“Isn’t it odd that 2,000 years after the Resurrection the emphasis in Christianity is still more on the cross than on the empty tomb?” wrote Frank Moan, S.J., in 1982.
Liturgy
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
Why so many Catholics want to get their ashes—even if they rarely go to Mass
Ash Wednesday isn’t a holy day of obligation, but in English-speaking countries, it still has a powerful draw even for Catholics who are otherwise non-practicing.
Posted inFaith, News
Pope Francis approves use of Latin Mass for group of traditionalist priests
Pope Francis has confirmed that members of the Fraternity of St. Peter may continue to celebrate the Mass, sacraments and Liturgy of the Hours using the pre-Vatican II texts and forms, the fraternity said.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
As an Episcopal priest, I’m used to polite worship. But we need to make room for unfiltered pain at church, too.
My formal, reserved church could take a cue from those who pray with raw urgency.
Posted inFaith, News
Archbishop Roche: Most bishops understand the need for Pope Francis’ Latin Mass restrictions
While the church’s prayer should not be a battlefield, Archbishop Roche says it is understandable that people are passionate about it.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
You will never regret going to the funeral
No one wants to be at a funeral. It means that a loss has occurred, hearts broken. But there are few other instances in which doing something we dread so deeply can mean so much.
Posted inFaith, Short Take
I just don’t get the controversy over the traditional Latin Mass
Recent edicts and explanations of edicts out of Rome have ignited a familiarly unpleasant conflict in the U.S. church. And yet, though this will infuriate a vocal minority of my fellow Catholics, I just don’t get the brouhaha over the traditional Latin Mass.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
The Catholic Guide of Dos and Don’ts for Christmas Mass
Our return to an in-person celebration of the birth of Jesus is also an opportunity to think about how we have done Christmas in the past—and perhaps even make some adjustments.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Vatican clarifies rules for the celebration of the Tridentine Latin Mass
A new document from the Vatican congregation that oversees Mass and the sacraments offers responses to questions some bishops have asked about restrictions on the celebration of the pre-Vatican II liturgical rite.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Good homilies matter — and inspiring preachers need inspiration, too.
How do our religious leaders launch this spirited season of Advent in the hope of spiritual healing? Above all else, Saint Paul counsels: “Don’t stifle the spirit!”