“Why we March for Life”
By Melissa Knaggs | January 23, 2012
Today, as hundreds of thousands march through Washington D.C. to defend the right to life, Faith & Family editor-in-chief Danielle Bean has a great blog at the Washington Post, explaining why “the kids are all right.” Check it out here.
Topics: Abortion, Pro-Life | No Comments »
Pro-Life Issue of Lay Witness now here!
By Melissa Knaggs | January 12, 2012
Our annual pro-life issue of Lay Witness is hot off the press. The issue includes articles by:
- Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas
- Steven Mosher and Colin Mason of the Population Research Institute (PRI)
- Fr. Tadeusz Pacholczyk of the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC)
- and Arland Nichols and Stephen Phelan of Human Life International (HLI)
. . . just to name a few. We also have posted web exclusive articles found here. For more information on subscribing to Lay Witness, please visit the CUF website.
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Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pray for us!
By Melissa Knaggs | December 12, 2011
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Congress to Consider Sex-Selective Abortion Ban
By Melissa Knaggs | December 6, 2011
Today at 1 PM the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act will be addressed in Congress in a hearing held by Congressman Trent Franks. The act, if passed, would ban sex- or race-selective abortions–a trend that seems particularly common among certain ethnic groups in the US (including Chinese, Koreans, and Asian-Indians).
Please join us in praying today for a victory over the culture of death.
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On Jesus, Prayer
By Melissa Knaggs | December 5, 2011
From the Holy Father’s November 30th General Audience:
In our catechesis on prayer, we now turn to Jesus, who by his own example most fully reveals the mystery of Christian prayer. A significant moment in this regard is Jesus’ prayer following his Baptism, which expresses his both his deepest identity as the Son of God and his solidarity with the sinful humanity whom he came to save. Jesus’ prayer reflects his complete, filial obedience to the Father’s will, an obedience which would lead him to death on the Cross for the redemption of our sins. With his human heart, Jesus learned to pray from his Mother and from the Jewish tradition, yet the source of his prayer is his eternal communion with the Father; as the incarnate Son, he shows us perfectly how to pray as children of the heavenly Father. Jesus’ example of fidelity to prayer challenges us to examine the time and effort we devote to our own prayer. While prayer is a gift of God, it is also an art learned through constant practice. Jesus teaches us to pray constantly, but also to bear witness before others of the beauty of prayer, self-surrender and complete openness to God.–Pope Benedict XVI
Topics: Prayer, Pope Benedict XVI | No Comments »
More Evidence of the Dignity of the Unborn: When Does Learning Begin?
By Melissa Knaggs | December 5, 2011
Topics: Abortion | No Comments »
The Holy Father’s Intentions for Decemeber
By Melissa Knaggs | December 1, 2011
General: That all peoples may grow in harmony and peace through mutual understanding and respect.
Mission: That children and young people may be messengers of the Gospel and that they may be respected and preserved from all violence and exploitation.
Topics: Pope Benedict XVI | No Comments »
Post-Post-Vatican II Backlash?
By Melissa Knaggs | November 29, 2011
Matthew Archbold at Creative Minorty Report has a tongue-in-cheek blog post on the possibility of “Nuevo Trad Catholics” now that the 3rd edition of the Roman Missal has been implemented. Have a laugh here.
Topics: Liturgy | No Comments »
Your Moment in the Mass: The Mass and Football
By Melissa Knaggs | November 25, 2011
This is the sixth and final article in our weekly series by Dr. Edward Sri on the new translation of the Roman Missal.
The experience of many Catholics at Mass reminds me of my Italian cousin Stefano’s first time to an NFL football game. Coming from Italy, Stefano knew football very well–but his football was soccer!
So when he first visited the USA and our family took him to a Chicago Bears football game, he did not grasp all that was happening on the field. When the Bears sacked the opposing team’s quarterback, my family stood up and cheered. And Stefano did the same. But when we sat back down, he asked me, “Why is everyone happy? Did the Bears score?”
When the referee made a bad call on the field, we stood up again, but this time we booed, raising our hands in frustration. Stefano stood up with us. He yelled and raised his hands too, but he wasn’t sure why. “What just happened?” he asked. “Did the other team get a point?”
Then, after the Bears blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown, the stadium erupted in a roar of cheers. Everyone leapt out of their seats, screaming, “Yeahhhh!” Bears fans jumped up and down, hugged each other and gave each other high fives. In the midst of this frenzy, the stranger in front of us turned around to slap Stefano’s hand. My Italian cousin pretended to be very excited and gave the man a good high five. I looked over at him to see if he needed an explanation of the play on the field. But this time, Stefano didn’t bother asking for clarification. He just smiled at me and continued clapping, as if to say, “I’m really not sure what is going on, but it must be good for the Bears.”
