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Reflection for the first Sunday after Trinity.



“People came out to see what had happened and….they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.” From Luke 8, 26-39. 

“When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.” Mark Twain.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus enters Gentile territory where he encounters a man possessed by demons. In the time of Jesus and in the Bible, this phrase often denoted what would be termed as mental illness today – and to face your demons is still used today to indicate facing up to mental health challenges. 

However, this account is a different matter. The man affected is naked and lives amongst the ‘unclean’ dead having been kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, although he had broken free and had been driven out into the wilds. Despite his maddened state, the man nevertheless recognises the authority of Jesus and calls him the Son of the Most High God. When Jesus asks his name, he says it’s Legion, a body of four or five thousand professional Roman soldiers and trained killers – this indicates how great is the turmoil within him. As the demons beg to be allowed to enter a herd of swine on the hillside, it may seem surprising that Jesus allowed this but pigs were also considered to be unclean and, as they rush down the bank and drown in the lake, the demons also die and the man is restored to his right mind.

What’s interesting about this is that the supposedly ‘sane’ people present don’t rejoice at the man’s healing but are afraid at what has happened. They ask Jesus to leave, which he does, but although the healed man asks to go with him, Jesus sends him away and tells him to proclaim what God has done for him. The man does this – but why are people so afraid?

Although the swineherds would, understandably, be horrified at the loss of their animals in this way, perhaps the ‘mad’ man was desperate for change which their comfortable lives resist. These ‘sane’ people are not free as he now is – and from their reaction, they choose not to be. Jesus is to be kept away and at a safe distance where their lives will not be affected and there will be no challenge to them. 

Today, mental health issues are a growing concern with more people experiencing difficulties after the isolation and uncertainty of Covid. When I was a prison chaplain, I often met prisoners who should have been in a secure psychiatric unit rather than prison but were unable to receive the help they needed due to a lack of facilities and accessible treatment. It may be thought that a more civilised society today would not treat the mentally ill in the way this nameless man was treated but those living with mental illness – sometimes under bridges, on the streets or in hidden away places – may not agree. And who is the judge? As a person from Yorkshire allegedly said to a friend, “The world’s gone mad except for thee and me. And I ain’t so sure about thee!”

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Guardian.

Reflection for Trinity Sunday

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth; for he will not speak on his own…. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” Jesus, in today’s gospel John 16:12-15, NRSV.

“The Trinity is a mystery… It is not a mystery veiled in darkness…. but a mystery in which we are taken by the hand and gradually led into the light.” Eugene Peterson.

Today is Trinity Sunday, when the mystery of God, three in one and one in three, reveals the conundrum at the heart of the Christian faith. How can three be one and one three? No amount of shamrocks, triangles or tricycles will suffice as the reality of Jesus living amongst humanity as the Son of God, revealing the Father and sending the Spirit shows us the communion of love who is not remote but amongst us. How that can be so is a mystery – and yet it is!

As a child, a music teacher used to come to the house to teach us the piano and this included aural tests. One of these involved tonic triads – the first, third and fifth notes of a scale – and Roger, my elder brother, was having his lesson with Margaret when hoots of laughter were heard. Coming to the closed door, I could hear gurgling noises as, having played the triad but expecting him to sing the notes separately, Margaret couldn’t contain her amusement when Roger tried the impossibility of singing all three notes at once and repeatedly tried to do so as he thought he should be able to!

St Ignatius of Loyola had a vision of the Trinity as three keys on a musical instrument, each note being distinctive but harmonising when played with the others to create a diversified yet unified sound. That lead to a devotion to the Trinity which remained with him throughout his life and which he encouraged others to explore.

The poet Malcolm Guite echoes this musical concept in his sonnet and, this Trinity Sunday, may his words inspire that same response today:

“He calls us out of darkness, chaos, chance,

To improvise a music of our own,

To sing the chord that calls us to the dance,

Three notes resounding from a single tone,

To sing the End in whom we all begin;

Our God beyond, beside us and within.” 

From Trinity Sunday, by Malcolm Guite (c)

With my prayers, pob bendith,

Christine, Guardian. 

Reflection for Pentecost and the Platinum Jubilee.

