and above me to bless me,
that with you and in you,
I may live, and move and have my being,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

(unknown)

But not in everyone is knowledge
and some,
because of their familiarity with idols even now,
eat as with idols,
and their conscience
being weak
is stained.

Now ‘Food will not bring us to God’s judgement’
For neither
if we do not eat,
are we worse off
nor if we eat
is there an advantage.

Then watch that the ‘right to choose’ of yours
does not somehow become a stumbling block
to the weak.
For if someone sees you
who have knowledge,
in an idol’s temple
sitting at table
will not their conscience
-being weak-
be strengthened to eat
meat associated with idols?

For, the weak one
is being destroyed
through your knowledge,
the brother /sister for whom
Christ died.

In this way, sinning against your brothers/sisters
and damaging their weak consciences
you sin against Christ.

For this reason
if food causes my brother /sister
to stumble
I will certainly never ever eat meats,
so that I may not cause my brother /sister to stumble.

O Love, O God who created me, in your love recreate me.
O Love, who redeemed me,
fill up in me whatever part of your love
has fallen into neglect within me.
O Love, O God, who first loved me,
grant that with my whole heart,
and with my whole soul,
and with my whole strength,
I may love you.

Gertrude the Great

So about the eating associated with the idols-
we know that:
‘an idol is nothing in the (real or my?) world’,
and that
‘there is no god, but one.’
If after all, there are those said to be gods,
whether in heaven or on earth
-as indeed there are many gods and many lords…
but for us
there is one God, the Father,
from whom are all things,
and we are unto him
and one Lord Jesus Christ
through whom are all things
and through whom we are.

Teach us, good Lord,
to serve thee as thou deservest;
to give and not to count the cost;
to fight and not to heed the wounds;
to toil and not to seek for rest;
to labour and not to ask for any reward,
save that of knowing that we do thy will,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

St Ignatius

Then, about ‘meat offered to pagan gods’:

we know that ‘we all possess knowledge.’
Knowledge puffs up,
conversely love builds up.
Then if someone thinks they have known something,
then they have not known yet what it is necessary to know.
But if someone loves God,
they are known by God.

Grant, Lord,
that we may hold to you without parting,
worship you without wearying,
serve you without failing;
faithfully seek you,
happily find you,
and forever possess you,
the only God,blessed now and for ever.
Amen

St Anselm