The Orant

I got a big kick out these reactions to this performance on the Italian iteration of the voice. I thought you all might enjoy it too. Sister Cristina Scuccia is a young 25 year old woman, originally from Sicily but living permanently in Milan. She is an Ursuline nun of the Holy Family. Since childhood she dreamed of being a singer. In 2008 she began to practice the art of singing when she found by accident the Ursuline nuns who had organized a musical group.Shy Sister Cristina Scuccia was … [Read more...]

 The first time I went to a Catholic church I felt pretty confused. People were standing, bowing, genuflecting, crossing themselves, dipping their fingers in holy water, lighting candles, raising their hands up, Standing and kneeling and standing and kneeling and standing and kneeling. There were prayers in English, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. I was amazed that everyone seemed to know what they were doing... "Wow!" I thought, Catholic Worship is COMPLICATED!I didn't even know the half … [Read more...]

In Jonathan R. Wilson's recent book God's Good World, Dr. Wilson tries to form a doctrine of "creation," through which he frames the whole of the cosmos, and human beings in particular within a theological framework. This is not a "new" project, in fact theologians and philosophers have been thinking and writing about this for a very long time. At other points in time cosmology was a main focus of preaching and teaching and learning. This however, has been lost over the past few centuries within … [Read more...]

This week I was asked: I would like to get Baptized, how do I do it? In the Catholic Church we do it through a bit of a complicated process which we call the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.You can break down the process into nine steps:Step One: Go to your local ParishStep Two: Find out when their next RCIA program startsStep Three: Begin exploring the faith as you go through the period of evangelizationStep Four Go through the rite of Acceptance into the order of th … [Read more...]

This is possibly my favorite video of all time. I think that I will be posting it every year as a tradition on Saint Patrick's Day! … [Read more...]

This lent I have been using the daily reflections in N.T. Wright's Lent for Everyone for my personal study and reflection. It's a book that follows the lectionary sort of. It hits most of the major lectionary texts for the year (this year is Year A), but also makes an effort to trace the overall arch of the book of Matthew (which is the Primary Gospel of Year A). It's been a huge blessing to read. Wright has an amazing ability to take the text and both honor it's context historically and tex … [Read more...]

This afternoon I had an article published at Relevant Magazine. Critiquing the poverty of deep symbols in American churches today. Here's an excerpt, read the rest here. The problem is that in the context of American evangelicalism, where religious images are often absent, pop-culture representations of the faith can become the formative symbols and images that a faith community encounters. People begin to actually see Jesus primarily through the lens of materialism and pop-culture, both of … [Read more...]

A year ago, we saw the white smoke, and a new pope emerged. He said he wanted to be called Francis because he saw the vision of St. Francis of Assisi, of a poor Church that is for the poor, as where the Church needed to go. He came out to greet the world, and he asked the thousands before him in St. Peter's Square, and the millions gathered around televisions, computers and radios to pray for him.It was one of those moments I will never forget.Today I am reminded that I need to keep … [Read more...]

This week I published this article on Millennial. Morning Prayer at Bread for the World on Friday was about connecting to the heart of Lent.  I often find it useful to remind myself of why the Church began to practice Lent each time the season gets underway.  It’s NOT about losing a few pounds, or a time to kill bad habits, or even helping us to gain self-control over sins and failings.In short, Lent is NOT a self-help program.Lent is about GOD helping us.In every aspect of our praye … [Read more...]