The conversation around the Eucharist in recent months has focused on political figures and “Eucharistic coherence.” I can’t help but juxtapose these largely theoretical discussions with the real barriers to the Eucharist that exist for many of the faithful. I...
A reflection on the readings for Sunday, August 8, 2021 — the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time When it comes to consuming junk food, Americans are number one. Here are some statistics I came across that prove the point: Most Americans...
A reflection on the readings for Sunday, August 1, 2021 — the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time What can we do to accomplish the works of God? (John 6:28) This question is posed by the growing crowds who have been journeying...
A reflection on the readings for Sunday, July 25, 2021 — the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time “And this food is called among us Εὐχαριστία [the Eucharist], of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that...
Like many Catholics who live in the Washington, DC area, I have attended the annual March for Life many times over the years. For those who haven’t been, it’s a massive annual pro-life rally held every year on January 22,...
Today’s readings connect many things: the blood of the sacrifice, the priest, the community, and the covenant. They show how these all come together in Jesus in the Eucharist. The first reading from Exodus depicts Moses acting as a priest...
When I prepared my Holy Thursday homily last year, the pandemic was raging, public liturgies were suspended, everybody participated online, there was no washing of feet, and—besides the celebrant—no one received the bread and wine of the Last Supper. As...
This has been a Thanksgiving like no other. A national holiday that we otherwise celebrate with abandon is being observed with utmost caution, restraint, devoid of large family gatherings, and perhaps, even alone. A pandemic Thanksgiving – it almost sounds...
The talented Catholic journalist Brian Fraga has written an excellent and insightful piece at his blog, The Catholic Beat. Entitled, “Your Choice: The Eucharist or the Red Pill,” Fraga looks at the emergent radicalization in the traditionalist Catholic movement. Hallmarks...
As you think about returning to Mass, perhaps the thought of receiving the Eucharist makes you nervous. Certainly, there are guidelines to protect your safety, but what if the priest makes a mistake? What if something too small to see...
Across the country, bishops are gradually beginning to allow public Masses again. This process will be slow-going, and the dioceses that are reopening have extended the dispensation of the faithful from their obligation to attend Sunday Mass. How public liturgies...
Public health precautions in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic have meant that Catholics around the globe are unable to be physically present at our Holy Week and Easter liturgies. Our dismay is completely justified. A confluence of factors has...
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