Author Archives: Steve Benner

Antiphon 1 Ant. You will turn toward us, O God, *and restore our life again, and your people will rejoice in you.Show us, Lord, your mercy and grant us your salva tion.V. O Lord, you have favored your land, *and brought back the captives of Jacob.You forgave the guilt of your people, *and covered all their sins.You avertedContinue reading “Oremus for Sunday, December 7, 2025”

NicholasVery little is known about the life of Nicholas, except that he suffered torture and imprisonment during the persecution under the Emperor Diocletian. It is possible that he was one of the bishops attending the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325. He was honored as a saint in Constantinople in the sixth century byContinue reading “Oremus for Saturday, December 6, 2025”

Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/22vexxaw Like the deer that yearns for running streams,so my soul is yearning for you, my God;my soul is thirsting for God, the living God. Psalm 42 O God, most high and most near,you send glad tidings to the lowly,you hide not your face from the poor;those who dwell in darkness you call intoContinue reading “Oremus for Friday, December 5, 2025”

John of DamascusJohn of Damascus was the son of a Christian tax collector for the Mohammedan Caliph of Damascus. At an early age, he succeeded his father in this office. In about 715, he entered the monastery of St. Sabas near Jerusalem. There he devoted himself to an ascetic life and to the study ofContinue reading “Oremus for Thursday, December 4, 2025”

Francis XavierFrancis was born at the castle of Xavier in Spanish Navarre in 1506. He was educated in Paris and, with Ignatius of Loyola, became one of the group of seven who took vows as the first members of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits. Since preaching the gospel overseas was an integral part ofContinue reading “Oremus for Wednesday, December 3, 2025”

The Martyrs of El SalvadorThe Salvadoran Civil War was a civil war in El Salvador which was fought between the military-led junta government of El Salvador and the FMLN, a coalition of left-wing groups from 15 October 1979 to 16 January 1992. A coup on October 15, 1979, was followed by killings of anti-coup protesters by the government and of anti-disorder protesters by the guerrillas, and is widely seen asContinue reading “Oremus for Tuesday, December 2, 2025”

Nicholas FerrarToday we honour Nicholas Ferrar, a deacon of the English Church who died in 1637 after eleven years at Little Gidding, a place in Huntingdon where he shared his family’s enterprise of a godly household.When the Ferrars moved there from London, Little Gidding consisted of a derelict manor-house and a chapel which had beenContinue reading “Oremus for Monday, December 1, 2025”

Antiphon1 Ant. People of Zion behold, *the Lord is coming to save all nations;and the Lord shall cause you to hearhis majestic voice for the joy of your heart.V. O shepherd of Israel, hear us, *you who lead Joseph like a flock:enthroned on the cherubim, shine forth †upon Ephraim, Benjamin, Manasseh. *Rouse up your might and comeContinue reading “Oremus for Sunday, November 30, 2025”

Dorothy DayDorothy Day was born in Brooklyn, New York on November 8, 1897, the third child of Grace and John Day.  Her nominally religious family moved to the San Franciso Bay area and then to Chicago where she was baptized in the Episcopal Church.  She attended the University of Illinois at Urbana and became interestedContinue reading “Oremus for Saturday, November 29, 2025”

Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/npyhr6v4 O sing a new song to the Lord,for he has worked wonders;in the sight of the nationshe has shown his deliverance, alleluia. Psalm 98 Lord God, where two or three gather in your name, you promise to be with them. Look upon your family gathered in your name,and graciously pour out your blessingsContinue reading “Oremus for Friday, November 28, 2025”