Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
Yesterday, I posted a list of the most popular posts of the past year on this blog. However, the things I like are not always the most popular. I know this comes as a shock. I’ve been charitably described as eccentric, and I’m just going to go with that. During the past twelve months I’ve written some posts that I […]
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Who doesn’t like top ten lists? These are the top ten post hits on the blog for this past year. Last year I published a similar list, and it’s interesting to see how they intersect. Not all of the posts receiving the hits were necessarily written this year. Apparently, their appeal is enduring. So let’s countdown! TEN: Maundy Thursday: Do […]
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This past Saturday, our parish of Holy Rosary celebrated a Votive Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This particular tradition is known as the Rorate Mass, for the first word of its entrance antiphon (Introit): Roráte cæli désuper, et núbes plúant jústum. Aperiatur terra et germinet salvatorem. Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the […]
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This morning for the first time I served at a public Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. It was a votive Mass of Saint Joseph, celebrated at Saint Joseph church in Tacoma by the Rev. Caleb Insco, F.S.S.P. This is only the second time I’ve served at the Vetus Ordo, and I was extremely nervous. Throughout the […]
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You are invited to an Advent tradition: a Rorate Mass on Saturday, December 16 at 6:00 AM. I can already hear the questions forming. What is a Rorate Mass? And why on earth would you have one at six in the morning? Well, here’s the FAQ, as the kids say. What is a Rorate Mass? It is a Solemn Votive […]
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At our parish of Holy Rosary, we sometimes celebrate Mass on the High Altar. This method, where for much of the Eucharistic prayer the Priest and the people are facing the same direction, is known as ad Orientem. For many years, we have celebrated Mass this way at the Solemnity of Corpus Christi and at least one Sunday in Advent. […]
» Read moreTuesday was wacky. It included me being made redundant and spending a lovely evening changing passwords. So if you know anybody in need of an award-winning writer with a quarter-century worth of writing and editing credits, let me know. Yesterday, on the other hand, has been a good day. Served Mass, went on a 5k hike with my beautiful bride, […]
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In this very volatile moment in the history of the United States, where so much anger rises to the surface so quickly, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on the meaning of our times. This anger and factionalism and the accompanying doom-saying is hardly unique to our age. Charles Dickens’ great classic, A Tale of Two Cities, begins with […]
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Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array? (Benedictus antiphon, Monastic Office of Lauds for the Assumption) Today’s great Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which in the East is known as the Dormition of the Theotokos, is one that […]
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This past Saturday (July 22), our parish of Holy Rosary was host to the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fátima. This statue has been on the road worldwide since 1947. The statue is in the middle of a two-year journey across America to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the apparitions at Fátima. It was sculpted according to […]
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This weekend, Father Michael Wagner celebrated his first Masses at our parish of Holy Rosary as its Priest Administrator. In his homily, he gave us a thumbnail sketch of his life and vocation story. Welcome Father Wagner! Within ten minutes of meeting him, he had already given me a catechesis on the correct placement of the Stations of the Cross […]
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This morning, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Father Nicholas Wichert celebrated his last Mass at Holy Rosary as its thirteenth pastor. The Mass was celebrated for the fathers of our parish on the Saint Joseph altar. I served at the Mass, and I was able to make good on a promise I made to one of our young […]
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Today the Church celebrates one of her oldest feasts, commemorating the martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul. I prayed at the tombs of these apostles during our pilgrimage to Rome in 2005. Peter With the body of Saint John Paul II mere feet from me, I knelt near Saint Peter’s tomb at the high altar of the dark and nearly […]
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Today is the memorial of one of my favourite saints, Saint Thomas More, who died at the hands of King Henry VIII (that villain). That is, today is his memorial in the modern Roman calendar, which he shares with Saint John Fisher, also executed by the same king. In my Benedictine Ordo, however, it is no such thing – you’d […]
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This coming Sunday my parish will participate in an outdoor Procession of the Blessed Sacrament following the Noon Mass. This will be the fifth year we’ve taken Jesus through the streets of Tacoma and amongst His people. In addition, all weekend Masses will be celebrated at the High Altar, Ad Orientem. If you are anywhere in the area, I hope […]
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Yesterday at my parish of Holy Rosary, we celebrated a votive Mass on the Marian altar. This was more or less our Mother’s Day Mass. We have been doing this for a couple of years now, and last year we added a Father’s Day Mass in June at the Saint Joseph altar. This is a laudable custom, and I hope […]
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On this day in 1917, exactly a century ago, the Blessed Virgin began appearing to three shepherd children in Fátima, Portugal. She appeared on the thirteenth day of six consecutive months, culminating in the great Miracle of the Sun. Regardless of miracles, Catholics are not obliged to believe these “private revelations”. Indeed, the Church is very careful to investigate these […]
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