The way a presider celebrates Mass can illuminate the congregation’s experience of liturgy.
Liturgy
Posted inFaith, Podcasts
Preaching about joy starts with paying attention to life’s difficulties
This week on “Preach,” the script is flipped: Ricardo da Silva, S.J., the regular host, becomes a guest preacher, and Maggi Van Dorn, a usual producer, takes the mic as the host. Ricardo invites listeners to identify where they have experienced joy, even as he admits that we live in a world where joy is hard to come by.
Posted inExplainer, Faith
Hands or tongue, kneeling or standing: There’s no ‘best way’ to receive Communion.
How we partake in the mystery of Christ—kneeling, receiving the host in our hands, or on our tongue—is secondary to the experience of humility and honor in receiving the Eucharist.
Posted inFaith, Your Take
Should the church expect donations with Mass requests?
In an essay published on America’s website in September, John F. Baldovin, S.J., examined the theological soundness of making a monetary offering for the sake of “having a Mass said” for an individual.
Posted inFaith, Short Take
Many Catholics experience trauma. Our homilies should reflect that.
Catholic preachers should learn from social work and give trauma-informed homilies.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Being an altar girl taught me: The church is for everyone.
Serving on the altar has formed my experience as a woman in the church.
Posted inFaith, News Analysis
Gen-X church attendance dropped dramatically after Covid. What happened?
I asked my fellow Gen-Xers on staff to reflect on this trend, and what may be contributing to it.
Posted inFaith, Video
Watch: People of God: A groundbreaking documentary on Catholic parish life
Introducing America’s new, groundbreaking feature documentary, “People of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United States.”
Posted inFaith, News
Survey: Mass attendance drops after Covid, but U.S. Catholics are hopeful for their church
The share of Catholics going to Mass even a few times each year has fallen off significantly compared with the number before the Covid pandemic, but U.S. Catholics overall are largely optimistic about their church and its leaders, a new survey finds.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Why I take my teens to Mass—even when they struggle with Catholicism
I hope their belief will deepen. And I hope that my fellow Catholics in the pews will demonstrate that the wider church wants them there too.