On this day in 1848, the Trappists took possession of that land that became Gethsemani Abbey. In 1847 two monks from the Abbey of Melleray in France—under the instruction of Abbot Dom Maxime—were looking for land in Kentucky to build a monastery on. The two were greeted by Benedict Joseph Flaget in Louisville, who took them to nearby Nelson County, Kentucky. Here they surveyed a group of ten or twelve log buildings and land known as Gethsemani that was owned... Read more
On this day in 1843, the Sisters of Mercy started their first American convent in Pittsburgh. Their energy in ministering to the sick and poor attracted many new members. By 1854, sisters had come from Ireland to settle in New York and San Francisco, California, and continued to spread throughout the country, establishing schools and hospitals. In 1929, 39 of the 60 independent motherhouses in the United States formed the Sisters of Mercy of the Union. This amalgamation united more... Read more
O Key of David, and Scepter of the House of Israel; Who openest, and no man shutteth; Who shuttest, and no man openeth: come and lead the captive from the prison-house, and him that sitteth in darkness and in the shadow of death.Roman Breviary, Great Antiphon at vespers on December 20th (ca. 7th cent.) Read more
THE ANGELIC CHORUSBy D.J. DonahoeAt midnight from the zenith burst a lightMore radiant and more beautiful than dawn,And the meek shepherds on the shadowy lawnGazed upward in mute wonder on the sight;The stars sank back in pallor, and the skiesTrembled responsive to rich harmonies. And lo! An angel spake, “Be not afraid!I bear glad tidings; for this happy mornA Saviour and a King to man is born; he sleepeth in a manger lowly laid.”Then rolled along the heavens the glad... Read more
This 1729 oil by Nicholas de Largilliere (1656-1746) shows a nun who became Mother Superior of an Augustinian order in Paris. Elizabeth Throckmorton was an English Catholic whose family left England rather than acknowledge its Protestant church. She entered an Augustinian house in Paris and served twice as Mother Superior before her death in 1760. Read more
O Root of Jesse, Thou standest as the Ensign of the people, before Whom kings shall not open their lips; to Whom the gentiles shall pray: come and deliver us, tarry now no more.Roman Breviary, Great Antiphon at Vespers on December 19th (ca. 7th cent.) Read more
Today marks the death of Henry F. Brownson, son of Orestes A. Brownson. He attended the University of Notre Dame and served in the Union Army during the Civil War, reaching the rank of Major. He was one of the leaders of the American Catholic Congress of Baltimore in 1889. He was also the author of a three-volume biography of his father and editor of his father’s works in twenty volumes. Read more
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