Category: Holy Days
Rejoice! Rejoice!
As I do every year, I shall end this Advent chant sequence with the hymn assembled from the O Antiphons. I‘ve also posted one of my favourite Christmas carols, which is particularly appropriate in the deeps of Christmas Vigil. And for those of you in Tacoma and environs, I invite you to come to our parish of Our Lady of […]
» Read moreO Emmanuel
We come to the last of the O Antiphons, for tomorrow is Christmas Eve, the Vigil of the Nativity. I mentioned yesterday that the O Antiphons were arranged backwards into the song Veni, Veni Emmanuel. This was by design, for the Antiphons themselves are a backwards acrostic. The first letters of the Messianic titles — Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, […]
» Read moreO Rex Gentium
With Christmas just days away now, we hear the penultimate O Antiphon this evening. I mentioned a couple of days ago that the antiphons might sound vaguely familiar to you. In the 12th Century, an unknown songwriter compiled versions of the O Antiphons into a single Advent hymn, called Veni, Veni Emmanuel. You know the English version as O Come, […]
» Read moreO Oriens
It is altogether right and proper that we should celebrate Christ as the bringer of light on this, the day of the winter solstice. This was an ancient holy day in many religions, as indeed it continues to be. On this, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, where people for eons have begged their divinity for […]
» Read moreO Clavis David
Continuing on, we come closer and closer to the birth of the Messiah, “the holy one, the true, who holds the key of David, who opens and no one shall close, who closes and no one shall open” (Revelation 3:7). The key is the symbol of authority. Christ is the Key of the House of David who opens to us […]
» Read moreO Radix Jesse
By now some of you might be thinking that the O Antiphon words might be sounding kind of familiar, even though you’re not really up on your Gregorian Chant. In fact, these antiphons are some of the earliest attested antiphons in the Divine Office, being mentioned in passing in the works of Saint Boethius in the early sixth century. The […]
» Read moreO Adonai
Today is the second “O” antiphon, O Adonai. It has been a long time since I’ve sung these properly – three years now – and I very much miss chanting Vespers in community. One of my great hopes is that our chapel will be finished this time next year, so that we may pray these antiphons there. Of course, I […]
» Read moreO Sapiéntia
Wisdom! Advent is drawing to its close, and it’s time again for the O Antiphons. These antiphons are part of the prayers at the liturgical hour of Vespers for the 17th through the 23rd of December – the 24th is of course the Christmas Vigil itself. They are ancient prayers, possibly dating back to the earliest days of the Christian […]
» Read moreA Feast For Stones?
You would be forgiven for thinking that the Pope’s main church is St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. It’s certainly the largest. But no. The Pope’s own church – his episcopal seat as Bishop of Rome – is in the church of Saint John Lateran. Which Saint John? Good question. Two of them, actually, for the full name of this […]
» Read moreDay of the Dead
Let’s talk Purgatory. We have to, to make any sense at all out of today’s feast. Today is officially “The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed”, but like most folks, I’ll stick with the simple version – All Souls’ Day. Over the years, I’ve heard numerous homilies and essays that mix this day up with yesterday, All Saints’ Day. Last […]
» Read moreFor All the Saints
Happy Feast of All Saints! This is the day where we celebrate all the saints, known and unknown: the Church Triumphant. This day has been a feast since the sixth or seventh century, and it was fixed on November 1 in the Roman calendar by Pope Gregory III in the mid 8th century. Yesterday, of course, was the vigil or […]
» Read moreThe Year of Faith Begins
Pope Benedict XVI has proclaimed a “Year of Faith” to run from today, 11 October 2012, through to 24 November 2013. Pastoral guidelines have been published that call for prayer, celebrations, pilgrimages, catechetical events, missions, and new forms of evangelization. The Pope calls us to profess the faith, celebrate the faith, and witness to the faith. Faith grows when it […]
» Read moreExaltation
Today is celebrated in the western Church as the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Exaltatio Sanctæ Crucis). In the eastern Church, it is known as “the Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-creating Cross”. The feast commemorates a number of events: the finding of the True Cross in 326 in Jerusalem by Saint Helena, the later dedication […]
» Read moreLosing His Head
Today is one of the more interesting feasts on the liturgical calendar, for today is the feast of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist. OK, nowadays they’ve slightly sanitized the name; it’s now officially called the “Memorial of the Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist”, but for the sheer Catholic joy of calling a spade a spade, I’m sticking […]
» Read moreAssumption
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 moreThe Sacred Heart
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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