Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2026: 46, Monday 22 June 2026

‘First take the log out of your own eye’ (Matthew 7: 5) … the remains of a felled tree by Saint Anne's Boat Club and the River Isis in Oxford last week (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Patrick Comerford

We are in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar, and the week began with the Third Sunday after Trinity (Trinity III, 21 June 2025), which was also Fathers’ Day and the Summer Solstice. The calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today remembers Saint Alban (ca 250), first Martyr of Britain.

Before today begins, however, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:

1, reading today’s Gospel reading;

2, a short reflection;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;

4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.

‘Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?’ (Matthew 7: 3) (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Matthew 7: 1-5 (NRSVA):

[Jesus said to his disciples:] 1 ‘Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. 2 For with the judgement you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. 3 Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your neighbour, “Let me take the speck out of your eye”, while the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour’s eye.’

‘Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye?’ (Mattew 7: 4) … street art in Plaza de Judería in Malaga (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflections:

Our Gospel story (Matthew 7: 1-5) returns to our readings from the Sermon on the Mount. Today’s reading prompts me once again to reflect on my own actions with the sort of introspection I find in the prayers of Saint John Chrysostom:

1. O Lord, deprive me not of your heavenly blessings.
2. O Lord, deliver me from eternal torment.
3. O Lord, if I have sinned in my mind or thought, in word or deed, forgive me.
4. O Lord, deliver me from every ignorance and heedlessness, from pettiness of the soul and stony hardness of heart.
5. O Lord, deliver me from every temptation.
6. O Lord, enlighten my heart darkened by evil desires.
7. O Lord, I, being a human being, have sinned; I ask you, being God, to forgive me in your loving kindness, for you know the weakness of my soul.
8. O Lord, send down your grace to help me, that I may glorify your holy Name.
9. O Lord Jesus Christ, inscribe me, your servant, in the Book of Life, and grant me a blessed end.
10. O Lord my God, even if I have done nothing good in your sight, yet grant me, according to your grace, that I may make a start in doing good.
11. O Lord, sprinkle on my heart the dew of your grace.
12. O Lord of heaven and earth, remember me, your sinful servant, cold of heart and impure, in your Kingdom.
13. O Lord, receive me in repentance.
14. O Lord, leave me not.
15. O Lord, save me from temptation.
16. O Lord, grant me pure thoughts.
17. O Lord, grant me tears of repentance, remembrance of death, and the sense of peace.
18. O Lord, grant me mindfulness to confess my sins.
19. O Lord, grant me humility, charity, and obedience.
20. O Lord, grant me tolerance, magnanimity, and gentleness.
21. O Lord, implant in me the root of all blessings: the fear of you in my heart.
22. O Lord, grant that I may love you with all my heart and soul, and that in all things I may obey your will.
23. O Lord, shield me from evil persons and devils and passions and all other lawless matters.
24. O Lord, who knows your creation and what you have willed for it; may your will also be fulfilled in me, a sinner, for you art blessed for evermore. Amen.

These are prayers that I handed out each year to students taking the elective on Patristics I offered on the MTh course in the Church of Ireland Theological Institute (CITI) and Trinity College Dublin (TCD).

The rediscovery of Patristic texts and writings in the 15th and 16th centuries, following the exodus of Greek scholars with the fall of Byzantium is a major factor in understanding the Reformations, in particular the Anglican Reformation. Thomas Cranmer introduced the ‘Prayer of Saint Chrysostom’ to Anglicanism:

‘Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfil now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.’

‘Do not judge, so that you may not be judged’ (Matthew 7: 1) … the museum in the old courthouse in Adare, Co Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Monday 22 June 2026):

In Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), the theme this week, from 21 to 27 June 2026 (pp 12-13), is ‘Land Taken, Land Remembered’. This theme was introduced yesterday with a reflection by the Venerable Rosalyn Kantlaht’ant Elm, Director of Indigenous Ministries, Anglican Church of Canada.

The USPG prayer diary today (Monday 22 June 2026, Windrush Day) invites us to pray:

God of welcome, we thank you for the faith, courage, and contributions of the Windrush generation. Help us to honour their legacy by building a more just and hospitable society.

The Collect:

Eternal Father,
when the gospel of Christ first came to our land
you gloriously confirmed the faith of Alban
by making him the first to win a martyr’s crown:
grant that, following his example,
in the fellowship of the saints
we may worship you, the living God,
and give true witness to 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.

The Post-Communion Prayer:

Eternal God,
who gave us this holy meal
in which we have celebrated the glory of the cross
and the victory of your martyr Alban:
by our communion with Christ
in his saving death and resurrection,
give us with all your saints the courage to conquer evil
and so to share the fruit of the tree of life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s Reflections

Continued Tomorrow

The calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today remembers Saint Alban … an icon in St Albans Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2026: 39, Monday 15 June 2026

Barry Blitt’s ‘Out Cold’ cartoon on the cover of today's edition of ‘The New Yorker’ on Trump’s birthday cage fight … in the face of increasing evil in the world, how do we interpret the words in today’s Gospel, ‘Do not resist an evildoer’ (Matthew 5: 39)?

Patrick Comerford

We are in Ordinary Time and the week began yesterday with the Second Sunday after Trinity (14 June 2025). The calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today remembers Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941), Spiritual Writer.

But, before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:

1, reading today’s Gospel reading;

2, a short reflection;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;

4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.

‘You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you …’ (Matthew 5: 38-39) … street art in Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Matthew 5: 38-42 (NRSVA):

[Jesus said:] 38 ‘You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” 39 But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; 40 and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; 41 and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. 42 Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.’

‘But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also’ (Matthew 5: 39) … street art in Plaza de la Judería in Malaga (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflections:

The Gospel reading for the Eucharist this morning (Matthew 5: 38-42) continues our series of readings from the Sermon on the Mount, and this is a Gospel reading that has often been misused and misinterpreted.

