Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
It 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, 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). “And I will lay the key of the house of David upon his shoulder: and he shall open, and none […]
» Read moreBy now some of you might be thinking that the O Antiphon words might be 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. The […]
» Read moreToday is the second “O” antiphon, O Adonai. It has been a long time since I’ve sung these properly, perhaps two years, and I very much miss chanting Vespers in community. One of my great hopes is that our chapel will be finished this time next year, so that we may pray these antiphons there. These videos, which I will […]
» Read moreWisdom! Advent is drawing to its close, and it’s time again for 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 earliest days of the Christian […]
» Read moreIn paradisum deducant te Angeli: in tuo adventu suscipiant te Martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Ierusalem. Chorus Angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere æternam habeas requiem. May Angels lead you into paradise; may the Martyrs receive you at your coming and lead you to the holy city of Jerusalem. May a choir of Angels receive you, […]
» Read moreFeeling like I should share this video documentary about the Benedictine Abbey at Clear Creek, Oklahoma. When I was thinking of the New Cluny, this is pretty much exactly what I had in mind, though I didn’t know it at the time. Snow in the Cloister It’s about an hour, so grab some cocoa and settle in.
» Read moreIn every age the Church is supported by the light and strength of God, that is fed in the wilderness with the bread of His Word and the Holy Eucharist. And so in all tribulations, through all the trials that she meets during the times and in different parts of the world, the Church suffers persecution, but always wins. And […]
» Read moreOn this Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, let us join together with the Communion of Saints of all ages in singing the praises of the Mother of God. Mary’s Immaculate Conception is the sign of the gracious love of the Father, the perfect expression of the redemption accomplished by the Son and the beginning of […]
» Read moreI really shouldn’t be on Facebook in the morning. It tends to make me crabby. Advent and Lent are the times of year when the almost reflexive anti-Catholicism of ordinary people raises its ugly head. They are typically fueled by media stories that take one line of a Papal address or speech out of context and twist it until it’s […]
» Read moreThis morning, the second reading from the Office of Readings struck me, so I thought I’d share it with you. It reminds me of the Dark Night of the Soul of Saint John of the Cross, as well as many of the psalms of longing. It’s beautiful. From the Proslogion by Saint Anselm, bishop Desire for the Vision of God […]
» Read moreToday I’m going to upset some of my (Protestant) Christian friends who see the Reformation as a good thing. I don’t. Here is one of many, many reasons why. December 1 is the feast of Saint Edmund Campion, a Jesuit martyr. The matter-of-fact beginning to his entry on Wikipedia reads as follows: Saint Edmund Campion, S.J. (24 January 1540 – […]
» Read moreMy son’s middle name is Andrew, after his mother’s uncle. The name itself means “brave one” in Greek. Today is the feast of Saint Andrew, a brave man if ever there was. Saint Andrew is sometimes known as “First called” since he was the first of John the Baptist’s followers to become disciples of Jesus. He quickly recruited his brother […]
» Read moreWow. Today we used the new translation of the Mass for the first time. There were the expected little confusions in the responses, but over all everybody dove right into it with enthusiasm. The most difficult bit was, as expected, the reflexive “and also with you”. Francine even messed this up once while she was looking directly at the worship […]
» Read moreToday, 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 moreThis 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 moreFifty-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 more