A message from Fr John

Dear Friends

Good morning - brrrrr

Following on from yesterday, I was thinking about my own experience of China several years ago. I was part of a group that visited the Church there, both the Patriotic Church, recognised by the Communist Party, and the so-called Underground Church which had no official status. Both of them in their own way tried to stay faithful to the Catholic Church and its traditions and to their own unique ancient culture. They both found it a difficult ’tightrope’ to walk given the constraints of the political system which manages over 1 billion people.

And so Lao Tzu again, the philosopher who founded Taoism. He said:

'Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.’

And he prayed:
Lao-tsu's Peace Prayer

If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.

If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.

If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbours.

If there is to be peace between neighbours,
There must be peace in the home.

If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.

Lao-tsu

Let us pray for the Church in China and remember especially the people of Hong Kong, many of whom will have difficult decisions to make in the near future. We remember also the people of Myanmar who are searching for peace and justice.

St Joseph, pray for us

Every blessing

Fr John

Please pray for Carol, Joanne and Ruth