‘Our’ mother fox has been seen with four cubs, and here she is, tenderly cherishing one of them. Such is the tender love of our Lord for us. As the fourteenth century English mystic, Julian of Norwich, wrote: ‘Our Lord shewed me a spiritual sight of His homely loving. I saw that He is to us everything that is good and comfortable for us: He is our clothing that for love wrappeth us, claspeth us, and all encloseth us for tender love, that He may never leave us; being to us all-thing that is good, as to mine understanding’.

Much later, she was told: ‘“Wouldst thou learn thy Lord’s meaning in this thing? Learn it well: Love was His meaning. Who shewed it thee? Love. What shewed He thee? Love. Wherefore shewed it He? For Love. Hold thee therein and thou shalt learn and know more in the same. But thou shalt never know nor learn therein other thing without end”. Thus was I learned that Love was our Lord’s meaning’.

May we all joyfully make progress in this way of light and love, until we come home to the Father’s house. May God bless you this day.