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Today is the Prime Minister’s birthday. It is also the feast day of St. Therese of Lisieux. St Therese is remembered across the Christian world for her simplicity of faith and holiness. Her life still inspires many in their faith and might also give some politicians encouragement, through her example of perseverance. For these days it is not easy to be in public life. Politicians complain about how vicious and personal it has all become. Civility and decency seem to have taken a back seat in the age of the Internet and the troll. Language appears to be more divisive. Who would want to put themselves – or their families - forward for a life of public service in such a divided world where you love those you agree with and zealously hate those of an opposing view? Was it always thus? Is this democracy? Is this a product of the constant information age which has levelled hierarchies, organisations and leadership, so the rawness of it all is now visible? Or have we lost something in our public life which earlier generations took for granted? Have we lost the challenge of love? That is a love, which is difficult and demanding, which even extends to enemies. In the words of St. Therese, love does not calculate but simply loves. That call to love requires additional foundations to build a trusting space; forgiveness, mercy, and redemption. For they are essential if we as - people and societies – are to remain rooted, connected and open to reflection about our faults and frailty. Friendships could not survive without allowances for our failings. Relationships need such strong foundations to grow and flourish. So do societies. One MP summed it up to me this past week when they said it’s as if public life now requires saints or charlatans, and there aren’t too many saints around. Maybe the meaning of the word saint has been lost and is now seen as too remote and challenging. It has become synonymous with perfection and yet saints are not perfect. They strive until the end to be perfect, marked out by the unlimited use of mercy, forgiveness, and love in their lives. That was so with St. Therese. It could also be true for those who serve today in public life. They too set out to do good. And while society has to hold its leaders to account, it should not chase an unrealistic state of human perfection. That would frighten away good people from public service. The societal challenge, like the personal one, is to balance accountability within a more forgiving, merciful and loving culture.