Preparation for the Holy Sacrifice

When Benedict XVI chose precisely the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross for the coming into force of Summorum Pontificum in 2007, he taught that the Cross is central to the Roman Rite.

The onset of Hansen’s Disease, known in antiquity under the broad rubric of “leprosy,” comes with patches of skin that change color, grow numb, and progress toward ulcerations, paralysis, even the absorption of extremities back into the body. Untreated, it may bring blindness, disfiguration, and social ruin. Though today we know that the cause is…

For this 12th Sunday after Pentecost the readings in the Vetus Ordo places before us, from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor 3:4–9), a meditation on the surpassing glory of the New Covenant, and from Luke 10:23–37, the parable of the Good Samaritan, provoked by a nomikos who wished to test the Lord.…

Pius Parsch noted that the 11th, 12th, and 13th Sundays after Pentecost form a triad on sacramental grace: baptism, healing, and gratitude for purification. The context of summer, with its harvests, provides the natural analogy. Just as zucchini overflow gardens with comic abundance, so grace superabounds. The cycle of Sundays after Pentecost is like a…

We have come to the 10th Sunday after Pentecost in the Usus Antiquior, the Vetus Ordo. In this Sunday’s Epistle, Paul confronts the Corinthians with the issue of idolatry, reminding them that “when you were heathen, you were led astray to dumb idols” (1 Cor 12:2). To serve idols is to turn from the living…

This 8th Sunday after Pentecost in the Vetus Ordo of the Roman Rite offers us a Gospel passage which is challenging to interpret: the Parable of the Unjust Steward (Luke 16:1–9). The Epistle from Romans 8:12–17 unfolds the mystery of our divine adoption and the contrast between life according to the flesh and life according…

The old man is not healed. He is executed.

The 5th Sunday after Pentecost according to the calendar of the Traditional Latin Mass prompts us to examine the inmost dispositions of the Christian heart and the heights to which the Lord calls His followers. It is not a Sunday of spectacle. There is no miracle of fishes bursting the nets nor a parable about…

We continue our project of delving into the texts for Holy Mass on Sundays with today’s offerings for the 4th Sunday after Pentecost in the Vetus Ordo of the Roman Rite. The Epistle to the Romans and the Gospel of Luke, converge to paint a vivid portrait of our present state and the glory to…