A Liturgical Lent: a Review and a Look Forward

At my parish of Holy Rosary in Tacoma, we had a lot going on for this first weekend of Lent. Think of this as a look into the life of a parish pursuing the vision of the New Liturgical Movement during Lent. You could almost consider this a snapshot review of our parish liturgical life. Friday Although not strictly liturgical, […]

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Parish Lenten Calendar, 2018

Come join us for some of these liturgies and devotions this Lent! This Lenten Calendar is obviously in addition to our normal Mass schedule at Holy Rosary: Saturday Vigil: 5:00 PM (preceded by Adoration, Rosary, Benediction) Sunday: 12:00 PM (with asperges and Angelus) Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 7:15 AM (followed by Rosary) Friday School Mass: 9:00 AM Plus, don’t forget simple […]

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Candlemas

Today was once one of the most solemn feasts of the year. It’s gone by several names over the millennia: the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, Candlemas. Coming forty days after Christmas, it was even once the end of the Christmas season. Even today there are relics of […]

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The Dedication of an Altar

The Dedication of an Altar is a rare ritual in the church. Normally, it takes place within the larger dedication of a church or chapel. However, this coming week, Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg will be dedicating a new altar at one of our local Tacoma parishes. The altar in question was originally commissioned by the parish of Saint Joseph and its […]

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The Epiphany!

Happy Epiphany! Throughout most of the world, today is the great Feast of the Epiphany. Most of my American readers, however, will have to wait until tomorrow. For reasons I can’t quite fathom, in the dioceses of the United States this feast has been moved to the Sunday between January 2 and January 8. Why you would want to move […]

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Not No Saints

Happy sixth day of Christmas! Today is the first day of the Christmas Octave that is not otherwise also a solemnity, feast, or memorial. That does not mean, however, that there aren’t other saints we could celebrate today in some form. Today might be a good time to talk about the Roman Martyrology. This is one of those liturgical books […]

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O Emmanuel

We come to the last of the O Antiphons, for tomorrow is Christmas Eve, the great Vigil of the Nativity. I mentioned yesterday that the O Antiphons were arranged backward into the song Veni, Veni Emmanuel. This was by design, for the Antiphons themselves are a backward acrostic. The first letters of the Messianic titles — Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, […]

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O 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 composer compiled versions of the O Antiphons into a single Advent hymn, called Veni, Veni Emmanuel. You know the English version as O Come, […]

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Rorate Cæli

This past Saturday, our parish of Holy Rosary celebrated a Votive Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This particular tradition is known as the Rorate Mass, for the first word of its entrance antiphon (Introit): Roráte cæli désuper, et núbes plúant jústum. Aperiatur terra et germinet salvatorem. Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the […]

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O Adonai

Today is the second “O” antiphon, O Adonai. O Sovereign Lord! O Adonaï! come and redeem us, not by thy power, but by thy humility. Heretofore, thou didst show thyself to Moses thy servant in the midst of a mysterious flame; thou didst give thy law to thy people amidst thunder and lightning; now, on the contrary, thou comest not […]

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The Extraordinary Form and Mutual Enrichment

This morning for the first time I served at a public Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. It was a votive Mass of Saint Joseph, celebrated at Saint Joseph church in Tacoma by the Rev. Caleb Insco, F.S.S.P. This is only the second time I’ve served at the Vetus Ordo, and I was extremely nervous. Throughout the […]

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