Imagine you are a visitor from space finding yourself in a Catholic church during Sunday liturgy just in time for the Introductory Rites. Not having any previous acquaintance with churchy things, you’d have to interpret what you see according to its most obvious meaning. Not knowing Jesus would be a big disadvantage, but being without preconceptions would be a plus. I’m not an extraterrestrial, but I have another advantage that will help me look afresh at today’s liturgy: I’m old.... Read more
If you’re a traditionalist Catholic looking at the modern Mass, you might think the liturgical reforms changed the Mass beyond recognition. But let’s try to imagine a more neutral observer. My imaginary observer is going to be an alien from another planet. This being will have superb powers of observation, including the ability to read minds. He/she/it/they came to earth in the early ‘60’s and happened to take in a Catholic Mass. A certain Jack Hartjes was there. Returning 50... Read more
Bad and better arguments for male-only priesthood, but no reason to keep women out of the college of cardinals The Amazon Synod is bringing an extra level of attention to women’s role in Church leadership. Women are the leaders in many Amazon communities. That circumstance warrants synod fathers’ wish to recognize officially the religious leadership that women already exercise there. Some bishops have argued for ordaining women as deacons, opening up the lowest clerical order to women. How about looking... Read more
Austin Ivereigh, in a Commonweal article makes much of the fact that the Synod for the amazon is a territorial synod, the first ever, he says. Doing so and focusing more intently than customary on Amazonian conditions, he helped me understand the push for a ministries structure peculiar to the Amazon. I rely on this article for much of what follows. Despite charges of paganism, pantheism, and other heresies from “superannuated cardinals” and some Catholic news outlets, Ivereigh sees, on... Read more
For any group that wishes to stand apart from the rest, identity is a major issue. The Church’s identity crisis of the last few decades is coming to a head with recent developments. These include Pope Francis’ emphasis on compassion and his push to the margins and the push against Francis by some, of whom Cardinal Burke is a leading example. The latest scene in the identity wars is the Amazon Synod. The Bible records a similar identity crisis in... Read more
The Synod of Bishops for the Amazon opened Sunday with a Mass and a call from Pope Francis to “fight fire with fire.” The fires include nearly 80,000 burning in the Amazon rainforest, inflammatory moves in some Church circles in opposition to Pope Francis and the synod, and the fire of the Gospel. “Jesus did not come to bring a gentle evening breeze, but to light a fire on the earth, ”the Pope said. He could have extended the quote... Read more
The timing couldn’t have been better for me. Got up for morning prayer on the Feast of St. Francis, and instead found Pope Francis planting a tree, live on my computer. The event marks the close of the month-long Season of Creation. Also with remarkable timing, this ceremony dedicates the upcoming Amazon Synod to St. Francis. The tree Pope Francis symbolically planted – it’s a Holms Oak, supposed to be the species on which birds perched to listen to St.... Read more
The sacrament of Holy Orders is not about a separate class of Christians whom God blesses above the rest. Priests don’t have one more guardian angel than the rest of us, as one young priest preached at a children’s Mass. If there’s an ontological difference between priests and lay people, it only serves to bind together, not separate. The office of priesthood is one of service, but that service focuses not so much on God as on God’s people, the... Read more
I start with the romantic notion that sex means something; it’s not just physical pleasure. If so, then sex naturally intends to be a source of beauty in the world. I add a religious theme: Sexual intimacy is one of God’s great gifts. If so, then it’s a way God saves the world, bringing us into unity and love out of isolation and self-centeredness. Why has this natural beauty and supernatural grace worked so poorly? Sex turns out to be... Read more
Celebrations of Grace: The Sacraments of the Catholic Church, Part 16 The sacrament of Matrimony teaches us to look at sacraments in a new way. Take a common definition of sacrament: effective sign of God’s grace. We’re talking about signs that contain or effect what they signify. Words are a bit fluid here, but often, people say, “symbol” works better than “sign” for this reality. The sign, or symbol, of Matrimony doesn’t quit when the couple walks out the church... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In