Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
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 […]
» Read more
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 for the 17th through the 23rd of December – the 24th is of course the Christmas Vigil itself. They are ancient prayers, possibly dating back to the […]
» Read more
Advent began with last night’s vespers, and today 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 […]
» Read more
As of today, the Easter Season has ended and we’re back in Ordinary Time. Which of course, is not so ordinary at all. Unless of course, you’re celebrating the Octave of Pentecost. Which I am. Because, why wouldn’t you? Full disclosure: the Octave is celebrated in my Monastic Diurnal. In my parish, which celebrates the Ordinary Form of the Roman […]
» Read more
Light’s glittering morn bedecks the sky; Heaven thunders forth its victor cry; The glad earth shouts its triumph high, And groaning hell makes wild reply: While He, the King of glorious might, Treads down death’s strength in death’s despite, And, trampling hell by victor’s right, Brings forth His sleeping Saints to light. Fast barred beneath the stone of late In […]
» Read more
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 more
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 more
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 more
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 more
A week ago we celebrated Lætare Sunday, a burst of joy in the midst of Lent. This was, coincidentally, the fifth anniversary of our first Mass at our parish of Holy Rosary. This coming week, the week before Holy Week, we double-down on Lent. Traditionally, today’s Fifth Sunday of Lent marks the beginning of Passiontide, when we walk with Christ […]
» Read more
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 more
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 more
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 more
The annual observance of Lent is the special season for the ascent to the holy mountain of Easter. Through its twofold theme of repentance and Baptism, the season of Lent disposes both the catechumens and the faithful to celebrate the paschal mystery. Catechumens are led to the sacraments of initiation by means of the rite of election, the scrutinies, and […]
» Read more
Happy twelfth day of Christmas! I hope you’re enjoying your twelve drummers drumming. This evening is called Twelfth Night, traditionally the vigil of the Epiphany. In my Monastic Diurnal, Epiphany begins with tonight’s Vespers. This was traditionally a time of feasting and festivity (all of which seem to include various varieties of enormous pastries) marking the end of Christmastide and […]
» Read more
The rest of the world thinks Christmas is over, with the possible exception of those who celebrate Boxing Day today or those fond of partridges in pear trees. Oh, how wrong they are! For like Easter, Christmas isn’t just one day, but a whole season! It continues from Christmas Day through the Epiphany (January 6). In some places, this season […]
» Read more
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 more