Day of Wrath, O Day of Mourning!

Appropriate to today – the Feast of All Souls of the Benedictine Order – we once again have the Dies Iræ, the traditional sequence for Requiem Masses and the Masses of All Souls. Today we pray for the souls of all Benedictine monks, nuns, sisters, and oblates in purgatory. Most probably written by Servant of God Thomas of Celano near […]

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The Road to Hell is Paved with the Skulls of Bishops

So saith today’s saint, the incomparable Saint John Chrysostom (c. 347–407). He was, of course, himself a bishop. It seems that this pithy quote is a popularization of the full (attributed) quote, where the saint is talking about the relatively few in number who will be saved and the bad shepherds who are responsible: The road to Hell is paved […]

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Antiphony Reborn: Singing the Mass Propers

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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Alphonsus Liguori, the Saint and His Feast

Depending on your particular calendar, today or yesterday was the feast of Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787), a great saint and Doctor of the Church who founded the Redemptorists and wrote on the spiritual life. I particularly enjoy his Way of the Cross and a short book (pamphlet, really) called How to Converse Continually and Familiarly with God. Yesterday I found […]

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Initial Thoughts on the Sacred Liturgy Conference, 2018

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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Sacred Liturgy Conference 2018

This morning I’m off to the train station to attend the 2018 Sacred Liturgy Conference in Salem, Oregon for the next four days. I last attended in 2016, when it was held at Mount Angel Abbey. On that occasion, I made Archbishop Sample belly-laugh, an achievement I carry with me to this day. I was unable to attend last year, […]

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“I’d Cut Down Every Law…”

Hans Holbein the Younger: Sir Thomas More

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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We Walk by Faith

Last weekend, my beautiful bride Francine and I did some walking, and it got me to thinking about the spirituality of walking. I’m always amazed at what you can accomplish by walking. Modern psychologists say that walking makes us smarter, but the idea is hardly original to them. Solvitur ambulando – It is solved by walking. (Saint Augustine) This is […]

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Corpus Christi

This coming Sunday my parish will participate in an outdoor Procession of the Blessed Sacrament following the Noon Mass. This will be the sixth year we’ve taken Jesus through the streets of Tacoma and amongst His people. Our interim priest, Rev. Francis Xavier Kikomeko, will celebrate the Noon Mass of Corpus Christi at the high altar, and eleven children of […]

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