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...]
Articles
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
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
“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
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
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
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
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...]
The Form of the Liturgy
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
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”
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?
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...]
Homily Possibilities for the Sunday Scrutinies
March 20, 2020 by Fr. William Dillard
During the three middle Sundays of Lent, the Christian people welcome in a special way the Elect who are presented to Christ’s Church as those seeking full communion. The 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sundays of Lent thus provide great opportunities f … [Read more...]
Seeing as God Sees
A Catholic Approach to Pastoral Care for People Affected by Gender Incongruity
March 20, 2020 by Susan C. Selner-Wright, PhD
Late last December, Homiletic & Pastoral Review ran an article by Stephen Adubato titled “Understanding the Vatican’s Document on Gender Theory and Education.” The document he refers to was released by the Congregation for Catholic Educa … [Read more...]
The Charism of Priestly Celibacy
March 20, 2020 by Fr. Frederick L. Miller, STD
Teaching a course on Holy Orders in the seminary, which includes a unit on celibacy, has led me to reflect often on my own experience in the seminary from 1964 to 1972. During those years, everything was being questioned. Near the top of … [Read more...]
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