O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst feed the multitude by the lakeside, using the humble gifts of a boy’s generous impulse, and a disciple’s faith in thy power: Help us in thy Church to call forth such generosity in others, and strengthen our faith that the hungry millions can be fed; for thy name’s sake.
Good morning from Cambridge. Wonderful magnolias in flower everywhere #FlowersOnFriday #magnolia pic.twitter.com/BGsZl0mTrG
— Sandy De Born (@SandyDeBorn) March 20, 2026
O Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who art thyself the bread of life, and hast promised that he who comes to thee shall never hunger: Grant us faith truly to partake of thee through Word and Sacrament, that we may find refreshment of spirit and be strengthened for thy service; who livest and reignest with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end.
Good morning from the #WelshMarches. A perfectly clear sky. The blackbird on the gate started singing at 5.30. pic.twitter.com/g6WH8sZgTM
— Anne O'Brien (@anne_obrien) March 19, 2026
O Lord and heavenly Father, who hast given unto us thy people the true bread that cometh down from heaven, even thy Son Jesus Christ: Grant that our souls may so be fed by him who giveth life unto the world, that we may abide in him and he in us, and thy Church be filled with the power of his unending life; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.
St Andrews church and the Hopper mausoleum. pic.twitter.com/NfvY9FqRBC
— Jim Scott (@jimscottphoto) March 18, 2026
Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Na een bewolkte start met wat regen werd het een prachtige dag. Fijne dinsdag😀 #zonsondergang pic.twitter.com/6iT6N9IFHS
— Tjark Dieterman (@DietermanTjark) March 17, 2026
Grant us, O Lord, to rejoice in beholding the bliss of the heavenly Jerusalem; that as she is the home and mother of the multitude of the saints, we also may be counted worthy to have our portion within her; through thine only begotten Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Over The Fence. 6°C and a bright start. Daffodils pic.twitter.com/RseIzCKeLt
— Yorkshire Wolds Weather (@WeatherWolds) March 16, 2026
Almighty God, who has taught us in thy holy Word that the law was given by Moses, but that grace and truth came by Jesus Christ: Grant that we, being not under the law but under grace, may live as children of that Jerusalem which is above, and rejoice in the freedom of our heavenly citizenship; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.
–The Rev. James Mountain (1844-1933)
London is full of carpets of violets…. Spring is sprung! pic.twitter.com/vcTt41P9me
— Amanda Chadburn (@AmandaChadburn) March 15, 2026
Almighty God, who lookest upon the inward man, forbid us in thy presence the vain endeavor to hide from thee what we have thought and done and truly are. Give us candor to acknowledge freely to thee what must be forever hidden from the knowledge of others, and may no false shame keep us from confessing those sins which no proper shame kept us from committing; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
–Robert W. Rodenmayer, ed., The Pastor’s Prayerbook: Selected and arranged for various occasions (New York: Oxford University Press, 1960)
Sunset – Gillean Beach, Achnacloich, Isle of Skye #Scotland 🏴 @ThePhotoHour @StormHour @VisitScotland pic.twitter.com/rKLpsQdWIo
— James MacInnes (@Macinnesplant) March 13, 2026
Lord Christ, almighty Saviour, we cry to thee for aid against our strong enemy. O thou who art the Stronger than the strong, deliver us, we pray thee, from the evil one, and take sole possession of our hearts and minds; that filled with thy Spirit we may henceforth devote our lives to thy service, and therein find our perfect freedom; for the honour of thy great name.
Likely, the exact spot of the Viking landings on Lindisfarne. pic.twitter.com/vZPKflnxmY
— Jim Scott (@jimscottphoto) March 12, 2026
O Thou who hast prepared a place for my soul, prepare my soul for that place. Prepare it with holiness; prepare it with desire; and even while it sojourneth upon earth, let it dwell in heaven with thee, beholding the beauty of thy countenance and the glory of thy saints, now and for evermore.
