Every year in our house we have a running battle to keep Christmas music in Christmastide, particularly as we are setting up our presepio on the first Sunday of the liturgical year. We bought some excellent Advent albums that we enjoy listening to, and it is always delightf…
Internet Radio in the Service of Liturgy
Every year in our house we have a running battle to keep Christmas music in Christmastide, particularly as we are setting up our presepio on the first Sunday of the liturgical year. We bought some excellent Advent albums that we enjoy listening to, and it is always delightf…
The Art of Portable Altars
Many portable altars date from the time of the First World War when their creation gained an impetus from the urgent needs of military chaplains who were on the front lines or in military camps. One of the travesties of the First World War was that it involved Christians …
From the Papal Chapel: the White Silk Soutane
Here are some very rare images of the papal "moiré" choir cassock of Pope John Paul II. From what I know he made use of it once on the day of his election in 1978. It is made by Gammarelli of white moiré silk and worn with a pectoral cross hung on a gold-colore…
An Early 20th Century Gothic Revival Set
Continuing on with our consideration of some of the more notable gothic revival vestment work out there, I wanted to turn readers attention to a set of early 20th century vestments which were restored under the auspices of the now defunct Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Spr…
Before and After: Adoration Chapel at Prince of Peace Catholic Church, Greenville, SC
Father Christopher Smith of Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Greenville, South Carolina very kindly shared with LAJ a few photos of their redesigned Adoration chapel. Those of you who are already familiar with that church will know that it is a reasonably modern church …
Mitre and Gloves of Bishop Karol Józef Wojtyła
This year I was privileged to lead a pilgrimage through Poland marking the 60th anniversary of the episcopal consecration of Pope St. John Paul II. Interestingly enough, there are still people alive who were there on Wawel Hill on that historic day when the saint was orda…
All Souls at All Saints Minneapolis
Father Alex Stewart, FSSP of All Saints Minneapolis very kindly sent LAJ notice of their recent All Souls Day Mass in the usus antiquior and as a meditation upon the various sacred arts, I wanted to share just a few of those photos (The full set of which may be found here .…
Beauty and Crucial Role of Monastic Liturgies
On All Souls Day I was privileged to attend the Conventual Mass at Westminster Abbey in British Columbia, Canada. After Mass the monks and students processed to the monastery cemetery to pray for the deceased members of the community. The prayers included the De Profundis . …
A Contemporary Case for the Inclusion of Memento Mori on Black Vestments
Over the years I have shared many photos of black requiem vestments replete with skulls, scythes, bones, even the poor souls in Purgatory. These vestments usually inspire a great deal of interest for reason of their relative rarity and also for reason of these symbols. R…
New Abbey Church of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles
The Abbey of Ephesus was completed in October 2018 and is the home of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles in northwest Missouri. (The sisters are well-known for their vestment making.)
Designed by William Heyer Architect of Columbus, Ohio and constructed by Straub …
New Green Gothic Revival Chasuble from AltarWorthy
Today I wanted to share another chasuble coming out of AltarWorthy , a company based out of the United States. This particular chasuble is a gothic revival cut of course, utilizing a fairly standard orphrey pattern.
What struck me about this piece, however, was the green te…
Restoring Halloween to the Domestic Church
Halloween always seems to bring out strong and often starkly opposing positions among my fellow traditional Catholics. Some avoid the holiday like the plague, while others attempt to restore some Christian meaning to it. Everyone, however, is agreed that its demonic excesse…
Customs of Martinmas
Continuing on with our consideration of some of the customs associated with this time of the liturgical year, one which is coming upon us soon is the feast of St. Martin of Tours, the fourth century Roman soldier who was to become a bishop, celebrated on November 11th. His…
Advent Customs: St. Barbara's Branches (Barbarazweige)
Continuing on with our preparations for Advent, let us now turn to an Advent custom which is particularly rooted within the Germanic tradition -- where so many Advent and Christmas traditions seem to originate -- Barbarazweige or St. Barbara's branches. While Germanic i…
Preparing for Advent: The Custom of the Advent Wreath
With November fast approaching, Advent will soon be upon us. While we are not there quite yet of course, if people and families are to be prepared or it, they need time to think about how they might observe it. In view of that, I wanted to begin to make a few suggestions …
Modern Polish Chasuble (Mid-Twentieth Century)
This fascinating "modern" chasuble caught my eye on display in one of the many interesting museum rooms at the Jasna Góra Monastery at the Our Lady of Częstochowa Shrine in Poland. It is definitely worth sharing on account of its great beauty and historic import -…
Papal Humiliations III: The Cock of the Lateran
In previous posts on the flax burning and sedia stercoraria , we have seen how the ancient ceremony of papal coronation evinced a continual concern with reminding the new pontiff, at the very moment of his elevation to the loftiest office in Christendom, that he remained a m…
Before and After: St. Stanislaus Oratory, Milwaukee
Today I wished to present a before and after that is slightly different. Instead of our usual view of an entire church or sanctuary going from something more modern to traditional, we are today going to mainly consider the altar -- though I will provide some broader views …
1600: An Ambrosian Gift to the Holy Land
Some of you may have seen this posting by Zachary Thomas on the LAJ Facebook page coming from the holdings of the Terra Sancta Museum . but I wanted to share them here on the site proper as well. (These are also being cross-posted at the same time over on NLM incidentally s…
Meditations on the Judica Me (Psalm 42) of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite
Pictured below is photo I took on a recent Autumn pilgrimage through the south of France. We had Mass on the French Riviera in Nice at Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur (aka the Église du Gesù) , under the care of the priests of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. Thr…
