Start getting those Lent meals planned! Here’s a late 19th-century gem from England that I found scanned and uploaded one day: Cookery book for fasting and abstinence days. Eel Pie for the very brave, and Macaroni Pie (baked Mac’n’Cheese) for the rest of us! Although the variety of cookery books at present in circulation is…
It’s Holy Saturday, and Our Lord’s Sacred Body is in the tomb. Yesterday I prayed in the church where the Eucharist had been taken out of the tabernacle, and so the doors of the tabernacle were open, the candle was dark, and the curtain behind the tabernacle’s golden doors was tied up to show the emptiness inside.…
If men were only in error, He (Christ) might have been a Teacher fenced in by all the comforts of life; and after having taught the theory of pain, He would die on a soft bed. But then He would have left no other message than a code to obey. But if men were in…
Being created in the image of God, with both soul and body, we human beings NEED art. Certainly I need art, and this Lent I have discovered two amazing artists whose works are like spiritual vitamins to my soul! They were both Frenchmen, and Catholic. From very different periods, using different media, and totally different styles…
Just nine days away now is that glorious feast day, that taste of Christmas in Lent, the Solemnity of the Annunciation! I sincerely hope you are planning something very special for this day (March 25th)! At Holy Mass we will sing the Gloria again, as well as genuflect/kneel during the Nicene Creed (and the ONLY other…
I warned on Ash Wednesday that it wouldn’t be long before I had more thoughts about Lent–and now it’s only Friday! (All thoughts will keep for later use, though.) If you need some more encouragement to value this solemn time of the year, here are three things to keep in mind as you enter deeper into this…
Earlier I posted a list of six Lenten hymns in English, and here is a list for the Latin-lovers among you as well: Attende Domine (*Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the audio file!* Sheet music is here, under “Extra Downloads”) Parce Domine (*Scroll down to the bottom of the page for…
In all seriousness, though, as we begin this solemn and penitential season of Lent I want to tell you that you will all be in my prayers. My hope for Lent 2014 is that we each appreciate the greatness of the love of Christ on the Cross more than we ever have before, that we learn to love…
(Today’s post is by one of my grandmothers, who was born and raised Catholic in a tiny town in the Midwest during Depression era. As you will see, the observance of the season of Lent in her Domestic Church was rigorous. How good that must have been for all of their souls!) Lent was a very special…
When your family gathers around your home altar for prayer before bed, it’s so beautiful to close (or open!) evening prayer with a hymn. (After all, hymns are an important part of the Divine Office, the constant prayer of the Church that our priests and consecrated religious devote their lives to ceaselessly praying.) This Lent, I…
St. Catherine Catholic Culture Center 