41 million Dutch tulips, 41 million in Switzerland, 41 million digits in total, and 41 million blog readers

Tulips from Amsterdam at Schiphol Airport … the Netherlands extends to over 41 million square metres or 41,000 sq km (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

I continue to be overwhelmed by the viewing and reading figures for this blog. These figures passed the 41 million about 3:30 this afternoon (9 June 2026), having passed the 40 million mark at the end of last month (28 March 2026) and 39 million a week earlier (22 May 2026). These figures passed the million mark six times last month, and passed that mark four times in April.

These viewing and reading figures are overwhelming and this blog continues to reach a volume of readers that I never have expected when I first started blogging 16 years ago. Half the total hits (20.5 million) have been within less than five months, since 13 January 2026. The total hits last month were the highest ever, with over 5.8 million hits in May 2026, compared with previous one-month highs in March 2026 (over 4.5 million) and April (almost 4.4 million). The figure of over 5.8 million in May was astonishing, considering it took almost 11 years, from July 2010 until 27 March 2021, to reach what I then thought was the staggering figure of 5 million hits.

At the end of last year, this blog had 21 million hits (31 December 2025). So far this year, there have been more than 20 million hits or visitors in 2026.

I first began blogging back in 2010, and it took almost two years until July 2012 to reach half a million readers. Throughout this year and last, the daily figures continue to be overwhelming on many occasions. Of the ten days of busiest traffic on this blog, three were last month (1, 6 and 14 May 2026), three were the previous month (26, 29 and 30 April 2026), three were in March, and one was in February:

• 1,124,925 (1 May 2026)
• 525,719 (14 May 2026)
• 509,644 (29 April 2026)
• 344,003 (30 April 2026)
• 323,156 (27 March 2026)

• 322,038 (26 April 2026)
• 318,835 (6 May 2026)
• 318,307 (1 March 2026)
• 314,018 (28 February 2026)
• 301,449 (2 March 2026)

The daily average was over 187,000 throughout May, although that figure was distorted by the exceptionally high number of hits on three days that month. There were about 145,000 or more hits a day last month; ten years ago, in 2016, the daily average was around 1,000.

Passing through Zurich Airport … Switzerland is about 41 million square metres or 41,000 sq km (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

To put this latest figure of 40 million into perspective:

The largest known prime number, discovered in late 2024, has over 41 million digits. It has 41,024,320 digits, and if you tried to print it out, the result would fill more than 10,000 pages.

The discovery that this number – known as M136279841 for short – is a prime was made on 12 October 2024 by Luke Durant, a from San Jose, California, who is one of thousands of people working as part of a long-running volunteer prime-hunting effort called the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search.

Nearly 1 in five children, an estimated 41 million, are engaged in child labour in Eastern and Southern Africa, according to a new UNICEF Data Brief, with the region accounting for almost one-third of the global total and the highest number of children in hazardous work, including mining and construction.

Canada has a population of about 41 million people.

41 million square metres is 41,000 sq km, the size of Switzerland (41,291 sq km), the Netherlands (41,865 sq km) or Southampton Island (41,214 sq km) in Hudson Bay, one of the larger islands in the Arctic Archipelago in Canada, the 34th largest island in the world.

The National Diet Library in Japan and the National Library of China each has about 41 million items in its collection.

41 million minutes add up to 78 years and 2 days – with 40 minutes left over. In other words, if this blog was getting only one hit a minute, it would take 78 years, from 7 June 1948, to reach today’s figure of 41 million.

I retired from active parish ministry over four years ago, on 30 March 2022. These days, though, about 120-140 people on average continue to read my daily prayer diary on this blog each morning. A similar number have been reading my recent series of postings on churches and local history in Staffordshire, and were reading my recent series of postings on the churches and chapels of Walsingham. I imagine many of my priest-colleagues would be prayerfully thankful if the congregations in their churches totalled 850 to 1,000 or more people each week.

