Cyber Monday Sale - 25% Off

Our Black Friday Sale was a success, so I've decided to extend the 25% off sale for Cyber Monday.

All day, Cyber Monday, November 30th, the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, use discount code SACREDRT for 25% off any Sacred Art Series item at Amazon.

Black Friday Sale - 25% Off - Today Only!

Use Discount Code SACREDRT for 25% off any Sacred Art Series item at Amazon.

Today only!

Sacred Art Series Giveaway

Leila Lawler's excellent Like Mother Like Daughter blog is hosting a Sacred Art Series giveaway. The winner will be selected next Thursday. Head on over and enter to win a copy of The Holy Gospels of St. Luke and St. John or a set of the Rosary Flip Books.

Leila has also reviewed the products. Here's a great line from Leila's review:

In addition, the Gospels offer something I think we’ve all looked for — not Bible stories but the actual Scriptures — but presented without the distraction of notes and numbers. Of course we all have our study Bibles handy. But for prayer and for the young person who is past Bible stories but still needs something simpler (yet still with a good translation and beautiful production), this edition can NOT be beat. Perfect for your teenage godson, perfect for your spouse.

Happy All Saints' Day!

Here's the beautiful Introit Gaudeamus in omnes Domino for today's Mass:

Translation: Let us all rejoice in the Lord , celebrating a festival day, in honor of all: at whose solemnity the Angels rejoice, and give praise to the Son of God. In the Lord, O ye just: praise becometh the upright. Glory...

And this excerpt from a sermon of St. Bernard comes from today's Office of Readings:

"Come, brothers, let us at length spur ourselves on. We must rise again with Christ, we must seek the world which is above and set our mind on the things of heaven. Let us long for those who are longing for us, hasten to those who are waiting for us, and ask those who look for our coming to intercede for us. We should not only want to be with the saints, we should also hope to possess their happiness. While we desire to be in their company, we must also earnestly seek to share in their glory. Do not imagine that there is anything harmful in such an ambition as this; there is no danger in setting our hearts on such glory."

And to spur us on, here's Fra Angelico's beautiful painting of the forerunners of Christ with the saints and martyrs.

Kyrie from Pope Francis's Mass at Madison Square Garden

Yesterday's Papal Mass at Madison Square Garden included some beautiful sacred music.

I'd like to draw your attention to the Kyrie, which starts at 25:20.



Traditionally, in the Catholic Mass, the Kyrie is sung in this form:

Kyrie eleison (Lord have mercy)
Kyrie eleison
Kyrie eleison
Christe eleison (Chris have mercy)
Christe eleison
Christe eleison
Kyrie eleison
Kyrie eleison
Kyrie eleison

The great Benedictine Dom Prosper Gueranger (1805 - 1875) explained that the three sets of three emphasize the Trinity: the first three are sung to God the Father, the second three to God the Son, and the third three to God the Holy Spirit.

In the Ordinary Form of the Mass (the Mass as revised following Vatican II), the Kyrie is usually done with three sets of two:

Kyrie eleison
Kyrie eleison
Christe eleison
Christe eleison
Kyrie eleison
Kyrie eleison

Typically the cantor sings the first of each series and then the congregation echoes the response.  In the Ordinary Form of the Mass, three sets of three is allowed, but it is seldom done.

So I was thrilled to see the Kyrie sung in the traditional form at the Papal Mass in New York City. And I especially liked how they did it. The first Kyrie was the most basic of chanted Kyrie's. This allowed the congregation to sing the response. And then the third of each set was sung a capella in a lovely polyphonic setting.

By doing it this way, the congregation was able to participate in the singing of the Ordinary, the Trinity was emphasized with the three sets of three, and the Mass was given added solemnity, befitting a Papal Mass, by incorporating sacred polyphony.

Well done!

October - Month of the Rosary

October is the month of the Rosary. Do you pray the family Rosary? If not, October is a great month to start, and we're almost there. So resolve today to begin this October.

If five decades is too much for your little ones, consider beginning with just one decade. Also, consider using images of the Rosary to help you meditate on the mysteries as you pray your Our Father's,  Hail Mary's, and Glory Be's. It was with this in mind that I created the Sacred Art Series Rosary Flip Book. Hopefully it will be as helpful for your family as it has been for mine.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!

Below: Madonna of the Rosary by Guido Reni

Feast of St. Matthew

Happy Feast of St. Matthew!

Matthew, of course, was a tax collector called by Christ to be one of his Apostles. Matthew is also one of the four Evangelists and is the patron of bankers and accountants.

Here is today's Gospel reading for Mass:

As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.”And he got up and followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples. The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” He heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

Here is a very well known Caravaggio entitled the calling of St. Matthew. If you're not already familiar with this series of videos produced by SmartHistory and the Khan Academy, they are well worth exploring through the Khan Academy. Here is the link to their Renaissance videos.




The above painting is located in San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome along with two other paintings by Caravaggio regarding St. Matthew: (1) The Inspiration of St. Matthew and (2) The Martyrdom of St. Matthew. Both are below.