The suspension of the public celebration of Mass in large parts of the country due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus has left many priests with a dilemma. How does one celebrate Mass according to the Novus ordo with no one present? For … [Read more...]
Archives for April 2020
Mass ad Digitalem
Among the livelier discussions in which our seminary community engaged this year was one initiated by the seminarians themselves and focused on the practice and pastoral concerns associated with celebrating Mass ad orientem. Literally … [Read more...]
Navigating a Passive Night of the Senses during the Coronavirus Quarantine
April 27, 2020 by Dr. Tamra Hull-Fromm
For many, the worldwide spread of the COVID-19 virus has meant enforced quarantining in terms of stay-at-home/shelter-in-place directives by federal and state authorities. Despite innovative responses by dioceses and parishes to provide a … [Read more...]
Absence — the Appeal for Love’s Presence
Three Points on Priestly Reform in a Time of Pandemic
April 27, 2020 by Fr. John Nepil
“There are moments when you must physically absent yourself in order to learn what it means for something or somebody to exist in his own right.”[1. A. Bloom, Beginning to Pray, Paulist Press, New York 1970, 12.] The first days of pan … [Read more...]
Communion, God’s Presence, and Death with “Dignity” amidst the Coronavirus Pandemic
April 27, 2020 by Joel R. Gallagher
In my last article in Homiletic and Pastoral Review, entitled “Benedict XVI on Self-‘Excommunication,’”[1. Joel R. Gallagher, “Benedict XVI on Self-‘Excommunication,’” Homiletic and Pastoral Review (January 26, 2020).] I examined the value o … [Read more...]
Mass, Interrupted
Longing for the Eucharist in a Time of Exile
April 27, 2020 by Dr. Dennis W. Feltwell
When the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was pronounced a pandemic in March 2020, bishops around the world began to suspend the public celebration of Mass. Soon after, secular media mistakenly reported that “Mass is suspended” and even that “Ea … [Read more...]
Epidemic and the Liturgical Reform
April 27, 2020 by Dr. Joseph Shaw
The Church reformed the liturgy at a moment of great optimism. The developed world was enjoying the long post-war boom. Seminaries were full. And new-fangled antibiotics and vaccination programs were sweeping away one major disease after … [Read more...]
Online Education Is Not Fully Catholic Education
April 27, 2020 by E. Tyler Graham
I am a Catholic high school teacher, and, by May 1st, I will have taught five weeks of online education. This is an act of obedience to various authorities so that, instead of having nothing available for my quarantined high school … [Read more...]
Homilies for April 2020
April 4, 2020 by Deacon Mike Houghton
For Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, and April 26. Note: Most of these sample homilies, besides Palm Sunday and Easter, were written before the Coronavirus (COVID-19) issue, and attendant changes to … [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...]
The Form of the Liturgy
April 4, 2020 by Fr. James Dominic Rooney, OP
It is to be regretted that the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite, the form of the Latin Mass promulgated after the Second Vatican Council in 1970, has become a symbol of near-complete rejection of the Latin Catholic liturgical tradition. This … [Read more...]
The Book of Jonah
On Repentance, Mission, and Compassion
April 4, 2020 by Fr. Matthew Gonzalez
Of the twelve minor prophets, the book that has been consistently pondered and examined with much fascination is the Book of Jonah. This is attributed to its mythical imagery, which illustrates the prophet’s journey to the land of Nineveh. U … [Read more...]
God the Father Revealed in “The Prodigal Son”
April 4, 2020 by Thomas Hardy
Traditionally the parable of The Prodigal Son has been one of the greatest sources of hope for mankind, as Jesus provides us with a metaphor for His Father that stresses His forgiveness and mercy. We stray as the prodigal son strays, but … [Read more...]
How Does God Forget All the Bad News?
April 4, 2020 by Brent Withers
Isn’t it fanciful to think that a prayer somehow wins graces for other people who we don’t know? The bygone era of offering up our day and the sufferings throughout the day, isn’t it an outdated devotion that surely has little merit in our t … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – April 2020
April 4, 2020 by Book Reviews
Equality and Non-discrimination: Catholic Roots, Current Challenges By Jane F. Adolphe, Robert L. Fastiggi, and Michael A. Vacca. Reviewed by Christopher Siuzdak. (skip to review) Christian Ethics and Moral Philosophy: An Introduction … [Read more...]
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