Category: The Sacred Liturgy
Tenebræ Debrief
Last night’s Tenebræ service was incredibly powerful. There were probably a hundred people in attendance, and we had half a dozen servers and the full choir. Fr. Wichert led. And the choir! Oh, they were fantastic! The last anthem, sung in absolute darkness, was absolutely heavenly. On a personal note, this is one of my favourite (para)liturgies that we celebrate […]
» Read moreMaundy Thursday:
Do This in Memory of Me
The Season of Lent comes to its end this evening, as we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. This celebration commemorates 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 […]
» Read moreHoly Week, Busy Week
Every year I take vacation during Holy Week. There are a couple of reasons for this, both spiritual and practical. On the spiritual level, I find that I need time to prepare myself. There may have been some work in the garden the past couple of days. I may also have resumed my habit from earlier in Lent of praying […]
» Read moreTenebræ
This Wednesday evening at 8:00pm, our parish of Holy Rosary will celebrate a Tenebræ service. You are most welcome to join us. What is Tenebræ? The word itself is Latin for “shadows”. It is a Holy Week service tied to the prayers of the Liturgy of the Hours, being a concatenation of Matins and Lauds, anticipated the night before. In […]
» Read moreHosanna to the Son of David!
This weekend, Holy Week begins with the Sunday of Lord’s triumphal entry into Jersusalem – Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion. Although Good Friday is coming – the Passion and Death are coming – for the moment, this moment, joy resounds as our King arrives in His city. In most parishes throughout the world, the principal Mass is celebrated by […]
» Read moreSchedule for Holy Week
The following is the Holy Week schedule for the parishes of Holy Rosary and Visitation in Tacoma, Washington. There’s a lot here! Palm Sunday is a busy weekend, with extra Confession time. Wednesday Tenebræ is not to be missed. And of course, the Holy Triduum is essentially one giant liturgy (with some serious overnight breaks) that begins with the Introit […]
» Read moreVesting Prayers
One of my volunteer positions at my parish is that of MC and Altar Server coordinator. Since I started in that position, we’ve made any number of changes. One of the simplest and most profound, though, was the reintroduction of Vesting Prayers. And what are they? In the immemorial tradition of the Roman Rite, certain prayers were recited while vesting […]
» Read moreBenedictine Liturgical Ideals and the New Evangelization
Although it no longer appears on the Universal (Roman) calendar, today is one of two feasts of Saint Benedict celebrated by Benedictines throughout the world. This is the day in the year 547 when Saint Benedict of Norcia died. Saint Benedict is generally considered the founder of western monasticism, and his Rule spread throughout the west as the Roman Empire […]
» Read moreLectionary Confluence
On Thursday, I unexpectedly found myself at two daily Masses, the first in the Extraordinary Form, and the second in the Ordinary Form. The differences were stark – made even more so by the fact that the Ordinary Form Mass was a School Mass and thus the readings were done by schoolchildren, and the homily was preached to them. The […]
» Read moreLenten Observances
This is a busy Lent. This week, I literally have some event or class or liturgy on my calendar every day of the week, including two Rites of Election. Fortunately, my role in those two (at least) is not as MC, but as RCIA Director and sponsor, and this is pretty low stress. On the other hand, I led last […]
» Read moreCantate Domino Canticum Novum
The following open letter can be found in various liturgical blogs, and it is well worth reading. Although I am not one of the signatories, I very much associate myself with the sentiments expressed here. A Statement on the Current Situation of Sacred Music We, the undersigned—musicians, pastors, teachers, scholars, and lovers of sacred music—humbly offer this statement to the […]
» Read moreLenten Vespers
At my parish of Holy Rosary in Tacoma, we are celebrating Sunday Vespers as we do each Lent. While some weeks, this will be simple chanted Vespers, most weeks this year it will be a form of Solemn Vespers. Father Wichert led us in Solemn Vespers last night, chanted in the Presence of the exposed Blessed Sacrament. This was followed […]
» Read morePersonal Prelature for the SSPX?
The Catholic Herald and numerous other sources are reporting that the Vatican and the SSPX are “close to agreement”. How close? Rome is even pencilling in dates: May 13, the centenary of the Fatima apparitions, and July 7, the 10th anniversary of Summorum Pontificum, in which Benedict swept away restrictions on the celebration of the Old Mass. Mainstream traditionalists are […]
» Read moreRejoice! Rejoice!
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 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 Our […]
» Read moreO Emmanuel
We 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 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, Radix, […]
» Read moreO Rex Gentium
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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