Purple for Penitence

… and persecution. 

I asked Padre António if I could take a photo of him in his purple robes, shining with gold embroidery; he was happy to agree (and took off his black mask for it). I was interested that the embroidery were fish, which was a secret symbol for Christians during Roman times when they were persecuted, the Greek letters for fish being an acrostic for Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour.

Actually, far more Christians are persecuted today than in Roman times; here are some statistics for 2021 so far:
4,761 Christians killed for their faith
4,488 churches and other Christian buildings attacked
4,277 believers detained without trial, arrested, sentenced or imprisoned

And a Guardian article on how the pandemic has made things even worse.


Gratefuls:
- freedom to openly practice my faith and to meet with other Christians, but also the courageous example of so many fellow Christians
- Fakir insisting on getting us snacks to go with our tintinhos at the Adega
- fun evening with friends at Sem Fim coming up