This column is a response to a piece written by a priest in a diocesan newspaper, essentially arguing that we must always seek common values and common views with all people who disagree – a false irenicism. While it is …
Category: In The Parish
Mosebach’s Paradox
The German novelist Martin Mosebach, who has also become well known for his eloquent and outspoken defense of the traditional Latin Mass, articulated a particular problem that many in the Church today face — namely, the problem of a certain …
Helping Children Enter into the Traditional Latin Mass – Part 1
Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series on the topic of introducing children to the traditional Latin Mass and making it fruitful for them. The second part is available here. NB: This article, along with its companion …
Resolved: A Rectory Full of Priests, Forever
Looking through my files, I see that I must have been suffering delusions of grandeur shortly before we came out here to Oregon in 2008. Must have been, since I asked to be put on the agenda to speak at …
When Children Go to Their Grandparents’ Mass
“Dad, guess what!” My eight-year-old son Joseph came home from a recent weekend stay with his grandparents. It was his first weekend spent away from his parents, and evidently, he had some exciting news. “Oh boy,” I thought, “what crazy …
Murmuring in the Desert
“David II Teniers chose to illustrate this story from the Golden Legend: in the sky in the middle of the composition is the crow holding the meagre meal for the two monks in his beak. The water skin and bowl …
“Song Befits the Lover”: Understanding the Place of Gregorian Chant in the Mass
Part 1 of a 3-part Series. You may read the other parts here: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 In his First Epistle to Saint Timothy, Saint Paul says that he is not sure when he can come to visit Timothy, but meanwhile …
Learning the Priesthood: The Role of Altar Service in Vocational Discernment
On March 15, 1994, a virtual tsunami struck the Liturgy of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. Cardinal Antonio Ortas wrote a document to the Episcopal conferences announcing that the Vatican had, for the first time, permitted altar girls. …
Should Girls Serve at the Altar? A Former Altar Girl Weighs In
While working a summer job in high school, one of my Catholic, male co-workers and I were leaving a building. I was ahead of him, so opened the door and stepped aside so he could pass. “Oh no!” He cried sarcastically, …
Altar Girls, Altar Boys and the Priesthood: Connecting the Dots
It has been twenty years since the Catholic Church officially permitted the use of altar girls at Mass. While extending this permission for girls to serve, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (CDWDS) was also …