As a result of the 2020-2021 coronavirus pandemic, Catholic bishops in dioceses around the world restricted public access to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In the United States, every Latin Rite diocese reportedly canceled public Masses at … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – April 2021
April 9, 2021 by Book Reviews
The Sacraments: Discovering the Treasures of Divine Life. By Rev. Matthew Kauth. Reviewed by Aaron Martin. (skip to review) Telling Stories That Matter: Memoirs and Essays. By Marvin R. O’Connell. Reviewed by Christopher Siuzdak. (skip t … [Read more...]
The Month of the Priesthood
November 25, 2020 by Fr. Nathaniel Dreyer
One of the relatively minor and nonetheless frustrating consequences of COVID’s rude invasion into society can be observed in diaconal and priestly ordinations. These typically large-scale celebrations have been reduced to minute g … [Read more...]
The Truth, the Priesthood, and the Eucharist
October 30, 2020 by Rev. Kenneth M. Dos Santos, MIC
Is the Eucharist the Real Presence — Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity — of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, or is the Blessed Sacrament a mere symbol of the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? This que … [Read more...]
In the Midst of a Pandemic
The Priesthood Is a Beacon of Light
June 5, 2020 by Fr. Richard D. Breton, Jr.
For centuries nautical explorers traveled the earth seeking new lands and civilizations. For weeks and months, they sailed following their maps by day and the stars by night. Often they would find themselves in the midst of horrific storms … [Read more...]
Liturgical Lessons from the Pandemic
June 5, 2020 by Fr. David M. Friel
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in many parts of the world has demanded swift and comprehensive adjustments to the daily life of the Church. Disruptions in the way we celebrate the sacraments, offer catechesis, and perform the works of … [Read more...]
Super-essential Work amid COVID-19
April 4, 2020 by David Vincent Meconi
Has anyone else been a bit taken aback in realizing that you are not an “essential worker”? Of course, we Jesuits are supposed to pray for, and in fact are all in dire need of, humility. So perhaps this should be the Lenten lesson my bro … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – March 2020
March 20, 2020 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Last Rites for the Clinically Dead? Question: Is it possible to perform the sacrament of the sick on someone who has been pronounced clinically dead? If so, up to how long after clinical death can this sacrament be performed? Answer: … [Read more...]
The Gift of the Liturgical Reform
January 18, 2020 by Mary Healy
Fifty years ago this Advent, on November 30, 1969, the reform of the Eucharistic liturgy called for by Vatican Council II and promulgated by Pope Paul VI went into effect, and Catholics around the world celebrated Mass for the first time in … [Read more...]
Saint John Bosco
Spiritual Father and Friend of Penitents
June 18, 2019 by Fr. Charles H. Lana
In the two-thousand year history of the Catholic Church, there have been many priests who have distinguished themselves as renowned confessors. These priests are important models for confessors today to be effective ministers of mercy. This … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – May 2019
May 19, 2019 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Handling the Precious Blood Question: During Mass, wine is consecrated in a chalice and we believe it becomes the Precious Blood of Jesus. I understand that it should not be poured out into any other vessel and given to Eucharistic … [Read more...]
Confirmation in the Church Fathers
April 30, 2019 by Brandon P. Otto
It has been said — though I know not by whom — that Confirmation is “a sacrament in search of a theology.” Confirmation preparation programs often emphasize the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and state that Confirmation, in some way, complet … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – April 2019
April 30, 2019 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Do Baptized Converts Need Confession First? Question: During the Easter Vigil, non-Christians are baptized, receive First Communion and are confirmed, while converts are received into full communion with the Church, meaning also and above … [Read more...]
A God with Skin
Recapturing the Incarnational Nature of the Sacraments
January 1, 2019 by Mark C. McCann
And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. (Jn 1:14) Since her beginning, the Catholic Church has been an incarnational institution, a B … [Read more...]
The Necessity of Confession and Its Seal
November 30, 2018 by Fr. John M. McDermott, SJ
Any Catholic reading the report of Australia’s Royal Commission of Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse must be appalled by the multiple instances of child abuse in ecclesial institutions perpetrated by priests, religious, and l … [Read more...]
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