The suggestion, ‘Do not resist an evildoer,’ is in danger of being used to turn someone into a doormat, to tolerate domestic violence or to forgive constant physical or psychological abuse, to keep people from walking away from abuse, resisting oppression or even turning to revolution.

The translation, ‘Do not resist an evildoer’ (verse 39) fails to convey the full meaning of the underlying Greek. The word ἀνθίστημι (antheestimee) speaks of setting oneself against something, withstanding, resisting or opposing it. But it might better be translated as, ‘Do not violently resist an evildoer.’ The teaching here is primarily about nonviolence, but it is not about acquiescence to evil, still less about being complicit in evil.

Christ then goes on immediately to offer three clear examples (verses 39-41) of how to nonviolently resist an evildoer – in fact, how to publicly shame and mock an evildoer.

These passages are tragically misinterpreted because we have forgotten the original society in which Jesus gave these teachings. When Christ says, ‘If anyone …,’ he and his listeners knew instantly who that ‘anyone’ was. He describes three types of insulting and humiliating behaviour: slapping someone on the right cheek (verse 39), suing them in court for their personal goods (verse 40), and forcing them to go a mile (verse 41). These are not the kind of things anyone, just anyone, could do. They are the kind of things only a privileged few could do – and did – to the sort of people who were in the crowd listening to Christ that day.

So, let’s look at each of these in turn

Verse 39

Slapping the right cheek: This was done by masters to their servants and slaves, and it was always done by hitting with the back of the right hand across the right cheek. The blow was about asserting status and power over the other person. This is not about random violence or fighting among friends or enemies. It is about asserting rank, privilege and power.

In order to preserve one’s honour – to preserve one’s public standing – it is crucial everything must be done according to the socially accepted protocols. The slave must obediently stand facing the master without external coercion. The master must strike only the right cheek; and only with the back of the right hand. Any variation on this would show that he was not in control; it would be a public loss of face.

Now imagine your boss has just slapped you on your right cheek; without saying a word, you then silently turn your head to expose your left cheek. It appears that you are becoming doubly subservient; doubly accepting his authority over you. But in this one movement you have made him powerless.

Turning your head hides your right cheek and presents your left cheek. But the angle of your head is such that the master can see, but cannot strike your left cheek with the back of his right hand. Try to mimic this with someone you know later today, and see what happens.

A move like this would publicly expose the master to shame and ridicule. You would appear to be meek and servile, obediently waiting for a second blow. But he would be totally helpless. He has three options: to hit you with the palm of his right hand; to use his left hand; or to walk away. To choose any one of these three options means he would lose face.

Verse 40

to sue you: Peasants did not sue one another. Again, this example of public humiliation is one about the abuse of the poor by those with power and privilege. Most peasants only owned the clothes on their backs.

What is being sued for here is not a coat, but a χιτών (chitón), which is an undergarment, usually worn next to the skin. To be sued for my coat would be humiliating enough; to be sued for my underwear would be truly humiliating. I would have nothing left to stand in. Going naked would be a radical way of exposing, laying bare, the shame which allows someone with wealth and privilege to take away the only thing a poor person owns.

Verse 41

forces you to go one mile: In those days, soldiers were allowed to conscript civilians to carry their packs, but only for a mile. However, this was no minor inconvenience for someone who depended on their work to feed and clothe his family. Walking a mile with a heavy pack and then having to walk back again would mean missing that day’s work, that day’s pay, and the food that pay would have paid for.

Offering to go a second mile would relieve another person of this unjust burden, but at the same time it would publicly expose the unjust hardship of being forced to go even one mile. Yet it does so in a way that seems to co-operate while at the same time bringing shame and ridicule on the person who is forcing you to bear unfair burdens.

Verse 42

Begging and borrowing: Begging and borrowing are complex social interactions that involve negotiating honour and shame, social respect and status, and money. But Christ’s teaching here is directed to those who have, and not to the have-nots. He is talking not to beggars and borrowers, but to those who are asked for loans and alms.

Christ tells us to treat all who entreat us as if they were our closest family. This surely breaks down the customary social barriers between the haves and the have-nots, it changes the social relationship to one of kinship. But when we come to God, begging and pleading, do we not come as children come to their father?

There are similarly difficult questions as we continue to read from this passage tomorrow.

‘If anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well’ (Matthew 5: 40) … street art seen at the University of Padua (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Monday 15 June 2026):

In Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), the theme this week, from 14 to 20 June 2026 (pp 10-11), is ‘Rooted in Compassion’. This theme was introduced yesterday by the Ven Titus Oluwalusi, the Anglican Chaplain at Saint John’s Church in Casablanca, Morocco.

The USPG prayer diary today (Monday 15 June 2026) invites us to pray:

Heavenly Father, thank you for showing us perfect love. Inspired by your Son, Jesus Christ, cultivate in us this fruit of the Spirit, that through our lives your holy name may be glorified.

The Collect of the Day:

Lord, you have taught us
that all our doings without love are nothing worth:
send your Holy Spirit
and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love,
the true bond of peace and of all virtues,
without which whoever lives is counted dead before you.
Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ’s sake,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Post-Communion Prayer:

Loving Father,
we thank you for feeding us at the supper of your Son:
sustain us with your Spirit,
that we may serve you here on earth
until our joy is complete in heaven,
and we share in the eternal banquet
with Jesus Christ our Lord.

Additional Collect:

Faithful Creator,
whose mercy never fails:
deepen our faithfulness to you
and to your living Word,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s Reflections

Continued Tomorrow

‘Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you’ (Matthew 5: 42) … ‘Christ the Beggar’ … a sculpture by Timothy Schmalz on the steps of Santo Spirito Hospital near the Vatican (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Daily prayer in Lent 2026: 13, Monday 2 March 2026, Saint Chad of Lichfield

‘Forgive, and you will be forgiven’ (Luke 6: 36) … street art off Carpenter Street in Kuching (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Patrick Comerford

Lent began almost two weeks ago on Ash Wednesday (18 February 2026), and yesterday was the Second Sunday in Lent (Lent II). The Diocese of Lichfield and the calendar of the Church of England today (2 March) celebrates the life and mission of Saint Chad of Lichfield (672), Bishop of Lichfield and Missionary. The Jewish holiday of Purim also begins this evening and continues tomorrow (3 March).

