Universalis
This podcast accompanies the Universalis apps and website, which provide the Mass readings and the Liturgy of the Hours for each day. It offers guidance on how to use Universalis and regularly highlights upcoming liturgical feasts and readings. Each episode helps listeners keep up with the daily prayer and liturgical calendar.
Episodes
The week ahead – from 23 to 29 August
Saint Augustine and Saint Monica. Our Lady of Częstochowa. The Seven Deadly Sins in Dante: 2. Envy. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 16 to 22 August
The Seven Deadly Sins in Dante: 1. Pride. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 9 to 15 August
The Assumption. The Divine Comedy: a prologue to a series on the Seven Deadly Sins. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 2 to 8 August
The Transfiguration, and theo-drama. Hierarchies and status: there is a saint for everyone. Saint Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney, the Curé of Ars. Confession and its power. “Resurrection Is Now” as a printed book. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 26 July to 1 August
Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus. The active and contemplative lives. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 19 to 25 July
Saint James and the pilgrim route to Compostela. Saint Mary Magdalene: Apostle to the Apostles, organiser of the caravan, and the woman freed from seven devils. About devils: yours and mine, and how to deal with them. Saint Bridget of Sweden, patron saint of Europe. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 12 to 18 July
Blessed Inácio de Azevedo and his companions: the veneration of places. Saint Thérèse of Saint Augustine and her Companions: the tyranny of liberty, and how to change the course of history. The Second Edition of the U.S. Divine Office. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 5 to 11 July
Saint Peter To Rot. ‘All human conflict is ultimately theological’. Saint Augustine Zhao Rang and his companions. On respecting the beliefs of others. Saint Maria Goretti. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 28 June to 4 July
Why choose Peter? The virtue of simplicity and the vice of prudence. The cemetery under the Vatican. How can we like Paul? What was it like to be him? Saint Thomas. Pier Giorgio Frassati, a saint for the first time. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 21 to 27 June
Saint John the Baptist. Martyrdom: a duty? Saint Thomas More. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 14 to 20 June
The Spiritual Reading page in Universalis. Saint Lidwina. Saint Elisha. Two anniversaries: G.K. Chesterton, and the birthday of Universalis. The story of the psalm-prayers in the Liturgy of the Hours. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 7 to 13 June
Corpus Christi: ‘Eat my flesh’ and the Last Supper. The work of the Holy Spirit and how the feast of Corpus Christi was born. St Thomas Aquinas and transubstantiation. The power of the Body of Christ. The Sacred Heart: the birth of the feast of love, and what it does for us. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 31 May to 6 June
The “theological season”. The Holy Trinity. Ourselves as trinitarian creators: Idea, Act, and Life. The Liturgy of the Hours continued: the Office of Readings. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 24 to 30 May
Pentecost and the Jewish Feast of Weeks. The Spirit bringing life to the Apostles and to us. “Go and teach all nations” and learning from them. Our hybrid Christian culture, both Jewish and Greek. Saint Philip Neri. The Holy Spirit and the Catholic Reformation. Compline, Psalm 90 and the wolves. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 17 to 23 May
The days after Ascension: a lost and gloomy time. The unknown Advocate. Life without life. Days without salt. Getting a handle on the Spirit. Giving life to a creation; images of fire and electricity. Salvation history as re-wiring. Arianism and Pope St John I. Blessed Raphael Louis Rafiringa and Madagascar. St Christopher Magallanes and the politeness of martyrs. Bernardino of Siena. The Liturgy
The week ahead – from 10 to 16 May
The time after the Resurrection comes to the end: the Ascension approaches. Feet or sandals? Theo-drama, and the Ascension as drama. The Liturgy of the Hours continued: Vespers. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 3 to 9 May
Fish shops and the Letter to Diognetus. The origins of the Liturgy of the Hours. A detailed walk through Lauds (Morning Prayer). Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 26 April to 2 May
The first mention of Christians. The disciple Jesus loved and why his Gospel is different. How the Apocalypse nearly didn’t make it into the Bible, and why we should be glad it did. The importance of Saint Joseph the Worker. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 19 to 25 April
The saints are back again! Mark; Justin (165); Ephraem, Marcellinus, Vincent, Domninus (4th century); Erkenwald and Egbert (7th century); Adalbert (10th century); Anselm (11th century); then back to George. ANZAC day and the secrets of the warriors. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 12 to 18 April
Back to normal, but keeping up the Easter joy. The hands and the side: nothing abolished but everything healed. The same thing in our own lives. Dante, Lethe and Eunoë. What Thomas needed to know. Faith and reason are not opposites: a mathematical example. The first steps of the baby Church. The Easter Alleluias in Universalis. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 5 to 11 April
Without hindsight, the desolation of the Apostles and how we share in it. The Easter Vigil and the ultimate surprise of the Resurrection. What Jesus’ resurrection can tell us about our own resurrected life. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 29 March to 4 April
Original sin: a chemical parable. The Atonement or At-one-ment: a tale from school. Love as a blank cheque: ‘Whatever happens – shall happen’. The days of Holy Week. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 22 to 28 March
The Sun and Moon as timekeepers; the rivers proclaiming our place in Lent. Science as a love letter from God. The final miracle: the raising of Lazarus. Being together in desolation. The strong women of salvation history.
