The heart of the Eucharist
Seventh Sunday of Easter – C The Easter season invites us to deepen our grasp of the paschal mystery and make it part of our lives. The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults gives us four ways to do this: … Read More
A tedious mission?
21st Sunday Ordinary Time – B Five Sundays ago, the crowd wanted to make Jesus king. Now, most of those who have stayed through his long sermon about bread from heaven and eating and drinking his own flesh and blood … Read More
Upending the table
18th Sunday Ordinary Time – B In today’s revelation of Jesus’s true identity, the crowd (who stands in for us) misses the boat entirely. They keep asking Jesus the wrong questions: When did you get here? What can we do? … Read More
Beyond bread and wine
17th Sunday Ordinary Time – B Today we shift to John’s Gospel for a series of Sunday reflections on the bread of life. We will hear these passages as eucharistic, leading us perhaps to focus primarily on Communion. However, John … Read More
The mystery of a meal
Body and Blood of Christ – B We spend a lot of time explaining the Eucharist so that those who come to Communion understand what they are receiving. Sacramental law requires that one must have “sufficient knowledge and careful preparation … Read More
Why communion ministers serve — a guide for trainers
One of my very first jobs as a liturgical leader was to train communion ministers. I was a college student in southern Missouri, and the local bishop had given permission for our Catholic student center to have lay communion ministers … Read More
Liturgical adaptations during the pandemic
Q. I have two questions about liturgy during the pandemic. The first is about communion from the cup. Our parish has always offered both the body and blood of Christ to the assembly. Now, for safety reasons, we are considering … Read More
Bulletin Shorts for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) – 14 June 2020 Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a. Psalm 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20. 1 Corinthians 10:16-17. Sequence – Lauda Sion / Laud, O Zion. John 6:51-58. Bread and Wine; Flesh … Read More
True food and drink
Body and Blood of Christ Twice today we hear how God fed the Israelites with “a food unknown to you and your fathers.” We see something similar in the Gospel when the Jews were dumbfounded at Jesus’s strange offer to … Read More
Bulletin Shorts for the Fifth Sunday of Easter
Fifth Sunday of Easter – 10 May 2020 Acts 6:1-7. Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19. 1 Peter 2:4-9. John 14:1-12. Chosen, Royal, and Holy. Jesus tells the disciples during the Last Supper that they know the way – to God, to … Read More