My Latest over at Patheos on Evangelization

Check out my latest column on Patheos at A Word in Season, where the word is evangelization, and where I'm talking about what the heart of the new evangelization must be in us.

Here's a snip...

The heart of the new evangelization is not the Year of Faith, or the forthcoming Synod, or the next great pope, or the next great book, or parish program, or even all new Catholic media on the internet or the broadcast bands or in film.

No. The heart of the new evangelization is an actual beating heart.

It is the heart of Jesus that burns with love for us.

And it is our hearts that yearn to be one with his.

The heart of the new evangelization is about a Person, the Person of Jesus Christ, and our encounter—our living encounter—with him.

Everything starts there, and everything must flow back there.

Read it all.

Tithing on Social Media? Well, as a strategy for the new evangelization, it might get you involved...

My latest offering at Patheos discusses the new evangelization, the generosity of God, and our response to it. How did I come to this idea of tithing on our usage of social media? Simple. It's a a matter of stewardship... and putting our resources at the service of the new evangelization.

Here's a snippet...

There’s an old joke that talks about the angels questioning Jesus about the worldwide evangelization  plan after his return to heaven following the Ascension: 

Angel: So, Jesus, you’ve just returned to heaven as the victorious Lord of Glory, King of Heaven and Earth, what’s your plan for spreading the news of salvation to the whole world? 

Jesus: Well, you see those folks down there on earth -- Peter, James, John, and the rest of my disciples? 

Angel: Yes… 

Jesus: I told them to tell everyone. 

Angel: That’s the plan? 

Jesus: That’s it. 

As it was then, so it is now. The plan for evangelization still resides with us, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 

And all of us who are baptized into the Church, have been baptized into the Church’s mission, which is our mission too. The call to be evangelizers is at once corporate and personal.  Some are called to bring the news of salvation to foreign lands. Most are called to bring it to our next-door neighbor -- or, to our next Facebook status.

Read it all. 

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The Jesus Moment... my latest at Patheos...

I want to wish you all a very happy Holy Week! Tonight starts the vigil that leads us into the Triduum.  Over at Patheos, I offer my latest column. Here's the front end...

I collect refrigerator magnets that capture some of my favorite moments. You’ll find many familiar faces under clear plastic frames, loved ones from far and near. The rest of the door is littered with keepsakes from favorite travel destinations. One magnet, quoting Italian author and poet, Cesare Pavese, explains them all: “We do not remember days. We remember moments.” 

The power of memory is at once a terrible and tremendous gift. I have learned that the more I recall, with gratitude and thanksgiving, the things that bring me freedom and joy, the more I am drawn to remember them when terrible things strike. Such memories bind and hold me together, anchors against strong tides. Leaning into difficult moments, I sift the value of their import, against what I hold true. 

I recently came out of the confessional after a tender, grace-filled moment with Jesus in the sacrament of Reconciliation, having released a deep emotional wound. Minutes later in the pew, after my prayers of release and relief, I sought to linger in the peaceful presence of God. 

I opened my bible to the fifth chapter of John. The words on the sacred page seemed as if they were written just for me. The text described Jesus’ instantaneous healing of a paralyzed man whose affliction disabled him for 38 years.  This, after I had just experienced something lifted from my heart that had crippled me for about the same length of time. Those verses were a second gift from Jesus, a bonus to the graces of the sacrament, given to me, no doubt, so I wouldn’t miss the point. The formerly paralyzed man didn’t keep his news to himself. And so, here I am, in imitation. 

Jesus could not have been any more real to me than if he walked into the chapel and sat down next to me. I will hold onto that for some time to come and cherish it as I, too, learn how to walk with stronger legs after Jesus. 

That moment in the chapel was just the most recent in a series of Jesus moments in my life. I could never have constructed it, or imagined it on my own. It was totally orchestrated by him. Like a lover’s spontaneous kiss that renders you speechless, it begs only to be received. 

There's more, here.

Entrusting Cuba to Caridad... a guest post by Maria Morera Johnson

Photo by Maria Johnson

I've written about this subject before.... the lovely story of Our Lady of Charity "coming" to the people of Cuba over 400 years. Ah, but it is so much more than an story of sweet devotion to Mary, though it is very much that... today it has socio-political and religious ramifications for the tiny island of Cuba.

