Dr. Holmes, Author at New Song

A Jesse Tree Catechism

JesseTree1 — Not the Jesse Tree we use at home!

Like a lot of families, we put up a “Jesse Tree” every Advent as a way of getting the kids focused on something about Christmas other than the P-word. Ours is a simple thing, a tree drawn on a cloth with some ornaments hand stitched by my wife’s mother years ago. When I began teaching Salvation History courses for college students, I brought the Jesse Tree in toward the end of the fall semester to tie a few things together. If you put up a Jesse Tree in your home, or if you’ve ever wondered what the whole thing is about, you might enjoy seeing how I approach it with my students. It’s the same thing I do at home with the kids:

Q. Does anybody know what this is?
A. It’s a Jesse Tree. Continue reading “A Jesse Tree Catechism”

St. Zephaniah the Prophet

December 3

The commemoration of Saint Zephaniah, the prophet, who in the days of Josiah the king of Judah announced the ruin of the impious on the day of the Lord’s wrath and strengthened the people of the poor and needy with the hope of salvation.

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May Holy Mary and all the saints intercede to the Lord for us, that we may merit to be helped and saved by him who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

V. Precious in the sight of the Lord

R. Is the death of his holy ones.

V. May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. And may the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in pace.

R. Amen

[To learn about praying this and other Martyrology entries, see this page.]

St. Habakkuk the Prophet

December 2

The commemoration of Saint Habakkuk, the prophet, who in the face of wickedness and violence announced the Lord’s judgment of men, but also his mercy, saying, “But the just one shall live by his faith.”

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May Holy Mary and all the saints intercede to the Lord for us, that we may merit to be helped and saved by him who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

V. Precious in the sight of the Lord

R. Is the death of his holy ones.

V. May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. And may the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in pace.

R. Amen

[To learn about praying this and other Martyrology entries, see this page.]

If you happen to be in Scotland….

This is the flyer for a concert coming up in Scotland which will include some compositions by my friend Peter Kwasniewsi. For one of those compositions, “David’s Town,” Peter wrote the music and then asked me to write the lyrics. My work is going to be sung in Scotland! For those who won’t be in Scotland that day, here is a recording by Matthew Curtis:

By the way, the liturgical seasons of Advent and Christmas emphasize three comings of Christ: his coming in the flesh long ago, his invisible coming in grace here and now when we celebrate the feast, and his future coming in glory. The three verses of “David’s Town” correspond to these three comings.

St. Nahum the Prophet

December 1

The commemoration of Saint Nahum, the prophet, who preached God as one who governs the course of history and judges the peoples in justice.

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May Holy Mary and all the saints intercede to the Lord for us, that we may merit to be helped and saved by him who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

V. Precious in the sight of the Lord

R. Is the death of his holy ones.

V. May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. And may the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in pace.

R. Amen

[To learn about praying this and other Martyrology entries, see this page.]

A Sequence for Advent

A few years ago, we bought a wooden advent calendar with little doors concealing magnetic figures that can be arranged on a nativity scene:

Last year during Advent I set myself a poetic challenge: I would hide a slip of paper behind the door with each figure, and on that paper would be a rhyming couplet that said something about the figure; all the couplets together would form a coherent poem to be recited on Christmas Eve when the last door had been opened. I had to think ahead about the best order for the figures, taking into account that the biggest ones could not fit behind the littlest doors. But once the order was set, I wrote the couplets day by day, scrambling each evening to prepare the morning’s rhyme. Some mornings I made excuses to delay the morning Advent Calendar ritual and buy extra time to write!

Once the first stanza was done, my friend Peter Kwasniewski composed a Gregorian chant setting for it, in the one-note-one-syllabus style of a liturgical “sequence” like the Victimae paschali. The “Advent sequence” was a success, and the melody haunting: you can read and decide for yourself here. If you are not familiar with Gregorian chant notation, you can listen to my rendition of it here:

Saint Andrew the Apostle

November 30

The feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle, who, born in Bethsaida, and being Simon Peter’s brother and with him a fisherman, and being the first of John the Baptist’s disciples to be called by the Lord Jesus alongside the Jordan River, followed him and also led his brother to him; after Pentecost he is said to have preached the Gospel in Achaia and to have been crucified in Patras. The Church in Constantinople most especially venerates him as its patron.

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May Holy Mary and all the saints intercede to the Lord for us, that we may merit to be helped and saved by him who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

V. Precious in the sight of the Lord

R. Is the death of his holy ones.

V. May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. And may the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in pace.

R. Amen

[To learn about praying this and other Martyrology entries, see this page.]

Gender in Catholic Theology

In recent months, many Catholic and other universities have hosted discussions on “gender expression” and “the gender binary.” These are not obscure institutions, but big name universities like Notre Dame, Villanova, and the University of San Diego. The assumption behind such discussions is that “gender” is a fluid thing, capable of many different forms and even allowing a person to shift from one form to another. Since the whole concept of “fluid gender” is new, even faithful Catholics may feel at a loss for a response. What does a Catholic believe about the importance of masculinity and femininity? How do we speak to a secular world that has lost its bearings on gender?

The Catholic Church bases her view of masculinity and femininity on Scripture, which places man and woman at the center of every stage of Salvation History. Let me take you on a brief tour of this story, beginning at the very beginning. After that I’ll look at why the culture around us makes it hard to understand Scripture’s teaching, and I’ll offer a few thoughts about speaking to a secular world. But first, a look at Salvation History. Continue reading “Gender in Catholic Theology”

Sts. Philemon and Apphia

November 22

The commemoration of Saint Philemon the Colossian, whose love for Christ Jesus caused blessed Paul the Apostle to rejoice and who is venerated together with his wife, saint Apphia.

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May Holy Mary and all the saints intercede to the Lord for us, that we may merit to be helped and saved by him who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

V. Precious in the sight of the Lord

R. Is the death of his holy ones.

V. May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. And may the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in pace.

R. Amen

[To learn about praying this and other Martyrology entries, see this page.]

St. Rufus

November 21

The commemoration of Saint Rufus, whom blessed Paul the Apostle, writing to the Romans, says was chosen by the Lord.

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May Holy Mary and all the saints intercede to the Lord for us, that we may merit to be helped and saved by him who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

V. Precious in the sight of the Lord

R. Is the death of his holy ones.

V. May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. And may the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in pace.

R. Amen

[To learn about praying this and other Martyrology entries, see this page.]