But, before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:

1, reading today’s Gospel reading;

2, a short reflection;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;

4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.

‘Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful’ (Luke 6: 36) … the ‘Corporal Works of Mercy’ window in All Saints’ Church, North Street, York (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Luke 6: 36-38 (NRSVA):

[Jesus said:] 36 ‘Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

37 ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.’

‘If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also (Luke 6: 29) … street art in Plaza de la Judería in Malaga (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflections:

The Gospel reading at the Eucharist today is Luke 6: 36-38, which is from the ‘Sermon on the Level Place’, Saint Luke’s equivalent of the Sermon on the Mount.

After the blessings and woes of the Beatitudes, Jesus tells us to be merciful as God is merciful. Mercy is one of God’s primary qualities (see Exodus 34: 6-7), and the concept of mercy in Luke 6 has an eschatological frame of reference. God is merciful by offering the possibility of turning away from disobedience through repentance and turning towards him and receiving forgiveness and restoration.

In Mary’s song Magnificat, God is twice identified as merciful (Luke 1: 50, 54). Zechariah too identifies mercy as a sign of God’s faithfulness to God’s promises, creating a people who ‘might serve God without fear in holiness and righteousness (Luke 1: 72-78). In this morning’s reading, Christ shows how to put this mercy into practice.

In the verses immediately before today’s reading, Luke 6: 27-29 presupposes a situation of conflict, in a time when the religious and political leaders of day were seen by many as their enemies. But Christ calls on us to respond and act in ways that seek the good of the other. This form of nonviolence goes beyond non-retaliation and takes positive steps that promote the welfare of the other parties in the conflict.

Luke 6: 30 presupposes an economic situation in which many people are exploited, live in poverty, and seek to survive by begging. The give to those who beg implies that we have an abundance from which to share (see Luke 6: 39).

Luke 6: 31 repeats the ‘Golden Rule’: ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you.’ But the golden rule is not enough for us, the Children of God (see verse 35) in our covenant relationship with God.

Luke 6: 32-34 challenges the widely accepted notion in the Hellenistic world that relationships are reciprocal, and calls on us to go beyond behaviour is guided merely by the expectation of similar responses.

Luke 6: 35 calls on to replace old-age pattens of behaviour with ways that reflect the Kingdom of God, and to imitate God who is kind also to the ungrateful and the wicked. To be kind does not mean to approve but means to seek the best interest. Even the ungrateful and the wicked have the potential and the possibility of becoming part of the Kingdom of God.

Now, Luke 6: 36 sums up how to live a life that reflects the Kingdom of God.

Luke 6: 37 is a reminder that we not have the final say ourselves on who is in and who is outside the Kingdom of God. We do not live in the apocalyptic moment, and when he exclude others from the Church we risk finding we have excluded ourselves too.

Luke 6: 38 reminds us that God’s generosity is overflowing and overwhelming and goes beyond any possibility we have of measuring it.

As Shakespeare reminds us, in the words of Portia in The Merchant of Venice,

The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven … (The Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Scene 1).

‘Love Being Awake’ … ‘Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you’ (Luke 6: 26) … a sign in a café in Charleville, Co Cork (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Monday 2 March 2026):

The theme this week (1-7 March 2026) in ‘Pray With the World Church,’ the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is: ‘Saint David’s Day’ (pp 34-35). This theme was introduced yesterday with Reflections by the Revd Sarah Rosser, Team Vicar in the Netherwent Ministry Area, Diocese of Monmouth, Church in Wales.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Monday 2 March 2026) invites us to pray:

We thank you for Saint David, for his love of the Gospel and his passion for sharing it. Renew your Church’s mission, give us wisdom and courage to share your love, and help us ‘do the little things’ that glorify you..

The Collect:

Almighty God,
from the first fruits of the English nation who turned to Christ,
you called your servant Chad
to be an evangelist and bishop of his own people:
give us grace so to follow his peaceable nature,
humble spirit and prayerful life,
that we may truly commend to others
the faith which we ourselves profess;
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.

The Post Communion Prayer:

Holy Father,
who gathered us here around the table of your Son
to share this meal with the whole household of God:
in that new world where you reveal
the fullness of your peace,
gather people of every race and language
to share with Chad and all your saints
in the eternal banquet of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s Reflections

Continued Tomorrow

Peter Walker’s statue of Saint Chad at the south-east side of Lichfield Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Daily prayer in Lent 2026: 5, Sunday 22 February 2026, First Sunday in Lent

‘The devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple …’ (Matthew 4: 5) … a gargoyle at Lichfield Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Lent began this week with Ash Wednesday, and today is the First Sunday in Lent (Lent I, 22 February 2026). After our marathon journey that began in Heathrow on Ash Wednesday (18 February) and that included stopovers and connections in Muscat and Kuala Lumpur, we have settled into our flat in Kuching and I hope attend the Cathedral Eucharist in Saint Thomas’s Cathedral, Kuching, later this morning (8:30). In all, Saint Thomas’s Cathedral, which is a five-minutes walk from our flat, has six regular Sunday services: Holy Communion in English, 6:30 am; Sung Eucharistic in English, 8:30 am; Bahasa Malaysia Service with Holy Communion (McDougall Hall, Level 3, Parish Centre), 10:30 am; Mandarin Service with Holy Communion, 10:30 am; Iban Service with Holy Communion, 2 pm; Evensong with Holy Communion in English, 5:30 pm.

Before this day begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:

1, today’s Gospel reading;

2, a short reflection;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;

4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.

The Temptation of Job in the Purgatory Window by Richard King of the Harry Clarke Studios in the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Athlone (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Matthew 4: 1-11 (NRSVA):

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ 4 But he answered, ‘It is written,

“One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God”.’

