Author Archives: Steve Benner

Galileo GalileiGalileo Galilei was born on 15 February 1564 near Pisa, the son of a musician. He began to study medicine at the University of Pisa but changed to philosophy and mathematics. In 1589, he became professor of mathematics at Pisa. In 1592, he moved to become mathematics professor at the University of Padua, aContinue reading “Oremus for Monday, January 8, 2024”

Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/y3w79tum Ant. As many as have been baptized into Christ,have put on Christ, alleluia.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Galatians 3 Almighty God,you have poured upon usthe new light of your incarnate Word:Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts,may shineContinue reading “Oremus for Sunday, January 7, 2024”

The EpiphanyThe subtitle in the Book of Common Prayer of this, one of the principal feasts of the Church, is ‘The Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles’. This emphasises that, from the moment of the Incarnation, the good news of Jesus Christ is for all: Jew and Gentile, the wise and the simple, male and female. NothingContinue reading “Oremus for Saturday, January 6, 2024”

Felix ManzFelix Manz (also Felix Mantz) (c. 1498 – 5 January 1527) was an Anabaptist, a co-founder of the original Swiss Brethren congregation in Zürich, Switzerland, and the first martyr of the Radical Reformation. A native of Zürich, Manz became a follower of Huldrych Zwingli after he came to Zürich in 1519. When Conrad GrebelContinue reading “Oremus for Friday, January 5, 2024”

Elizabeth Ann SetonElizabeth Ann Bayley was born in New York in 1774. She endured a turbulent childhood and suffered severe bouts of depression. She survived by immersing herself in poetry, piano lessons, and devoted participation in the Episcopal Church.In 1795 she married William Seton. In 1801, the family business failed and the Setons lost everything.Continue reading “Oremus for Thursday, January 4, 2024”

Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/jrf6v6t2 Say to the faint of heart: Be strong and do not fear.Behold, our God will come, and he will save us. Isaiah 35 Almighty God,you have poured upon usthe new light of your incarnate Word:Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts,may shine forth in our lives;through Jesus Christ our Lord,who lives andContinue reading “Oremus for Wednesday, January 3, 2024”

Basil the Great and Gregory NazianzenGregory and Basil were two friends bound together by their desire to promote and defend the divinity of Christ as proclaimed in the Nicene Creed. This was against the seemingly overwhelming pressure from both Church and State for the establishment of Arianism, which denied Christ’s divinity and thus the wholeContinue reading “Oremus for Tuesday, January 2, 2024”

The Naming and Circumcision of JesusThe celebration of this scriptural festival marks three events: firstly, the naming of the infant; secondly, the sign of the covenant between God and Abraham ‘and his children for ever’, thus Christ’s keeping of the Law; and thirdly, traditionally the first shedding of the Christ’s blood. The most significant ofContinue reading “Oremus for Monday, January 1, 2024”

Antiphon1 Ant. Unto us a child is born, *unto us a son is given.Dominion is on his shoulderand his name shall be called the Angel of Great Counsel.V. O sing a new song to the Lord, *for he has worked wonders.His right hand and his holy arm *have brought salvation. Isaiah 9; Psalm 98 Almighty God,you have pouredContinue reading “Oremus for Sunday, December 31, 2023”

Josephine ButlerJosephine Butler (née Grey) was born in April 1828, and baptised on this day that year, in Northumberland. She married an Anglican priest in 1852. She became incensed by the way contemporary society treated prostitutes, most of whom were forced into such activity through desperate poverty. From 1869, she campaigned for the repeal ofContinue reading “Oremus for Saturday, December 30, 2023”