Good Morning and a happy Wednesday – Hay Wood, Baddesley Clinton pic.twitter.com/IWdDpXWVEE
— Terry (@No1GhostDog) March 11, 2026
O God, who through thy Son has taught us that a house divided against itself must fall: Save us, we beseech thee, from the danger of a divided allegiance; unite our hearts to fear thy name; and grant that in all our course of life our eye may be single and our purpose one; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.
All wildlife pictures I post on X are taken from my property in Northern Maine.
— Dogman (@Dogman1013) March 9, 2026
I hope you enjoy them. pic.twitter.com/b27lepnA6a
O Almighty Father, giver of every good and perfect gift, who hast made the light of thy truth to shine in our hearts: Make us to walk as children of light in all goodness and righteousness, that we may have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Good morning from the #WelshMarches. Another day of gloom and damp. The woodpeckers are out and about and hammering beyond the orchard. pic.twitter.com/mSoZq7fERo
— Anne O'Brien (@anne_obrien) March 9, 2026
Heavenly Father, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you: Look with compassion upon the heartfelt desires of your servants, and purify our disordered affections, that we may behold your eternal glory in the face of Christ Jesus; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Happy International Woman’s Day
— Veronica in the Fens 🧚🏼♀️ My Heart in Nature (@VeronicaJoPo) March 8, 2026
🌸🌼🌸🌼🌸
Greta Thunberg ~ Activist
"I have learned you are never too small to make a difference." pic.twitter.com/GjHIydUmVp
Grant unto us, O Lord, the heavenly vision; that we may behold not only the things of sense in their turmoil and transience, but the things that remain in their rest and everlastingness. Grant us the sweet graces of the eternal years, and may we ever rejoice in the duties that bring with them a quiet heart; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
–Robert W. Rodenmayer, ed., The Pastor’s Prayerbook: Selected and arranged for various occasions (New York: Oxford University Press, 1960)
Spring has sprung 🌿🌷🌤️ @StormHour #photohour #royaltunbridgewells #landscapephotography #spring @FoDPTunWells pic.twitter.com/ALA8i7dQt0
— Mick Fitzgerald (@mickfitz99) March 6, 2026
O God, who through thy Son Jesus Christ hast promised help to man according to his faith: Grant us the freedom of the children to taste the food of eternal life, and to share with others what we ourselves receive; through the merits of the same thy Son, our Lord.
A beautiful Oak Tree as the sun sets on another day. Love the shape of it, nature certainly know how to paint the best pictures! pic.twitter.com/B8ZkXrlQZV
— MarburyBirds (@MarburyBirds) March 4, 2026
Eternal God, who has made all things for man, and man for thy glory: Sanctify our bodies and souls, our thoughts and our intentions, our words and actions. Let our body be a servant of our mind, and both body and spirit servants of Jesus Christ; that doing all things for thy glory here, we may be partakers of thy glory hereafter; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.
Full moon above the Walburgiskerk in Zutphen yesterday evening. Photographed with an 800mm lens from 2.8km distance. pic.twitter.com/itF3sz1PAR
— Albert Dros (@albertdrosphoto) March 4, 2026
Write deeply upon our minds, O Lord God, the lesson of thy holy Word, that only the pure in heart can see thee. Leave us not in the bondage of any sinful inclination. May we neither deceive ourselves with the thought that we have no sin, nor acquiesce idly in aught of which our conscience accuses us. Strengthen us by thy Holy Spirit to fight the good fight of faith, and grant that no day may pass without its victory; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Ivelet Bridge is a 16th‑century packhorse bridge crossing the River Swale near the hamlet of Ivelet, between Muker and Gunnerside in Swaledale. It is one of the most charming small bridges in the Dales. #YorkshireDales #Swaledale #TuesdayThoughts pic.twitter.com/idkT9dvyDw
— Yorkshire Dales National Park (@yorkshire_dales) March 3, 2026
O Eternal God, who hast taught us by thy holy Word that our bodies are temples of thy Spirit: Keep us, we most humbly beseech thee, temperate and holy in thought, word and deed, that at the last we, with all the pure in heart, may see thee and be made like unto thee in thy heavenly kingdom; through Christ our Lord.
