60 million tourists in Greek airports, ‘60 million and more’ slave deaths, $60 million for Trump but not for Gaza, 60 million readers of this blog to date

Nikos Kazantzakis International Airport in Iraklion … more than 60 million passengers travelled through Greece’s 39 commercial airports from January to August 2026 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

This blog reached a new record, with a total of 60 million readers or hits by about 9 pm last night (4 October 2026). Already, September has been an exceptionally busy time on this blog, with a steady, overwhelming rise in viewing and reading figures, having passed the million mark on 10 occasions last month alone.

These viewing and readership figures continue to be overpowering as this blog continues to reach volumes of readers I never expected when I first started blogging 16 years ago. At the end of last year, this blog had 21 million hits (31 December 2025). So far this year, there have been more than 39 million hits or visitors in 2026 alone, and more than 10. 4 million last month (September), the highest total in any single month since I began blogging.

Half of all hits or reader figures have been within a little more than six months or so, with 30 million hits since 29 March 2026. I first began blogging in 2010, and it took almost two years until July 2012 to reach half a million readers. Throughout this year, the daily figures have often been overwhelming.

Of the 10 days of busiest traffic on this blog, seven were last month alone, two were in May and one was in April. Although traffic has slowed down in the past few weeks, the daily averages remain high, with an average of almost 350,000 hits a day last month, and about 130,000-140,000 a day so far this month. Yet, I recall how 10 years ago, back in 2016, the daily average was around 1,000, or 30,000 a month.

The dozen most popular posting on this blog over the years, in rounded figures, have been:

1, About me (1 May 2007), 95,000 hits
2, All shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well (5 September 2008), 43,000 hits
3, ‘When all that’s left of me is love, give me away’ … a poem before Kaddish has gone viral (15 January 2020), 37,000 hits
4, What is a degree from Cambridge Theological Seminary worth? (29 July 2010), 35,000 hits
5, The Transfiguration: finding meaning in icons and Orthodox spirituality (7 April 2010) 33,000 hits
6, Poems for Lent (3): ‘Indifference,’ by GA Studdert Kennedy (27 February 2012), 25,000 hits

7, Poems for Lent (39): ‘All in an April Evening,’ by Katharine Tynan (3 April 2012), 23,000 hits
8, Talking about history, memories, war and vision in the chapel of Saint John’s Hospital, Lichfield (13 February 2015), 22,000 hits
9, Poems for Easter (2): ‘Easter Wings’ by George Herbert (9 April 2012), 19,000 hits
10, A year later, I get to find and visit Castle Matrix (19 February 2018), 19,000 hits
11, A visit to ‘Howth Castle and Environs’ (19 March 2012), 18,000 hits
12, Readings in Spirituality: the novelist as a writer in spirituality and theology (26 November 2009), 17,000 hits

Geologists at Trinity College Dublin have found that oxygen-producing life forms were present on Earth 60 million years earlier than previously thought (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Some curious though random statistics help to put this new figure of 60 million into perspective:

Around 50 to 60 million people lived in the combined eastern and western Roman Empire in the 4th century AD. The population of the United Kingdom had passed 60 million by 2001, according to a report in the Guardian on 25 August 2001.

About 60 million people worldwide are living with an amputation.

Beloved, the 1987 novel by the American writer Toni Morrison set after the American Civil War, tells the story of formerly enslaved people in Cincinnati. The epigraph to Beloved, ‘60 million and more’, is drawn from a number of studies on the African slave trade, which estimate that about half of each ship’s ‘cargo’ died in transit to America.

The children’s author and comedian David Walliams has sold more 60 million copies of his works worldwide. Hachette UK Distribution ships more than 60 million books globally each year.

Donald Trump spent $60 million of taxpayer dollars on his birthday UFC fight on the White House lawn in June.

When Trump claimed last year that the US gave $60 million in aid to Gaza, Federal officials could not answer questions about which agency or group received the funding and when. The State Department had previously said the US had approved a $30 million grant for aid but that by then the funds had not been distributed. Eventually, it turned out that the US gave $3 million in Gaza food aid, contradicting Trump’s lies about $60 million.

The centre:mk in Milton Keynes had a £60 million investment programme in recent years, with a multi-year transformation involved a significant modernisation of the space, a new multi-storey car park, and a 75,000 sq ft Primark letting.

More than 60 million passengers travelled through Greece’s 39 commercial airports from January to August 2026, with a record-breaking 4.5% increase in traffic compared to the same eight-month period in 2025.

The Greek government is offering a financial support package worth nearly €60 million to help ferry operators cope with rising marine fuel costs while preventing additional fare increases for passengers. The initiative comes as the price of marine gas oil (MGO), one of the sector’s main operating expenses, continues to fluctuate. Although fuel costs have increased significantly, ferry companies had avoided introducing another round of ticket price rises.

Geologists from Trinity College Dublin have found that oxygen-producing life forms were present on Earth three billion years ago – a full 60 million years earlier than previously thought. These life forms were responsible for adding oxygen to the atmosphere, which laid the foundations for more complex life to evolve and proliferate.

The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest ocean basin on Earth, covering more than 155 million sq km or 60 million sq miles or more than 30% of the Earth’s surface.

60 million minutes is equal to 114 years, 0 months, 29 days and 16 hours, which means that if this blog was receiving just one hit a minute, I would need to have started blogging back in September 1912, weeks before Thessaloniki was incorporated in the modern Greek state.

I retired from active parish ministry 4½ years ago, on 31 March 2022. These days, though, about 150 people on average are reading my daily prayer diary posted on this blog each morning, or more than 1,000 people each week. As this blog moves beyond 60 million hits, I am truly grateful today to the real readers among that 60 million. In particular, I am thankful for the faithful core group of people who join me in prayer, scripture reading and reflections each day.


