A message from Fr John

Dear Friends

Good morning - gosh, it was wild yesterday. Fingers crossed for today.

I thought you might enjoy this little piece from yesterday’s Office of Readings from Tertullian (155 - 2240 AD). He was one of the greatest of the early theologians; it was he who said, ‘The blood of the martyrs is the seed of Christians’. And so please keep the Church in Myanmar in your prayers.

In his discourse On Prayer Tertullian says:
'The whole creation prays. Cattle and wild beasts pray, and bend their knees, and in coming forth from their stalls and lairs look up to heaven, their mouth not idle, making the spirit move in their own fashion. Moreover the birds taking flight lift themselves up to heaven and instead of hands spread out the cross of their wings, while saying something which may supposed to be a prayer. What more then of the obligation of prayer? Even the Lord himself prayed: to him be honour and power for ever and ever.'

Wonderful isn’t it? Walking round the parish and Wardley, it’s lovely to think of those delightful companions in prayer. Having said that, I’m not sure that magpies are 'singing off the same hymn sheet’ - maybe I need to be more ecumenical!

I’m going to try to follow an on-line retreat next week. I’m not yet sure what the programme will look like; I will try to stay with the timetable I outlined yesterday. I wonder if you (and the birds) might accompany me - maybe by praying quietly for a few extra minutes each day, possibly by reading a passage of the Gospels. What do you think?

St Joseph, companion on our Lenten journey, pray for us

Every blessing

Fr John