Aside from Candlemas itself, a second significant ritual event unfolds from this incident in Luke. What Mary does becomes a ritual pattern for Christian women.
Read moreCategory: Devotions and Sacramentals
Who’s That Lady with the Egg?
In an unguarded moment of blunt ignorance, I blurted out, “Who’s that lady with the egg?” My teacher looked at me, and with a patient voice, informed me that “That ‘Lady with the Egg’ is Mary Magdalene.”
Read moreNon Solum: A Corpus Christi Procession
Our new pastor just put the Host in the monstrance and walked around the inside of the church once, all by himself.
Read moreNon Solum: Marian Anthem after Mass During the Month of May
A reader recently wrote in asking about the Marian anthems.
Read moreDeacon of Diocese of Des Moines to Resurrect Ember Days
Catholic New Service is reporting that a deacon in the Diocese of Des Moines has begun resurrecting the practice of Ember Days in the diocese.
Read moreBook Excerpt: What’s The Smoke For? Part Two
Before the concept of inculturation was even invented, Mary wisely started to inculturate Christianity. Had it not been for Mary in her apparition as Our Lady of Guadalupe, for example, Christianity would have had a much harder time taking root in the Americas. No wonder Our Lady of Guadalupe has since been declared the patron saint of the Americas and thus shrines dedicated to her have appeared in many churches.
Read moreBook Excerpt: What’s The Smoke For? Part One
In recent times we have become more aware of the importance of the senses. Remember, for example, how the slightest whiff of a certain perfume can whisk you off to a totally different place and time, as it reminds you of a certain person or event. Similarly, incense is used as a reminder of the sacred so that every time we smell it we are reminded that we are at prayer.
Read moreSt. Teresa of Avila at 500
Teresa is not only one of the most remarkable women of the Christian tradition but also one of its greatest theologians of prayer.
Read moreToo Many Masses? Pastoral-Liturgical Practice on Ash Wednesday
Given the history of Ash Wednesday’s emergence and various morphings over the centuries as a ritual-symbol inaugurating a season of penitence, I simply do not see why, in the Roman Catholic Church, at least, the most apt liturgy would not be based on the sample penitential services (basically, liturgies of the word) found at the end of the Rite of Penance.
Read moreLenten Devotion Goes Digital
Lentsanity, Lectio Divina Lent, and CRS Rice Bowl are just a few of the many Lenten and devotional apps for iOS and Android.
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