Sacrificing Sacrifice

In the midst of the Eucharistic Revival, Dr. Lawrence Feingold, seminary professor at Kenrick-Glennon and author of (among many other things) The Eucharist: Mystery of Presence, Sacrifice, and Communion, suggests that we may be missing … [Read more...]

Here is The Victim Who Vanished in Word

A short time ago, in the Maryland countryside, a priest the humble folk say bears a resemblance to Maximilian Kolbe turned on the ignition of his old silver pick-up and eased out of the parking lot of his St. Michael’s parish. He shifted i … [Read more...]

Discerning the Gift of Priestly Celibacy in Relation to Marriage

Every candidate to the priesthood, even those in the Oriental rites where celibacy is optional, must discern whether God is offering them the “precious gift of priestly celibacy.”[1. Presbyterorum Ordinis, 16.] In the Latin rite, priesthood … [Read more...]

Christ, the Sublime High Priest

Old and New Covenant Continuity and Fulfillment in Priesthood and Liturgy in Aquinas’s Commentary on Hebrews

Aquinas’s Commentary on Hebrews exquisitely treats of the relationship between the salvific works of Old Covenant sacrifices and their fulfillment in the person of Christ as supreme High Priest of the New Covenant. Contrary to the position o … [Read more...]

Mass Exodus

We’ve seen it in most of our parishes: empty pews, easy-out parking, friends and familiar faces who we no longer see at Sunday Mass. This mass exodus we have been experiencing over the last few generations is a true crisis of faith — aff … [Read more...]

Love’s Oblation

William L. Stidger told about a young lad he had baptized as a baby. The boy grew up, and when World War II began, he joined the Navy. One night his ship came into Boston, and the lad visited his former pastor and friend. During their visit … [Read more...]

Heaven on Earth

The Liturgical Theology of Pope Benedict XVI

“In the earthly liturgy we take part in a foretaste of the heavenly liturgy….” —Sacrosanctum Concilium 8 These words form the heart of Pope Benedict XVI’s theology of the liturgy. Pope Benedict XVI professed his understanding of the Sacred … [Read more...]

Blessed Are Those

The Holy Mass as the Heavenly Wedding Banquet of the Lamb

Amongst the many images of the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, Catholic Christians are used to constantly thinking of the Mass as sacrifice, fellowship, and fraternal meal, yet few evoke such an intimate sense as that of a wedding feast. … [Read more...]

Not Guilty

The Final Scapegoat and the Easter Verdict

Sacrifice has been bound up with biblical religion since the earliest, “pre-historical” chapters of Genesis. Genesis chapters 2 and 3 can be read as one continuous Sabbath day following the Seventh day of rest from Genesis 1, on which Adam a … [Read more...]

Sacrifice, Substitution, and Suffering

Sacrifice is troublesome for us fallen humans. It is not only the inconvenience or effort that troubles us so much, because we are sometimes willing to be inconvenienced or troubled for good reason; that is, a reason that serves our own … [Read more...]

The Glory of the Mass

Obviously, the Mass is a glorious thing. It is the way God continues to feed his people; it is the way Jesus Christ—God made flesh—keeps his promise never to leave us orphans. Those who attend daily Mass have been given an unmatchable gra … [Read more...]