Wednesday 9 April 2025 Today is Wednesday the 9th of April in the 5th week of Lent. The monks of Glenstal Abbey sing Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est. Wherever love is true, God is there. God is present here: the God who is love. Present, living, dwelling in every one of the people around you, and in you. Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est. Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor. Exsultemus, et in ipso jucundemur. Timeamus, et amemus Deum vivum. Et ex corde diligamus nos sincero. Ubi caritas est...
Apr 10, 2025•13 min
Tuesday 8 April 2025 Today is Tuesday the 8th of April in the 5th week of Lent. Bifrost Arts sings, ‘O God, Will You Restore Us?' O God, will You restore us And grant us Your salvation? O God, will You restore us And grant us Your salvation? I will hear what God proclaims The Lord our God proclaims peace Kindness and truth shall meet Justice and peace shall kiss O God, will You restore us And grant us Your salvation? Here is the fast that I choose To loosen the bonds of the oppressed and break t...
Apr 08, 2025•13 min
Monday 7 April 2025 Today is Monday the 7th of April in the 5th week of Lent. The Community of Taizé sing Christe Lux Mundi: ‘O Christ, light of the world, whoever follows you will have the light of life.’ Christe, lux mundi, qui sequitur te, habebit lumen vitae, lumen vitae Today’s reading is from the Gospel of John. John 8:12-20 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’ Then the Pharisees sa...
Apr 07, 2025•13 min
Sunday 6 April 2025 Today is Sunday the 6th of April, the 5th Sunday of Lent. Good Shepherd Collective sings, ‘Help Me Jesus’. Today’s reading is from the Gospel of John. John 8:1-11 Early in the morning [Jesus] came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of commi...
Apr 07, 2025•13 min
Saturday 5 April 2025 Welcome to the Saturday examen. Take a quiet minute now to reflect on how your week been. Try to recall a moment when you felt close to the Lord. How did you encounter him? Try to recall a moment when you felt distant from the Lord. What was happening for you? Now, offer these times to the Lord, the first in gratitude for your encounters and in prayer for the more distant times. Now a short excerpt of the scripture from each day of the past week will be read either as a mem...
Apr 06, 2025•9 min
Friday 4 April 2025 Today is Friday the 4th of April in the 4th week of Lent. Ladysmith Black Mambazo sing Uqinisil’Ubaba: After travelling the whole world, I still come to the same truth that I left at home: God is truth! So why do you doubt? Don’t doubt, hold on to him and place your hope in him. Listen to God because he is truth. Today’s reading is from the Gospel of John. John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He did not wish to go about in Judea because the Jews were ...
Apr 05, 2025•13 min
Thursday 3 April 2025 Today is Thursday the 3rd of April in the 4th week of Lent. Salt of the Sound sings, Kyrie Eleison: ‘Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy’. Kyrie eleison Christe eleison Lord have mercy, mercy on us Today’s reading is from the Book of Exodus. Exodus 32:7-14 The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themse...
Apr 04, 2025•13 min
Wednesday 2 April 2025 Today is Wednesday the 2nd of April in the 4th week of Lent. The Porter’s Gate sing, ‘You Are My Sanctuary’. Can you make these words your own today? You are my sanctuary My hiding place Where I belong You are my peaceful harbour You will bring me Safely home Out in the dark, when the light is gone Your waves and breakers roll over me And when my anchor won’t touch the ground Deep calls to deep You are my sanctuary My hiding place Where I belong You are my peaceful harbour...
Apr 03, 2025•13 min
Tuesday 1 April 2025 Today is Tuesday the 1st of April, in the 4th week of Lent. Juliano Ravanello sings, Ubi Caritas: ‘Wherever love is true, God is there’. Where is God for you today? Today’s reading is from the Gospel of John. John 5:1-16 [After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.] Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralysed. One man was there...
Apr 01, 2025•13 min
Monday 31 March 2025 Today is Monday the 31st of March in the 4th week of Lent. Eliza King sings, ‘All Things New’. As you listen, what of God’s creative work do you see in your life and in the world around you? You break like the light of the sun Bringing colour to shadows Christ, it was you all along You’re the words of an ancient song, we’ve been singing Behold, He makes all things new Behold, He makes all things new Behold, He makes all things new Behold, He makes all things new You rise, as...
