Guéranger on the Mystery of Christmas
Everything is Mystery in this holy season.
The Mystery of Passiontide and Holy Week
Above: Christus mit der heiligen Veronika auf dem Weg zum Kalvarienberg, possibly from the Danube school, c. 1520. From The Liturgical Year. The holy liturgy is rich in mystery during these days of the Church’s celebrating the anniversaries of so many wonderful events; but as the principal part of these mysteries is embodied in the…
Passiontide Begins
In virtue of this decree, each of these fifteen days was considered, as far as the courts of law were concerned, as a Sunday.
History of Paschaltide
St. Gregory of Tours tells us of a Font, which existed even then, in a church of Andalusia, in a place called Osen, and whereby God miraculously certified to His people the true day of Easter.
Christmas Continued
Above: La Adoracion de los Reyes Magos by Peter Paul Rubens of Spanish Flanders (1577-1640). The Feast of the Epiphany is the continuation of the mystery of Christmas; but it appears on the Calendar of the Church with its own special character. Its very name, which signifies Manifestation, implies that it celebrates the apparition of God to…
The Triumph and Peace of the Assumption
Above: The Assumption of Mary by Luca Giordano (1634-1705). “Today the Virgin Mary ascended to heaven; rejoice, for she reigns with Christ forever.” The Church will close her chants on this glorious day with this sweet antiphon which resumes the object of the feast and the spirit in which it should be celebrated. No other…
Christian Warfare: The Great Fast of Lent
Yesterday the world was busy in its pleasures, and the very children of God were taking a joyous farewell to mirth: but this morning, all is changed. The solemn announcement, spoken of by the prophet, has been proclaimed in Sion: the solemn fast of Lent, the season of expiation, the approach of the great anniversaries of…