Glory be to Jesus Christ. I wish to speak of a cross carried by the parish priest. We might say there is a tension between the spoken word and the gestures of the liturgy. No doubt this claim will sound very strange. I assure you it is a reality. This is a tension, and it …
Continue reading “Vatican II and the Proclamation of Scripture”
Sunday, July 4th 2021, my weekend homily was inspired heavily by reflection on the Acts of the Apostles. In Short, the grace that Saint Paul kept speaking of, from his encounter with Christ, should be the grace we experience when we encounter, taste, and receive Christ in the Holy Eucharist. Separately from this consideration, I …
Continue reading “Peter and Paul: a Litany for Private Devotion”
March 19th 2021: happy solemnity of Saint Joseph. Since December 8th 2020 we have been celebrating a year of Saint Joseph. That date marked the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of patronage for the whole church ascribed to the spouse of the blessed Virgin Mary. Today begins a year marked by Pope Francis for the …
“My worship has found its most perfect expression, and fullness of power, when I come to hold the divine Body and Blood of God in my hands, and consume Him into my corporeal existence.”
Who can call themselves a Catholic? A Catholic becomes a Catholic by Sacramental initiation. Were you baptized Catholic? Were you confirmed Catholic? Have you received the Holy Eucharist as your first communion in a licitly offered Catholic rite of the Holy Eucharist? If yes, you are a Catholic. The Church insists that your Catholic initiation …
Continue reading “Catholic-by-initiation, vs. Catholic-in-morals”
The following reflection, although not delivered verbatim, formed the basis of my homily on the 4th of July Weekend. Fr. Timothy Naples J+MJ It’s a 4th of July Weekend. As we celebrate our annual Independence Day as a nation, let us look to our Lord, and the saints of the Church as the best guides …
The following are “snapshots” of Black and White Catholicism, thinking about the Sexual Revolution in the United States First snapshot. Recent events led me to look for statistics about “fatherlessness” in black families. This data is not specific to Catholics, but it was the first set of statistics I started with in relation to the …
Continue reading “Black Catholics and White Catholics and the Sexual Revolution”
This is a Good Friday “sermon.” Because of the pandemic, I cannot deliver it in person, or any of its condensed elements. So I will post the full thing here for reflection. I will begin by speaking about the wedding at Cana. Why on earth am I starting with the wedding at Cana? In short, …
“Is there any benefit to watching Mass on TV? Does it need to be ‘live’? What is a spiritual communion?”
Ubi Petrus VT