The week ahead – from 15 to 21 March
St Patrick, patron saint of Ireland: his life and his breastplate. Sin: what makes a sin a sin? The Seven Deadly Sins and the Divine Comedy. The other story of the healing of a blind man. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 8 to 14 March
The Samaritan Woman at the well. Sin: responsibility and healing: ‘I did it’ and ‘I didn’t do it.’ The readings of the week. St Etheldreda’s and the tax-collectors. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 1 to 7 March
The Transfiguration and Duccio’s Maestà: a Lenten puzzle for art history and for theology. The command not to pass judgement, and the duty to judge. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 22 to 28 February
Lent: self-love and self-discipline. From passive to active. Learning to do. Julian of Norwich and ‘Revelations of Divine Love’. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 15 to 21 February
The liturgy of the Vietnamese New Year and its lessons for us all. Ash Wednesday. Prayer, almsgiving and fasting as forms of agency. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 8 to 14 February
Saint Scholastica; the Shipwreck of St Paul; Our Lady of Lourdes; Saints Cyril and Methodius, and the Basilica of San Clemente. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 1 to 7 February
Candlemas, the feast of the Purification of Mary and the Presentation of the Lord. Purification. The celebration and sanctification of transitions. The hundredth episode!! Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 25 to 31 January
Sunday of the Word of God. Reading; listening; commentaries. Lectio Divina. Saint Thomas Aquinas. Another Creed in Slow Motion interview. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 18 to 24 January
What! No wedding feasts?? Universalis to the rescue. Plus a constellation of saints across the centuries and across the world: Publius, Marianne, Wulfstan, Henry, Henry, Cyprian, (Agnes, Fabian, Sebastian), Francis, and the Holy Child. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 11 to 17 January
The Three Kings, the crib, and the reality of Christianity. The meaning of our past. Baptism of the Lord. Baptism. Commemorating our own baptism. The uncanonised Henry Edward Manning. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 4 to 10 January 2026
The Epiphany. Melchizedek and the Magi. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 28 December 2025 to 3 January 2026
The Christmas feasts. The Holy Family. The Finding in the Temple. St Thomas Becket. The Mother of God. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 21 to 27 December 2025
The O Antiphons concluded. Ahaz: prayer vs. bothering God. Christmas starts the night before. Which is more important, Christmas or Easter? Incarnation, rescue and love. Stephen (and Paul). John. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 14 to 20 December 2025
The rose vestments on the 3rd Sunday of Advent. The beginning of the final countdown to Christmas. The ancient O Antiphons. The Latin hymns, and our project to record them. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 7 to 13 December 2025
More Isaiah. Rejoicing. Joy and pleasure and the true meaning of Christmas. Church liturgy and family liturgy. The story of the flaming Christmas pudding. How the Gospels this week explain Isaiah. The Immaculate Conception. Our Lady of Guadalupe and Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 30 November to 6 December 2025
Looking forward to the unknown Chr–––––s which is coming, just as the Jews looked forward to the unsuspected glory of the Nativity. Isaiah teaches us by looking beyond the turbulent history of his time. His daily prophecies, day by day. Subscribing to Universalis and giving it as a gift. Saint Francis Xavier; Saint Nicholas. Episode notes.