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
“He will command his angels concerning you,”
and “On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone”.’

7 Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test”.’

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour; 9 and he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’ 10 Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
“Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him”.’

11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Giovanni da Modena’s fresco of the Last Judgment in the Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna was inspired by Dante’s descriptions of the Devil and Hell (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflections:

We are going to meet some interesting, unusual characters in the Gospel readings on the Sundays in Lent this year.

They include:

1, The Devil, who appears as the serpent (Genesis 2: 15-17, 3: 1-7) and the Tempter (Matthew 4: 1-11) in this morning’s readings (Lent I: 22 February 2026)

2, Nicodemus, who comes to meet Jesus in the night (John 3: 1-17) next week (Lent II: 1 March 2026)

3, The unnamed Samaritan woman at the well (John 4: 5-42) two weeks from now (Lent III: 8 March 2026)

4, The women at the Cross (John 19: 25b-27) on Mothering Sunday (Lent IV: 15 March 2026)

5, Lazarus who is raised from the dead (John 11: 1-45, Lent V: 26 March 2020)

All these characters, as we meet them along the journey through Lent, prepare us for meeting Christ when he arrives in Jerusalem and we come face-to-face with him at his Passion, Death and Resurrection.

What is your image of the Devil?

For many people today, he is old hat and the stuff of superstition. For other people he is a figure of fun: the gargoyles gushing out rainwater from gutters on cathedrals and churches; the logo for Manchester United; or the impish black-and-red costumes of children at Hallowe’en or some adults at Carnival in Continental European cities in the days before Lent.

Many of our cultural images of the Devil come not from the Bible but from Dante’s Inferno, which influenced John Milton’s Paradise Lost, other poets, including TS Eliot in his The Waste Land, as well as frescoes, paintings and stained-glass windows across the world.

But the Devil appears in many forms throughout the Bible.

The word satan does not occur in today’s reading from Genesis. Instead, the tempter is a talking serpent.

The original Hebrew term sâtan (שָּׂטָן‎) means an ‘accuser’ or ‘adversary,’ and refers to both human adversaries and a supernatural entity. The word is derived from a verb meaning primarily to obstruct or to oppose. When it is used without the definite article (satan), the word can refer to any accuser; when it is used with the definite article (ha-satan), it refers specifically to the heavenly accuser: the Satan.

Ha-Satan with the definite article occurs 13 times in two books of the Hebrew Bible: Job 1 and 2 (10 times) and Zechariah 3: 1-2 (three times); satan without the definite article is used in 10 instances.

These occurrences without a definite article include the Angel of the Lord who confronts Balaam on his donkey (Numbers 22: 22); and the Angel of the Lord who brings a plague against Israel for three days after David takes a census (II Samuel 24).

The satan who appears in the Book of Job is one of the ‘sons of God’ (Job 1: 6-8) who has been roaming around the earth and who tortures Job physically, mentally and spiritually, to see whether Job will abandon his faith. But Job remains faithful and righteous, and satan is shamed in his defeat.

The English word devil, used as a synonym for Satan, can be traced through Middle English, Old English and Latin to the Greek διάβολος (diabolos), ‘slanderer,’ from a verb (diaballein) meaning to slander, but originally meaning ‘to hurl across’ or ‘to back bite.’ In the New Testament, the words Satan and diabolos are used interchangeably.

Another name, Beelzebub, means ‘Lord of Flies,’ and is also a contemptuous name for a Philistine god and a pun on his name meaning ‘Baal the Prince.’ Some Pharisees accuse Jesus of exorcising demons through the power of Beelzebub.

Satan plays a role in some of the parables, including the Parables of the Sower, the Weeds, the Sheep and the Goats, and the Strong Man.

In Saint Luke’s Gospel, Judas betrays Christ because ‘Satan entered into’ him (see Luke 22: 3-6; cf John 12: 13: 2) and Christ implies Satan has authority to test Peter and the other apostles (see Luke 22: 31).

In Saint John’s Gospel, Satan is identified as ‘the Archon of the Cosmos’ (ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου) who is to be overthrown through Christ’s death and resurrection (John 12: 31-32).

The Letter to the Hebrews describes the devil as ‘the one who has the power of death’ (Hebrews 2: 14).

In the Book of Revelation, Satan is first the supernatural ruler of the Empire. In that book, we also come across Abaddon, whose name in Greek is Apollyon, meaning ‘the destroyer,’ an angel who rules the Abyss (Revelation 9: 11).

The vision of a Great Red Dragon with seven heads, 10 horns, seven crowns, and a sweeping tail (Revelation 12: 3-4) is an image inspired by the apocalyptic visions in the Book of Daniel. A war then breaks out in heaven, and Michael and his angels defeat the Dragon who is thrown down. This dragon is identified with ‘that ancient serpent, who is called Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world (Revelation 12: 9) and the accuser.

This identifies him with all the images of satan in the Hebrew Bible, from the serpent in Eden, to Job’s tempters.

Later, the chained and imprisoned Satan breaks loose from his chains in the abyss and wages war against the righteous. But he is defeated and cast into a lake of fire (see Revelation 20: 1-10).

Today’s Gospel reading is one of the three accounts in the synoptic Gospels (see Matthew 4: 1-11, Mark 1: 12-13, Luke 4: 1-13) describing the temptation of Christ by Satan in the wilderness.

Satan first shows Jesus a stone and tells him to turn it into bread. He then takes him to the pinnacle of the Temple in Jerusalem and tells him to throw himself down so that the angels will catch him. Then he takes Jesus to the top of a tall mountain, shows him the kingdoms of the earth and promises to give them all to him if he will bow down and worship him.

In each of these temptations, Christ is tempted to the right thing for the wrong reasons.

What would be wrong with Christ turning stones into bread if that is going to feed the hungry?

What would be wrong with Christ showing his miraculous powers, if this is going to point to the majesty of God?

What would be wrong with Christ taking command of the kingdoms of this world, if this provides the opportunity to bring in justice, mercy and peace?

