Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
This 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 […]
» Read moreThe instruction Universæ Ecclesiæ was issued today in Rome. It is a clarification of Summorum Pontificum, which Pope Benedict XVI promulgated on 7 July 2007. By far the best source for information that I’ve found so far is Father Z’s PODCAzT on the subject. Vatican Radio also has a nice review of the document. Let’s see if I can sum […]
» Read moreInteresting days ahead. The Holy See Press Office announces that the Instruction Universæ Ecclesiæ of the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei”, on the application of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, will be made public on Friday, May 13th, and will be published on that afternoon (May 14th edition of L’Osservatore Romano). The Instruction will be published in its Latin typical version, […]
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We learned at Mass today that our parish priest, Rev. Carmine Sacco, S.J. is retiring some time this year. We also learned that the Jesuits have appointed Rev. Gene Delmore, S.J. to succeed him. A quick search revealed that Fr. Delmore is currently serving as associate pastor of Saint Joseph’s in Yakima, and that he is scheduled to leave there […]
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Today we celebrate the institution of the Eucharist on what is (more or less) the anniversary of the Last Supper. Pope Benedict, in his book Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection, spends some time discussing whether this was a traditional Passover meal, or whether perhaps it was celebrated the day before the date […]
» Read moreI have a dirty little secret. Sometimes… sometimes, I pray in Latin. It’s not that I think God likes Latin better than English, and I am certainly not fluent in Latin. In fact it’s safe to say that my knowledge of the language is vanishingly small. This brings up two points: why on earth would somebody pray in a language […]
» Read moreSaint Paul calls us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, cf. Ephesians 6:18). How are we to understand this? I think there are two ways. One is the way explored by an unnamed Russian pilgrim in the spiritual classic The Way of a Pilgrim. The book dates from the mid-19th century, and in it the author visits various monasteries […]
» Read moreHappy Feast of All Saints! This is the day where we celebrate all the saints, known and unknown. In the old days, they were referred to as the Church Triumphant. I’m just back from Mass, and I find myself questioning the wisdom of those who thought that since All Saints falls on a Monday, it should not be a Holy […]
» Read moreToday I attended the funeral of a young woman named Renae Fusako Stewart. I have never met this woman, though by God’s Grace I may meet her yet. She was a convert, having asked for Baptism while in hospital after suffering a stroke. She was, by all accounts a cheerful and engaging young woman. Her health suffered terribly after her […]
» Read moreVOX CLARA COMMITTEE PRESS RELEASE April 28-29, 2010 The Vox Clara Committee met at the Pontifical North American College in Rome from April 28-29, 2010. This was the nineteenth meeting of this Committee of senior Bishops from Episcopal Conferences throughout the English-speaking world. The Vox Clara Committee was formed by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the […]
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