On Singing Gregorian Chant Artfully (part 2)
It’s all very subtle but long experience in seminaries and religious communities shows that the more unified the sound, the more everyone can lose themselves in the prayer of the Church.
On Singing Gregorian Chant Artfully (Part 1)
This week and next, I will share practical and speculative points on singing Gregorian chant well that I have learned by leading scholas, by participating in them, and by listening to masters discuss what they do and why. My points are not put forward here as “Gospel truths”; they are merely an attempt to put…
Two “Disobediences” Compared
Take the well-informed young priests of today. They know, thanks to studying Benedict XVI and other authors, that the Novus Ordo has serious flaws and lacunae, to which the TLM can supply remedies. There was, after all, this “mutual enrichment” idea, although it tends to flow in one direction. So, they set about fixing what…
The Horns of the Death Penalty Dilemma
Above: St Dunstan crowns King Edgar. Photo by Fr. Lawrence, OP. In his annual meeting with the diplomatic corps of ambassadors accredited to the Holy See on January 9, 2023, Pope Francis has doubled down on his novel teaching on the death penalty: “The death penalty cannot be employed for a purported State justice, since…
Abandoning the Church Has No Appeal for Traditionalists
Above: the west doors of Salamanca’s Catedral Nueva photographed by Fr. Lawrence, OP. During the Bergoglian captivity, one hears of Catholics losing or questioning their faith because they think: “If a pope can be so wrong, then the Catholic religion mustn’t be true.” Surely we ought to be made of sterner stuff than that. Why…
Games People Play with the Holy Spirit
Dear Dr. Kwasniewski, Watching Mass of the Ages Episode 2 and your interview with Raymond Arroyo brought up some questions I’ve been struggling with. First, doesn’t it seem like the Novus Ordo was close to what the Council Fathers intended? I say this because (a) we know that Bugnini was secretary of the committee that…
Pro-TLM Strategies in the Era of “Traditionis Custodes”
People often ask me: “What’s your advice for Catholics living in a diocese where the TLM has been limited or eliminated, or where there is a threat that this might happen? What should we do?” As we round the corner of one year past the infamous Responsa ad Dubia of then-archbishop Roche of the then-Congregation…
The Demanding Glory of Advent’s Ember Saturday
Above: Greek icon depicting Christ with the Winnowing Fan from an Orthodox monastery in Arizona, United States. Photo by Fr. Lawrence, OP. This coming Saturday will be the third of the Advent Ember Days in the Roman Rite. (As always, the Ember Days come in threes: Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, the ancient penitential rhythm.)…
“Easy Virtue”: Comfort and Ease as Basic Givens of the Liturgical Reform
The sin of Peter recounted in Matthew 16 — “Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee” (v. 22) — is the archetype of papal sins against the Mass. Note that Peter’s “rebuke” hinges on the avoidance of the Cross. The…
Two Saints at the Start of Advent: Bibiana and Francis Xavier
In the traditional calendar, December 2 is the feast of St. Bibiana, Virgin and Martyr. Having been imprisoned for her faith, she refused the sexual advances of her jailer, and was beaten to death with lead-loaded thongs. The Collect for her feast is magnificent: Deus, omnium largitor bonorum, qui in famula tua Bibiana cum virginitatis…
Healthy Food for Grown-Ups
When the feast of St. Martin of Tours comes around each year—that’s November 11th, a day he shares on the Roman calendar with St. Mennas, a great soldier, desert solitary, and martyr in Egypt—I always think about food. The reason has nothing to do with Armistice Day. Rather, it’s because of the almost eight years…
