Letter from the Publisher

It is with a heavy heart that I introduce this issue of The Angelus magazine. As you may already know, Fr. Dominique Bourmaud, managing editor of this publication, passed away on September 4, 2021 following serious medical complications brought on by COVID-19. 

Candles, Lights and a Recipe for Living Liturgically

We all hear “live liturgically” from the pulpit time to time, and we also see it in our spiritual reading. But what does that mean? 

Remembering Fr Bourmaud

I met Fr. Bourmaud when I was assigned to St. Vincent de Paul Church in August of 2014...

St Michael, Duper of Devils

He is the idol of every Catholic lad—that muscle-clad crusader girted in God’s mithril, St. More-Manly-Than-Man Michael. As skull-cracker of demons, he hurled Satan into Hell; as Heaven’s herald, he forbade Abraham to sacrifice Isaac; as arbiter of God’s wrath, he riddled Egypt with plagues; as guardian of the chosen people, he piloted the Israelites to the Promised Land; as captain of the Heavenly Hosts, he will slay the Antichrist at the End Times.

A Miniature Life of St Nicholas

This image, which comes from a late 14th-century manuscript which is a French translation of a book called The Golden Legend, depicts another story from St. Nicholas' life in which he raised three young men from the dead who had been killed by a butcher several years earlier. 

The Day the Music Died

Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531), the leader of the Protestant Reformation in Zurich, faithfully echoed his German predecessor, Martin Luther (1483-1546), in his expression of utter contempt for the Sacrifice of the Mass and the liturgy that solemnly—and joyfully—emphasized its reality. 

St. Sergey of Radonezh

Searching for a lost foal, a Russian schoolboy espied an elder standing motionless under an oak. The boy approached as the elder wept in prayer. Making obeisance, the young boy asked for enlightenment: his brothers and schoolmates harassed him since he was slow to learn, and could neither read nor write. The monk blessed him. He took bread out of his satchel with three fingers, and gave it to the boy. With this, he said “Take this in thy mouth, child, and eat; this is given thee as a sign of God’s grace and for the understanding of Holy Scriptures."

How Much Do You Pray at Mass?

How much do you pray at Mass? It’s an odd question. If you’re like me, your first answer is: “Well, the whole time! That’s the point, isn’t it?” Then your conscience starts to gnaw at you. You remember how much time you spend thinking about what you’re going to have for breakfast, or how sweet that baby is, or how well Father Jones chants, or how badly Father Smith chants, or how that man should iron his trousers….

Then, every five minutes or so, we might snap back to attention.

Book Review: Theology of Home—Finding the Eternal in the Everyday

Carrie Gress and Noelle Mering, in this well-intentioned work, attempt to weave a synthesis of Catholic home life, homemaking, and Catholic Culture. Unfortunately, the authors fall short of the task, relying too much on superficial stories and images which fail to convey what it means to be Catholic in a three-dimensional sense. 

Book Review: Around the Year with the Von Trapp Family

It seems that every part of Maria’s life helped her to see the necessity of centering the all-important family life around the liturgical calendar of Holy Mother Church. The greatest thing this book does is to bring out the joy of living fully in the arms of the Church. Maria shows us how to celebrate life with God, within the context of family, interweaving each liturgical season with our daily activities. 

A High Priest Forever

Doubtless, our first father was intended to be high priest of creation, just as he was to be its king. Perhaps he retained both offices even after the Fall. Yet Scripture nowhere speaks of Adam as offering sacrifice. He was to prefigure mankind in need of redemption: it would have been confusing if the Bible had presented him also as a prefigurement of the Redeemer. 

The Liturgy—Jesus Christ Communicated

We have examined the professions of faith of the Church, the attitude of the Church’s enemies towards our Lord and the manifestations of His divinity. Now let’s look at the place that our Lord holds in the liturgy and in the life of the Church.

Meditations on St John's Gospel-Chapter Eight

Our Lord’s verbal confrontation with the Jews of Jerusalem, begun in Ch. 7, continues, and, we might say, becomes more acrimonious. While our Savior has come not to judge but indeed to save (3:17; 12:47), there are those who are “already judged” (3:18) because refusing to believe and not coming to the light (3:18-20) that is Christ (8:12; 12:46). 

Questions & Answers

Is there historical evidence that the early Christians prayed to Our Lady? Is there historical evidence that the early Christians rendered cult to the saints and venerated their relics?

The Last Word

One day a nine-year-old boy and his ten-year-old sister were reading the Bible. They were Protestants, you see, and that is what good Protestants do. Then they had an idea: they got some verses of the first chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke, and they put them together.