If you've ever thought that the story of salvation history ended with the coming of Christ 2000 years ago, think again. The history of salvation continues in the very lives we lead. The will of God continues to unfold in the world today, and Mary, the Mother of God is often playing a decisive role. In the last century and a half we've seen it happening in Lourdes, Fatima, Akita, Kibeho, and elsewhere. Many have believed that Mary has played a role in assisting the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, in the wake of Pope John Paul's consecration of Russia, and the entire world to Mary. Now, I can only guess what Our Lady's intercession may bring to Cuba in the future.

For now, Cuba's patroness, Our Lady of Charity, has brought two papal visits to this tiny nation within 15 years... and there are more and more public displays of faith taking place in the face of government oppression.

This week, my good friend, Maria Morera Johnson, who has taught me so much about this devotion to Our Lady of Charity, and about Cuban history, takes a turn as my guest at my column at Patheos. It is a pleasure to let her share her love of her Catholic faith, her love of Mary, and her heritage in her observations regarding Pope Benedict's visit to Cuba this week.

Here's a little excerpt....

Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Cuba, the country of my birth and the country my parents and I fled in 1966, both delights and pulls on the heartstrings of many Cubans and Cuban-Americans like myself, watching his pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of Cobre from afar, yearning to be present with the Holy Father in this Jubilee Year. 

So much of my identity lies bundled within the mantle of Cuba’s patroness, La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, that I too easily forget who she is. 

To my child’s heart she is a constant companion, my ever-present friend whose image in the homes of family and friends, doctors’ offices, and storefronts in the Cuban neighborhoods of Atlanta and Miami where I grew up identified a little piece of home. The sight of her, especially in an unexpected place, is cause for joy -- as an adult I learned Cause of Our Joy as one of Mary’s many titles -- back then I just knew her as “la virgencita”, a sweet diminutive denoting the closeness of my relationship to her. 

Wherever she was, there was Baby Jesus nestled in her left arm. As a child, I never paid any mind to the object in her right hand, a cross. This juxtaposition of the Incarnation and Crucifixion, the dichotomy of joy and human suffering, speaks volumes to me today. 

Cuba’s history is also a dichotomy, a history resplendent with the natural beauty of an island paradise and a people filled with goodwill that contrasts with periods of oppression and abuse. In all of this, the Blessed Mother has remained present, watching over her children. 

Read it all, please.

Entering into Scripture as we approach Holy Week... my latest at Patheos

The name of my weekly column at Patheos is A Word in Season... so, this week, I'm hoping to give you exactly that!

I have a few suggestions for finishing out Lent and entering Holy Week. Some of these practicing regarding Scripture reading and making forays into the Catechism might be helpful if you are feeling a little sluggish in your devotional life, or perhaps, like you've heard it all before...


Check out "The Drama of Scripture: Enter more deeply"

Lessons of confidence and courage from the saints in the face of death

In the aftermath of Ash Wednesday, when we consider our dustiness, and that to the dust that our mortal bodies will return, I'd like to suggest two articles that take those themes into consider, in light of the Gospel and in light of the heroic virtues found in the lives of the saints.

The first is Dying With the Confidence of a Saint... and here's a snippet:

Our society doesn’t like to think much about death. Yet, there is much to be gained, as a Christian, by reflecting on our death, and about our final destiny. This idea of uniting our death with the death of Jesus is the key to facing our own death with hope and, even, joy and peace. 

The saints show us the way. 

St. Therese of Lisieux, who died of disease as a young woman in her twenties, said this:  “I am not dying. I am entering eternal life.” 

Note the boldness of her statement: she is not dying!  She is merely passing through death on the way to the next phase of life! Was St. Therese being merely sentimental or foolish? No!  She saw the truth of this reality, and saw the opportunity to remind her loved ones of that fact. Recall that the Church underscores such truth by making Therese a Doctor of the Church. Her statement is found in the Catechism (Cf. CCC 1011.) 

