A Treasure To Be Shared

The Consecration   At The Baptismal Font The Exultet The Exultet The Preparation of The Paschal Candle The Blessing of The New Fire

Of what sublime dignity is the office of the Christian priest who is thus privileged to act as the ambassador and the vice-regent of Christ on earth! He continues the essential ministry of Christ: he teaches the faithful with the authority of Christ, he pardons the penitent sinner with the power of Christ, he offers up again the same sacrifice of adoration and atonement which Christ offered on Calvary. No wonder that the name which spiritual writers are especially fond of applying to the priest is that of alter Christus . For the priest is and should be another Christ” ( The Faith of Millions , 255-56). - Fr. John Anthony O'Brien The Holy Ghost in the Mass forms us in prayer. The Holy Ghost in the Mass forms prayer in us. The Holy Ghost in the Mass forms us into a prayer to God. As Catholics, our personal or individual prayer must be in harmony with the Sacred Liturgy wherein we encounter the Lord Jesus Who is Himself the One Who prays the Mass. We are joined to Christ's action

Satire may be mad and anarchic, but it presupposes an admitted superiority in certain things over others; it presupposes a standard. -  G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy A poke at folk whose actions past and present could invite considerably more. (T)he real disloyalty is not speaking the truth with love. And that word “love” is not some free-floating balloon of goodwill. It’s an empty shell without the truth to fill it. In Brazil in 2013, the Holy Father encouraged young people to “make a mess.” That’s come to pass in ways surely unintended by the pope. But in the end, pastoral leaders are accountable for their words and their actions. Because, as St. Paul said so long ago, “God is not the author of confusion but of peace.” - Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., is the Archbishop emeritus of Philadelphia Afflict the comfortable; comfort the afflicted. That 70s Vatican Show , a fashion extravaganza, featured designs promoting a rabid retro vibe. Organizer Fr. James Martin SJ, taking his cue from t

How far that little candle throws its beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world. - Shakespeare A tidbit adapted from The Catholic Encyclopedia. (Edited by Gilbert) The word candle ( candela , from candeo , to burn) entered the English language as an ecclesiastical term in the eighth century. It was recognised in classical times as any type of taper in which a wick, typically composed of a strip of papyrus, was encased in wax or animal fat. The use of a great number of candles and lights was undoubtedly an important aspect of the Easter vigil, which dates back to Apostolic times. Eusebius ( Vita Constant ., IV, xxii) describes Constantine's "pillars of wax" that transformed night into day, while Prudentius and other authors highlight the churches' radiance. According to St. Jerome (342–347 – 419/420), candles were lit when the Gospel was read as a symbol of joy. (Migne, P. L., XXIII, 345) This remark, combined with the close association of lighted candles with th

Originally posted on Tuesday, April 23, 2019, the following post conveys something of the intelligent witness that Catholics give to the art and practice of science. We are not into scientism nor materialism, the religion of shallow thinkers who pretend to know how things are and who are outraged and who often resort to violence when their baseless theories are challenged. Catholics are into understanding "manifestation(s) of God’s creative genius." The Catholic perspective is focused on reality, truth, what really is, not on some pious imagining or incomplete notion tethered to pride and fashioned in our own image, an idol to which we cling in defiance of evidence to the contrary. We need real proof, and we trust that faith informs and illuminates or elevates reason in a way that allows us to discover the essence of things. The Catholic mind seeks the mind of God in order to be conformed to the will of God, to work with God rather than against the designs God has for man. Wo

Icon of Christ the Redeemer toppled by a gust of wind, Easter Day 2024 Oh dear! A belated April Fool's joke? According to an NBC report - not the most reliable source, granted, but... - Pope Francis has said that Pope Benedict agreed with his thoughts about civil partnerships for same-sex couples. https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/benedict-backed-rights-lgbtq-couples-pope-francis-says-rcna146014 Political and social issues aside, Pope Francis' attempt to gain credibility by linking his thoughts to Benedict XVI's supposed position on the issue is more than a little weak. Francis' appeal to the authority of Pope Benedict XVI, one of the great theological minds of the 20th Century, amounts to an attempted theft of reputation. The Church has witnessed similar attempts to appropriate credibility in the past. Fr. Annibale Bugnini, the architect of the liturgical reform and the chair of the Consilium charged with the renewal of the liturgy in the wake of the Second Vati