My friend Anne died recently and as I prepare myself for her funeral I begin to think about the nature of our Friendship.
We were friends for almost 50 years. There are people who have been your friend for most of your life. These are the precious few who have shaped your life from within. Some seem to have been sent into your life to enliven, brighten and accept you without judgement. Sometimes, of course, they lovingly correct you! These are the friends with whom you share the deep gift of love in a harmony which somehow fulfils what it means to be truly human. There is a one-ness in which delight flourishes and also where honesty and truth play a part which is invaluable and open and kindly meant. This feels to me to be a gift of God who is, of course the ‘friend’ who reflects all friendship. It’s as if God shares His DNA in a very special way. Amongst such friends there is a deepness of spirit through which they share in your very being and indeed, it is their love and friendship which makes that ‘being’ wonderfully unique. They are not a ‘part’ of your life. They are an ingredient which makes your life complete and fulfilled. They are, in fact, God’s pure gift to you through whom He reveals you as you truly are.
In such a friendship the divine and human spark together and brings to birth the Godly specialness which makes you and your friend truly icons of the Incarnation. They share in that pilgrimage which leads you both closer to the nature of God, who out of sheer love was born in human form and likeness. Jesus, born in our midst, spoke profoundly of the nature of friendship as a sign of God’s care, love, and acceptance and of His desire that our lives become imitations of His. True friendship is when people can look into each other’s eyes and immediately see a reflection of God mirrored in the soul.
My dear friend, Anne, was and is such a person. I thank God for her love for me and for others who have been changed, loved and accepted by her, in God’s holy Name.
Mr. G. 30th August 2025
Jesus said, “I have called you friends” (John 15:15)
One of my special saints is St. John Vianney, known more often as the Curé D’Ars. He was a faithful parish priest in the village of Ars, France, for many years. He was almost not ordained because he couldn’t pass exams but his Bishop saw beyond that into his soul and he ordained him. For the rest of his life and ministry he devoted himself to helping people to move that one more step towards God. After his death he was acclaimed a saint and is regarded as the Patron Saint of Parish Priests. Every priest should aim to have a ministry like his. However, he wasn’t just concerned with the spiritual journey of individual Christians. He had a yearning for the journey of the Christian Church to be a holy one—one which embraced others and built up a community of faith based on praying together.He said: Private Prayer is like straw scattered here and there. If you set it on fire it makes a lot of little flames, but gather these straws into a bundle and light them and you get a mighty fire rising like a column in the sky..”
Here is a reflective poem by Piers Northam, inspired by the statue of the Curé d’Ars in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Falaise, Normandy. It is also inspired by his forthcoming ordination to the priesthood on September 27th.
“Mr G’s ponderings are the thoughts, day-dreams, perceptions and opinions of my owner, Geoffrey. (Though as all cat-lovers know, ownership of a cat is a disputable claim…) Mr G was, until retirement, involved in Christian ministry in the Anglican church which may colour his ponderings and lead others to switch off immediately, but he hopes that this blog will be wide-ranging; addressing the human condition and that of all creation. Hopefully it will give expression to joy, fun, humour, stimulation, sadness, uncertainty and struggle as well as being a place where friends will offer their contributions too – there is no monopoly on experiencing and reflecting on life’s journey which some of us think of as a pilgrimage.
These are big words and aspirations for a little cat, but you know, cats have hidden depths and perceptions… Pagli xx “
Pagli, wrote that Five years ago this month at the height of the Covid Pandemic. This blog began as a way of reaching out to people full of fear, anxiety and experiencing lockdown. For many it was a time of loneliness; for others, bereavement. There was a pausing in our everyday dealings with each other. We kept our distance and we prayed hard for those working in the NHS and care homes, as well as other key members of society who tried to make our lives easier. Many of these were unsung heroes like refuse collectors, funeral directors, neighbours who made sure elderly people were cared for and received shopping.
Much has changed in society and in the world since those days but we have new Pandemics to try and cope with ~ climate change, the health of our planet and all who live on it, including the animal kingdom, birds, fish and the care of Nature. A bigger Pandemic is the state of humanity. Wars and destruction of people, countries, and those who have no one to speak up for them. A lust for political power is leading to violence, hatred, uncaring and unloving behaviour, for example. There are homeless and poor people throughout the world. Add to that the great plight of those forced to leave homes and countries because of despotic regimes. Not since the Second World War has there been such a displacement of people. Humanity has always been nomadic but often through choice. That is not the case today for millions. People who lived normal lives with homes, jobs, security now wander from place to place with nothing but pain and fear. Worse, when they risk their lives travelling to seemingly safer places many are treated as scroungers, unwanted and very unloved. Indeed, they are hated, mistreated, and labelled with expletives which shame humanity and all of us, because when some are denied rights to live, to be, to be cared for ~ we are all guilty.