St. Therese, and other saints like her, had a rich and vivid faith in the promise of everlasting life that we must strive to imitate. Death is only a threshold; it is not an end. 

St. Teresa of Avila is another great example. She, too, is matter of fact: “I want to see God and, in order to see him, I must die.” (Cf. CCC 1011.)  

If you read St. Paul’s epistles, you will again encounter this lively faith in Christ that gives positive meaning to Christian death: “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Phil 1:21.)”

You can read the rest here.

The second is taken from my archives, and it honors the saint that is honored in today's liturgy, Polycarp: An Unusual Name, A Remarkable Story...  here's an excerpt:

At the stake Polycarp seizes the opportunity to pray aloud before all the spectators. His 86 year-old heart swells as he calls upon the true God.

"O Lord God Almighty… I bless You because You have granted me this day and hour, that I might receive a portion amongst the number of martyrs in the cup of Your Christ unto resurrection of eternal life...

May I be received… in Your presence this day, as a rich and acceptable sacrifice, as You did prepare and reveal it beforehand, and have accomplished it, You that art the faithful and true God. (Martyrdom 14: 1-2.)

God answers Polycarp’s prayer in a most unusual way.

When he had offered up the Amen and finished his prayer, the firemen lighted the fire. And, a mighty flame flashing forth, we to whom it was given to see, saw a marvel, yea and we were preserved that we might relate to the rest what happened.

The fire, making the appearance of a vault, like the sail of a vessel filled by the wind, made a wall round about the body of the martyr; and it was there in the midst, not like flesh burning, but like a loaf in the oven or like gold and silver refined in a furnace. For we perceived such a fragrant smell, as if it were the wafted odor of frankincense or some other precious spice.

So at length the lawless men, seeing that his body could not be consumed by the fire, ordered an executioner to go up to him and stab him with a dagger. And when he had done this, there came forth [a dove and] a quantity of blood, so that it extinguished the fire; and all the multitude marveled that there should be so great a difference between the unbelievers and the elect.  (Martyrdom, 15:1 – 16:1.)

Imagine experiencing the satisfying aroma of bread baking in the oven when you should be observing a hideous death… imagine one man’s life being consumed by the Eucharistic majesty even as he prepares to breathe his last. 

Everything about Polycarp’s life declared: “I am a Christian.”

For years, scholars have written of the parallels between the suffering of Jesus’ passion and the final hours of Polycarp’s life… the prayer for the disciples, the final meal, the arrest, the interrogation, and the many people calling for his death. It is all of a piece in the will of God.

Tertullian, writing in the years following Polycarp’s death, declared, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of Christians.” 

The death of martyrs did not put an end to Christianity as some opponents had hoped. It only served to fuel the faith of Christians for generations to come, whose sustenance and hope remains in the Eucharist to this day.

You can read more, here.

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The word for "A Word in Season" is mercy: A guest post by Maria Morera Johnson

Maria Morera Johnson is a friend in real life and in my online writing and podcasting world. Since she lives in the South and I live in the Northeast, our virtual communications are punctuated by occasional road trips. It doesn't matter who is doing the driving or riding shotgun, half the fun is getting there!

We both do a fair amount of writing each week, and it's a pleasure when we can buckle up and share the road together... like she is today, guesting at my column at Patheos. Half the joy of the Easter-to-come is magnified in the getting there. Maria challenges us to consider a merciful road map for Lent, so let us be off!

Maria writes:                    

In today’s busy world – where we are pulled by our responsibilities to family, work, friends, and all the extra things we find piled on our plates, it’s probably not a bad idea to prayerfully discern a particular course for Lent. Why not get ideas from people who’ve managed to make it work, or managed to articulate it in a manner we can comprehend and apply.

So here I am jumping on the bandwagon and sharing an idea...  In fact, it’s one of those things that pushes the boundaries of my comfort zone. When that happens, I think maybe I’ve hit the right course of action for myself.

You see, the nature of my day job, as a professor, and the nature of my other job, in new media both give me a platform to run my mouth. I talk all day to a captive audience in my classroom, and then, I get on my soapbox on my blog and behind a microphone on my podcast and talk some more.

