Months before my wedding, my social media accounts started promoting photos of my off-the-rack wedding dress. The targeted advertising went to waste, however...
Sacraments
My friend recently asked me in an email conversation why I stay in the Catholic Church. “If that sounds confrontational, it’s not,” he wrote in his email. “At...
The moment was 79 years ago, but it is as fresh in my mind as if it were yesterday: I was a first grader in Catholic school and, as such, was expected to...
This spring, my son will receive his first communion. As this is our first child, we are filled with excitement at the prospect of our little boy participating...
Last fall, our son and the rest of his second grade class at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Fort Wayne, Indiana started preparing for their first communion. First...
I am a professor of theology, but I cannot tell you what sacraments are. The sacraments, you see, are not things that can be explained but acts that engage us...
For many Catholics, the word liturgy brings to mind processionals with incense and a crucifix, Eucharistic prayers, or the Communion Rite. Vestments, incense...
In the ancient Near East, olive oil was used for healing, sealing, and strengthening. Athletes in ancient Greece would use it to limber up and soothe their...
There’s an old joke about two pastors discussing the problem of bats in the attic of their respective churches. “I’ve tried everything,” Father Brown complains...
The gasps are audible at our Easter Vigil, when adults in parishes are baptized in cleverly disguised wading pools: “Was it really necessary to ruin their...