Mar 31, 2025•12 min
Sunday 30 March 2025 Today is Sunday the 30th of March, the 4th Sunday of Lent. CalledOut Music sings, ‘Worst Days’. God of everything You reached out to me Made a home in my heart I just can't explain I just stand in awe Of Your wonderful love And even on my worst days It stays the same I just don't understand How high How wide How deep Is Your love Love that knows no end I'm wrapped up in the arms of my Father I'll never lose my position I will always be Your child That's all that matters Cuz ...
Mar 30, 2025•14 min
Saturday 29 March 2025 Welcome to the Saturday Examen. During Lent we walk with Jesus as he follows his Father’s will. Through the Examen we seek to follow his profound trust in divine providence and love. Take a few moments today to see the past week with the Lord’s guidance. Prepare yourself for prayer by focussing on your breath…take a few deep breaths in…and then a few releasing breaths out. Notice how the change in breath brings stillness and an awareness of God’s presence. We might begin b...
Mar 29, 2025•9 min
Friday 28 March 2025 Today is Friday the 28th of March in the 3rd week of Lent. Paul Zach with the Porter’s Gate sings, ‘The Greatest Commandment’. Love the Lord your God With all your heart and soul and mind And love your neighbour as yourself Love the Lord your God With all your heart and soul and mind And love your neighbour as yourself Let us be known, let us be known By the way we love Let us be known, let us be known By the way we love Love the Lord your God With all your heart and soul an...
Mar 28, 2025•13 min
Thursday 27 March 2025 Today is Thursday the 27th of March in the 3rd week of Lent. The monks of the Abbey of Keur Moussa sing: ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.’ As they sing…. I listen. I listen with my whole attention, with my mind and with my heart, so that I may really hear the word of God and keep it. Today’s reading is from the Prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah 7:23-28 But this command I gave them, ‘Obey my v...
Mar 27, 2025•13 min
Wednesday 26 March 2025 Today is Wednesday the 26th of March in the 3rd week of Lent. The Kyiv Chamber Choir sing In Thy Kingdom from One Thousand Years Of Ukrainian Sacred Music. Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew 5:17-19 ‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished...
Mar 26, 2025•13 min
Tuesday 25 March 2025 Today is Tuesday the 25th of March, the feast of the Annunciation of the Lord, in the 3rd week of Lent. Good Shepherd Collective sings a version of Ave Maria. As we celebrate the feast of the Annunciation today, you might like to begin placing yourself into the scene with Mary and Gabriel as you listen… Ave Maria Gratia plena Maria, gratia plena Maria, gratia plena Ave, Ave Dominus Dominus tecum… … In hora mortis nostrae In hora, hora mortis nostrae In hora mortis nostrae A...
Mar 25, 2025•13 min
Monday 24 March 2025 Today is Monday the 24th of March in the 3rd week of Lent. The Cape Town Camerata sings, ‘Bless the Lord, O my Soul’, from Rachmaninoff’s Vespers. Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Luke. Luke 4: 24-30 And [Jesus] said, ‘Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town. But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet...
Mar 24, 2025•13 min
Sunday 24 March 2025 Today is Sunday the 23rd of March, the 3rd Sunday of Lent. Bethel Music sing a version of ‘Way Maker’ by Sinach. Today, we will reflect with Moses at the burning bush. You might like to begin by bringing this scene into your mind. Perhaps you can let the words of this song help you… You are here Moving in our midst I worship you, I worship you You are here Working in this place I worship you, I worship you Way maker, miracle worker Promise keeper, light in the darkness My Go...
Mar 23, 2025•13 min
Saturday 22 March 2025 Welcome to the Saturday Examen. Take a moment to become still…remembering that you are on a Lenten journey in this season… Become aware of how you are in that space. As we walk through Lent, many of the readings and our music have spoken of wilderness; of desert and dry land…of searching. As you look back over the week, where have you searched for God? Perhaps in a moment of desperation… maybe through discipline, fasting or in search of consolation. Let your mind reach bac...
Mar 22, 2025•8 min
Friday 21 March 2025 Today is Friday the 21st of March in the 2nd week of Lent. Salt of the Sound sing, ‘O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus’. O the deep, deep love of Jesus Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free Rolling as a mighty ocean In its fullness over me Underneath me, all around me Is the current of thy love Leading onward, leading homeward To thy glorious rest above O the deep, deep love of Jesus Spread his praise from shore to shore How he loves us, ever loves us Changes never, nevermore How he...
