Vatican II closed its sessions nearly four decades ago. Anyone who remembers the church before the council knows that the church has been radically changed in...
Glad You Asked
A few years ago the Vatican issued a revised version of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, the “guidebook” for how to celebrate the Mass. The cover...
While there are several definitions of the word “doctor,” they all go back to the Latin word for “teacher.” It is this meaning whence doctors of...
James Joyce said it best in Finnegans Wake that “Catholic means here comes everybody.” Our word “catholic” comes from a Greek adjective meaning “universal” and...
The Liturgy of the Hours is a small but bulky and intimidating-looking red-bound prayer book with lots of confusing multicolored ribbons. It is that, but of...
The very word confession conjures up all kinds of stories and images, but those who go to confession know that it is a source of holy comfort and blessed...
In a 1995 episode of the popular TV drama The X-Files, FBI agent Fox Mulder—a true believer in extraterrestrial life—has a quick exchange with his partner Dana...
It’s almost as if Mel Gibson’s The Passion has come to life. In Chicago’s largely Hispanic Pilsen neighborhood, some 7,000 people gather at...
The Bible is considered the inspired word of God by the faithful. So you have to wonder: where did it come from? With all the writings floating around the...
Everyone knows that, with a few exceptions, Catholic priests are celibate. But can Catholic deacons marry? Married men have been admitted to the clergy of the...