These are real temptations. Christ is truly human and truly divine, and for those who are morally driven there is always a real temptation to do the right thing … but to do it for the wrong reason.

Each time, Christ rebukes Satan, and after the third temptation he is ministered to by the angels.

Too often we reduce temptation to small things in life. The one real temptation facing Jeff Difford, the slick pastor in the television series Young Sheldon, was greed in the form of wanting a new combined toaster and microwave oven. He resisted that temptation for a day or so, and when he gives in, he asks for forgiveness.

But this is a fatuous and fraudulent presentation of temptation. True temptation can come in small ways, but it can also come in dramatic ways, in the temptation to do the right thing for the wrong reasons, and in the temptation to do nothing.

There is real evil in the world, when we consider the death camps such as Auschwitz and the mass genocide of the Holocaust. Yet the far-right is on the rise not only in Britain but across Europe, with the active support of many insiders in the White House and of Elon Musk, one of the richest people in the world.

Some years ago, during carnival – a time of fun before entering Lent – at a carnival parade in Campo de Criptana, about 120 km south-east of Madrid, participants dressed like Nazis and Jewish concentration camp prisoners while dancing next to a float evoking crematoria. In Aalst in Belgium that same year, some people in the carnival parade dressed like haredim or pious Orthodox Jews but depicting them as ants, others wore fake hooked noses based on Jewish stereotypes, and still others dressed in black uniforms and red armbands imitating Nazi uniforms.

Almost three generations after the Holocaust, there are people who still think real evil in the world is an appropriate theme for carnival floats. How does this prepare us for Lent and the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ?

I was reminded of the temptation to be silent in the face of evil when I visited the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen, and the cell of the Revd Martin Niemöller (1892-1984), a prominent German Lutheran pastor and an outspoken opponent of Hitler, was held in isolation.

On the wall of this cell are his words:

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out –
Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out –
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out –
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.

This Lent, I invite you to join me on the journey, on the pilgrimage that leads to Good Friday, and that leads, of course, to the joys of Easter Day.

Saint Michael and the Devil … a statue by Jacob Epstein at Coventry Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Sunday 22 February 2026, Lent I):

The theme this week (22-28 February 2026) in ‘Pray With the World Church,’ the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is: ‘Behold, I make all things new!’ (pp 30-31). This theme is introduced today with Reflections by the Right Revd Jorge Pina Cabral Jorge, Diocesan Bishop of the Lusitanian Church (Portugal):

‘The prophetic vision of Saint John, “Behold, I make all things new! ” (Revelation 21: 5), will be the motto and challenge of an impulse for renewal and sustainable growth, for a more consequential Anglican and Christian witness on the Iberian Peninsula, with a desired openness and cooperation with other Anglican jurisdictions in Europe.

‘The two Iberian national churches -- the Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church (IERE) and the Lusitanian Church, Portugal (ILCAE) – are involved in a proposal for a new Anglican Province as a result of nearly 150 years of shared history. Together, the IERE and ILCAE serve communities across the main regions and cities, with ministries that support youth and women, provide social action, communication, and theological training, and build ecumenical and interfaith relationships.

‘In Portugal, specialised ministries include the Diaconia Secretariat dedicated to social intervention, particularly with immigrants. Also focused on social work, the Church’s two solidarity institutions (AETP in Gaia and the Sagrada Família Social Centre in Queluz) provide services to children and the elderly and support people in situations of economic vulnerability, providing meals, laundry, home help, etc.

‘Among the most important institutions and ministries in Spain are the Atilano Coco University Residence in Salamanca; the Anglican Pilgrim House in Santiago de Compostela; the religious bookshop that the Church runs in Malaga (Proyecto Logos) and the important Radio Anglicana ministry with over one million registered listeners.

‘The proposed vision is to move forward in unity and complete the process by 2030, the year in which these Iberian churches will celebrate the 150th anniversary of their founding synods.’

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Sunday 22 February 2026, Lent I) invites us to pray as we read and meditate on Matthew 4: 1-11.

‘Then the devil left him …’ (Matthew 4: 11) … a sculpture in the Llotja de la Seda or Silk Exchange in Valencia (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The Collect:

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.

The Post-Communion Prayer:

Lord God,
you have renewed us with the living bread from heaven;
by it you nourish our faith,
increase our hope,
and strengthen our love:
teach us always to hunger for him who is the true and living bread,
and enable us to live by every word
that proceeds from out of your mouth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Additional Collect:

Heavenly Father,
your Son battled with the powers of darkness,
and grew closer to you in the desert:
help us to use these days to grow in wisdom and prayer
that we may witness to your saving love
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Testerday’s Reflecgtions

Continued Tomorrow

‘ … and suddenly angels came and waited on him’ (Matthew 4: 11) … two angels by Eric Gill support a bishop’s coat-of-arms in Jesus College, Cambridge (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Daily prayer in Advent 2025: 3, Tuesday 2 December 2025

‘Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!’ (Luke 10: 23) … street art in Camden Street, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

The Season of Advent – and the real countdown to Christmas – began on Sunday with the First Sunday of Advent (30 November 2025).

I have stayed in Dublin overnight after last night’s launch of Childhood and the Irish, a new book edited my friend and colleague, Professor Salvador Ryan of Maynooth, in the Royal Irish Academy. I am catching a flight back to Birmingham later this afternoon. But, before the day begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:

1, today’s Gospel reading;

2, a short reflection;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;

4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.

‘Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!’ (Luke 10: 23) … what do we see in our own eyes?

Luke 10: 21-24 (NRSVA):

21 At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’

23 Then turning to the disciples, Jesus said to them privately, ‘Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.’

‘Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!’ (Luke 10: 23) … street art in Plaza de Judería in Malaga (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s reflection:

In the Gospel reading provided in the lectionary at the Eucharist today (Luke 10: 21-24), Jesus tells his disciples: ‘Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it’ (verse 23-24).

