“Given Up for You”

Ronald Knox on the Mass as a Sacrifice

Failure to believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is not the only crisis of Eucharistic faith the Church currently faces. It is the most well-publicized crisis of faith, because studies have consistently shown a decline … [Read more...]

Hope in the Darkness

For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth. . . . I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more. – Psalm 71:5, 14 Many psychological and scientific studies will be published in the upcoming months r … [Read more...]

Book Reviews – June 2020

At Mass with Jesus on Calvary: Reflections on the Prayers of the Mass and the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist By Fr. Gene Martens, SJ. Reviewed by Fr. James Swetnam, SJ. (skip to review) Hope to Die: The Christian Meaning of … [Read more...]

Transubstantiation and the Real Presence

A PEW survey made public in August 2019 reported that only 63% of Catholics who attend Mass weekly believe that the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Christ and only 58% know the Church’s teaching on t … [Read more...]

The Trinitarian Theology of the Eucharist according to St. Catherine of Siena

A little over fifty years ago, the Second Vatican Council declared the Eucharist “the source and summit of the Christian life.” Prior to this Council, in 1902, Pope Leo XIII described the Eucharist as “the very soul of the Church” which “bri … [Read more...]

The Novus Ordo at 50: Loss or Gain?

A Reply to Prof. Mary Healy

The recent half-century of Pope Paul VI’s reformed (“Ordinary Form,” or OF) Mass, which came shortly after the twelfth anniversary of the liberalization of the previous (“Extraordinary Form,” or EF) form of Mass, should stimulate us to engag … [Read more...]

The Gift of the Liturgical Reform

Fifty years ago this Advent, on November 30, 1969, the reform of the Eucharistic liturgy called for by Vatican Council II and promulgated by Pope Paul VI went into effect, and Catholics around the world celebrated Mass for the first time in … [Read more...]

Are Eucharistic Prophecies Being Ignored?

The startling news of the lack of faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist in about 69% of Catholics today should come as no surprise to those familiar with the messages and missions of St. Faustina Kowalska and Dorothy O’Neill … [Read more...]

The Eucharist as Source and Summit of Evangelization in the Recent Magisterium

“Yes, if only I am lifted up from the earth, I will attract all men to myself.”[1. Jn 12:32. All Scriptural quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the Knox Translation of the Bible.] In recent decades, the Church’s Magisterium has rep … [Read more...]

Boredom, Ordinary Time, and God’s Gift of Himself

It is routine to hear people good-heartedly mock the reasonableness of the Church’s liturgical calendar “celebrating” “Ordinary Time.” To celebrate ordinariness is a true curiosity within Western culture, because its members routinely seek e … [Read more...]

Questions Answered for December 2019

What Are Cardinals? Question: There has been a lot of controversy in the Church in the last year about how Theodore McCarrick could have risen to the rank of cardinal. What is the function of the College of Cardinals? Answer: Though … [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...]

“This Is My Body”

Ronald Knox on the Real Presence and Transubstantiation

The Solemnity of Corpus Christi proclaims the truth that the Incarnate Son of God, having ascended to His Father’s right hand in heaven, remains present and active in His Church “until the end of the age” (Mt 28:20). The truth of Chris … [Read more...]

Questions Answered – May 2019

Handling the Precious Blood Question: During Mass, wine is consecrated in a chalice and we believe it becomes the Precious Blood of Jesus. I understand that it should not be poured out into any other vessel and given to Eucharistic … [Read more...]

“Woman of the Eucharist”

Our Lady and the Mass

Our Lady of Knock During his visit to Ireland in August 2018, the Holy Father visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock, Queen of Ireland. The apparition at the origin of this place of pilgrimage speaks of Mary as “Woman of the E … [Read more...]