Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
Today is Good Friday: the commemoration of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ at Calvary. Ecce lignum Crucis, in quo salus mundi pepéndit. Veníte adorémus.Behold the wood of the Cross, on which hung the salvation of the world. Come let us adore.(Missale Romanum: Friday of the Passion of the Lord) Ecce homo: Behold, the man He was condemned by […]
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The Season of Lent comes to its end this evening, as we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. This celebration commemorates the institution of the Eucharist, the source and summit of Church life. Unlike most Protestants, the Catholic and Orthodox (and others of the Apostolic Tradition) believe that God is really there, wholly present in the consecrated bread and […]
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Today is the 92nd birthday of Father Benedict, once Pope Benedict XVI. Happy birthday! Obviously, we don’t know how history will judge the life and works of Pope Benedict XVI. As for me, I think that in a century or so, he will be enrolled amongst the Doctors of the Church. Pope Francis visits Father Benedict, 2019 If you have […]
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Gene Wolfe has died. Mr. Wolfe was an enormous influence on me as a writer and as a human being. Gene Wolfe (1931-2019) He was a master of implication and manipulating the reader’s inferences. You could read the first page of any Wolfe book and know things about the world in which the book was set that he never directly […]
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This weekend, Holy Week begins with the Sunday of Lord’s triumphal entry into Jersusalem – Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion. Although Good Friday is coming – the Passion and Death are coming – for the moment, this moment, joy resounds as our King arrives in His city. In most parishes throughout the world, the principal Mass is celebrated by […]
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On this Friday, a week before Good Friday, the Church has traditionally remembered the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin. While the commemoration was removed from the calendar in 1970, it survives in the Extraordinary Form, as well as in many local calendars including that most Catholic country of Malta and many Hispanic countries. The commemoration is so widespread, that […]
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The following is the Holy Week schedule for the parishes of Holy Rosary and Visitation in Tacoma, Washington. It’s less jam-packed than previous years, but there’s still a lot here! Wednesday Tenebræ is not to be missed. And of course, the Holy Triduum is essentially one giant liturgy (with some serious overnight breaks) that begins with the Introit of the […]
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A good friend pointed out to me that my post yesterday on the fiftieth anniversary of the promulgation of the Novus Ordo Missae was a little darker than perhaps I intended. This is a fair comment. I may have been in a slightly grumpy mood yesterday. Even five years ago, the idea of a “new liturgical movement” to restore the […]
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NOTE: Particularly if this article leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, you’ll want to read the follow-up. It is a sort of apologia. Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the promulgation of the Novus Ordo Missae by Pope Saint Paul VI in his Apostolic Constitution Missale Romanum. There is, so far as I can tell, no mention of this […]
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In April of 1974, Pope Saint Paul VI issued a small book called Jubilate Deo containing various Latin chants. Copies were sent as “a personal gift” to all the Bishops of the world. In the accompanying letter from the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship, we read, In presenting the Holy Father’s gift to you, may I at the same time […]
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During Lent, I am often reminded of this, one of my favourite stories from the Desert Fathers: Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, “Abba, as far as I can I say my little office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace and as far as I can, I purify my […]
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At our parish of Holy Rosary, the clergy and servers pray Psalm 43 (42) before Mass in the narthex. Well, since we were forced to move to the auditorium this past November, we pray it in the hallway outside. This psalm begins with the antiphon, “I will go to the altar of God”, or in Latin, “Introíbo ad altáre Dei”. […]
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The mercy of God is a scandal – Christ offers His infinite mercy to every worst kind of sinner, excluding no one. This eternal upwelling of mercy overflows, cascading upon the whole of the human race. It extends to murderers. It extends to rapists. It extends to thieves, and liars, and stalkers, and vandals. It extends to tax collectors and […]
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Happy Feast of Saint Benedict! Although it no longer appears on the Universal (Roman) calendar, today is one of two feasts of Saint Benedict of Norcia celebrated by Benedictines throughout the world. This feast is sometimes called the Transitus of Saint Benedict, for it is the day in the year 547 when this great saint died. Saint Benedict is generally […]
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Here’s an insight into how my mind works. As I was walking into work one morning a couple of years ago, commuter coffee mug firmly in hand, it suddenly struck me: the reason we call coffee “joe” is because it gets us through our morning, much as Saint Joseph got his foster-son Jesus through the “morning” of his life. I […]
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At my parish of Holy Rosary in Tacoma, we are celebrating Sunday Vespers as we do each Lent. Please, join us in the coming weeks if you are local and able. Chanted Vespers is a beautiful and traditional way of worship in our faith.
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