Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
Something simply extraordinary happened today. This afternoon, I attended the Sacred Liturgy and participated in the Mass for the Fourth Sunday of Lent (Lætare Sunday), and it was absolutely by the book. I know this because I follow along in my hand missal, and it’s always jarring to me when a priest goes off on his own. This priest, Rev. […]
» Read moreOn the old calendar, today is the feast of Pope Saint Gregory the Great, confessor and doctor of the Church (540 – 604). In addition to the above, Saint Gregory was also a Benedictine abbot prior to his election as Pope. So it is in the monastic spirit that today I offer a recent catechesis by Pope Benedict XVI on […]
» Read moreSince Lent began, I’ve been praying the hours using an old 1963 Monastic Diurnal. The history of the Divine Office is complicated enough that I’m not going to go into it here. Suffice to say that there were some serious changes following the reforms of 1970. One of the big changes was the calendar. This came home to me this […]
» Read moreYesterday for World Communications Day, Pope Benedict XVI rather counter-intuitively gave an address on silence. In the spirit of the Desert Fathers, and of the monastic admonition to silence, the Pope spoke of the relationship between “silence and the word”. No dialogue is possible without both of them. In silence, we are better able to listen to and understand ourselves; […]
» Read moreSuffering through a snow day here at Pistachio House when I came upon this. It needs to be shared, and I for one need to ponder the scriptures and the Pope’s words. Helping Those Called to “Recognize the Voice of God and Follow It” VATICAN CITY, JAN. 16, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave […]
» Read moreIn every age the Church is supported by the light and strength of God, that is fed in the wilderness with the bread of His Word and the Holy Eucharist. And so in all tribulations, through all the trials that she meets during the times and in different parts of the world, the Church suffers persecution, but always wins. And […]
» Read moreO God of love, compassion, and healing, look on us, people of many different faiths and traditions, who gather today at this site, the scene of incredible violence and pain. We ask you in your goodness to give eternal light and peace to all who died here— the heroic first-responders: our fire fighters, police officers, emergency service workers, and Port […]
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On this, the Feast of Saint Benedict, I thought I’d ruminate on the meaning of “reform”. Typically, when the Church, or some organization within the Church, has talked about reform, the word pretty specifically meant clearing out the laxness and shortcuts that had appeared in practices, devotions, and liturgy. The fact is, all organizations staffed by humans tend to get […]
» 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 Blessed John Paul II mere feet from me, I knelt near Peter’s tomb at the high altar of the dark and nearly empty Vatican […]
» Read moreToday is a day of many memorials. In the United States, it is a Federal holiday honouring those men and women who died in the military service. While in the popular media this has become merely an excuse for a three-day weekend and countless barbeques, many folks, myself included, hang out the flag and do our best to honour the […]
» Read morePope Benedict XVI is not typically regarded as a stern disciplinarian, despite a fearsome reputation as head of CDF when he was a Cardinal. However, the past few weeks or so has seen an Australian bishop sacked, and now this: Vatican suppresses Cistercian abbey in Rome The abbey of Santa Croce in Jerusalem, associated with the Roman basilica of the […]
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Today 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 moreThe instruction Universæ Ecclesiæ was issued today in Rome. It is a clarification of Summorum Pontificum, which Pope Benedict XVI promulgated on 7 July 2007. By far the best source for information that I’ve found so far is Father Z’s PODCAzT on the subject. Vatican Radio also has a nice review of the document. Let’s see if I can sum […]
» Read moreInteresting days ahead. The Holy See Press Office announces that the Instruction Universæ Ecclesiæ of the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei”, on the application of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, will be made public on Friday, May 13th, and will be published on that afternoon (May 14th edition of L’Osservatore Romano). The Instruction will be published in its Latin typical version, […]
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On 16 April 1927 (Holy Saturday), Joseph Ratzinger was born in Marktl am Inn in Bavaria. He was baptized on Easter. To be the first person baptized with the new water was seen as a significant act of Providence. I have always been filled with thanksgiving for having had my life immersed in this way in the Easter Mystery … […]
» Read moreThe comic strip “Unstrange Phenomena” is usually pretty silly and surreal, but this morning the author published something far above his normal goofiness. This is a worthy subject for meditation, for the image depicts man toiling, his image producing a shadow of words in the shining light of God’s glory. Pope Benedict XVI once described himself as “a humble worker […]
» Read moreDuring Lent, I am reading the Desert Fathers. On occasion I will post sayings that strike me during my Lectio. Yesterday I also received my pre-ordered copy of Pope Benedict’s new book, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection, and I’m devouring it. I may have to back up and re-read properly when I’m […]
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