Pope Francis called on Christians not to give into a “tomb psychology,” and quoted the American poet Emily Dickinson, who wrote “We never know how high we are/Till we are called to rise.”
Easter
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
What Rome’s station churches teach us about Easter
The liturgies of Lent and Easter, like the churches themselves, are built upon the conviction that the resurrection changes everything.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
On Good Friday, remember that Jesus understands you
Jesus understands not only our bodily suffering, but also our spiritual suffering, in these feelings of abandonment. He was like us in all things, except sin. And he experienced all that we did.
Posted inFaith, The Good Word
On Good Friday, we do not celebrate the Eucharist. But Christ is still with us.
The church has a single focus today—the death of Christ—but her Christ still lives, still suffers in her members and still feeds her with his flesh. We pause in time. Christ does not.
Posted inFaith, The Good Word
St. Thomas Aquinas captures the heart of Holy Thursday
St. Thomas arrives at the very center of what happened at the Last Supper, of what would happen the next day on the cross and of what happens at every subsequent Eucharist. With his own hands, Christ gives himself to us.
Posted inExamen, Faith
Fr. James Martin, S.J.: My entire faith rests on Easter
I’m not sure about you, but my entire faith rests on Easter. As I see it, Easter changes everything.
Posted inFaith, The Good Word
Why a song might be better than a sermon for Easter
Our senses will be deceived by the appearance of bread and wine, which is why St. Thomas Aquinas insists that we trust only one of our senses, our hearing. On Easter, we solemnly proclaim and hear, silently sounding within our hearts, the saving news of the Gospel.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
What Holy Thursday demands of every Catholic
The lesson I take from Jesus’ washing of the feet is this: I do not decide which lives have value and dignity; God does.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Father James Martin: Where was God when Notre Dame was in flames?
Our Lady knows exactly what it is like to stand by and see someone you love suffer and die. But Our Lady also knew that, somehow, God was with her in that time of grief. But we could well ask: Where was God yesterday in Paris?
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Pilgrimage—like the sacraments—is all about the details
Couldn’t it be apple juice instead of wine? Isn’t it the principle that matters? It could, of course, but then we would lose everything.