A Treasure To Be Shared

Yes to Virtue; No to Sin The history of salvation is the drama of two opposing kingdoms: the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. Every soul must choose between them. There is no neutrality in the spiritual life. Our Lord Jesus Christ calls His disciples to reject sin and pursue holiness, declaring, "No man can serve two masters" (Matt. 6:24). The Christian life is therefore a continual and deliberate "yes" to virtue and a steadfast "no" to sin. Virtue is the beauty of a soul conformed to God. It is not merely the performance of isolated good actions but a stable disposition to choose the good with readiness and joy. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines virtue as "a habitual and firm disposition to do the good."¹ St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that virtue perfects the powers of the soul, enabling man to act according to right reason illumined by grace.² Through the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity, the Christian particip...

The Christian life is fundamentally a participation in the light of Christ. Throughout Sacred Scripture, light symbolizes truth, holiness, and communion with God, while darkness signifies sin, error, and separation from Him. Because Christ is the Light of the World, those who follow Him cannot persist in a lifestyle of sin without contradicting their identity as His disciples. Jesus declared, “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). This statement presents not merely a comforting promise but a moral challenge. To follow Christ is to leave behind the darkness of sin and to walk in the illumination of divine grace. Just as physical light dispels darkness, the presence of Christ transforms the soul and calls believers to conversion. St. John develops this theme even more strongly: “God is light and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). He continues by warning that anyone who claims fellowship with God wh...

Have you noticed that during recitations of the Rosary, or during prayers at the end of Low or Said Mass, there’s often a difference in how the Hail! Mary is spoken among parishioners? If you haven’t observed a variation in translation, this little lesson might not resonate. This exploration may seem nitpicky, but for those who value precision, grammar matters, and a refinement of meaning and understanding could deepen understanding and prayer. In the phrase nunc et in hora mortis nostrae ("now and at the hour of our death"), the more natural English translation is: "now and at the hour of our death." The Latin preposition in with the ablative hora can mean "in," "at," or "during," depending on context. Here it refers to a specific moment in time, not an extended period. English idiom therefore favors "at the hour" rather than "in the hour." Compare: in hora mortis → at the hour of death (the moment when death comes...

St John the Evangelist Church, Calgary AB The saying, “Without the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the clergy are merely bureaucrats,” is intentionally provocative, but it expresses an important truth about the nature of the Church and the priesthood. At its heart lies the conviction that the Church is not fundamentally an institution of administration, but a sacramental communion whose life flows from the Eucharistic sacrifice. The priest certainly has many responsibilities beyond the altar. He teaches the faith, preaches the Gospel, cares for souls, comforts the suffering, and guides the Christian community. These are not bureaucratic tasks but genuine expressions of pastoral and spiritual fatherhood. Yet all of these ministries find their deepest meaning in their relationship to the Eucharist, which the Church calls the source and summit of the Christian life (CCC 1324). When the Mass is forgotten or marginalized, the remaining administrative duties of the clergy can easily come to domi...

APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION ANGLICANORUM COETIBUS III. (T)he Ordinariate has the faculty to celebrate the Holy Eucharist and the other Sacraments, the Liturgy of the Hours and other liturgical celebrations according to the liturgical books proper to the Anglican tradition, which have been approved by the Holy See, so as to maintain the liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions of the Anglican Communion within the Catholic Church, as a precious gift nourishing the faith of the members of the Ordinariate and as a treasure to be shared. Opus Dei and the Ordinariates are both “personal” jurisdictions within the Church, yet they reflect distinct ecclesial orientations. Opus Dei focuses on sanctification in everyday life, particularly through professional work and personal formation, whereas the Ordinariates serve as centers for preserving and sharing a unique spiritual and liturgical heritage within full Catholic communion that enables both individual Christian discipleship and interpersonal...

One of the quiet strengths of Divine Worship, the Mass of the Ordinariates, is precisely its preservation of a kind of liturgical literacy through gesture. Many contemporary Christians can read words on a page, but fewer can "read" the language of worship enacted by the body. The Ordinariate tradition tends to retain a richer grammar of bodily signs than is commonly encountered in many parishes. By "literacy with gestures" is meant the ability of the faithful to recognize and understand actions such as: making the sign of the cross in acknowledgement and adoration at particular moments, e.g., as the Body of Christ is elevated and when the Precious Blood (chalice) is elevated bowing at the Holy Name of Jesus bowing in reverence toward the cross (the sign of our salvation) and priest (who acts in the person of Christ, in persona Christi ) as the procession passes striking the breast in humility during the Confiteor,  Agnus Dei, and the Domine, non sum dignus genuflect...

The Ordinariate Witness: Order, Beauty, and Freedom Divine Worship in the Ordinariates offers a profound lesson: authentic freedom is not the absence of form, but the flourishing that comes through rightly ordered form. Contemporary culture often assumes a progression like this:  Rules → Constraint → Resentment → Liberation through self-expression.  But Divine Worship suggests a very different path:  Form → Formation → Virtue → Freedom. The Liturgy's carefully structured language, inherited ceremonial patterns, and disciplined beauty do not suppress individuality. Rather, they help free the worshipper from the tyranny of impulse, distraction, and self-preoccupation. The result is not less freedom but more. 1. Freedom Requires a Shape A river without banks is not freer than a river with banks. It becomes a flood. Likewise, human beings do not become free by rejecting all structure. We become free when our energies are directed toward their proper end. The Ordinariate Litur...

Let’s be honest, dragging a cheese grater over one's thigh sounds almost appealing compared to enduring those mind-numbing situations foisted upon us by people eagerly awaiting their next chance to be offended. I wish I could be abducted by space aliens before tomorrow's staff meeting. I’d prefer a chaotic audit by rabid raccoons over sitting through yet another speech that starts with, “As we reimagine the paradigm moving forward…”. I'd rather navigate rush-hour traffic using only a treasure map than sit through another committee meeting about creating a committee. I'd rather read the terms and conditions for every app on my phone than hear another sermon that mistakes partisan talking points for divine revelation. I'd rather be stranded at sea with a karaoke machine stuck on The Chipmunk Song than endure another lecture where every disagreement is treated as a full-blown crisis. I'd rather watch Joanie Loves Chachi episodes while folding fitted sheets than a...

St Mary the Virgin Parish, Arlington, TX At the Mass we discover that friendship is not something we manufacture for ourselves. Rather, it is a gift received while seeking God together. In an age marked by loneliness and fleeting connections, many people long for genuine friendship. Social media promises constant contact, yet countless hearts remain isolated. True friendship requires more than shared interests or casual conversation. It is founded upon a common pursuit of what is good, true, and beautiful. For Christians, there is no greater place to discover such friendship than in the Holy Mass. We come not to socialize but to worship Almighty God. The focus is not on ourselves but upon the sacred mysteries unfolding at the altar. Yet it is precisely this common orientation toward God that creates the deepest form of human fellowship. The liturgy teaches us that we are not isolated individuals approaching God alone. We gather as members of Christ's Body. Together we confess our s...