Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
Several things crowd my mind this morning. Chiefly, I’m still processing the Corpus Christi Masses and procession we celebrated at our parish yesterday. But first, a slight digression. Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces On the calendar used in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces. I wrote an article several […]
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Depending on what calendar you use (Ordinary Form or Extraordinary Form), and whether or not it is a Holy Day of Obligation in your diocese, tomorrow (or last Thursday) will be (or was) the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). Happy Corpus Christi! Whereas Holy Thursday is a celebration of the institution of the Eucharist, Corpus […]
» Read moreThis past week’s readings from the Holy Rule have been walking through what the saint calls “the twelve degrees of humility” (RB, vii). This, my friends, makes for some sobering reading. Of the twelve, if I’m honest, I’m still working on the fourth, never mind those that come after it: The fourth degree of humility is, that, if hard and […]
» Read moreTwo of the things I’m working on in my spiritual life are anger and impatience. They were both tested today by inanimate objects. This afternoon, as I was merrily working from home, my Windows-based work laptop suddenly decided that certs were for wussies. I watched in helpless horror as one by one my e-mail client, my IM, and then my […]
» Read moreThis coming Sunday my parish will participate in an outdoor Procession of the Blessed Sacrament following the Noon Mass. The Masses that day will be celebrated Ad Orientem. This will be the third year we’ve taken Jesus through the streets of Tacoma and amongst His people. If you are anywhere in the area, I hope you will consider joining us. […]
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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. In 1429 at the tender age of 17, she led the French army to a string […]
» Read moreToday is the feast of this blog’s patron, Saint Bede the Venerable. This amazing man was a Benedictine monk, priest, historian, and a Doctor of the Church, all while dealing with Viking attacks. I took the name Bede when I made my final oblation as a Benedictine. Bede occupies an important niche in Church history by bridging the gap between […]
» Read moreWe 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 sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire […]
» Read moreOn 24 March 1980, Archbishop Óscar Romero of San Salvador was gunned down while celebrating Mass. While it is generally recognized (and admitted by the government) that the assassins were members of a death squad sent by the government of El Salvador, to this day no one has been prosecuted for the crime. And what had the archbishop done to […]
» Read moreToday is the feast of a most remarkable saint, Peter Celestine. Pietro Angelerio was born in the village of Sant’Angelo Limosano, in south-central Italy, in the year 1215. At age 17, he became a Benedictine monk. By the time he was in his thirties, his abbot had given him permission to enter a hermitage in a cave. He became famed […]
» Read moreViri Galilæi, quid admiramini aspicientes in cælum? Forty days (and more) have passed since Easter. While most of the world (and indeed, my Benedictine Ordo) celebrate the day more properly last Thursday, in many places in the United States, today is the Solemnity of the Ascension. That moment when Christ ascended into heaven has to be one of the great […]
» Read moreThis week we’re visiting family in the midwest. On today’s Feast of Our Lady of Fátima, we visited the church of Saint Vincent (now, apparently, part of Saint Jude the Apostle parish) in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It’s a beautiful 20th century church with a Romanesque flair. Now, when I attended Mass there yesterday, not one person spoke to me. Today, I […]
» Read moreWhen I began this blog, years ago now, I was trying to discern whether God was calling me to the Diaconate. I talked a little bit about that, and of vocation more generally, a little over a year ago in a post called The Vocation of Living. The upshot was this: at that time the Archdiocese of Seattle had no […]
» Read moreOn this day, just two years ago, Francine and I ended the walking portion of our first Camino. This photo was taken that afternoon, as we walked into Santiago de Compostela. Next year: Santiago! (Originally posted to Pilgrims on the Way.)
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Last year on this day, I was one frustrated oblate. Today is the (combined) 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 […]
» Read moreI have written several times about the Monks of Norcia. This video introduces their new CD of Gregorian chant. It’s a lovely peek into their life, and the dry wit of their Prior is delightful. You can pre-order the CD here.
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