One of the Cappadocian Fathers, St Gregory was the younger brother of St Basil of Caesarea, and friend of St Gregory Nazianzen.

He said: ‘Christ is the artist, tenderly wiping away all the grime of sin that disfigures the human face and restoring God’s image to its full beauty’.

Today, let us lift up our face in prayer to the tender gaze of Christ, that He may restore us to our full beauty. This is a lifetime’s task, but we can make a beginning today – and may He bless us in this work of love.