Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
It’s been a while since I’ve posted links to some of the many interesting things I’ve been reading online lately. I blame FaceBook. It’s easy to just post a single link there, and then I never get around to posting groups here. Well, since I’m off Facebook for Lent, I’m reviving the ancient custom. I’m cheating by starting with a […]
» Read moreI‘ve long been an admirer of the Catholic Gentleman blog, so much so that I recently added a link in the “Blogs of Note” section on the left. Today they’ve got a great article up on The Four Ends of Mass. Let’s begin with what the mass is not. The mass is not a community meal designed to strengthen our […]
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In addition to my own modest contribution on community, a great number of bloggers tackled some portion of the Benedictine tradition yesterday. Here’s a roundup of some of the best: Ora/Labora (Dominicana, written by Br. Philip Neri Reese, O.P.) St. Benedict and the Union of Prayer and Work (Word on Fire, written by Brandon Vogt) The liturgical genius of St […]
» Read moreIf you live in western Washington, I invite you to join us for the Easter Vigil at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Tacoma. The Vigil will begin at 9:00 PM, but you’ll want to get there early. Featuring: A bonfire. A dark church and a thousand candles. Chant (in Latin AND English). Seven readings from the Old Testament […]
» Read moreA rough day, full of missing the Camino and my Camino family. I believe I will deal with this by using this one-year anniversary to begin typing my journal – rough as it is – and posting the entries to my Camino blog day by day. Let’s see what happens, shall we? If we’re fortunate, and the technology still works, […]
» Read moreToday is the feast of this blog’s patron, Saint Bede the Venerable. This amazing man was a Benedictine monk, priest, historian, and a Doctor of the Church, all while dealing with Viking attacks. I took the name Bede when I made my final oblation as a Benedictine. Bede occupies an important niche in Church history by bridging the gap between […]
» Read moreToday is the feast of this blog’s patron, Saint Bede the Venerable. I took the name Bede when I made my final oblation as a Benedictine. Bede occupies an important niche in Church history by bridging the gap between patristic and early medieval times, the era when the Germanic nations had just been Christianized. Through him Christian tradition and Roman […]
» Read moreThe most popular post on this blog by far was the one I wrote for the passing of two institutions, the last Hapsburg prince and the space shuttle program. While of course, I happen to think it’s one of my better posts, a poetic elegy to the passing of years, the fact is that most people who come to the […]
» Read moreJust for fun, I’ve rearranged the look of the blog a little bit and added a feed and a Networked Blogs thing so folks can “follow” the blog from Facebook. This is a great way for me to figure out who the three people who read the blog are! I’ve also added an Amazon “recommended reads” widget and a link […]
» Read moreInteresting days ahead. The Holy See Press Office announces that the Instruction Universæ Ecclesiæ of the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei”, on the application of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, will be made public on Friday, May 13th, and will be published on that afternoon (May 14th edition of L’Osservatore Romano). The Instruction will be published in its Latin typical version, […]
» Read moreThis is a new start on what I hope will be a spiritual journal as I discern my possible vocation to the diaconate. This site has been moved in its entirety from it original site at http://mundus-tranquillare-hic.blogspot.com/. The old site will be shut down at some point. The phrase that just occurred to me as I was typing this was […]
» Read moreIt has been some time since I’ve posted here, and longer still since I’ve posted regularly. For this, I deeply apologise to you, my one loyal reader. My only excuse is this: it has been a trying time, and I’ve been working long hours. In the past few months, I’ve spent weeks at a time out of state. I’ve been […]
» Read more(Whatever is said in Latin sounds profound) Two people have now asked me about the use of Latin on my journal. Since that’s a sizable percentage of the readership (possibly half), I thought I’d better address it. Here several reasons. Take your pick. I’m a mediævalist. I like old things. I’m a Roman Catholic. It’s our language, even if we […]
» Read morePlease allow me to wish for everyone a happy and prosperous new year. May you have health and happiness in abundance. May you grow in wisdom and knowledge. May your creativity and passion flourish in fertile ground. May you grow closer to God, and may He grant you peace.
» Read moreThis blog is being created as an outlet for various rants, Catholic and historic. I am a progressive. As GK Chesterton said in Orthodoxy: “The corruption in things is not only the best argument for being progressive; it is also the only argument against being conservative…. [A]ll conservatism is based upon the idea that if you leave things alone you […]
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