“In our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” From the first Pentecost, Acts 2:1-13.


“She gave herself to the Commonwealth and to the nation but also to God and the anointing was a holy moment. Once anointed, Elizabeth was transformed into Majesty. And then suddenly, there she was, Queen. It was a metamorphosis, it was extraordinary.” Lady Glenconner, Maid of Honour, speaking of the Coronation.

This week has seen the celebrations for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee marking her transformation into Majesty and the use of earthly power during her reign. It coincides today with Pentecost when the heavenly power of the Holy Spirit transformed the lives of those first disciples in a way that is sometimes called the Birthday of the Church. In both situations, an extraordinary metamorphosis had profound consequences which are still resonating today. 

One of the ways of marking this is to ‘Plant a tree for the Jubilee’ to create the Queen’s Green Canopy across the United Kingdom. This will provide a lasting tribute to Elizabeth II and enhance the environment too. A yew in St Melangell’s Churchyard, thought to be at least two thousand years old, has been selected as one of the seventy Ancient Trees representing each year of the Queen’s reign and the hope is that a yew sapling will be planted to mark the Jubilee. As the official season for doing this is between October and March, that won’t happen until November this year but it’s good to continue the tradition of marking important events by planting a tree and, as trees can live for hundreds of years, giving a gift in this way to future generations too.

Each of us is rooted in a family tree which gives the various branches of the line of descendants from which we have come, whether we are familiar with this or not. Jesus’ human family tree begins the gospel of St Matthew as the genealogy of Jesus – though I once heard a reader call it the gynaecology of Jesus! He was placed in a wooden manger and died on a cross often called the Tree, having worked as a carpenter before his ministry. The Bible starts with the garden in which grows “every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food”(Genesis 2:9) and ends with the tree of life set beside the river in the city of the new Jerusalem which has “leaves for the healing of the nations”. (Rev.22:2)

The healing of the nations is much needed as warfare continues between Russia and Ukraine, with their blockaded grain supplies affecting the ability of poorer nations to feed their peoples and creating food insecurity. There was little sign of that at the various street parties being held in the UK and it may not be possible to do much about the great issues dividing the nations currently but perhaps there is something smaller we can do to bring about healing closer to home. The Royal Family has had its share of family problems and it’s clear that, whatever individual views of the Monarchy may be, Queen Elizabeth II is widely regarded as having served her peoples faithfully – but, at 96, we are clearly now in a time of transition. Due to what are described as episodic mobility issues, the Queen has been unable to attend even the Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral which, as Supreme Governor of the Church of England, Head of the Commonwealth of Nations and a woman of faith, will have been a hard decision for her to make. Thanks have been given for the seventy years of her reign, but who knows what will happen in future?

One of the things that the Queen was able to do was to light the Tree of Trees remotely, a feat of technology between Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. This remarkable structure is made of British trees in containers, and each one will be sent to a different county to be planted to mark the Platinum Jubilee and this remarkable moment in history. That contrasts with recent work here in the valley, where great numbers of ash and larch trees have had to be cut down due to disease and the land where they were planted currently looks so devastated. However, this was necessary to avoid further contamination and the ground will be replanted in the autumn – it will take a while, but the trees will mature in due course.

At this time of national transition, when each of us is also invited to plant a tree for the Jubilee, it’s important to remember not only the Queen but the King of heaven that she serves. We are also called to his service and the Queen, whatever may be thought about other branches of her family, has given steadfast and dutiful service throughout her reign. In gratitude both to her and the King who has entrusted creation to our stewardship, and as a sign of faith and hope for the future, why not consider planting a sapling in your garden or some appropriate place for the Platinum Jubilee, the environment or a family occasion? Don’t just leaf it for other people to do!

