Sacraments

In the mid 1960s, a French Jesuit named Joseph de Guibert offered a charming analogy about spirituality, first made in the Middle Ages. A spirituality is like a bridge, he said. Every bridge does pretty much the same thing: It gets you from…

By Fr. Dwight Longenecker  So often we attend Mass and take things for granted. Not paying attention, we miss the meaning and overlook the significance of the little things. The bread and wine are brought forward during the offertory, and…

BY PAT GOHN The seven sacraments — Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony — have five important elements in common. They are the sacraments of Christ. All are instituted and based on the…

by Tom Hoopes  The day I learned the power of the cross, I was unemployed and desperate. More than desperate, I was panicked and near despair. I had been looking for work in Washington, D.C., for weeks, and every promising lead had…

by Bishop Robert Reed The news last August that growing numbers of Catholics no longer believe that the Holy Eucharist is Jesus Christ naturally led many commentators to wonder how we can reignite people’s faith in this profound mystery…

By Paul McKibben Fr. George “Chip” Hines has experienced the power of Christ’s healing from the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick as both a priest and a recipient of it. “This is a grace that I’m receiving, and we cooperate with grace,”…

For many, our sacraments are being held hostage by the restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, by the grace of God, we'll soon see more and more restrictions lifted. Looking to the future, many Catholics will be entering the…

Many years ago I edited a book titled Now That You Are Catholic by Fr. John J. Kenny, an introduction to Catholic customs for the newly initiated. While the book offered great advice for Catholic neophytes, it did not touch on the many…

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) is June 18 this year. Many parishes will host Corpus Christi processions. In Rome, Pope Francis will celebrate a 7 p.m. Mass at the Basilica of St. John Lateran;…

Years ago I was working as a wine manager for a large wine retailer. One of my main responsibilities was to teach the salespeople at my location how to sell wine that would yield the highest margin of profit for our company. It was both…