Thought for the Week: The enduring words of John Newton's hymn 'Amazing Grace'

​As I shook hands at the end, this man asked if he could speak to me. He introduced himself as Paul and began to tell me about his background. He was a Falls Road man from Belfast.

We briefly discussed our different backgrounds, and then he produced a greeting card. He explained that his mother Mary was ill and in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. His request was, would I visit her and deliver his Mother’s Day greeting card with all his love?

On my return, I went to the Royal Victoria Hospital to see Mary. I offered to pray with her, and I can still recall her positive response. I left thinking that I had fulfilled her son’s wish.

Some weeks passed, and then I received a phone call. It was Paul, and sadly his mother had died. He thanked me and appreciated that I had ministered to her in the hospital. I expressed my sympathies and told him I would be praying for the family.

I learned that her funeral mass was to be held in St Oliver Plunkett church in west Belfast and I felt prompted to attend. Entering the church, I decided to sit discreetly at the back. The mass ended, but then a tall man sitting at the front suddenly stood up and sang 'Amazing Grace' in the most beautiful baritone voice.

I could hardly believe it - wow, it was Paul! There was a sense of God’s presence in the congregation. On leaving the church, I asked the priest if this was pre-arranged. “No",” he replied, “but wasn’t it wonderful.” Now, I seldom hear John Newton’s classic hymn 'Amazing Grace' without remembering Paul.

"When we’ve been there ten thousand years,

Bright shining as the sun,

We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise,

Than when we’ve first begun."