Dayton Vespers

Our hymn for January 1 Vespers will be "Of the Father's Love Begotten," which has been found in most Christian hymnals for centuries.  The hymn was originally written by Aurelius Prudentius Clemens, who was a Roman Christian poet.  Prudentius was…

One of the most well-known hymns of all time is "Conditor alme siderum."  We know it in English as "Creator of the Stars at Night."  The origins of the hymn stretch back to the Seventh Century (600s).  It is sung…

St. Anthony Parish has started Vespers on Tuesday evenings!  The parish has a group of about twenty people who get together weekly for Evening Prayer.  The group uses the widely-acclaimed and easy-to-use Word on Fire Liturgy of the Hours booklets…

All Souls Day has traditionally been a day of prayer and remembrance for departed friends and loved ones.  It was instituted on its November 2 date in the 1000s at the famous Abbey of Cluny in France, and its dependent…

This month, we'll be celebrating the Memorial for the Guardian Angels.  We'll be praying at Holy Angels Church with the beautiful murals behind the altar.  Our reading talks about the incense brought to the altar by angels:

"An angel came…

Saint Clare was a forward thinker.  She was one of the first followers of Saint Francis and became his constant companion in the 1200s in Italy.  She founded an order of nuns, dedicated to living in poverty, away from the…

Praying Vespers immerses a person in the Church's traditions.  There is a deep purposefulness in almost everything.  One of the traditions from the earliest of times comes from the Egyptian Desert Fathers.  St. John Cassian recounts the advice given to…

Saint Kateri

On July 14, we will be praying Vespers at Queen of Martyrs church.  July 14 is the Memorial of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American woman of North America to be canonized.  She was a Mohawk and…

We will be visiting St. Paul the Apostle Orthodox Church on June 15 for Vespers.  We will not be able to accurately describe everything that will happen because we are not knowledgeable enough about Orthodoxy.  Nonetheless, here are some things…

For Vespers on May 19, we'll be singing a hymn first written in the Ninth Century, although some have claimed that it was written as early as the Sixth Century.  Ave Maris Stella is one of the most famous chanted…