In St Matthew’s Gospel, Chapter 25, verses 31 to 46, Jesus puts it as only God can! You don’t feed me, you give me no drink, you show me no care or kindness, you ill-treat people, you speak harshly, unthinkingly, and you demonstrate a failure of Spirit and, God says that because of this you will be judged. It was St. John of the Cross who said, at the end of life, we will be judged on how much we have loved.
Christians and all religious faiths live within the Universal Love of God. All believers in God, however that is manifested, have a duty (and a joy) to share all that is good in the world with each other and with all the creatures of Nature. We don’t own the planet nor anything on it. We are stewards, tenants and carers of all that God has given to us for what is but a short time for each of us. Mr. Ramsey said in Virginia Woolf’s novel To the Lighthouse, when he mused on how we might be spoken of after our death, that he thought that our fame would not last so long. ‘if you look from a mountain top down the long wastes of the ages, the very stone one kicks with one’s boot will outlast Shakespeare.’
Yet the gift of Life, equal for all, when it is lived kindly, caringly, lovingly and prayerful, can make a huge difference to all life on earth ~ The only difference, under God’s loving care, that actually will.
Mr G, assisted by Pagli. Xx
We look forward to continue sharing our Ponderings via this Blog. Mr G has remained faithful to the intentions I set him though he has been helped in that respect by regular contributors. His friend dear Joyce Smith who sadly died, gave lots of incites through her photos and her quotes. Dear Gill Henwood continues to enhance our pages with marvellous photos and ponderings; My friend Piers Northam’s poetic skills and reflections are much valued. My lovely friend Lynn Hurry has given us wonderful photos of Nature and animals (not least the little foxes!) and also by feeding us with her spiritual and factual ponderings about God’s amazing Creation, My artist friend, Kay Gibbons has shared her profound artistic talent with us. Many others have helped to enrich this Blog. Thanks to all who have contributed. Thanks also to so many of you who have supported us with your interest, comments and just sharing this Blog as friends – from all over the world. If you wish to comment on anything, you can reach us by email on geoffrey_connor@ priest.com Thanks to WordPress for making the blog possible. Finally, a special thanks to all whom we follow. There are such wonderful Blogs out there and it’s a delight to share your ponderings. Pagli–Ji xx
As Dag Hammerskjold (former General Secretary of the United Nations once prayed: For all that has been, Thanks. For all that will be, Yes!
Rainbow after the rain. Storm Floris passes over the Lake District and leaves a rainbow behind.Photo by Gill Henwood.
My friend Gill Henwood has been reflecting on Midsummer life in the Lake District, Cumbria. She sent me her reflection in the form of a poem with a P.S. about Nature at work. When she sent it, we were all awaiting the August Summer Storm christened by the weather people as Floris. The North of England, the whole of Scotland and the Western Isles as far as Orkney are bearing the brunt of it, but already things are improving in Cumbria. Gill invites us to ponder on the beauty, stillness and calm, which can so often follow a storm. This is not just true of Nature but also in our own lives too. Sometimes we are buffeted about by what life throws at us but God is always near, ready to throw his rainbow cloak of love in a great arc over us. We do, however, like Elijah in 1 Kings 19, be still to hear and know God is there for you. Here’s Gill’s poem:
AFTER THE RAIN. Gill Henwood
The winds are soughing In the beech tree canopy. Sound ripples away As the waves on a beach.
Lichens reach into the air Dewdrops and sun A rich garden Growing on the stump.
Badgers have clawed Bark for grubs, Dragonflies shimmer Past, in the sun shafts.
Life is renewed The seasons turn again After rain, the sun. After storms, the calm.
And throughout, the still small voice.
1 Kings 19:11-13
P.S. The dragonfly, emerald and gold, dazzled me. S/he flew on but, having stopped, I looked. Noticed. A miniature garden on the decaying tree stump. Was s/he a fleeting messenger? “Remember, it’s Lammas…”. The farmer was baling the hay last night at 10pm, headlights on the tractor, collecting the bales before overnight rain. First fruits, in the sheep-dwelt fells: the grass harvest for winter feed. And for all the local creatures of hedges, dry stone walls, woods and tarns: plentiful seeds, berries, nuts, leaves. A harvest festival is quietly underway.
[Lughnasad is the Celtic name for Lammas, time of the ‘first fruits’ of harvest. (Newgrange website) Lammas is the Christian Festival on August 1st when we give thanks for Harvest that is coming and offer to God the gifts of the Land.]
Mr G's Ponderings 