Way back before the pandemic, when we could still gather for liturgy, I was visiting a parish I had never been to before. The liturgy itself was dull and uninspired. The church was only half full, even though there were … Read More
The other day, someone asked me, “How do they know that the Bible is the most-read book in history?” “Who’s ‘they?’” I asked. “Everyone. I read it in a magazine article just the other day.” “What magazine?” I asked. It … Read More
We tend to forget that there is no one single description of the Last Supper. St. Paul is the first of the New Testament writers to describe what happened, and he wasn’t even there. St. John is the last to … Read More
One of the tragedies of the COVID-19 pandemic is that it prevented us from singing the liturgy. When we were all sheltering in place and only a cantor and a keyboard player were performing for streamed Masses, there was a … Read More
To form a singing parish, parishes need to plan all year long for singing best and most at the highest celebration of the year. That means singing all year as rehearsal for the Triduum. By the time we get to … Read More
I remember a time when there was no Triduum. There was Lent, which started on Ash Wednesday and went all the way through Holy Saturday. And then there was Easter Sunday, when I once again got to eat chocolate and … Read More
The time to begin planning Triduum is right after Triduum. That’s right — after. Begin with an evaluation of the Triduum just celebrated. Ideally, you would evaluate the entire Triduum, but parishes new to year-long Triduum planning may only have … Read More
For communities that want to involve the whole community in worship, the guiding principle has to be that all liturgy is centered on the Triduum. The Triduum is the climactic three-days of the liturgical year that begins with the Mass … Read More
Liturgy flows. It can flow like a stream on a summer day, or it can flow like molasses that has just been pulled from the refrigerator. How well or badly liturgy flows depends upon the skills of the pastoral leaders … Read More
What will happen when we are finally able to gather again for public liturgy? Will people return with such great anticipation and excitement that they will participate in the liturgy at deeper levels than ever before? Or will it be … Read More