Today, the Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity begins. Here is part of St John Henry Newman’s prayer: ‘O Lord Jesus Christ, when you were about to suffer, you prayed for your disciples that they might all be one, as you are in the Father and the Father in you. Look down in pity on […]

‘He who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him’. These astonishing words come from our New Testament reading for today, from 1 Corinthians. Today would normally be the Memoria of St Anthony, the Father of monks. To shed light on the Scripture quotation, here is a section from the Life of St […]

Here is our New Testament reading, from Hebrews: ‘For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are open and laid […]

Here is a short extract from St Gregory’s Life of St Benedict: ‘The holy man for many years in that desert increased wonderfully in virtues and miracles, whereby a great number in those parts were gathered together in the service of Almighty God: so that, by the assistance of our Lord Jesus Christ, he built […]

From today’s Gospel, from St Mark: ‘And a leper came to him beseeching him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean’. […]

Known for his defence of the faith in the teeth of the Arian heresy, St Hilary’s writings still have power today, especially in the face of the heresies of our own time. He wrote, in his famous Treatise on the Trinity: ‘He is always outside of space because He is not restricted; He is always […]

This seventh century saint was born in Northumbria, and served as a young man in the royal court of King Oswin. On the way back from a pilgrimage to Rome, he visited the abbey of Lérins, remaining there to take monastic vows as a Benedictine. Returning to England, he settled first in Canterbury, but later […]

Here are a few lines from the great ‘Pastoral Prayer’ of St Aelred. They may be prayed for any you know in authority, especially in the Church: ‘Thou knowest my heart, Lord; Thou knowest my will is that whatever Thou hast given Thy servant should be devoted wholly to their service, and spent for them […]

Here is part of St Mark’s account: ‘In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “Thou art my […]

From today’s New Testament reading, from 1 John: ‘Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another’. St Benedict’s ‘Instruments of Good Works’: ‘In the first place, to love the Lord God with all one’s heart, all one’s soul and all one’s strength. Then, one’s neighbour as oneself. Then not to […]