After weeks of build up and advertising, my parish recently held a “ministry fair.” Parishioners were urged to “get involved” by joining one (or more) of over twenty ministries, which span five areas of Catholic life: liturgical facilitation, sacramental preparation,...

In one of his final acts at the Church’s supreme liturgist, Pope Francis revised the rites for papal funerals so that they are tailored for a pastor and bishop, not an earthly monarch. The funeral prayers were revised to express this reality; the pre-funeral mourning rituals were simplified;...

In 1983, Cardinal Joseph Bernadin proposed the image of a seamless garment for a Catholic approach to what has been termed “the life issues.” In a widely quoted sentence, Bernadin argued that “the spectrum of life cuts across the issues of genetics, abortion, capital punishment,...

Those of us who believe in the Eucharist tend to assume that simply stating what the sacrament is will induce faith on the spot. “It’s the body of Christ!” “It’s Jesus Himself!” “It’s the summit and source of our faith!” In the same vein, we...

One constant has endured through 52 years of American political and cultural upheavals: the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., has been a joyful, ebullient event. Other protests, fueled by outrage or resentment, push forward with angry shouting and can court trouble with law enforcement....

On July 30, the city of Birmingham saluted one of its own who, after decades of rock and heavy metal fame (and all the trappings associated with it) came home to rest. Beneath the genre’s stereotypes, a surprising theme runs through much of Ozzy Osbourne’s work: religion. Surfaces...

For just over 100 years, beginning in 1849, the universal Church celebrated the feast of the Most Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in July. Then it fell victim of a strange irony: the post-Vatican II commission that was established for revising the liturgy, while seeking to implement...

In the Gospels, Jesus repeatedly challenged His disciples to subordinate all their earthly desires to their love of Him. To the rich young man seeking how to inherit eternal life, Jesus commanded, “Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and...

Advent afficionados likely have heard Creator of the Stars of Night on recording or at a concert, or perhaps read it in a prayer book. Translated into English by the Anglican clergyman J.M. Neale in 1852, the original hymn entitled Conditor Alme Siderum, composed in the seventh century, had...

By God’s grace, human beings are born into eternity: even after death, we live. The same can be said of Rome, which today, April 21, celebrates its 2,778th birthday in the midst of Paschal joy and Jubilee Year festivities. Surpassing men, Rome has died multiple deaths yet still lives. The...