At 73, my sight and my hearing may not quite be what they once were. But my distant ‘cousin’, the late Kevin Martin, who died two years ago (14 June 2023), would greet me on my birthdays with the traditional Jewish greeting of ‘ad meah v’esrim’, ‘may you live until 120!’ (עד מאה ועשרים שנה‎).

Deuteronomy recalls that Moses lived to be 120, at which age ‘his eye had not dimmed, and his vigour had not diminished’ (Deuteronomy 34: 7). Great rabbis of the Talmud, including Hillel, Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zakkai, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi, all lived to 120 as well.

The traditional Jewish birthday blessing carries the implication that the receiver should retain full mental and physical faculties to the end of life, still able to see with ears and to hear with ears.

This short overnight visit to Dublin has brought back many places where I have lived, worked or studied over the years. But Advent is a time of looking forward rather than back.

With those implications, of my eyes not being dimmed, and my vigour not being diminished, living for many more years does not sound so dim or distant a prospect at all. Indeed, despite a stroke, sarcoidosis and B12 deficiency, it might even be a real blessing, not only with what I have seen and heard in life but with the love, care and attention I receive too.

‘Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!’ (Luke 10: 23) … street art in Brick Lane in the East End, London (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Tuesday 2 December 2025):

The theme this week (30 to 6 December 2025) in Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘The Kingdom is for All’ (pp 6-7). This theme was introduced on Sunday with a programme update from the Revd Magela, Vicar of Cristo Redentor Parish in Tocantins, Brazil and coordinator of Casa A+, a place of hope and healing for people living with HIV.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Tuesday 2 December 2025) invites us to pray:

Let us pray for justice in public health, so that HIV/AIDS care and treatment reach all people in vulnerable situations, and so that vital medicines are accessible and free of charge to those who need them.

The Collect:

Almighty God,
give us grace to cast away the works of darkness
and to put on the armour of light,
now in the time of this mortal life,
in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;
that on the last day,
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
to judge the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal;
through him who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

The Post Communion Prayer:

O Lord our God,
make us watchful and keep us faithful
as we await the coming of your Son our Lord;
that, when he shall appear,
he may not find us sleeping in sin
but active in his service
and joyful in his praise;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Additional Collect:

Almighty God,
as your kingdom dawns,
turn us from the darkness of sin
to the light of holiness,
that we may be ready to meet you
in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Yesterday’s Reflections

Continued Tomorrow

‘Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!’ (Luke 10: 23) … street art in Camden Place, between Camden Street and Harcourt Street, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2025: 125, Friday 12 September 2025

‘Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye?’ (Luke 6: 41) … street art in Plaza de Judería in Malaga (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar and the week began with the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XII, 7 September 2025).

Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:

1, today’s Gospel reading;

2, a reflection on the Gospel reading;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;

4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.

‘First take the log out of your own eye’ (Luke 6: 39) … autumn logs by the River Ouse in Stony Stratford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Luke 6: 39-42 (NRSVA):

39 He also told them a parable: ‘Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher. 41 Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your neighbour, “Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye”, when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour’s eye.’

‘Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?’ (Luke 6: 41) … what do we see in our own eyes? (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflection:

For some days, the Gospel readings have taken us through the ‘Sermon on the Level Place’, Saint Luke’s equivalent of the Sermon on the Mount, which we began reading yesterday with Saint Luke’s version of the Beatitudes (Luke 6: 20-38).

As we continue this sequence of readings from Saint Luke’s Gospel, we read sayings whose parallels in Saint Matthew’s Gospel (see Matthew 15) are addressed to the Pharisees, but here are addressed to the disciples.

In this reading, Christ makes two points.

Firstly, the blind cannot lead the blind. The disciple, left to himself or herself, does not know very much and depends on the teacher. But once the disciple is fully trained and has learnt everything it is possible to discern from the teacher, then the learner becomes an extension of the teacher. At that point, the disciple shares the teacher’s knowledge and wisdom and can, in turn, be a guide to others.

We ought to listen carefully to what Christ says to us and make it part of our own lives. Only then can we effectively lead others to him.

But, secondly, we need to be mindful about sitting in judgment on others. Christ uses a graphic image of someone trying to remove a speck of dust from another person’s eye while there is a large ‘log’ in their own. How can I see properly to correct the vision of my fellow disciple or Christian when my own vision is so distorted?

The faults I so easily see in others are often trivial in comparison with my own shortcomings. Of course, much of the energy I exert in gossip and in putting down others may be sub-conscious attempts to compensate for my own shortcomings. Instead of lifting myself up by changing my ways, I can try to drag others down.

But then, our judgments so often are based purely on external behaviour. We usually have no idea of the inner motives or intentions of other people, or an awareness of their inability to behave in way other than the way then do.

How often, when I am quick to criticism other people behind their backs am I equally quick to say those things to face-to-face. Yet, how often, when I am asked professionally to offer an objective evaluation of a person’s behaviour or their fitness for some responsibility, do I shy away from those responsibilities?

What is true sight and true light?

During a visit to Liverpool many years ago, I visited Hope Street, and there above the Hope Street entrance to the former Royal School for the Blind was the inscription: ‘Christ heals the blind, for who denies that in the mind dwell truer sight and clearer light than in the eyes?’

Both this morning’s reading and that inscription also find interesting parallels in Plato’s ‘Allegory of the Cave’ (The Republic, Book VII).

No one, of course, denies the idea that the mind possesses truer sight and clearer light than the eyes. In an account of Socrates in The Republic, Plato argues that our earthly senses can be misleading and that true understanding is found through the intellect and the forms, not the physical senses.

In Plato’s ‘Allegory of the Cave’, prisoners mistake shadows on a wall for reality. When one prisoner is freed and sees the true objects and the light of the sun, he finds the ‘reality’ of the cave far less clear than the true world, even though his eyes are pained by the light. This illustrates that physical sight can be deceptive, while the intellect understands a higher reality.

Plato believed that the intellect and reason, not the senses, provide true understanding and wisdom. The mind's perception is superior to the deceptive nature of physical vision.

