Day Zero
Today, the First Sunday of Advent, the new English translation of the Roman Missal goes into effect (except for you folks who attended a Vigil Mass last night). For all my blathering, Father Barron nails it much better than I:
» Read moreDeo Gratias
This morning is the calm before the whirlwind. It is the moment of silence in the morning before everyone else is awake and about their busy day. In many ways, this has always been my favourite part of the day. It’s when you can see the whole glorious day stretch out before you full of promise and possibility. I rarely […]
» Read moreThe First Thanksgiving
Fifty-six years before the English Puritain refugees at Plymouth celebrated their “first Thanksgiving”, Spanish explorers and their Timucua allies celebrated one in Saint Augustine, in what is now Florida. They had bean soup. Pedro Menéndez de Avilés was a Spanish admiral under orders to root out some French colonists in the area. Sighting land in La Florida on 28 August […]
» Read moreCecilia
Today the Church celebrates the memorial of Saint Cecilia, virgin and martyr. Cecilia is one of the most famous and most venerated of Roman martyrs, even though the facts of her martrydom are a little vague. Legend has it that she, her husband Valerian, and her brother-in-law Tiburtius were martyred during the reign of Emperor Alexander Severus, about the year […]
» Read moreSix Days and Counting
The Roman Missal, Third Edition, will be implemented in the United States of America on the First Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2011. That’s less than a week away, now. The entire Church in the United States has been blessed with this opportunity to deepen its understanding of the Sacred Liturgy, and to appreciate its meaning and importance in our […]
» Read moreRequiescat in Pace
Rev. Vincent Beuzer, S.J., my sometime spiritual advisor, died on Sunday 13 November 2011 in Spokane at the age of 84. Please pray for the repose of his soul. Lux æterna luceat eis, Domine, cum sanctis tuis in æternum, quia pius es. Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine; et lux perpetua luceat eis ; cum Sanctis tuis in æternum, quia pius es. […]
» Read moreThe New Translation Part 12: Behold!
It’s a cold, clear Saturday morning as I post this, the last of the short articles I wrote/adapted/edited for my parish bulletin. I actually submitted two different versions of this final article for considerations of space. Here I will post the longer version. Twenty-three days remain until the revised and corrected translation of the Missale Romanum takes effect in the […]
» Read moreThings You Never Think About
The antiphon for today’s Invitatory prayer is Come, Let us worship God who brings the world and its wonders from darkness into light. It turns out that this has a much greater impact if you actually pray the Hours at their proper times. This morning, I prayed Vigils as the sun was rising. You can see what I mean. Might […]
» Read moreDay of the Dead
Let’s talk Purgatory. We have to, to make any sense at all out of today’s feast. Today is officially “The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed”, but like most folks, I’ll stick with the simple version – All Souls’ Day. Over the years, I’ve heard numerous homilies and essays that mix this day up with yesterday, All Saints’ Day. As […]
» Read moreFor All the Saints
Happy Feast of All Saints! This is the day where we celebrate all the saints, known and unknown: the Church Triumphant. This day has been a feast since the sixth or seventh century, and it was fixed on November 1 in the Roman calendar by Pope Gregory III in the mid 8th century. Yesterday, of course, was the vigil or […]
» Read moreThe New Translation Part 11: Consecration and Mystery
This is one in a series of short articles I wrote/adapted/edited for my parish bulletin. The new Mass translation is coming! Back in 2000, Blessed Pope John Paul II issued the third edition of the Roman Missal. After more than ten years of consultation and work, the new English translation is finally ready. At every Mass, the priest repeats the words […]
» Read moreIn Elder Days before the fall…
Professor Tolkien’s works embody his deep and abiding Catholic faith and worldview. Today in the calendar of Middle Earth, it is Durin’s Day. Durin J.R.R. Tolkien The world was young, the mountains green, No stain yet on the Moon was seen, No words were laid on stream or stone, … When Durin woke and walked along. He named the nameless […]
» Read moreThis day is call’d the feast of Crispian
Enter the KING WESTMORELAND. O that we now had here But one ten thousand of those men in England That do no work to-day! KING. What’s he that wishes so? My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin; If we are mark’d to die, we are enow To do our country loss; and if to live, The fewer men, the greater […]
» Read moreThe New Translation Part 10: Sanctus and Eucharistic Prayers
This is the latest installment in a series of short articles I wrote/adapted/edited for my parish bulletin. I will publish the others as they they appear. The new Mass translation is coming in just a few weeks! Back in 2000, Blessed Pope John Paul II issued the third edition of the Roman Missal. After more than ten years of consultation […]
» Read moreThe Persian Anointed
This is this past Sunday’s first reading, which I read at Mass, from the 45th Chapter of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah: Thus says the LORD to his anointed, Cyrus, whose right hand I grasp, subduing nations before him, and making kings run in his service, opening doors before him and leaving the gates unbarred: For the sake of […]
» Read moreThe New Translation Part 9: Liturgy of the Eucharist
This is the latest installment in a series of short articles I wrote/adapted/edited for my parish bulletin. I will publish the others as they they appear. The new Mass translation is coming on November 27! Back in 2000, Blessed Pope John Paul II issued the third edition of the Roman Missal. After more than ten years of consultation and work, […]
» Read morePause
The Liturgy of the Hours runs through the psalms in a four-week cycle. Every fourth Wednesday at the hour of Vigils (a.k.a. Matins, or the Office of Readings) we pray Psalm 103. There’s one stanza that never fails to give me pause. As for man, his days are like grass; he flowers like the flower of the field; the wind […]
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