The Communion Rite, the Dangerous Work of the Liturgy

December 28, 2019 By Jack Hartjes

Communion is the most important part of the Mass. I believe that now, but I didn’t always. In the past I would have given that place to the Consecration. Well, the Consecration is a pretty big deal. What was mere bread and wine becomes, substantially, the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. A miracle, if you want to call it that, though not the sort that gets around any laws of nature. This change is completely lost on... Read more

COP25 Climate Conference Disappointing; Churches React

December 21, 2019 By Jack Hartjes

Some Americans, including in my town in Southern Minnesota, who are not necessarily climate-change deniers, still say, “Why should we be the ones to make all the sacrifices. Let other countries do their part.” Well, other countries are ahead of us in combating climate change. Meanwhile the United States under Donald Trump will back out of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement. That is the back story of COP25 the meeting of nearly 200 countries in Madrid. Here’s the good... Read more

A Mass for Carlos Ortega and the Second Beatitude: Is There Comfort, in This World or the Next?

December 19, 2019 By Jack Hartjes

I wrote the Prayers of the Faithful for the Mass of Resurrection for my son-in-law Carlos Ortega. The Gospel reading was the Beatitudes. That reading and the second petition sat almost right next to each other in the liturgy: Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. (Matthew 5:4) Be praised, O Lord, for all of us gathered here, may we receive the comfort you promised to those who mourn, we pray. It caused me to think about... Read more

Thomas Merton, Monk in and for Troubled Times

December 14, 2019 By Jack Hartjes

I first met Thomas Merton in his early book Seeds of Contemplation. I was a philosophy student in the 1960’s, wondering how such an airy pursuit could matter in a time as troubled as the one I lived in. Merton’s life spanned a lot more trouble than mine had, but he managed to satisfy both my need for peace and my urge to explore the terrain of thought. It didn’t hurt that I found in and behind Seeds echoes of... Read more

St. Martin de Porres, 1579-1639, Patron of Hairdressers and Race Relations

December 9, 2019 By Jack Hartjes

Around August every year migrant workers of Mexican descent find work in Wisconsin cherry orchards. As I did mission work among these workers’ families, I noticed a great devotion to St. Martin de Porres. Here’s what Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals says about Martin de Porres in the December 9 entry: Martin de Porres was a Dominican brother who is often celebrated by mixed-race people and those committed to ending racism and segregation. He was born in Lima,... Read more

St. Ambrose, Reluctant Bishop of Milan

December 8, 2019 By Jack Hartjes

A provincial governor in fourth-century Italy, Ambrose was drafted to serve as bishop before he was even baptized. Reluctant to serve the chuch at first, he took the task seriously when he finally accepted the call. Ambrose gave away all of his possessions, took up a strict schedule of daily prayer, and committed himself to the study of Scripture. Called from the world of politics to serve the church, Ambrose was a leader who spoke truth to power and did... Read more

Offertory vs. Preparation of the Gifts: When does the Offering of the Mass happen?

December 7, 2019 By Jack Hartjes

The second main part of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Eucharist, begins with what we used to call the Offertory. The imaginary space visitor whom we’ve met in this series remembers that word from a previous visit back in the 1950’s. She was puzzled then. There didn’t seem to be much of an offering going on. Servers carried so-called gifts, mere bread and wine, to the altar. The priest made a kind of fuss over them. But there they... Read more

Preeminent is Not the Same as Most Urgent

December 6, 2019 By Jack Hartjes

Ranking abortion and climate change The American bishops, meeting in Baltimore recently, decided not to update their longstanding “Faithful Citizenship” guide. This is their quadrennial exercise in making the Church relevant to American politics. The current version of the guide dates from 2007. Circumstances and politics have changed over the last 12 years, but this guide to voters’ consciences has not. Instead this year the bishops merely added some ancillary materials, including videos and one controversial word: preeminent. Commonweal correctly... Read more

Charles de Foucauld and “A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals”

December 1, 2019 By Jack Hartjes

Today is for beginnings. It’s the first day of Advent, which begins the Church’s liturgical year. And it happens to be December 1, the day I turn back to the beginning of my favorite book of daily prayers, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals. This day I begin a new series on heroes of faith inspired by that book. Every two or three days on average, the book introduces a heroic person (often but not always one of the... Read more