Father Zossima is the wise old monk who forms the spiritual centre of gravity in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s last and greatest novel, The Brothers Karamazov, published in 1880. On his deathbed, Zossima recalls how, as a boy in church, he was deeply moved as he watched incense rising from a censer to meet a ray of sunlight high …
Finding my pace in the presence of God
Joshua chapters 3 and 4 describe how Israel crossed the Jordan River into the land of Canaan. More about the ethics of that next week. After forty years sequestered in the desert as virtual nomads, the people stand on the banks of the Jordan River. Behind them lies a generation shaped by slavery, exodus, testing, and …
In a cupboard
In a cupboard in heavenstands a big old bucketinto which God poursour suffering and painand sadnessand all the coloursof our helplessness and out of which he takesdeep draughts every daydraining, drawing its terriblerainbow profusioninto his heart and drinking, hearswords uttered long agoby his own crackedlips: “I thirst!”and the crucial echo in thatGod-forsaken wastethe declaration:“Finished!” and from …
Morning prayer for Wednesday 1 July 2026
Invocation + In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Pause for reflection Good morning, heavenly Father.We worship you, the creator and sustainer of the universe. Good morning, Lord Jesus.We worship you, Saviour and Lord of the world. Good morning, Holy Spirit.We worship you, sanctifier of the people …
Does redemptive suffering change us?
Pope St John Paul II led the Catholic Church for more than a quarter of a century. He died in 2005. Redemptive suffering names a difficult but enduring claim at the heart of Christian reflection: that suffering, while never good in itself, may, under certain conditions, become the occasion of transformation. It is not pain …
