As usual when at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, I sought out the 6:30 Mass in the Cathedral. I was told they were about to have their first ever ecumenical service. The Protestant Pastor gave the sermon. It was on the text of Jesus saying we must be like little children to enter the Kingdom of God.

He described the story of two boys climbing a ladder to scale a small cliff. The ladder fell down: a man came up. Jump, he said. One of the boys did, the other did not. Why? Because the first boy was the son of the man who came up. In other words, we have to have confidence and jump into our father’s arms, from whatever height. But he was saying something else. That if we could be more like little children, our problems and dissatisfaction and jealousy would fade away. It seems that this problem of conflict, of comparing ourselves with others is our greatest human weakness.

Next day at Mass the priest was describing how in the war, as a small boy, he had to ride his bicycle without lights because of the blackout. Suddenly he was told by someone or something to stop. By inches he missed an enormous hole in the road left by workmen. The day was the feast of the Guardian Angels. Are they always there? Do we have our own one watching over us? It is a lovely idea.