Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
As 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 carols, which is particularly appropriate in the deeps of Christmas Vigil. Come to Midnight Mass! For those of you in Tacoma and environs, I invite you to come to our parish of […]
» Read moreYesterday, on the great feast of Christ the King, the Year of Faith drew to a close. Pope Benedict XVI established it as a time to re-dedicate ourselves to professing the faith, celebrating the faith, and witnessing to the faith. Faith grows when it is lived as an experience of love received and when it is communicated as an experience […]
» Read moreCecilia is one of the most famous and most venerated of Roman martyrs, even though the facts of her martrydom are a little vague. Legend has it that she, her husband Valerian, and her brother-in-law Tiburtius were martyred during the reign of Emperor Alexander Severus, about the year 230. Her name appears in the First Eucharistic Prayer (the Roman Canon) […]
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Yesterday, the second Mass I attended had five people. Oh, the regularly-scheduled morning Mass for All Souls was packed to the rafters, but this was later. The rubrics in the Missal for All Souls specifically allow priests to celebrate up to three Masses that day – indeed the Missal has three separate sets of antiphons and prayers for the day. […]
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Yesterday, while Catholics all over the planet were joining Pope Francis in an historic hour of worldwide Eucharistic Adoration, we in Tacoma were doing our little part. You may recall that we had scheduled a procession through the streets of the city (and across the Interstate), to be led by Archbishop Sartain. Your humble author was the Master of Ceremonies […]
» Read moreThis Sunday my parish will participate in an outdoor Procession of the Blessed Sacrament. If you are anywhere in the area, I hope you will consider joining us. Here is the press release as it went out: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Archbishop of Seattle to Lead Corpus Christi Procession in Tacoma Holy Rosary Catholic Church brings to Tacoma the […]
» Read moreBlessing of the “Rucksacks” This past weekend was a crazy whirl of last minute errands and bon voyages. Although I’m not leaving until Easter Sunday, and Francine not until the 17th of April, we thought it best to avoid the rushing around the week before Easter. We topped up our equipment at the REI sale in Tacoma on Saturday. Some […]
» 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 carols, which is particularly appropriate in the deeps of Christmas Vigil. And for those of you in Tacoma and environs, I invite you to come to our parish of Our Lady of […]
» Read moreMy parents are visiting for a week, and this morning my father and I attended a beautiful Thanksgiving Day Mass at Holy Rosary. Crazy manic running around now, to prepare everything for the feast. One sad bit of news: Vera the Dominique (beloved sister of Violet) did not survive the night. Although Francine had treated her enlarged crop, this was […]
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This past week, I had occasion to reflect on the liturgy at the parish we’ve been attending the past few months. I found myself startled to realize that in that entire time, I had not observed a single liturgical abuse. Not one. Not one deliberately changed word. No shenanigans. At all. There is nothing perfect this side of heaven. However, […]
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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. […]
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