Sometimes we Catholics experience the Mass like my cousin Stefano experienced his first Bears game. We go through the motions, but we’re not quite sure of all that is happening. We stand up. We sit down. We kneel. We say, “Lord have mercy . . . Holy, Holy, Holy . . . Thanks be to God.” Many of us have heard these words since childhood. We know then by heart, simply out of routine. So ingrained in us are these prayers that is someone in the middle of the night were to whisper to us, “The Lord be with you,” we probably would roll over in our sleep and instinctively respond, “And also with you.”
But do we really understand the meaning of all that we are saying and doing in the liturgy.
The revised English translation of the Mass offers a unique occasion for Catholics to reflect on the meaning of the Mass. Many of those familiar words for the Mass parts are changing. We now need to get used to new responses and new musical settings. It is my hope that this period of transition will not be merely mechanical–simply about training people to say new responses–but catechetical and spiritual. As we are taken out of our routine, we have a wonderful opportunity to ponder anew what we say and do in the liturgy and rediscover the splendor of the liturgy, so that we might grow deeper in our communion with Jesus every time we go to Mass.
Dr. Edward Sri is provost and professor of theology at the Augustine Institute in Denver. This reflection is based on his new book, A Biblical Walk Through the Mass: Understanding What We Say and Do in the Liturgy (Ascension Press).
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Your Moment in the Mass: The Bride and the Bridegroom at the Supper of the Lamb
By Melissa Knaggs | November 18, 2011
This is the fifth article in our weekly series by Dr. Edward Sri on the new translation of the Roman Missal.
A few beautiful changes have been made to the translation of the prayer at Mass that comes shortly before Holy Communion is distributed.
The priest has been saying, “Happy are those who are called to His supper” as he held up the Eucharistic host. But the new translation of this prayer is more robust. The priest will say, “Blessed are those who are called to the supper of the Lamb.”
These new words certainly command our attention. And they underscore how the Eucharist is no ordinary meal, for they recall a climactic moment in the book of Revelation when Jesus comes to unite Himself to His people in a great heavenly wedding feast.
In this scene, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, is depicted as a bridegroom joining Himself to His bride, the Church. An angel announces this loving union by saying, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev. 19:9). In the new translation, the priest as Mass more clearly echoes this angelic invitation to the heavenly wedding feast.
When you hear these words in the liturgy, therefore, you should realize that you are, in a sense, receiving a wedding invitation! And at this great marriage feast, you are no ordinary guest. When you come down the aisle to receive Holy Communion, you come as the bride, as a member of the Church. And you come to be united with your divine Bridegroom who gives Himself to you in the most intimate way possible here on earth–in the Holy Eucharist.
Here, we see how the Eucharist involves an intimate, loving communion with our Lord Jesus–one that is likened to the union shared between a husband and wife. Indeed, Holy Communion is a participation in that heavenly wedding supper of the Lamb, which celebrates the union of the divine bridegroom, Jesus, with His bride, the Church.
Amazing the Son of God
In response to this invitation, we will no longer say, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you.” Instead, we will say, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof.”
These new words recall the humility and trust of the Roman centurion in the Gospels who asked Jesus to heal his servant who was at his house, paralyzed and in distress. As a Gentile, outside of God’s covenant, and a Roman officer in charge of a hundred soldiers who were oppressing God’s people, this centurion humbly recognizes his sinful condition and his unfavorable position among the Jews. He acknowledges that he–as a gentile, a Roman and a centurion–is not worthy to have Jesus, the holy Jewish rabbi, come to His home: “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.”
Yet the Roman Centurion also expresses a great faith that surpasses that of many others in the Gospels and amazes even Jesus, which says a lot. (After all, it must take a lot to amaze the Son of God!) Even though up to this point in the Gospels, Jesus has only performed healings for people in His presence, this Roman centurion believes Jesus can heal from afar–a long distance miracle–simply be speaking His word: “But only say the word, and my servant shall be healed” (see Matthew 8:8; Luke 7:6-7). Jesus praises this man for his faith.
Like the centurion, we at this moment in the Mass recognize our own sinful condition and our unworthiness to have Jesus come sacramentally under the “roof” of our souls in Holy Communion. Yet just as the centurion believed Jesus was able to heal His servant, so do we trust that Jesus can heal us as He becomes the most intimate guest of our souls in the Eucharist. Thus, we will say words similar to that of the trusting Centurion, “But only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”
Dr. Edward Sri is Professor of Scripture and Theology at the Augustine Institute and the author of the best-selling book,A Biblical Walk Through the Mass: Understanding What We Say and Do in the Liturgy (Ascension Press).
Topics: Eucharist, Liturgy | 1 Comment »