With Lent come the long narratives of the passion and death of Jesus. The Passion story is meant to be a story of hope and transformation, a story of the restoration of humanity to right relationship with the Loving God who created us all to be in God’s image. The ugly secret is that too […]
How will you catechize your RCIA group about anti-Semitism?
Msgr. Andrew Varga, pastor of St. Luke Parish in Westport, Connecticut, sent in this terrific homilette on Spy Wednesday. So… Here we are… Six weeks ago to the day we stood here with smudges of ash on our foreheads. We were well-meaning and eager to make a promise to ourselves and to all the church
A homily for the third Sunday of Lent Today, through our ancestors in faith, Moses and the Unnamed Woman of Samaria, the Church’s liturgy calls us to reflect on water—living water. But all week everything in me has resisted—a lot! NO, NOT NOW! The images in my mind are of too much water. Too much
How dare we reflect on living water today?
I’m not sure why, but some places do stuff to the scrutinies that makes them less “scrutinish.” The primary symbol—the main event—in this rite is the exorcism. You can find the exorcism at paragraphs 154, 168, and 175. There are three things that we need to do well to make the exorcisms as liturgically meaningful
3 do’s and 6 don’ts for powerful scrutinies
Came across this recently in an essay by the American Catholic novelist, Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964): Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, in instructing catechumens, wrote: The dragon sits by the side of the road watching those who pass. Beware lest he devour you. We go to the Father of Souls, but it is necessary to pass by
Here are some wonderful meditations for Holy Week from Rita Ferrone: Spy Wednesday Holy Thursday Good Friday Holy Saturday The Easter Vigil
Holy Week meditations—not just for RCIA teams
In our Diocese of San Jose, we have dancing books for the Rite of Election. Now hold on before you start groaning as you imagine young waifs in tights and leotards flitting about the altar. Our Scriptural tradition has many stories of dancing—but the kind of dancing that comes out of ordinary, everyday people. David
Have you ever seen dancing books at the Rite of Election?
What is the meaning of the symbol of ashes on Ash Wednesday and where do the ashes come from? What are the fasting regulations for Lent? Should we empty the baptismal font for Lent? But aren’t we fasting from water during Lent? Like Jesus did in the desert? Who signs the Book of the Elect?
17 frequently asked questions about Lent
You might think the week after Christmas Day is a little early to be talking about emptying the baptismal font. Actually, it’s late. I walked into a local church during the fourth week of Advent to see what they had done with their environment. You guessed it. The baptismal font was bone dry and covered
Seven reasons you should never empty the baptismal font
The event of central importance on Holy Thursday will be the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper—the liturgy which begins the Triduum. I hope everybody is going to take part in this wonderful celebration! I won’t try to anticipate what takes place. Better to experience it for yourself. Perhaps Holy Thursday is also a good
