The 20th-century liturgical renewal rightly emphasized the central importance of the Eucharistic sacrifice against the exaggerated emphasis on benedictions and other Eucharistic devotions outside of Mass. But it was a serious misinterpretation of the Second Vatican Council to neglect or eliminate the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament....Columnists
After the Sanctus, the thanksgiving prayer to the father through the son continues and leads us to the epiclesis, a solemn invocation of the Holy Spirit to consecrate the gifts of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. Columnists
The liturgy of the Eucharist in the strict sense begins when the bread and wine are brought to the altar. What, then, is the meaning of preparing these gifts for the sacrifice?Columnists
Many Catholics do not understand why the church still reads the Old Testament at Mass. In fact, the liturgical reforms of Vatican II have assigned an Old Testament passage for the first reading of the Mass for almost every Sunday liturgy, and for all major feasts, as well as on many weekdays. Though not consciously, both clergy and...Columnists
“Why start the Mass with a ritual greeting?” we sometimes hear. “This sets a stiff, official tone to the entire celebration. Why not start with an informal greeting like ‘Good Morning,’ which would promote a more congenial/familial mood, more in style for the beginning of a meal?”Columnists
The liturgical calendar designed after the Second Vatican Council has transferred the feast of the Divine Motherhood of Mary from Oct.11 to the first day of the New Year, Jan. 1. The celebration of the beginning of the New Year with Mary’s feast day gives me the opportunity to attempt an answer to a question I was asked several times...Columnists
At Christmas time we like to look at the newborn baby Jesus with the eyes of the heart and try to imagine the unimaginable: the God who holds in his “hand” the more than 50 billion galaxies of the fast expanding universe has chosen so to “compress himself” that he became present with his infinite being, power and tenderness in...
Sunday, November 24, 20130114Most of us would never think of stealing someone else’s property. We would never want to sink that low. Yet all of us, at one time or another if not habitually, steal from God—and we are hardly ever aware of it. This, of course, needs some explanation: God does not stop showering upon us his most precious gifts, but upon every gift...
Old age is a great gift from God, full of great challenges. In our young and adult years it is relatively easy to convince ourselves that we are sufficient to ourselves. God can wait since, for all practical purposes, we consider ourselves our own gods. But after a few skirmishes with death and as our strength wanes, we are forced to...Columnists
To some people, young and old, purity of heart sounds like a naïve and absurd proposition, feasible only for children whose sexual passions have not yet awakened. Yet, if we are Christians we cannot excise from the Bible the sayings of Jesus on purity of heart: “ … I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already...
