Above: The Visitation by Flemish painter Willem Vrelant (d. 1481). This Saturday, July 2, is the usus antiquior feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This feast was instituted in 1389 by, in a way, two popes—Pope Urban VI as the one who intended to institute it, in hopes of obtaining the end…
Above: Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, with gushing blood, detail of the Ghent Altarpiece, Jan van Eyck, c. 1432. The History of the Feast According to the Traditional Catholic Calendar of 1962 and prior, July 1st is the Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. This feast was instituted for the Universal…
Above: Corpus Christi 2021 at St. Mary’s Conshohocken, FSSP. Photo by Allison Girone. Editor’s note: this octave, consider joining the crusade of Eucharistic reparation. A great solemnity has this day risen upon our earth: a feast both to God and to men: for it is the feast of Christ the Mediator, who is present in…
The season of summer is often seen as the best of the four seasons for people of the Northern hemisphere. This time of the year also coincides with one of the greatest feasts of the Church, notably Pentecost. The Church has tied the two events together through the Pentecost Ember Days, which is ordered towards…
The Forgotten, Yet Ancient Vigil of Pentecost The Feast of Pentecost (i.e., White Sunday) is one of the principal feasts in the life of the Church. After Pentecost Sunday and its Octave, we will conclude Pascaltide and begin the Season after Pentecost. Consequently, the Vigil of Pentecost has been a day of required fasting and…
“Forty Days” After His Resurrection Falling as it does between the great feasts of Easter and Pentecost, Ascension Thursday gets short shrift from modern Christians. Although it remains an unmoved (usually) Holy Day of Obligation for Roman Catholics (and, to state the obvious, the only one of such days that can never fall on a…
Photo: the blessing of the water for Baptism at Easter Vigil. By Allison Girone. “This is my body, which is given for you . . . This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Lk 22:19-20). Of ecstasy—that is, standing outside oneself or going out of oneself—Our Lord…
Painting: Maurice Denis, “Le mystère catholique,” (1889) After a number of years experiencing the annual cycle of readings in the traditional Latin Mass, I grew aware of the manner in which it approaches Gospels in general, which is freer and more subtle than we find in the Novus Ordo lectionary. In the latter, it seems…
Now Lord, let Thy servant go in peace, Unto whom Thy promise is made good, Now mine eyes indeed have seen His face, Child promised, Savior of the world. Dim these eyes have grown as years have passed, In toils and labors long in Thine employ, Mortal still I am though I outlast, Mortal kith…
Candlemas, as it’s called, is a twofold feast of the Presentation of Our Lord and the Purification of Our Lady, and it marks the end of the forty days of the Christmas season. It is primarily a Marian feast commemorating the obedience of Our Lady and Our Lord to the law of Moses. The name…
On 6 January we celebrate Epiphany, the day three kings bowed low and presented gifts to the King of kings. Many commemorate the event with different family traditions. However, our familiarity with the story may lead us to overlook important lessons. So, let us look at Epiphany more deeply, for it has much wisdom to…
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