Saltem Diebus Dominicis: 3rd Sunday of Lent – The Enemy
On this Sunday we move from defense against the Enemy to attack on the Enemy.
Saltem Diebus Dominicis: Your Mountain of Transfiguration
Jesus used with Peter the same language He used on the Devil at the end of the Temptations in the wilderness.
Saltem Diebus Dominicis: The Devil, Temptations, and You
The Roman Station for this 1st Sunday of Lent is Rome’s Cathedral, the Basilic of St. John Lateran, referred to as the “Mother Church of the City and of the World”. It’s full title is the Papal Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in the…
Diebus Saltem Dominicis: “The Veneration Due God’s Word”
In this Sunday’s Mass for Sexagesima, we have in the Epistle from 2 Corinthians the mysterious description by Paul of his elevating vision of Heaven which readied him for his trials, which gave him authority, which transformed his person. He was drawn into mystery and changed. In the Gospel from Luke 8 we have the…
Diebus Saltem Dominicis: You can’t be surprised by Lent
Our coming Sunday is already Septuagesima. Let’s do the technical stuff first. Septuagesima slides around from year to year because Easter slides around because the Moon is a bit of a calendrical coquette, or as Juliet calls her, “inconstant”. Easter is early this year, 31 March. We celebrate Easter in the Western Churches on the…
Diebus Saltem Dominicis: We don’t have a vacation from prayer.
I must keep this brief today… briefer. I hear loud shouts of joy even through my monitor. In short, “life happened” in the last couple of days. Thus, my lateness and brevity. Though it doesn’t make too much difference if you get this before or after Mass. It is a good practice to review the…
Diebus Saltem Dominicis: Blessings from lackings
It seems as if, once Christmas has passed – BAM! – it’s over. Trees are at the curb, decorations come down, music on the radio goes back to whatever it was. However, Holy Church gives us an Octave to rest within the feast of the Nativity itself and contemplate it from different angles, including the…
Diebus Saltem Dominicis: Observance of Epiphany and of Holy Family, Myrrh and Pain
It’s hard to know what to write about for this Sunday. In the Novus Ordo in most places the observance of Epiphany will take place. In the Vetus Ordo it is the Feast of the Holy Family. In the Novus Ordo last Sunday was Holy Family, while in the Vetus it was Sunday in the…
6th Sunday Remaining after Epiphany: When You love, You Want More
This penultimate Sunday of the Liturgical Year brings us a pericope from Paul’s 1st Letter to the Thessalonians 1:2-10. Paul’s Letter could be one of his earliest, along with Galatians. Some scholars think it could be the earliest section of the New Testament. Thessalonica is in modern Greece. Paul visited there and converted both pagans…
24th and Last Sunday after Pentecost: invitations to jubilations
All good things come to their end other than the joy of Heaven. Just so, this series ends with a dive into the Epistle reading for the 24th and Last Sunday after Pentecost, the final Sunday before the beginning of a new liturgical year with the 1st Sunday of Advent. Our reading is from the…
5th Sunday Remaining after Epiphany: A funny thing happened on the way to Advent
As we approach the end of the liturgical year, an odd thing happens in the Church’s traditional calendar for the Vetus Ordo. The Sundays left over after Epiphany are finally dusted off, “resumed,” and prayed until the liturgical year is concluded. This is because of the vagaries of the Moon and shifting date of Easter…