Laetare, Ierusalem!
A blessed Laetare Sunday to all our readers! This Fourth Sunday of Lent is named after the Introit, Laetare Ierusalem marking the halfway point...
Saint Patrick’s Magnificat
Towards the end of his life, Saint Patrick wrote his 'Confessions' which, like his near-contemporaneous Saint Augustine's autobiography of the same title, is meant...
Three Reasons to Read the Book of Jonah this Lent
Every year, the Wednesday after Ash Wednesday, the Mass readings revolve around the prophet Jonah. Not only does the first reading come from the...
Allegri’s Miserere and Mozart’s Memory
As we begin the Lenten pilgrimage on this first Sunday, a fitting help to our deovtion is Allegri's Miserere, his unsurpassed musical setting of...
Eliot’s Ash Wednesday
T.S. Eliot published his poem Ash Wednesday in 1930, after he had composed during his conversion to Anglicanism (in 1927). The theme is, fittingly,...
The Catholic Case for Intelligent Design
Father Martin Hilbert, C.O. has written a remarkable book. His ‘The Catholic Case for Intelligent Design’, an argument for seeing God’s handiwork and providence...
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...
