The Christmas Octave, still Christmas Day for all believers, has the paradox of celebrating martyrs during these precious days. The Feast of St. Thomas Becket, murdered in his own Cathedral on December 29th, 1170, grows in importance rather than diminishes with time. Let his defiance of the State usurping the......
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Father Ben has returned from Iraq and sends a short Christmas message - first thanking everyone for prayer and support and highlighting some news from the visit. Wishing all of you a blessed Christmas and the nugget thought for the Birth of the Great Shepherd is to have the simple......
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This nugget comes to you from Erbil, Iraq, where I am visiting our brethren, especially those you have been helping start family businesses. Every Advent different themes emerge and the image of the “warmth and fire” of Christ has struck me powerfully this year. The great Russian Orthodox Saint, Seraphim......
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The opening lines of last week’s Collect or Opening Prayer has a peculiar request: we asked God to “stir up our hearts.” That “stirring up” is to prepare us to receive Him. Our hearts can easily become sluggish and clogged - and we need the healing power of Christ to......
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Advent is both a time of expectation and an acknowledgment of a “presence,” both a waiting for Christmas and for the Second Coming. Christ’s fire, which He wishes to cast upon the earth, should warm our hearts if we prepare for Christmas well. Draw close to Him during these days.
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