Readers of Father Z’s blog are probably familiar with the motto “Brick by Brick.” The reverend father is here referring to the slow but steady stacking of liturgical improvements over time. I know this works because I have seen it …
The New Lectionary and the Catholic Wedding
One of the topics most hotly disputed at the synods on marriage and the family, back in those halcyon years of 2014 and 2015, was the possibility of admitting to Holy Communion Catholics who are living in what are euphemistically …
How Perpetual Adoration Is Transforming My Parish
Perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was introduced a little over a year ago at St. Catherine of Siena parish of Franklin Square, Long Island. The parish had already had adoration for a few hours a month, but then pastor Msgr. Rick …
‘Have You Thought about Adopting?’ Reflections on Infertility
My wife and I took a cooking class once. We made pasta with two unmarried couples we had never met. I decided not to ask the twenty-something couple if it was their first date. Why put them on the spot? …
Why Liturgy Really is the Key to Everything
There is nothing so great as the Eucharist. If God had something more precious, He would have given it to us. – Saint Jean-Marie Vianney The first time I walked through the doors of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, I was overcome. …
Remembering Fr. Kenneth Walker, ‘The Arrow,’ Struck Down Too Soon
May 19, 2012 was a historic day for staff and former students of Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College (located in Barry’s Bay, Ontario). On that day, the college rejoiced to see alumnus Kenneth Walker ordained to the priesthood as …
If You Had All the Time in the World, How Would You Attack the Church?
The recent Open Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church, accusing Pope Francis of heresy, precipitated a large number of commentaries. A common response was to cite ecclesiastical law for the proposition that “no one judges the pope” and …
Comparing First Holy Communion at Two Parishes
Recently, my grandson Thomas received his first Holy Communion at a parish I have visited only a few times. My wife and I assist at Mass at a different parish, in part because it offers the traditional Latin Mass. The …
My First Experience of a Pre-1955 Holy Triduum
Recently, I bumped into a friend who expressed her surprise that this year was the first time I had ever attended the pre-1955 (i.e., ancient or unreformed) Holy Week liturgies. She was under the impression that someone who travels, reads, …
What I Didn’t Know about Bugnini and the Liturgy
As a Millennial who was weaned on the Novus Ordo Missae, I have been inescapably molded by its main architect, Abp. Annibale Bugnini. Yet there is so much that I didn’t know about Bugnini and his revolution of the liturgy. …