In June 13, 1996, Archbishop Geraldo Majella Agnelo, a Brazilian who was at that time Secretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, praised and encouraged the work of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy, commonly known as ICEL.

I remember the darkened church, filled with a reverent silence interrupted only when an opened door allowed the sounds of traffic and voices to intrude momentarily. A heavy slam of varnished wood signaled the arrival of the next worshiper, who checked her name on the list and tapped the weary should

A highly respected confrere on the seminary faculty in the 1960’s announced one day that he was pleased and surprised that our introduction of the greeting of peace at our daily liturgies actually seemed "to make a real difference in the spirit of the house." This was an ordained and

The 20th century has concluded. Thomas Merton remains the single most influential American Catholic spiritual author of that century. Judging from the number of current publications by and about Merton, his spiritual vision remains as captivating today as when he broke upon the scene in 1948 with hi

Report Says Hunger Can Be Halved in 15 YearsA new report from the Bread for the World Institute says world hunger can be cut in half over the next 15 years with the help of an extra U.S. contribution of $1 billion per year to nutrition programs. The trends in hunger eradication are promising, said t

Lives on the Line is a powerful account of what low-income Americans endure in their struggle to raise children in surroundings of poverty The detailed descriptions of these quot lives quot profiles of 10 families of diverse racial and geographical backgroundsare placed in meaningful context by th

There are various ways to render the past in order to understand what has happened and why Some historians favor a scrutiny of political and military leadership and so regale their readers with accounts of decisive elections won wars fought victoriously or to no successful outcome all told with

An older Jesuit once told me he felt that priests have a much harder life than laypeople. We’re always "on call," he explained, and have so many responsibilitiescelebrating Masses, hearing confessions, living in community, preparing homilies and the like. Laypeople can set their own