Author Archives: Steve Benner

Maximilian KolbeMaximilian Kolbe was born at Zdunska Wola near Lodz in Poland in 1894. His parents were Franciscan Tertiaries and, beginning his training for ordination in 1907, Maximilian joined the Franciscan noviciate in 1910. He studied at Rome but, suffering from tuberculosis, he returned to Poland and became a lecturer in church history. After sufferingContinue reading “Oremus for Saturday, August 14, 2021”

Jeremy TaylorJeremy Taylor was born in Cambridge in 1613 and educated there at Gonville & Caius College. He was ordained in 1633 and, as the Civil War got under way, he became a chaplain with the Royalist forces. He was captured and imprisoned briefly but after his release went to Wales, where the Earl of CarberyContinue reading “Oremus for Friday, August 13, 2021”

Florence NightingaleFlorence Nightingale was born in 1820 into a wealthy family. In the face of their opposition, she insisted that she wished to train in nursing. In 1853, she finally achieved her wish and headed her own private nursing institute in London. Her efforts at improving conditions for the wounded during the Crimean War wonContinue reading “Oremus for Thursday, August 12, 2021”

ClareBorn in 1193 in Assisi of a wealthy family, Clare caught the joy of a new vision of the gospel from Francis’ preaching. Escaping from home, first to the Benedictines and then to a Béguine-style group, she chose a contemplative way of life when she founded her own community, which lived in corporate poverty understood as dependence onContinue reading “Oremus for Wednesday, August 11, 2021”

LawrenceThe sources for the martyrdom of Laurence are among the earliest, though the details are thin. Laurence was one of the seven deacons at Rome and closely associated with Pope Sixtus II, martyred just a few days before him. His examiners insisted he produce the Church treasures. He promptly did so: assembling all the poor,Continue reading “Oremus for Tuesday, August 10, 2021”

John Henry NewmanJohn Henry Newman was born in 1801. His intellectual brilliance saw him appointed to a Fellowship in Oxford at the young age of twenty-one. His Evangelical roots gradually gave way to a more Catholic view of the Church, particularly after liberal trends both in politics and theology appeared to undermine the Church of England’s authority.Continue reading “Oremus for Monday, August 9, 2021”

Antiphon Ant. In you have I put my trust, O Lord; I said: “You are my God, my destiny is in your hands.”V. Let your face shine on your servant. *Save me in your merciful love.Let me not be put to shame, O Lord, *for I call on you;let the wicked be shamed! *Let themContinue reading “Oremus for Sunday, August 8, 2021”

Antiphon: https://tinyurl.com/ywnxcz7d When the Lord appears, we shall be like him,for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3 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 perfectly love youand worthily magnify your holy name;throughContinue reading “Oremus for Saturday, August 7, 2021”

Anniversary of the Bombing of HiroshimaOn this day in 1945, the United States hastened the end of World War II in the Pacific by dropping the first nuclear bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, it bombed the city of Nagasaki. The Japanese surrendered shortly thereafter. Given what we now know aboutContinue reading “Oremus for Friday, August 6, 2021”

John Mason NealeJohn Mason Neale was born in 1818 and, whilst an undergraduate at Cambridge, was influenced by the ideas of the Tractarians. He was a founder of the Cambridge Camden Society, which stimulated interest in ecclesiastical art and which played a part in the revival of Catholic ritual in the Church of England. WhilstContinue reading “Oremus for Thursday, August 5, 2021”