Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
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 composer compiled versions of the O Antiphons into a single Advent hymn, called Veni, Veni Emmanuel. You know the English version as O Come, […]
» Read moreIt 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 moreIf you can, won’t you please join us this evening at 6:00 PM for chanted Solemn Vespers at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary parish in Tacoma? Continuing on with our annual tradition, 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 […]
» Read moreBy now some of you might be thinking that the O Antiphon words are 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. They’re rooted […]
» Read moreToday is the second “O” antiphon, O Adonai. It has been a long time since I’ve sung these properly. Perhaps as much as eight years? Time has a way of slipping past, almost before you know it. As much as I love that we’re chanting Sunday Vespers for Advent in my parish, I very much wish that it was a […]
» Read moreO Wisdom! Advent is drawing to its close, and it’s time again for our annual look at 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 […]
» Read moreIf you think that the Spanish conquistadors are the ones who imposed Catholicism on the hapless Aztecs, well you’re wrong. Lord knows they tried. And tried. And failed. In the first decade of Spanish rule (1521 – 1531), only a handful of natives embraced Christianity. And then… well, here’s the story as found in the venerable Catholic Encyclopedia: To a […]
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On this Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, let us join together with the Angels and the Saints of all ages in singing the praises of the Mother of God.
» Read moreO glorious Saint Lawrence, Martyr for the Faith, filled with compassion for those who invoke you, with love for those who suffer, heavily laden with the weight of my troubles, I kneel at your feet and humbly beg you to take my present need under your special protection. Vouchsafe to recommend it to our Lord Jesus. Cease not to intercede […]
» Read moreO glorious Saint Raymond, husband, father, deacon, filled with compassion for those who invoke you, I kneel at your feet and humbly beg you to take my present need under your special protection. Vouchsafe to recommend it to our Lord Jesus. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. Above all, obtain for me the grace to […]
» Read moreO Holy Saint Francis, through your kind intercession we seek holiness above all things. We seek the faith, hope and love that allowed you to joyfully renounce the pleasures of earthly life and to radically follow our Lord Jesus Christ. Pray for us that we enjoy the privilege of suffering with and for the poor in the example of Jesus. […]
» Read moreO glorious Saint Philip, tireless preacher of the Faith, filled with compassion for those who invoke you, I kneel at your feet and humbly beg you to take my present need under your special protection, that they may serve faithfully in your love to all. Vouchsafe to recommend it to our Lord Jesus. Cease not to intercede for me until […]
» Read moreO glorious Saint Ephrem, harp of the Spirit, filled with compassion for those who invoke you, I kneel at your feet and humbly beg you to take my present need under your special protection and to make your prayer mine: O Lord, Master of my life, grant that I may not be infected with the spirit of slothfulness and inquisitiveness, […]
» Read moreO glorious Saint Benjamin, constant preacher and Martyr for the Faith, filled with compassion for those who invoke you, I kneel at your feet and humbly beg you to take my present need under your special protection. Vouchsafe to recommend it to our Lord Jesus. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. Above all, obtain for […]
» Read moreO glorious Saint Andrew, preacher, monk, and poet of the Faith, filled with compassion for those who invoke you, I kneel at your feet and humbly beg you to take my present need under your special protection and to make your prayer mine: Listen, O heaven, and I will speak. O earth, hear the cry of one returning to God […]
» Read moreO glorious and blessed Alcuin, great teacher of the Faith, filled with compassion for those who invoke you, I kneel at your feet and humbly beg you to take my present need under your special protection and to make your prayer mine: Give me O Lord, I pray Thee firm faith, unwavering hope, perfect charity. Pour into my heart the […]
» Read moreAndrew, son of Jonah, fisherman of Bethsaida in Galilee. Follower of John the Baptist. The first apostle called by Christ, who told him and his brother, Simon, to “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men”. After the Resurrection, Andrew preached along the coasts of the Black Sea, both north and south, founding churches that included one […]
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