We said earlier that there are three levels of liturgical participation: what happens, what gets accomplished, and why we do what we do. These three levels overlap, and everyone present is participating at all three levels all the time. But … Read More
In a previous post, we talked about how our liturgical ministry changes the world. We change the world by changing hearts. We change hearts by celebrating liturgy so authentically that it reveals the very nature of God and God’s love … Read More
Once upon a time, I knew a young priest who didn’t really like presiding at liturgy. He did a good job when he did preside, and he preached pretty well. But what he really wanted to do, what he said … Read More
I was almost seven years old the first time I experienced Mass celebrated in English. My memory is fuzzy, but I looked up the date—First Sunday of Advent, 1964. In a previous post, we looked at some of the circumstances … Read More
My grandmother’s kitchen was the kind of place where the family would gather when we went to visit. The kitchen was too small for all of us, but it was where Grandma spent most of her time. So if you … Read More
When a young nurse named Sheila was asked about her religion, she said: I believe in God. I’m not a religious fanatic. I can’t remember the last time I went to church. My faith has carried me a long way. … Read More
To discover why we sing at Mass, we have to understand “sacrament.” We tend to think of sacraments as objects that we get. There are seven of them, and we get them at important moments in our lives. “Sacrament” has … Read More
On September 30, 2019, Pope Francis declared in an apostolic letter that “the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the Word of God” (Aperuit Illis, 3). This letter and the … Read More
Miriam collapsed on the seashore, her 86-year-old legs burning with pain and covered with mud. After seven days of evasive maneuvers on limited rations, she and her people had been trapped between the vast sea in front of them and … Read More
Mrs. Johnson sat at the Baldwin upright and played three notes in a row that sounded like the NBC chimes. Knees locked, hands clenched at my sides, I tried to match the sounds with my quavering voice. “Again,” she said. … Read More