Graced Imagination: Recovering True Creativity in the Age of Authenticity

Graced Imagination: Recovering True Creativity in the Age of Authenticity

Modern art and architecture reject traditional harmony and form, intentionally breaking with the past and seemingly deliberately disregarding beauty. This revolution in art is a sign of an even more profound revolution in the understanding of the human person and the desire to change Western civilization radically.

Book Recommendation: The Spiritual History of English, by Andrew Thornton-Norris

Book Recommendation: The Spiritual History of English, by Andrew Thornton-Norris

Thornton Norris shows us that even if the poet or novelist is sincerely Catholic and trying to express truths that are consistent with the Faith, he is at a great disadvantage if he is seeking to express those truths with vocabulary and poetic forms that reflect a post-Enlightenment culture.  

Is Beauty Worth It? Doesn't it Cost Too Much?

Is Beauty Worth It? Doesn't it Cost Too Much?

No! Beauty Transforms Us Spritually, Invokes the Principle of Superabundance that Generates Wealth for All, and Inspires Us to Love the Poor.

As St Francis of Assisi understood, beauty is a common-good, beneficial spiritually, to all who encounter it, rich and poor alike. But second, the poor will benefit materially as well. Faith inspires charity and so it will inspire the rich to give to the poor directly.

Become an Apprentice at a Unique Catholic Art School: the Stabat Mater Studio

Become an Apprentice at a Unique Catholic Art School: the Stabat Mater Studio

The new Stabat Mater Studio in Tyler, Texas, is dedicated to training the next generation of liturgical artists in an authentically Catholic environment and offers the five core disciplines of any traditional Catholic artistic training.

Two Events in Princeton Within a Week: Concert of New Choral Music and a Conversation With Sir James MacMillan, June 15, 2024

Two Events in Princeton Within a Week: Concert of New Choral Music and a Conversation With Sir James MacMillan,  June 15, 2024

Behold, I Make All Things New: A Discussion on Sacred Music and Popular Culture and a Concert of New Sacred Music by Living Composers,

Rolling Back the Tide of Post Vatican II Iconoclasm: the Newly Revealed Wall Painting at the Oxford Oratory

Rolling Back the Tide of Post Vatican II Iconoclasm: the Newly Revealed Wall Painting at the Oxford Oratory

Whitewashing over wall paintings has always been a common measure taken by those who wish to remove images from churches. Applying a coat of paint is cheaper and quicker than replastering the surface! Islamic iconoclasts at Hagia Sophia, Protestant Reformers in 16th-century England, and, it seems, Catholic iconoclasts of the 1970s all resorted to this method of obliterating sacred art to hide the beauty of the Church.  

Study Choral Conducting with Master Teachers In Princeton, NJ, June 16-21, 2024

Study Choral Conducting with Master Teachers In Princeton, NJ, June 16-21, 2024

This is organised by Peter Carter's Catholic Sacred Music Project in partnership with, among others, the Scala Foundation (for whom I serve as Artist-in-Residence. The program will be held June 16-21, 2024, in Princeton, NJ. For more information, go to sacredmusicproject.org.

The Traditional Formation of the Artist is Mystagogical Catechesis and a Formation for the New Evangelisation

The Traditional Formation of the Artist is Mystagogical Catechesis and a Formation for the New Evangelisation

The fruits of a traditional artistic training in the formation of the person are such, I would say, that it would be useful too (with minimal adaption) for anybody, regardless of his personal vocation. And so would be of interest not just to artists, but to all people; (and especially those who are interested in the formation of children). It is a training in the via pulchritudinis and is the formation of the New Evangelisation, I suggest.

Study small ensemble singing with Gabriel Crouch, a former member of the King’s Singers

Study small ensemble singing with Gabriel Crouch, a former member of the King’s Singers

Do you want to study choral singing with Gabriel Crouch, Sir James MacMillan and Paul Jernberg? Go to sacredmusicproject.org and sign up. Catholic Sacred Music Project Choral Institute, June 9-15, Princeton, NJ

Composer's Workshop with Sir James MacMillan, Princeton, June 2024

Composer's Workshop with Sir James MacMillan, Princeton, June 2024

Do you want to learn how to compose beautiful sacred music with Sir James MacMillan. Sign up for this workshop at sacredmusicproject.org run by the Catholic Sacred Music Project partnering with the Scala Foundation

Catholic Education Foundation Seminar 2024: The Role of the Priest in Today’s Catholic School

Catholic Education Foundation Seminar 2024: The Role of the Priest in Today’s Catholic School

This event is inspiring, informative and uplifiting!   The Catholic Education Foundation – convinced by history and the present reality – believes that the viability of our Catholic schools is largely dependent on the support and involvement of our priests.

Sarum Use Vespers and Liturgical Art - Heaven on Earth

Sarum Use Vespers and Liturgical Art - Heaven on Earth

The Scala Foundation's mission is to transform American and, hence, Western culture through beauty in education and worship so that we are formed by grace to change society, one personal relationship at a time. To the degree that each of us contributes to this ideal, we will help create a culture of beauty that speaks of the Christian Faith and Western values. 

History, Salvation History and the Christian Story in Art

History, Salvation History and the Christian Story in Art

The image of Our Lady portrays her uniqueness in being the God Bearer, (‘Theotokos’ in Greek). On the other hand the unburning fire in Mary is the fire of Pentecost by which the Church was established and which is the divine life which is the gift of the Holy Spirit to all who are baptized into the Church.


Commissioning the Construction of a Portable Altar Appropriate for the TLM, by Fr. Andrew Marlborough

Commissioning the Construction of a Portable Altar Appropriate for the TLM, by Fr. Andrew Marlborough

What I really needed was a transportable altar that was still a traditional size but which could fold up to be transported in the back of a car. And this type of altar seemed not to be available. So, I decided to commission a prototype from a cabinet-maker.

A Vision for You Daily Journal: THE DAILY ROUTINE

A Vision for You Daily Journal: THE DAILY ROUTINE

The Vision for You is a process by which we discovered our true calling in life—what we call our ‘personal vocation’; and through which we discovered the Great Fact—that we have a choice in life: WE CAN CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY OR TO BE MISERABLE.

Is Artificial Intelligence (AI) Bad for Sacred Art?

Is Artificial Intelligence (AI) Bad for Sacred Art?

Art is as good as it looks. If there is more and better art by this measure as a result of AI then that is a good thing and I would be happy to see it. It seems similar to me to the situation that arose when photography was invented, or when musicians could start to use computers to create music. Perhaps in this new situation, we will give the person who asks Chat GBT the right questions, or even the programmer who created it the right questions the credit for being the artist!

Upgrade to SingtheOffice.com - Now Compliant with the Rubrics of the Daily Office of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham

 Upgrade to SingtheOffice.com - Now Compliant with the Rubrics of the Daily Office of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham

SingtheOffice.com has been upgraded so as to provide daily Offices from the English prayerbook tradition, fully pointed for Gregorian chant, and compliant with the rubrics of Divine Worship: Daily Office (Commonwealth Edition) of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.