St. Cecilia

V.  Expánsis mánibus, orábat ad Dóminum, et cor ejus igne cælésti ardébat.

R.  A collóquiis divínis et oratióne.

Communion

I've never been a fan of the concept of frequent, daily Communion for a few reasons, 
the greatest being the danger it gives of making a mere trifle out of receiving the Body and Blood of Christ. There is a grave danger in treating our Lord casually, something painfully evident in the casual and blasé way the Eucharist is treated at the Novus Ordo liturgy in many places. The Church says its a good thing for those who are properly disposed,and so I cannot berate those who do commune daily who meet the requirements necessary for worthy reception but I know that too much of a good thing is a danger to me so I am not a frequent Communicant. 

For me it's more about receiving once in a blue moon, and only after a good and serious Confession. There is something beautiful and powerful about really preparing for Holy Communion and than in some way being touched by the grace of our Lord once you do receive. There is something palpable, yet intuitive, about the grace just spoken of. One has to have the Faith rooted in ones heart and be in a state of grace to notice it but it is there nonetheless. 

It's as if there is some indefinable Presence that gives you just enough added strength to fight against sin and temptation until next time. Without a worthy Communion at least once a month I lose all strength to fight against the world, the flesh and the devil. Perhaps when our Lord said "unless ye eat my flesh and drink my blood you will not have life" He meant the life of grace, because one cannot possibly stay in a state of grace or grow in it for long without at least a monthly renewal of Gods own life in the Holy Eucharist. This is something I've noticed for years now and it's both terrifying and mysterious.

The Catholic Church has the Body and Blood of Christ, not symbolically, but actually, and she offers freely to her members who are properly disposed to receive it. This is a treasure we cannot afford to be without and cannot ever allow ourselves to take for granted.

The Magnificat antiphon for II vespers of Corpus Christi speaks of this mystery:

" O sacrum convivium, in

  quo Christus sumitur:

   recolitur memoria passionis

   eus: mens impletur gratia: et futurae 

   gloriae nobis pignus datur, alleluia."

"O holy banquet in which Christ

  is received, in which the memory

   of His Passion is renewed, in which

   the soul is filled with grace and a pledge

   of future glory is given us, alleluia."

Dedication of the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior

The Chapter from the Office today was beautiful:

The Chapter from today's Office was beautiful:

"Vidi civitatem sanctam
Ierusalem novam
descendentem de caelo a
Deo, paratum sponsum ornatem viro
 suo"

"I saw the holy city,the
new Jerusalem, coming
down out of heaven from
God,made ready as a
bride adorned for her husband."

What a beautiful image of the Church as the Heavenly Jerusalem descending down from Heaven! The Church is like a divine embassy, it's where God literally dwells among men and where we must enter if we should wish to live the life of Heaven after death. It's the place where, as it says in the short responsories for Vespers:

"Locus iste
sanctus est, In quo
orat sacerdos
Pro delictis et peccatis populi"

"Holy is that place,
in which the priest
prays. For the crimes and
the sins of the people."

Finally, the Magnificat antiphon for second Vespers says:

"O quam metuendas est
locus iste: vere non est
 hic aliud, nisi domus Dei
et porta caeli"

"O how terrible is this place! Indeed
this is no other but the
house of God and the gate of heaven"

Just think, the Magnificat antiphon is describing both the Church and our Lady! What a deep and awesome mysteries the Church puts before us in her Office.

Autumn Ramblings

Its been several years and several blogs now since I officially became a member of the Roman Catholic Church and it is just now, this autumn, that I'm feeling like I'm hitting a stride somehow and maturing in my faith. Part of this is probably the result of aging and mellowing out, both physically and spiritually. I'm no longer an over zealous convert who wants to overturn every percieved money changer from the temple just because I've read a bit of Ludwig Ott or a couple of Michael Davies books. I used to be that way but not so much anymore.

I'm a quiet person but I can be intense, and so despite long having abandoned so called "convertitis" I'm still ever the unrepentant contrarian with trad sensibilities, and yet one cannot really pigeonhole me as a total traditionalist. I definitely identify with the cause of trads in returning to our full Catholic patrimony but I'm not really a stereotypical trad in many ways. At any rate this blog is not about trad controversies so look elsewhere for that...

Why call this blog "A Benedictine Heart"? It's because I've been deeply influenced by the Benedictine Way ever since the first time I put on the CD Chant by the Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo De Silos back in the early 90's and thought it was the most beautiful thing this side of Heaven. Ever since that day the hand of the good Lord has led me step by step to a more Benedictine way of living and praying. 

Now I can say the heart and soul of my spiritual life is the Benedictine Breviary as found in the Farnborough edition of the Monastic Diurnal. I often supplement it with Matins from the Roman Breviary, but mostly I just pray Lauds through Compline. I love the rhythm of the psalms, the antiphons and the liturgical year. I love chanting in Latin along with the monks of La Barroux and Norcia and commemorating the saints. This practice grounds me somehow. It's really this and the Jesus Prayer, Eucharistic Adoration and the occasional Latin Mass that sustain me spiritually, but especially this. 

Autumn is here, it's the eve of All Souls in the traditional rite. The feast where we pray for the dead, for the souls in purgatory, is upon us. Starbucks is offering pumpkin spice and gingerbread lattes,the sun is going down a few hours earlier and even here in Florida there is a pale and ethereal look to the blue sky and a nip in the air that says it's Autumn. The liturgical year has its own rhythms based on certain feast days, certain saints and certain devotions. It's the Church's version of the civil calendar only with holy days instead of holidays,commemorations of the key moments in the lives of our Lord, our Lady and the saints instead of memorials of battles, declarations signed and political characters. 

The Divine Office really helps mark sacred time and bring the faith alive, especially when you are a minority today in the culture at large in being more religious than usual. It can ground you in a culture that is not so much hostile as indifferent to the Faith, eternity and Jesus Christ.