Christ is Risen, Alleluiah! Christ is Risen indeed. And what could be more fitting this day than the joyous Easter hymn, "Jesus Christ is Risen Today"? The video below features the amazing fresco of The Resurrection by Piero della Francesca. The Huddersfield Choral Society & Joseph Cullen provide the music. May the Lord bless you … Continue reading Have a Blessed Easter! (Jesus Christ is Risen Today)
Something Strange is Happening – Holy Saturday
Something Strange Something strange is happening—there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. These are the opening sentences in the non-scriptural reading in today’s Office of Readings. The author, it seems, is unknown. The liturgy simply tells us that it is … Continue reading Something Strange is Happening – Holy Saturday
Is it I, Lord? – Good Friday
Is it I, Lord? It seems all too easy for us sometimes to see the Apostles, in their bumbling humanity, as almost comic figures. They certainly don’t appear too dignified, for instance, when they argue over which one of them is greatest (Luke 22:24, Mark 9:33, etc.); they look almost like clamoring children, who are clearly … Continue reading Is it I, Lord? – Good Friday
Christ Came to Serve – Holy Thursday
Christ Came to Serve - The Mass of the Lord's Supper Christ Washing the Feet of the Disciples, by Giotto. c.1305 “It is enough.” He said to them, "But now, let him who has a purse take it, and likewise a bag. And let him who has no sword sell his mantle and buy one. For … Continue reading Christ Came to Serve – Holy Thursday
Crucifixus Etiam Pro Nobis: Lotti’s Musical Meditation on the Crucifixion
The Crucifixion, by Giambattista Tiepolo & Giandomenico Tiepolo, 1745–50 Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato: Passus, et sepultus est. (Nicene Creed) Crucifixus Etiam Pro Nobis Crucifixus etiam pro nobis: He was also crucified for us. That brief statement in the Nicene Creed refers to one of the two most important events of all … Continue reading Crucifixus Etiam Pro Nobis: Lotti’s Musical Meditation on the Crucifixion
Which Crowd? Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday
Ecce Homo, by Antonio Ciseri, 1871 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Matthew 26:40-41) The Inner Struggle … Continue reading Which Crowd? Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday
Body and Soul, or, When A Church Is Not A Church
We are body and soul. Human beings need material means to approach the immaterial God. The means need to be suited to the end, or we’re liable to go astray. For that reason, destroying the beauty and religious distinctiveness of our churches does real spiritual harm.
This Is No Time to Despair
No Time to Despair This is no time to despair. Lord knows, it's a temptation. It's a great temptation. The last couple of years particularly have forced even the naive among us to face up to the corruption in our society. Government institutions and private institutions alike (and very often, in concert) have abandoned their … Continue reading This Is No Time to Despair
More Than a Building: A Church is Much, Much More
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
You’re Standing on Holy Ground
God said, “Come no nearer!Remove the sandals from your feet,for the place where you stand is holy ground. (Exodus 3:5) The Burning Bush I was fascinated by the image of the burning bush when I was a little boy. I was also intrigued by God's demand that Moses remove his sandals. What exactly is "holy … Continue reading You’re Standing on Holy Ground