The British rock group, Bastille, sings a ballad about the sudden termination of Pompeii. As he sees the city crumble, the lyricist unloads: “The walls keep tumbling down on the place we love…as the dust settles around us, we’re lost in the vices, the rubble or our sins.” As the destruction continues, the singer keeps […]
If priests were permitted to marry, would it solve the Catholic clergy sexual crisis? If women were ordained, would we reduce sexual problems among clergy? If homosexual priests were ousted from ministry, would that improve matters? Should we place the blame primarily on celibacy, the all-male clergy, or the fact that some priests are gay? […]
The Third Commandment tells us to Keep holy the Sabbath. It doesn’t tell us to Go to church on Sunday but among the most common sins brought to the confessional on a typical Saturday afternoon is “I missed Sunday Mass.” Not a Commandment of God but a precept of the Catholic Church, skipping Mass is […]
Each year as summer gets underway, Catholics transition through a series of feasts honoring the Body and Blood of Christ, our Blessed Mother, His Sacred Heart, her Immaculate Heart, the Holy Spirit, and Holy Trinity. I hope that these mysteries prompt us to ponder our faith a little more deeply. On the Feast of the […]
Earlier this century, some of the wording of the Catholic Mass in English-speaking lands was changed—or changed back—and worshipers adjusted rather smoothly. Most notable is our response to “The Lord be with you.” To say “And with your spirit” rather than “And also with you” aligns English-speakers with the older Latin version, “Et cum spiritu […]
Bishop Robert Barron of Los Angeles recently wrote a Letter to a Suffering Church. Though written like letters from Saint Paul and other patriarchs in the fledgling church, or papal letters through the centuries, it holds no official value; he writes simply as a bishop who wants to express compassion to fellow church members agonizing […]
I was ordained to the priesthood in June, thirty-two years ago, on the Feast of Saint Anthony, patron of what is lost. During this time, the church has changed; I have changed; the ways people view Catholic priesthood have changed. Some of the changes are cataclysmic. Much has been lost. Yet Saint Anthony reminds me […]
