O God our Father, who art the source of strength to all thy saints, and who didst bring the holy martyrs of Japan through the suffering of the cross to the joys of life eternal: Grant that we, being encouraged by their example, may hold fast the faith that we profess, even unto death; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

5 Feb 1597 – The 26 Martyrs of Japan are crucified at Nagasaki. This group of early Japanese converts, and their missionary ministers, were executed as Christianity was seen as a threat to Japanese society. #OTD #History #Japan #Nagasaki pic.twitter.com/b14yHD9doK

— PKL Living History (@gaelhistory) February 5, 2022

O God, who by thy Spirit didst call Cornelius the Centurion to be the first Christian among the Gentiles: Grant to thy Church, we beseech thee, such a ready will to go where thou dost send and to do what thou dost command, that under thy guidance it may welcome all who turn to thee in love and faith, and proclaim the Gospel to all nations; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout (19 August 1621 – 29 September 1674) was an Dutch painter.Vertumnus and Pomona Vision of Cornelius the Centurion.Walters 372492 pic.twitter.com/EKJUyTtH3I

— Yiannis Einstein-Ιωάννης Αρβανιτάκης (@yianniseinstein) August 26, 2021

Holy God, who didst inspire the Dorchester chaplains to be models of steadfast sacrificial love in a tragic and terrifying time: Help us to follow their example, that their courageous ministry may inspire chaplains and all who serve, to recognize thy presence in the midst of peril; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who livest and reignest with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Four U.S. Army World War II chaplains died, linking arms, to save lives of American troops as S.S. Dorchester sank, tomorrow 1943. Here is an early U.S. postage stamp design: pic.twitter.com/Rif4nDb3PY

— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) February 3, 2022

When one of Anskar’s followers suggested to him that he could work miracles he replied, ” Were I worthy of such a favour from my God, I would ask that He would grant to me this one miracle, that by His grace He would make of me a good man.” No one can read the “Life” written by Rimbert his disciple and successor which, after being lost for five hundred years, was fortunately rediscovered, without feeling moved to thank God for the accomplishment of the miracle for which Anskar had prayed. He was a good man in the best and truest sense of the term. In the character presented to us by his biographer we have a singularly attractive combination of transparent humility, unflinching courage, complete self devotion, and unwavering belief in a loving and overruling providence. The claim to the title Apostle of the North, which was early made on his behalf, rests not upon the immediate outcome of his labours, but upon the inspiring example which he bequeathed to those who were moved to follow in his steps. For whilst the Missions which lie planted in Denmark and Sweden during the thirty-three years of his episcopate were interrupted after his death by the desolating raids of the Northmen, those by whom the work was restarted gratefully recognised him as their pioneer.

Read it all.

To celebrate his feast day, the statue of St Anskar from our north aisle screen. @thevicsoc @dioceseoflondon #taylerson @gtomlin @richardfrank pic.twitter.com/SDe5tW175A

— StJohnsW14 (@StJohnsW14) February 3, 2022

Almighty and everlasting God, who didst send thy servant Anskar as an apostle to the people of Scandinavia, and dist enable him to lay a firm foundation for their conversion, though he did not see the results of his labors: Keep thy Church from discouragement in the day of small things, knowing that when thou hast begun a good work thou wilt bring it to a faithful conclusion; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Today the Church of England celebrates Anskar, Archbishop of Hamburg, Missionary in Denmark and Sweden, 865 https://t.co/yalGhThx5A

Image: Icon in the Church of St Cosmas und Damian (Barßel); Photo by Frank Vincentz, GDFL pic.twitter.com/tevx32gOpR

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) February 3, 2022

‘The blessed Mary offered her sacrifice to God with the child, as it was appointed in God’s law. It was so appointed in the old law, by God’s command, that those who could afford it should bring a lamb of one year old with their child, as an offering to God, and a pigeon or a turtle-dove. But if any woman were so poor that she could not obtain those things, then she should bring two young pigeons or two turtle-doves.

