Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
Today, the day after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is the feast of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On my Benedictine Ordo (and the Extraordinary Form calendar), we’ll have to wait for August 22nd, the Octave Day of the Assumption, for this feast. The veneration (not worship!) of Mary’s Immaculate Heart consists in the […]
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How does the human brain wrap itself around the eternal and infinite love of God for His creation? How can can we even begin to comprehend the depth of love in Christ’s wounded heart as he pours Himself out for us sinners at Calvary? The truth is, we can’t. The saints and the mystics may catch glimpses, but we humans […]
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Since Archbishop Etienne declared The Year of the Eucharist, it might be time to get back to our ongoing series of essays on the General Instruction of the Roman Missal. It seems like a timely project, and the Archbishop’s observation that this is “an appropriate time for parishes to provide additional training for all liturgical ministers, as well as additional […]
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The Lord manifests Himself to those who stop for some time in peace and humility of heart. If you look in murky and turbulent waters, you cannot see the reflection of your face.If you want to see the face of Christ, stop and collect your thoughts in silence, and close the door of your soul to the noise of external […]
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Please in your mercy pray for the repose of the soul of my granddaughter Charlotte Franchesca Robinowitz, born on June 11, 2018 at 11:11pm. She passed away early the next morning in the arms of her parents. Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.
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For seven years, on the Sunday Solemnity of Corpus Christi, my parish of Holy Rosary had an outdoor Procession of the Blessed Sacrament following the Noon Mass, taking Jesus through the streets of Tacoma and amongst His people. Rev. Jacob Maurer in the Corpus Christi Procession, 2013 This is a particularly special solemnity for our parish. Back in 2013, this […]
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Archbishop Paul Etienne of Seattle has proclaimed a “Year of the Eucharist” to begin on the external Solemnity of Corpus Christi, this coming Sunday. In his recent pastoral letter The Work of Redemption, he says: During the coming year, I ask every Catholic and every parish community to commit themselves to deepening our understanding and experience of the Eucharist, and […]
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In Saint Patrick Church in Tacoma – the place where I was Baptized, Confirmed, and Married – there are all sorts of Christian symbols painted on the walls. One that always set my brain to thinking looked something like this: It is, of course, a Trinitarian symbol, reminding us in a visual way that while the Father is God, and […]
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The Saint Boniface Window at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church, Tacoma Saint Boniface, whose feast is today, is widely known as the “apostle to the Germans”. An Englishman of Devonshire, he was part of a great Anglo-Saxon missionary effort in the Saxon marches of the Frankish Empire in the early eighth century. Since my parish church of Holy […]
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We read today in the Acts of the Apostles of this great day, which in a certain way we can celebrate as the birthday of the Church: When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,they were all in one place together.And suddenly there came from the skya noise like a strong driving wind,and it filled the entire house in which they […]
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Tomorrow is Pentecost, the great solemnity celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles. The Church has long celebrated this event in three ways: the solemnity of the day itself, the octave of the day, and the vigil. With the liturgical reforms of the 1960s and 1970s, all but the day itself was suppressed, a sad testament to […]
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On this day in 1431, one of the most truly remarkable women who ever lived was burned at the stake. She was 19 years old. She was known as Jehanne la Pucelle (Joan the Maiden), but today we name her Saint Joan of Arc. Saint Joan at Holy Rosary, Tacoma She was canonized in 1920, and her memorial was first […]
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On this day in 1453, the great and holy city of Constantinople fell to the Turks and the Christian Roman Empire came to its apocalyptic end. This was a thousand years after the conversion of the Empire to Christ, almost fifteen centuries after the fall of the Republic, and 2,206 years after the foundation of Rome. The Fall of Constantinople, […]
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UPDATE. Unfortunately, we were unable to get everything properly organized in time for this event. There are quite a few rules and regulations regarding gatherings that I was unaware of. This is entirely my fault. Mea culpa! So we will have to cancel. I can only offer my sincere apologies to everyone. All is not lost, however, as we are […]
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A century ago, on May 30, 1920, the cornerstone of Holy Rosary Church in Tacoma was laid. It was the feast of Saint Joan of Arc, who had been canonized just ten days before. Here’s what our parish history says about the day: May 30, 1920 The cornerstone of the new Church is laid by the Most Rev. Joseph McGrath, […]
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Saint Bede the Venerable translating the Gospel of John Today in the calendar of the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite is the feast of this blog’s patron, Saint Bede the Venerable. The amazing Saint Bede was a monk, priest, historian, and a Doctor of the Church, all while dealing with Viking attacks. I took the name Bede when I […]
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Viri Galilæi, quid admiramini aspicientes in cælum? Mirroring the forty days of Lent, forty days have passed since Easter. For most of the world today is the Solemnity of the Ascension. Some dioceses, particularly in the United States and including my own Archdiocese of Seattle, have elected to transfer this great feast to the following Sunday. Of course, in these […]
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