Remember the promises
The Third Sunday of Advent – December 3, 2023 Tell someone to “just be happy,” and you often get a cheesy, fake grin in return. The Third Sunday of Advent commands us, “Rejoice!” Unless we go deeper into why we … Read More
Not proof, but love
Fourth Sunday of Lent – A Who sinned? Isn’t this the one who used to beg? How were your eyes opened? Where is he? How can a sinful man do such things? What do you have to say about him? … Read More
The whole truth
13th Sunday Ordinary Time – B What if we told the whole truth in our preaching, our praying, and our singing? The truth that, in our society, those with status and power can come forward publicly to plead for help, … Read More
What to say
Second Sunday of Advent One of the most important tools music ministers and presiders use is our voice. We warm up and strengthen our voices with vocal exercises. We practice out loud the prayers and readings and spend hours crafting … Read More
Five roadblocks to better preaching
If you are a homilist, you know what it is like to look out at the assembly on Sunday and see a sluggish, disengaged assembly. Most people may not even be looking at you. And those who are, are staring … Read More
How the liturgy teaches us what is most needed today
In a previous post, we began discussing what the new Directory for Catechesis says about our ministry as liturgical minsters. The directory tells us that we have to be witnesses to the mystery of Jesus Christ and lead others to … Read More
Polarization or dialogue?
Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time “Will the Catholic Church in the United States enter the new millennium as a church of promise? . . . Or will it become a church on the defensive, torn by dissension?” asked Cardinal Joseph … Read More
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time—A As Catholics aligned with Peter, we know the answer to Jesus’s second question: “Who do you say that I am?” However, perhaps the more pressing question today is his first: “Who do people say that … Read More
How to critically read blog posts and magazine articles about liturgy
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
The fear of the Lord emboldens our hearts
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time—A I know nothing of what it is like to bear the responsibility and privilege of preaching the homily Sunday after Sunday, to carry the weight of a community’s hopes that they might hear a word … Read More