Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
Today is the 89th birthday of Father Benedict, once Pope Benedict XVI. Happy birthday! Obviously, we don’t know how history will judge the life and works of Pope Benedict XVI. As for me, I think that in a century or so, he will be enrolled amongst the Doctors of the Church. If you have not read any of his books, […]
» Read moreHappy eighth day of Christmas, a very happy new year, and a most blessed Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God to you! First, a word about the eighth day, and then we’ll move on to Mary. Christmas is celebrated as a day, an octave, and a season. The celebration of the octave – that is, the day and the week […]
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If we believe that God created the world and us in it, if we believe that He did so out of an overflowing of divine love, if we believe that we were created that we might return that love to God and to His creation, then these facts should inform everything we do. Most especially, it should permeate how we […]
» Read moreEight years ago today, Pope Benedict XVI caused to be published the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum. With the stroke of a pen, the ancient rites of the Mass (last updated in 1962) could suddenly be celebrated by any priest of the Roman Rite. Deo gratias! This ancient form of the Mass, the so-called Extraordinary Form, is a great gift to […]
» Read moreToday 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 my time in Rome in 2005. With the body of Saint John Paul II mere feet from me, I knelt near Peter’s tomb at the high altar of the dark and nearly empty Vatican […]
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Several things crowd my mind this morning. Chiefly, I’m still processing the Corpus Christi Masses and procession we celebrated at our parish yesterday. But first, a slight digression. Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces On the calendar used in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces. I wrote an article several […]
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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. In 1429 at the tender age of 17, she led the French army to a string […]
» Read moreToday is the feast of a most remarkable saint, Peter Celestine. Pietro Angelerio was born in the village of Sant’Angelo Limosano, in south-central Italy, in the year 1215. At age 17, he became a Benedictine monk. By the time he was in his thirties, his abbot had given him permission to enter a hermitage in a cave. He became famed […]
» Read moreToday is the 88th birthday of Father Benedict, once Pope Benedict XVI. Happy birthday! I recently ran across an interesting article by Elizabeth Scalia (the Anchoress) about Benedict being an “anchor” for the Papacies of the men who proceeded and followed him. John Paul would not have been free to be John Paul — and all he became to the world […]
» Read moreToday is the principal feast (at least among the Benedictines) of Saint Benedict of Nursia, author of the great monastic rule that in large part saved western civilization after the fall of the Roman Empire. Pope Benedict XVI took his name at least in part from Saint Benedict, and the life and work of the saint was a topic that […]
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Today on the Feast of Saint Anthony of Padua, I was privileged to serve at Mass for the fifth anniversary of the ordination of a good and holy priest, Rev Jacob Maurer. I rearranged my work from home day to be at the 8:00AM Mass. Our visiting seminarian, Peter Guthrie, was the principal server. I enjoy serving with Peter because […]
» Read moreOn 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. In 1429 at the tender age of 17, she led the French army to a string […]
» Read moreToday is the feast of a most remarkable saint, Peter Celestine. Pietro Angelerio was born in the village of Sant’Angelo Limosano, in south-central Italy, in the year 1215. At age 17, he became a Benedictine monk. By the time he was in his thirties, his abbot had given him permission to enter a hermitage in a cave. He became famed […]
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LISTEN, O my son, to the precepts of thy master, and incline the ear of thy heart, and cheerfully receive and faithfully execute the admonitions of thy loving Father, that by the toil of obedience thou may return to Him from whom by the sloth of disobedience thou hast gone away. (Beginning of the Prologue of the Rule of Saint […]
» Read moreMost 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 moreThis is a reprint of one of my more popular blog posts, which I had intended to re-run each year on this day. Unfortunately, last year about this time, Pope Benedict XVI announced his abdication, which pretty much occupied my blogging focus. I‘m gratified that the Pope Emeritus is said to be doing well. When he was elected, he took […]
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