It’s 450 years today since the closing of the Council of Trent. Most people who have heard of Trent, consider the name synonymous with a defensive Church fighting the attacks of the Reformation.

A few blogs and websites are today offering some useful reflections to mark the anniversary. I’ll leave you to read some of these for yourself.

As for us, we live in different times. Last week’s Apostolic Exhortation from Pope Francis “the Joy of the Gospel” proclaims faith as a personal encounter with Christ, with no place for defensiveness and fear.