I was asked to preach at a Vespers service at the Institute for Church Life here at Notre Dame last week, and they very kindly
Read moreAuthor: Kimberly Hope Belcher
Kimberly Belcher received her Ph.D. in Liturgical Studies at Notre Dame in 2009. After teaching at St John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, she returned to Notre Dame as a faculty member in 2013. Her research interests include sacramental theology (historical and contemporary), trinitarian theology, and ritual studies. Her interest in the church tradition is challenged, deepened, and inspired by her three children.
Amoris Laetitia, paragraph 15
“We know that the New Testament speaks of “churches that meet in homes” (cf. 1 Cor 16:19; Rom 16:5; Col 4:15; Philem 2). A family’s living space could turn into a domestic church, a setting for the Eucharist, the presence of Christ seated at its table. We can never forget the image found in the Book of Revelation, where the Lord says: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Rev 3:20).”
Read moreA meditation in inkpen and marker
On Holy Saturday, Juliana got up and, overwhelmed by the immanence of Easter, began to draw. The result (perhaps a new set of Mysteries for the Rosary, since there are five) has been pretty inspiring on my walls during this Octave; perhaps others will enjoy them too.
Read moreSomething serious on April Fool’s Day
God was the only father Josh Bishop ever knew, and that knowledge came only after a childhood of violence and drug abuse led him to death row.
Read more“Help!” – the ultimate Lenten discipline
“I need help! No, I can do it MYSELF!” (struggles) “Help!”
Toddlers and Lenten discipline, by Tim O’Malley.
Read moreLiturgical reading and the Rule of Benedict
One of the most important patterns of liturgical prayer is the periodic return to certain texts and actions—for example, the slow turning of the three-year lectionary cycle, or the genuflections and signs of the cross that mark our crossing the threshold between sacred and ordinary space and time. At the heart of these patterns is our faith that the words and actions of tradition are inexhaustible…
Read moreLenten ecumenism and the ecumenical Lent
Our solidarity in wearing our cosmic ashes, whether we have gained them through today’s liturgy or through surviving terror and grief, is a reminder that humanity was created as one, we have sinned as one, we repent as one, and by God’s mercy we will be redeemed as one.
Read moreOn liturgical failure
Today, while the community was being asked to extend to one another its gesture of peace, two were instead being asked to leave. That is liturgical failure.
Read moreMerry 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 in a row from East to West on a little street in Maintown, USA…
Read morePreaching 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 them,crying babies are just another ‘amen’ section” (from hackingchristianity.net).
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