This smaller offering was offered for Christ, that is, the birds, which were the offerings of the poor. The Almighty Son of God was very mindful of our needs in all things; not only did he choose to become man for us, though he was God, but he also chose to become needy for us, though he was mighty, so that he might give us a portion in his kingdom and communion with his divinity. A lamb betokens innocence and the greater kind of goodness; but if we are so wretched that we cannot offer to God that greater goodness, then we should bring him two turtle-doves or two young pigeons; that is, a twofold burgeoning of awe and love. A person experiences this burgeoning in two ways: first, he dreads the torments of hell, and mourns for his sins; then afterwards he feels love to God, and he begins to murmur, and it seems to him too long a time until he shall be taken from the afflictions of this life, and brought to eternal rest.’

Read it all.

Today is Candlemas, festival of light, 'forðy on ðissum dæge wæs þæt soðe Leoht, Crist, geboren to þam temple' ('because on this day was the true Light, Christ, borne to the temple'). An Anglo-Saxon sermon for this ancient and beautiful feast: https://t.co/uKyXcVyvTw pic.twitter.com/7Dg2p32JC7

— Eleanor Parker (@ClerkofOxford) February 2, 2022

Everliving God, we rejoice today in the fellowship of thy blessed servant Brigid, and we give thee thanks for her life of devoted service. Inspire us with life and light, and give us perseverance to serve thee all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, world without end.

St Brigid of #Kildare or 'Bride', as the medieval English saw her.

On her feast #otd of 1 Feb.

(Bodleian Tanner Ms 17, fol. 13v, South English Legendary, 1100-1500.
Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford)#LaFheileBride pic.twitter.com/0DCwfLQ1S6

— John McCafferty (@jdmccafferty) February 1, 2022

It was America’s enemies within that interested Shoemaker most. After the country entered World War II, the cleric addressed the nation’s cause in several sermons, eventually published in Christ and this Cause. In one of those sermons, “God and the War,” he lashed out at the nation’s immorality.

“This nation has had the greatest privileges ever given to any nation in all time. America has been God’s privileged child. But America has become a spoiled child. We have been ungrateful to the God under whom our liberties were given to us. I believe it is high time for someone to say that this war today is God’s judgment upon a godless and selfish people.”

Shoemaker did support the war effort; in his sermon, “What Are We Fighting For?” he admitted that the war was a “grim necessity,” the means by which nations would once again have the opportunity to choose democracy. But he abhorred any self-righteous cause:

“No war can ever be a clear-cut way for a Christian to express his hatred of evil. For war involves a basic confusion. All the good in the world is not ranged against all the evil. In the present war, some nations that have a great deal of evil in them are yet seeking to stand for freedom ”¦ against other nations which have a great deal of good in them but yet are presently dedicated to turning the world backwards into the darkness of enslavement.”

Read it all (emphasis mine).

We have no respect for a surgeon who goes in but does not cut deeply enough to cure nor a patient who backs out of an operation because it may hurt; yet people can go through their whole lives attending church, listening to searching exposures of human sin, without ever taking it to themselves, or meeting anyone with skill and concern enough to lay the challenge right in their own laps.

—Experiment of Faith (New York: Harper&Row, 1957), p.22 (emphasis mine)

Holy God, we thank thee for the vision of Samuel Shoemaker, who labored for the renewal of all people: Grant, we pray, that we may follow his example to help others find salvation through the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ our Savior; who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.Holy God, we thank thee for the vision of Samuel Shoemaker, who labored for the renewal of all people: Grant, we pray, that we may follow his example to help others find salvation through the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ our Savior; who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Looking forward to learning more about Samuel Shoemaker, who grew up near St. Thomas’ and is buried in our cemetery.#OwingsMills #GarrisonForest #Episcopal pic.twitter.com/9CFPcTRezY

— Tom Murphy (@tommurphE) August 13, 2021

Holy God, we bless thee for the gift of thy monk and icon writer Andrei Rublev, who, inspired by the Holy Spirit, provided a window into heaven for generations to come, revealing the majesty and mystery of the holy and blessed Trinity; who livest and reignest through ages of ages. Amen.

