Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis. In memoria æterna erit iustus, ab auditione mala non timebit. Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord: and let perpetual light shine upon her. She shall be justified in everlasting memory, and shall not fear evil reports. Absolve, Domine, animas omnium fidelium defunctorum ab omni vinculo delictorum et gratia tua […]
» Read moreOn April 25, 1467 a mysterious icon of Virgin and Child appeared in a small unfinished and roofless church in the town of Genazzano, near Rome. As the story goes, the entire town had turned out for the annual feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist. At about four o’clock in the afternoon, a multitude of witnesses saw a mysterious cloud […]
» Read more“Fairy Tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” (G.K. Chesterton) Today’s feast is of the great martyr, Saint George. Pious legends of dragon slaying notwithstanding, George was a soldier of the Roman army who was killed during the persecutions of Diocletian in the early […]
» Read more[audio:http://www.thomryng.com/amateurmonk/audio/exsultet.mp3] Exult, let them exult, the hosts of heaven, exult, let Angel ministers of God exult, let the trumpet of salvation sound aloud our mighty King’s triumph! Be glad, let earth be glad, as glory floods her, ablaze with light from her eternal King, let all corners of the earth be glad, knowing an end to gloom and darkness. Rejoice, […]
» Read moreOur Lenten pilgrimage comes to its end this evening, as we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. This celebration commemerates 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 wine. […]
» Read moreOur Lenten pilgrimage is nearing its end; this is the last Friday before Good Friday, and we can see Palm Sunday just around the corner. On the old calendar, today is the Commemoration of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this guise, Mary is known as the Mother of Sorrows (Mater Dolorosa, or just Dolorosa). Though this […]
» Read moreVia the inestimable Fr. Z comes a Communiqué from the SSPX asking for prayers: Communiqué from the General House of the Society of Saint Pius X Since the meeting on March 16, 2012, with Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X, has […]
» Read moreThis evening our Lenten pilgrimage enters into a new phase. Traditionally, this Sunday marks the beginning of Passiontide, when we walk with Christ on the way to Jerusalem. Since the liturgical changes of the 1970s, this is no longer celebrated as a sort of sub-season of Lent. Even so, the character of these two weeks is subtly different from the […]
» Read moreIt’s no secret, I suppose, that I’m something of an anglophile. So please forgive this foray into Great Britain. This year, Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Diamond Jubilee – 60 years on the British throne. Today, her Majesty addressed parliament, saying in part, As today, it was my privilege to address you during my Silver and Golden Jubilees. Many of […]
» Read moreYou often learn more about a man on the day he is committed to God than in the years you knew him. We just came back from a memorial service to a man who was a hero, a mentor, and who radically transformed our neighbourhood from the haunt of the first seasons of “Cops” to what it is today. The […]
» Read moreToday is the feast of the man many consider to be the founder of Christian monasticism, Saint Anthony the Great of Egypt, the “Father of Monks”. He was born in the middle of the third century in decidedly Pagan Middle Egypt to a well-to-do, comfortable family. He spent much of his life avoiding the sorts of comforts available to him […]
» Read moreIt’s the first of January, and I’m clearly looking and feeling my very best after last night’s festivities. We rarely throw parties, but when we do, we invariably overdo it a bit. Last night’s feast had libations aplenty and a table groaning with food for our family and friends old and new. Everybody brought something to share. Combine that with […]
» Read morePlease pray for the soul of a man you probably did not know. He was my neighbour, and he was a tireless force for good on the Hill for twenty years. He was found dead of natural causes in his home this morning. Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Te decet hymnus Deus, in Sion, et tibi […]
» Read moreAs I do every year, I shall end this Advent chant sequence with the hymn assembled from the O Antiphons. I’ve also posted one of my favourite Christmas songs, which is particularly appropriate in the deeps of Christmas Vigil. And for those of you in Tacoma, I invite you to come to our parish of Saint Rita and celebrate the […]
» Read moreWe come to the last of the O Antiphons, for tomorrow is Christmas Eve, the Vigil of the Nativity. I mentioned yesterday that the O Antiphons were arranged backwards into the song Veni, Veni Emmanuel. This was by design, for the Antiphons themselves are a backwards acrostic. The first letters of the Messianic titles — Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, […]
» Read moreWith Christmas literally days away, we hear the penultimate O Antiphon this evening. I mentioned a couple of days ago that the antiphons might sound vaguely familiar to you. In the 12th Century, an unknown songwriter compiled versions of the O Antiphons into a single Advent hymn, called Veni, Veni Emmanuel. You know the English version as O Come, O […]
» Read moreIt is altogether right and proper that we should celebrate Christ as the bringer of light on this, the day of the winter solstice. This was an ancient holy day in many religions, as indeed it continues to be. On this, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, where people for eons have begged their divinity for […]
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