Growth in holiness
In WH Auden’s long poem “Horae Canonicae”, he says that to desert the “formidable shrines” of the pagan gods and “to pray instead to St Phocas … or whoever one’s patron is, / that one may be worthy of their mystery, /what a prodigious step to have taken.” What might you pray to St Phocas for? Perhaps for your garden, since this 3rd-century saint was famous for his. Phocas lived in Sinope (today Sinop in Turkey), and his garden provided plenty of food which he was able to share with the poor. His home, meanwhile, was a famous house of hospitality.
12:00 PM
Saint of the week: Phocas the Gardener (July 3)
growth in holiness in wh auden’s long poem “horae canonicae”, he says that to desert the “formidable shrines” of the pagan gods and “to pray...
Staff Reporter
2 min read
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