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A Grace We bless thee, Lord, for this our food For life and health and every good May we, more blest than we deserve Live less for self and more to serve. Anon

Justin Martyr is regarded as the first ever Christian philosopher.  He was born at Nablus, Samaria, to parents of Greek origin, and was well educated in rhetoric, poetry and history before he turned to philosophy.  He studied at Ephesus and Alexandria and tried the schools of the Stoics, the Pythagoreans, and the Platonists.  Then in...

Do you like messing about in boats?  If so, then you’ll have heard of St Elmo’s Fire. It is the light that is sometimes seen on mastheads of boats after storms at sea. St Elmo is another name for St Erasmus, a fourth century Syrian bishop who was not afraid of violent storms.  Legend has...

The Ugandan Church had dozens of martyrs within just ten years of Christianity arriving there.   At first, it had gone so well:  the first Anglican missionaries arriving in Uganda in 1877 were welcomed by the Kabaka (king) of Buganda, Mutesa.  Mutesa also welcomed the Roman Catholics and Muslim Arabs, and, being a natural diplomat, retained...

If you are going to Cornwall this summer in search of peace and quiet, Petroc is the saint for you.   Especially if you find Padstow a bit too crowded for your liking!  He would have sympathised. This 6th century abbot is Cornwall’s most famous saint.  Petroc set sail from South Wales, landed at Haylemouth, and...

If you choose Brittany for your holiday destination this summer, then spare a thought for Gudwal, because this obscure 6th century Celtic abbot got there before you did.  Indeed, Gudwal seems to have liked Brittany so much that he decided to stay on. When you visit Brittany today, you will find Catholic churches everywhere.  Not...

Have you ever been the victim of someone else’s malice and ambition?  Then William of York (d 1154) is the saint for you.  William Fitzherbert was born into a noble family, with royal connections.  He was also smart – appointed treasurer of York at a young age, and also as a chaplain to King Stephen. ...

2013 marked the 1450th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity in the UK.  It was brought by St Columba from Ireland to Iona – a tiny island off Mull, in the Western Highlands. Columba was born in Donegal of the royal Ui Neill clan, and trained as a monk.  He founded the monasteries of Derry...

Are you going to Cyprus on holiday this year?  If so, spare a thought for the Cypriot who played such a key role in the New Testament. He was Joseph, a Jewish Cypriot and a Levite, who is first mentioned in Acts 4:36, when the early church was sharing a communal lifestyle.  Joseph sold a...

Antony of Padua knew St Francis of Assisi.  Both men were true followers of Christ in a time of great religious confusion and social turmoil. Like Francis, Antony was born into a wealthy family.  Antony’s father was a nobleman of Lisbon, Portugal, who sent his son at 16 to study the Bible at Coimbra.  It...

If Richard Baxter were alive today, he would probably be contributing to the Thought for the Day on Radio 4, because he had a gift for the sound-bite.   Try these memorable quotes: Preaching a man a sermon with a broken head, and telling him to be right with God is equal to telling a man...