The Benedictine monk Augustine Hooey was a teacher, confessor and spiritual director in the Church of England. He led retreats and taught in schools and churches, working well into his nineties (he died in 2017, a few months short of his 102nd birthd...
The first book I remember owning was Think Like a Grandmaster by Alexander Kotov, which my parents bought for my 16th birthday. At the time I was a keen chess player, thanks to the encouragement of my maths teacher Mr Goodall, who organized a group.....
Last weekend I dreamed I was driving along a highway in the middle of the ocean. I drove at a steady speed of 45 mph, watching the unchanging road ahead of me as it disappeared toward the horizon. I continued driving for what seemed like......
The Church’s liturgical year, which began with Advent, is ordered in such a way as to guide the faithful on their spiritual journey throughout the year. Currently we are in “green season”, sometimes referred to as “Ordinary Time”. This bega...
In the final devotion from the Advent booklet “And the Word was God”, featuring the reflections of the spiritual writer Henri Nouwen, there is this important insight: “The disciple is the one who follows Jesus on his downward path and thus ente...
God sometimes nudges you in a particular direction – either in thought or action – by using a series of coincidences. Even the smallest ones can be significant. In morning prayer last Thursday, I read these words, “Give us the strong fa...
I will remember the year 2020, but not for the reasons you might think. It is the year of Covid, of course – although I share the sentiments of the person who recently complained: “I’m getting tired of being part of a major historical event...
The origins of Thanksgiving can be traced to the early seventeenth century, when pilgrims commemorated a good harvest and safe passage to the New World. They were followed years layer by those escaping persecution for their religious beliefs, who cam...
“Catch a falling star an’ put it in your pocket, Never let it fade away!” Perry Como’s song hit the airwaves in 1957, and this week I found myself singing a variation of it as I walked along the leaf strewn paths of Brandywine Creek...
Many of us have spent the best part of our lives going to church, but what is “church” exactly, and why do we go? There are many ways of describing ‘church”, but in my understanding, church is a place where the community of faith gather......