What sets apart the Visitation from any other visit from one pregnant woman to another? Prophetic recognition.
Read moreCategory: Lectionary / Liturgy of Word
Hear, O Israel!
Deuteronomy 6:4-6 is the first part of the Shema Yisra’el, the text that has formed the centerpiece of Jewish daily prayer in the evening and morning from the time of Jesus until today. The first commandment he gives in this week’s gospel, therefore, was as familiar and everyday and fundamental to his audience as the Lord’s Prayer is for Christians today.
Read moreRiddles and parables and the pursuit of wisdom
I get a lot of my theological energy from dabbling in things that, on the face of it, are not theology. Fantasy is one of those things, and always has been — you might almost say that the first theological work I read, or perhaps the first work I read theologically, was the Lord of the Rings. There are works of fantasy I go to when I think my theological imagination is exhausted, and I find it again there. These are books that are not really about magic, but about mystery: about what draws us on, inward into ourselves and outward into the world in spite of our fear of what we might find in either place.
Read moreThis Week’s Discussion Question: The presider’s responsibilities
The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, says in §11: “But in order that the liturgy may be able to produce its full effects,
Read moreA “default” communion canticle: Wisdom 16: 20–21, 26; 17:1.
This morning’s use of the Canticle of Wisdom as the reading for morning prayer in Give Us This Day (alas not used in the Lectionary) put me in mind of its significance as one of the default communion psalms and canticles.
Read moreNew American Bible to be Revised
The U.S. bishops have announced a plan to revise the New Testament of the New American Bible so a single version can be used for individual prayer, catechesis and liturgy.
Read moreEphesians 5:21–33 on August 25/26, 2012
As mentioned previously, I hope that some preachers will take up the challenge of preaching on Ephesians this coming summer. This means that they will
Read moreSummer 2012 Sunday lectionary preview and the long form of the readings
In the summer of 1970 (July 26th to be exact, the 17th Sunday of the Year B according to the new calendar) my pastor breathed
Read moreShared Lent, Holy Week, and Easter Octave in the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms: a Proposal
I propose that a revised EF missal for Lent, Holy Week, and Easter octave inclusive might foster greater enichment between the two forms. In this way, parishes which celebrate both forms can share in the mysteries of the summit of the Christian year rather than follow two different paths for the lectionary and presidential prayers.
Read moreAgainst Reading the Passion of the Lord in Parts
Mark F. Hoggard writes: “I still see practices that suggest that the Passion and Death of Jesus is something that we need to ‘act out’ or dramatize like it never happened, in order to make it more ‘interesting’ for our assemblies.”
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