Bach’s ‘With Joy and Peace I Depart’
In 1725, on this feast of the Presentation/Candlemas/Purification, J.S. Bach first presented his cantata Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin - With Joy...
Bach’s Christmas and Epiphany Oratorio
Between 1734 and 1735, J.S. Bach composed six Oratorios - or six parts of one long Oratorio - for the Christmas season, which the...
Bach and the Fourth Sunday of Advent
J.S. Bach composed Cantatas for many Sundays and feasts (over 200!)- in the Lutheran liturgical calendar, to be sure, but one which remained close...
Handel’s Miraculous Messiah
On this Second Sunday of Advent, when we read of Saint John the Baptist's preparing the way, it is fitting to immerse oneself in...
Edvard Grieg’s Ave Maris Stella
To complement our devotion on this memorial-feast of the Presentation of Our Lady, here is Norwegian composer, Edvard Grieg's, polyphonic composition of the ancient...
Anton Bruckner’s Locus Iste
As we celebrate the the dedication of the basilica of Saint John Lateran, the primary church of Christendom, at this end of the Octave...
Two Complementary Requiems
On this All Souls' Day, here are two Requiems, which commemorate the dead with beauty and transcendence, and may accompany our prayers this day.
The...
Confronting Misconceptions: A Critical Response to the Wayward Christology of Fr. Richard Rohr
Fr. Richard Rohr’s The Universal Christ is a popular spiritual book today. This New York Times Bestseller is rated highly in Amazon’s Religious Ethics...
Exogenesis: A Review
Exogenesis, by Peco Gaskovksi
Ignatius Press, 2023
ISBN/UPC: 9781621646341
One of the most difficult things in writing a ‘fantasy’ – any story which is not based on this...
Tallis, and Verily, Verily I Say Unto Thee
As we commemorated the other day the 'Forty Martyrs of England and Wales' - chosen amongst the countless host put to death for their...