Ringo Starr, ex-Beatles drummer, now aged 70, is telling the media he has found God.

 “Religion is now one of the most important aspects in my life. For me, God is in my life. I don’t hide from that. I think the search has been on since the ’60s. I stepped off the path there for many years, and found my way back onto it, thank God.” (Los Angeles Times)

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The Beatles did harm with their promoting of drugs, superficial dabblings in Far Eastern religions etc.

Yet were there not also signs of awareness of God, even early on — most famously, perhaps, in the Paul McCartney song, “Let it be”?

“When I find myself in times of trouble,
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom: let it be . . .”

The person of the Blessed Virgin Mary certainly comes to mind. Paul’s mother’s name was Mary –perhaps he was writing about her? OK, but the person of the Blessed Virgin still comes to mind.

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Saint Luke’s gospel chapter 1: “In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph . . . and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel said unto her: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women . . . behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus” . . . . and Mary answered: “Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord; let it be done to me according to thy word.”

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Of course, the motives of celebrities discussing their beliefs can always be dismissed as grandstanding.

But let us not judge.

Let us pray for Ringo.

Let us pray for all who seek God.

By God’s mercy may we reach heaven, there to experience what Saint Francis de Sales so beautifully described:

“O beauty of my God, how lovable you are . . .

in heaven we shall need no commandment to love you . . .

our souls will be delivered from distractions, our minds from anxieties . . .

and we shall love God with a perpetual, uninterrupted love.”