Liturgical Differences
Once again, the church is entering a critical period of renewal and reform of liturgical language and practice. In March 2003, the translation and application for the United States of the 2001 edition of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal was approved by the Holy See, and a translation of t
Celebrating Good Liturgy’
What makes good liturgy? That is the question with which a squad of talented Catholic liturgists have been wrestling in the pages of America over the past nine weeks. Beginning with the most basic liturgical minister of allthe assemblythese men and women have probed the arts of presiding and preachi
Why Go to Mass?
Not every Mass is going to be a great and deeply moving experience, not for the vast majority of us anyway. But there is a great deal to be said for simple fidelity to our worship. St. Ignatius Loyola says in the Spiritual Exercises that the person who is experiencing some desolation (dryness, &ldqu
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
I was startled. One of my Jesuit confreres had just introduced me to a fellow graduate student, not by name but as “our superior.” We were classmates; we lived in a small community, but somehow I had turned from Drew into “Father Superior.” I was no longer an individual. I wa
Letters
Letters
cartoon by pat byrnes
Natural Method
I was exceedingly pleased to read in Signs of the Times (4/5) that Pope John Paul II said, The administration of water and food, even when delivered using artificial means, always represents a natural method of preserving life and not a medical act. What a relief. All these years I thought…
Editorials
Malaria
There is another killer disease besides AIDS, but it receives far less attention in the wealthy nations of the Northmalaria. Malaria has been almost completely eliminated in the United States and other developed countries. It is often included among the so-called neglected diseases, neglected in the
Faith in Focus
Remembering First Communion
First Communion is a powerful church and family ritual; no one who has been present can miss its importance for the children taking part.
Books
Experimental Decade
It is no great secret that the Catholic liturgy in the United States underwent significant changes in the 1960 rsquo s and 1970 rsquo s First came the switch to the vernacular and the repositioning of the priest at the altar Other changes soon followed Traditional Catholic hymns were dismissed in
A New Landscape in Ministry
Two faith questions guiding Kathleen Hope Brown rsquo s small but timely and comprehensive book Who is God and Who am I are worthy considerations for us all Who am I as minister is a question within those questions and a fundamental starting point for this text aimed at lay leaders of prayer in
Color Him Black
The Face is a sequence of 45 poems many of them previously published in literary journals that add up to a ldquo novella in verse rdquo The very long lines of these poems each trailing over to the next without notable pause bespeak a poetic form leaning to prose but does this ldquo novella
Poetry
The Hatching
Burning in our twin scarlet fevers,
The Word
Home Alone?
In the popular Christmastime movie ldquo Home Alone rdquo an inattentive family goes off on vacation not noticing the absence of one of their children Left behind with only his ingenuity the young boy fends off a pair of bungling burglars There are some touching moments to this film but it b
What Does It Mean?
When I was a child I often wondered how far up Jesus had to ascend before he got to heaven Later I was dumbfounded when as an adult I read an astronaut rsquo s comment about not seeing any traces in space of Jesus rsquo ascension It is not that I have a clearer understanding…
Faith
Remembering First Communion
First Communion is a powerful church and family ritual; no one who has been present can miss its importance for the children taking part.
News
Signs of the Times
Gregory: Denying Communion Over Abortion Is Last Resort"Denying Communion to a politician like Senator John F. Kerry, who supports legalized abortion, must be the last resort in a process to persuade the politician to uphold moral truths when voting," said the president of the U.S. Confere
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts