Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
The Liturgy of the Hours runs through the psalms in a four-week cycle. Every fourth Wednesday at the hour of Vigils (a.k.a. Matins, or the Office of Readings) we pray Psalm 103. There’s one stanza that never fails to give me pause. As for man, his days are like grass; he flowers like the flower of the field; the wind […]
» Read moreThis past Sunday, Reverend Eugene Delmore SJ was installed as the fifth pastor of our little parish church of Saint Rita of Cascia in Tacoma. The Most Reverend Eusebio Elizondo MSpS, Auxiliary Bishop of Seattle, was the principal Celebrant. He was joined at the altar by Fr Delmore and his Jesuit Superior, Reverend John Fuchs SJ. It was my second […]
» Read moreThis is the latest installment in a series of short articles I wrote/adapted/edited for my parish bulletin. I will publish the others as they they appear. The new Mass translation is coming in Advent! Back in 2000, Blessed Pope John Paul II issued the third edition of the Roman Missal. After more than ten years of consultation and work, the […]
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Nearly everybody knows about Saint Francis. He’s the plaster birdbath guy, right? The saint who hung around with fuzzy pastel animals. Well, sort of. “Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society.” (Saint Francis of Assisi) I very nearly took “Francis” as my confirmation name. It might have been awkward, though, what with being engaged to Francine at the time. Reading […]
» Read moreThis is the latest installment in a series of short articles I wrote/adapted/edited for my parish bulletin. I will publish the others as they they appear. The new Mass translation is coming in Advent! Back in 2000, Blessed Pope John Paul II issued the third edition of the Roman Missal. After more than ten years of consultation and work, the […]
» Read moreThis is the latest installment in a series of short articles I wrote/adapted/edited for my parish bulletin. I will publish the others as they they appear. The new Mass translation is coming in Advent! Back in 2000, Blessed Pope John Paul II issued the third edition of the Roman Missal. After more than ten years of consultation and work, the […]
» Read moreThis is the latest installment in a series of short articles I wrote/adapted/edited for my parish bulletin. I will publish the others as they they appear. The new Mass translation is coming in Advent! Back in 2000, Blessed Pope John Paul II issued the third edition of the Roman Missal. After more than ten years of consultation and work, the […]
» Read moreThis is the fourth installment in a series of short articles I wrote/adapted/edited for my parish bulletin. I will publish the others as they they appear. The new Mass translation is coming in Advent! Back in 2000, Blessed Pope John Paul II issued the third edition of the Roman Missal. After more than ten years of consultation and work, the […]
» Read moreThis is the third installment a series of short articles I wrote/adapted/edited for my parish bulletin. I will publish the others as they they appear. The new Mass translation is coming in Advent! Back in 2000, Blessed Pope John Paul II issued the third edition of the Roman Missal, the ritual text for the celebration of the Mass. After more […]
» Read moreThis is the second installment in a series of short articles I wrote/adapted/edited for my parish bulletin. I will publish the others as they they appear. As we learned in the last installment, a new translation of the Mass is coming, starting in Advent. Back in 2000, Blessed Pope John Paul II issued the third edition of the Roman Missal, […]
» Read moreThis is the first installment in a series of short articles I wrote/adapted/edited for my parish bulletin. I will publish the others as they they appear. Many of you have heard that a new translation of the Mass is coming. You might have questions or concerns about this: why a new translation? What’s new and what’s different? This is the […]
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On this, the Feast of Saint Benedict, I thought I’d ruminate on the meaning of “reform”. Typically, when the Church, or some organization within the Church, has talked about reform, the word pretty specifically meant clearing out the laxness and shortcuts that had appeared in practices, devotions, and liturgy. The fact is, all organizations staffed by humans tend to get […]
» Read moreWe were in Seattle for the weekend, attending my niece’s wedding. Since there were many out of town friends and relatives, the events surrounding the wedding itself stretched from Friday night through Sunday night. It was a beautiful wedding and a wonderful time all around. I wish the bride and groom every happiness in the world. All over the world […]
» Read moreI had meant to post something about this when I head it during the Bishops’ conference, but Father’s illness and a pile of work intervened. Huge news on the implementation of the new Missal translation: Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans, chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Divine Worship, announced that diocesan bishops may […]
» Read moreHere, in the middle of what used to be the Octave of Pentecost, I’m finally turning my attention on these pages to one of my greatest loves in the Church: the Sacred Liturgy. The liturgy – and here I’m thinking most especially of Holy Mass – is where we meet the Lord, where He deigns to come to us in […]
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Last night, I was Master of Ceremonies at our parish Confirmation Mass. It was my first, but hopefully not my last, MC gig. My reflections on last night are bound to be a little rambly, but I wanted to be sure to record as many of my impressions as I could. The MC role at Mass is somewhat different from […]
» Read morePope Benedict XVI is not typically regarded as a stern disciplinarian, despite a fearsome reputation as head of CDF when he was a Cardinal. However, the past few weeks or so has seen an Australian bishop sacked, and now this: Vatican suppresses Cistercian abbey in Rome The abbey of Santa Croce in Jerusalem, associated with the Roman basilica of the […]
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