At the orders of the Holy Father Pope Francis, the then-Congregation (now Dicastery) of Divine Worship on Feb. 11, 2018 instituted a new obligatory memorial on the General Roman Calendar to be observed on the Monday after Pentecost Sunday: The Blessed Virgin Mary under her title of Mother of the Church (a theme strongly emphasized … Continue reading
Adoremus, a publication on liturgical life well worth following for any Christian, just published a reflection by Br. Stanley Rother Wagner OSB, a Benedictine monk of St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana, on the Liturgy of the Hours and the problem of contentment — or lack thereof — in our prayer and spiritual life. Anyone who … Continue reading
For over twelve centuries, from the inception of the Christian Church until the 13th century, the universal, apostolic, unchallenged practice of all churches, East, West, North, South, Latin, Greek, Syriac, Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian, what-have-you, was to anoint newly baptized infants and children with holy chrism (in the sacrament of confirmation or chrismation), and immediately extend … Continue reading
Blessed Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist to all! The gospel according to Mark, acknowledged by the consensus of Scripture scholars today to have been the first to be written chronologically of the four canonical gospels, is my personal favorite of the four, for its breathless, action-packed excitement mixed with a matter-of-factness that to me … Continue reading
The new translation of the Psalms and Canticles that will be incorporated into the Liturgy of the Hours Second Edition, called the “Abbey Psalms & Canticles” (formerly the Revised Grail), was first published upon its approval for optional liturgical use in early 2020 by USCCB Publications in an attractive hardcover format. Unfortunately, with USCCB shuttering … Continue reading
I have written before about the new collaborative product of ICEL, the USCCB, and GIA Publications: The Divine Office Hymnal, published in 2023 and containing all the new translations of the Liturgia Horarum second typical edition’s Latin hymns — in accurate, clear, crisp, poetic, modern English — that will be included in the upcoming Liturgy … Continue reading
Part 3 of my wife’s guest series on the challenges of Catholic parish community-building and hospitality, focusing on practical tips for kickstarting your parish coffee hour. In my first and second posts in this series, I talked about the problems many Catholic parishes are facing these days with lonely, disconnected parishioners in their ranks. There … Continue reading
Part 2 of my wife’s reflections on the challenges of Catholic parish community life and hospitality. Part 1 can be found here. There are Catholics among us who go to Mass, worship our Good Lord, relish His presence in the Eucharist, are uplifted by being among so many faith-filled people, but then return home feeling … Continue reading
This is Part 1 of a multi-part guest series by my wife Mrs. Tom, which she felt inspired to write regarding the challenges in Catholic parish community life and hospitality. Some of us experienced the good of shared family or community life as children, and maybe some people are blessed to still have that in … Continue reading
Great news! The new collaborative publication between GIA, the USCCB and ICEL, titled “The Divine Office Hymnal,” is now available for orders on GIA’s website. This is the fruit of many years’ work by ICEL in leading the translation into fresh, accurate, metrically matching, contemporary but poetic English of all 294 Office Hymns in the … Continue reading
Tom's Digest 