One hot October night

It is October. In our part of the world that means hot, still and DRY. The last time we had rain was in March. Everything wilts under the relentless heat, the grass is sere, the sky is opaque with haze even  the Jacaranda trees mauve flowers blend into the sky. Only the bougainvillea give splashes of bright colour in our colourless world. We wait breathlessly for the rain.

But the evenings are wonderful and last night we spent the evening at a music concert at school. It was a wonderful evening with families picnicking before hand and plenty of space for little children to race around playing tag on the only green for miles - the cricket pitch. The crowd was incredibly varied, old and young, a mix of races, those with connections to the school and those who had none and had come for the music alone. Wowed by a range of music that included opera and pop, country and western and jazz, and choirs. Music both sacred and secular, the artists covered a range from young to old and included  a young Jesuit in training brought the crowd to its feet with his magnificent voice singing music from The Mission.

I thought to myself that Ignatius would have enjoyed the inclusivity of the event. Here God was revealed in a common shared experience, by a crowd who put aside their differences for one night to share in something wonderful. And the performers offered us of their best, sharing a stage together in good humour and generosity.