Resurrection is Now: part 8 of 8
Preparation for Death (continued): Confession, The Sacrament of the Sick, Prayer.Conclusion. Episode notes.
Resurrection is Now: part 7 of 8
Preparation for Death: Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 23 to 29 November 2025
Christ the King and ourselves as kings. “A king, not a thing”. How to live our kingship and respect the kingship of others. The Vietnamese martyrs, St Niels Steensen, the Holy Crucifix at Goa. Episode notes.
Resurrection is Now: part 6 of 8
The Moment of Choice (continued): the Resurrection of the Body; Heaven. Episode notes.
Resurrection is Now: part 5 of 8
The Moment of Choice: Judgement; Purgatory; Hell. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 16 to 22 November 2025
“Resurrection Is Now” and the power of reading aloud. “We are delighted to report the death of…” and gold vestments at funerals. The date of the end of the world: a thought-experiment. Wine; work; liturgy; and fulfilment for those who struggle after losing everything. The new colour selection feature in Universalis. Episode notes.
Resurrection is Now: part 4 of 8
“By a man came death.”“By a man came resurrection from the dead.” Episode notes.
Resurrection is Now: part 3 of 8
Death as the Beginning: Natural Resurrection, The Death of Isolation. Episode notes.
This week’s podcast from a year ago 2025
I am getting over a cold, so have no voice to record with this week. Sorry about that. As a substitute, here is the podcast from this time last year (from 10 to 16 November 2024). The days of the week will be out of step, so that when the podcast says “Monday”, please hear “Tuesday”. Normal service will be resumed next week! Saints Martin of Tours, Margaret of Scotland, El
Resurrection is Now: part 2 of 8
Death as the End (continued): The Death of the World The Death of Others Our Own Death Episode notes.
Resurrection is Now: part 1 of 8
Foreword; Prologue; Death as the End: The Death of Experience, The Death of Love.Dom Aelred Watkin (1918-1997) was a wise and respected Head Master of Downside from 1962 to 1975."Resurrection is Now" is a rare opportunity to benefit from his understanding. This book covers death in all its aspects, both as an end and as a beginning, and looks at life from the perspective of a preparation
The week ahead – from 2 to 8 November 2025
All Souls' Day. Why we pray for the dead. Bereavement as the next step in a relationship. Keeping track of deceased friends with the Remembrance Cards feature. Dom Aelred Watkin and his book “Resurrection is Now" - as a Daily Book in Universalis and now also read aloud for you to listen to. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 26 October to 1 November 2025
Simon and Jude, the unknown Apostles. Saint Alfonso Rodríguez. All Saints means ALL the saints. An exercise for All Saints’ Day. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 19 to 25 October 2025
Pope St John Paul II. The Ugandan martyrs. St John Capistrano and the minaret on St Paul's. St Anthony Mary Claret: assassinations and books. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 12 to 18 October 2025
Two kinds of outsiders: lepers, and gentiles. The God-fearers. Blessed John Beyzym and the lepers of Madagascar. This Sunday in Brazil: Our Lady of Aparecida and the unexpected people whose patron she is. Devotions to “Our Lady Of” worldwide: incarnation implies location. Keeping popular piety under control. Irish missionaries, Saint Gall and the bear. Saint Teresa turning the Carmeli
The week ahead – from 5 to 11 October 2025
The prophet Jonah. Saint Abraham. Saint John Henry Newman. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 28 September to 4 October 2025
The week of the angels and the crack in the clouds. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, and the Guardian Angels. St Jerome; the Brazilian Martyrs of Natal. St Thérèse of Lisieux and St Francis of Assisi. A report on the Southwark Day for Catechists. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 21 to 27 September 2025
Saint Matthew and his Gospel. Why have Gospels? Why have three synoptic Gospels? The madness of Q. Can investment bankers be saved? Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 14 to 20 September 2025
Faith: more than a theological virtue. Hope: a hard virtue. The civilised martyrdom of St Cyprian. The Korean martyrs: "I am".
