• Darkness of the Soul

    Today I wake with particular dread. Nothing seems to go as it should. Documented evidence is irrelevant and the details hide the devil. All of my strength is mustered into a squeak of a half prayer, a plea of aid. As my only calming splice is found not in chant but in the rid of …

  • How much do you love your neighbor?

    “Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.” This is from the Night Prayer antiphon from the Liturgy of Hours (check it out at divineoffice.org) and I felt it was a most providential selection for this …

  • The Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

    Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, our Lady’s greatest title. This feast is the octave of Christmas. In the modern Roman Calendar only Christmas and Easter enjoy the privilege of an octave. According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is …

  • Seventh Day of Christmas: Optional Memorial of St. Sylvester I, pope

    Today is the seventh day in the octave of Christmas. The Church celebrates the optional memorial of St. Sylvester I, pope and confessor. He ruled the Church during the reign of Constantine when the Arian heresy and the Donatist schism had provoked great discord. He convoked the first Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. St. Sylvester St. …