With all that talking, I figure it’s time I put my money where my mouth is…um…where my hands and feet are…as the hands and feet of Christ.

I’m going to embrace the Corporal Works of Mercy. It’s daunting.

Don't be daunted, read the rest. 

The Contagious Bonds of Faith and Friendship

My weekly column at Patheos today looks to the saints and apostles for inspiration on glories of friendship... and how friendships can evangelize and build up the church.

Here's a sample:

Faith is caught not taught. That pithy adage describes my own conversion to Christ as a teen. I was raised in a Christian home, but I did not as yet own my faith. Though I knew about Christ, I did not know him. 

The witness of a few close friends won me over. At first, it was more of what they did and less about what they said. 

My heart yearned for what they had… authentic love for one another born of respect, not competition or social status. They walked together with an easy regard for the uniqueness of the other; characterized by a building up, not tearing down. Their joy radiated from boon companionships. A community ethic rooted in teamwork brought compassionate service to others. 

There was a warm fire about them. And I needed to know its source. 

Jesus said, “I have called you friends.” (John 15: 15.) 

Friends… The God of the Universe wants to be friends with us. God took on a permanent partnership with his creatures, not only by taking on flesh in the Incarnation, but by longing to share our company so that one day we might share his. 

God, the mighty friend -- refuge and rock, consoler and confidant, healer and lover -- caught my attention. And I have never been the same. Once “caught” I couldn’t wait to be “taught” about the faith of the friends of God. 

There's more.  Subscribe to the column here. 

The Ripples of Generosity, Unseen - my latest at Patheos

The beauty of the Sacred Scripture is the myriad of layers that are found in every chapter. My column this week at Patheos ponders the coming of the Magi to Bethlehem, and the unexpected blessings I have witnessed, and sometimes received, from modern-day "magi" in our midst... in a kind of unseen ripple effect...

Here's an excerpt:

Generosity is going the distance with big-hearted energy. It powerfully frames the Gospel’s challenge to “love one another (John 13: 34).” 

After all, the call to holiness is supposed to imitate God’s first love for us… “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…(John 3: 16.)”  

God’s munificence leads us, like Magi-wannabes, toward charity for others. 

Generosity has a rather noble duty attached to it. It is always connected with lifting up another person. It is a chance to serve, bless, or elevate another through the sheer graciousness of giving liberally. To paraphrase Jesus’ later Sermon on the Mount: we go the extra mile. (See Mt 5: 39-41.) 

Generosity is the ability to give with no thought of getting, whether one is giving time, talent, or treasure. Fortunately, in God’s economy, giving without thought of a return is never for nothing. 

People I know have routinely offered their generosity to my family and me. I am so grateful for their unselfish love. Even if they were unable to see into the future to know if it was all going to be worth it, they didn’t stop from giving in the first place. 

The gifts of the Magi remind me of a remarkable potentiality: when we bestow generosity on those beyond our own circles, unseen exponential blessings become possible. There are many people this side of heaven who will never know that they have participated in the largesse of Providence through their own charitable giving.

Read the rest of the column here.  And please consider subscribing to A Word in Season today, and get it delivered right to your RSS reader or email inbox.

 

Catholics Don't Have a Monopoly on Mary: Her Motherhood Reaches Out

Over the past few years, my personal study regarding Mariology, or the study of Mary in light of Christology, (the study of Christ), has brought me in contact with the members of the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Now that's an organization with a long title, but just take a moment to consider the important work it might do. Imagine what might happen if Catholics and non-Catholics alike found peaceful co-existance around a common Mother?

I write about it in my column this week at Patheos, titled "Blessed Virgin Mary: A Mother Not Just for Catholics".

Here's an excerpt:

As a young girl, I somehow got the impression that Catholics held the monopoly on the Blessed Virgin Mary. After all, we’re the ones who set aside feast days like today, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. As a kid, some of my local Protestant friends scoffed at Mary, thinking erroneously that we Catholics worshipped her, or somehow deified her. As it turns out, both points of view were suffering from a profound tunnel vision. 

How much I had to learn, both of Mary, and of the genuine esteem and interest that other faith traditions held for her, whose life and destiny exemplified both the love and the glory of God. 

