Benedictus Deus

As indicated in the last post, Advent has a twofold purpose. One is to prepare for the commemoration of the Lord’s first coming (sometimes called the Coming of Mercy) which we do by trying to remind ourselves what the world was like before the incarnation. The other is to prepare for his second [...]

Advent is, of course, the beginning of the liturgical year, a new year for the Church. As such it represents the time before Christ came, when the world was still in darkness. This is part of the reason Advent is a penitential season.
According to my old missal, the prayers of the mass and the breviary [...]

In the title of this post I don’t mean that Advent has been literally forgotten. Most people acknowledge its existence. What I do mean is that the purpose of the season has been forgotten. For most folks Advent is a mad dash to get shopping done, decorate for Christmas, attend parties, children’s [...]

I want to do my part to promote prayer for the Pope’s trip to visit Patriarch Bartholomew, both for his saftey, and for closer ties with the Orthodox.
The Knights of Columbus are sponsoring a spiritual pilgrimage for the Pope’s trip to Turkey, in which we are encouraged to pray for him to have a successful [...]

Today is the last Sunday after Pentecost (or the last Sunday in Ordinary Time if you prefer). This week, the last in the liturgical year, represents the end of the world. This whole month has been pointing us towards the last things, especially our own death. But now the Church directs our [...]

As usual I am behind on posting on feast days. Yesterday was the feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (old and new calendar). I just have a couple quick notes I want to post about it.
First, the Presentation refers to an event when Mary was three years old. It [...]

Speaking of the Book of Hours check this out.
From the amazon book description:

In this richly illustrated book, religious historian Eamon Duffy discusses the Book of Hours, unquestionably the most intimate and most widely used book of the later Middle Ages. He examines surviving copies of the personal prayer books which were used for private, domestic [...]

The Christian tradition of praying for the dead has been almost completely lost these days. We seem to have forgotten that our loved ones could use our prayers after they die. How often do you hear people talk about the recently deceased as though they are automatically canonized? Even at funerals priests say things like, [...]

I recently learned about Medieval Books of Hours through one of the Lion and the Cardinal links.  A book of hours is similar to a breviary, but simplified.  It arose in late Middle Ages around the thirteenth century out of a desire of the laity to imitate the prayer of monastic communities.  The breviary itself [...]

Ah, yes.  The USCCB.  One of my favorite topics.  Sadly, I can’t watch the meeting on EWTN.  However, my wife has been watching and keeping me informed.  There is also good coverage by Amy Welborn and American Papist.  I will say the bishops seemed to be a little less jello-spined than I would have guessed.  [...]