Author Archives: Steve Benner

Jonathan DanielsJonathan Myrick Daniels (March 20, 1939 – August 20, 1965) was an Episcopal seminarian and civil rights activist. In 1965, he was murdered by a shotgun-wielding special county deputy, Tom Coleman, who was a construction worker, in Hayneville, Alabama, while in the act of shielding 17-year-old Ruby Sales. He saved the life of theContinue reading “Oremus for Wednesday, August 21, 2024”

Bernard of ClairvauxBernard was born at Fontaines, near Dijon, in France in the year 1090. He entered the Benedictine abbey at Cîteaux in 1112, taking with him many of his young companions, some of whom were his own brothers. He was a leader of the reform within Benedictinism at this time and in 1115 wasContinue reading “Oremus for Tuesday, August 20, 2024”

Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/ccyc2h5h O people of Sion, behold,the Lord will come to save the nations,and the Lord will make the glory of his voice heardin the joy of your heart. Isaiah 30 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 HolyContinue reading “Oremus for Monday, August 19, 2024”

Antiphon1 Ant. My house will be called a house of prayer, says the Lord;everyone who asks here, will receive,and he who seeks will find,and to him who knocks, it will be opened.V. How lovely is your dwelling place, *O Lord of hosts.My soul is longing and yearning *for the courts of the Lord.My heart and my fleshContinue reading “Oremus for Sunday, August 18, 2024”

Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/7fs7f7em The Lord became my protector.He brought me out to a place of freedom;he saved me because he delighted in me. Psalm 18 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 worthilyContinue reading “Oremus for Saturday, August 17, 2024”

Brother Roger of Taizé Roger Schütz was founder of the Taizé community and a living paradox. Totally identified with the ecumenical “monastery” he had created, humble and stubborn, childlike and cunning, mystical and realist, mild and authoritarian, he was a pioneer in the ecumenical field and never wavered in his self-imposed lifelong mission: to work towardsContinue reading “Oremus for Friday, August 16, 2024”

The Blessed Virgin MaryThe honor paid to Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ, goes back to the earliest days of the Church. Two Gospels tell of the manner of Christ’s birth, and the familiar Christmas story testifies to the Church’s conviction that he was born of a virgin. In Luke’s Gospel, we catch a briefContinue reading “Oremus for Thursday, August 15, 2024”

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 Wednesday, August 14, 2024”

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 Tuesday, August 13, 2024”

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 Monday, August 12, 2024”