For those of us who experienced pastoral planning at parish or diocesan levels over time, we have seen changes that make the practices of the past seem unrecognizable. Key to those changes is a re-examination of the underlying purpose of … [Read more...]
Pastoral Planning 101
A Stronger Communion for the Sake of the Mission: A Better Church
August 23, 2024 by Jim Lundholm-Eades
Review of Verbum 10
INTRODUCTION By Rev. John P. Cush, STD When I published my first book, The How-to-Book of Catholic Theology (Our Sunday Visitor Press, 2020), I was asked to schedule an interview with Mr. T.L. Putnam, who ran a weekly radio program … [Read more...]
“Lord, Teach Us to Pray”
A Theological Reflection on the LORD’S Prayer as a Model for the Parish
February 23, 2024 by John Grim
Voices constantly scream at us with urgent demand, including our own anxieties. How is it that only a third of Catholics believe in the Eucharist? How am I supposed to evangelize a culture that is increasingly hostile to truth? Is there a … [Read more...]
Stuck in Neutral: When Parish Evangelization (Still) Fails
April 26, 2023 by Susan Windley-Daoust
It has been five years since the four-day United States Convocation of Catholic Leaders on Evangelization was held in Atlanta. It has been nine years since Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel, was … [Read more...]
Parish Evangelization
November 24, 2021 by John F. Kippley
It is common to hear or read references to the New Evangelization based on the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation of St. John Paul II, Christifidelis Laici (On the Vocation and the Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World) … [Read more...]
A “Modest Proposal” for a Pastoral Year Apostolate
April 9, 2021 by Fr. Peter Stravinskas
As the academic year winds down, administrators go into overdrive in planning for the next year, hence, the rationale for my present musings. Since it appears that most seminaries/dioceses are now moving (or have moved) to a mandatory … [Read more...]
Mass Attendance and Cura Personalis
March 26, 2021 by Matthew Kappadakunnel
The novel coronavirus pandemic resulted in novel dilemmas for Catholic parishes. In compliance with local health mandates, many parishes quickly augmented their technological capabilities to offer “virtual Mass” to provide members a safe opt … [Read more...]
Philomena, St. John Vianney, and a Blueprint for Converting Parishes
February 12, 2021 by Tate Hilgefort
Last fall my wife was five months pregnant with our 11th child. We had already named her Philomena after the great wonder worker and favorite saint of St. John Vianney. This is when we found out that Philomena had a heart defect that would … [Read more...]
Father, Receive These Gifts
July 2, 2020 by Samantha Mattheiss
Pope Francis, in his 2016 annual meeting of the pontifical academies, called for local parishes to be “oases of beauty, peace, acceptance.” This is consistent with the Church being “Mother of us all” (Gal 4:26) — a place where all can be fed … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
April 28, 2018 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Question: What is the origin of female altar servers? Answer: Female altar servers are a fact of life in the Church since 1992. The ability of girls to serve at Mass is established by papal authority, so one must accept their possibility … [Read more...]
A Reflection on Youth, College & Young Adult Ministries, Part II
Animating the Xennial, Millennial, and Post-Millennial Generations with the Spirit of Christ
February 24, 2018 by Father Philip-Michael F. Tangorra, STL
In the first part of this two-part article, I had discussed the levels of youth, college, and young adult ministries. My emphasis was on why it is so important, and what is appropriate for each level and age of young people we serve. Now, I … [Read more...]
A Reflection on Youth, College and Young Adult Ministries, Part I
Animating the Xennial, Millennial and Post-Millennial Generations with the Spirit of Christ
January 23, 2018 by Father Philip-Michael F. Tangorra, STL
Part I Building, re-building and restoring youth, high school/college campus, or young adult ministries: this is what our work has been for the past decade. When someone first arrives in a new youth ministry, or is given the task of … [Read more...]
Early Summer Reading
June 12, 2017 by Book Reviews
I Burned for Your Peace. Augustine's Confessions Unpacked by Peter Kreeft. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2016). Reviewed by Matthew K. Minerd, Ph.L. Desiring a Better Country: Forays in Political Theology by Douglas Farrow. (Montreal &a … [Read more...]
Laying the Foundation for Forming Disciples in Our Parishes
January 29, 2015 by Fr. Matthew J. Albright
A recent mailing of the Franciscan University of Steubenville declares, “The age of casual Catholicism is over. The age of heroic Catholicism has begun.”[1. Fr. Terrence Henry, TOR, Franciscan University of Steubenville. ] Men and women sta … [Read more...]
Life-Giving Funerals
The Importance of Skill in Music Ministry
January 12, 2015 by Angela Biggs
It is exceedingly difficult to stand before mourners assembled for a funeral Mass, look them in the eye one at a time, and sing—with them, to them, and sometimes for them—of truth, love, and life. Still, this is a duty that must not be neg … [Read more...]
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