Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
Today is the 1200th anniversary of the death of Charlemagne. He, more than any other single human being, cemented the idea in western Europe of a truly universal, Catholic culture. Every ruler who followed him looked to him and to his example. Even after every political organ he had created was gone, even after every monarchy established by his grandchildren […]
» Read moreFaith and reason are like the two shoes you wear on your journey. You get a lot farther with both than just one. (J. Michael Straczynski) Today is the Feast of the Universal Doctor of the Church and one of my name Saints, Thomas Aquinas. When (certain) people, told of my conversion, said to me “oh, you’re Catholic – you […]
» Read moreHappy Saint Agnes Day! Saint Agnes was a young Roman lady of 13 or 14 who suffered martyrdom in the persecutions of Diocletian. Her name is in the Roman Canon of the Mass (Eucharistic Prayer I). Prior to joining our current parish, I could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I’d actually heard the Roman […]
» Read moreToday is the memorial of the man many consider to be the founder of Christian monasticism, Saint Anthony the Great of Egypt, the “Father of Monks”. He was born in the middle of the third century in decidedly Pagan Middle Egypt to a well-to-do, comfortable family.
» Read moreEach year about this time, I post some variation of this essay on the liturgical season boringly known as “Ordinary Time”. Ordinary? Well, what’s so ordinary about it, anyway? Christmas is over, all too soon, and we have now entered into a new season of the liturgical year. This is the time of the year that does not fall into […]
» Read moreYesterday, we celebrated the great Solemnity of the Epiphany. Traditionally, this feast would have been celebrated today, the 6th of January, but like many other feasts it fell victim to the “move it to a Sunday” mania that has gripped the Church these past few decades. For the moment, we will let that pass. Most folks who think about such […]
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Aia María quanta Eruanno i Héru as elye · aistana elye imíca nísi · ar aistana i yáve mónalyo Yésus : Aire María Eruo ontaril á hyame rámen úcarindor sí ar lúmesse ya firuvamme : násie : (The Ave Maria in Quenya, translation by J.R.R. Tolkien) On this day in 1892, J.R.R. Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa. The […]
» Read moreWishing all three of my readers a very happy new year, and a most blessed Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Let us celebrate the motherhood of the Virgin Mary, and let us worship Christ the Lord, her Son. (Invitatory antiphon for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God) Most people who are Christians but not Catholics probably wonder why […]
» Read moreIn our life of faith, we are given a name at Baptism, and we choose a new name at Confirmation. It was a little different for me, as I was baptised and confirmed on the same day as an adult. My mother gave me the name Thomas at my birth, and for my confirmation, I took the name of John, […]
» Read moreThe rest of the world thinks Christmas is over, with the possible exception of those who celebrate Boxing Day today or those fond of partridges in pear trees. Oh, how wrong they are! For like Easter, Christmas isn’t just one day, but a whole season! It continues from Christmas Day through the Epiphany (January 6). In some places, this season […]
» Read moreO great mystery, and wonderful sacrament, that animals should see the new-born Lord, lying in a manger! Blessed is the Virgin whose womb was worthy to bear Christ the Lord. Alleluia! O magnum mysterium, et admirabile sacramentum, ut animalia viderent Dominum natum, jacentem in praesepio! Beata Virgo, cujus viscera meruerunt portare Dominum Christum. Alleluia.
» Read moreAs 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. Come to Midnight Mass! For those of you in Tacoma and environs, I invite you to come to our parish of […]
» Read moreWe 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 moreWith 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 moreContinuing 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 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 […]
» 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 […]
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