Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
When Pope Saint Pius V promulgated the revised Missale Romanum in the Apostolic Constitution Quo Primum in 1570, he famously wrote that it applied “henceforth, now, and forever, throughout all the provinces of the Christian world”. Yet, just a year later the Pope himself issued the first changes to the Missal, inserting the feast of Our Lady of Victory, to celebrate […]
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As 2020 comes finally to its end, we welcome with hope (and no small amount of trepidation) its sequel, 2021. It’s worth remembering, though, that we are also celebrating some other years as well: holy years. The Year of Saint Joseph Pope Francis has declared a “Year of Saint Joseph” from December 8, 2020 through December 8, 2021. This year […]
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UPDATE. Unfortunately, we were unable to get everything properly organized in time for this event. There are quite a few rules and regulations regarding gatherings that I was unaware of. This is entirely my fault. Mea culpa! So we will have to cancel. I can only offer my sincere apologies to everyone. All is not lost, however, as we are […]
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From Saint Peter’s Square, 27 March 2020. Parce, Domine, Parce populo tuo: Ne in æternum irascaris nobis. Spare, O Lord, Spare Your people, Do not be angry with us forever. 1. Flectamus iram vindicem, Ploremus ante Judicem; Clamemus ore supplici, Dicamus omnes cernui: Refrain 1. Let us turn back the angry avenger, Let us lament before the Judge; Let us […]
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Today on the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, we would do well to meditate on the life of the man who helped raise the Son of God. It can’t have been easy. Tradition holds that Joseph was already an old man and a widower when he married the Blessed Virgin, who was very young, perhaps 16 or so. He had several […]
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Pope Francis calls on everyone to pray the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary tomorrow, the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, at 9:00pm Rome time invoking “Our Lady, Health of the Sick and Saint Joseph, to protect our families from coronavirus COVID-19, especially the ill and those who are caring for the sick, the doctors, nurses, who are risking their lives”. This […]
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Today, we begin the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday. The modern Roman Missal has a set of rubrics that cover the whole of Lent, before digging into each day separately. Most folks are familiar with number 4, and I’d venture to say that 3 is not exactly unknown to priests and ministers, if not the folks in the pews. […]
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Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman Today, Pope Francis officially canonized John Henry Cardinal Newman. He had the distinction until this morning of being the theologian most quoted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church who was not a saint. No more. I will leave it to others to speak of the significance of Newman’s canonization, except to say that although […]
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Everybody knows a guy who just won’t shut up. Sometimes it’s not even that he has something to say, or that he likes the sound of his own voice. Sometimes these are the folks who are genuinely frightened by silence. Sometimes, they just don’t know how not to talk. If those folks had a patron saint, it would no doubt […]
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Just about everybody knows Saint Francis. He’s the plaster birdbath guy, right? The saint who hung around with fuzzy pastel animals. Well, sort of. “Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society.” (Saint Francis of Assisi) Not Saint Francis I very nearly took “Francis” as my confirmation name. It might have been awkward, though, what with being engaged to Francine at […]
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More than eight years ago, I was at the Mass for the installation of Archbishop Sartain. Now, it appears, we are welcoming the man who will eventually be his successor. Archbishop Paul Etienne Pope Francis has appointed the Most Reverend Paul Etienne, currently Archbishop of Anchorage, as Coadjutor Archbishop of Seattle. You can read more about it in the Northwest […]
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Does Sunday Mass in your parish start with a hymn? Why? Did you know that the Church actually provides scripture to be read or sung during the entrance of the Priest and servers? This, my friends, is the Entrance Antiphon or, to give it its traditional name, the Introit. In a talk he gave at the recent Sacred Liturgy Conference, […]
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Just about everybody knows Saint Francis. He’s the plaster birdbath guy, right? The saint who hung around with fuzzy pastel animals. Well, sort of. “Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society.” (Saint Francis of Assisi) I very nearly took “Francis” as my confirmation name. It might have been awkward, though, what with being engaged to Francine at the time. Reading […]
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Happy sixth day of Christmas! Yesterday was the memorial of the splendid Saint Thomas Becket. Having the birth name “Thomas”, I take Becket and Aquinas as patrons, and I normally write something about the saint here each year. Yesterday snuck up on me. In addition to working, I attended an early Mass at Saint Joseph, walked home, and then there […]
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For the close of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, Pope Francis has released an Apostolic Letter Misericordia et Miseria, “Mercy and Misery”. MISERICORDIA ET MISERA is a phrase used by Saint Augustine in recounting the story of Jesus’ meeting with the woman taken in adultery (cf. Jn 8:1-11). It would be difficult to imagine a more beautiful or apt […]
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Just about everybody knows Saint Francis. He’s the plaster birdbath guy, right? The saint who hung around with fuzzy pastel animals. Well, sort of. “Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society.” (Saint Francis of Assisi) I very nearly took “Francis” as my confirmation name. It might have been awkward, though, what with being engaged to Francine at the time. Reading […]
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Vatican Radio is reporting that Pope Francis has raised the Memorial of Saint Mary Magdalene to the rank of a Feast. This puts the celebration of the “Apostle to the Apostles” on par with those of the men to whom she announced the Resurrection. In a letter announcing the change, the Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the […]
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