Today, the Catholic Church, indeed, celebrates Mary, the Immaculate Conception, officially promulgated in 1854 by Pope Pius IX. 

The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin. (Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, 1854). 

But the seeds of this dogma are found much earlier than 1854. In fact Pope Pius IX was just affirming what was already grounded in Sacred Scripture. To begin with, there is the familiar story of the Annunciation to Mary in the first chapter of Luke’s gospel.
 And the angel… said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. (Luke 1:28 Douay-Rheims version). 

Mary’s person is declared to be full of grace in this verse. She is singled out from the rest of humanity. Her ontological nature or her being -- her very existence -- is full of grace according to God’s Word on the lips of the Angel. 

This makes Mary unique. One-of-a-kind. Pure. Immaculate. “Blessed…" 

Mary’s Immaculate Conception reveals the love and the glory of God, and her being and magnificent life is God’s masterpiece in Creation. Mary is the recipient of God’s extraordinary love and highest praise as shown through the message of the Angel. 

What is accomplished in Mary points to the glory of God. Her role in human history, and ultimately, salvation history, has meaning for us all. Her life is intimately acquainted with every member of the Trinity: Mary is the faithful Daughter of the Father, the loving Mother to the Son, and the fruitful Spouse of the Holy Spirit. 

What’s more, Mary’s way of life is a beacon for many people… even those who do not ascribe to the Catholic Christian tradition. She is a spiritual mother to millions of children around the globe: Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, and Muslim. 

One example of this blessedness of the Virgin Mary is found within the conversations and ongoing work within the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Its mission brings together scholars, clerics, and laity interested in finding Mary as point of union and connection, rather than division. 

The Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary (ESBVM) exists to advance the study at various levels of the place of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Church, under Christ and of related theological questions; and in the light of such study to promote ecumenical devotion. Its aim is to show that, in the Blessed Virgin Mary, Christians of many traditions may find a focus in their search for unity. (Taken from the ESBVM website.)

Read the whole thing. 

This article contains commentary from Dr. Virginia Kimball and Dr. Maura Hearden, two theologians who have been frequent guests on Among Women. 

Dr. Kimball joined us for AW 1, 2, 100, & 101.
Dr. Hearden joined us for AW 31, 32, & 83.

The Advent of our Attentiveness - my latest at Patheos

In this, my final column in the series on the new Roman Missal, I pick up on the themes of the early Gospels in Advent, and the response of the Centurion, whose words we make our own as we respond to the invitation to partake of the Eucharist. Here's the heart of it:

The Gospel, echoing the Prophets Isaiah and John the Baptist, speaks ofthe raising of the voice -- proclaiming -- not just watching. For Advent isalso about speaking and doing… of reacting to what one knows to be true. 

These words beckon a holy disposition… not only watchful waiting, butof solemn preparations and vocal proclamations telling of our love for the OneWho is to come. The One who is soon to arrive in our midst bringing his powerand his glory. 

In this, the final article in this column’s series on the people’sresponses in the updated Roman Missal,we discover at the words we utter as we prepare to receive Jesus in theEucharist. 

They have everything to dowith a careful watchfulness and a proper preparation for a divine encounterwith the Lord. The same Lord, who, remarkably, comes via the Incarnation as oneof us, just as surely as he surpasses us in wisdom, power, and glory… comes tocure us, forgive us, and save us.  

He is Jesus: the One God recognized even by a pagan Centurion (See Mt 8: 5-13) … Whose beloved servant wasparalyzed and suffering, yet whose faith anticipated the touch of Jesus to cometo the rescue.  

Indeed, it is the Lord who comes to us in this holy visitation at Massin word and sacrament. 

In the old translation we prayed: Lord, I am notworthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed. 

In the new translation we pray: 

Lord, I am notworthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soulshall be healed. 

The Centurion’s watchful eye had taught him everything he needed toknow about Jesus, whose very words contained the power. And so he petitionedJesus to heal his servant. As Jesus acquiesced, prepared to come directly toperform the healing, the words of the Centurion’s faith and humility admitsomething profound. Jesus’ great power and authority is so potent that he needonly speak it, and the healing will be manifested. 

