Looking back on 60 years of priesthood, the author notes the importance of the cross, the Eucharist, faith and grace in giving people meaning, purpose and hope in life.
Sacraments
Posted inFaith, News
Vatican: Having child out of wedlock does not bar access to sacraments
“There are priests who do not baptize the children of single mothers because (the children) were not conceived in the sanctity of marriage. They are the hypocrites of today,” Pope Francis once said.
Posted inFaith, News
Male and female lay theologians may now perform baptisms in German diocese
26 non-ordained theologians have been authorized to administer the sacrament of baptism in church liturgies for the first time in the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart in south-western Germany,
Posted inFaith, Scripture Reflections
What volunteering at RCIA taught me about faith and community
A Reflection for Friday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time, by Colleen Dulle
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
The Eucharistic Revival is missing something: the Blood of Christ
There is much to hope for in the U.S. bishops’ project of local and national revitalization. But there cannot be a full-fledged eucharistic revival without a precious blood revival.
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
Language matters. The Eucharist is more than ‘the body of Jesus.’
Taking liberties with the wording of magisterial teachings or the wording of the liturgy is an extremely dangerous and self-serving exercise in terms of the church’s belief.
Posted inFaith, News
Vatican yearbook counts 1.3 billion Catholics—17.7% of the global population
The statistical yearbook noted “a general downward trend in the relative number of baptisms, following closely the trend in the birthrate in most countries.”
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
Confession: the underappreciated sacrament we need to build a listening church
It is within the sacred space of the sacrament of reconciliation that someone can come to be heard.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
The grace of going through confirmation in college
Many young Catholics I know were compelled to be confirmed by family members who felt the sacrament was important. My situation was the opposite—I was confirmed of my own volition.
Posted inFaith, Vantage Point
Easter—not Christmas—should be the most important Christian holiday
For the early church, the reality of the Resurrection was central, not only in the structure of the liturgical celebration, but also in the pattern of the liturgical year. Easter was the greatest feast of the whole year.