He recalls Socrates’ allegory of the cave. Socrates has compared a philosophic education to leaving a dark cave and emerging into the light. He notes that, when you leave the dark and enter the light, it takes your eyes awhile to adjust; you cannot see at first.

Imagine leaving a dark cinema in the middle of a sunny day: it is hard to see outside at first.

So, the philosophers need to leave the cave and have their eyes adjust to the bright outside world. Once this happens, though, Socrates argues that they must be forced to go back into the dark cave, to rule.

The cave, it turns out, is an image of the city with its conventional opinions, as opposed to the truth. Socrates notes that, when the philosophers go back into the cave, it will also take some time for their eyes to adjust to the darkness.

Imagine, now, going back into that dark cinema in the middle of that sunny day; it is hard to see inside at first.

Socrates is comparing bodily vision to intellectual vision. There are two possible causes for someone who has bad bodily vision: they might be going from the dark to the light; or they might be going from the light to the dark. So too with intellectual vision: someone with bad intellectual vision may be going from the dark cave of opinions to the light of the truth, or they may be going from the light of the truth back to the dark cave of opinions.

This morning’s Gospel sayings warn us against either form of blindness, but also warn us against leading others when we are not aware of suffering from one or other – or both – forms of blindness.

Blind Socrates … a small figure among trinkets and figurines in an antique shop in Rethymnon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Friday 12 September 2025):

The theme this week (7 to 13 September) in Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘Cementing a Legacy’ (pp 36-37). This theme was introduced last Sunday with reflections from Rachel Weller, Communications Officer, USPG.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Friday 12 September 2025) invites us to pray:

Heavenly Father, help us to steward our financial gifts with wisdom and faithfulness, ensuring they are used to support your work and care for all in need.

The Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God,
you are always more ready to hear than we to pray
and to give more than either we desire or deserve:
pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid
and giving us those good things
which we are not worthy to ask
but through the merits and mediation
of 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.

The Post Communion Prayer:

God of all mercy,
in this eucharist you have set aside our sins
and given us your healing:
grant that we who are made whole in Christ
may bring that healing to this broken world,
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Additional Collect:

God of constant mercy,
who sent your Son to save us:
remind us of your goodness,
increase your grace within us,
that our thankfulness may grow,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s reflections

Continued tomorrow

An inscription above the Hope Street entrance of the former Royal School for the Blind, Liverpool (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2025: 45, Monday 23 June 2025

‘Do not judge, so that you may not be judged’ (Matthew 7: 1) … the museum in the old courthouse in Adare, Co Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

We are in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar, and the week began with the First Sunday after Trinity (Trinity I, 22 June 2025). The calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today remembers Etheldreda (ca 678), Abbess of Ely.

Before today begins, however, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:

1, reading today’s Gospel reading;

2, a short reflection;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;

4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.

‘Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?’ (Matthew 7: 3) (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Matthew 7: 1-5 (NRSVA):

[Jesus said to his disciples:] 1 ‘Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. 2 For with the judgement you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. 3 Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your neighbour, “Let me take the speck out of your eye”, while the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour’s eye.’

‘Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye?’ (Mattew 7: 4) … street art in Plaza de Judería in Malaga (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflection:

Our Gospel story (Matthew 7: 1-5) returns to our readings from the Sermon on the Mount. Today’s reading prompts me once again to reflect on my own actions with the sort of introspection I find in the prayers of Saint John Chrysostom:

1. O Lord, deprive me not of your heavenly blessings.
2. O Lord, deliver me from eternal torment.
3. O Lord, if I have sinned in my mind or thought, in word or deed, forgive me.
4. O Lord, deliver me from every ignorance and heedlessness, from pettiness of the soul and stony hardness of heart.
5. O Lord, deliver me from every temptation.
6. O Lord, enlighten my heart darkened by evil desires.
7. O Lord, I, being a human being, have sinned; I ask you, being God, to forgive me in your loving kindness, for you know the weakness of my soul.
8. O Lord, send down your grace to help me, that I may glorify your holy Name.
9. O Lord Jesus Christ, inscribe me, your servant, in the Book of Life, and grant me a blessed end.
10. O Lord my God, even if I have done nothing good in your sight, yet grant me, according to your grace, that I may make a start in doing good.
11. O Lord, sprinkle on my heart the dew of your grace.
12. O Lord of heaven and earth, remember me, your sinful servant, cold of heart and impure, in your Kingdom.
13. O Lord, receive me in repentance.
14. O Lord, leave me not.
15. O Lord, save me from temptation.
16. O Lord, grant me pure thoughts.
17. O Lord, grant me tears of repentance, remembrance of death, and the sense of peace.
18. O Lord, grant me mindfulness to confess my sins.
19. O Lord, grant me humility, charity, and obedience.
20. O Lord, grant me tolerance, magnanimity, and gentleness.
21. O Lord, implant in me the root of all blessings: the fear of you in my heart.
22. O Lord, grant that I may love you with all my heart and soul, and that in all things I may obey your will.
23. O Lord, shield me from evil persons and devils and passions and all other lawless matters.
24. O Lord, who knows your creation and what you have willed for it; may your will also be fulfilled in me, a sinner, for you art blessed for evermore. Amen.

These are prayers that I handed out each year to students taking the elective on Patristics I offered on the MTh course in the Church of Ireland Theological Institute (CITI) and Trinity College Dublin (TCD).

The rediscovery of Patristic texts and writings in the 15th and 16th centuries, following the exodus of Greek scholars with the fall of Byzantium is a major factor in understanding the Reformations, in particular the Anglican Reformation. Thomas Cranmer introduced the ‘Prayer of Saint Chrysostom’ to Anglicanism:

‘Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfil now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.’

‘First take the log out of your own eye’ (Matthew 7: 5) … logs by the River Great Ouse in Stony Stratford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Monday 23 June 2025):

‘Windrush Day’ is the theme this week (22-28 June) in Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel). This theme was introduced yesterday with reflections by Rachael Anderson, former Senior Communications and Engagement Manager, USPG.