A walk on the beach at Damai in Sarawak … the Pacific Ocean covers more than 60 million sq miles (Patrick Comerford)

Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2026: 136, Monday 21 September 2026, Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist

Saint Matthew depicted on a pillar in the Church of the Transfiguration in Piskopiano in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar and the week began with the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XVI), and today is the Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (21 September).

Yom Kippur began at Kol Nidre at sunset last night (Sunday 20 September 2026) and ends at nightfall this evening (Monday 21 September 2026). Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement is the peak of the High Holidays and the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, when people fast, pray, seek forgiveness from God and from others, and I spent most of yesterday evening in the local syngaogue.

I have an appointment for an MRI scan in the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford later today, as a follow-up to my stroke four years ago, when I received care in hospitals in Milton Keynes and Oxford, followed by Gamma Ray surgery in Sheffield. But, before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:

1, today’s Gospel reading;

2, a reflection on the Gospel reading;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;

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

‘Scenes from the Life of the Apostle Matthew’, an icon by Georgios Kastrophylakas (1742) in old Saint Minas Church, Iraklion (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Matthew 9: 9-13 (NRSVA):

9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.

10 And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax-collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’ 12 But when he heard this, he said, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’

A statue of Saint Matthew on the west front of Lichfield Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflections:

Saint Matthew the Evangelist (מתי/מתתיהו, Gift of Yahweh; Ματθαίος) is one of the Twelve and is identified with both the author of the first of the four gospels and with Levi the publican or tax collector in the Gospels according to Saint Mark and Saint Luke.

According to tradition, Saint Matthew was the son of Alpheus, a publican or a tax collector by profession. He was the Levi in the Gospels according to Saint Mark and Saint Luke, and was called to be a disciple while he was sitting in the tax collectors’ place at Capernaum.

We know little about Saint Matthew’s subsequent career – what we do know is little more than speculation and legend. Saint Irenaeus says Saint Matthew preached the Gospel among the Hebrews, Saint Clement of Alexandria claimed that he did this for 15 years, and Eusebius maintains that, before going into other countries, he gave them his Gospel in his mother tongue.

Some ancient writers say Matthew later worked in Ethiopia to the south of the Caspian Sea – not Ethiopia in Africa; others say he worked in Persia, Parthia, Macedonia or Syria. According to Heracleon, who is quoted by Clement of Alexandria, Matthew did not die a martyr, but other accounts, including the Roman Martyrology, say he died a martyr’s death in Ethiopia.

Like the other evangelists, Saint Matthew is often depicted in Christian art as one of the four living creatures of Revelation (4: 7) – in Saint Matthew’s case the winged man, carrying a lance in his hand. There are three paintings of Saint Matthew by Carravagio in the church of San Luigi del Francesci in Rome. Those three paintings, which are among the landmarks of Western art, depict Saint Matthew and the Angel, Saint Matthew being called by Christ, and the Martyrdom of Saint Matthew.

Caravaggio, in depicting the calling of Saint Matthew, shows Levi the tax collector sitting at a table with four assistants, counting the day’s proceeds. This group is lighted from a source at the upper right of the painting. Christ, his eyes veiled, with his halo the only indication of his divinity, enters with Saint Peter. A gesture of Christ’s right hand – all the more powerful and compelling because of its languor – summons Levi.

Surprised by the intrusion and perhaps dazzled by the sudden light from the just-opened door, Levi draws back and gestures toward himself with his left hand as if to say: ‘Who, me?’ His right hand is still on the coin he had been counting before Christ’s entrance.

Today, Saint Matthew is regarded as the patron saint of accountants and bankers. Given the unsaintly performance of many bankers in recent years, I do not know that I would be particularly happy with the prospect of being the patron saint of bankers being put to me as a good career move in heaven. But then Christ came not to call the righteous but sinners to salvation.

Perhaps Saint Matthew should be the patron saint of those who answer the call to ministry. I hope none of us will be worried about how we are remembered, whether people get it right about where we worked in ministry and mission, or whether they even get my name right. As long as I answered that call when it came, and abandoned everything else, including career prospects and the possibility of wealth, to answer that call faithfully and fully.

Saint Matthew depicted in a window in Saint Peter’s Church, Kuching (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Monday 21 September 2026, Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist):

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 20 to 26 September 2026 (pp 40-41), is ‘For God and Country’. This theme was introduced yesterday with a reflection by Rosie Dawson, USPG Trustee and freelance journalist.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Monday 21 September 2026, Saint Matthew) invites us to pray:

God of life, you call us to follow you faithfully as Matthew did. Help us to proclaim your truth with courage, act with humility, and bear witness to justice, mercy, and love in all that we do.

The Collect of the Day:

O Almighty God,
whose blessed Son called Matthew the tax collector
to be an apostle and evangelist:
give us grace to forsake the selfish pursuit of gain
and the possessive love of riches
that we may follow in the way of your Son Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Post Communion Prayer:

Almighty God,
who on the day of Pentecost
sent your Holy Spirit to the apostles
with the wind from heaven and in tongues of flame,
filling them with joy and boldness to preach the gospel:
by the power of the same Spirit
strengthen us to witness to your truth
and to draw everyone to the fire of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

or

Lord God, the source of truth and love,
keep us faithful to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship,
united in prayer and the breaking of bread,
and one in joy and simplicity of heart,
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s Reflections

Continued Tomorrow

Saint Matthew depicted in the iconostasis in the Greek Orthodox Church in Stony Stratford (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

Inside the Byzantine Church of Saint Matthew of the Sinaites in the old city in Iraklion (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2026: 113, Saturday 29 August 2026

The Execution of Saint John the Baptist … an early 18th century icon from the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian in Anopolis, in the Museum of Christian Art in the Church of Saint Catherine of Sinai in Iraklion in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Today is the beginning of the August bank holiday weekend here. We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar and tomorrow is the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XIII, 30 August 2026). The Church Calendar today remembers the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist (29 August 2026), a lesser festival in the calendar of the Church of England.

Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:

1, today’s Gospel reading;

2, a reflection on the Gospel reading;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;

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

The daughter of Herodias dances for the head of Saint John the Baptist … a fresco in the Church of Analipsi in Georgioupoli, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Matthew 14:1-12 (NRSVA):

1 At that time Herod the ruler heard reports about Jesus; 2 and he said to his servants, ‘This is John the Baptist; he has been raised from the dead, and for this reason these powers are at work in him.’ 3 For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 because John had been telling him, ‘It is not lawful for you to have her.’ 5 Though Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded him as a prophet. 6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and she pleased Herod 7 so much that he promised on oath to grant her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, ‘Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.’ 9 The king was grieved, yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he commanded it to be given; 10 he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 The head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who brought it to her mother. 12 His disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went and told Jesus.

The beheading of Saint John the Baptist … a fresco in the Church of Analipsi in Georgioupoli, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflections:

It is about six or seventh months since the Gospel reading told the story of the execution of Saint John the Baptist (Mark 6: 14-29, 6 February 2026) and little more than two months since we commemorated the Birth of Saint John the Baptist (24 June 2026). Now, the Church Calendar again marks his Beheading today with a lesser festival.

Today’s Gospel reading (Matthew 14:1-12) is full of stark, cruel, violent reality. To achieve this dramatic effect, it is told with recall, flashback or with the use of the devise modern movie-makers call ‘back story.’

Cruel Herod has already executed Saint John the Baptist – long ago. Now he hears about the miracles and signs being worked by Jesus and his disciples.

Some people think that Saint John the Baptist has returned, even though John has been executed by Herod. Others think Jesus is Elijah – and popular belief at the time expected Elijah to return at Judgment Day (Malachi 4: 5).

On the other hand, Herod, the deranged Herod who has already had John beheaded, wonders whether John is back again. And we are presented with a flashback to the story of Saint John the Baptist, how he was executed in a moment of passion, how Herod grieved, and how John was buried.

When I was reflecting on this story in Saint Mark’s Gospel earlier this year (6 February 2026) I asked: Did you ever get mistaken for someone else? Or, do you ever wonder whether the people you work with, or who are your neighbours, really know who you are?

I was thinking then of two examples. Anthony Hope Hawkins was the son of the Vicar of Saint Bride’s in Fleet Street, the Revd Edwards Comerford Hawkins. He was walking home to his father’s vicarage in London one dusky evening when he came face-to-face with a man who looked like his mirror image.

He wondered what would happen if they swapped places, if this double went back to Saint Bride’s vicarage, while he headed off instead to the suburbs. Would anyone notice? It inspired him, under the penname of Anthony Hope, to write his best-selling novel, The Prisoner of Zenda.

The other example I think of is the way I often hear people put themselves down with sayings such as: ‘If they only knew what I’m really like … if they only knew what I’m truly like …’

What are you truly like?

And would you honestly want to swap your life for someone else’s?

Would you take on all their woes, and angsts and burdens, along with their way of life?

It is a recurring theme for poets, writers and philosophers over the centuries. It was the theme in John Boorman’s movie The Tiger’s Tail (2006). Brendan Gleeson plays both the main character and his protagonist. Is he his doppelgänger, a forerunner warning of doom, destruction and death? Or is he the lost twin brother who envies his achievements and lifestyle?

The doppelgänger was regarded as a harbinger of doom and death. There is a way in which Saint John the Baptist is seen as the harbinger of the death of his own cousin, Christ.

The account of Saint John’s execution anticipates the future facing Christ and some of the disciples, and Christ’s own burial (see Mark 15: 45-47). The idea that John might be raised from the dead anticipates Christ’s resurrection.

As well as attracting similar followers and having similar messages, did these two cousins, in fact, look so like one another physically?

But Herod had known John the Baptist, he knew him as a righteous and a holy man, and he protected him. Why, he even liked to listen to John.

Do you think Herod was confused about the identities of Christ and of Saint John the Baptist?

Is Herod so truly deranged that he can believe someone he has executed, whose severed head he has seen, could come back to life in such a short period?

Or is Herod’s reaction merely one of exasperation and exhaustion: ‘Oh no! Not that John, back again!’

We too are forerunners, sent out to be signs of the Kingdom of God. To be a disciple is to follow a risky calling – or at least it ought to be so.

To be a disciple is to follow a risky calling – or at least it ought to be so.

I once had a poster with a grumpy looking judge and the words, ‘If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?’

Herod’s maniacal and capricious way of making decisions makes discipleship a risk-filled commitment.

But Herod’s horrid banquet runs right into the next story in Saint Mark’s Gospel where Christ feeds the 5,000, a sacramental sign of the invitation to all to the heavenly banquet – more than we can imagine can be fed in any human undertaking.

The invitation to Herod’s banquet, for the privileged and the prejudiced, is laden with the smell of death.

The invitation to Christ’s banquet, for the marginalised and the rejected, is laden with the promise of life.

Herod feeds the prejudices of his own family and a closed group of courtiers. Christ shows that, despite the initial prejudices of the disciples, all are welcome to his banquet.

Herod is in a lavish palace in his city, but is isolated and deserted. Christ withdraws to an open but deserted place to be alone, but a great crowd follows him.

