Second Sunday of Advent One of the most important tools music ministers and presiders use is our voice. We warm up and strengthen our voices with vocal exercises. We practice out loud the prayers and readings and spend hours crafting … Read More
If you are a homilist, you know what it is like to look out at the assembly on Sunday and see a sluggish, disengaged assembly. Most people may not even be looking at you. And those who are, are staring … Read More
You might think you don’t have much influence on the homilies at your parish. But think again. One important principle from Vatican II was that all the faithful, by reason of their baptism, have the right and duty to participate … Read More
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time—A I know nothing of what it is like to bear the responsibility and privilege of preaching the homily Sunday after Sunday, to carry the weight of a community’s hopes that they might hear a word … Read More
When a young nurse named Sheila was asked about her religion, she said: I believe in God. I’m not a religious fanatic. I can’t remember the last time I went to church. My faith has carried me a long way. … Read More
On September 30, 2019, Pope Francis declared in an apostolic letter that “the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the Word of God” (Aperuit Illis, 3). This letter and the … Read More
Fifth Sunday of Easter While everyone else is starting to look forward to summer, we’ve only come to the halfway point of Easter! Especially because Easter Sunday came so late this year, we might start to feel a bit like … Read More
Many years ago, attended a regional theater matinée of Shakespeare’s Richard III. As I settled into my center seat, I heard a small commotion behind me. A bus-load of middle school students began filling in the back rows. Richard III … Read More
Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday) In Easter, the newly baptized begin to experience the world and their faith through the lens of the sacraments they have celebrated. They hone this new perception in the Sunday Masses of the … Read More
Readings for the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself. How clearly Jesus distills the law. Yet, every so often our behavior might teach that love of God and neighbor don’t actually have to … Read More