Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Captain Allen Gardiner is a saint for anyone who refuses to give up on their calling.  For this courageous and indomitable man founded what became the South American Mission Society, though he sacrificed his own life in the process. Gardiner had not started out to be a missionary.  Born in 1794, he had left Berkshire to...

Are you suffering from ‘coronavision’? It is perfectly possible. Lockdown led to many of us staring at our television or computer screens for long periods of time. And that could have strained our eyes, warns the College of Optometrists. By this summer one in five adults in Britain had reported a deterioration in their eyesight....

In both eastern and western Churches, Mary has always been held as pre-eminent among all the saints. The unique, extraordinary privilege of being the mother of the One who was both God and Man, makes her worthy of special honour.  Thomas Aquinas believed she was due hyperdulia, or a veneration that exceeds that of other...

Here is a saint for anyone with a social conscience.  Claver was born in 1581 near Barcelona at Verdu, and at 20 became a Jesuit.  He went as a missionary to New Granada and worked to alleviate the terrible suffering of the slaves who arrived from West Africa, caged like animals.  (It was said that...

We may prefer to continue working at home, rather than spend hours commuting each day. A recent poll has found that a high proportion of workers, who are new to working at home, now want to carry on post-Covid, either entirely at home, or at least with fewer than five days in the office each...

On this, the 17th anniversary of the Twin Towers, we remember two innocent people who also met their death in the flames of mindless violence.  These were Roman martyrs mentioned in the 4th century list of martyrs.  Hyacinth’s tomb was discovered in the cemetery of Basilla, with his name and the date of his burial...

St Deiniol was a 6th century monk of Wales who came to be the ‘first bishop of Bangor’.  And a mighty bishop he was, too: Deiniol founded the two monasteries of Bangor Fawr (on the Menai Straits) and Bangor Iscoed (Clwyd), which, according to Bede, became the most famous monastery of British Christianity and came...

For centuries, many doctors have sent patients to the seaside to recuperate, believing that a bit of seaside air was good for them. Now the government agrees: a day by the coast does indeed have a therapeutic effect on you. A recent study by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has found that...

John Chrysostom (347 – 407) is the saint for anyone who applies their Christianity to public life, and also for anyone who hates travelling in bad weather.  Chrysostom did both, and had trouble both times. Born into a wealthy home in Antioch, John Chrysostom studied both oratory and law.  In 373 he became a monk,...

Face masks have been a big adjustment for all of us, but dogs especially may be struggling, warns the animal charity, Dogs Trust. Dogs use our facial expressions to tell how we are feeling, so if they suddenly encounter people whose faces are covered, they could become confused, stressed, and even feel threatened. Their confusion...

On Holy Cross Day the Church celebrates the Cross as a symbol of triumph, as the sign of Christ’s victory over death.   Holy Cross Day goes right back to 14 September 335, and we have the mother of a Roman Emperor to thank for it. Helena was a devout Christian, and after her son, Constantine,...

Teaching people to ‘tithe’ can be a delicate matter.  Some clergy teach ‘tithing’ well, and inspire their people to great generosity of spirit.   Other clergy teach ‘tithing’ at least well enough, and get their people’s sluggish cooperation. But – there are clergy who teach ‘tithing’ badly – and then, watch out!   St Adam (bishop 1213...