“No God” – “No People”
Second Sunday of Advent Each Saturday at Lauds during the penitential periods of the year, we monks are treated to the second canticle of Moses, otherwise known as the Canticle of Deuteronomy, which you will find in ch. 32 of the Book of Deuteronomy. The canticle is a long meditation on the marvellous deeds of […]
The Need For Patience
First Sunday of Advent Show us, O Lord, Thy Mercy, and grant us Thy Salvation. Today’s alleluia verse, taken from Psalm 84 which is one of the great Psalms of Advent, has become part of the daily liturgy of the Mass. It is recited immediately before the priest mounts the steps of the altar at […]
The Gospel Of Life
Last Sunday after Pentecost The last Sunday of the liturgical year gives our Holy Mother the Church the opportunity to place before our eyes the spectacle of the end of time. Let’s be honest and admit that the revelation of Our Lord frightens us: the darkening of the sun, the moon failing to give her […]
Flee Idols
24th Sunday after Pentecost (Sixth after Epiphany transferred) St Paul gives us today a sort of summary of the Christian life when he reminds the Thessalonians that the effect of his presence among them was to turn them away from idols to serve the living and true God and to await the return of Jesus […]
Making Life A Prayer
23rd Sunday after Pentecost As we approach the end of the liturgical year in this month dedicated to the Poor Souls, today’s liturgy quite appropriately places before our eyes the dogma of the resurrection of the flesh. In the Gospel, we see the Lord raise back to life a young girl twelve years of age […]
The Great Cloud Of Witnesses
All Saints Last Sunday, our holy Mother Church put before our eyes Christ Jesus our Sovereign King, reminding us that even now He must reign in our hearts, in our families, in our societies. Today, Mother Church turns our eyes to the eternal kingdom where Christ Jesus is already enthroned in glory, and to which […]
Victor Rex
Christ the King At various celebrations throughout the year, the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ is referred to in the liturgy. To name just a few: On the very day of His annunciation, the archangel told our Lady that He would reign over the House of David forever and of His kingdom there would […]
Believe In Love
Fiery FurnaceToday’s Mass opens with a passage from the prayer of Azariah in the burning furnace. The episode is placed during the Babylonian captivity, when the Chosen People had been exiled into a foreign land and deprived of the Temple and its sacrifices. Things were bleak, they were tragic. The prayer is one of great […]
Dissolve Not Jesus
19th Sunday after Pentecost At the heart of today’s Gospel we find a wedding feast, a royal wedding, thrown by the king for his son. Who is this King and who is this Son and what is this wedding? The King is God the Father. The Son is the Eternal Word. The Wedding is the […]