Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
On July 20, 1969, man first set foot upon the Moon. On July 20, 2011, the last flight of the last Space Shuttle is heading to a close. Perhaps appropriately, the (hopefully temporary) ending of the US manned space flight was aboard Shuttle Atlantis. It certainly gave me a sinking feeling. But the project that took us to the Moon […]
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“So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their ending.” (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit) This week, I’ve been thinking about endings – the end of empires, of eras, of fragile human lives. The last Habsburg Crown Prince died this week. The official notice read in part: Otto von Habsburg, eldest son of the last regnant Emperor of Austria and […]
» Read moreThere are those who think that the Church is being a little hasty in the process of conferring sainthood on Blessed Pope John Paul II. He has reached the penultimate stage of the process – beatification – only six years after his death. I wonder what these folks would have thought about the process taken in the case of Saint […]
» Read moreToday is a day of many memorials. In the United States, it is a Federal holiday honouring those men and women who died in the military service. While in the popular media this has become merely an excuse for a three-day weekend and countless barbeques, many folks, myself included, hang out the flag and do our best to honour the […]
» Read morePope Benedict XVI is not typically regarded as a stern disciplinarian, despite a fearsome reputation as head of CDF when he was a Cardinal. However, the past few weeks or so has seen an Australian bishop sacked, and now this: Vatican suppresses Cistercian abbey in Rome The abbey of Santa Croce in Jerusalem, associated with the Roman basilica of the […]
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Today 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 moreInteresting days ahead. The Holy See Press Office announces that the Instruction Universæ Ecclesiæ of the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei”, on the application of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, will be made public on Friday, May 13th, and will be published on that afternoon (May 14th edition of L’Osservatore Romano). The Instruction will be published in its Latin typical version, […]
» Read moreDid that shock you? Good. You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain […]
» Read moreToday is the reason we have Christmas in December. Seriously. There’s an ancient tradition that says that you will know the day of your death by the day of your conception, and vice versa. Christ was crucified on the 14th of Nisan – the only date we can fix with certainty in his life. When translated from the Jewish lunar […]
» Read moreToday is the Feast of Saint Thomas Becket. Even before my conversion, I always admired Saint Thomas. It might have something to do with his name—as a child the only other famous Thomases I knew were Jefferson and Edison, and I didn’t much care for Edison. I’d like to think it had more to do with talking Truth to power. […]
» Read moreChaucer’s pilgrims were on their way to the Canterbury shrine of Saint Thomas Becket, bishop and martyr. The kingly descendant of the saint’s kingly murderer later destroyed that shrine and scattered his bones. Now there is only one small flame to mark the place where the saint’s relics once lay. Here is the eyewitness account of the saint’s martyrdom, by […]
» Read moreToday I resolve to listen to the Ninth Symphony, and probably the Third as well. You should too! Yesterday evening I attended our parish Advent Reconciliation Service. I arrived late, having had to walk up the hill from downtown, and of course I ended up dead last in the longest line for confession. It gave me some additional time to […]
» Read moreThe Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum may be found here: Latin English from Vatican Press Service English from the USCCB (PDF) Accompanying letter in English Fr. Z’s Intro and Comments Te Deum laudámus:te Dóminum confitémur.Te ætérnum Patrem,omnis terra venerátur.Tibi omnes ángeli,tibi cæliet univérsæ potestátes:tibi chérubim et séraphimincessábili voce proclámant:Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus,Dóminus Deus Sábaoth.Pleni sunt cæli et terramaiestátis glóriæ tuæ.
» Read more[March 15], 1790 Gentlemen: While I now receive with much satisfaction your congratulations on my being called, by an unanimous vote, to the first station in my country; I cannot but duly notice your politeness in offering an apology for the unavoidable delay. As that delay has given you an opportunity of realizing, instead of anticipating, the benefits of the […]
» Read moreHow very odd to be posting twice in one day. This bit of news from Bloomberg caught my eye: Philanthropist and retired hedge-fund manager Robert W. Wilson said he is giving $22.5 million to the Archdiocese of New York to fund a scholarship program for needy inner-city students attending Roman Catholic schools. Wilson, 80, said in a phone interview today […]
» Read moreThat all may be oneIn the past month, Pope Benedict has met with The Archbishop of Canterbury The Œcumenical Patriarch of Constantinople The Orthodox Archbishop of Athens Add to this his Holiness’ apparently imminent release of a Motu Proprio liberalizing the Tridentine Use of the Roman Rite (or whatever we’re going to call it), which will go a long way […]
» Read moreA Prayer for Christian Unity Lord Jesus Christ, You call us together in faith and love. Breathe again the new life of your Holy Spirit among us That we may hear your holy word, Pray in your name, Seek unity among Christians And live more fully the faith we profess. All glory and honour be yours With the Father, and […]
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