I went to the 1030 Mass and chanced upon a funeral. It was lovely. The couple had been married 60 years and met in the war. The reading was from the Wedding Feast at Cana. With rejoicing comes wine, with death and sorrow comes a new sort of rejoicing at a new start.

The two simple commands to believe in God and to love your neighbour are difficult. But we should see them not as an unattainable mountain top but as a slope we climb week after week, year and year.