I would like to offer the following reflections and practices that have helped me better participate at Mass. My hope is that reflections might help someone else enter more deeply into the mystery and beauty of the Eucharist. This column will have served its purpose if the reader realizes by its end how barely we […]
One day, a Protestant friend and I were discussing something pertaining to Christianity when my friend made a comment akin to “Jesus said it, and I believe it.” I replied that, in that case, I was glad he had come around to the belief that unless Christ’s followers ate His body and drank His blood, they […]
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops estimates that some 30,000 people came into the Church at the Easter Vigil Masses this year. That is wonderful news for the Church and for those who have joined the Church! We welcome everyone to Holy Mother Church and pray for the greatest blessings upon them. As Catholics […]
If you enjoy controversial topics, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, I will take on one of the most contentious, emotional and persistent topics in the Catholic blogosphere: Communion in the Hand. Most people engaging in the debate are expressing emotion and opinion. Do we really know the Church’s position on receiving […]
Humility is considered by St Augustine to be the foundation of all other virtues – the trait that lays the groundwork on our journey toward holiness. During his own conversion, “he came to see clearly that only a person with humility can follow Christ.” We can often spot when humility is present in someone’s life but […]
“This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and blood. The Spirit is the one that testifies, and the Spirit is truth. So there are three that testify, the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and the three are of one accord.” 1 John […]
They are not always very obvious but they are not invisible either. Such is the liturgical role of the Sacristan within a parish. Many parishes have a Sacristan, but some do not. But even in those parishes that have one, the Sacristan’s duties may seem mysterious to some observers. The General Instructions of the Roman […]
The Great Commission, as it has come to be known, was given to the disciples of Jesus just before His Ascension into Heaven. These parting instructions to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19) were addressed to His immediate listeners as well as “those who will believe in me through their word” […]
What About Your Children? When we became Catholic, some of our friends were concerned for the sake of our children. Catholics didn’t have children’s programs – how were we going to raise our children in the Christian faith? My husband and I chuckle at those ideas now, as we did then when we informed them […]
The woman walked into the sign shop. She needed to order a banner for her daughter’s swim team and knew the owners of this shop well. No one was at the counter when she arrived. It was common for them to be in the back, working. She went to ring the bell and saw a […]
Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. […]
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (John: 6:33) Do you have a cookbook by you or a family member, one made by collecting favorite recipes? I bet […]
Historically, theological controversy has led to the development of doctrine. This is quite apparent in the record of the ecumenical councils of the Catholic Church, but it also occurs with less celebrated questions and in modern times. Both St. Augustine and St. Anselm are quoted for their individual phrasing that belief in revelation leads to […]
Last year, Robert Cardinal Sarah urged pastors the world over to “return as soon as possible to a common orientation, of priests and the faithful turned together in the same direction—Eastwards or at least towards the apse—to the Lord who comes, in those parts of the liturgical rites when we are addressing God.” To worship […]
Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 I had a dream last night that I was on my patio planting some flowers. Everything seemed fine until I looked up and saw something coming towards me in the distance. I […]
Faithful Catholics order their lives around the sacraments of the church. They are regular in attending Mass, often more than once a week, and they participate in the sacrament of reconciliation regularly. The grace they receive through these gifts to the Church becomes one of the most important parts of their daily and weekly schedule. […]
Have you ever encountered someone who feels the Catholic Church is all about guilt? They ask: “Why do I have to go to Mass every Sunday? Why can’t I the receive the Eucharist if I missed Mass? Why do I have to go to confession?” Blaming the Church is an excuse people use to diminish […]
Recently, I attending a conference called “The Symposium on Advancing the New Evangelization”, run by my alma mater, Benedictine College. It was the sixth time that it was run and my third time attending, the first time as a non-student. Most likely, if you are reading from a site such as this, you have heard […]
Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. John 19:27 I have been reading Saint John Paul the Great’s encyclical, Ecclesia De Eucharistia, and it is a thing of beauty. I wanted to reflect on some of what is said as I pondered […]
“Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” These are the traditional words with which the priest traces the ashes on the foreheads of the faithful on Ash Wednesday. But the Roman Missal gives the priest an option: he can say instead, “Repent and believe in the gospel.” There are also two […]
O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you. My flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where no water is. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. (Psalm 63:1-2) As this passage from Psalm 63 tells us, the ancient Israelites yearned […]
As a Catholic, I am often challenged about our use and reverence for the crucifix. The most common charge has been that the crucifix focuses on Christ’s death and fails to celebrate the Resurrection. But as Catholics we recognize these two events are necessarily intertwined. Each time we reflect on the image of Christ […]
“Give us this day our daily bread” … what does that mean? On the surface, it’s a simple acknowledgment that the things we need to live all have their source in God, as well as a request that our needs for the day be provided. However, hiding under that simple word “daily” is many centuries’ […]
One of my favorite movies, if not my favorite of all time, is Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line. I watched this movie in my senior year of college, with my beautiful wife (we had been married for about three months at that point) and my fellow classmates, for a class on Terrence Malick’s films. […]
Ask Tony: Did the CCC 2267 Rescript Change Catholic Doctrine?
Many people argue that the rescript issued on August 2, which changed Paragraph 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to call the death penalty “inadmissible,” was a change of doctrine. In fact, some have gone so far as to treat it as a heresy on a level with denying the divinity of Christ. […]
I’m angry. I’m disgusted. And I don’t like being played for a sucker. The Requirements I Must Meet As a Catholic school teacher, I’ve been required to take several “safe touching” classes. I’ve had to sign document after document in which I agree to abide by Church teaching. I am prohibited from being in a […]
Wisdom from an Existential Jewish Mystic
I don’t think Mr. Hogg would have been employed in the first place had his predecessor not suddenly dropped dead on his way to school. Mr. Hogg was what was called in those days a ‘hippy’ and would not, in the normal way of things have been accepted as a suitable candidate to teach English […]
Mt. Tabor Moments- It Is Good That We Are Here!
After roughly three years of public ministry, Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a mountain and revealed His glory to them. They had spent day after day with Jesus as He walked from town to town, preaching the Gospel and calling sinners to repent. He told them many stories, spoke numerous parables, and worked […]
Dr. Taylor Marshall had a recent post on the state of the priesthood by the numbers. The “priest to Catholics” ratio (taken from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown) indicates that in 1950 there was one priest to every 652 Catholics in the United States. In 2016 that ratio had dropped […]
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