T he German philosopher, Josef Pieper, speaks of the essence and importance of festivals in his work, In Tune with the World: A Theory of Festivity -- a work in which he also addresses some of the problems with our approach to them (or lack thereof) in the modern age. He sp…
The Tradition and Benefits of Festal Church Decorations
T he German philosopher, Josef Pieper, speaks of the essence and importance of festivals in his work, In Tune with the World: A Theory of Festivity -- a work in which he also addresses some of the problems with our approach to them (or lack thereof) in the modern age. He sp…
A 'Via Media' for Lace as Liturgical Ornament
When it comes to the matter of albs or surplices with lace, typically one sees an all or nothing approach anymore. Either there are copious amounts of it or none of it. Either approach can be dignified, however, there is a via media . This middle way is represented by the u…
Noble Simplcity and Noble Beauty
It is well known that the principle of noble simplicity is often interpreted in a needlessly minimalist sort of sense. Noble simplicity, however, should be paired with another great principle: noble beauty . Can minimalism be beautiful? It certainly has the potential to be…
The Oriental Chasuble of Dom Pierre-Célestin Lou Tseng-Tsiang, OSB
Many years ago, I published an article on the subject of “Christian Art in the Far East” where I pointed toward an issue of Liturgical Arts Quarterly from 1935.
One of the pieces that was featured in this article was a Gothic Revival chasuble that employed Chinese themed …
An English Advent Cope by Davis D'Ambly
O ne of my favourite contemporary vestment makers and designers is Davis D'Ambly . I have followed his work for many years now and Davis has always impressed me with both the quality of his craftsmanship and also his estimable design skills. I think it no exaggeration to …
Liturgical Book Arts: A Review of a Travel Edition of the 1962 Missale Romanum
D om Hugh Somerville-Knapman, a Benedictine monk at Douai Abbey in the UK, has done up a review of a travel edition of the 1962 Missale Romanum published by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP). Here are a couple of his photos of it:
Not inappropriate to a travel edit…