Today the Episcopal Church commemorates Andrei Rublev, Monk and Iconographer, 1430 https://t.co/4o5bX0raPX pic.twitter.com/OKiRf3mR0J

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) January 29, 2022

Thomas Aquinas was born in the family castle at Roccasecca in 1225. At five, he began school at Montecassino, the great Benedictine monastery that was almost visible from the promontory on which the family castle stood.

The commanding site of the monastery offered military advantage, and the ongoing struggle between the forces of the emperor and those of the pope made Montecassino unsafe. Thomas was therefore enrolled in the University of Naples, where he first met members of the Order of Preachers, or Dominicans.

Like the Franciscans, the Dominicans were a mendicant order whose friars vowed to live faithfully in poverty, chastity and obedience. Dominic had wanted his followers to be well trained for the refutation of heresy, so the order also emphasized education.

Attracted by the Dominican ideal, Thomas joined the order in 1244. This shocked his family. They took him captive and held him for a year, seeking to dissuade him from his decision.

Read it all.

Today is the Feast Day of Thomas Aquinas (d.1274), priest, Dominican friar, teacher of the Faith, and influential philosopher. Portrait from 'Divi Thomae Aquinatis … Opera omnia', 1612 [*H890.T4] pic.twitter.com/Z1sRUJ6TxY

— LambethPalaceLibrary (@lampallib) January 28, 2022

Almighty God, who hast enriched thy Church with the singular learning and holiness of thy servant Thomas Aquinas: Enlighten us more and more, we pray thee, by the disciplined thinking and teaching of Christian scholars, and deepen our devotion by the example of saintly lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Today the Church of England celebrates Thomas Aquinas, Priest, Philosopher, Teacher of the Faith, 1274 https://t.co/dGJV0VbZvN

Image: Panel by Carlo Crivellia, 1476, from the 'Demidoff Altarpiece' made for San Domenico, Ascoli Piceno, Italy, and now in London's National Gallery pic.twitter.com/Is88dCBoDr

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) January 28, 2022

In the spring of 388, a rebellion erupted in Antioch over the announcement of increased taxes. Statues of the emperor and his recently deceased wife were desecrated. Officials of the empire then began punishing city leaders, killing some, for the uprising. While Archbishop Flavian rushed to the capital in Constantinople 800 miles away to beg for clemency, John preached to a city in turmoil:

“Improve yourselves now truly, not as when during one of the numerous earthquakes or in famine or drought or in similar visitations you leave off your sinning for three or four days and then begin the old life again. . . . Stop evil slandering, harbor no enmities, and give up the wicked custom of frivolous cursing and swearing. If you do this, you will surely be delivered from the present distress and attain eternal happiness.”

After eight weeks, on the day before Easter, Flavian returned with the good news of the emperor’s pardon.

John preached through many of Paul’s letters (“I like all the saints,” he said, “but St. Paul the most of all—that vessel of election, the trumpet of heaven”), the Gospels of Matthew and of John, and the Book of Genesis. Changed lives were his goal, and he denounced sins from abortion to prostitution and from gluttony to swearing.

He encouraged his congregation not only to attend the divine service regularly but also to feed themselves on God’s written Word. In a sermon on the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, he said, “Reading the Scripture is a great means of security against sinning. The ignorance of Scripture is a great cliff and a deep abyss; to know nothing of the divine laws is a great betrayal of salvation.”

His applications could be forceful. About people’s love of horse racing, he complained, “My sermons are applauded merely from custom, then everyone runs off to [horse racing] again and gives much more applause to the jockeys, showing indeed unrestrained passion for them! There they put their heads together with great attention, and say with mutual rivalry, ‘This horse did not run well, this one stumbled,’ and one holds to this jockey and another to that. No one thinks any more of my sermons, nor of the holy and awesome mysteries that are accomplished here.”

Read it all.

