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What is Sacred Music? Historically it’s a bit more complex than you may think.

Recently  there was a discussion on my Facebook page about Church music. My parish, Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian, here in Washington DC, was featured on EWTN’s nightly news (video is below), and discussion centered on that report. Among the many forms of music we use here the parish, gospel music is predominant at our 11:00 AM …

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Where Will You Be When the First Trumpet Sounds? A Good Question Asked in An Advent Hymn

Part of the Genius of the African American Spirituals is their ability to treat of serious themes, such as the final judgment, in a creatively compelling manner that steered a middle course between unproductive fear and prideful presumption. Some of them are even playful saying things like, I would not be a sinner, I’ll tell …

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How is the “Weakness” of God Stronger than Satan’s “Power?”

There is a line in the Letter to the Hebrews which reads: You made [Jesus] for a little while lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor, subjecting all things under his feet.” In “subjecting” all things (to him), he left nothing not “subject to him.” Yet at present we do not …

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Have You No fear of God?! A Meditation on the Need to Recover Salutary Fear.

In yesterday’s (Sunday) Gospel, the good thief on the cross rebukes the bad thief at the other side of Jesus with a very poignant question, Have you no fear of God?. Now this question is very well addressed to us as well; especially those of us who live in this modern age, so often marked …

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Do you want a place at the table so you can direct the course of history? Try this.

   I sometimes like to joke with my parishioners that our church building which is located on the same street as United States Capitol has quite an exulted status. For, indeed, just up the street from my parish of Holy Comforter, is the United States Capitol.  It is arguably one of the most powerful buildings on …

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Thoughts on the Traditional Latin Requiem Mass – Not Really as Dark or Dreadful As Many Say

Perhaps as a concluding post on funeral masses, this is my third post on the subject this week (omni trinum perfectum – all things are perfect in three), I would like to re-post an article I wrote over a year ago. Many of the comments these past days mentioned the Traditional Latin Requiem Mass, which …

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A Funeral Sermon designed to teach on the Last Things, and inspire prayer

On yesterday’s blog post, I discussed some of the more common problems that arise with funerals these days. That blog post provides the kind of background to the homily I present here. In this homily, I try to teach on what I think are important and central themes that need emphasis in Christian funerals today. …

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