With my prayers; pob bendith,
Christine, Guardian

June Services and activities at the Shrine Church of St Melangell

Thursday 2nd June, noon: Service of the Word for the Jubilee
The Day of Pentecost, June 5th, 3pm: Service of reflection for the Jubilee
Thursday 9th, noon: Holy Eucharist and service of healing

Trinity Sunday, June 12th, 3pm: Service of reflection
Corpus Christi, Thursday 16th, noon: Holy Eucharist and service of healing 

First Sunday after Trinity, June 19th, 3pm:  Service of reflection 
Thursday 23rd, noon: Holy Eucharist and service of healing 

2nd Sunday after Trinity, June 26th, 3pm:  Service of reflection
Thursday 30th noon: Holy Eucharist and service of healing 

For further details, please get in touch with the Guardian on 01691 860408 or admin@stmelangell.org – diolch!

Reflection for the thirtieth anniversary of the reopening of the  Shrine Church.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to your will.” Mary to the angel in Luke 1:38.
We thank you Lord God for the life and prayer of your servant Melangell. May her care and compassion for all your creatures inspire us in our day with the same concern for all you have made. May we learn to find your glory in the world around us and in all that you give us to do. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. The Pilgrim’s Prayer in St Melangell’s Shrine Church.
As we give thanks for the life and example of St Melangell and celebrate the reopening thirty years ago of the Shrine Church after its restoration, so today’s reflection is a poem about her. In it, the anonymous author examines some of the possible meanings of her name including the pun in the church registers from 1723 that it might mean a thousand angels: Mil engyl a Melangell Trechant lu fyddin y fallMelangell with a thousand angels Triumphs over all the powers of evil. 
It’s also been suggested that, as Mêl is the word for honey, her name could be sweet  angel but, as angel doesn’t have a double ll in Welsh,this may not be the case. The saint’s Latin name is Monacella and it is the opinion of Sir Ifor Williams in a letter in the Centre’s archives that Mel Angell originates from Mael (Lord) Ancilla (Handmaid). Hence, in answer to Brochwel’s question, “Who are you?” Melangell’s reply was, “The handmaid of the Lord” which echoes Mary’s response at the Annunciation.
The poem not only speculates about Melangell’s name but the possible conversation between the saint and Prince Brochwel on meeting, which had such profound consequences. In all the conversations we have with the people we meet, the possible consequences could also be profound – especially the spiritual communication that is prayer. As the saint, her church and the valley are commemorated once more, why not pray the pilgrim prayer associated with her, before reading the poem below in Welsh or English?
With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Guardian

I Felangell.

Cyfrin enw, cyfrinach yw
ei ystyr; mwynaf ryw.

Debyg mae naws mil angel oedd   arnat
Yn byw ar fel yn Nyffryn Tanat.

Medd eraill “cell melyn” a fu
lle ciliaist yn dawel rhag elynion lu.

Fy hun, credaf Syr Ifor, mawr barch,
mae ateb yw i Farchog ar farch;

“Pwy rwyt?” gofyn Brochwel
Ysgythrog, gan sgythru
“Sy’n byw ar fy nhir heb gymorth, heb bopty?”

Ateb deg gan forwyn decach:

“Fy nisgrifiad yw hyn – Mael Ancillach,
sef Morwyn yr Arglwydd yr wyf,
yn gweddio yn barchus a llon yn dy blwyf”.

“Ond o le yr hannaist, forwyn wen,
a mil o angylion yn cyrchu dy ben?”

“Dros mor a thir y teithiais am hir
nes cyrraedd y man lle clywais y gwir.
Yn nhawelwch, llonyddwch, dedwyddwch Pen-nant
ces dawel weddio ty hwnt i bob chwant.
A llygaid ar gau a chefn unionsyth
ces fewnol gerddoriaeth, goleuni a llith.”

“Rhyfeddod yw hyn a groesodd fy hynt,
ysgwarnog yn cuddio lle na guddiai gynt!
O’r herwydd rwy’n gosod y tir ar dy ran
i amddiffyn pob “Oen Fach” am byth yn y llan.”


Gwrandawyr, ga’i ofyn;

“Oes rhywle sy’n well,
neu llecyn sy’n harddach
na Chwm Felan-Gell?”

To Melangell.

Mysterious name, a mystery is its meaning, o fair lady.
Likely the atmosphere of a thousand angels was upon you
living upon honey in Dyffryn Tanat.

Others say you found refuge in a “yellow cell” from a host of enemies.

