St. Thomas on the “Asperges” (Sprinkling Rite)
St. Thomas did not comment specifically on the custom of sprinkling the people with holy water prior to the principal Sunday Mass; but he did explain exactly why it’s a good idea to do such a thing.
Articles
Forty Hours Sermon
The Church in which I was preaching happened to be one of those Churches which didn’t have the Blessed Sacrament in it, and my remark caused quite a stir.
Did The Ancient Mass Really Have Three Readings?
“We are repeatedly assured that there was an Old Testament reading each Sunday morning, but that quite mysteriously these all vanished by the seventh century, and vanished leaving no memory that they had ever existed…” — Fr. John Parsons
Intercession by saints? Why not go directly to God?
If I didn’t answer when he called, he’d keep calling my number over and over. If I still didn’t answer, he’d start calling my family members, including siblings who lived 900+ miles away!
The Semiologist And The Unbeliever
Once upon a time there was a musician who thought he knew how Gregorian chant should be performed, and was very suspicious of the “semiologists.”
Five Questions No Liturgist Can Answer
“The present welter of discardable booklets, mimeographed sheets, divergent paperback hymnals, and so on … has unfortunate psychological effects.” — Dr. James Hitchcock
Modernity Impact
For me tradition is not going to the past, but going to the origins.
The 15th Station?
The 9/11 Memorial and Conveying Catharsis through Art
Please Help Watershed Survive
I hate asking people for money; and some Catholic organizations drive me crazy by constantly begging with an alarmist manner.
How Dare We Complain?
Can you imagine trying to feed your family in the year 1300AD?
Homily: 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
God is a provident God. This in turn should make us want to love God.
The Necessity of Interior Prayer for Directors, Composers, and Publishers
Are we bringing forth treasures? Are we cultivating these treasures or do we leave them in the back of the storeroom?
“Convent Mass” For Two Sopranos — A. E. Tozer (1911)
Published in 1911, this “Convent Mass” is for two sopranos.
Away with the World—Let Heaven Enter
Music, for a Christian, should serve the same purpose as everything else in life: weaning us from excessive attachment to this world and lifting our souls heavenward.
Felix Culpa
Life is not a piece of cake. And the Mass is not a Sunday recreational moment. We need to feel the burning of being close to God.