This evening, I am truly grateful to the real readers among those 41 million hits on this blog to date, and in particular I am thankful for the faithful core group of 120-140 people who join me in prayer, reading and reflections each morning.

Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2026: 33, Tuesday 9 June 2026

‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste how can its saltiness be restored?’ (Matthew 5: 13) … ‘Sal Sapit Omnia’ (‘Salt Savours All’), the motto of the Worshipful Company of Salters at the former gates of Salters’ Hall in London (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

We are in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar, and this week began with the First Sunday after Trinity (Trinity I, 7 June 2026).

The calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today remember Saint Columba (597), Abbot of Iona, Missionary, and Saint Ephrem of Syria (373), Deacon, Hymn Writer, Teacher of the Faith. Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:

1, reading today’s Gospel reading;

2, a short reflection;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;

4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.

‘But if salt has lost its taste how can its saltiness be restored?’ (Matthew 5: 13) … salt on a café table in Cobh, Co Cork (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Matthew 5: 13-16 (NRSVA):

[Jesus said:] 13 ‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

14 ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.’

‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden’ (Matthew 5: 14) … the lights of the Monastery of Serra do Pilar in Vila Nova de Gaia above Luiz I Bridge, the River Tagus and the city of Porto (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflection:

The Gospel reading at the Eucharist today (Matthew 5: 13-16) continues a series of weekday readings from the Sermon on the Mount that began with the Beatitudes yesterday. The scene opens with Christ leaving the crowds and climbing up the mountain, like Moses in the Book Exodus leaving the crowd behind him, and climbing Mount Sinai. In the Sermon on the Mount in Chapters 5 to 7, Saint Matthew presents us with a covenant renewal document.

The images of salt and light as explanations of true discipleship and true religion offer interesting illustrations of what true religion is.

In today’s reading, Christ uses two metaphors to show the disciples the essential qualities of being his followers.

The disciples are to be ‘the salt of the earth’ (verse 13). In reality, despite what is said here, salt does not easily lose its taste. However, in Judaism, salt symbolised purity and wisdom and was used to season incense and offerings to God in the Temple. Should it become ritually unclean, it had to be thrown out and was no longer to be used by the worshipping community or in its liturgies. Similarly, if Christians lose their faith they are no longer part of the worshipping community and its liturgy, and may as well be discarded or thrown out.

Roman soldiers were given salt rations and this sal is the origin of the word ‘salary.’ A soldier failing in battle or falling asleep at his post was ‘not worth his salt.’

The disciples are to be ‘the light of the world’ (verses 14-16). They are to stand out, like a city on a hill, and to lead others to Christ, who is a light to the Gentiles (see Luke 2: 32) and the true Light of the World (see John 8: 12).

As people of faith, let us be worth our salt; let us never lose our taste for justice, let our light shine before others, so that they may see our good works and give glory to our Father in heaven.

‘No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket’ (Matthew 5: 15) … candles in the Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Rethymnon on the Greek island of Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Tuesday 9 June 2026):

In Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), the theme this week, from 7 to 13 June 2026 (pp 8-9), is ‘Safe Churches in Zambia’. This theme was introduced on Sunday with a programme update from Fran Mate, Senior Regional Manager for Africa, USPG.

The USPG prayer diary today (Tuesday 9 June 2026) invites us to pray:

God of hope, bless the knowledge being shared across the Church in Zambia. Raise up a new generation committed to safeguarding, justice, and faithful witness.

The Collect:

Almighty God,
who filled the heart of Columba
with the joy of the Holy Spirit
and with deep love for those in his care:
may your pilgrim people follow him,
strong in faith, sustained by hope,
and one in the love that binds us to you;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Post Communion Prayer:

Holy Father,
who gathered us here around the table of your Son
to share this meal with the whole household of God:
in that new world where you reveal
the fullness of your peace,
gather people of every race and language
to share with Columba and all your saints
in the eternal banquet of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s Reflections

Continued Tomorrow

‘Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven’ (Matthew 5: 16) … light lights up the parish church in Laytown, Co Meath, in the darkness (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org