"...the O Antiphons or the Great O Antiphons, that have been in use in the Church, certainly since the seventh/eight century, and possibly as early as the fifth century."
St Padre Pio said of the first of these two, that it should shake the roof of the building, as opposed to being mumbled, if said at all.
The Immaculate Conception is a Catholic dogma...In Irish this feast day is called, Féile Mhuire gan Smál – Feast of Mary without stain.
Did you know that the European Flag, 12 gold stars on a blue background, was designed by a Catholic who worked for the Council of Europe...The crown of 12 stars is deeply significant and represents many things.
The Overture sets the stage. The Main Event brings the curtain down, but the Encore… well that’s for another day.
The overture is designed to introduce the work and to give the audience a flavour of the music and the themes of work. In Mass we have an overture, we call it the Preface.
Although, in His incredible Mercy, GOD has forgiven our sins, and our entry to Heaven is assured, we remain ‘unclean’ so to speak, and have to be made perfect before we can come into the presence of GOD.
What’s in a bow? The ministerial (ordained) priest, conformed, by ordination, into the threefold dignity of Christ – Priest, Prophet and King – now acts in the place of Christ. When the priest stands at the Altar, when he utters those words: ‘This is My Body…This is My Blood…Do this in memory of ME.’ It […]
And yet, when we come to Mass we are expected to call him Father, to bow before him and to treat him with respect, reverence and honour...So why do we bow to the priest at Mass? Is he on some kind of ego-trip?
These different actions speak to our active and conscious participation as well as to the respect that we have for what is happening. We also listen, we watch, we speak, we touch, we taste we smell. In other words, we engage the whole person.