J.S. Bach – Lobet Gott in Seinen Reichen (from the Ascension Oratorio)

     This coming Thursday is the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord  . . . at least in many dioceses (and of course, wherever the traditional liturgical calendar is followed). It may not surprise you, if you are a regular reader of this blog, that I'm not a fan of moving important feasts like Ascension Thursday … Continue reading J.S. Bach – Lobet Gott in Seinen Reichen (from the Ascension Oratorio)

“Hallelujah” from Beethoven’s Christ on the Mount of Olives

Today's Music for Easter selection, performed by the Chancel Choir of the Broadway Baptist Church in Louisville, KY, is the magnificent concluding “Hallelujah” from Beethoven's Christ on the Mount of Olives. As the title suggests, the work as a whole is a musical dramatization of Christ's agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. While that sounds … Continue reading “Hallelujah” from Beethoven’s Christ on the Mount of Olives

What Do We Do When Our Priest Is A Communist? (Part I)

"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:68) Your parish priest? We live in scary times.  It looks like our secular institutions in the West are collapsing, to be replaced by mob rule (which really means, as always, a tyranny of the elite who manipulate the mob).  More frightening still … Continue reading What Do We Do When Our Priest Is A Communist? (Part I)

We Are More Than What We Do: St. Joseph the Worker

They say that necessity is the mother of invention but, as today's feast of St. Joseph the Worker shows us, sometimes measures taken for practical purposes can point to deeper truths. Pope Pius XII    The memorial of St. Joseph the Worker is a very recent addition to the liturgical calendar. Pope Pius XII, who wanted … Continue reading We Are More Than What We Do: St. Joseph the Worker

Music for the Easter Season: Regina Caeli, by Gregor Aichinger

The Regina Caeli ("Queen of Heaven") is a prayer that is closely associated with Easter. We usually recite this prayer instead of the Angelus during the Easter Season, at which time it also serves as the the Marian Antiphon at the end of Compline (Night Prayer). The beautiful musical setting for the Regina Caeli below … Continue reading Music for the Easter Season: Regina Caeli, by Gregor Aichinger

Catching Flies With Honey: St. Mellitus of Canterbury

There's an old saying that you catch more flies with a spoonful of honey than you do with a vat of vinegar. That old saw is well illustrated when considering the life of a Saint whom we remember this weekend, St. Mellitus of Canterbury (died April 24th, A.D. 624).  His name, in fact, means "honeyed".  In his … Continue reading Catching Flies With Honey: St. Mellitus of Canterbury