Fr Paul Gooley reads today’s Gospel from Mark (7:1-13) in which the Pharisees question Jesus about how his disciples follow Jewish tradition and law. Afterwards, he shares a little about St Paul Miki and his companions, whose memorial we celebrate today. Fr Paul notes Paul Miki was born in Japan between 1564 and 1566. He joined the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) and preached the Gospel to the Japanese people with great success. When a persecution of the Catholics arose, he was arrested together with twenty-five others. Mocked and tortured, they were eventually taken to Nagasaki and on 5 February 1597, bound to crosses and speared. So, on this day Fr Paul invites us to ask, ‘St Paul Miki and his companions, pray for us!’.