Take thou me unto thyself, O Lord, and I shall live
Kneeling in choir before the Most Blessed Sacrament, we renewed our vows this night. Lord Jesus Christ, I give thee thanks with all my heart...
Mary Is Not Half Enough Preached
Why do I prefer dear old Father Faber’s translation of Saint Louis Grignion de Montfort’s Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary? A...
Like a fragrance filling the house
The Presence of Mary The days between Christmas and Epiphany are a continuous celebration: the festival of the Advent of God among us. There is,...
The Very Little One
This morning’s Second Reading at Vigils was from the wonderful Christmas Sermons of Blessed Guerric of Igny (+1157), one of the Four Evangelists of the...
With Saint John: into the love of things invisible
Saint John by Sir Ninian Comper, Lady Chapel of Downside Abbey Church. Thanks to the ever gracious Father Lawrence, O.P. for the use of his...
Drink to the Love of Saint John!
Blessing of Wine on the Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist On the Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist, at the end of...
Venite, adoremus
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To the Infant Christ
Over the centuries, souls have been drawn irresistibly to the mystery of the Infant Christ. Among these was the great Pierre Cardinal de Bérulle, the...
Gaudete in Domino semper!
The image of Saint John’s vision in the Apocalypse (1360-1390) is by Jacobello Alberegno. I chose it because the Eternal Father is vested in a...
Nox sicut dies illuminabitur
The Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome is a universally recognised emblem of the Catholic Church, a sacred icon of the Body of Christ, a...
Plorans ploravit in nocte
Be sure she weeps; there in the darkness her cheeks are wet with tears; of all that courted her, none left to console her, all...
Only hope of your children scarred by sin
A Consecration of Souls to the Immaculate I wrote this prayer of consecration eight years ago (2007) while supplying for a fortnight as chaplain to...
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas Between East and West The Church in East and West commemorates today Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. The very first journey of Pope Benedict...
I offer on the altar the spotless Lamb
I remember when, in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, it was fashionable in some ecclesiastical and academic circles to sniff dismissively at the Lessons...
O bona crux!
A Cross On the Threshold of Advent The feast of Saint Andrew the First–Called marks the threshold of the new liturgical year with the sign...
Paris Again
Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Yes, Paris again. Paris is as much the theatre of great miracles of grace as it is the theatre...
Ave Verum Corpus
Sacrilege Will the distressing news of the sacrilege perpetrated in Pamplona, Spain provoke any kind of concrete response? Spanish “artist” Abel Azcona stole more than...
Saint John of the Cross
The approach of Advent is marked by two saints of the Cross. First there is Saint John of the Cross (24 November) who, as we...
For you, too, I have a destiny and a hope
The Temple: Heart of the World Today’s Gospel is part of a bigger discourse in which Our Lord prophesies the destruction of the Solomon’s magnificent...
Cecilia
Wishing a very blessed feastday to our Oblate sister Cecilia of Rome in Connecticut! A Veiled Face I never tire of looking at the statue...