And so, our new prayer at this point in the Mass is this directiteration from Matthew 8:8, theCenturion’s response to Jesus: Lord, I amnot worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and myservant shall be healed. Only we will not pray for a servant’s healing, wewill be praying for our own. 

What more appropriate prayer might we make during this holy season ofAdvent? 

Here's the whole thing.

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A Princess Gives It All Away -- Inspiration for real life from St. Elizabeth of Hungary

I first encountered the story of St. Elizabeth of Hungary when my husband and I were first married. We belonged to St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish. She was always depicted with a basket of bread in her hands and she wore a crown. In real life, I think she might have hesitated wearing the crown-like adornments, but I can't say for sure. But her lifestyle was one lived in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, and her day-to-day activities were filled with loving service to her neighbors, despite having the privileged life as a daughter of King Andrew of Hungary, and being wed a prominent German Duke. The woman had it all -- a devoted, wealthy husband, three children, a castle life...and she simply gave it all away...

Read the story of St Elizabeth of Hungary at A Word in Season. 

Ready or Not Here Comes the New Translation of the Roman Missal. Lotsa Tips Here!!

Well, the clock is ticking toward the First Sunday of Advent on November 27. On that Sunday, the English-speaking churches of North America and elsewhere will begin using the updated or "new" third edition of the Roman Missal for its daily and Sunday Masses. We've not had such a large change in language since 1973 -- and that's before a lot of today's Catholics were born. So there's a period of transition ahead of all of us. And many folks are still not aware of the coming changes, so please help to spread the word.

This third edition of the New Roman Missal is not a change to the Rite of the Mass, but it has several changes to the wording of the prayers we are accustomed to within the liturgy. Therefore, things are going to feel and sound a little strange for a while until we all adjust.

Here at Among Women we talked about the New Missal with Jaymie Stuart Wolfe in the context of bringing familiarity with the changes to our families, most especially to our children.  Listen to Among Women 114 for discussion about the new missal.

I've also been doing a series at Patheos on the changes coming to the people's responses in the New Missal. You'll find the latest installment, "It's Not a New Mass, It's a New Translation", focusing on the Sanctus ("Holy, Holy, Holy") and the Mystery of Faith here. But here's an excerpt...

New Translation:

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.

Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

There seems to only be the slight change in the opening line of the Sanctus, where the word “hosts” replaces the phrase “power and might.” 

This prayer comes at an important transition within the Mass, preparing our hearts to join with the priestly offering of the Eucharistic prayer. This hymn uses the thrice holy Hebrew superlative, praising the infinite and almighty God in heaven. The New Missal’s switch to using the word “hosts” more accurately reflects the Scriptural origins of this prayer. 

This hymn to God is taken directly from a heavenly vision from the prophet Isaiah. (See Is 6:3). What’s more, the vision vividly describes not just some angels present at the heaven liturgy; the word “host” refers to an army of angels lifting praises to God. 

“Host,” you may recall, also references the many angels who lit up the sky with their praises on the first Christmas night when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The shepherds were greeted by a multitude of “the heavenly host (Lk 2:13.)” 

This simple change in wording conveys powerful imagery and the truth of what is dynamically present to us in the liturgy. 

The Sanctus is the prayer of angels and we are privileged to join in their song. Heaven and earth are -- indeed -- full of God’s glory. And at this point in the Mass, we are but moments away from when heaven reaches down and touches earth in the form of the Eucharist, the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ.

Go read the rest here.

Here are the other articles in the Patheos series:

The Translation: A Renewed Understanding of Love 

Missal Changes, Part One: Defined By Prayer (On the Opening and Penitential Rites) 

Mass Changes, Part Two: The Gloria and the Creed 

It's Not a New Mass, It's a New Translation (Part Three: The Sanctus and the Mystery of Faith) 

Other helpful resources:

Resources available for free: 

USCCB: Welcoming the Roman Missal 

Changes in the People’s Parts 

Catholic TV’s series: “Preparing for the New Roman Missal” – video recordings of a symposium for priests. 

