Mary: His Last Gift to Us
Jesus from His Cross bestows Mary upon us as our Mother 1. The hour of the death of Jesus is fast approaching, and He beholds from His Cross His most dear and loving Mother, who is standing at its foot, assisting at His last sufferings in deep but silent agony, and He would address her […]
He Continues His Passion Rather than Remove His Presence
The Flagellation of Christ by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) of Spanish Flanders. The Passion of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament When one sees sacrilege against the Holy of Holies; when one sees the faithful take Holy Communion in their hand (in a Protestant manner) and scatter Particles of His Body to be trampled or other […]
Holy Music for Holy Week
Above: Tenebrarium from monastery church of the Real Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in Guadalupe Extremadura, Spain. The ceremonies of Holy Week have always been a central moment in the liturgical life of the Church and music has always been a fundamental part of it. Unfortunately, much of this heritage has been lost, in […]
The Wisdom of the Church and Her Understanding of Man
Eastern icon of the Last Judgment Part I: Hell is Real, and You Could Go There Part II: Throwing Yourself Away, or Yielding Yourself to God Part III Purgatory: The Attractive Impulse of His Burning Love Purgatory and Hell: Forgotten Destinations – Part IV In this final article, I will speak of the great wisdom […]
Latin Mass Families Face Triduum Restrictions
Above: Mass of Holy Thursday. Photo by Allison Girone. St. Mark Catholic Church in Huntersville, N.C., offered its final Traditional Latin Mass last Friday, March 31, 2023, at 12:30 p.m. The announcement in the March 26 bulletin of the parish read as follows: “In light of the recent responsum from the Dicastery of Divine […]
Our Ukrainian Brethren: Fighting on All Fronts
Above: Poltava, Poltava Oblast, Ukraine. The last days of March brought with it two important anniversaries for the Catholic Churches of Ukraine, Latin and Greek-Catholic, as well as the start of a new battle, not in the traditional theatres of war, but on the moral and religious fronts, sparking a true ecumenism in the face […]
What is the Roman Forum?
Above: Gardone Riviera, Italy. A Life-Long Guide “When I was born,” the great nineteenth century counter-revolutionary Catholic journalist Louis Veuillot once said, Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821) blew the trumpet and I heard it… It is necessary to place him apart… among the great men, almost among the prophets… In my case, that trumpet blast came […]
My Story: the Latin Mass in Bishop Barron’s Diocese
Above: Winona, Minnesota, part of the diocese of Winona-Rochester. The Latin Mass of my youth, I remember well. Although, I was only 5 to 8 years old, I could detect the reverence of the priests and parishioners; after Mass, I would set up a home altar and try, as best I could, to replicate the […]
Palm Sunday – The example so perfect that it transforms us
I’ve been under the gun lately because of various personal things and preparations for travel. Therefore, I am channeling my inner environmentalist activist and recycling something I wrote for my own blog, perhaps already known to you. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week. Holy week includes the Sacred Triduum. The principal ceremonies of […]
The 1955 Pacellian Holy Week Reform
Above: the chanting of the Exsultet at the Easter Vigil. Photo by Allison Girone. Our great-grandparents would have been dumbfounded if they knew the Church would eventually allow Catholics to fulfill their Sunday obligation a day early, on Saturday afternoon. Contrariwise, most Catholics today would be shocked to learn that, since time immemorial, the Easter Vigil […]