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In Cenaculi Solitudine
Our Lady of the Cenacle Many years ago and long before I had any idea that I would one day play a role in establishing a monastery under the patronage of Our Lady of the Cenacle, I was searching out...
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SS. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus
Invitatory The God who conversed with men: * O come, let us adore. Hymn, Redditum luci, Dominus vocante Sing of the first fruits of the Resurrection, How from the dark tomb, into light returning,...
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My dealings are higher than your dealings
The XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops opens today in an atmosphere of confusion, wrangling, and disquiet that, far from being confined to the New Synod Hall in Rome, seems to have...
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Gaudium sit tibi semper
The Liturgical Providence of God Revisited Some weeks ago at Holy Mass, I preached on the liturgical providence of God. I attempted to articulate something that I have long believed and experienced in...
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Drink to the Love of Saint John!
Blessing of Wine on the Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist On the Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist, at the end of the principal Mass, that is, after the last Gospel, the priest,...
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Saint Aelred, Abbot of Rievaulx
A Saint Full of Sympathy for Physical and Moral Infirmities Jocelin of Furness, a contemporary of Saint Aelred, gives the following account of the saintly abbot in his Life of St Waldef: He was a man...
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Ut Dominus illuminaret
First Vespers of Quinquagesima Sunday I was profoundly struck this evening by the antiphons and psalmody of First Vespers of Quinquagesima Sunday. Every antiphon — I have believed and taught this for...
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The Joy of Innocence
Sexual Exploitation, Then and Now The young Italian prince Luigi Gonzaga preserved his innocence in a milieu where boys were often the victims of sexual predators — both women and men — and where the...
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Solomon and Christ
Liturgical Notes: Seventh Sunday after Pentecost Seven Gifts Today is designated the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost; seven is, of course, a mystic number in both sacred Scripture and the sacred...
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Zelo zelatus sum
Introit With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant: they have destroyed thy altars, they have slain thy prophets with the sword,...
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Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
August 20th is the feast of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Abbot and Doctor of the Church. This particular depiction of the “amplexus” or embrace of Saint Bernard by the Crucified Jesus is found in the...
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In sanctis montibus
Our Office of Saint Bartholomew has a beautiful collect from the Leonine Sacramentary: Deus, qui Ecclesiae tuae in sanctis montibus fundamenta posuisti: da, ut intercedente beato Bartholomaeo, nullis...
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Ut Dominus illuminaret
First Vespers of Quinquagesima Sunday I was profoundly struck last evening by the antiphons and psalmody of First Vespers of Quinquagesima Sunday. Every antiphon — I have believed and taught this for...
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Blessing of Herbs and Flowers
Christians of both East and West have, from very early times, blessed herbs and fruit on the Feast of the Assumption. Thus blessed, these creatures become sacramentals of the Church and portents of...
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The Blessing of Basil Leaf in Honour of the Holy Cross
The aromatic herb, basil (Ocimum basilicum) has long been associated with the Holy Cross. Etymologically, it is related to basileios, the Greek word for king. According to a pious legend, the Empress...
View ArticleChristmas Martyrology 2017
Today our Brother Hildebrand Maria sang the Christmas Proclamation from the Roman Martyrology, according to the more solemn monastic tone. Click on the title above [Christmas Martyrology 2017] and...
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Laetare, Jerusalem!
Like a Breath of Springtide “Be glad, Jerusalem! Hold an assembly, all you that love her: rejoice and be glad, you that were in sadness: that you may exult and be suckled plentifully with the breasts...
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Tu Rex gloriae, Christe
The Sunday Before All Saints In the traditional calendar of the Roman Rite, the Feast of Christ the King, instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925, is kept on the last Sunday of October. The feast...
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Brother Maurus, run fast!
Maurus Rescues Placid from the Waters In Chapter VII of the Second Book of the Dialogues, Saint Gregory the Great recounts the most famous episode in the life of Saint Maurus, the one that, in fact,...
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Nos Tuo Vultu Saties
The Ascension of the Lord Forty-seven years ago, in the springtime of my monastic journey, my Father Master — he must have been all of 34 at the time — told me that of all the festivals of the Church...
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