Herod fears the crowd beyond his palace gates. Christ rebukes the disciples for wanting to keep the crowds away.

Herod offers his daughter half his kingdom. Christ offers us all, as God’s children, the fullness of the kingdom of God.

Herod’s daughter asks for John’s head on a platter. On the mountainside, Christ feeds all.

Our lives are filled with choices.

Herod chooses loyalty to his inner circle and their greed. Christ tells his disciples to make a choice in favour of those who need food and shelter.

Herod’s banquet leads to destruction and death. Christ’s banquet is an invitation to building the kingdom and to new life.

Would I rather be at Herod’s Banquet for the few in the palace or with Christ as he feeds the masses in the wilderness?

Who would you invite to the banquet?

And who do you think feels excluded from the banquet?

We may never get the chance to be like Herod when it comes to lavish banqueting and decadent partying. But we have an opportunity to be party to inviting the many to the banquet that really matters.

Who feels turned away from the banquet by the Church today, abandoned and left to fend for themselves?

And, in our response to their needs, when we become signs of the Kingdom of God, we provide evidence enough to convict us when we are accused of being Christians.

An icon of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist in a church in Koutouloufári in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Saturday 29 August 2026, the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist):


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 23 to 29 August 2026 (pp 32-33), has been ‘Legacies of History’. This theme was introduced last Sunday with a reflection by the Revd Dr Rachele Evie Vernon O’Brien, a Jamaican-born theologian and advocate.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Saturday 29 August 2026, the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist) invites us to pray:

God of truth, we pray for the Codrington project. Guide the research, the conversations, and the listening, so that this work may bring understanding, justice, and hope.

The Collect:

Almighty God,
who called your servant John the Baptist
to be the forerunner of your Son in birth and death:
strengthen us by your grace
that, as he suffered for the truth,
so we may boldly resist corruption and vice
and receive with him the unfading crown of glory;
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:

Merciful Lord,
whose prophet John the Baptist
proclaimed your Son as the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world:
grant that we who in this sacrament
have known your forgiveness and your life–giving love
may ever tell of your mercy and your peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Collect on the Eve of Trinity XIII:

Almighty God,
who called your Church to bear witness
that you were in Christ reconciling the world to yourself:
help us to proclaim the good news of your love,
that all who hear it may be drawn to you;
through him who was lifted up on the cross,
and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Yesterday’s reflections

Continued tomorrow

Father Irenaeus, a monk in the Monastery of Saint Macarius in Wadi Natrun in Egypt, shows me the relics in the crypt of Saint John the Baptist below the northern wall of the church (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

Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2026: 95, Monday 10 August 2026

A traditional fishing boat by the old Venetian Harbour in Rethymnon … Izaak Walton points out that fishing can teach us patience and discipline (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar and the week began with the Tenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity X, 9 August 2026). The calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today remembers Saint Laurence (258), Deacon at Rome, Martyr.

Later today, I have GP appointments for my regular injections needed because of my severe Vitamin B12 deficiency, for my sarcoidosis symtoms, and to follow up on my stroke four years ago. But, before the day begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:

1, today’s Gospel reading;

2, a reflection on the Gospel reading;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;

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

‘Go to the lake and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up’ (Matthew 17: 27) … a variety of fish on display in a seafood restaurant at the harbour in Rethymnon in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Matthew 17: 22-27 (NRSVA):

22 As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands, 23 and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.’ And they were greatly distressed.

24 When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, ‘Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?’ 25 He said, ‘Yes, he does.’ And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, ‘What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?’ 26 When Peter said, ‘From others’, Jesus said to him, ‘Then the children are free. 27 However, so that we do not give offence to them, go to the lake and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me.’

‘Fishing Trips’ … fishing boats and tourist trips in Georgioupoli in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflections:

I have been a vegetarian most of my life, which has contributed to the health issues surrounding my severe B12 deficiency. But I still find the rewards of fishing at the Lake in Capernaum in this morning’s Gospel reading are worth working with. Ernest Hemingway, in The Old Man and The Sea, says ‘Il faut (d’abord) durer … It is necessary, above all else, to endure. It is necessary to endure.’

Over half a century ago, when I hitchhiking in the Peaks on the borders of Staffordshire and Derbyshire in my late teens, and staying in Ilam Hall, I came across the work of the great Anglican writer Izaak Walton (1593-1683), known for his biographies of John Donne, George Herbert and Richard Hooker, and also as the author of The Compleat Angler.

In The Compleat Angler, Izaak Walton points out that fishing can teach us patience and discipline. Fishing takes practice, preparation, discipline; like discipleship, it has to be learned, and learning requires practice before there are any results. And sometimes, whether it is fishing in a river, fishing in a lake or fishing in the sea, the best results can come from going against the current.

Walking along the piers in coastal fishing towns and villages or on holidays on Greek islands, I sometimes watch the careful early morning work of the crews in the trawlers and fishing boats, and I am reminded that good fishing does not come about by accident. It also requires paying attention to the nets, moving them carefully, mending them, cleaning them after each and every use, hanging them out to dry.

And fishing is also about noticing the weather, watching the wind and the clouds. Good fishing takes account of contexts … it is incarnational.

Time and again in the Gospels, the Kingdom of God is compared to a huge net cast over different numbers of people and species. We are the ones called to cast that net, and we cannot hang any sign outside on our office doors saying: ‘Gone Fishin’.

Nor can we stand by the bank or on the shore, content with two sizes of fish. We are called to go after the ones that others let get away, not just those who come to Church regularly, but also those people who sit in darkness and in the region of the shadow of death.

Peter is sent to go fishing in the lake. He is told to take the first fish that comes up and that he is going to find a treasure beyond his expectations. It is an image of what working for the kingdom of God can be like.

