Keeping the Christmas Caroling: In Dulce Iubilo, the Wexford, and A Rose in Winter.

With the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God yesterday - or, in the usus antiquior, the Circumcision - the Octave of Christmas closes, but...

A Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens' novella A Christmas Carol was first published on December 19, 1843, and it has been a much beloved classic ever since. Sure,...

Handel’s Miraculous Messiah

Handel's Messiah, first performed on April 13th, 1742 (in Dublin of all places) was Composed by a German, who had become a naturalised Brit,...

Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile

I just finished reading Joseph Pearce’s biography of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, subtitled ‘A Soul in Exile’, a remarkable book, packing a very full life into...

Book Review: As We Worship So We Become: Meditations, Prayers and Devotions to the...

Rev. Marco Testa, As We Worship So We Become: Meditations, Prayers and Devotions to the Most Holy Sacrament of The Altar: 2023. The Holy Sacrifice...

Music for Mary

On this Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, as we continue the pilgrimage through the Marian theme of Advent, here are a few musical pieces...

Vivaldi’s Magnificat

Monsignor Antonio Vivaldi was not only one of the greatest of Baroque composers, but also a Catholic priest, who directed a girls' orphanage, for...

Noah’s Ark as Spaceship

Noah (2014) Directed by Darren Aronofsky Written by Darren Aronofsky, Ari Handel Has there ever been a successful adaptation of an episode from the Bible in a film?...

What Paganism Was Really Like

I serendipitously came across this article by Algis Valiunas - always worth reading - which describes what paganism was really like. Not the idealized...

Palestrina’s Sicut Cervus

There are few - some may argue none - who can match Palestrina's composition, and his ars perfecta, in full form here with his motet...