2 October 2025 There is an exhibition in the National Gallery, London featuring some paintings by Jean-Francois Millet. When we got married, a couple gave us a copy of his painting, ‘The Gleaners’, reminding us of the foreigner, Ruth, gleaning in the field of her mother-in-law’s kinsman, Boaz. The central feature of this exhibition is ‘The Angelus’. A husband and wife pause at the end of the day when they hear the distant church bell indicating that it is time to say the final ‘Angelus’. He has taken of his hat and bowed his head. She has clasped her hands and bends her head towards them. It’s twilight. Millet has captured that moment when a haze seems to fall upon the earth. The vitality of early morning gives way to the closing day when darkness begins to embrace the light and rest beckons after a day full of hard, agricultural, manual labour. The ‘Angelus’ prayer is particular to the Roman Catholic Church. There are two aspects to it. The prayer introduces us to...