Mar 21, 2025•13 min
Thursday 20 March 2025 Today is Thursday the 20th of March in the 2nd week of Lent. The community of Taizé sing De noche iremos: ‘By night we search for the source of living water. It is only our thirst that guides our way.’ This time of prayer is an opportunity to quench that thirst a little - my thirst for God, the source of life - a chance to drink from the spring, from the source of living water, and be refreshed. De noche iremos, de noche que para encontrar la fuente sólo la sed nos alumbra...
Mar 20, 2025•13 min
Wednesday 19 March 2025 Today is Wednesday the 19th of March, the feast of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the 2nd week of Lent. Harpa Dei sing, ‘Josef fili David’: ‘Joseph, Son of David’. On this feast day, take a moment to ponder the role of St Joseph in the Gospel story… is there a moment you admire? Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Jose...
Mar 19, 2025•13 min
Tuesday 18 March 2025 Today is Tuesday the 18th of March in the 2nd week of Lent. The choir of Portsmouth Cathedral sing Psalm 42 – Like as the Hart desireth the waterbrooks, so longeth my soul after thee, O God. Like as the hart desireth the water-brooks: so longeth my soul after thee, O God. My soul is athirst for God, yea, even for the living God: when shall I come to appear before the presence of God? My tears have been my meat day and night: while they daily say unto me, Where is now thy Go...
Mar 18, 2025•13 min
Monday 17 March 2025 Today is Monday the 17th of March, the feast of Saint Patrick, in the 2nd week of Lent. The Porter’s Gate sing, ‘Blessed are the Merciful’. Blessed are the merciful For they shall receive mercy, mercy Forgive us as we forgive those who sin against us Lord have mercy on us Show Your mercy through us Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Luke. Luke 6:36-38 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not b...
Mar 17, 2025•11 min
Sunday 16 March 2025 Today is Sunday the 16th of March, the 2nd Sunday of Lent. Steffany Gretzinger sings, ‘Show Me Your Face’. Moses stood on a mountain Waiting for You to pass by You put Your hand over his face So in Your Presence, he wouldn't die And all of Israel saw the glory And it shines down through the age Now You've called me To boldly seek Your Face Show me Your face, Lord Show me Your face And then gird up my legs That I might stand in this holy place Show me Your face, Lord Your pow...
Mar 16, 2025•13 min
Saturday 15 March 2025 Welcome to the Saturday Examen. Become quiet and still. As we prepare to look back at the week just gone, you might like to ask God to come and be with you now, wherever you find yourself. Begin to ask the Holy Spirit to show you the events of your week…. you don’t have to strain for this! Just allow moments to naturally come to the surface. What do you notice? Begin sifting through these to find the movements of God… which moments caused you to feel closer to the Lord, or...
Mar 15, 2025•8 min
Friday 14 March 2025 Today is Friday the 14th of March in the 1st week of Lent. The monks of Pluscarden Abbey sing Ecce quam bonum: “How good and how pleasant it is when brothers and sisters live together in unity! It is like precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes.” Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew 5:20-26 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you ...
Mar 14, 2025•11 min
Thursday 13 March 2025 Today is Thursday the 13th of March in the 1st week of Lent. The King’s Singers sing Spem in Alium by Thomas Tallis. ‘I have never put my hope in any other but in you’. As I begin this time of prayer today, can I speak those words to God? Can I place all my hope, all my trust, all my faith in him? Spem in alium nunquam habui Praeter in te, Deus Israel Qui irasceris et propitius eris et omnia peccata hominum in tribulatione dimittis Domine Deus Creator caeli et terrae respi...
Mar 13, 2025•12 min
Wednesday 12 March 2025 Today is Wednesday the 12th of March in the 1st week of Lent. It is the Spirit of love who gives life. God is the source of all life, the one in whom we live and move and have our being. As you look around you now, can you sense God’s Holy Spirit where you are? Perhaps in the stillness…or even in the busyness of living activity: other people, animals, nature… perhaps, within yourself? Today’s reading is from the Gospel of John. John 3:1-10 Now there was a Pharisee named N...
Mar 12, 2025•13 min
Tuesday 11 March 2025 Today is Tuesday the 11th of March in the 1st week of Lent. The University of Johannesburg choir sing a setting of Psalm 42: As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. Today’s reading is from the Prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 55:10-11 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes...
Mar 11, 2025•11 min
