About Liturgy What matters most: Despite our expectation that Advent is a quieter time, this first Sunday of the new liturgical year is a flurry of activity in parishes. We switch out old missalettes, worship aids, and liturgical calendars. The environment … Read More
Readings for the First Sunday of Advent, Year B Maybe you’ve seen the Internet meme of Jesus at a closed door ready to knock. The caption says: “Jesus is coming. Look busy!” No matter what we do, it’s hard to … Read More
Readings for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Year A I see them, Lord, every morning, standing on the same street corner. They hold their tattered signs— “will work for food”— with every bit of … Read More
Readings for Thanksgiving Day, USA There are three things that happen at every good meal. First, there is communion in all its aspects, not just eating food but also reconciling with those we don’t get along with or would rather … Read More
Readings for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A “Don’t give your oil away.” A wise woman said that to me many years ago when I was discerning a vocation as a lay woman in the church. At the … Read More
Readings for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A One need not be ordained to participate in clericalism. You can find it in any liturgical minister who sees themselves as set apart for their own benefit. However, to be … Read More
Readings for the Solemnity of All Saints Readings for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls) These dual feasts of All Saints and All Souls give us an opportunity to reflect on symbols of liminality. One such symbol … Read More
God, bless all the people we will meet. Let our visit with them be a pleasant treat. Whatever the costumes we wear tonight, may we all be clothed with Christ’s light. Protect us from danger and the devil’s ways, that … Read More
It can become quite easy for liturgists to fall prey to the sin of idolatry, making the things of the liturgy—rules and rubrics, symbols and actions, all the things of the senses—greater than the work of the Holy Spirit. Don’t … Read More
Readings for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Recently, I was on a shuttle bus at the airport, going from terminal to terminal. As the shuttle driver drove, he announced the names of the airlines at the upcoming … Read More