"Passing over the miracles they were to perform, he makes love the distinguishing mark of his followers . . . Miracles do not attract unbelievers as much as the way you live your life. And nothing brings about a proper life as much as love."
– John Chrysostom pic.twitter.com/G1D17mL8ac

— Matthew Gunter (@FondduLacBish8) January 27, 2022

O God, who didst give to thy servant John Chrysostom grace eloquently to proclaim thy righteousness in the great congregation, and fearlessly to bear reproach for the honor of thy Name: Mercifully grant to all bishops and pastors such excellency in preaching, and fidelity in ministering thy Word, that thy people shall be partakers with them of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Thursday 27th: St. John Chrysostom, BpCD. pic.twitter.com/8isEvSngo1

— Zoe King (@ZoeKing_1958) January 27, 2022

Almighty God, who didst call Timothy and Titus to do the work of evangelists and teachers, and didst make them strong to endure hardship: Strengthen us to stand fast in adversity, and to live godly and righteous lives in this present time, that with sure confidence we may look for our blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

In @DioceseinEurope, the Anglican Church in Tallinn is dedicated to Saint Timothy and Saint Titus https://t.co/eai9EJiWRo

A daughter congregation of @anglicanfinland, it meets in the C13th Church of the Holy Spirit

Photo: DDelso, CCBY-SA 3.0 pic.twitter.com/sVcowo2kTQ

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) January 26, 2022

O God, who by the preaching of thine apostle Paul hast caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world: Grant, we beseech thee, that we, having his wonderful conversion in remembrance, may show forth our thankfulness unto thee for the same by following the holy doctrine which he taught; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Let us celebrate the conversion of Saint Paul the apostle. He was transformed from being a persecutor of Christ into a vessel of His grace. #Morningprayer #ConversionofStPaul pic.twitter.com/KoiK7SaOfP

— Kathryn Jean Lopez (@kathrynlopez) January 25, 2022

Shelley’s disdain for religion, or, more specifically, Christianity and Judaism, is evident from his earliest writings, indeed, from the moment when, as an undergraduate, he and his friend Thomas Jefferson Hogg authored the pamphlet The Necessity of Atheism and were expelled from Oxford for their pains. In his early poem Queen Mab, the fairy guide launches a powerful attack on the Jews as they howl “hideous praises to their Demon-God.”

For Shelley, religion is a means of manipulation by which the powerful keep others subjugated. God himself is the very prototype of human tyranny, a willful, arbitrary, unaccountable despot. But most importantly, there is a clear connection in Shelley’s mind between religion, political oppression, and norms restricting sexual activity. Queen Mab includes a vision of the future in which men and women return to a state of nature. The happy denizens of this poetic Eden behave in a manner that he characterizes as follows:

Unchecked by dull and selfish chastity,
That virtue of the cheaply virtuous,
Who pride themselves in senselessness and frost.

The contempt for traditional sexual mores is obvious. And far from being unique in this, Shelley is somewhat representative of radical thought at the start of the 19th century. Traditional moral thought and practice regarding sex had undergone dramatic transformation in the previous decades.

In The Origins of Sex: A History of the First Sexual Revolution, Faramerz Dabhoiwala summarizes this shift by pointing to three significant and closely related developments in the 1700s: (1) the increasing importance ascribed to conscience (basically understood as natural instinct) as a reliable guide to moral behavior, (2) a growing public distaste for judicial punishment of consenting heterosexual transgressors (such as adulterers), and (3) the rising view that the moral laws based on external authorities such as the Bible might in fact be social constructs that conflict with human nature.

Read it all.

The idea that Christianity—specifically, its sexual code—prevents people from living free and happy lives isn't all that novel. To find its source, we need to go back *way* earlier than the sexual revolution of the 60s: https://t.co/wzaqot76gJ

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) January 26, 2022

Almighty God, whose deacon Vincent, upheld by thee, was not terrified by threats nor overcome by torments: Strengthen us, we beseech thee, to endure all adversity with invincible and steadfast faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

22 Jan: Feast #otd of Vincent of Saragossa #Zaragoza proto-martyr of #Spain who was roasted on a gridiron (BM) pic.twitter.com/hPil7vju0W

— John McCafferty (@jdmccafferty) January 22, 2022

Almighty and everlasting God, who dost choose those whom the world deemeth powerless to put the powerful to shame: Grant us so to cherish the memory of thy youthful martyr Agnes, that we may share her pure and steadfast faith in thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