Beautiful morning here today 😁 pic.twitter.com/CSWsrHeZyJ
— Sister Walburga (@SisterWalburga) March 2, 2026
Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities that may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus! and… welcome to the start of meteorological spring ⛅
— Yorkshire Dales National Park (@yorkshire_dales) March 1, 2026
While snowdrops are still out in abundance we're already looking forward to the splashes of Daffodil yellow and some warmer, lighter spring days 🙏 #YorkshireDales #Spring #StDavidsDay pic.twitter.com/2qZBGIwUDs
Almighty and eternal God, who has so made us of body, soul and spirit, that we live not by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth from thee: Make us to hunger for the spiritual food of thy Word; and as we trust thee for our daily bread, may we also trust thee to give us day by day the inward nourishment of that living truth which thou hast revealed to us in thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Beautiful frosty sunrise across Broadford Bay, Isle of Skye #Scotland 🏴 @ThePhotoHour @StormHour @VisitScotland pic.twitter.com/KM3eiiKk9T
— James MacInnes (@Macinnesplant) February 28, 2026
O Heavenly Father, subdue in us whatever is contrary to thy holy will, that we may know how to please thee. Grant, O God, that we may never run into those temptations which in our prayers we desire to avoid. Lord, never permit our trials to be above our strength; through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
— Yorkshire Dales National Park (@yorkshire_dales) February 27, 2026
O God, who willest not the death of a sinner: We beseech thee to aid and protect those who are exposed to grievous temptations; and grant that in obeying thy commandments they may be strengthened and supported by thy grace; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
For still there are so many
— Nemophilist✨🌿🌲 (@acblaauboer) February 26, 2026
things that I have never seen:
in every wood in every single
spring there is a different
green.
J.R.R. Tolkien pic.twitter.com/9kkKkBNZhM
O God, in obedience to thy command, I surrender myself to thee this day, all that I am and all that I have, to be unconditionally thine for thy using. Take me from myself and use me as thou wilt, where thou wilt, when thou wilt, with whom thou wilt; for Christ’s sake.
–Robert W. Rodenmayer, ed., The Pastor’s Prayerbook: Selected and arranged for various occasions (New York: Oxford University Press, 1960)
Mooi weer in aantocht, de rivier stenen kleuren al bij. Fijne woensdag😀 #zonsondergang pic.twitter.com/BGnvSKrbyu
— Tjark Dieterman (@DietermanTjark) February 25, 2026
O Lord our God, grant us, we beseech thee, patience in troubles, humility in comforts, constancy in temptations, and victory over all our spiritual foes. Grant us sorrow for our sins, thankfulness for thy benefits, fear of thy judgment, love of thy mercies, and mindfulness of thy presence; now and for evermore.
As the light broke through the darkness. Photo taken this morning taken on my way back down Glastonbury Tor. pic.twitter.com/3qz5UvRrqy
— Michelle Cowbourne (@Glastomichelle) February 24, 2026
Blessed Lord, who wast tempted in all things like as we are, have mercy upon our frailty. Out of weakness give us strength; grant to us thy fear, that we may fear thee only; support us in time of temptation; embolden us in time of danger; help us to do thy work with good courage, and to continue thy faithful soldiers and servants unto our life’s end.
Almighty God,
whose Son Jesus Christ fasted forty days in the wilderness,
and was tempted as we are, yet without sin:
give us grace to discipline ourselves in obedience to your Spirit;
and, as you know our weakness,
so may we know your power to save;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Early Morning Clear Skies. 10°C and feeling mild. Hares on the hill. pic.twitter.com/zDq0JNJOfM
— Yorkshire Wolds Weather (@WeatherWolds) February 22, 2026
O Lord and heavenly Father, who hast given unto us thy people the true bread that cometh down from heaven, even thy Son Jesus Christ: Grant that throughout this Lent our souls may so be fed by him that we may continually live in him and he in us; and that day by day we may be renewed in spirit by the power of his endless life, who gave himself for us, and now liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.
Teach us to care and not to care
— Norann Voll (@NorannV) February 18, 2026
Teach us to sit still
Even among these rocks,
Our peace in His will.
