Cuthbert


Saturday of Souls: They shall dwell among the blessings of thy house

February 18, 2012
Candles surrounding an Orthodox cross with the Virgin Mary and St John

Blessed is he whom thou hast chosen and received unto thee; he shall dwell in thy courts; we shall be filled with the blessings of thy house.
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‘My child, let me not have the grief of seeing you unable to respect your partner in life’

February 17, 2012
The actor David Garrick and his wife, by William Hogarth (1757). From Wikimedia Commons.

“I know that you could be neither happy nor respectable, unless you truly esteemed your husband; your lively talents would place you in the greatest danger in an unequal marriage.”
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St Finan of Lindisfarne, a godly-minded watchman

February 17, 2012
A rainbow appears to set Church Island aglow, in Lough Currane, County Kerry, Ireland. © Flickr user michele_p, licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons licence.

I have thee as succourer of my life, and helper of my salvation, and godly-minded watchman, who giveth assurance to them that cry out in faith: O God of our fathers, blessed art thou.
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How dost thy shed thine own blood, O Master?

February 16, 2012
The crucifixion (detail), from a Psalter belonging to Robert de Lindesey, Abbot of Peterborough (1214-20).

The ewe-lamb that bare thee, lamb and shepherd, mourned as she saw thee upon the Cross,and she spake unto thee motherly.
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By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept (Moscow Sretensky choir)

February 15, 2012
Weeping willow trees on the River Gipping in Suffolk. © Nigel Chadwick (Geograph), licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons licence.

Psalm 136, used on the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, sung here by the Moscow Sretensky Choir.
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St Bede: There is no nourishment in secularised religion

February 15, 2012
Psyllium husk. © User Bastique (Cary Bass), Wikimedia Commons. Licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons licence.

Just as bread can be compared to the word of God which refreshes the mind, so too a hollow pod (more for bulking up than for use) can be compared to secular wisdom.
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The Song of Simeon (Sretensky Monastery choir)

February 8, 2012
Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669), Simeon and Anna recognize the Lord in Jesus (c. 1627). From Wikimedia Commons.

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people.
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Poem: Drop, drop slow tears (Phineas Fletcher)

February 7, 2012
A detail from stained glass in the Church of St Martin in Triel-sur-Seine, France, of the anointing of Jesus. © User GFreihalter, Wikimedia Commons. Licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons License..

In your deep floods / Drown all my faults and fears; / Nor let His eye See sin, / but through my tears.
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State capitalism is a long-term threat to entrepreneurial business

January 30, 2012
The London skyline. © User Liamch, Wikimedia Commons. Licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons licence.

Across much of the world the invisible hand of the market is giving way to the visible, and often authoritarian, hand of state capitalism.
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The Three holy Hierarchs: Orators of the Word, lyres of the Spirit

January 30, 2012
Detail from a 13th century wall-painted icon of the Three Hierarchs (l-r St Basil of Caesarea, St Gregory Nazianzen, St John Chrysostom), 13th century.

Ye flew like bees in the meadow of the Scriptures, ye gathered a fine harvest, both the best among the flowers and the honey.
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