And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (Lk 2: 13–14)
In the celebration of the liturgy, the Glory to God occupies a unique place. On the one hand, it is a response: we have just participated in the Penitential Act by recalling and confessing our sinfulness ...
On this Good Friday, as we recall the Passion and Death of Jesus, we gaze upon the Cross. On the one hand, we recoil from the Cross in horror as the instrument of torture and execution, the gibbet on which the Savior of the world hung in agony and breathed his last. On the other hand, we rejoice in the Cross as the means by which Jesus Christ accomplished our salvation and the salvation of the who...
Today we enter the most solemn days of the liturgical year: the Sacred Paschal Triduum. From St. Peter’s in Rome to the humblest of parishes, the Church will watch and pray and sing together, recalling the wondrous mysteries of our salvation in Christ Jesus.
At the Name of Jesus; Tune: King’s Weston (1925) by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958); Text: Caroline M. Noel (1817–1877)
Throughout Holy Week, we will sing hymns and psalms once again that are often only used at this time of the liturgical year, and yet their impressions upon our hearts and souls will continue to deepen as they etch themselves into our liturgical memory. All Glory, Laud, and Honor. Pange Lingua Gloriosi. O Sacred Head Surrounded. Victimae Paschali Laudes.
Editors’ Note: In anticipation of the 88th Academy Awards on February 28,we present a series exploring the philosophical and theological elements in each of the eight films nominated for Best Picture. This post contains no spoilers.
