Keep the Word of God
Thursday at Matins: From a Sermon by St Bernard, Abbot & Doctor We have come to know a threefold coming of the Lord. The third...
They will come to thee and embrace thee
This morning at Matins: From a Homily by St Ephrem, Deacon and Doctor Keep ever in thy mind the fear of the Lord, being mindful...
He will teach us his way
Tuesday at Matins: From the Commentary on Isaias by St Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop & Doctor “In the last days the mountain of the Lord...
To all such as would be converted unto him
At Matins this morning: From the Epistle of St Clement, Pope & Martyr, to the Corinthians These things, beloved, we write unto you, not merely...
Keep that day before your eyes
At Matins this morning: From the Catechetical Lectures of St Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop & Doctor of the Church We preach not one advent only...
Advent Vespers: Conditor Alme Siderum
The Orbit Determined By Christ At the very moment when the Magi, guided by the star, adored Christ the new king, astrology came to an...
Iterum dico, gaudete!
This is our new rose-coloured set of vestments, made by Brother Augustine Kelly, O.F.M., Conv. The photo was taken in our sacristy immediately after Holy...
Saint Ambrose and the Face of Christ
Seek the Face of Christ Saint Ambrose invites us to seek the Face of Christ in his mysteries, that is to say, in the Sacred...
Saint Barbara and Her Three Windows
Saints in Advent We celebrate the Holy Mysteries on December 4th in the company of two saints, both of them lights from the East: Saint...
O Radix Iesse
O Radix Iesse is one of my favourite O Antiphons because it brings together the invocation of the Holy Spirit, the mystery of the Cross,...
Primary School of Prayer of the Heart
The Antiphons of the Final Days of Advent Today at Lauds the Church begins a series of proper antiphons for each day until Christmas. These...
The Missa Aurea
During the Middle Ages, the Mass of the Missus Est — the first words of the Gospel of the Annunciation — on the Ember Wednesday...
Grace, and Loveliness, and Joy
Gaudete Sunday The Four Introits of Advent We began Advent on the crest of a surging wave, an immense welling up of hope that lifted...
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas Between East and West The Church in East and West commemorates Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker on December 6th. The very first journey of...
Ember Friday in Advent
Restore the Ember Days For the second time this week, we celebrated a special pre-dawn Advent Mass in candlelight. Having anticipated Matins last evening, we...
Te, Christe, solum quaerimus
For my friend, Monsignor A.B.C. Sometime in the early 1970s the Benedictine nuns of the Abbey Pax Cordis Iesu at Ryde, in the Isle of...
The Hymn at Matins: Singing in the Night
Stretching Godward My own experience is that the Invitatory, with the repetition of its pressing call to adoration, establishes the soul in the realm of...
Am I not here who am your Mother?
At Clear Creek Brother Juan Diego and I have been at Clear Creek Monastery for the past few days. I have been preaching a retreat...
Letter to a Soon-to-be Novice
Second Sunday of Advent My dear son, Listening to the Liturgy You have often heard me say that the sacred liturgy is, first of all,...
The Consolations of His Coming
December 24 Collect at the Hours and at the Mass in the Morning Come quickly, we beseech You, Lord Jesus, and do not delay, so...