The week ahead – from 7 to 13 September 2025
Saints, Blesseds, and canonisation. Our relationship with the saints. Blessed (soon to be Saint) Pier Giorgio Frassati and Blessed (soon to be Saint) Carlo Acutis. Saint Peter Claver. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 31 August to 6 September 2025
Confirmation, catechesis and the Creed. "I" and "we" revisited. Saint Gregory the Great; bishops as icebergs. Mother Teresa and why people hate her. More saints to hate! Differing views of judgement. The Litany of Loreto. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 24 to 30 August 2025
The end of the world and the Day of the Lord. Zephaniah and how to read a prophet. ‘Whom the Lord loveth, he chastiseth.’ Saint Louis. St John Chrysostom. Saints Monica and Augustine. Our Lady of Częstochowa (and Hilaire Belloc). Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 17 to 23 August 2025
Our Lady, Mother and Queen. The Rosary, Scripture verses, Danish and Latin. Southwark Cathedral and its catechists. We are all catechists of a kind: here's how Universalis and The Creed in Slow Motion can help. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 10 to 16 August 2025
The Assumption: what exactly it means. The birth of a doctrine and its development. The Old Testament roots of Marian belief. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 3 to 9 August 2025
Abraham's Auction revisited. Why we need so many saints. The Curé of Ars. Saint Cajetan. How can bankers be saved? Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 27 July to 2 August 2025
An “ordinary spirituality” for the slow river of Ordinary Time. Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus. “Too many saints!” Saint Olaf Haraldson, King of Norway. India, and Saint Alphonsa Muttathupadathu. Blessed Justin de Jacobis in Abyssinia. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 20 to 26 July 2025
Saints Anna and Joachim. Saint Mary Magdalen. Saint James. Saint Bridget of Sweden. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 13 to 19 July 2025
Blessed Thérèse of Saint Augustine and her companions. The Carmelites. Blessed Inácio de Azevedo. St Bonaventure. Naboth’s vineyard. St Ambrose on the mysteries. How to listen to older episodes of this podcast. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 6 to 12 July 2025
Saint Benedict and his rule; and how to live it when we are not monks. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 29 June to 5 July 2025
Why choose St Peter? How to like St Paul? Abraham the negotiator. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 22 to 28 June 2025
Two more theological feasts: Corpus Christi and the Sacred Heart. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 15 to 21 June 2025
The theological season of the year. The Most Holy Trinity - two pictures which may help. Dorothy L. Sayers and creation. Cardinal Manning, Pope Leo XIII and the social teaching of the Church. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 8 to 14 June 2025
Power cuts and electricity. Power restored with the coming of the Spirit. Life in power. Popes Leo XI and XII. Saint José de Anchieta and Saint Lidwina. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 1 to 7 June 2025
Loss and greyness after the Ascension. What is the Spirit? The absence of the Spirit. Fear of the Spirit and of life. Pope Leo X. Hope is coming: Ezekiel and the valley of bones. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 25 to 31 May 2025
Leo V, Leo VI, Leo VII, Leo VIII. Leo IX and Gregory VII and their reforms. Saint Philip Neri: his life and example. The kingdom of Heaven is like ginger beer. The fizz of the Catholic Reformation. And where are we? Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 18 to 24 May 2025
Papal names; Leo I, Leo II, Leo III, Leo IV. Madagascar and its saints. Saint Rita of Cascia. The lost manuscript that was found at the fishmonger’s. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 11 to 17 May 2025
Habemus Papam! A deep reflection on conclaves and on elections of all kinds. The power of the Holy Spirit as the Person who can unite the “I” of each one of us into a meaningful “We”. Our will as electors; our wishes as electors; and the difference between the two. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 4 to 10 May 2025
The living bread. Transubstantiation misunderstood. The baby Church. The Pope's final lesson to us. Humility. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 27 April to 3 May 2025
The glorious events of Easter week this year. Changing attitudes to the Papacy over the last 50 years. Our part in the election of the next Pope. A warning against politics, and three prayer intentions. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 20 to 26 April 2025
Easter joy as an engine for the soul. The Resurrection as a step forward, not back. Our own healing and our own resurrection. The Easter Alleluias. Episode notes.
The week ahead – from 13 to 19 April 2025
How the whole creation praises God, and how we praise him through it, liturgically, with sun, moon, leaves, ash, oil, bread, wine, wood, fire, light, wax, smoke, and water.
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