Liturgy Essentials from Pauline Books and Media  - I especially like Sr. Anne's 7 min video on her insights on the New Missal.

Life Teen's Video Series Introducing the New Missal 

OSV’s Roman Mission revision readiness plan – helpful suggestions on how to  prepare for the new translation. 

Podcast: iPadre - Fr. Jay Finelli interviews Fr. James P. Moroney, an expert who is traveling the country introducing the New Roman Missal.  

Resources available for purchase: 

Books on the Missal  -- even for kids! -- from Pauline Books and Media

A New Translation for a New Roman Missal – DVD set featuring talks by Fr. James Moroney of Vox Clara. 

The Mass Explained -- book by Fr James Moroney 

The Church’s Common Treasure – A booklet produced by the USCCB containing 11 essays exploring the history and purpose of the new translation.

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Bringing the month of the Most Holy Rosary to a close with a look at The Hail Mary

Forty One Lovely Words Grounded in Scripture and Tradition is over at Patheos. The little "Hail Mary" may be short, but it packs power. Come unpack it with me in my weekly column, "A Word is Season." 

My latest column @Patheos discusses some of the coming changes to the Roman Missal

Here's my latest column at Patheos.  This is beginning to examine some of the changes coming to the new Roman Missal, and how it will affect our prayer at Mass. Here's a snippet: 

The way we pray defines us, not just as individuals, but also corporately as a Church. A well-known Latin axiom Lex orandi lex credendi reminds us that the law of prayer is the law of belief, and indeed, our way of prayer shapes and typifies our beliefs. This is why the celebration of Eucharist is so central to the worship of Roman Catholics; our entire Creed comes together in the Mass.

To that end, bishops and clergy, Scripture and Latin scholars, poets, musicians, liturgists, and others have spent years revising a dozen drafts leading up to the release of this new translation, and the finished product offers a wonderful opportunity for renewal within the entire English-speaking Church—a chance to delve into what we say when we pray, with rekindled concentration.

It's important to note that while some of the words we pray will change, the familiar Rite and Order of the Mass will not.

Within the audible or spoken parts of the Mass, we have the priest's prayers and the prayers of the people. Changes are coming to both.

Read the rest. 

A Word in Season: The God Who Wants to Be Found

My latest over at Patheos is both a look at the upcoming Sunday Readings, and a look at one of the greatest things to ever happen to humanity: God's revelation of Himself to us. So often we think that we are searching for God, when in reality, he has been in search of us all along.

Here's a snippet:

I now understand my seeking of a relationship with God was merely my long overdue response to his first generous invitation that began with my infant baptism. My baptism was the profound starting place of my formal sacramental encounters with Him… even though I did not know it yet.  

Yet even before my baptism, God was in search of me, knowing me from within my mother’s womb.

You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb...

My very self you knew… When I was being made in secret…

Your eyes foresaw my actions; in your book all are written down;

my days were shaped, before one came to be.

(Psalm 139: 13-16.)

God courteously waited for me to catch up and learn to live within the blessing that seekers of him are destined to find him, for He wishes to be found. 

Suffice to say, I have bumbled along and made mistakes in this friendship. But I have learned of the remarkable elasticity of his grace to sustain it and me.

Read the rest.

Not Just Another Pretty Face -- The True Beauty of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

Sad to say, that there is often a comparison game going on between women with regard to looks, prestige, haves and have-nots. Here's a women who had little in terms of the worldly beauty or possessions, but who possessed the pearl of great price...my column this week at Patheos profiles Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American to ever be beatified.

Here's a snippet:

She might have been ugly by today’s glamour standards. I don’t really know, and there isn’t a photograph of her because the camera had yet to be invented. She makes me think of people whom I know who have lived with some sort of disfigurement or scarring on their face. There is an acute form of social suffering attached to that. We can all think of a face of someone who is derided for being socially awkward, or worse, rejected.

In our media-saturated culture, we tend to focus on exteriors and externals almost unconsciously. We’re often unaware that we’re doing exactly that. We look for what catches our eye or grabs our attention. This sometimes gives us a warped sense of beauty and we have to dig deep to recognize what “beauty within” is all about.