There are days when fishing seems pointless, and there will be days when we are happy with our work together. And as we work together, hopefully, there will be days when we are surprised with what we can achieve together, all in Christ’s name and all for the sake of the one that otherwise might get away.

A fishing boat and fishing nets on the Greek island of Samos (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Monday 10 August 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 (9-15 August 2026, pp 28-29), is ‘Mission to the Mangyans’. This theme was introduced yesterday with a Programme Update by the Revd Jewel B Tumaliuan, Programme Director, Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI).

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Monday 10 August 2026) invites us to pray:

Lord, we pray for communities in remote areas where distance shapes daily life. May connection, support, and opportunity grow, and may your presence bring encouragement and hope.

The Collect of the Day:

Almighty God,
who made Laurence a loving servant of your people
and a wise steward of the treasures of your Church:
fire us with his example to love as he loved
and to walk in the way that leads to eternal life;
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:

Eternal God,
who gave us this holy meal
in which we have celebrated the glory of the cross
and the victory of your martyr Laurence:
by our communion with Christ
in his saving death and resurrection,
give us with all your saints the courage to conquer evil
and so to share the fruit of the tree of life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s reflectionss

Continued tomorrow

‘Gone Fishin’ … fishing boats and nets by the harbour in Iraklion (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

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

The Rimondi Fountain at the heart of the Venetian town in Rethymnon was built 400 years ago in 1626

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the Rimondi Fountain being built Rethymnon in 1626 by the Rector or Venetian Governor, Alouise Rimondi (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

I have only ever had one short story published, in a collection of Irish Times writers organised by Fergus Brogan and published as True to Type (1991) in a tribute to my friend and colleague, the late Revd Stephen Hilliard.

Like any writer, I suppose, I had a number of short stories in my creative and imaginative mind. Those were the years when I was getting to know Rethymnon almost 40 years ago, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and of course one of those imagined short stories was set in the Venetian harbour city on the north coast of Crete.

I had even decided on my name for the main character in that story set in Rethymnon: he was going to be Stavros Vrisakis. Stavros was a barman who with his friend Mikis ran the small bar below the apartment I rented during those years, facing on one side onto Arkadiou street, the vibrant heart of the old town, and on the other onto Eleftheríou Venizélou, the esplanade that runs the full length of the old town beach.

The bar is now a shop, the apartments are no longer available, Stavros and Mikis have moved on, and many of the nearby landmark buildings have been changed, including the former Achillion Hotel, once the oldest hotel in Rethymnon.

My choice of the name Vrisakis was inspired by Vrisakia (Βρυσακια), ‘the little taps’, the popular name in Rethymnon for the Rimondi Fountain or Krini Rimondi, one of the most prominent landmarks in the old town. The fountain is on the north side of Platanou Square, now Titou Petichaki Square, off Paleologou street and in the heart of the old Venetian town.

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the fountain being built in 1626 by the Rector or Venetian Governor of Rethymnon, Alouise Rimondi, who erected it to supply a large part of the town’s water needs. It replaced an earlier fountain erected in 1588, and was part of a broader effort by Rimondi to improve the infrastructure of the town.

Most of the dome erected during the Ottoman occupation of Crete was demolished 100 years ago in 1926 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The pipeline that brought the water to the Rimondi Fountain was uncovered during infrastructure works. It is a jointed stone conduit, which, according to the 17th century Venetian plans, comes from Evligia hill to south of the city and the source of the fountain’s water.

The Rimondi Fountain was part of a modernisation of the town’s water supply in the 17th century, bringing fresh, cool water from Vrysina to Rethymno. It originally faced a small square and provided a public gathering place for the people of Rethymnon.

The Rimondi Fountain is a remarkable example of Venetian Renaissance architecture, and its design combines classical elements with the practical needs of the town, making it a fine, delicate and detailed Venetian work of architecture, engineering and artistry.

Three basins below three lions’ heads spout out constant and steady flows of water. The lions’ heads are carved with attention to detail, their expressions fierce and proud. These lions’ heads are not just decorative but symbolise the strength of the Venetian Empire.

Above the central basin is the Rimondi family coat of arms and a Latin inscription, ‘Alvise Rimondi, Venetian governor, erected this fountain in the year 1626.’

Four columns ending in Corinthian capitals are adorned with acanthus leaves and decorative scrollwork and they add a touch of grandeur to the edifice, elevating it from a simple source of water to a work of art. They have been compared with those at the façade of Hadrian’s Library in Athens, and they enhance the visual impact of the fountain, creating a sense of balance and symmetry.

The four Corinthian capitals support an architrave or stone girder-strip engraved with two in Latin words, Liberalitatis Fontes, ‘Fountain of Generosity’.

During the Ottoman occupation of Crete, the fountain was walled in and a dome was added above the fountain. Most of the dome was demolished 100 years ago in 1926, and only one of the columns from the dome stood survives today. The dome was removed by Titos Petichakis, Τίτος Πετυχάκης (1874-1966), who gives his name to the square and who was the longest-serving Mayor of Rethymnon (1925-1941, 1945-1950).

As evening falls in Rethymnon, the Rimondi fountain is softly lit, casting a warm glow over the square (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

In all, eight historic fountains survive in Rethymnon: most of them come from Ottoman period, but the Rimondi Fountain is the only one that dates back to the Venetian era. Drinking water continues to flow from the three lions’ mouth that have served as taps for the past 400 years. It sits among a cluster and of bustling bars, cafés and restaurants, making it a popular meeting place for local people and tourists alike, and it is one of the most photographed attractions in Rethymnon.

