Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
Superman fights for “truth, justice, and the American way!” We should fight for the three transcendentals: truth, beauty, and goodness. The transcendentals were known to the Ancient Greeks, but Catholic theologians quickly baptized them into their study of philosophy and theology. Transcendentals are the timeless and universal attributes of being. They are the properties of all beings, as well as […]
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We come to the last of the O Antiphons, for tomorrow is Christmas Eve, the great Vigil of the Nativity. I mentioned yesterday that the O Antiphons were arranged backward into the song Veni, Veni Emmanuel. This was by design, for the Antiphons themselves are a backward acrostic. The first letters of the Messianic titles — Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, […]
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With Christmas just days away now, 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 composer compiled versions of the O Antiphons into a single Advent hymn, called Veni, Veni Emmanuel. You know the English version as O Come, […]
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It 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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Continuing on with our annual tradition, we come closer and closer to the birth of the Messiah, “the holy one, the true, who holds the key of David, who opens and no one shall close, who closes and no one shall open”. The key is the symbol of authority. Christ is the Key of the House of David who opens […]
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By now some of you might be thinking that the O Antiphon words are sounding kind of familiar, even though you’re not really up on your Gregorian Chant. In fact, these antiphons are some of the earliest attested antiphons in the Divine Office, being mentioned in passing in the works of Saint Boethius in the early sixth century. They’re rooted […]
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Today is the second “O” antiphon, O Adonai. O Sovereign Lord! O Adonaï! come and redeem us, not by thy power, but by thy humility. Heretofore, thou didst show thyself to Moses thy servant in the midst of a mysterious flame; thou didst give thy law to thy people amidst thunder and lightning; now, on the contrary, thou comest not […]
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O Wisdom! Advent is drawing to its close, and it’s time again for our annual look at the O Antiphons. These antiphons are part of the prayers at the liturgical hour of Vespers (evening prayer) for the 17th through the 23rd of December – the 24th is of course the Christmas Vigil itself. They are ancient prayers, possibly dating back […]
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Advent begins with tonight’s vespers, and tomorrow is the First Sunday of Advent. Behold, the Name of the Lord comes from afar, and His glory fills all the earth. (Magnificat Antiphon for I Vespers on the First Sunday of Advent, Monastic Diurnal) Not sure exactly what Advent is? Here’s a two-minute snapshot. Meanwhile, I’m doing my annual fumbling to remember […]
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This Advent, as in past years, our parish of Holy Rosary in Tacoma will be chanting Vespers on Sunday evenings. Because of the damage to our beautiful church, this year we’re celebrating Vespers the school auditorium. I know, I know, the poster says the chapel, but we decided at the last moment that the chapel perhaps wouldn’t hold everybody. The […]
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Saint Luke is my kind of writer. Luke the historian and Luke the lyrical poet are both in evidence in his New Testament writings, his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. He freely admits that he never met Christ in the flesh, that he was not a witness to the events he describes in his Gospel. Like any good […]
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Do you pray to your Guardian Angel? Do you ask them for advice or help? Why not? The Church teaches that we all receive a guardian angel at birth, an angel assigned to guide and protect us, to watch over us. As Francine and I embark on our pilgrimage today, we will certainly be asking their help. As it says […]
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Whither is thy Beloved gone, O thou most beautiful among women? Whither is thy Beloved turned aside, and we will seek Him with thee? We begin with the first antiphon of Lauds for today’s feast of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Monastic Diurnal. The Blessed Virgin Mary is sometimes called Our Lady of Sorrows – […]
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Does Sunday Mass in your parish start with a hymn? Why? Did you know that the Church actually provides scripture to be read or sung during the entrance of the Priest and servers? This, my friends, is the Entrance Antiphon or, to give it its traditional name, the Introit. In a talk he gave at the recent Sacred Liturgy Conference, […]
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Last month, I attended the Sacred Liturgy Conference in Salem, Oregon. This is the second time I’ve attended, the first being back in 2016. It’s a transforming conference, and the daily conference liturgies in particular have made, and continue to make, a deep impression on me and others. Obviously, it’s difficult to sum up a four day conference in just […]
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Chanted from the version given in the Codex Calixtinus. Neither Ordinary nor Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, but rather from the Mozarabic Rite.
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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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