21 Jan: Feast of St Agnes.

Geertruy Haeck Kneeling in Prayer before Saint Agnes, Unknown artist, c. 1465

(Rijksmuseum)

A ‘memorial tablet’, which probably hung near the tomb of Geertruy Haeck-van Slingelandt van der Tempel in the church of the convent of St Agnes Dordrecht. pic.twitter.com/7oVuobiEpn

— John McCafferty (@jdmccafferty) January 21, 2022

Almighty God, who didst call Fabian to be a faithful pastor and servant of thy people, and to lay down his life in witness to thy Son: Grant that we, strengthened by his example and aided by his prayers, may in times of trial and persecution remain steadfast in faith and endurance, for the sake of him who laid down his life for us all, Jesus Christ our Savior; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

San Fabian – the lay man who was popularly acclaimed as Pope. Saint Cyprian described Fabian as an “incomparable” man whose glory in death matched the holiness and purity of his life.
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Photo and text adapted from #FranciscanMedia pic.twitter.com/jGSFPSe0k3

— Frank Savadera (@sjfrankdennis) January 18, 2022

Almighty God, whose only-begotten Son hath led captivity captive and given gifts to thy people: Multiply among us faithful pastors, who, like thy holy bishop Wulfstan, will give courage to those who are oppressed and held in bondage; and bring us all, we pray, into the true freedom of thy kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Today the Church of England celebrates Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester, 1095 https://t.co/Kh8xnO2EIM

Image: Stained glass in Worcester Cathedral depicting Wulfstan who was made Bishop of Worcester in 1062, late in the reign of Edward the Confessor. Photo via A Clerk of Oxford blog pic.twitter.com/HumEXeMPM4

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) January 19, 2022

Almighty Father, who didst inspire Simon Peter, first among the apostles, to confess Jesus as Messiah and Son of the Living God: Keep thy Church steadfast upon the rock of this faith, that in unity and peace we may proclaim the one truth and follow the one Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Today the Episcopal Church celebrates the Confession of Saint Peter the Apostle https://t.co/PVnOnRvacV

Image: Stained glass in St Mary & St Lambert Church, Stonham Aspal, Suffolk. Photo by Kevin Wailes, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia pic.twitter.com/LANVokqj1v

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) January 18, 2022

I also came to see that liberalism’s superficial optimism concerning human nature caused it to overlook the fact that reason is darkened by sin. The more I thought about human nature the more I saw how our tragic inclination for sin causes us to use our minds to rationalize our actions. Liberalism failed to see that reason by itself is little more than an instrument to justify man’s defensive ways of thinking. Reason, devoid of the purifying power of faith, can never free itself from distortions and rationalizations.

In spite of the fact that I had to reject some aspects of liberalism, I never came to an all-out acceptance of neo-orthodoxy. While I saw neo-orthodoxy as a helpful corrective for a liberalism that had become all too sentimental, I never felt that it provided an adequate answer to the basic questions. If liberalism was too optimistic concerning human nature, neo-orthodoxy was too pessimistic. Not only on the question of man but also on other vital issues, neo-orthodoxy went too far in its revolt. In its attempt to preserve the transcendence of God, which had been neglected by liberalism’s overstress of his immanence, neo-orthodoxy went to the extreme of stressing a God who was hidden, unknown and “wholly other.” In its revolt against liberalism’s overemphasis on the power of reason, neo-orthodoxy fell into a mood of antirationalism and semifundamentalism, stressing a narrow, uncritical biblicism. This approach, I felt, was inadequate both for the church and for personal life.

So although liberalism left me unsatisfied on the question of the nature of man, I found no refuge in neo-orthodoxy. I am now convinced that the truth about man is found neither in liberalism nor in neo-orthodoxy. Each represents a partial truth. A large segment of Protestant liberalism defined man only in terms of his essential nature, his capacity for good. Neo-orthodoxy tended to define man only in terms of his existential nature, his capacity for evil. An adequate understanding of man is found neither in the thesis of liberalism nor in the antithesis of neo-orthodoxy, but in a synthesis which reconciles the truths of both.