Myself, I believe Sir Ifor, of great renown,
that an answer it was to a knight on horseback;

“Who are you?” asked Brochwel Ysgythrog, in haste, “who lives on my land without support nor oven?”

A fair answer from a fairer maid;
“My description is thus – Handmaiden of the Lord”, who worships respectfully and happily in your shire”.

“But where are you from, fair Maiden, with a thousand angels circling your head?”

“Over sea and land I travelled long time, ‘till I reached the land where I heard the truth.
In the silence, stillness and blessedness of Pennant, I quietly prayed, away from all temptation.
With eyes closed and posture erect came inner choirs, light and learning”.

“Strange is this that has crossed my path – a hare who has hidden where never before!
Consequently I give the land for your use, to protect your “Little Lambs” forever in this Llan.”

May I ask;
“Is anywhere better or a site more beautiful than Cwm (Pennant) Melangell?”

by Dafydd Griffiths (copyright with the author)

Stained glass image of Melangell, the hare and Prince Brochwel by Steve Bradley.

Greetings on St Melangell’s feast day from Christine, Jampa and all at St Melangell’s.

Reflection for Rogation  Sunday.

“The earth has yielded its increase and God, our God, has blessed us. May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him.” From Psalm 67.
The conflict, combined with climate change and the pandemic, “threatens to tip tens of millions of people over the edge into food insecurity followed by malnutrition, mass hunger and famine…. There is enough food in our world now if we act together. But unless we solve this problem today, we face the spectre of global food shortage in the coming months,” Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations.
The Sunday before the Rogation Days is Rogation Sunday, from the Latin ‘rogare’ meaning ‘to ask’. It’s an ancient church festival, asking for the blessing of crops and communities and for safety at a time when hardship might follow if the harvest failed. Traditionally, the boundaries of the parish were walked so that youngsters might learn to know their ‘patch’ as the beating of the bounds took place. Fences and walls along the way were repaired at this time to keep the boundaries secure and it was a time of prayer and hope as God’s blessing was asked on the seed time and the harvest, whether the crop was agricultural or industrial. It involved all ages in the care and wellbeing of the people as well as the crops and their provision, at a time when they were dependent upon their land and its produce. 
Today, with the worldwide shortage of wheat, oil, fuel due to the war in Ukraine, climate change and the rising cost of living, many people are having to think again about their relationship with the land and use of it. Recently, I bought some cheese biscuits under the impression from their labelling that they were Cornish but, when I read it later, the packaging stated they were actually made abroad using milk from the Netherlands and only the cheese topping was from Cornwall. The complexity of food production today as well as the air or sea miles travelled now that fuel costs are rising so dramatically is creating change which will have lasting effects as we reassess what is important and how costs can be reduced. The recent scenes of the awful waste of Ukrainian grain unable to be exported to people who need it is causing concern about possible famine and the risk that it will soon grow mouldy before it can be used – already, the UN has warned of 20 million tonnes of garnered Ukrainian grain being unable to be accessed and a worldwide food crisis possibly resulting.
Global food prices are almost 30% higher than this time last year and the stark contrast of what is faced now with the Psalmist’s comments of the earth’s bounty increasing is a sharp reminder to us all that action has to be taken. The World Bank has created £9.7bn of extra funding to address food insecurity caused by the war between Russia and Ukraine which previously produced 30% of the world’s wheat supply. However, as Secretary Guterres also said, “The complex security, economic and financial implications require goodwill on all sides.” 
We may think that there is little we can do as individuals in the face of such complexity but, at the birth of Jesus, the angels sang of peace and goodwill on earth. Perhaps, this Rogation Sunday, we can begin by doing what we can to show goodwill, care for the people and land where we are, repair what is broken, assess the boundaries and ask for God’s blessing that the earth may be enabled to bring forth its increase?
With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Guardian.

Reflection for Christian Aid Week  
Today’s reflection is from one for Christian Aid Week, which begins today. It’s published with the people of Zimbabwe in mind as their already challenging circumstances are made even worse by the ongoing global tensions. One answer is seeds that grow well despite drought conditions and, as we read what follows, perhaps we are more fortunate than we realise? 

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Guardian.