The Rimondi Fountain remains one of the most recognisable and photographed landmarks in the heart of the Old Town, alongside the Fortezza, the Loggia, the Porta Guora, the harbour and lighthouse and the former customs house.

Rethymnon’s Venetian fountain cannot compete with the flamboyant grandeur of the Morosini Fountain, popularly known as τα Λιοντάρια (‘The Lions’) which was built two years later by the Governor of Iraklion, Francesco Morosini, and named in his honour.

But as evening falls in Rethymnon, the Rimondi fountain is softly lit, casting a warm glow over the square. The lighting accentuates the intricate details of the lion heads and Corinthian columns, and the soft glow adds to the romantic atmosphere of the square.


90 seconds by the Rimondi Fountain in Rethymnon (Patrick Comerford)

Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2026: 84, Thursday 30 July 2026

‘Every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven … brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old’ (Matthew 13: 52) … newspapers at a kiosk in Rethymnon in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church, and the week began with the Eighth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity VIII, 26 July 2026). The calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today remembers William Wilberforce (1833), Olaudah Equiano (1797) and Thomas Clarkson (1846).

Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:

1, today’s Gospel reading;

2, a reflection on the Gospel reading;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;

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

‘The kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind’ (Matthew 13: 47) … fishing boats and nets by the harbour in Iraklion (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Matthew 13: 47-53 (NRSVA):

[Jesus said:] 47 ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; 48 when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

51 ‘Have you understood all this?’ They answered, ‘Yes.’ 52 And he said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’ 53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place.

‘When [the net] was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good [fish] into baskets’ (Matthew 13: 48) … a sign outside a fish shop in Rethymnon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

This morning’s reflection:

We have more weeping and gnashing of teeth in this morning’s Gospel reading (Matthew 13: 47-53), more separating of the righteous and the evil, and more people being thrown into the furnace of fire.

But we also have some more images of what the kingdom of heaven is like:

• Casting a net into the sea (verse 47);

• Catching an abundance of fish (verse 47);

• Drawing the abundance of fish ashore, and realising there is too much there for personal needs (verse 48);

• Writing about it so that others can enjoy the benefit and rewards of treasures new and old (verse 52).

So there are, perhaps, four or five times as many active images of the kingdom than there are passive images.

And we hear that ‘every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old’ (Matthew 13: 52).

When the Revd Stephen Hilliard was leaving The Irish Times to enter full-time parish ministry, the then deputy editor, Ken Gray, joked that he was moving from being a ‘column of the Times’ to being a ‘pillar of the Church.’

Later, when I asked Stephen to define the different challenges of journalism and parish ministry, I was told: ‘In many ways they’re the same. We’re supposed to be comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.’

Nadine Gordimer, in a lecture in London, once argued that a writer’s highest calling is to bear witness to the evils of conflicts and injustice. But that is the calling of a priest too.

When I was moving from journalism in The Irish Times, another colleague asked me, in a tongue-in-cheek way, whether I was moving from being one of the Scribes to being one of the Pharisees.

In my 30 or more years as a full-time journalist and writer, I had tried to work at the point where faith meets the major concerns of the world.

Since leaving The Irish Times back in 2002, I continue to write regularly in other formats too. My daily blog has been a daily exercise: I continue to write occasionally for The Irish Times, the Wexford People, and for local and church-based newspapers and magazines, as well as contributing regularly to books and journals.

But, just as ministry is never exercised as a personal right but always in communion with the Church, so too journalists and writers never write for themselves, but need to heed the needs of editors and readers.

There is a time to be silent in ministry, and there is a time to be silent as a writer. I am humbled whenever I listen to Leonard Cohen’s song, If it be your will. He ended many of his concerts singing this poem, which for me is about submission to God’s will, accepting God’s will, leaving God in control of my spirit. It is a song that I hope is heard at my funeral (later rather than sooner):

If it be your will
That I speak no more
And my voice be still
As it was before
I will speak no more
I shall abide until
I am spoken for
If it be your will

If it be your will
That a voice be true
From this broken hill
I will sing to you
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing

If it be your will
If there is a choice
Let the rivers fill
Let the hills rejoice
Let your mercy spill
On all these burning hearts in hell
If it be your will
To make us well

And draw us near
And bind us tight
All your children here
In their rags of light
In our rags of light
All dressed to kill
And end this night
If it be your will

If it be your will.

Until then, I shall continue to write.

‘Every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven … brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old’ (Matthew 13: 52) … catching up with the news in ‘The Irish Times’

Today’s Prayers (Thursday 30 July 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 26 July to 1 August 2026 (pp 22-23), is ‘Lives in Transit’. This theme was introduced on Sunday with a programme update by Rachel Weller, Communications Officer, USPG.

The USPG prayer diary today (Thursday 30 July 2026, World Day Against Trafficking in Persons) invites us to pray:

God of freedom and justice, we pray for all who are trapped in trafficking and modern slavery. Bring an end to systems and practices that exploit the vulnerable, strengthen those who work to rescue and protect, and lead your Church to act with courage and compassion.

The Collect of the Day:

God our deliverer,
who sent your Son Jesus Christ
to set your people free from the slavery of sin:
grant that, as your servants William Wilberforce, Olaudah Equiano and Thomas Clarkson
toiled against the sin of slavery,
so we may bring compassion to all
and work for the freedom of all the children of God;
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:

God our redeemer,
who inspired William Wilberforce, Olaudah Equiano and Thomas Clarkson to witness to your love
and to work for the coming of your kingdom:
may we, who in this sacrament share the bread of heaven,
be fired by your Spirit to proclaim the gospel in our daily living
and never to rest content until your kingdom come,
on earth as it is in heaven;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s reflections

Continued tomorrow

‘Every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven … brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old’ (Matthew 13: 52) … newspapers on sale in Athens (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

‘Every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven … brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old’ (Matthew 13: 52)

45 million olive trees in Crete, a €45 million scandal in Greece, a €45 million resort in Fodele, and 45 million blog readers

Olive groves near Loutra, in the hills above Rethymnon, near Arkadi Monastery … Crete has about 45 million olive trees (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

I keep on saying it, again and again, and it remains true: I am overwhelmed by the viewing and reading figures for this blog. These figures are about to reach 45 million this evening (29 July 2026), the third time this month the figures have passed the million mark, reaching 44 million less than a fortnight ago (16 July 2026), and 43 million 12 days earlier (4 July 2026).