Read it all.

Because maybe someone really needed to see this photo of my father riding a bike today.#MLK #MLKDay pic.twitter.com/ygeEfGJtGN

— Be A King (@BerniceKing) January 16, 2022

O God, who by thy Holy Spirit didst enable thy servant Antony to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil: Give us grace, with pure hearts and minds, to follow thee, the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Saint Antony of Padua holding Baby Jesus, 1625 #strozzi #bernardostrozzi pic.twitter.com/y02tQlUVEX

— Baroque Art (@baroque_art) January 17, 2022

Gracious God, who hast inspired a rich variety of ministries in thy Church: We offer thanks for Richard Meux Benson and Charles Gore, instruments in the revival of Anglican monasticism. Grant that we, following their example, may call for perennial renewal in thy Church through conscious union with Christ, witnessing to the social justice that is a mark of the reign of our Savior Jesus, who is the light of the world; and who livest and reignest with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Episcopal Church also commemorates Charles Gore, Bishop, 1932, founder of the Community of the Resurrection (1892), a community of Anglican priests with a common Benedictine rule and engaged in evangelism & social action, based at Mirfield since 1898 https://t.co/2WIOHhAq5W pic.twitter.com/xZKf868JQm

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) January 14, 2022

O Lord our God, who didst raise up thy servant Hilary to be a champion of the catholic faith: Keep us steadfast in that true faith which we professed at our baptism, that we may rejoice in having thee for our Father, and may abide in thy Son, in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit; thou who livest and reignest for ever and ever.

A classically Anglican celebration of Saint Hilary of Poitiers.

Hooker, Homilies, Cranmer – Incarnation, Salvation, Eucharist.https://t.co/TQc5wtoesT pic.twitter.com/HFfcxicQrv

— laudablePractice (@cath_cov) January 13, 2022

10. What statement about friendship can be more sublime, more true, more valuable than this: it has been proved that friendship must begin in Christ, continue with Christ, and be perfected by Christ. Come, now: propose what in your opinion should be the first question about friendship.

IVO. I think we should first discuss what friendship is, lest we appear to be painting on a void, not knowing what should guide and organize our talk.

11. AELRED. Is Cicero’s definition not an adequate beginningfor you? “Friendship is agreement in things human and divine, with good will and charity.”

12. IVO. If his definition suffices for you, it’s good enough for me.

–Aelred of Rievaulx Spiritual Friendship I.10-12 (Lawrence C. Braceland, tr., Marsha L. Dutton ed., Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2010), p.57

“the spiritual [friendship], which we call true friendship, is desired not with an eye to any worldly profit or for any extraneous reason, but for its own natural worth and for the emotion of the human heart, so that its fruit and reward is nothing but itself.”
Aelred of Rievaulx pic.twitter.com/nnXvix6Xa1

— Fr Mark Elliott Smith (@MarkElliottSmi1) January 12, 2022

Almighty God, who didst endow thy abbot Aelred with the gift of Christian friendship and the wisdom to lead others in the way of holiness: Grant to thy people that same spirit of mutual affection, that, in loving one another, we may know the love of Christ and rejoice in the gift of thy eternal goodness; through the same Jesus Christ our Savior, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

12 Jan 1167: d. Aelred of Rievaulx – Cistercian Abbot, writer, biographer, historian #otd pic.twitter.com/6wA1Hx4cKS

— John McCafferty (@jdmccafferty) January 12, 2022

Keep us, O Lord, constant in faith and zealous in witness, that, like thy servant William Laud, we may live in thy fear, die in thy favor, and rest in thy peace; for the sake of Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

10 Jan 1645: #Archbishop of #Canterbury William Laud is beheaded on Tower Hill after the English #Parliament passed a bill of attainder accusing him of #treason. #England #EnglishHistory #history #OTD #ad https://t.co/PRuD3HZBEz https://t.co/G3Y43aCzhN pic.twitter.com/j9k6GMCZRO

— Today In History (@URDailyHistory) January 10, 2022