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Mothering Sunday : Celebrating and offering love

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Today we celebrate Mothering Sunday, a day of joy and celebration for many, of reflection for some, and for some people even sadness or regret. Whatever it may be for you, it’s a day where we’re called to look at love in it’s widest sense – and ultimately to the greatest love of all, the love of God for each one of us….     A woman told this story, ‘As a working mother with an office in my home, I pride myself on maintaining a professional image. One key to that image is my answer-machine greeting which is often the first contact clients have with me. I worked on making it sound upbeat and enthusiastic and very professional, and thought I had succeeded until a friend left this message: “Judy, this is Pam. I love your greeting, but do you know that you can hear your little boy in the background saying, ‘Mummy, I have to go on my potty’?”    Another story is of Karen, the mother of two high-spirited young girls. When a friend called her one morning, the conversation wa...
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Joyful? Yes, even in Lent!

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  There’s a story about a boy who brought home his school report. It contained a lot of poor marks. "What have you to say about this?" asked his father. "One thing is for sure," the boy replied, "Dad, you can be proud. You know I haven't been cheating!" Some people have a great gift of looking on the bright side of every situation, but others are not so good at that.  As we look at the news around the world at the moment, there is so much gloom and pessimism whether that comes from the lack of peace in the world or economic situations or anything else! Even following the Welsh rugby team this year hasn’t been a cause for too much optimism!  And in the church we too can sometimes be guilty of thinking of the problems rather than the blessings and the joys of which there are so many.  There’s an awful lot of pessimistic people around in the world, and I think the Church tends to have at least its fair share, ready to warn of impending danger and d...
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Making Lent count beyond Lent

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  One day a boy went out with his friends – before leaving the house his father had warned him not to go and swim in the canal. When the boy returned with a wet bathing suit his father asked where he had been – the son confessed that he had been swimming in the canal - "Didn't I tell you not to swim there?" asked the father.   "Yes" answered the boy.  "Then why did you?" he asked.   "Well, Dad," he explained, "I had my bathing suit with me and I couldn't resist the temptation."   "Why did you take your bathing suit with you?" he questioned.   "Well, so I'd be prepared to swim, in case I was tempted !" replied the boy. Temptations are all around us – the temptation to do something wrong, or not to do something which would very definitely be right !  Many people, it seems, often prepare to give in to temptation, prepare to live life expecting something less than God would hope for from them… In fact, perhap...
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St David inspiring Wales

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Yesterday Wales celebrated S t David’s Day . There’s not a huge amo u nt known about David, but from what we do know there are lessons for us all…  Thi s year the day falls just before Lent  but much of the reflection on the life o f David suit s  a Lenten sort of lifestyle   because without dwelling on the details too much it seems that David lived a very frugal life.    David lived in the 6 th  century and we know that he founded a monastery. It is thought that he came from a noble family... There is often discussion of people who have been well brought up having to remain in the manner to which they are accustomed – but this was not so for David.     David’s lifestyle did not encourage comfort. The idea of remaining in the style to which he would have been accustomed was thrown o ut of the window as he encouraged an ascetic lifestyle. He seems to have believed that the world was  full of temptation and  the less you indulged with...
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