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Author: Kimberly Hope Belcher

  • Merry Christmas! A liturgical logic puzzle as a gift from me to you

    I made this puzzle on a whim to stump my son (so far, it’s working). Use the clues to solve this logic puzzle. No cheating by using information you just happen to know! (There is a downloadable version you can open with a word processor and edit at the bottom.) There are five churches right…

  • Preaching as an ecclesial response to the gospel

    “Preaching is about naming and claiming God’s love present in the room. It’s about that Holy Spirit that isn’t given to the preacher and then transmitted to the people: that Spirit is in each one there and they communicate back and forth. Churches that have call-and-response to the preaching moment get this phenomenon, and to…

  • Liturgical imagination and technological innovation

    “Refugees are our future spouses, best friends, our next soul mate, the drummer in our children’s band, our next colleague, Miss Iceland 2022, the carpenter who finally fixes our bathroom, the chef in the cafeteria, the fireman, the hacker and the television host. People who we’ll never be able to say to: ‘Your life is…

  • History of infant communion, part 2: Medieval and modern periods (500-2015 AD)

    In the early middle ages, infants received the blood of Christ from the chalice, while older children and adults received communion under both species. In the later middle ages, lay Christians received very infrequently and never from the chalice, which meant that infants could no longer be communed at their baptism. When lay communion was…

  • History of infant communion, part 1: Early church (30-500 AD)

    Christians initiated infants by at least the late 2nd century (180s), and until the late Middle Ages (after 1000, but probably more like 1200), all newly baptized Christians were communed, regardless of age. Infant communion was lost because lay communion was lost, but when lay communion was restored in the 19th and 20th centuries, infant…

  • Baptismal anniversaries and sacramental reflection, an interlude

    Celebrating baptismal anniversaries puts each child’s baptism on the calendar, and that’s central, I think. It provides a structure for periodically returning to the font. Sacramental reflection lets children, in a way befitting their development and personality, find their baptism meaningful as a foundation for who they are – and it could do the same…

  • 5 quick pastoral reasons why we should restore infant communion

    Many dioceses are currently adopting or considering the “restored order” of initiation, which means baptism is followed by confirmation before the Eucharist. This order serves as a reminder of the natural connection between baptism and confirmation, and also promotes the Eucharist to the consummation of initiation, where it should be. I commend these bishops, diocesan…

  • The system is down: systematic problems with the faith formation of children in American Catholicism

    The structure of our catechetical ministry (more than the catechists – this is not a case of individuals making mistakes) assumes that Catholic parishes, not Catholic parents, are responsible for bringing up children in the faith. Yet, you know, it was my husband and I, not the parish catechists, that promised to do exactly that?

  • Taking it in

    This time of the year is incredibly, inescapably busy in the university context, which is one reason I am sympathetic to pastoral ministers, who are even busier during Lent than I am. Because of the busyness, I had some difficulty deciding on a Lenten practice this year. Whenever I think of a fast, I think…