Sadly, given the stressors and conflicts in society, we might subconsciously be profiling people next to us if they differ from us in terms of race, nationality, religion, or sexual mores.

Now imagine a woman who faced rejections on many of those same levels, but still lived a grace-filled life of interior freedom. We might call her a saint. Or, as in the case of Kateri Tekakwitha, a blessed.

July 14 is the feast day of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American to be to be beatified. She was the only survivor from her family of origin when small pox infected her village. That’s how it was in the 17^th century before the age of vaccines and antibiotics. European settlers to the Americas had not only brought their trade and their Christian faith, unfortunately, they also brought their diseases.

Born in 1656 in the Mohawk River Valley in what would become Auriesville, New York, Tekakwitha had a Christian Algonquin mother and a pagan Mohawk warrior father. Tekakwitha’s battle with the small pox left her face pock-mocked and scarred, and with very poor eyesight. Her name translates to “she who bumps into things.”

The rest is here.

Veni, Sancte Spiritus -- A Word in Season

My column, A Word in Season, over at Patheos reflects and prays over the words of the Veni, Sancte Spiritus, (Come, Holy Spirit), a prayer that we'll pray as the Sequence on Pentecost Sunday.

Here's a smattering...

There are days and then there are days. You know the kind I mean. There are the days when we need every ounce of grace just to get through. If one is a praying Christian, those days are saturated with inward groanings directed toward heaven. Why? Because, even under duress, a Christian is aware that something, er, Someone upholds them every day. It is the Lord: “In Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).”

In those challenging moments of my life, there is really only one prayer to pray. In fact, it is so simple that that maybe I should pray it every day, so I may be more mindful of the grace He supplies in a personal and direct response to my utterance: “Come, Holy Spirit!”

Come, Holy Spirit, come!

And from your celestial home

Shed a ray of light divine!

Come, Father of the poor!

Come, source of all our store!

Come, within our bosoms shine.

You'll find the rest over at Patheos.

The Word for the Season: grace.... the spiritual superglue that binds us to Jesus.

A Word in Season? It's grace. The gift that was wrought by the Pascal Mystery. This week's column at Patheos taps into the mystery behind the joyous smiles we find captured at First Communions, Church weddings, and other sacramental celebrations...

The photographs are trickling in to my inbox, the Facebook page, and via the mail. You know the ones: the happy faces of tender beauties in white veils, the dandy gents in ties and jackets, the Confirmandi in Sunday best, the tiny babies in satin and lacy gowns, and the new look of freshly starched collars or religious habits coming into view. I just love looking at all those smiles. They inspire me.

‘Tis the season for the fullness of Easter joys found in the sacraments that tend to fill up the weekends in May and June. From the Baptisms and First Communions, to the Confirmations, Ordinations, and Marriages… It’s enough to get us choked up, or pushing back wistful tears.

We delight in wiggly babes being sprinkled, doused, or immersed, just as much as try to take in the joy of someone receiving their Lord in Holy Communion for the first time. We stand in quiet awe witnessing the professions of faith, the anointings, and the taking of vows to love, honor, and serve God, and one another. Even the most cynical can momentarily suspend reservations for the sake of the loved one who invited them to come to church for the celebration… reminding us that hope is something we all can intuit, even if in tiny glimpses.

Sacraments make up the treasured memories of life, the good times that sing out the Good News. They are reminders of the mystery of grace… the gift of God’s Love made visible. The intangible Presence becoming known.

The Something More we secretly hope for and yearn for is Right Here.

To me, these are most hopeful signs of a new springtime… the outpouring of grace is flowing somewhere right now from the Seven Sacraments even as we behold this moment.

Grace is the spiritual superglue that binds us to Jesus Christ -- the stuff of heaven that touches and transforms our mere existence into living well, regardless of our circumstances. I often try to picture it as God’s long arm reaching down to earth to hold us and buoy us along until he can draw us into an eternal embrace face to face.  

There's more here.

Lame Lent?

Here is my latest over at Patheos, better known as the Catholic Portal's column, A Word in Season...

It begs the question:
Am I Making a Good Lent, or is Lent Making Me Good?

Go here.