Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
Sir Thomas More(by Hans Holbein the Younger) Today is the memorial of one of my favourite saints, Saint Thomas More, who died at the hands of King Henry VIII (that villain). That is, today is his memorial in the modern Roman calendar, which he shares with Saint John Fisher, also executed by the same king. In my Benedictine ordo, however, […]
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Today is the anniversary of the death of the great G.K. Chesterton. He was truly one of the great writers of the 20th century, and while some find his style of literary inversion intolerable, I think he sparkles with both genius and sanctity. You can only find truth with logic if you have already found truth without it. (G.K. Chesterton) […]
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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 […]
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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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Today, the day after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is the Memorial 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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Just 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 poor sinners at Calvary? The truth is, we can’t. The saints and the mystics may catch glimpses, but […]
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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 former parish church of Holy Rosary was founded by German immigrants, a stained glass window of Saint […]
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Mary’s month of May draws to a close with the Feast of the Visitation. This feast celebrates the visit of Mary, pregnant with Jesus, to her cousin Elizabeth, pregnant with John the Baptist (Luke 1:39-56). So this feast is a celebration of the very first Christian community, consisting of two pregnant mothers and their unborn children. Saint Luke’s account culminates […]
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The same Jesus who was incarnated in Nazareth and born in Bethlehem is incarnated on every altar in the world in the Eucharist. The same sacrifice of the Cross that occurred two millennia ago in Jerusalem may likewise be seen on every altar in the world in the holy sacrifice of the Mass. This is the great Paschal Mystery, in […]
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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. This event, long in […]
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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 looks 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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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 venerable 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 made my final oblation as a Benedictine. Saint Bede […]
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We read today in the Acts of the Apostles of this great day, fifty days after the Resurrection of Jesus, ten days after His Ascension, 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 […]
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After the suicide of Judas Iscariot, the remaining Apostles gathered to choose another to replace him. They had some criteria: Therefore, it is necessary that one of the menwho accompanied us the whole timethe Lord Jesus came and went among us,beginning from the baptism of Johnuntil the day on which he was taken up from us,become with us a witness […]
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On this day in 1917, the Blessed Virgin began appearing to three shepherd children in Fátima, Portugal. She appeared on the thirteenth day of six consecutive months, culminating in the great Miracle of the Sun. Regardless of miracles, Catholics are not obliged to believe these “private revelations”. Indeed, the Church is very careful to investigate these sorts of claims with […]
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Six years ago today, the parishioners of Holy Rosary and Visitation buried our pastor, Rev. Michael Wagner. This short, two-minute video was produced by our local newspaper. Direct link to video (in case the version below isn’t working): https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article210823929.html Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis. In memoria æterna erit iustus, ab auditione mala non timebit. Absolve, […]
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