A somewhat dark reflection but our hope for all is for a peaceful, joyful and blessed year.
The following is a possible lead-in for a Julian Meeting taken from ‘Moon in Scorpio’, by Robert Neill. A novel set in 1679, when Catholics and Protestants were at odds with each other and rebellion against Charles II was a real threat. The words are spoken by a Catholic priest – liable to be hung, drawn and quartered if he were caught by the authorities – to a fellow citizen. His words seem to speak also to our times and situations, and where God may be in them
What may befall you I do not know, and you may find what the world calls harm. These are very dark and troubled days, and the things of earth are none of them secure. There is rancour, and greed, and fear, and much else that is from hell. In the seats of power there are men of evil heart, and daily men die who seemingly should not. Which does not mean that a man should turn his back, and seek for himself alone. Happiness is not found that way, and what is found is empty. You may thank God that a path is open before you, even though you like it not. For it is better to be called than not to be called. You will not, in the end of things, be the less happy for having done what was set before you. That is the Law. It is to be heeded or not heeded, as men do choose. But it is not to be balked or changed.
From a JM member.
Photo John Doyle, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons