When the new Roman Missal (big, red book the priest prays from during
Mass) was brought into effect on the first Sunday of Advent 2011, it brought
about a major shift in language. If you have ever participated at a Mass I presided
at, you may not have noticed much of a change. Why? Let me explain. The new
Missal is full of language like: oblation, sanctify, exultant majesty, homage,
expiation, consubstantial, virtues of heaven, beseech, etc. (If I …
by admin 
You may have noticed, or you will notice as you compare this Sunday’s
gospel account with next Sunday’s, that the readings do not follow one another
chronologically. In fact, they are in reverse. This Sunday’s gospel begins with
“After the wise men left…” (Mt. 2:13 and following), but next
Sunday’s gospel is about the arrival of the wise men (Mt.
2:1-12). I don’t know the entire reason historically or liturgically for this
cart-before-the-horse reordering except to offer the following. …
by admin 
You will not get very far into any of the four gospels before you
inevitably bump in a story of Jesus showing concern for the sick. When Jesus
personally wasn’t anointing and healing the sick, he was delegating his
apostles to do so in God’s name. In the course of time, the focus of the
sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick shifted from healing to the forgiveness
of sins. And the time for receiving the sacrament was delayed …
by admin 
Central to all the beliefs we hold to as Roman Catholic Christians is that Jesus, once dead, is alive forever, and that the “new life” he offers liberates us forever from evil, sin and death. This new life, this salvation, is meant for all peoples of the earth.
This central truth is proclaimed by the Church particularly during these 50 days of Easter. Moreover, it’s meant to be proclaimed by each of us every day of the year by the …
by admin 
There’s a Buddhist parable that runs something like this: One day as the Buddha was sitting under a tree, a young, trim soldier walked by, looked at the Buddha, noticed his weight and his fat, and said: “You look like a pig!” The Buddha looked up calmly at the soldier and said: “And you look like God!” Taken aback by the comment, the soldier asked the Buddha: “Why do you say that I look like God?” The Buddha replied, …
by admin We have just come through one of the two peak seasons in the Church, the Christmas season, and probably feel we are coming down the mountain into a quieter, less-intense time. In seven weeks, we will begin another ascent toward that other peak season–the Season of Easter. What always remains, throughout the entire liturgical year, peak season or not, is the closeness of the Lord.
From the start of his life we are told the Lord’s name: Emmanuel (God-with-us). …
by admin The Church did not celebrate Christmas, at least not liturgically, until the 4th century. The same is true of the great feast of Pentecost. No Marian feast was celebrated by the Church until the 5th century. The martyrs, who willingly laid down their lives for the faith, were not honored with formal celebrations until the 7th century. And the Solemnity of Christ the King, which we celebrated this weekend, was only instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI as a …
by admin Back in the summers of 1982 and 1983, I convinced parishioners from my home parish to join me on the weekends to serve at St. Bridget’s Soup Kitchen in Ottawa’s Byward Market. This image entitled “Christ of the Breadlines” hung on one of the walls and it has stayed in my mind for the past 35 years. Though a print, the original was an engraving by the late Fritz Eichenberg (1901 – 1990). Fritz was a Jew from Cologne, Germany …
by admin Here are some helpful hints about knowing if God is calling you to a certain ministry in the Church or not. These steps could also apply to any decision in life, but let’s limit ourselves to liturgical and non-liturgical ministries within our own parish.
At the outset, let us take comfort in the fact that we are never alone in having to figure out God’s will in our lives. This assurance comes to us in the last words of Matthew’s …
by admin As we spy the half-way marker on our Lenten journey, it might be good to recall the words that started this journey on Ash Wednesday. These same words will see us through to Easter Sunday and beyond: “Repent and believe the Good News.” More than words they are an invitation us to do an about-face, turning from what is penultimate, not fulfilling, not life-giving to what is ultimate, enduring and life-giving. In Biblical parlance, it is about turning from death …
by admin