30th May

Out walking today I met a woman with a very old dog (I guess it was a whippet, but I am definitely not a doggie person). It was going along very slowly and I asked her how old it was. 17! She said, ‘We have come out early today because of the heat, she likes winter more. I asked her a while back if she wanted to carry on and she was happy to do so, so we are keeping going.’ There just seemed to be a fine love and respect between the two, both giving each other very loving support. I would say that part of celebrating the feast of Pentecost and the Holy Spirit’s role in the whole world and its creation is to celebrate and learn more about how we share this world with all of creation. To widen our views, if they need it, to see the love of God as a binding force that unites everything, and, from that, look at the material world around us with a new respect. Thomas Berry, who I have mentioned before, used to ask in his talks, ‘If you hear someone say, “You used me” how do you feel? That is often what creation is trying to say to humanity.”