How do we attract people to our church? How do we invite people to “come and see”? These are questions being asked with greater urgency these days. The “nones,” that is, those with no religious affiliation, are growing in number, while too many Catholics are walking away from any sort of consistent practice.
A year and a half after the U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops voted to proceed with a National Eucharistic Revival, this weekend -- the feast of Corpus Christi, observed -- marks the official launch.
Twenty-nine-year old Dom Brand of South Carolina, in an apparently random act in 2020, shot and killed an 80-year-old woman named Mary Ann Elvington. His action resulted in several tragedies unfolding simultaneously.
The excusable doesn’t need to be excused and the inexcusable cannot be excused. Michael Buckley wrote those words commenting on Peter’s triple betrayal of Jesus.
Where can all of us believers come together beyond the divisions created by history, dogma, denomination and religion? Where is there a place all people of sincere heart can find common ground and worship together?
When I was a young, single professional living in Washington, I harbored a secret judgment against churches that had cry rooms. In my naivete, I considered parishes that built these spaces to be intolerant of young children.
When I was a boy, there was a revolution in Hungary against the communist government. The Soviet Union put it down brutally. Several hundred thousand Hungarians fled the country, some for the United States.
One of the great miracles of the Gospels is that the deepest wisdom is contained within the most straightforward kind of storytelling.
This Lent will be a little different from previous ones for me. Personal responsibilities will make it difficult to make “big plans,” such as setting aside significant times of fasting, major volunteer activities or going on retreat.
Sometimes it takes an outsider to help you to see the beauty and depth of something you have never fully appreciated. I suspect this is true for many of us, myself no exception, regarding the celebration of the Eucharist in our churches.