TS Eliot
Ash Wednesday pic.twitter.com/ijdYnamfMx
The idea of national repentance seems at first sight to provide such an edifying contrast to that national self-righteousness of which England is so often accused and with which she entered (or is said to have entered) the last war, that a Christian naturally turns to it with hope. Young Christians especially-last-year undergraduates and first-year curates- are turning to it in large numbers. They are ready to believe that England bears part of the guilt for the present war, and ready to admit their own share in the guilt of England. What that share is, I do not find it easy to determine. Most of these young men were children, and none of them had a vote or the experience which would enable them to use a vote wisely, when England made many of those decisions to which the present disorders could plausibly be traced. Are they, perhaps, repenting what they have in no sense done?
If they are, it might be supposed that their error is very harmless: men fail so often to repent their real sins that the occasional repentance of an imaginary sin might appear almost desirable. But what actually happens (I have watched it happening) to the youthful national penitent is a little more complicated than that. England is not a natural agent, but a civil society. When we speak of England’s actions we mean the actions of the British government. The young man who is called upon to repent of England’s foreign policy is really being called upon to repent the acts of his neighbor; for a foreign secretary or a cabinet minister is certainly a neighbor. And repentance presupposes condemnation. The first and fatal charm of national repentance is, therefore, the encouragement it gives us to turn from the bitter task of repenting our own sins to the congenial one of bewailing-but, first, of denouncing-the conduct of others.
–-C.S. Lewis, “Dangers of national repentance”
As today is Ash Wednesday and the start of #Lent2026, here's #Lent1625 by Adriaen Pietersz. van de Venne, 1625 (Rijksmuseum) pic.twitter.com/7G3fw9bgF7
— John McCafferty (@jdmccafferty) February 18, 2026
Almighty and everlasting God,
you hate nothing that you have made
and forgive the sins of all those who are penitent:
create and make in us new and contrite hearts
that we, worthily lamenting our sins
and acknowledging our wretchedness,
may receive from you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
On that Wednesday, throughout the world,
as it is appointed, priests bless
clean ashes in church, and then lay them
on people’s heads, so that they may remember
that they came from earth and will return again to dust,
just as Almighty God said to Adam,
after he had sinned against God’s command:
‘In labour you shall live and in sweat you shall eat
your bread upon the earth, until you return again
to the same earth from which you came,
for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.’
This is not said about the souls of mankind,
but about their bodies, which moulder to dust,
and shall again on Judgement Day, through the power of our Lord,
rise from the earth, all who ever lived,
just as all trees quicken again in the season of spring
which were deadened by the winter’s chill.
An Anglo-Saxon description of Ash Wednesday, written in the 990s.
— Eleanor Parker (@ClerkofOxford) February 18, 2026
The word 'Lent' comes from the Old English word for spring, 'lencten' – the season when the days are lengthening, when 'all trees quicken again which were deadened by the winter's chill'.https://t.co/gW6skHKmRv pic.twitter.com/WMhTi9VyoC
I. In the first place, my hearers, let me endeavour to explain to you the NATURE OF THE TURNING HERE MEANT. It says—”if he turn not he will whet his sword.”
To commence then. The turning here meant is actual, not fictitious—not that which stops with promises and vows, but that which deals with the real acts life. Possible one of you will say, this morning “Lo I turn to God; from this forth I will not sin, but I will endeavour to walk in holiness; my vices shall be abandoned, my crimes shall be thrown to the winds, and I will turn unto God with full purpose of heart;” but, mayhap, to-morrow you will have forgotten this; you will weep a tear or two under the preaching of God’s word, but by to-morrow every tear shall have been dried, and you will utterly forget that you ever came to the house of God at all. How many of us are like men who see their faces in a glass, and straightway go away and forget what manner of men they are! Ah! my hearer, it is not thy promise of repentance that can save thee; it is not thy vow, it is not thy solemn declaration, it is not the tear that is dried more easily than the dew-drop by the sun, it is not the transient emotion of the heart which constitutes a real turning to God. There must be a true and actual abandonment of sin, and a turning unto righteousness in real act and deed in every-day life. Do you say you are sorry, and repent, and yet go on from day to day, just as you always went? Will your now bow your heads, and say, “Lord, I repent,” and in a little while commit the same deeds again? If ye do, your repentance is worse than nothing, and shall but make your destruction yet more sure; for he that voweth to his Maker, and doth not pay, hath committed another sin, in that he hath attempted to deceive the Almighty, and lie against the God that made him. Repentance to be true, to be evangelical, must be a repentance which really affects our outward conduct.
