Introibo ad altare Dei ad Deum qui laetificat iuventutem meam. "I will go up to the altar of God, to God who makes joyful my youth" - Psalm 43:4 There is a well-known story about Canute, King of England and much of Scandinavia in the 11th century, who wanted to illustrate insignificance of human authority: … Continue reading A Hand Slap to the Traditional Latin Mass
“Gloria” from Johann Baptist Wanhal’s Missa Solemnis
It's hard to overstate how much beautiful, excellent music has been created over the centuries, and how much of it is rarely heard by the vast majority of people. Last week I published a clip of a "Kyrie" composed by Johann Baptist Wanhal. Wanhal was an important and influential composer of the late 18th and early 19th … Continue reading “Gloria” from Johann Baptist Wanhal’s Missa Solemnis
Human Dignity and Death
Human Dignity Human dignity has fallen on hard times. Consider this. Suicide is a key image for our culture today. Our society is always looking for new ways to destroy itself. We seem intent on destroying our connections to our forebears, destroying their reputations and even tearing down their statues. Likewise, we reject the classic achievements in … Continue reading Human Dignity and Death
Hidden Treasure: “Kyrie” From Wanhal’s Missa Pastoralis
A Hidden Treasure One of the wonderful things about having a centuries-deep treasury of sacred music is that there's always more to discover. I was listening to a classical radio station one day in the car with one of my sons. A beautiful but unfamiliar composition was playing. "There's a lot going on in this music," … Continue reading Hidden Treasure: “Kyrie” From Wanhal’s Missa Pastoralis
Appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World
This July 4th is the 245th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which grounds the founding of the Unites States in a theological argument: . . . that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the … Continue reading Appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World
There Are No Dead Ends With God (St. Monegundis)
As for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. (Genesis 50:20) There are no dead ends with God. Most of us are familiar with the story of Joseph in the Book of Genesis, how his … Continue reading There Are No Dead Ends With God (St. Monegundis)
Liturgy Wars: What’s Latin Got To Do With It?
Who would have expected the Glorified Body of Christ, the eternal perfected Body, to include the horrible wounds inflicted on the flesh-and-blood human body here on Earth?
Rossini-Agnus Dei (Petite Messe Solennelle)
Giaochino Rossini Giaochino Rossini was, in his time, considered the most successful composer of operas in history, creating such enduring favorites as The Barber of Seville, La Cenerentola, and William Tell. Then, having composed an astounding 39 operas before his 37th birthday in 1829, he simply stopped. For the rest of his life, until his … Continue reading Rossini-Agnus Dei (Petite Messe Solennelle)
Practical Apologetics: The Geometry of Faith
outside.” Those of us who have been out and now are in (back in, for some of us) know how true it is. And it stands to reason: as both a worldly and a spiritual entity, the Church cannot be contained within purely physical bounds.
The Bishops, the Politicians, and Abortion: What Would St. John Fisher Do?
You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you. The quote above is often attributed to communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky. There is no record of his actually having said it, but it's widely repeated because it pithily sums up a terrifying truth about the relentlessness of war. In an age when a large … Continue reading The Bishops, the Politicians, and Abortion: What Would St. John Fisher Do?