These viewing and reading figures are overpowering at time, with this blog continuing to reach volumes of readers I never expected when I first started blogging 16 years ago. At the end of last year, this blog had 21 million hits (31 December 2025). So far this year, there have been more than 24 million hits or visitors in 2026 alone, and about 2.4 million hits before the end of July.

Half of all hits or reader figures have been within the past five or six months, with 22.5 million hits since 4 February 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 in May (1, 6 and 14 May 2026), three were the previous month (26, 29 and 30 April 2026), three in March, and one 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, but that figure was distorted by the exceptionally high number of hits on three days. There were about 71,000 hits a day last month, and an average of about 80,000-90,000 a day so far this month. Yet, ten years ago, in 2016, the daily average was around 1,000.

A monument to El Greco in Iraklion … a new €45 million resort is being developed at Fodele, his birthplace west of Iraklion (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

To put this latest figure of 45 million into perspective:

The continuing conflict in Iran and the Middle East has pushed an additional 45 million people into acute hunger and food insecurity because of price rises, including food, oil and shipping costs. These are 45 million people Trump does not care about.

Israel has launched a multi-million-dollar campaign to reshape public opinion in the US amid declining support for its policies, according to a Wall Street Journal report last month (July 2026). The report says the Israeli government has signed a contract worth more than $45 million with Brad Parscale, a long-time ally of Trump, as part of a broader effort that includes AI-powered messaging, digital outreach and media campaigns.

One element of the initiative involves AI-generated text messages sent to millions of Americans by a supposed group called ‘Friends for Peace,’ encouraging recipients to discuss Israel, Iran and regional security.

With all the hype about Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey, I am reminded that Homer called olive oil ‘Liquid Gold’ and it has been part of Greece’s history since antiquity. Crete has about 45 million olive trees that produce around 50% of all Greek olive oil. These olive trees outnumber the island’s human population by roughly 50 to 1. The groves produce more olive oil than all the rest of Greece combined, with the majority belonging to the highly regarded Koroneiki variety.

The world’s oldest olive tree is in the village of Ano Vouves near Kissamos in the Chania area. The tree is 3,000 years old and still produces olives. It has a trunk with a circumference of 12.5 metres and a diameter of 4.6 metres, and has been declared a Natural Monument.

A €45 million tourism development is being built in Fodele on the north coast of Crete, about 26 km west of Iraklion, on the road to Rethymnon. Fodele Hills is planned as a new tourist complex with a capacity for 298 people. Fodele is the birthplace of the artist El Greco and until now it has attracted visitors because of its orange and lemon groves, the house where it is said Doménikos Theotokópoulos (El Geco) was born, the Byzantine-era Panagia Church with its frescoes, and the monastery of Agiou Panteleimona with several 17th-century icons.

A widespread agricultural subsidy fraud ring in Greece siphoned off up to €45 million a year, with false claims to owning pastures, archaeological sites, and even non-existent land to collect European farming subsidies. The plot, uncovered by the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) and local authorities, reached all levels of political life in Greece. The 22 people charged included four sitting deputies in parliament from the ruling New Democracy party and former officials of the state agricultural payment agency.

The scheme exploited a poorly maintained land registry following EU policy changes in 2014. Fraudsters declared fictitious plots, fake livestock, and impossible locations – such as banana plantations on Mount Olympus – to siphon off millions.

The fraud went detected for years, and the Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was forced to admit the scandal had revealed ‘the state’s inadequacy’ in dealing with corruption. The scandal forced the resignation of five senior government officials, including the migration minister, Makis Voridis, a one-time far-right activist who was the agriculture minister when the scheme was being run.

Trump’s vanity parade last year, with a massive display of military might, cost $45 million. Although the parade was supposed celebrate the 250th birthday of the US army, Trump monopolised it to celebrate his own 79th birthday.

Larry Ellison, the billionaire co-founder of Oracle who now owns the Eagle and Child in Oxford, gave about $45 million to a nonprofit backing Trump’s 2024 election campaign. According to The Wall Street Journal. The funding was not subject to disclosure rules and was not been reported until a few weeks ago (June 2026). Meanwhile, the restoration work on the Eagle and Child in Oxford seems to be inadequately funded and remains closed, with the buildings covered in cladding and scaffolding.

45 million sq metres is 45,000 sq km. Although Estonia, the most northerly of the three Baltic States, is often described as a small country, it has an area of 45,000 sq km and is larger than Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark or Switzerland.

Paris is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, with 45 million tourists every year in the Paris Region. With 45 million tourists a year, Mexico is the sixth most visited country in the world, according to UN statistics. France is top of the list, followed by Spain, the US, Turkey, Italy and then Mexico. Forecasts by VisitBritain predict over 45 million inbound visitors to the UK in 2026.

Six publishers turned down The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter, but it went on to sell 45 million copies.

45 million minutes is equal to 85 years, 7 months, 15 days and 16 hours. In other words, if this blog was getting only one hit a minute, it would take over 85½ years, from mid-December 1940, to reach today’s figure of 45 million.

