Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
Mary’s month of May draws to a close with the Feast of the Visitation. This feast celebrates the visit of Mary, pregnant with Jesus, to her cousin Elizabeth, pregnant with John the Baptist (Luke 1:39-56). So this feast is a celebration of the very first Christian community, consisting of two pregnant mothers and their unborn children. Saint Luke’s account culminates […]
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We read today in the Acts of the Apostles of this great day, which in a certain way we can celebrate as the birthday of the Church: When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,they were all in one place together.And suddenly there came from the skya noise like a strong driving wind,and it filled the entire house in which they […]
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Viri Galilæi, quid admiramini aspicientes in cælum? Mirroring the forty days of Lent, forty days have passed since Easter. For most of the world today is the Solemnity of the Ascension. Some dioceses, particularly in the United States and including my own Archdiocese of Seattle, have elected to transfer this great feast to the following Sunday. Of course, in these […]
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John Mark was one of the original seventy disciples (Luke 10:1 ff). Tradition holds that he was one of those who left Christ when he preached on the Bread of Life (John 6:44-6:66). Saint Peter brought him back to the faith. He traveled with Paul and Barnabas, who thought him unreliable (Acts 15:37-41). Again he left, again he came back […]
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The Season of Lent comes to its end this evening, as we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. This celebration commemorates the institution of the Eucharist, the source and summit of Church life, as well as the sacred priesthood which offers this sacrifice. Unlike most Protestants, the Catholic and Orthodox (and others of the Apostolic Tradition) believe that God […]
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This weekend, Holy Week begins with the Sunday of Lord’s triumphal entry into Jersusalem – Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion. Although Good Friday is coming – the Passion and Death are coming – for the moment, this moment, joy resounds as our King arrives in His city. In most parishes throughout the world, the principal Mass is normally celebrated […]
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Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exult and be satisfied at her consoling breast. Today is the fourth Sunday of Lent – Lætare Sunday, so called for the first word of today’s entrance antiphon, lætare, rejoice. Deep in our long Lent comes a spark of rejoicing before we head deeper into the […]
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On this, the tenth anniversary of the papacy of Pope Francis, join me in praying this ancient prayer for the Pope. It has been frequently set to music, including in the venerable Liber Usualis. V. Let us pray for Francis, the Pope.R. May the Lord preserve him, give him a long life, make him blessed upon the earth, and may the […]
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Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” And with those words, our Lent has begun. Holy Mother Church calls us to make these next forty days until Easter a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Lent is a pilgrimage, in a sense, through time if not space, through death to resurrection. A pilgrimage of penitence. Let […]
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The last few days have been full of endings and beginnings. Yesterday was the end of the Novemdiales, the traditional nine days of mourning following the funeral of a Pope. In the midst of these days, last Sunday our parish of Saint Patrick celebrated – is that the right word? – the Office for the Dead for the repose of […]
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On Sunday, January 8, at 6:30PM, our parish of Saint Patrick will celebrate Solemn Chanted Vespers for the Dead for the repose of the soul of Pope Benedict XVI. Our pastor Rev. David Mulholland will lead us in this beautiful liturgy. If you are in the area, please join us.
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“The Birth of Christ” by Sandro Botticelli O great mystery,and wonderful sacrament,that animals should see the new-born Lord,lying in a manger!Blessed is the Virgin whose wombwas worthy to bearChrist the Lord.Alleluia! Omagnum mysterium,et admirabile sacramentum,ut animalia viderent Dominum natum,jacentem in praesepio!Beata Virgo, cujus viscerameruerunt portareDominum Christum.Alleluia.
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As I do every year, I shall end this Advent chant sequence with the hymn assembled from the O Antiphons. You can also listen to one of my favourite carols, which is particularly appropriate in the deeps of Christmas Vigil. And now for a more traditional version, with the original words in Latin. May all who read these words have […]
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At last we come to the final O Antiphon, for tomorrow is Christmas Eve, the great Vigil of the Nativity. We adore Thee, O Emmanuel! in this Thy journey, and we reverence the fidelity wherewith Thou fulfillest all that the prophets have written of Thee; for Thou wouldst give to Thy people the certainty of Thy being the Messiah, by […]
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With Christmas just days away now, we hear the penultimate O Antiphon this evening. I mentioned a couple of days ago that the antiphons might sound vaguely familiar to you. In the 12th Century, an unknown composer compiled versions of the O Antiphons into a single Advent hymn, called Veni, Veni Emmanuel. You know the English version as O Come, […]
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It is altogether right and proper that we should celebrate Christ as the bringer of light on this, the day of the winter solstice. This was an ancient holy day in many religions, as indeed it continues to be. On this, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, where people for eons have begged their divinity for […]
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