Arguably history’s most beloved and fascinating saint, we sometimes forget that Joan of Arc was not a legend. She was a real person with a real calling from God to do something heroic for Christ’s Kingdom. But Joan didn’t take any up her sword on her own initiative. She was not a political phenomenon [...]
Eight weeks after Easter every year the Church commemorates its own birth – the Day of Pentecost, as witnessed so powerfully in Acts, Chapter 2. Ten days prior to the Holy Spirit’s arrival, the Lord Jesus told the disciples to “stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke [...]
A few years ago I had the privilege of standing in the sacristy of a Ukrainian church watching a priest friend of mine prepare for Mass. The wonderful liturgies of the Church’s eastern rites (the Byzantine, Maronite, Ukrainian and others) express a richness and complexity of worship that contrasts with the simplicity of the [...]
It is impossible to know from external appearances what kinds of interior burdens people carry with them throughout life. In fact, if we knew the inside story of most people’s lives, we would gain a deep reverence for them and a respect for their perseverance through the difficulties that only they have experienced and [...]
The Sheep English choirmaster, John Rutter, established the Cambridge Singers in the early 1980s for the purpose of producing musical recordings. They have been amazingly prolific with nearly forty albums in their vast repertoire. In The Lord is My Shepherd we hear a mixed choir of men’s and women’s voices intertwining effortlessly with the [...]
The Shepherd English composer, choirmaster and conductor, John Rutter, sets the most famous of all psalms (Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd”) to music in an exquisite piece of art that incorporates voice, orchestra and vivid musical imagery. This commentary is the first of two on Rutter's piece. Part 1 focuses on the [...]
[This article is a follow-up to the Sacred Windows newsletter about George Frideric Handel’s amazing burst of artistic inspiration that led him to compose the entire masterpiece of the Messiah in just twenty-four days. The newsletter is archived on this site for those who wish to access it.] The video clips below display just [...]
Great victories in battle throughout history have always generated great victory songs to celebrate them. The Old Testament features one of those songs from an event that should be familiar to us even if the song isn’t. When God drowned the Egyptians in the Red Sea, Moses stood on the banks looking down on [...]
Everyone should know that angels exist. But how would you react to meeting an angel who descended to earth like lightning before your very eyes? If you were superhuman or supremely holy you might sit down and have a conversation with him about his “dazzling robes” as the Gospel of Luke describes them (Luke [...]
“I think Mother Nature was trying to create one tiny perfect jewel, and she got it perfectly right.” ~The Hummingbird Whisperer The video below will be the most delightful two minutes you will spend today. It features a charming French lady who is sometimes called, “that crazy hummingbird lady” or, more commonly, “the hummingbird [...]