The USPG prayer diary today (Monday 23 June 2025) invites us to pray:

Father God, we lament our past failings in welcoming the Windrush generation, particularly the church doors that were closed in their faces. We ask that you help us to recognise your Son in every face we see, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Collect:

Eternal God,
who bestowed such grace upon your servant Etheldreda
that she gave herself wholly to the life of prayer
and to the service of your true religion:
grant that we, like her,
may so live our lives on earth seeking your kingdom
that by your guiding
we may be joined to the glorious fellowship of your saints;
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.

The Post-Communion Prayer:

Merciful God,
who gave such grace to your servant Etheldreda
that she served you with singleness of heart
and loved you above all things:
help us, whose communion with you
has been renewed in this sacrament,
to forsake all that holds us back from following Christ
and to grow into his likeness from glory to glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Collect on the Eve of Birth of John the Baptist:

Almighty God,
by whose providence your servant John the Baptist
was wonderfully born,
and sent to prepare the way of your Son our Saviour
by the preaching of repentance:
lead us to repent according to his preaching
and, after his example,
constantly to speak the truth, boldly to rebuke vice,
and patiently to suffer for the truth’s sake;
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.

Yesterday’s Reflections

Continued Tomorrow

Windrush Day, 22 June 1948, remembered at the MK Rose in Milton Keynes … ‘Windrush Day’ is the theme this week in the USPG prayer diary (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2025: 42, Friday 20 June 2025

‘S. Laurence with the treasures of the Church’ … an illustration in Enid M Chadwick’s ‘My Book of the Church’s Year’, seen in a church in Cambridge (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

We are in Ordinary Time: this week began with Trinity Sunday (15 June 2025), and yesterday was the Day of Thanksgiving for the Institution of Holy Communion or the Feast of Corpus Christi (19 June 2025).

1, reading today’s Gospel reading;

2, a short reflection;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;

4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.

Saint Laurence with his gridiron above the south porch of Saint Laurence’s Church in Winslow, Buckinghamshire (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Matthew 6: 19-23 (NRSVA):

[Jesus said:] 19 ‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 ‘The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; 23 but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!’

Saint Lawrence with the gridiron depicted on the Saint Lawrence and Saint Mary Magdalene Fountain on the east side of Carter Lane Gardens near Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflection:

The Gospel reading at the Eucharist today (Matthew 6: 19-23) continues the series of readings from the Sermon on the Mount. In today’s reading, we are challenged to consider once again to think about the things we treasure, to keep our eyes open to all around us, to the needs of the world, and to step out of the darkness.

In these dark days – dark days for the world politically and socially, and dark days for refugees, the poor, the marginalised and those who suffer – what do I treasure most? What should the Church treasure?

Saint Lawrence the martyr, who lived in the third century, was one of seven deacons in charge of helping the poor and the needy in Rome. He was martyred during the persecution of Christians in the reign of the Emperor Valerian in the year 258.

When Pope Sixtus II became Pope in 257, he ordained Lawrence deacon and appointed him Archdeacon of Rome. Sixtus II was celebrating the liturgy on 6 August when he taken captive and was taken away to be beheaded, Lawrence followed him weeping: ‘Father, where are you going without your deacon?’ Pope Sixtus answered, ‘I am not leaving you, my son, in three days you will follow me.’

Lawrence proceeded to give to the poor the rest of the money he had with him, and sold treasured church vessels so he would have more money to give away.

The prefect of Rome searched for the hidden treasures of the Church, and ordered Lawrence to bring them to him. The deacon said he would, in three days. Then he went through the streets of Rome and gathered together all the poor and sick people supported by the Church. He showed them to the prefect and said: ‘Here are the treasures of the church. You see, the church is truly rich, far richer than your emperor!’

Ambrose of Milan says Lawrence told the prefect: ‘Behold in these poor persons the treasures which I promised to show you; to which I will add pearls and precious stones, those widows and consecrated virgins, which are the Church’s crown.’

The prefect was furious. In his anger he asked them to kill Lawrence slowly so he would suffer more. He was tied to an iron grill over a slow fire that roasted him. As he was dying on the grill, Lawrence is said to have said: ‘Turn me over’. Before he died, he prayed that the city of Rome might be converted and that Christianity would spread throughout the world.

Lawrence died on 10 August 258. His feast on 10 August spread throughout Italy and northern Africa. The Emperor Constantine built a basilica in his honour, and his name is among the saints named in the First Eucharistic Prayer at the Mass.

Where do we find the treasures of the Church? … a window ledge in the chapel in Dr Miley’s Hospital, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Friday 20 June 2025, World Refugee Day):

‘Crossing the Channel’ is the theme this week (15-21 June) in Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel). This theme was introduced on Sunday with reflections by Bradon Muilenburg, Anglican Refugee Support Lead.

The USPG prayer diary today (Friday 20 June 2025, World Refugee Day) invites us to pray:

Father, on World Refugee Day, we thank you for Bradon and his frontline ministry in Calais. We pray that you bless him and his family with the strength to persevere when the realities on the ground are hard to bear.

The Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God,
you have given us your servants grace,
by the confession of a true faith,
to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity
and in the power of the divine majesty to worship the Unity:
keep us steadfast in this faith,
that we may evermore be defended from all adversities;
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.

The Post-Communion Prayer:

Almighty and eternal God,
you have revealed yourself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
and live and reign in the perfect unity of love:
hold us firm in this faith,
that we may know you in all your ways
and evermore rejoice in your eternal glory,
who are three Persons yet one God,
now and for ever.

Additional Collect:

Holy God,
faithful and unchanging:
enlarge our minds with the knowledge of your truth,
and draw us more deeply into the mystery of your love,
that we may truly worship you,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Yesterday’s Reflection

Continued Tomorrow

‘The eye is the lamp of the body’ (Matthew 6: 22) … street art in Malaga (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org