Through the psalms, we were reminded of our constant reliance on God; through the silence, our mortality; through the minimalist architecture, our tendency to excess; through reading, our ignorance; through the monks, our pride.
If we understand the Mass, we will better enter into it. The Mass is not meant for us, but for God. It is primarily about worship, but there are other purposes for the Mass.
"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven." Prayer is not easy. Battles from the noisy world and not knowing where to start hold most of us back from engaging God daily. Let's change this reality.
We’ve all heard the grim statics about the Church and our children maintaining the Catholic Faith. A standout part of these studies is a Father's overwhelming impact on improving the likelihood of their child following Jesus.
When well-meaning liturgists and priests feel they have to make everything in the liturgy emotionally relevant and “meaningful” to everyone, many men switch off. When Father Fabulous insists on being emotionally entertaining in the liturgy he is likely to please the women while the fellas roll their eyes.
The Camino de Santiago changed my life entirely and the experience continues to bear fruit. There are a myriad of events speak to me, but three faces rise up from the depths of my heart, from shadow to light. These seem to hold the essence of my sojourn: the Child, the Old Man, and the […]
Note: This is the opening of the forthcoming issue of Sword & Spade. It is being published here exclusively because of its ties to an upcoming Sunday that is potentially without Mass. As this issue nears printing the coronavirus is forcing many into “social isolation” to slow the pandemic. Whatever your opinion of such measures, […]
Modern historian and commentator Kenneth Clark said in his popular BBC show Civilization, “Western Christianity survived by clinging to places like Skellig Michael, a pinnacle of rock [seven] miles from the Irish coast, rising seven hundred feet out of the sea.” It’s an intriguing claim, crediting the solitary monastery on Skellig Michael with a role in the […]