Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
Appropriate to today – the Feast of All Souls of the Benedictine Order – we once again have the Dies Iræ, the traditional sequence for Requiem Masses and the Masses of All Souls. Today we pray for the souls of all Benedictine monks, nuns, sisters, and oblates in purgatory. Servant of God Thomas of Celano Most probably written by […]
» Read more
More than a century ago on this very day in the town of Fátima, Portugal, a miracle occurred. This remarkable event occurred at the height of the Great War, and an estimated 70,000 people witnessed it. It is known as the “Miracle of the Sun”. Avelino de Almeida, writing for Portugal’s popular pro-government and anti-clerical newspaper O Século, said: Before […]
» Read more
Today, October 7 is the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary. For those of us who were once parishioners of Holy Rosary parish in Tacoma, it was our patronal feast. In years past, we could celebrate this on a Sunday. I thought it would be nice to mark the feast in some way, in addition to praying a daily […]
» Read more
On this day in 1571, the naval forces of a Holy League, consisting of several maritime Catholic countries, met the main Ottoman fleet at the Battle of Lepanto. In later years, the anniversary of this day was celebrated as the Feast of Our Lady of Victory and later, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. Back in high school, a group […]
» Read more
This is an annual post, updated only slightly. Much of the language reflects my thoughts and feelings of the day, taken from my journaled notes. Over the past few years, my feelings have mellowed and matured somewhat. It is, however, good to recollect the day. Depart from me, I will weep bitterly; labour not to comfort me. (Antiphon 1 of […]
» Read more
Today is the feast of Saint Dominic de Guzmán. He was born near Santo Domingo de Silos in Spain, just north of the Camino, in 1170. Legend has it that before his birth, his barren mother made a pilgrimage to Silos, and dreamt that a dog leapt from her womb carrying a flaming torch in its mouth – and it […]
» Read more
One thousand years ago, the saint we celebrate today died. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that vanishingly few American churches have an image of today’s saint. But our old parish of Holy Rosary does. Let me explain. It’s a pretty rare thing when Kings become saints, or at least become canonized saints. I can only […]
» Read more
Saint Boniface, whose feast is today, is widely known as the “apostle to the Germans”. An Englishman of Devonshire, he was part of a great Anglo-Saxon missionary effort in the Saxon marches of the Frankish Empire in the early eighth century. Since my former parish church of Holy Rosary was founded by German immigrants, a stained glass window of Saint […]
» Read more
On this day in 1431, one of the most truly remarkable women who ever lived was burned at the stake. She was 19 years old. She was known as Jehanne la Pucelle (Joan the Maiden), but today we name her Saint Joan of Arc. Saint Joan at Holy Rosary, Tacoma She was canonized in 1920, and her memorial was first […]
» Read more
Six years ago today, the parishioners of Holy Rosary and Visitation buried our pastor, Rev. Michael Wagner. This short, two-minute video was produced by our local newspaper. Direct link to video (in case the version below isn’t working): https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article210823929.html Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis. In memoria æterna erit iustus, ab auditione mala non timebit. Absolve, […]
» Read more
This day, May the second, looms large in my life. On this day in 2013, my beautiful bride Francine and I walked into Santiago de Compostela for the first time, at the end of our first Camino. At this point, Francine had been walking for almost two weeks, and me for more than a month. I can’t describe the joy […]
» Read more
Ten years ago today, after about a year of ramp-up, we definitively rebooted the altar server program at my old parish of Holy Rosary. This was the genesis of our training manual, and it was when I developed my own particular method of training, developing, and forming servers. I don’t know why the Lord called me to this ministry, but […]
» Read more
Appropriate to today – the Feast of All Souls of the Benedictine Order – we once again have the Dies Iræ, the traditional sequence for Requiem Masses and the Masses of All Souls. Today we pray for the souls of all Benedictine monks, nuns, sisters, and oblates in purgatory. Servant of God Thomas of Celano Most probably written by […]
» Read more
The Saint Boniface Window at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church, Tacoma Saint Boniface, whose feast is today, is widely known as the “apostle to the Germans”. An Englishman of Devonshire, he was part of a great Anglo-Saxon missionary effort in the Saxon marches of the Frankish Empire in the early eighth century. Since my former parish church of […]
» Read more
On this day in 1431, one of the most truly remarkable women who ever lived was burned at the stake. She was 19 years old. She was known as Jehanne la Pucelle (Joan the Maiden), but today we name her Saint Joan of Arc. Saint Joan at Holy Rosary, Tacoma She was canonized in 1920, and her memorial was first […]
» Read more
Five years ago today, we buried our pastor, Rev. Michael Wagner. This short, two-minute video was produced by our local newspaper. Direct link to video (in case the version below isn’t working): https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article210823929.html Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis. In memoria æterna erit iustus, ab auditione mala non timebit. Absolve, Domine, animas omnium fidelium defunctorum ab […]
» Read more
This day, May the second, looms large in my life. On this day in 2013, Francine and I walked into Santiago de Compostela for the first time, at the end of our first Camino. At this point, Francine had been walking for almost two weeks, and me for more than a month. I can’t describe the joy of that day. […]
» Read more