Stat crux dum volvitur orbis, the Carthusians say: the Cross is steady while the world turns. In the midst of what a great Anglican prayer calls the “changes and chances of this fleeting world”, the Church – and the truths on which it is built – stands fast.
The Carthusian motto has never been far from my mind in the first few months of this year. First we had the grim news about inflation, with steep rises in energy and food costs expected this year as we emerge from the Covid crisis. Then came the terrible war in Ukraine, which has resulted in thousands of deaths, millions of refugees and huge disruption to the global economy. We have all seen the heart-rending pictures from that conflict, and heard the unbearable stories of loss and destruction.
