Bread of Angels May the Bread of AngelsBecome bread for mankind . . . St. Thomas Aquinas was a Dominican, one of the greatest of all philosophers, and arguably the greatest of Catholic theologians. His feast day comes this week, on January 28th. We tend to think of him as a pretty cerebral fellow. And so … Continue reading Bread of Angels: St. Thomas Aquinas’ “Panis Angelicus”
The Bigger They Come: The Coversion of St. Paul
“The bigger they come, the harder they fall.” How many times have we seen that the more formidable the opponent, the more dramatic the impact when he comes crashing down?
Mozart Makes The Gloria Soar
You've heard it hundreds of times, maybe thousands. But how much do you know about it? Or have you ever wondered where it comes from, or how it got into the Mass?
The Mission Begins: The Baptism of the Lord
We welcomed our Lord at Christmas and now, as he takes up his mission, our mission is to follow him, that all righteousness may be fulfilled.
We Three Kings: Music for Epiphany
"We Three Kings of Orient Are . . ." Is there anyone out there who doesn't know this song? It's easily the most familiar hymn associated with Epiphany, at least as we celebrate the feast in the Western Church.
God’s Ways are not Our Ways: 9th Day of Christmas
Ours is a God indeed whose thoughts are not our thoughts, whose ways are not our ways: he constantly confounds our expectations. This is not the Grand Entrance any of us would have devised for God Made Manifest.
One of Us: Solemnity of Mary
Through the Motherhood of Mary, Jesus, that is to say God, takes on our humanity in an utterly tangible, direct and personal way.
God is Light: 7th Day of Christmas
Light has also been a big part of our liturgical practices, as anyone who has attended the Easter Vigil can attest, and this also goes back to the beginning.
Christmas Continues: 6th Day of Christmas
Today is a Solemnity, in fact, Monday in the Octave of Christmas. Even if nobody else seems to notice, you have every reason to go about your business humming “Gloria in excelsis Deo!”
Two Sides of the Same Coin: 4th Day of Christmas
The Holy Family of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus is a model of God’s plan for the family. The slaughter of the Holy Innocents underscores how far we need to go, right now, to adhere to that model.