Sir, —
I very much enjoyed The Very Reverend Stephen Farrell’s article ‘In vino veritas’ in the March 2026 edition of the Gazette.
When I was growing up, we always had wine with Sunday lunch — my father introduced me to wine, in small quantities, when I was quite young. As a teenager I used to spend the Easter holidays in France with a French family. There, wine was always part of every family meal. After ordination I lived for ten years on the continent — Belgium, Holland, France, and Italy. In each of those countries, wine — shared in company with others — was part of daily life. Now, in retirement, I always enjoy a glass of wine with my main meal.
My father died very suddenly in 1980 on the Sunday after Christmas, after sharing a family meal in high spirits.
Of course I received many messages of condolence, but the one which meant most to me and which I still remember came from a Spanish friend of the family. He wrote: ‘I will always remember your father opening a bottle of wine on a Sunday, and I think that was the message of his life — enjoy your life because it is God’s gift to be shared in friendship.’
I think that is a message for all of us. Life is indeed God’s gift; in the words of the Psalmist, ‘it is he who made us, and we are his’ (Psalm 100:3) and he has given us everything we need to make life enjoyable. In the words of another psalm, words evocative of the eucharistic elements, ‘He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread that sustains his heart’ (Psalm 104:14-15).
We may not always have everything we want, but by the providence of a loving Heavenly Father we have everything we need, to be shared in friendship with others.
Yours, etc.,
The Reverend Paul Symonds
(Belfast; by email)