I retired from active parish ministry over four years ago, on 30 March 2022. These days, though, about 150 people on average are reading my daily prayer diary posted on this blog each morning. I imagine many of my priest-colleagues would be prayerfully thankful if the congregations in their churches totalled 1,000 or more people each week.

This evening, I am truly grateful to the real readers among those 45 million hits on this blog to date, and in particular I am thankful for the faithful core group of 150 or so people who join me in prayer, reading and reflections each morning.

Paris is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, with 45 million tourists every year in the Paris Region (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2026: 77, Thursday 23 July 2026

‘You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive’ (Matthew 13: 14) … street art in the Bishopgate area off Carpenter Street in Kuching (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Patrick Comerford

We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church and this week began with the Seventh Sunday after Trinity (Trinity VII, 19 July 2026). Yesterday was the feast of Saint Mary Magdalene, and today the Church Calendar in the Church of England in Common Worship remembers Saint Bridget of Sweden (1373), Abbess of Vadstena.

Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:

1, today’s Gospel reading;

2, a reflection on the Gospel reading;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;

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

‘Seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand’ (Matthew 13: 8) … street art in Iraklion (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Matthew 13: 10-17 (NRSVA):

10 Then the disciples came and asked him, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ 11 He answered, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 13 The reason I speak to them in parables is that “seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.” 14 With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says:

“You will indeed listen, but never understand,
and you will indeed look, but never perceive.
15 For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes;
so that they might not look with their eyes,
and listen with their ears,
and understand with their heart and turn –
and I would heal them.”

16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.’

Looking with eyes and listening with ears … street art in Rathmines, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflections:

In the Gospel reading at the Eucharist today (Matthew 13: 10-17), Jesus speaks about those who seeing but do not perceive, who hearing but do not listen or understand.

Today’s reading continues from the Parables of the Kingdom and forms an interlude between the parable of the sower and its interpretation. Jesus is asked by the disciples why he speaks to the people in parables.

There seems to be an implication that Jesus is speaking clearly to his disciples, who are insiders, but in riddles to the people because they are outsiders. But this also seem to contradict the purpose of speaking in parables, which is to use helpful and familiar images to lead people to a better understanding of a deeper message. Indeed, the parable of the sower is a good example.

Perhaps once again we are dealing with the difference between ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’. The ‘insiders’ are those who give Jesus a ready hearing. Naturally, they are more open to hearing about the ‘mysteries’ of the Kingdom and to assimilating what they hear. The ‘outsiders’, on the other hand, are precisely so because they have closed minds and are not ready to listen.

Speaking of the ‘insiders’, Jesus says: ‘For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away’ (verse 12). Those who have opened themselves to the Word of God will find themselves evermore enriched.

But those who have not even begun to accept the Word will end up in an even worse predicament than the one they are in now, for they look but do not see, they listen but do not hear or understand (verse 13).

This happens, not because the parables are difficult, but because the hearers are not prepared to listen.

Jesus then quotes from the Prophet Isaiah (9: 13), who might better understood as speaking in an audibly sarcastic tone:

“You will indeed listen, but never understand,
and you will indeed look, but never perceive.
15 For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes;
so that they might not look with their eyes,
and listen with their ears,
and understand with their heart and turn –
and I would heal them.”

I find it disturbing when I realise someone is talking at me rather than to me, and certainly not talking with me. In a similar way it is disturbing to realise someone hears me, but is not actually listening to me.

At one stage during tense trade union negotiations many years ago, the employer’s representative responded to my presentation, saying: ‘I hear what you are saying.’

I retorted: ‘Yes, but does it just go in one ear and out the other?’

I asked for an adjournment, and from the union side we said we would return to the talks when he indicated he would not only listen to us, but engage with us and commit his side to meaningful discussions. We waited outside for 10 or 15 minutes, and felt we truly were outsiders. We were about to leave the building when we were called back inside. He had heard, and he had listened, and instead of talking to and at us, he began to talk with us. Confidence was restored, and we soon reached a settlement.

If we are prepared to see and to listen actively and to be fully engaged, both actions, seeing and listening, can make radical changes in our lives, in our attitudes, in our values and priorities, in our relationships. But too many people remain effectively blind and deaf to others.

‘They … listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn’ (Matthew 13: 15) … ‘Reflections of Bedford’, a sculpture by Rick Kirby on Silver Street (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Thursday 23 July 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 19 to 25 July 2026 (pp 20-21), is ‘Flood Relief in Mozambique’. This theme was introduced on Sunday with a programme update from the Revd Mauricio S Mugunhe, Executive Director Anglican Social Action, Igreja Anglicana de Moçambique e Angola (the Anglican Church of Mozambique and Angola).

The USPG prayer diary today (Thursday 23 July 2026) invites us to pray:

Lord, bring hope to the people of Iene in Mozambique, renewing homes, roads, and lives after the floods. Protect those displaced and isolated, and raise up healing, strength, and swift restoration.

The Collect of the Day:

Lord of all power and might,
the author and giver of all good things:
graft in our hearts the love of your name,
increase in us true religion,
nourish us with all goodness,
and of your great mercy keep us in the same;
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:

Lord God, whose Son is the true vine and the source of life,
ever giving himself that the world may live:
may we so receive within ourselves
the power of his death and passion
that, in his saving cup,
we may share his glory and be made perfect in his love;
for he is alive and reigns, now and for ever.

Additional Collect

Generous God,
you give us gifts and make them grow:
though our faith is small as mustard seed,
make it grow to your glory
and the flourishing of your kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s reflections

Continued tomorrow

‘Their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their’ (Matthew 13: 15) … street art near De Montfort University in Leicester (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