Brandon P. Otto

About Brandon P. Otto

Brandon P. Otto is a member of the St. Louis Byzantine Catholic Mission in St. Louis, MO. He obtained a Master's Degree in Theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville. He is currently an independent scholar, with particular interest in the Fathers and liturgies of the Eastern Churches, as well as Christian poetry.

Magdalene in the Desert

By Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle Translated by Brandon P. Otto Note It is an ancient legend in France that, after the Resurrection, the “Three Maries” — Mary Magdalene, Mary Jacob (the mother of James and John), and Mary Salome — trave … [Read more...]

Expanding the Narratives of Scripture

For all the depth hidden in Scripture, it can often appear barebones to the storyteller; frequently only the simplest actions, the most basic order of events, is described. One can hunger for more detail, for more color, for more character. … [Read more...]

Confirmation in the Church Fathers

It has been said — though I know not by whom — that Confirmation is “a sacrament in search of a theology.” Confirmation preparation programs often emphasize the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and state that Confirmation, in some way, complet … [Read more...]

Lessons from a Patristic Homily

In learning how to craft homilies, it is worth studying past master homilists; from these masters, we can learn masterful techniques. Reading those who wrote in one’s own native tongue is, of course, a necessary thing: Newman would probably … [Read more...]

The Plain Duty of Fasting

Is not the neglect of this plain duty (I mean fasting, ranked by our Lord with almsgiving and prayer) one general occasion of deadness among Christians? Can anyone willingly neglect it and be guiltless?[1. John Wesley, The Journal of John … [Read more...]

The Dialectic of Mutual Glorification

In the past century or so, dialectic has become a tool for analyzing many areas of life and thought: we might consider the dialectic between “being-for-itself” (l’être-pour-soi), and “being-for-others” (l’être-pour-autrui) in the philosophy … [Read more...]

Eastern Christian Liturgy in a Western Homily

St. John Paul II famously proclaimed that “The Church must breathe with two lungs”—speaking of the Western Church and the Eastern Church. Such breathing is meant to permeate all of the Church’s life and not just, say, the lives of histori … [Read more...]

The Awe-Inspiring Mysteries: The Importance of Mystagogy

(This title is inspired by Edward Yarnold’s The Awe-Inspiring Rites of Initiation: Baptismal Homilies of the Fourth Century (Slough, Great Britain: St. Paul Publications, 1971), the title of which is based on the common language of “awe” use … [Read more...]