St Nicholas Owen was a Catholic Reformation Martyr. A lay Jesuit brother, he was a master carpenter who was responsible for the construction of many priest holes up and down the country, thus saving the lives of many priests in their struggle to affirm the Faith and support the faithful in this country. We pray […]
From today’s Gospel reading, the story of the man with the withered hand: ‘And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and […]
This fourth century young Virgin Martyr is one of seven early Christian Martyrs commemorated in the Roman Canon of the Mass, alongside Saints Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Cecilia and Anastasia. We treasure their memory. May St Agnes pray for us, and all the saints surround us with their prayers, and may God bless you this […]
From our Old Testament reading, from 1 Samuel: ‘Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams’. Words from the Prologue to the Rule of St Benedict come instantly to mind: ‘Hearken, my son, to the precepts of thy master and incline the ear of thy heart; freely receive […]
‘The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it’. In these dark days of January, the light is shining ever more strongly, and this applies spiritually even more so. The Light of the Incarnate Word of God ‘has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the […]
St John Henry Newman, recently canonised, had a heart for Christian Unity. He believed, as we do, that that unity is based on the Rock of St Peter. He wrote: ‘O Lord Jesus Christ, who, when Thou wast about to suffer, didst pray for Thy disciples to the end of time that they might all […]
Here is an image of the great Father of monasticism, St Anthony of Egypt, whose monastery still exists today, by the Red Sea, in Egypt. He said: ‘The truly intelligent man pursues one sole objective: to obey and conform to the God of all. With this single aim in view, he disciplines his soul, and […]
From today’s Gospel reading: ‘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’. The compassion, […]
St Gregory the Great wrote in his 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 there […]
Our Old Testament readings at present are from the First Book of Samuel. Today’s reading tells of his mother Hannah’s desperate prayer for a son, and God’s response to her prayer. The name ‘Samuel’ means ‘heard of God’ or ‘Name of God’, a fitting designation for such a great prophet. Our prayer is always ‘heard […]