Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
* Certain restrictions may apply, including location, calendar, and affiliation with religious congregation. In most of the world and through most of the last two millennia, the Epiphany of the Lord is celebrated today. Although in the United States, Canada, and a few other places it will be celebrated this coming Sunday. Being Americans, we will celebrate on Sunday. Being […]
» Read more
Happy twelfth day of Christmas! This evening is called Twelfth Night, traditionally the vigil of the Epiphany. In my Monastic Diurnal, Epiphany begins with tonight’s Vespers. This was traditionally a time of feasting and festivity (all of which seem to include various varieties of enormous pastries) marking the end of Christmastide and the beginning of Epiphanytide. This year, that celebration […]
» Read more
Happy Eleventh Day of Christmas! Today we honour a more modern saint than those of recent days. Elizabeth Ann Seton was the first native-born American citizen to be canonized. Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (by Amabilia Filicchi, 1888) She was born in 1774 and grew up in a home in upperclass New York society. Her father was frequently absent in London […]
» Read more
On Sunday, January 8, at 6:30PM, our parish of Saint Patrick will celebrate Solemn Chanted Vespers for the Dead for the repose of the soul of Pope Benedict XVI. Our pastor Rev. David Mulholland will lead us in this beautiful liturgy. If you are in the area, please join us.
» Read more
On this day in 1892, J.R.R. Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa. The Professor is 131 today! All around the world, at 9pm local time, the Tolkien Society and the Professor’s many other devotees will celebrate his birthday with a toast to “the Professor”. I plan to join in, and I encourage you to do the same. The Professor’s […]
» Read more
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11) Happy Tenth Day of Christmas! Today […]
» Read more
Happy Ninth Day of Christmas! Today is the Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church. Well, it is in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. On the older calendar, it is an entirely different feast, which we’ll talk about tomorrow. Saints Basil and Gregory Nazianzen were contemporaries from Cappadocia and great […]
» Read more
All my own perception of beauty both in majesty and simplicity is founded upon Our Lady. (J.R.R. Tolkien) Wishing all of you a very happy new year of 2023! This day, being the Eighth Day of Christmas, the Octave Day of the Nativity, has always been a holy day in the Christian Calendar. However, the name and focus of this […]
» Read more
This morning, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died at the age of 95. Already today there have been some wonderful stories and eulogies published about this holy man, who was a reformer, a theologian, a liturgist, and one of the great writers of the 20th century. A common theme in many of these is Benedict’s meekness and humility, totally at odds […]
» Read more
Happy seventh day of Christmas! Today the Church celebrates the memorial of Saint Sylvester I, pope and confessor. He was born in the southern Italian town of Sant’Angelo a Scala to two Roman citizens, Rufinus and Justa. He was ordained by Pope Saint Marcellinus just before the persecutions of Diocletian got underway. He survived those years of terror and saw […]
» Read more
Once again, it’s time for our annual look back at the year that was. Who doesn’t like top ten lists? These are the top ten post hits on the blog for this past year. This is now the sixth annual list, so I guess it now falls under the rubric of venerable custom. Only one of the posts receiving the […]
» Read more
Happy sixth day of Christmas! Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. In the Holy Family, God gives us a living icon of family life: child, mother, father. Russian Icon of the Holy Family And more than that, this being an icon and not just a pattern or ideal, we are given an […]
» Read more
Happy fifth day of Christmas! Today the Church celebrates the anniversary of the martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket. Over the years, I’ve written many articles on this, one of my favourite saints. I’ve provided links to them below. Many of these articles focus on the saint himself, his life and martyrdom, and others on his legacy to the Church, particularly […]
» Read more
Happy fourth day of Christmas! Today we pause our revels for a moment to remember and celebrate the Holy Innocents. When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained […]
» Read more
In his general audience this morning, Pope Francis has asked us to pray for Pope Emeritus Benedict. “I would like to ask you all for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who in silence is supporting the Church. Remember him – he is very ill – asking the Lord to console him, and sustain him in this witness of […]
» Read more
In 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 baptized 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 more
The 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! The Twelve Days of Christmas continue right up through the Epiphany (January 6, more or […]
» Read more