Category: Holy Days
Exult!
Good Friday: God is Dead
Today is Good Friday: the commemoration of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ at Calvary. Ecce lignum Crucis, in quo salus mundi pepéndit. Veníte adorémus. Behold the wood of the Cross, on which hung the salvation of the world. Come let us adore. (Missale Romanum: Friday of the Passion of the Lord) He was condemned by his own people, […]
» Read moreMaundy Thursday:
Do This in Memory of Me
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. Unlike most Protestants, the Catholic and Orthodox (and others of the Apostolic Tradition) believe that God is really there, wholly present in the consecrated bread and […]
» Read moreHosanna to the Son of David!
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 celebrated by […]
» Read moreFriday of Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin
On this Friday, a week before Good Friday, the Church has traditionally remembered the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin. While the commemoration was removed from the calendar in 1970, it survives in the Extraordinary Form, as well as in many local calendars including that most Catholic country of Malta and many Hispanic countries. The commemoration is so widespread, that […]
» Read moreSchedule for Holy Week
The following is the Holy Week schedule for the parishes of Holy Rosary and Visitation in Tacoma, Washington. It’s less jam-packed than previous years, but there’s still a lot here! Wednesday Tenebræ is not to be missed. And of course, the Holy Triduum is essentially one giant liturgy (with some serious overnight breaks) that begins with the Introit of the […]
» Read moreTenebræ
Lenten Vespers
If you live in the area, please join us as we celebrate Vespers every Sunday during Lent at 6:00 pm at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Tacoma.
» Read moreThe Chair of Peter
Most folks have seen some variation of this photo of Bernini‘s “Chair of Peter” in the Vatican. It’s a masterpiece of baroque art, found in every art textbook covering the period. The chair in question is carried aloft by four saints. The image of the dove in the Holy Spirit window has been duplicated and copied all over the world […]
» Read moreA Liturgical Lent: a Review and a Look Forward
At my parish of Holy Rosary in Tacoma, we had a lot going on for this first weekend of Lent. Think of this as a look into the life of a parish pursuing the vision of the New Liturgical Movement during Lent. You could almost consider this a snapshot review of our parish liturgical life. Friday Although not strictly liturgical, […]
» Read moreAsh Wednesday
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 […]
» Read moreCandlemas
Today was once one of the most solemn feasts of the year. It’s gone by several names over the millennia: the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, Candlemas. Coming forty days after Christmas, it was even once the end of the Christmas season. Even today there are relics of […]
» Read moreThe Epiphany!
Happy Epiphany! Throughout most of the world, today is the great Feast of the Epiphany. Most of my American readers, however, will have to wait until tomorrow. For reasons I can’t quite fathom, in the dioceses of the United States this feast has been moved to the Sunday between January 2 and January 8. Why you would want to move […]
» Read moreMary, Mother of God
All my own perception of beauty both in majesty and simplicity is founded upon Our Lady. (J.R.R. Tolkien) Wishing all of you a very happy new year of 2018, and a most blessed Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Let us celebrate the motherhood of the Virgin Mary, and let us worship Christ the Lord, her Son. (Invitatory antiphon for […]
» Read moreThe Holy Innocents
Happy fourth day of Christmas! Today we pause a moment in our revelry for the feast of the Holy Innocents. When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained […]
» Read moreO Magnum Mysterium!
O great mystery, and wonderful sacrament, that animals should see the new-born Lord, lying in a manger! Blessed is the Virgin whose womb was worthy to bear Christ the Lord. Alleluia! Omagnum mysterium, et admirabile sacramentum, ut animalia viderent Dominum natum, jacentem in praesepio! Beata Virgo, cujus viscera meruerunt portare Dominum Christum. Alleluia.
» Read more