Whatsoever Things Were Written
Second Sunday of Advent Isaiah 11:1-10 Psalm 71: 1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17 Romans 15:4-9 Matthew 3: 1-12 The Comfort of the Scriptures Today’s Second Reading...
Stirring Up the Power of God
Friday of the First Week of Advent Isaiah 29: 17-24 Psalm 26: 1, 4, 13-14 Matthew 9:27-31 Stir Up Today’s Collect, addressed to Our Lord...
Lest We Faint in the Way
First Wednesday of Advent Isaiah 25:6-10a Psalm 22: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 Matthew 15:29-37 The Eucharist The liturgy of the Wednesday of the First Week...
Consolation
Tuesday of the First Week of Advent Isaiah 11:1-10 Psalm 71: 1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17 Luke 10:21-24 Today’s Saints We celebrate the Holy Mysteries today...
And A Little Child Shall Lead Them
I posted this homily last year, but decided to offer it anew this Advent. Both Dom Vital Léhodey and Mère Yvonne-Aimée de Jésus continue to...
Spes Nostra
Monday of the First Week of Advent Isaiah 4:2-6 Psalm 121: 1-2, 3-4a, 4b-5, 6-7), 8-9 (R. 1) Matthew 8:5-11 Isaiah’s Gift Spe Salvi, the...
Conditor Alme Siderum
“At the very moment when the Magi, guided by the star, adored Christ the new king, astrology came to an end, because the stars were...
Ad Te Levavi and Spe Salvi
An Introit and an Encyclical There is an immense hope in the liturgy of the First Sunday of Advent, making it perfectly consonant with Spe...
First Sunday of Advent
Entrance Antiphon GR Unto you have I lifted up my soul. O my God, I trust in you, let me not be put to shame;...
Spes Nostra, Salve!
The Holy Father’s Encyclical Spe Salvi ends in a splendid prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Spes Nostra, Our Hope. One of the high points...
Ave, Maria — Our Lady’s Sunday in Advent
Today is Our Lady’s Sunday in Advent. Pope Paul VI, influenced, no doubt, by the ancient practice of the venerable Church of Milan, desired that...
The Heart of God Beating in the Breast of a Little Child
Almighty and ever-living God, seeing that the birth of Thy Son according to the flesh is drawing near, we beseech Thee that Thy Word may...
23 December, O EMMANUEL
Murillo’s painting of the Infant Christ distributing bread to pilgrims is an invitation to consider the mystery of the Eucharist, God–With–Us, the Child of Bethlehem,...
22 December, O REX GENTIUM
O King of the Gentiles, and the Desired of all nations(Hag 2:8), you are the cornerstone (Is 28:16) that binds two into one (Eph 2:14)....
21 December, O ORIENS
O DAYSPRING (Zech 6:12; Lk 1:78), Splendor of Eternal Light (Heb 1:3), and Sun of Justice (Mal 4:2): Come, and enlighten those that sit in...
Ave, verum Corpus natum, de Maria Virgine
In a certain sense Mary lived her Eucharistic faith even before the institution of the Eucharist, by the very fact that she offered her virginal...
Ave, gratia plena
Deus, aeterna maestas. cuius ineffabile Verbum, Angelo nuntiante, Virgo immaculata suscepit, et, domus divinitatis effecta, Sanctus Spiritus luce repletur, quaesumus, ut nos, eius exemplo, voluntati...
The Missa Aurea
A glowing radiance surrounds the Mass of December 20th. During the Middle Ages, the Mass of the Missus Est — the first words of the...
20 December, O CLAVIS DAVID
To illustrate the antiphon O Clavis David, I chose Bartolomeo Bermejo’s magnificent painting of the Harrowing of Hell. It depicts the Risen Christ descending into...
He Will Be Silent in His Love
Did anyone else notice the discrepancy in today’s First Lesson between the Latin lectionary and the English lectionaries currently in use? The Latin text contained...