We have all seen the news of the devastating war in Ukraine. We’ve heard heartbreaking stories of people fleeing violence, not knowing when they’ll see their loved ones again. In Zimbabwe, another crisis – the climate crisis – is causing aching hunger for families who already struggle to find food. Even though it’s 7,000 miles away, the war in Ukraine will drive up food prices in Zimbabwe and around the globe. Ukraine and Russia produce large amounts of the world’s fertiliser and food, like wheat and cooking oil. Without them, vulnerable families will be pushed even deeper into hunger.
Are you hungry? What’s for dinner tonight? Maybe you’re looking forward to fish and chips, pasta, or your favourite family meal around the table. Jessica Mwedzi, a loving mum in Zimbabwe, fears her family won’t eat tonight. When food is scarce, she can only give her children one bowl of porridge a day. She shares her heartbreak: ‘My children crave a decent meal, but I can’t provide. It pains me to send them to bed hungry.’
For Jessica, drought means every day is a struggle for survival. Like many women in Zimbabwe, she toils on her farm, but no food can grow on her ashen dry land. ‘One year, we had no rain. The scorching sun burnt my crops just as they were about to bloom. It was so painful and disheartening.’
It’s unjust that drought robs Jessica of the power to provide for her family. Her husband is unwell, so she is the only breadwinner. She says: ‘Women are at the mercy of climate change and hunger.’ Once before, when things were desperate, Jessica asked her neighbours for food. But she came home with nothing. Jessica is hungry. Hungry for a good meal. Hungry to earn a decent living. Hungry to provide a more hopeful future for her family.
Christian Aid Is helping Jessica grow seeds that thrive in the drought. In the months to come, she’ll turn these seeds into fresh food like tomatoes, beans and cucumbers to sell and feed her family. She’ll have the joy of seeing her children grow up happy and healthy. Jessica’s love for her family gives her courage to stand strong against the threat of drought. ‘My children give me the power to go ahead,’ she says. ‘I pray they have a better future.’
This Christian Aid Week, as you sit down to eat your favourite family meal around the table, please pray for Jessica and her family – may families like hers find that action brings hope to people facing disaster, from conflict to climate chaos. This Christian Aid Week, we celebrate and share hope with our sisters and brothers facing crisis around the world, from Ukraine to Zimbabwe.
May that hope be fulfilled.

Reflection for Good Shepherd Sunday
”My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me.” Jesus, in today’s gospel, John 10:22-30.
“With the smell of the sheep.” Pope Francis’ hope for good shepherds, 2013.
“In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha…. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. At that time she became ill and died…..they laid her in an upper room.” From Acts 9:36-end.
Today’s Gospel continues the Good Shepherd teaching which begins earlier in John, chapter 10. In this part, Jesus is walking in the temple when some of the leaders of the Jews encircle him, trying to trap him as they question him yet again about who he is. When they ask him, “How long will you keep us in suspense?” (v24) it’s clear that it‘s frustration rather than suspense that is bothering them and Jesus speaks plainly to them as they question him – but not in the way they anticipate. Jesus spoke plainly to the Samaritan woman (4:25-26) and the man born blind (9:5, 35-37) but these leaders are not seeking the truth of who Jesus is as they look for ways to trap and convict him. So, Jesus tells them directly that they do not believe because they don’t belong to his sheep, who know his voice and follow him because he knows them, not because they know him. This so infuriates the leaders that they begin to attempt to stone him and then have him arrested – but Jesus escapes and leaves the temple. 
Jesus is called the lamb of God by his second cousin, John the Baptist (1:29) and he refers to himself the good shepherd (v11) but, despite their years of study and ministry, these religious leaders choose not to hear or see the reality before them. They are free to make their choice and do not want to be sheep of his flock – like many religious people, they prefer to keep God at a convenient distance and pay him lip service to ensure that he does not make too many demands on their practice and comfort.
All this contrasts with Tabitha, also called Dorcas, in the Acts reading for today. Both her names mean gazelle, a fleet creature known for its speed and grace. Tabitha is the first woman in the New Testament to be noted as a disciple and she has clearly done much as a follower who has chosen to respond whole heartedly to helping those in need around her. When she dies, her body is taken to an upper room whilst her friends weep outside for her and show the many things she has made for those in need. As in the upper room at Easter, wonder-ful things happen as new life comes to Tabitha and those grieving her when Peter prays for her and God’s grace is shared by the disciples who continue Jesus’ work of love and practical care for others. They have been given power from the Holy Spirit that they can use – and they do.
This passage is not just about those Jews then but our response to Jesus today as we, too, have the free choice about who we think he is and what impact he has on our lives.Pope Francis referred in the early days of his papacy to the need for shepherds who smell of the sheep because they spend so much time with their flock. That’s not necessarily a pleasant aroma but many shepherds have soft hands because of the lanolin in the wool they so often touch. Whether as shepherds or part of the flock, do we perhaps need to soften our views and actions towards ourselves and others as we consider our response to the good shepherd who knows us and calls us to follow him, actively using the power of the Holy Spirit rather than just being a woolly thinker?!  The challenge for each of us is to, “Let Him Easter in us, be a dayspring to the dimness of us, be a crimson-cresseted east.” Gerard Manley Hopkins, The Wreck of the Deutschland. 
With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Guardian.

