Cyril of Alexandria was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444. He was enthroned when the city was at the height of its influence and power within the Roman Empire. Cyril wrote extensively and was a major player in the Christological controversies of the late-4th and 5th centuries. According to Cyril's theology, there were two states for the Son of God: the state that existed prior to the Son (or Word/Logos) becoming enfleshed in the person of Jesus and the state that actually became enfleshed. The Logos Incarnate suffered and died on the Cross, and therefore the Son was able to suffer without suffering. Cyril passionately argued for the continuity of a single subject, God the Word, from the pre-Incarnate state to the Incarnate state. The divine Logos was really present in the flesh and in the world—not merely bestowed upon, semantically affixed to, or morally associated with the man Jesus, as the adoptionists and, he believed, Nestorius had taught.

Todays Gospel is the very end of the Lord's sermon on the Mount. Our Lord ends with a threat and a promise - failing to act on what we proclaim as truth will lead to our downfall - everyone who listens AND acts will be safe - like a man who built their home on rock.

Although the Gospel today is commendably short - a quick glance at the bible reference will reveal that there is a 'chunk' missing! The fragment we do have, is full of meaning. The use of the term 'dogs' for example. In the culture of the day and of the author, a 'dog'. or 'barbarous' was anyone who could not speak Greek - whatever they were saying was of no consequence, as they sounded no better than a pack of dogs barking. However, looking at how Jesus uses the term, it seems he is in a more gentle way talking about those who do not yet understand, who are still seeking. And the 'Golden rule', common in Hellenistic life, was to not do to another what you would not want them to do to you. Fair enough you might think - but Jesus has inverted it - do unto others what you would hope they might do for you...

The missing chunk? That contains another set of rules of life, which are very much worth reading: in every one Jesus spins a common rule of life and gives it a positive twist: Ask, do not take: Be generous, not selfish, recognise the good in yourself, but recognise that God who is so much more than you can be - will give you so much!

7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds;and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

It is very easy to desire celebrity - the uninhibited adulation by others is attractive! But no matter how much of a celebrity we are, there is always someone who is better than us.

Arguably, the greatest celebrity of all humankind was John the Baptist. He was a prophet from before his birth - he left in the womb as a result of being near to The Lord, his God and ours. He certainly was a celebrity in his time - people travelled from all over the known world to see him. He was a striking figure, a wild man living a life of subsistence yet wise enough and knowledgeable enough to have been able to earn whatever he wanted.

Yet, he placed himself as the least of all men. He could easily have asked his followers to have a way with Jesus, who in human terms was an upstart prophet who threatened to steal John's celebrity from him. But he did not. Instead, he described himself as unfit to untie the sandals of our Lord - the most demeaning task given to the lowest order of slave, as the streets of the town were coated in filth from the animal traffic through them. And he tasked all his followers to follow Jesus.

And Jesus chose him to perform the most personal and significant service to our Lord of any other man - to baptise him.

And now, John is at the very heart of God in the Kingdom of heaven, an example for us all to follow. We must diminish ourselves, that others may find Jesus, not us.

Almost  - maybe, sadly, all politics has been tainted at some time or another by corruption, hypocrisy and certainly, the bold and confident presentation of numbers to support their case. Equally sadly, the low turnout in voting at local and general elections suggests that many people are worn out by this. Many very entertaining printed, spoken and televised media use the device of cynicism at the core of their humour.

So how are we to discern who might be the best person to support and vote for in elections? Well, if one ignores the hype, one can see below the 'froth' and discern what the candidates are really like. And our prayers should certainly be said to support the right choice in each and every poll in the country.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols has spoken about our responsibilities in this current general election as practicing Catholics. It is most important that we ensure we are registered and eligible to vote!

Catholic social teaching promotes global disarmament, working for peace, conflict resolution and upholding universal human rights. Amongst other sources, this arrises in the words of Jesus himself, as exemplified in todays Gospel. We are told we must love our enemies, and we must pray for them.

To take just one current example - very few of us can make any significant difference in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. We do know that many have died on both sides of the campaign. Pope Francis has hinted strongly that there is a need to end this through negotiation - his words have also been taken out of context to suggest that Ukraine should surrender to prevent the further loss of life. We should not allow ourselves to become part of that unhelpful debate: our role is to pray for an end to the conflict, and if we have the means and opportunity, we should support the victims of it. In Cheltenham there are a number of refugee Ukrainian families, many are Catholic and we should at the very least welcome them to our Parish and provide what we can for their needs. The same is true of other refugees from other conflicts.

But always, we should pray for victims in both sides of conflict.

The Catholic Bishops have given us some guidance on how to take these issues to our prospective MP's.

The prescription from the Law, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, was not as barbaric as it seems. Read in context (Exodus 21) then one can see that the Law being formulated then, was limiting revenge, rather than defining that revenge must be taken. For many offences in Ex 21, there might be an equal revenge entitlement, but the injured party and the defendant of the charge are given an alternative means of retribution - a fine.

Jesus extends this, and to simply quote that the Bible entitles you to revenge for an injury is to completely ignore the second part of today's Gospel: Jesus tells us not to seek out revenge.

How can we apply this teaching today? Well, our Penal code is designed to encourage a turning about on behalf of the defendant: yes some punishment might be deserved, but the nature of that punishment should encourage the reformation of character. Perhaps there is a good question to ask of your parliamentary candidates before you decide whom to vote for?

A Catholic understanding of criminal justice has three aims: retribution, rehabilitation and redemption.