Gaudens gaudebo in Domino
A Meditation on the Mass of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Look at this extraordinary medieval painting that shows the Tree of...
Behold a Virgin Shall Conceive
Saturday at Matins: From the Commentary on the Prophet Isaias by St Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop & Doctor Some of those who have translated the...
Blessed are the pure in heart
Friday at Matins: From a Sermon by St Augustine, Bishop & Doctor “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”. Let us...
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...
Hope of Thy Children Scarred by Sin
A Consecration of Souls to the Immaculate I wrote this prayer of consecration seven years ago (2007) while supplying for a fortnight as chaplain to...
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...
O Bona Crux!
A Cross On the Threshold of Advent The feast of Saint Andrew the First–Called, coinciding with the First Sunday of Advent, and commemorated in the...
Only God Can Thank God for God Worthily
Thanksgiving originates in the heart of the Son who, from all eternity is begotten of the Father and who, receiving Himself from the Father, in...
Since You Asked
A Reader’s Question Some time ago a reader of Vultus Christi asked, “How does one kindle (in oneself) a devotion to Mary?” I would answer...
Towards Advent
Late November Saints The saints of these last days of the liturgical year incite us to look beyond the conditions of this present life and...
The Heartless and Pitiless Celibate
The title of this entry comes not from me, but from Saint John Chrysostom’s homily at Matins. He is preaching on the parable of the...
Into the House of the Lord
Our Lady in the Temple The solemn dedication of the Church of the Mother of God near the Temple in Jerusalem took place on November...
Ballasts in Peter’s storm–tossed bark
Maria Fortunata Viti: A Nearly–Forgotten Benedictine Blessed Today is the feast of a now nearly–forgotten Benedictine Blessed: Maria Fortunata Viti. Back in October 1967, at...
Do what you can, and ask for what you cannot
A Pastoral Query Answered There was in the October 22, 2014 Responsum of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to a French priest’s...
And the city is placed in a square
Saturday at Matins: From the Commentary on the Apocalypse by St Victorinus, Bishop & Martyr “And the city,” says Saint John, “is placed in a...
More about the Venerable John Sullivan, S.J. (1861–1933)
The Healing Priest Father John Sullivan, S.J. died in 1933. For countless Irish families his name was synonymous with a prodigious gift of healing and...
And his dwelling-place will be peace
This is the magnificent Christ of the Duomo of Cefalù in Sicily. It was artist Adé de Béthune who introduced me to the Christ of...