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Vestimentum tuum candidum quasi nix…Thy garments are white as snow, and thy face is as the sun. (2nd Antiphon of Laudes).

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
My Very Dear Sons,

In contemplating the spectacle of the Immaculate Conception, such is the spiritual splendor and brightness of the vision, supposing we turn our soul toward this mystery with humility, such is the power of Mary’s immaculate radiance, that one might fear going “snow blind” so to speak, of being blinded for shear excess of light.  It is tempting for one who preaches to conclude (hastily) that there is nothing to say about such uniform whiteness, nothing to comment upon here, whereas in truth such beauty rightly considered, could feed our contemplation for year upon year, age upon age.  Our Lady’s light is not the […]

Post haec vidi turbam magnam…After this I saw a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne, and in sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands (Apoc. 7:9).

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
My very dear sons,

The spectacle that fills our eyes—the eyes of our soul—on this feast of All Saints, as we contemplate the countless throngs of Saints presented in the liturgical readings from the Apocalypse, resonates not only in the mind, but also in our heart of hearts. This blessed vision represents the consummation of all things at the end of human History, where we ardently expect our own salvation and that of those dear to us. If there is a deeper […]

Blessed be the Lord who made heaven and earth, who hath directed thee to the mortal wounding of the head of the prince of our enemies (Judith).

On this glorious feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, many splendid and glorious things are presented to the eyes of our soul:  a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet; the visit made by Mary to her cousin Elizabeth, when she intoned her Magnificat; the spectacle of angels rejoicing as they receive their Queen into the blessed precincts of Heaven; finally, the bride described in Psalm 44, adorned with gilded clothing surrounded with variety.  And all of these sacred images have a spiritual meaning, not only for the Church in general, but also for each one of us.  Let us explore a […]

O felix Roma, O thou most happy Rome, which by this glorious blood of thy two Princes, precious crimson flood, art made forever sacred…

Today, together with the Sovereign Roman Pontiff and the entire Catholic Church, we celebrate the glorious martyrdoms of Saints Peter and Paul. What a surprising and marvelous nobility is theirs!  One founded, not on birthright or military prowess, but on a Divine authority transmitted by grace; a nobility established, not by the spilling of other men’s blood, but by the spilling of their own.

What a surprising and marvelous nobility is that of Rome herself, city of the Apostles, city of the saints, as the hymn expresses it so well, O Felix Roma. O thou most happy Rome, which by this glorious blood of thy two Princes, precious crimson […]

Emitte spiritum tuum et creabuntur, et renovabis faciem terrae.  Thou shalt send forth thy spirit, and they shall be created: and thou shalt renew the face of the earth. [1]

On this glorious feast of Pentecost the Holy Church makes repeated use of a verse from Psalm 103, one that is full of mystery.  We find it in the Alleluia verse and throughout the Divine office:  “Thou shalt send forth thy spirit, and they shall be created: and thou shalt renew the face of the earth.”  In the Latin version we use habitually the meaning is rather more dynamic: “Send forth thy Spirit, and they shall be created.” It is an appeal.

As we know from the book of Genesis, at the very beginning of time, when God created the Heaven and the […]