Dominican friar; Promoter General of the Rosary; sharing my own photos of sacred art & architecture daily since 2006. Views my own; RTs are not endorsements.
Oxford, England
Joined March 2009
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Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P. retweeted
Pendant ce temps (et malgré une pluie battante !), une belle jeunesse pacifique marche, chante, prie... Magnifique entrée, comme chaque année à l’issue de leur pèlerinage, des routiers scouts d’Europe dans la basilique de Vézelay au son du traditionnel « Kyrie des gueux » 🙏🏻
Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P. retweeted
Pope Leo XIV at the Angelus prays for the victims of the Islamic terrorist attack that saw seven Christians martyred at a funeral in Jordan:
“My prayers go out to all those who were injured or lost their lives last Friday in the terrorist attack on worshippers at the Orthodox Church of Saint George in Harmoud, Jordan. I express my closeness to the community and the entire country, which is known for its peaceful coexistence and respect between different religions.”
Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P. retweeted
One of Japan’s favorite foods could open the door to a conversation about Christianity.
Tempura.
The dish developed from cooking techniques brought to Japan by the Portuguese in the 16th century.
One longstanding theory traces its name to têmporas, the Portuguese term for Catholic Ember Days.
Four times a year, Catholics traditionally fasted, abstained from meat, and thanked God for the changing seasons and harvests.
The etymology is disputed, but the theory appears in Japanese dictionaries.
Who would have thought a Japanese dish could offer an opportunity to share the Catholic faith?
"O Raphael, lead us to those who are awaiting our help, as once thou didst lead Tobias to the poor blind man who was to be restored to sight by thee. Guardian of our lives, direct our steps, whether our journey be one of soul or body. Preserve us from ill, heal us in body and soul, and grant that by thy holy guidance we may attain the joys of everlasting life. Amen."
🙏 Today, 24th of October, is the traditional feast day of St Raphael (commemorated with St Michael and St Gabriel on 29th September in the new calendar); a Dominican Rite Low Mass will be celebrated at 12:15pm today @BlackfriarsOx with Catholic students from several universities. St Raphael is the patron of travellers, pilgrims, the sick, and those suffering from demonic oppression.
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📷 This Flemish tapestry is in the Kunsthistoriches Museum in Vienna.
Illustrating today's Mass readings:
"Brothers and Sisters: I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call — one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." – Ephesians 4:1-6, which is today's epistle at Mass for the 29th Fri in Ordinary Time.
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📷 Stained glass detail from Star of the Sea church in Bremerton WA.
"O God, who are rich in mercy
and who willed that Saint John Paul the Second
should preside as Pope over your universal Church,
grant, we pray, that instructed by his teaching,
we may open our hearts to the saving grace of Christ,
the sole Redeemer of mankind.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen."
– Collect for the feast of St John Paul II (22 Oct).
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📷 Bust from the Casa Benincasa in Siena.
Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P. retweeted
In a world where lifelong commitments are increasingly rare, one woman in Japan has dedicated the rest of her life to God.
On October 16, Sister Francisca Miki Saito professed her perpetual vows as a Catholic religious sister in Tokyo.
She belongs to the Sisters of Bethany, a congregation whose roots go back to 1929, when a French missionary began caring for destitute tuberculosis patients in Tokyo.
Nearly a century later, that mission continues.
Pray for Sister Saito and praise God for His continued work in Japan.
Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P. retweeted
Pope Leo XIV’s doctors have given the Pope the all clear, and confirmed that he will not require any more treatment for his lung cancer:
“The final histopathology and molecular testing reports on the tissue removed during the Holy Father's surgery were issued today. The results confirmed that the tumor was a lung adenocarcinoma and that the disease was localized. A subsequent oncological assessment has confirmed that no further treatment is necessary.”
Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P. retweeted
Some wonderful news Our Holy Father St Benedict recognised by the European Parliament:
Official Naming Ceremony of the Benedetto da Norcia Room
On Tuesday, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group held a ceremony in Strasbourg to officially name its meeting room WIC 200 after Benedetto da Norcia (Saint Benedict of Nursia).
Saint Benedict played an instrumental role in shaping the development of Western civilisation and European culture. His spiritual mission helped usher in a new and brighter era for Europe. Benedictine monasteries became important centres of learning, education and cultural preservation, contributing significantly to the renewal of a Europe united through its shared spiritual, intellectual and cultural heritage.
During the second half of the twentieth century, as modern Europe emerged from the darkness and devastation of war, Saint Benedict’s enduring legacy of spiritual unity, stability and order made him a natural choice as Patron Saint of Europe.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola attended the official naming ceremony.
Following the ceremony, a conference entitled “Roots That Shape the Future: Saint Benedict and the Values That Moulded Europe” took place in the newly named room.
The conference reflected upon the enduring relevance of the Benedictine tradition, its profound contribution to European history, and its continuing connection to the fundamental values upon which European civilisation was built.
Illustrating today's Mass readings:
"Brothers and Sisters: You have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy Apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the Church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realised in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him."
– Ephesians 3:2-12, which is today's epistle for the 29th Wednesday in Ordinary Time.
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📷 Stained glass window from Holy Rosary church, Greenville SC.
Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P. retweeted
One common and sad sight in the great churches of Christendom is side altars stripped bare and unused, or used only for potted plants, as here in the church where Padre Pio said Mass. As if it's always Good Friday and never Easter.
Illustrating today's Mass readings:
"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit." – Ephesians 2:19-22, which is today's epistle at Mass (29th Monday in Ordinary Time)
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📷 Mosaics in the Cathedral Basilica of St Louis, in St Louis, Missouri (USA).
From my Homily for St Frideswide's day (19 October):
"Today’s saint is very much a part of that first flourishing of the Faith in Anglo-Saxon England. She was a princess of Wessex in the kingdom of Mercia, and her name is probably pronounced Frithuswith (rather than Frideswide), and she was born c.650. Like quite few other royal women of her age, she became abbess of a monastery she had founded with her parents’ help in Oxford, on the site that is now called Christ Church Cathedral. This suggests to me the close links between the Church and the political rulers of the time. But after the death of her parents, King Aethelbald of Mercia sought to marry her, disregarding her vow of celbacy. When she refused, he tried to abduct her so she fled to Bampton and then to Binsey. Aethelbald is thwarted when he is struck blind by God so he gives up. But a well springs up in Binsey, and people go to Frithuswith for prayers and healing, and she later returns to Oxford to her monastery where she was buried after her death on this day in 727. Later on, in the 1440s, some 200 years after the Dominicans first arrived in Oxford. St Frideswide’s relics are still somewhere around Christ Church Cathedral but they had been scattered after the Reformation and so they’re not possible to locate, but we I always try to visit the location of her medieval shrine, often bringing visiting friars and friends to go there and to seek her intercession."
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📷 The reconstructed shrine of St Frideswide in Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford; her relics have not been found but are believed to be in the grounds of the cathedral.
Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P. retweeted
France, three weeks apart.
A Christian theology of 'principalities and powers' should leave us unsurprised that a phenomenal Papal visit is soon followed by violence and destruction.
France was reminded by the Pope of the values of God's kingdom; its opponents are responding.
Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P. retweeted
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
W.B. Yeats
