C. S. Lewis

1898-1963 20th century Feast day: November 22

Faith regained through reason and friendship, and the prayer that dares raw truth before God.

Who was C. S. Lewis?

An Oxford and Cambridge scholar, marked by his mother's death and by the war, he was long an atheist before returning to faith, drawn by friendship and by reason. Becoming one of the most widely read Christian writers, he could speak of God to unbelievers and to children alike, from the Chronicles of Narnia to essays and letters. Married late and soon widowed, he also wrote the rawness of grief and of prayer.

In their own words

We must lay before Him what is in us, not what ought to be in us.

Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer

The prayer preceding all prayers is: may it be the real I who speaks, may it be the real Thou that I speak to.

Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer