Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time In the Rite of Ordination of a Priest, as the bishop hands over the bread and wine to the newly ordained, he says to him, “Understand what you do, imitate what you celebrate, and conform … Read More
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Want to know the best way to get a better sense of what your parish is really like? Sit in a place you’re not used to sitting. Or sit in the very back pew, or … Read More
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Today’s first reading presents us with an image of the diversity of God’s people, gathered from every nation and language. Many of our parishes in the United States are blessed with diverse communities of people, … Read More
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Women’s roles in society and in the church have taken on a new meaning in the last few years. With the #metoo movement and a new awareness of how women have … Read More
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Jesus’s words today don’t bring much comfort. But our comfort isn’t the goal of faith in Christ. Following Christ will call us to do many uncomfortable things. Recall some of the gospels we’ve heard these … Read More
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time We can obviously read today’s readings with an eye toward the end times when Christ will return in glory. However, as people of faith living in the time between Christ’s Ascension and Second Coming, we … Read More
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Many of us whose primary work is in service to the church may never find ourselves rich in earthly treasure. And yet, there still is a warning for us in today’s parable of the rich … Read More
Pentecost How do you picture the Holy Spirit? We can imagine a haloed bird hovering or “tongues as of fire.” We can sense the Spirit as wind in its many forms: breath, breeze, gusts, air. But how do you describe … Read More
Ascension This Ascension, let us focus less on where Christ went and more on what Christ did. Christ entered heaven’s sanctuary that we might “have confidence of entrance . . . by the new and living way he opened for … Read More
Seventh Sunday of Easter As we near Pentecost, some parishes may be preparing to incorporate various languages and cultural elements into the Mass. Many of these communities are already multicultural, so intercultural worship is a necessity for their unity. On … Read More