The amazing conversion of St. Thomas Beckett gives us hope as we see how sinners convert and become faithful sons of God.

Learn the story of "O Little Town of Bethlehem."

Fr. Scott Haynes A Meditation on Light, Lament, and Christmas Blood The Coventry Candle burns in silence, but it stands beside one of the most sorrowful texts ever sung at Christmastime: Coventry Carol. To understand the candle fully, we must listen to the carol’s words, for they are not sung to  the Child, but for  the children who never lived to see Him grow. The carol speaks in the voice of mothers. “Lully, lullay, thou little tiny child…” It sounds at first like a lullaby

Fr. Scott Haynes   There is a moment in prayer when words fall away and only breath remains. Not silence exactly, but something simpler and more intimate: the steady rhythm of being alive before God. Fum, Fum, Fum  belongs to that moment. The refrain does not describe the Nativity. It does not interpret it. It breathes it. Each syllable is shaped by the mouth and released into the air, as breath is. This is fitting, for Christmas is the feast of divine breath made visible. T

Fr. Scott Haynes Padre Pio was once being examined by a doctor who noticed that the friar was quietly praying. Curious, the doctor asked him for whom he was offering his prayers. Padre Pio replied that he was praying for the holy death of his grandfather. The doctor was surprised and said, “I knew your grandfather. He died at least twenty years ago.” Padre Pio answered calmly, “Yes. But God knew twenty years ago that I would be here at this moment praying for my grandfather.

Fr. Scott Haynes Meditation for the Sunday within the Octave of Christmas “When a profound stillness compassed everything, and the night in its swift course was half spent, Your all-powerful Word, O Lord, bounded from heaven’s royal throne.” (Introit, Sunday within the Octave of Christmas) Holy Church places these words upon our lips during the sacred hush of the Christmas octave, inviting us to contemplate not noise, but silence; not haste, but divine initiative; not human e

Learn about the types of martyrs kept in the Church's calendar during the Christmas octave.

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come.” The words burst forth like a trumpet blast. They do not whisper. They do not hesitate. They announce. This is not a private joy, tucked quietly into the corner of a single heart.

Fr. Scott Haynes A Carol with an Unlikely Beginning The hymn we know as O Holy Night was originally written in French as Cantique de Noël  in 1847. Its lyricist, Placide Cappeau, was a wine merchant and poet, not a cleric. Though baptized Catholic, Cappeau was politically radical and religiously unconventional. When his parish priest in Roquemaure asked him to write a poem for the newly renovated church organ, Cappeau accepted the task more as an artistic commission than an a

We remember the slaughter of the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem annually on December 28th.

Fr. Scott Haynes January 6-14 To prepare for the Feast of Our Lady of Prompt Succor (January 15), we pray the Our Lady of Prompt Succor Novena from January 6-14. You're invited to submit your prayer requests to be remembered in the nine Masses of the novena and to offer the novena prayers. Participate Submit Your Prayer Requests Make a Donation Novena Prayer Our Lady of Prompt Succor, thou art after Jesus our only hope. O Most Holy Virgin, whose merits have raised thee high a

One of Healey Willan's most treasured carol arrangements.

Fr. Scott Haynes When the first clear notes of harp and treble voices rise in Ceremony of Carols , something ancient awakens. This is not Christmas music meant merely to charm or decorate a season. It is music that processes , prays , ponders , and finally kneels . Britten’s work feels less like a concert piece and more like a liturgical act offered in sound. Its Remarkable Birth Ceremony of Carols  was composed in 1942, during one of the darkest moments of the twentieth cent

Wine is blessed in honor of St. John to recall how he survived attempted wine poisoning.

Learn the interesting story of this popular carol sung across the world.

Among the "O" Antiphons, one of the most beautiful is "O Root of Jesse". Healey Willan's setting is evocative and mysterious.

The 4th Sunday of Advent begins with the Introit from the book of the Prophet Isaiah: Rorate Caeli. Learn here the meaning and history.

Enjoy this recording by Harpa Dei of the O Antiphons of Advent.

Learn the interesting history of Silent Night.