The prophet Isaiah and the apostles Paul and Peter did great things for God. Yet each of them had an inferiority complex. They had a low opinion of themselves. They had low self esteem. They did not put themselves forward, but were still called by God. They accepted that call reluctantly, convinced that they were unworthy of it.

Writing this letter to you there are only 40 days left to Christmas. But there's still plenty of time to do everything that you traditionally do. By the time you read this, there'll be fewer little windows to open on your Advent Calendar and less time for your Advent Candle to burn down but, in the inimitable words of the late Clive Dunn from Dad’s Army : ‘Don’t Panic!’

On the first of November we celebrate the feast of All Saints, we honour in a special way the ‘little’ saints, that is those who will never be officially canonised. The saints show us what human beings are capable of. They show us that good is more natural to us than evil. It is good to be reminded that human beings have such potential.