Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
Two years ago today, we buried our pastor, Rev. Michael Wagner. This short, two-minute video was produced by our local newspaper. Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis. In memoria æterna erit iustus, ab auditione mala non timebit. Absolve, Domine, animas omnium fidelium defunctorum ab omni vinculo delictorum et gratia tua illis succurente mereantur evadere iudicium ultionis, […]
» Read more
Since my conversion, May the second has loomed large in my life. Shortly after my baptism, I became an Oblate of the Order of Saint Benedict. Each year, we read through Saint Benedict’s Rule three times, a chapter or so each day. May 2 is one of the three days of the year where we begin the Rule again. This […]
» Read more
Mary’s month of May begins with a day for her husband. Today, celebrated around the world as “International Workers’ Day” is the Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker. There’s poetry to the fact that the month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin begins by putting the focus on her husband, and therefore on their family life. Imagine the Holy Family of […]
» Read more
Today is the feast of four great Abbots of the Benedictine Order: Saints Odo, Majolus, Odilo, and Hugh. They were all good and holy men, and during the course of their reigns over the Abbey of Cluny and its associated priories, they reformed western monasticism – indeed, it could be fairly said that together they saved western monasticism. My Monastic […]
» Read more
Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine:et lux perpetua luceat eis.In memoria æterna erit iustus,ab auditione mala non timebit. Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord:and let perpetual light shine upon her.She shall be justified in everlasting memory,and shall not fear evil reports. Absolve, Domine,animas omnium fidelium defunctorumab omni vinculo delictorumet gratia tua illis succurentemereantur evadere iudicium ultionis,et lucis æternae beatitudine perfrui. […]
» Read more
John Mark was one of the original seventy disciples (Luke 10:1 ff). Tradition holds that he was one of those who left Christ when he preached on the Bread of Life (John 6:44-6:66). Saint Peter brought him back to the faith. He traveled with Paul and Barnabas, who thought him unreliable (Acts 15:37-41). Again he left, again he came back […]
» Read more
With all of the livestreamed Masses going on right now, it was inevitable that the music companies and hymnal publishers would start to raise a fuss about licensing and copyright. Here’s a secret: the Latin Mass parts and the Gregorian hymns are not under copyright. I mean, there are hymnal publishers that will change a few notes or words so […]
» Read more
“Fairy Tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” (G.K. Chesterton) Saint George of Lydda (Eastern Version) Today’s feast is of the martyr Saint George. Pious legends of dragon slaying notwithstanding, George was a soldier of the Roman army who was killed during the persecutions […]
» Read more
Today, the Second Sunday in the Octave of Easter, is also known as Divine Mercy Sunday. Pope John Paul II proclaimed the Sunday after Easter as the Sunday of the Divine Mercy (Dominica II Paschæ seu de divina misericordia) in accord with the visions of the Divine Mercy received by Saint Faustina. But what is the Divine Mercy? In short, […]
» Read more
As we approach the end of the Easter Octave, I am once again struck by the poetic quality of the hymn translations of the Monastic Diurnal. Specifically, I’m thinking about the Easter hymn, Aurora Lucis Rutilat. The first part of the translation is from a version done in 1852 by J. M. Neale, but then in the fifth verse (below) […]
» Read more
Today is the 93rd birthday of Father Benedict, once Pope Benedict XVI. Happy birthday! Obviously, we don’t know how history will judge the life and works of Pope Benedict XVI. As for me, I think that in a century or so, he will be enrolled amongst the Doctors of the Church. If you have not read any of his books, […]
» Read more
There are two kinds of time. There’s the kind you can measure. That’s the kind we live through sequentially, moment to moment. The Greek word for this is “kronos”, where we get words like “chronometer” and “chronicle”. Then, there’s the other kind. The Greeks call this “kairos”. This is the time when God acts, when eternity breaks into linear time. […]
» Read more
The Paschal Homily of Saint John Chrysostom, circa AD 400: If anyone is devout and a lover of God, let him enjoy this beautiful and radiant festival. If anyone is a wise servant, let him, rejoicing, enter into the joy of his Lord. If anyone has wearied himself in fasting, let him now receive his recompense. If anyone has labored […]
» Read more
From an ancient homily on Holy Saturday, found in today’s Office of Readings: Something strange is happening—there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who […]
» Read more
Today is Good Friday: the commemoration of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ at Calvary. Ecce lignum Crucis, in quo salus mundi pepéndit. Veníte adorémus.Behold the wood of the Cross, on which hung the salvation of the world. Come let us adore.(Missale Romanum: Friday of the Passion of the Lord) Ecce homo: Behold, the man He was condemned by […]
» Read more