A mostly cloudy day with occasional bouts of strong wind. After breakfast I started my housework chores, then took Ann to the station for her train, returned and continued. I had a meeting booked with Rufus at eleven, but received a message over the weekend which I thought meant that he'd cancelled, but he hadn't, and he phoned me after waiting in Coffee#1, to ask if I was coming. I explained, then invited to to come to the house instead. So we had our chat over coffee at home.
He told me how Missions to Seafarers plan to scale down support for British operations and switch the resources to EU ports, on the grounds that there are 20% fewer ships visiting British ports since Brexit. Whether will prove justifiable in practice remains to be seen. UK ports are already under resourced to cope with changes that have taken place.
Rufus left just before lunch. Clare was cooking while we two were chatting. I was meant to meet someone else after lunch, but fell asleep in the chair checking my news feed and messages. 'In a food coma', as the kids say. At the end of my afternoon walk in the park, I made contact, apologised and re-scheduled the appointment I'd made.
After supper I spend the evening writing and reflecting on the circumstances surrounding apparitions of the Virgin Mary which have had a big impact on Christian popular devotional life and pilgrimages down the centuries. These have continued unabated in different historical situations, in the face of secularity and decline in support for traditional institutional church life over the past century. It's aroused my curiosity. Quite apart from well known and reported ones like Lourdes, Fatima, Medjugorje, there are scores of others, not only in Europe but around the world and in our time. What does this have to teach us I wonder?
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