Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

It was: 300 years ago, on 3rd Nov 1718 that John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, was born.  He may have been Postmaster General and First Lord of the Admiralty, but we remember him today as the inventor of the sandwich, which he ordered from his chef to sustain him at the gambling table....

 The Prince of Peace in a World of Wars – applying the message of God’s love Celtic Advent – 40 days of devotions to Christmas Journey with Me – 365 Daily Devotions Travel – In Tandem with God’s Heart Love the World Too Soon – A Mother’s Journey through Miscarriage: A 30-Day Devotional What if...

Editor:  As Saints’ Days do not change from year to year, we have offered material on many of these days before.  The one with an asterisk is new this year. 1          All Saints’ Day 1          The first martyrs 2          All Souls’ Day 3          Hubert 4          Charles Borromeo – saint for those with a...

By Autumn 1918 it was obvious that the war was coming to an end, Germany was clearly beaten, but no one had actually won. The front line was more or less as it had been for years, but after Amiens the Germans knew that this was a conflict they could never win. High level discussions...

– applying the message of God’s love to a needy world By David Kerrigan, BRF, £8.99 In this, the Bible Reading Fellowship’s Advent book for 2018, David Kerrigan sees the coming of Jesus at Christmas as central to the divine plan to bring peace to the world. Through daily reflection on biblical texts and mission...

British poet and soldier Wilfred Owen was killed 100 years ago this month, on 4th Nov 1918.  He died leading his troops across a canal in Northern France exactly a week before the war ended. He was 25. Owen, who was noted for his shockingly realistic poetry about the horrors of trench warfare, was born...

All Saints, or All Hallows, is the feast of all the redeemed, known and unknown, who are now in heaven. When the English Reformation took place, the number of saints in the calendar was drastically reduced, with the result that All Saints’ Day stood out with a prominence that it had never had before. This...

By David Cole, BRF, £8.99 This beautiful book is clear. It is holy. It begins with the concept of Advent and ends with the celebration of Christmas. In between it spends three 10 day periods exploring Christ’s first coming, His present coming into our lives and his future coming. If you pay attention to each...

Enid Blyton, one of the most successful children’s writers of the 20th century, died 50 years ago this month, on 28th November 1968. She wrote more than 760 books. She was born in 1897 and as a baby nearly died of whooping cough. Although best known for her Noddy books and the Famous Five series,...

The first martyrs of Rome are recorded in the old Roman Martyrology, which states that: ‘At Rome, the birthday is celebrated of very many martyrs, who under the Emperor Nero were falsely charged with the burning of the city and by him were ordered to be slain by various kinds of cruel death; some were...

Just 80 years ago, on 9th Nov 1938, Kristallnacht (the night of broken glass) began, when the Nazis burned over 1400 synagogues and destroyed thousands of Jewish homes and businesses in Germany and Austria. More than 30,000 Jews were transported to concentration camps, and by the end of the year, Jews were prohibited from schools...

The early Church was slow to dedicate a liturgical day to offering prayers and masses to commemorate the faithful departed.  But in time prayers were offered on behalf of dead monks, that they might attain ‘the Beatific Vision’ through purification, which the Church later described as Purgatory.  Odilo, the powerful abbot of Cluny, (d 1049)...