Shalom

It has been a funny old week hasn't it? Much looking back to WW2. and celebrating Victory in Europe and the peace that was won then - and yet many people seemed to ignore the fact that there is not peace in Europe right now...There seemed to be a lot of news reports mentioning Bletchley Park, and so I found myself thinking about my Mum. Rosie is so proud that her great grandmother was a codebreaker. She thoughtfully bought me a BP puzzle book recently. [thank you Ro]
Then of course there was the announcement of the new Pope. Leo XIV. I did point out to my beloved that he is 69, called Robert, skilled with languages, brought up as a Catholic, trained in theology, with a heart for preaching and pastoral care, and a passion to support the poor and marginalised in our communities. But he reminded me that he could not be Pope because he has a wife.
Joking aside, I do pray that this new man in Rome acts with wisdom, justice and grace. He certainly wants to promote peace and unity, and says he wants to put Jesus first. This has upset the MAGA crowd, who think that as he is American, he should put the USA first. I think Leo is unlikely to agree with them!

One hymn has been in my head all week, we sang it at Mum's funeral, because she loved it - and lived it. The words seem very appropriate in our world right now. Have a happy, peaceful Sunday