MSI Press Blog

  The Glory Be (“Glory to the Father…”) is one of the oldest Christian doxologies, dating to the 2nd–3rd century; it appears constantly in Morning Prayer because it “seals” every psalm with a Trinitarian lens; and the sign of the cross is used with it because it is the most compact, bodily confession of the Trinity. 1. Where the Glory Be came from The prayer is ancient—older than the Nicene Creed, older than most formal liturgical texts, and probably rooted in the earliest Christian house‑church worship. Its origins The earliest form appears in the Apostolic Constitutions (late 200s). It was used as a doxology—a short burst of praise—whenever Scripture was proclaimed. The original form was simply: “Glory to the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit.” By the 4th century, during the Arian controversies, Christians expanded it to emphasize the eternity of the Son and Spirit: “…as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.” This was a theological line in the sand: Chr...

  The Dark Night of the Senses is the purification of how we experience God. The Dark Night of the Soul is the purification of how we relate to God at the deepest level of our being. They are related, but not interchangeable. One is the doorway; the other is the interior passage. 🌑 The Dark Night of the Senses This is the first night in St. John of the Cross’s map of spiritual transformation. It happens when: Prayer becomes dry, flat, or strangely unsatisfying Old spiritual consolations no longer “work” The senses — imagination, emotions, spiritual sweetness — stop cooperating You can’t go back to your old way of praying, but you can’t go forward either This night is not punishment. It is weaning . God withdraws the “milk” of spiritual feelings so the soul can grow beyond needing emotional feedback to stay faithful. The person is being moved from sense-based spirituality to faith-based spirituality . It is uncomfortable, but it is not annihilating. It is pruning, not uprooti...

  Sula, parish cat, venerates the cross on Good Friday Good Friday is the most solemn day of the Christian year — the day the Church stands at the foot of the Cross. Catholics do not “celebrate” Good Friday; they  commemorate  it with silence, fasting, and a liturgy unlike any other. It is the only day of the year when the Church does not celebrate Mass, underscoring the starkness of Christ’s death. Good Friday is part of the Triduum, the three‑day passage from the Last Supper to the Resurrection. If Holy Thursday is intimacy and command, Good Friday is exposure and surrender — the moment when love refuses to turn back. The Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion The central act of Good Friday is the  Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion , which has three movements: the Liturgy of the Word, the Veneration of the Cross, and Holy Communion. 1. The Entrance in Silence The liturgy begins without music or greeting. The priest enters in silence and  prostrates himself  — the only...