Reflection for the Third Sunday of Easter

“After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples… and he showed himself in this way.” From John 21:1-19
“Everything is destroyed. The house is…..uninhabitable. So, we are holding on. The Lord will help us and we will win.” Resident in the Donetsk region of Ukraine after being shelled, interviewed on BBC News.

In today’s Gospel reading, John writes that the presence of Jesus at the Sea of Tiberius is the third time that he has appeared to the disciples – but it’s actually the fourth if Mary Magdalene’s experience early on Easter Day is also counted. The disciples have left Jerusalem and returned to a familiar location, the Sea of Galilee also being named after Emperor Tiberius. The men have resumed their fishing, taking up again their previous lives before the time spent with Jesus. But it’s a fruitless exercise – they toil all night and catch nothing and, by daybreak, they are presumably tired, fed up and hungry. And it’s at that point, at their lowest, that they encounter Jesus on the shoreline – although they don’t realise who it is.
At first, he simply tells them to cast their net once more, which could have met with a sharp rebuff after trying for a catch all night. However, the disciples do as Jesus asks and perhaps, from the shore, it’s more obvious where the shoals of fish are as the net is then filled with a huge catch of fish. Now, in being obedient to what he asks of them, the efforts of the disciples are transformed as they encounter their living Lord and, as John writes, Jesus showed himself in this way. John, the beloved disciple, is the first to recognise him, closely followed by Simon Peter who jumps into the sea leaving the others to drag the net back to shore.
What happens resonates with the miracle at Cana, where Mary simply says, “They have no wine,” just as Jesus says, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” At Cana, the water turned into wine is plentiful and good quality and the net, too, is full and the fish large. 
The hungry disciples then find that, first, their physical needs are answered as Jesus has prepared fish and bread for them to eat their fill. Then, their spiritual needs are met and Jesus commissions Simon Peter three times just as he denied Jesus thrice before his crucifixion. Simon Peter was physically naked in the boat and perhaps emotionally stripped back by grief and regret too but, as Jesus talks with him, he is commissioned to feed and tend the flock that Jesus entrusts to him. It’s a mark of the effect that this encounter with Jesus has on him that Peter goes on to fulfil this without future denial, even to the point of eventual martyrdom.
Like those first disciples, there are also times for all of us when we fail others or ourselves, when we are afraid or utterly exhausted, or when we want to return to the familiar past because the present or future is so threatening. Just as Jesus met the needs of those disciples then, so he will meet and renew us too today if we allow him to. That is the Easter hope as we face the challenges before us and as warfare continues to rage in Ukraine with those caught up in it facing suffering, displacement, death and destruction. As the resident of Donetsk said what he did (above) he held up an icon of Jesus and crossed himself. The battle for faith, hope, healing and courage will not easily be snuffed out as he personifies and as Simon Peter and the disciples now begin to discover – but, when he first meets them by the shore, Jesus calls these grown men Children because they still have so much to learn. 
Don’t we, too?
With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Guardian.