In the next place, repentance to be sure must be entire. How many will say, “Sir, I will renounce this sin and the other; but there are certain darling lusts which I must keep and hold.” O sirs, In God’s name let me tell you, it is not the giving up of one sin, nor fifty sins, which is true repentance; it is the solemn renunciation of every sin. If thou dost harbour one of those accursed vipers in thy heart, thy repentance is but a sham. If thou dost indulge in but one lust, and dost give up every other, that one lust, like one leak in a ship, will sink thy soul. Think it not sufficient to give up thy outward vices; fancy it not enough to cut off the more corrupt sins of thy life; it is all or none which God demands. “Repent,” says he; and when he bids you repent, he means repent for all thy sins, otherwise he never can accept thy repentance as being real and genuine. The true penitent hates sin in the race, not in the individual—in the mass, not in the particular. He says, “Gild thee as thou wilt, O sin, I abhor thee! Ay, cover thyself with pleasure, make thyself guady, like the snake with its azure scales—I hate thee still, for I know thy venom, and I flee from thee, even when thou comest to me in the most specious garb.” All sin must be given up, or else you shall never have Christ: all transgression must be renounced, or else the gates of heaven must be barred against you. Let us remember, then, that for repentance to be sincere it must be entire repentance.
Again, when God says, “If he turn not, he will whet his sword,” he means immediate repentance. Ye say, when we are nearing the last extremity of mortal life, and when we are entering the borders of the thick darkness of futurity, then we will change our ways. But, my dear hearers, do not delude yourselves. It is few who have ever changed after a long life of sin. “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?” If so, let him that is accustomed to do evil learn to do well. Put no faith in the repentances which you promise yourselves on your death beds. There are ten thousand arguments against one, that if you repent not in health, you will never repent in sickness. Too many have promised themselves a quiet season before they leave the world, when they could turn their face to the wall and confess their sins; but how few have found that time of repose! Do not men drop down dead in the streets—ay, even in the house of God? Do they not expire in their business? And when death is gradual, it affords but an ill season for repentance. Many a saint has said on his death-bed, “Oh! if I had now to seek my God, if I had now to cry to him for mercy, what would become of me? These pangs are enough, without the pangs of repentance. It is enough to have the body tortured, without having the soul wrung with remorse.” Sinner! God saith, “To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, when your fathers tempted me and proved me.” When God the Holy Spirit convinces men of sin, they will never talk of delays. You may never have another to repent in. Therefore saith the voice of wisdom, “Repent now.” The Jewish rabbis said, “Let every man repent one day before he dies, and since he may die to-morrow, let him take heed to turn from his evil ways to-day.” Even so we say; immediate repentance is that which God demands, for he hath never promised thee that thou shalt have any hour to repent in, except the one that thou hast now.
Furthermore; the repentance here described as absolutely necessary is hearty repentance. It is not a mock tear; it is not hanging out the ensigns of grief, whilst you are keeping merriment in your hearts. It is not having an illumination within, and shutting up all the windows by a pretended repentance; it is the putting out of the candles of the heart; it is sorrow of soul which is true repentance. A man may renounce every outward sin, and yet not really repent. True repentance is a turning of the heart as well as of the life; it is the giving up of the whole soul to God, to be his for ever and ever; it is a renunciation of the sins of the heart, as well as the crimes of the life.
Read it all from December 7, 1856.
Today is Ash Wednesday – marking the start of Lent ✝️
— University of Oxford (@UniofOxford) February 18, 2026
For many, this season is a time of reflection, prayer and service in the weeks leading up to Easter.
We wish a meaningful Lent to all who are observing. pic.twitter.com/oEytrtw6gs