Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Second Vatican Council’s great Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, famously calls for “fully conscious and active participation” in the Liturgy (SC 14). In this, the Council Fathers echoed the words of Saint Pope Pius X in his Motu Proprio Tra le sollecitudini of 1903. But what does that mean? Fifty and more years on, it’s become quite […]
» Read moreNo, not that one. Today is the feast of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. Born in 1090 to a noble Burgundian family near Dijon, he entered the monastery at age 23. In less than three years, he was sent by his abbot to found a new monastery in Vallée d’Absinthe on 25 June 1115. Bernard named this new monastery Clairvaux, meaning […]
» Read moreHere is the text of the Q & A documents we handed out this past weekend, minus the pastors’ introductions. Coming Together in Christ Transitions at Holy Rosary and Visitation The parish transition teams are committed to answering your questions about the upcoming changes at Visitation and Holy Rosary. Over the next few weeks, we plan to print out sheets […]
» Read moreThis morning’s Mass at Holy Rosary was the last solemnity celebrated together by the parishes of Holy Rosary and Saint Joseph. Father Maurer celebrated the Mass to honor Our Lady and give glory to God, and it was beautiful, uplifting, and holy. Father chanted the prayers. We chanted the Ordinary of the Mass in English. Francine read from the Revelation […]
» Read moreLast night, the Holy Rosary and Visitation parish Transition Teams met together for the first time. The meeting was chaired by our incoming pastor, Very Rev. Nicholas Wichert. Also there were our current pastor, Rev. Jacob Maurer, and Leigh Stringfellow from the office of the Vicar of Clergy. This is a great bunch of folks. It was interesting to meet […]
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On the 15th of August 2004, Francine and I walked into Saint Patrick’s Church in Tacoma. This was the Solemnity of the Assumption, and ever since we have counted this as our “Catholic anniversary”. On that day, I discovered in a moment that every doubt I ever had about the truth of Christianity had collapsed. God in His wisdom had […]
» Read moreToday is the feast of the deacon martyr, Saint Lawrence. There are so many stories about him, that it’s hard to sum him up briefly. In the confused days after the martyrdom of Pope Sixtus, the administration of the Roman churches fell to the Deacon, Lawrence. He was captured by the Imperial authorities, but he bargained for his release. The […]
» Read moreOur credencials arrived from Santiago a couple of weeks ago. I’m starting to compile updated albergue and Mass information. I’m checking airline tickets every Tuesday. I’m still trying to find all of the bits and bobs to complete my gear. In some cases, I know that what I’m looking for is “around here somewhere”, but I’ll be darned if I […]
» Read moreToday we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration, one of the more important (if overlooked) feasts of the liturgical year. Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white… This event definitively revealed the divinity of Christ. It appears […]
» Read moreLast night, the Holy Rosary Transition Team met for the first time with our new pastor, Very Rev. Nicholas Wichert, as well as our current pastor, Rev. Jacob Maurer. The meeting was ably facilitated by a number of folks from the Archdiocese, including Deacon Eric Paige and Leigh Stringfellow from the office of the Vicar of Clergy. They were great, […]
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Today is the Memorial of the dedication of my favourite church building in the world, the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, also known in English as Saint Mary Major. It is occasionally known by the title of Our Lady of the Snows. When we were in Rome back in 2005, our apartment was just a few blocks from […]
» Read moreThis morning, we were privileged to meet the young lady in this photo. She served with us at the Saturday Mass on the Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori. Her name is Kara Jackson. She has Down syndrome. Kara is an Altar Server in her home parish in Ohio, and God has asked her to serve at the altar in all […]
» Read moreA week or so ago, Saint Joseph held a “town hall” to discuss the upcoming changes as they transition to an Extraordinary Form parish under their new pastor, Rev. Michael Stinson, FSSP. There were 44 parishioners in attendance, as well as Fr. Maurer and the Vicar of Clergy for the Archdiocese of Seattle, the Very Rev. Gary Zender. It seems […]
» Read moreOn today’s Feast of Saint James, Father Maurer celebrated Mass at Holy Rosary. I served with six other servers, including our Seminarian guest, Chad Green. Since Saint James is the patron saint of our Archdiocese, we pulled out all the stops, including incense. Unheard of for a Saturday Mass! Chad and I more or less immediately afterwards served at a […]
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Although I’ve prayed some form of the Divine Office since before my baptism, just over a year ago I began using the Farnborough Monastic Diurnal. It is only at this point that I feel confident enough to review it. Physical Considerations Physically, it is a handsome book. It is bound in stitched Moroccan leather that is a joy to hold. […]
» Read moreThe very clever amongst you no doubt noticed in my previous post that our new pastor was not named pastor of both of our parishes. Let me explain. The parishes of Holy Rosary and St. Joseph have been joined at the hip for something like twenty years. They were first consolidated under a single pastor during the last of our […]
» Read moreThe headline says it all. I cannot imagine better news on a Tuesday morning. I’m more than slightly stunned. He was only appointed Rector of Mundelein Seminary three years ago. At that time I wrote: As both of my long-time readers know, I am a fan of Fr. Robert Barron. His Catholicism Project is to religion what Carl Sagan’s Cosmos […]
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