Convert from Lutheranism, ordained to the priesthood in 1991 by St. John Paul II in Rome for the Suburbicarian Diocese of Velletri-Segni. Classics at University of Minnesota. Licence and Doctoral studies in Patristic Theology at the Augustinianum in Rome. Formerly a collaborator of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei," moderator of the Catholic Online Forum, columnist for The Wanderer and the UK's Catholic Herald, Fox News contributor. Speaker. Blogist. fatherzonline.com @fatherz
Author: Fr. John Zuhlsdorf
Many are Called, but Few Are Chosen
It has been quite a liturgical ride over the last few weeks, with Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, Corpus Christi, coincidental Sacred Heart and Nativity of John the Baptist. Coming up in Rome, where I write this entry, will be Sts. …
Worthy Communion
The medieval period was an era of rich and accelerating reflection about the Eucharist. One of the benchmarks of this increasing devotion to the Eucharist was the establishment of the Feast of Corpus Christ by Urban IV in the last …
Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit
Pentecost is perhaps the richest of all the liturgical Feasts of the Holy Roman Catholic Church… in the Vetus Ordo, at least. In the Church’s Vetus Ordo, like Easter, Pentecost has a Saturday Vigil with the blessing of baptismal water …
Already but not yet
The overarching context for our Sunday after the Ascension of the Lord is this: What was not assumed, was not redeemed (St. Gregory of Nazianzus). At the Annunciation, our humanity, body and soul, was taken by God the Son into …
Plain speaking
For this 5th Sunday after Easter we are still moving through John 16 and the Lord’s Last Supper Discourse as well as the Letter of James. Our Gospel readings are inexhaustible and there are always manifold treasures to unlock. At …
Get to work.
Our context for the 4th Sunday after Easter is, in the liturgical year, our preparation for the Ascension of the Lord. Sometimes the Feast of the Ascension Thursday is given short shrift, which is unfortunate. One could argue that transferring …
We Don’t Belong Here
There is a Latin adage: motus in fine velocior, sometimes expressed as in fine citius. Things go faster the closer they get to the end. This is an overarching context for our days. For this 3rd Sunday after Easter we …
St. Joseph Against the Communists
This year the 1 May observance of the 2nd Sunday after Easter gives way in honor of St. Joseph, whom we venerate among his other many roles and titles as a patron of laborers and as the “Worker.” In contrast …
“My Lord and my God!”
This Sunday we complete the Octave of Easter. In the post-Conciliar calendar, it is creatively called the “Second Sunday of Easter” or, since John Paul II was greatly interested in the theme, “Divine Mercy Sunday”. However, historically we call the …
The Joy of Easter and the Easter Duty
Happy Easter! My hopeful prayer is that you experience, in this Easter Season, true joy in a personal encounter with the Risen Lord. The Church’s firehose of imagery and traditions and sacred liturgy has been blasting fully at our little …