The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time – January 25, 2026 There is one more ritual you might want to consider celebrating before Ash Wednesday, either today or next Sunday. That is the optional Rite of Sending Catechumens for Election. The … Read More
The Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time – January 25, 2026 A few weeks ago, we looked at celebrating the Rite of Reception during these weeks before Lent so baptized Christians becoming Catholic can be brought to the eucharistic table without … Read More
The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time – January 25, 2026 Today is a good day to celebrate the Rite for Entrance into the Catechumenate, but not because Lent is a few weeks away. Pope Francis designated the Third Sunday in … Read More
The Second Sunday in Ordinary Time – January 18, 2026 You might want to sit down when I tell you that Lent is only 31 days away! With only five Ordinary Time Sundays this year between Christmas and Lent, there … Read More
The Fourth Sunday in Advent – December 21, 2025 In dreams, time moves differently. On this last Sunday of Advent, we get a Christmas story, Matthew’s account of Jesus’s birth embedded as a flash-forward in Joseph’s dream. In our waking … Read More
The Third Sunday in Advent – December 14, 2025 Many on the front lines of parish leadership have been questioning, wondering, retiring, or just leaving ministry (maybe even the church) altogether. They’ve seen too much false hope and hypocrisy and … Read More
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception – December 8, 2025 As humans we have become ill with shame. Many of us have spent much energy, time, and money healing from childhood trauma born of shame. There’s so much pressure, especially … Read More
The Second Sunday in Advent – December 7, 2025 Isaiah’s radical “peaceable kingdom” that we proclaim today has been so romanticized in our religious art and imagination that its eschatological meaning gets lost. John the Baptist warned the Pharisees and … Read More
The First Sunday in Advent – November 30, 2025 The beginning of a new year is always a special occasion. Like birthdays or first days of school, we mark this First Sunday of Advent and the season it ushers in … Read More
Thanksgiving Day – November 27, 2025 Most of us never get personal handwritten letters in the mail anymore. Instead, our postal mailboxes are filled with bills, ads, and end-of-the-year solicitations, and our electronic mailboxes numb us with spam, more ads, … Read More