More Than a Building: Red Mass at the Basilica of St.s Peter and Paul, Lewiston, Maine (https://www.sunjournal.com/) Christ is Our Model in All Things In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . … Continue reading More Than a Building: A Church is Much, Much More
The Baptism of the Lord: the Mission Begins
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.
10th Day of Christmas: The Christ Child and St. Genevieve
Merry Christmas! Today is the 10th Day of Christmas, as we continue to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Creator as a little human child. It is helpful when we think about the meaning of the Nativity to remember that our ancestors generally did not fully share our sentimentality towards children.
Christ is King of All . . . Even The Holidays
Christ is King of All We know that Christ is "King of All," but do we know what that means? So Paul, standing in the middle of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I … Continue reading Christ is King of All . . . Even The Holidays
Agnus Dei from Haydn’s Missa in Tempore Belli
Spiritual Warfare has been a theme in a number of my posts recently, and for good reason: while the struggle "against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12) is always with us, it has been causing more … Continue reading Agnus Dei from Haydn’s Missa in Tempore Belli
Giuseppe Sarti’s ‘Now the Powers of Heaven’ and Rublev’s ‘Holy Trinity’
Giuseppe Sarti Those of us in the West who have heard of the Italian composer Giuseppe Sarti most likely know about him through the tribute paid by another composer: in Mozart's Don Giovanni Don Juan listens to an air from Sarti's opera Fra i due litiganti il terzo gode as the old rake enjoys his … Continue reading Giuseppe Sarti’s ‘Now the Powers of Heaven’ and Rublev’s ‘Holy Trinity’
God, We Praise You – Domenico Scarlatti’s “Te Deum” and Raphael’s “Disputation of the Holy Sacrament”
Domenico Scarlatti In the teaching world we have a saying: "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree". In other words, when we meet the parents, we often understand why our students are the way they are (my lovely bride often quotes this back to me when one of our children does something particularly egregious … Continue reading God, We Praise You – Domenico Scarlatti’s “Te Deum” and Raphael’s “Disputation of the Holy Sacrament”
Whose Standard? St. Ignatius Loyola
Whose Standard Do You Follow? "Whose Standard?" That is the question posed by St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. But first, would I be out of line to say that the Society of Jesus is not what it used to be? I don't want to be a Jebbie basher: I have studied under and … Continue reading Whose Standard? St. Ignatius Loyola
We’re Living in the Age of Esau
In pursuit of an illusory freedom we have cut ourselves off from the experience of our ancestors (racist, rigid, old, dead, etc.) and don't even seem to have noticed that at the same time we have cut ourselves off from reality. It's not all up to us. We can't invent ourselves, we can't, as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy notoriously opined, "define [our] own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life." A proper appreciation of what we have been given by our predecessors helps us understand our reliance on what has been given to us by God as well (which is one of the main ideas behind this blog). If, like Esau, we listen to our appetites of the moment and disregard everything else, we will lose our own birthright . . . forever.
Exult in God with Sacred Music and Art: Alessandro Scarlatti’s “Exultate Deo” and “Jesus Christ the Returning King” by Janusz Antosz
It’s only natural that the children of a loving Father should try to please and honor him. And so for the past two thousand years, Christians have put untold effort, ingenuity and love into creating a magnificent store of inspiring art of all sorts to glorify God, including a treasury of sacred music unmatched for … Continue reading Exult in God with Sacred Music and Art: Alessandro Scarlatti’s “Exultate Deo” and “Jesus Christ the Returning King” by Janusz Antosz