Incarnation in the Eucharist

The same Jesus who was incarnated in Nazareth and born in Bethlehem is incarnated on every altar in the world in the Eucharist. The same sacrifice of the Cross that occurred two millennia ago in Jerusalem may likewise be seen on every altar in the world in the holy sacrifice of the Mass. This is the great Paschal Mystery, in […]

» Read more

Follow the Rubrics: an Introduction

Part 1 in an ongoing series of essays on the General Instruction of the Roman Missal. At the 2019 Sacred Liturgy Conference, the question was asked, how do you celebrate the Ordinary Form in a more sacred way? How do you infuse it with the mystery and majesty of the Tradition of the Roman Rite? Monsignor Richard Huneger famously answered, “follow the rubrics”. […]

» Read more

The Ascension of the Lord

Viri Galilæi, quid admiramini aspicientes in cælum? Forty days (and more) have passed since Easter. This year, I was was fortunate enough to celebrate the Ascension twice. The first was Ascension Thursday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes, Spokane, as part of the 2019 Sacred Liturgy Conference. It was a Pontifical High Mass of the Ascension of our […]

» Read more

Road Trip for Saint Bede the Venerable

Today in the calendar of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite and (perhaps more importantly for me) on the Benedictine Calendar is the feast of this blog’s patron, Saint Bede the Venerable. For no reason that I understand, in 1970 his feast was moved to the day before yesterday. Saint Bede the Venerable translating the Gospel of John This […]

» Read more

Our 2018 in Review

This has been a crazy year. Here at Pistachio House, we had designated 2018 as the “Year of Hygge“. This was going to be the year that we concentrated on coziness. Pistachio House would be finally made into the cozy home we imagined. There would be coffee cake, walks, and new furnishings. It started out strongly enough, and it certainly […]

» Read more

Antiphony Reborn: Singing the Mass Propers

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, […]

» Read more

Initial Thoughts on the Sacred Liturgy Conference, 2018

Last month, I attended the Sacred Liturgy Conference in Salem, Oregon. This is the second time I’ve attended, the first being back in 2016. It’s a transforming conference, and the daily conference liturgies in particular have made, and continue to make, a deep impression on me and others. Obviously, it’s difficult to sum up a four day conference in just […]

» Read more

Sacred Liturgy Conference 2018

This morning I’m off to the train station to attend the 2018 Sacred Liturgy Conference in Salem, Oregon for the next four days. I last attended in 2016, when it was held at Mount Angel Abbey. On that occasion, I made Archbishop Sample belly-laugh, an achievement I carry with me to this day. I was unable to attend last year, […]

» Read more

Sacred Liturgy Conference

This weekend, me and a couple of guys are taking a road trip and heading over to Mount Angel Abbey for the 2016 Sacred Liturgy Conference. I realize that this is not what most folks do on their Labor Day Weekend, but I’m pretty comfortable in my eccentricities. Here’s the intro from the press release: The Oregon Sacred Liturgy Conference […]

» Read more