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Fr. Mark on where prayer begins. To quote:
I have long had an inner awareness that the Deus in adjutorium
calls down the grace of the Holy Ghost in a unique way. Does not the
Apostle say that, "the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity. For we know
not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit himself asketh
for us with unspeakable groanings. And he that searcheth the hearts,
knoweth what the Spirit desireth; because he asketh for the saints
according to God" (Romans 8:26-27)? (Read entire post.)
The meaning of "Alleluia" in the liturgy. To quote Fr. Mark:
Among the holy words that grace the lips of man in prayer, there is
perhaps none lovelier than Alleluia. It is a word that requires the
development of melody. It calls for a soaring vocal jubilation. It
contains within itself a cantus obscurior, the hidden and most
secret form of verbal expression that the chant of the Church brings to
life. Alleluia is a heavenly word, an echo and a foretaste of the
liturgy described by Saint John in the Apocalypse:
After these things I heard as it were the voice of much
people in heaven, saying: Alleluia. Salvation, and glory, and power is
to our God. For true and just are his judgments, who hath judged the
great harlot which corrupted the earth with her fornication, and hath
revenged the blood of his servants, at her hands. And again they said:
Alleluia. And her smoke ascendeth for ever and ever. And the four and
twenty ancients, and the four living creatures fell down and adored God
that sitteth upon the throne, saying: Amen; Alleluia. And a voice came
out from the throne, saying: Give praise to our God, all ye his
servants; and you that fear him, little and great.
And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and
as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of great thunders, saying,
Alleluia: for the Lord our God the Almighty hath reigned. Let us be
glad and rejoice, and give glory to him; for the marriage of the Lamb is
come, and his wife hath prepared herself. (Apocalypse 19:1-7)
(Read entire post.)
From Father Mark in Ireland:
In many places in northern Europe -- notably in France, Germany,
Belgium, and the Netherlands -- a certain Protestantisation crept into
the liturgical sensibility prevalent during the years following the
Second Vatican Council. This led to a suspicion of the cultus
of the saints, their festivals, and their relics, and to a trend towards
minimizing the role of the saints in Catholic life, and towards
diminishing as much possible their place in the liturgy. This trend was
fostered by the unfortunate introduction of so-called "optional
memorials", by which certain saints were condemned to liturgical
oblivion. It is a principle, easily observed in the recent history of
the liturgy, that as soon as something is declared optional, it falls
into desuetude.
Sentire Cum Ecclesia
It is noteworthy that Saint Ignatius of Loyola, in his sixth rule for holding fast to the sentiments of the Church (sentire cum ecclesia) recognized the threat of Protestant hostility to the cultus
of the Saints and to Catholic piety, and so wrote: "To praise relics of
the Saints, giving veneration to them and praying to the Saints; and to
praise Stations, pilgrimages, Indulgences, pardons, cruzadas, and
candles lighted in the churches."
The Companionship of the Saints
An authentic Benedictine piety delights in the cultus of the
saints, of their relics, and of their altars. I remember being moved,
in my monastic youth, by the simple devotion of monks who, either before
Matins or after Compline, would go, as it were, in pilgrimage, from
altar to altar, and from image to image, honouring the saints and
seeking their intercession. "And therefore we also having so great a
cloud of witnesses over our head, laying aside every weight and sin
which surrounds us, let us run by patience to the fight proposed to us:
looking on Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, who having joy set
before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and now sitteth on
the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:1-2). (Read entire post.)
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