The story of the caterpillar – a Paschal mystery 

Richard Francis explores the Second Sunday of Lent, with Mark’s account of the Transfiguration.

When we were kids the most prized caterpillar to find was the one that became the Emperor Moth. Pale iridescent blue green with lots of little brown feet and black spikes on its back that were obviously meant to deter predators. I haven’t seen one of those caterpillars for ages; could it be that it’s gone the way of many other species, or is it that I don’t see with the eyes of a child anymore? Little did that caterpillar know as it chomped voraciously through its favourite leaves that hidden away in its DNA was a magnificent moth, called ‘Emperor’, I suspect, because of its size.