Author Archives: Steve Benner

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”

Antiphon 1 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 them be silenced inContinue reading “Oremus for Sunday, August 11, 2024”

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 Saturday, August 10, 2024”

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 Friday, August 9, 2024”

DominicDominic was born in Spain about 1170. He had great sympathy for those critical of the wealth and corruption of the church in Europe at the time. He felt called to preach to those who wanted to aban-don the church for the popular but heretical ascetic sects such as the Albigensians and Waldensians. He formedContinue reading “Oremus for Thursday, August 8, 2024”

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 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, August 7, 2024”

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 Tuesday, August 6, 2024”