In the Hand of His Providence
Blind and Blinkered With a touching simplicity Our Lord says, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten...
St Francis de Sales & the Rule of St Benedict
Holiness Is Symphonic The symphonic quality of holiness is a glorious thing orchestrated in Christ, by the Holy Ghost, to the praise of the Father....
St John Chrysostom, Bishop & Doctor of the Church
A Preacher Unlike Any Other Would that Saint John Chrysostom, the Patron Saint of Preachers, could stand here in my place today and preach with...
Saint Aelred, Abbot of Rievaulx
A Saint Full of Sympathy for Physical and Moral Infirmities Jocelin of Furness, a contemporary of Saint Aelred, gives the following account of the saintly...
On the need for more Irish canonisations
Catholic Culture and Holiness Yesterday on his blog, Remembering Father William Doyle, S.J., our dear friend, Benedictine Oblate Pat Kenny, wrote a compelling plea for...
With Saint John: into the love of things invisible
Saint John by Sir Ninian Comper, Lady Chapel of Downside Abbey Church. Thanks to the ever gracious Father Lawrence, O.P. for the use of his...
Drink to the Love of Saint John!
Blessing of Wine on the Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist On the Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist, at the end of...
Saint John of the Cross
The approach of Advent is marked by two saints of the Cross. First there is Saint John of the Cross (24 November) who, as we...
Cecilia
Wishing a very blessed feastday to our Oblate sister Cecilia of Rome in Connecticut! A Veiled Face I never tire of looking at the statue...
Holiness through a tangle of thorns
She had a vision of a young man who, in order to guide her through the tangle of thorns that surrounded her soul, took her...
She Sings Her Ode to the King
Saint Gertrude the Great, Virgin Her Heart Overflows With a Goodly Theme It is right and just that today we should sit at the feet...
Totis visceribus diligebat Christum regem
The title of today’s entry is from the Magnificat Antiphon: O how blessed a bishop was he! His inmost heart of hearts yearned on the...
Saint Willibrord: from Ireland to The Netherlands
Missionary Monk and Archbishop Saint Willibrord, whom we remember today, was educated at the monastery of Ripon in England under the direction of Saint Wilfred....
Winsome Saint Willibrord
Energetic in Everything He Undertook for God Saint Willibrord is the patron saint of The Netherlands. He was also a Benedictine, one of the companions...
Benedict XVI on Saint Charles Borromeo
In 2010, to mark the 400th Anniversary of the Canonization of St Charles Borromeo, Pope Benedict XVI addressed a Message to Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, Archbishop...
Saint Malachy’s Pastoral Plan for Ireland
Today is the feast of Saint Malachy of Armagh. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, who counted Saint Malachy among his friends, describes the Archbishop of Armagh’s...
Cum recordaremur Sion
We sat down by the streams of Babylon and wept there, remembering Sion. Willow-trees grow there, and on these we hung up our harps when...
The Sacrament of All Saints
We celebrate today the memory of all who, by the power of the Holy Ghost at work in their lives and in their deaths, have...
According to the faith I have in Thee
Saint Jude at the Mystical Supper The Gospel tells us that Simon was one of the twelve disciples whom Jesus called to Himself and named...
Nothing happens without Thy permitting it
I have long taken comfort in this prayer of Saint Birgitta of Sweden, whose feast we keep today. O Lord, make haste and illumine the...