Category Archives: The Swelling Year

Moments before an almighty blunder – No, Lord, you will not die; don’t talk of such things; Or words to that effect, the pride Of the day’s wisdom giving rise To thoughts that he knows better than The one whom he has just confessed – Before that, a striking second of clarity; Sight to pierceContinue reading “The Confession of Saint Peter”

If you stood in the desert with Anthony, The devil’s fire blazing around you And all his wiles wildly planned To keep you circulating mid-air, Suspended in tormenting spirals With demon-fish and firebrands; If you were beset with him by wolves And scorpions poised at you to sting, Or if the centaurs or satyrs raged,Continue reading “The Temptations of Anthony (For Anthony the Great, Abbot)”

The prince had abandoned his family, they thought, Leaving his country to live among priests. Eager to bring him back to his duty, To mother and father and nation in wait, They ascended the holy mountain to find Him there in a vigil of prayer. What were their hopes when they came to the church?Continue reading “Soldiers on the Holy Mountain (For Sava, Archbishop)”

For it seemed that the greatness of God so far surpassed the mental powers of His handiwork, that however far the limited mind of main might strain in the hazardous effort to define Him, the gap was not lessened between the finite nature which struggled and the boundless infinity which lay beyond its ken…Though theContinue reading “Hearts in Eternity (For Hilary of Poitiers, Bishop and Teacher)”

The Lord receive my soul, and have mercy on me, and bless this kingdom with peace and charity, that there may not be this effusion of Christian blood amongst them. (Bishop Laud’s dying words) Some battles are fought on abstract grounds, Brother armed against a brother, Defending the periphery. And sometimes hearts within us burnContinue reading “Kin (For William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury and Martyr)”

The world has many great houses and many great families and names. There are many whose legacies spread through the world, whose wealth and repute linger after them. But Miss Hassall once bought a house near a church in Old Sydney Town where she sowed many seeds into small hearts and those seeds grew andContinue reading “Cluden (For Eliza Marsden Hassall, Missionary)”

I had wasted much time on follies and spent nearly all of my youth in vain labours, and devotion to the teachings of a wisdom that God had made foolish. Suddenly, I awoke as out of a deep sleep. I beheld the wonderful light of the Gospel truth, and I recognised the nothingness of theContinue reading “Foolish (For Gregory of Nanzianzus and Basil of Caesarea, Bishops and Teachers)”

Who is this child whom angels name, whose birth they sound with trumpets loud, who lies a baby, helpless in his parents’ hands and yet is praised by elders and the heavens’ choir? His name is Jesus, and He saves His people from their sins. Who are they, His people, that they should deserve suchContinue reading “Above All Names (The Naming and Circumcision of Jesus)”