This Wednesday, the feast of Francis of Assisi, patron of the pope, was a big day for the church. First of all, it was the day when the Synod on Synodality opened. The synod will run through most of the …
Photo by Joshua Rozells, showing the numbers of satellites crossing the sky at the Pinnacles in the remote outback of Australia Last year at this time I had the good fortune to visit Death Valley, one of the emptiest and …
One of an occasional series of articles reflecting on the parts of the mass “… In the breaking of the bread.” In the gospel of Luke we have the story of two of Jesus’ followers who encounter him on the …
A reflection on the Eucharistic Prayer, part of a series of reflections on the parts of the Mass Medieval mystic and writer Meister Eckhart once said, “If the only prayer I ever prayed was ‘Thank you’ that would be …
The image of each of us taking up our cross is woven throughout the gospels. Jesus makes it key to being one of his disciples. And this weekend we encounter it again in Jesus’ rebuke to Peter, who wants to …
This coming weekend we have a passage from the gospel of Matthew that, if we’re honest with ourselves, should be pretty disturbing. A woman comes to Jesus asking him to heal her daughter. But because she is a Canaanite he refuses. He says …
Everyone! Pope Francis got the young people shouting, over and over. Everyone! There were more than a half million young people at one of the talks he gave at World Youth Day, and he was talking about the Church. “That …
After we experience Christ in the Liturgy of the Word, the next part of the mass is the Liturgy of the Eucharist. This begins with the collection and presentation of our gifts to God. While this might seem a practical …
After we gather together as a community (the first act where we experience the real presence of Christ) we are ready to hear the word of God. The LIturgy of the Word is the second place in the Mass where …
It’s been interesting lately (cough, cough) how fires in Canada have been affecting (cough, cough) our breathing in the Ohio Valley. It’s even been affecting our vision, with what looks like fog but is actually smoke. As the saying goes, …