Seeker

In Aidan gets my vote I suggested St Aidan was a more appropriate patron saint for England than St George. Thinking about that again on this year's St Aidan's Day (31 August), I think he would make a suitable saint for all Britain - except perhaps Wales. The  photo above is of part of the statue of Aidan on Holy Island in Northumberland. Originally from Ireland, Aidan came from his monastery on the island of Iona in Scotland as a missionary to the Angles and other peoples of Northumbria in northern England. He got sent there after Corman had returned from his unsuccessful mission reporting that the Northumbrians were too uncivilised and stubborn to be converted. It would seem that Aidan was more gifted than Corman at getting alongside people, even when he did not speak their language. Here is what the Venerable Bede wrote about him "He neither sought nor loved anything of this world, but delighted in distributing immediately to the poor whatever was given him ...

Her reputation has been so tarnished by speculation and false connections, but for me Mary Magdalene, whose festival is today, is an inspiration. Mary Magdalene is a role model of faithful discipleship . She stuck with Jesus when things got unimaginably tough. With other women she witnessed Jesus' crucifixion when other disciples had run away. Mary Magdalene is a role model for Christian witness.  After she met the risen Jesus she told others what she’d seen and heard. When a woman’s evidence was seen as dubious, how odd that God chose a woman to tell such news and bring such hope! You can find the account of how Mary Magdalene met Jesus in the garden after the resurrection in Easter Sunday 2015. Postscript: I've just read a helpful reflection by 'Digitalnun' which draws together the threads of Mary Magdalene's bad reputation and her role as a good example of discipleship. In reference to Mary's encounter with Jesus in the garden (John 20) she ends with...

It is raining. It is 15th July. It is St Swithun's Day.  Need I say more?  Probably yes if you have no idea who St Swithun was or why today's weather is significant for UK residents. Yes some of us do tend to be a little obsessed with weather forecasts. Rain today and 40 days of rain to follow may be expected, if you believe the old St Swithun's Day tradition.  If today were fine then 40 dry days might be expected to follow. "St Swithun's Day, if thou dost rain, for forty days it will remain. St Swithun's Day, if thou be fair, for forty days, 'twill rain na mair." I don't think we can blame St Swithun for whatever the weather does in the next 40 days. If it actually rains in the UK every day for the next 40 days that would be a new record, as would a 40 day drought starting today. The old saying that dates back to the 14th century is not really accurate as a weather prediction, although it may have a grain of truth. According to T...