Author Archives: Steve Benner

Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/knfvtvew Look to your covenant, O Lord,and forget not the life of your poor ones for ever.Arise, O God, and defend your cause,and forget not the cries of those who seek you. Psalm 74 Almighty God,to whom all hearts are open,all desires, known,and from whom no secrets are hid:Cleanse the thoughts of our heartsbyContinue reading “Oremus for Thursday, December 9, 2021”

Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/ypfm8yec Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be consoled.Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,for they shall have their fill. Matthew 5 Almighty God,to whom all hearts are open,all desires, known,and from whom no secrets are hid:Cleanse the thoughts of our heartsby the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,that we may perfectlyContinue reading “Oremus for Wednesday, December 8, 2021”

AmbroseBorn in Trier in 339, Ambrose was of an aristocratic family and in the year 374 was governor of northern Italy, with his headquarters in Milan. Whilst trying to bring peace to the Christian community, with Arianism and orthodoxy each trying to gain the election of its man as bishop, Ambrose, known and respected byContinue reading “Oremus for Tuesday, December 7, 2021”

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 Monday, December 6, 2021”

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 coveredContinue reading “Oremus for Sunday, December 5, 2021”

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 andto the study of theContinue reading “Oremus for Saturday, December 4, 2021”

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 Friday, December 3, 2021”

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 Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) (a coalition or “umbrella organization” 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 byContinue reading “Oremus for Thursday, December 2, 2021”

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 Wednesday, December 1, 2021”

AndrewThough Andrew is named among the apostles in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, it is in John’s gospel that most is learned about him. Andrew was a Galilean fisherman, mending his nets, when Jesus called him to follow him, which he promptly did. He then seems to have remained with Jesus until theContinue reading “Oremus for Tuesday, November 30, 2021”