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Monthly Archives: September 2012
What’s Better Than To Cut Off Eldad and Medad?
Who were those guys, anyway? The Lectionary framers might well have had the 1970 version of SCGS* in mind when they gave us this weekend’s readings. From the Pentateuch: So, when a young man quickly told Moses, “Eldad and Medad … Continue reading
Posted in Hermeneutic of Subtraction, Scripture
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Built of Living Stones 83: Good Friday’s Veneration of the Cross
Good Friday’sVeneration is important enough for serious consideration in the planning of a church: § 83 § The celebration of the Lord’s passion on Good Friday has its particular spatial requirements. After the proclamation of the passion and the General … Continue reading
Posted in Built of Living Stones, USCCB documents
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Evangelii Nuntiandi 39: Last Thoughts on Liberation and Evangelization
What they were saying about the religious liberty of Christians in the 1970’s: 39. The necessity of ensuring fundamental human rights cannot be separated from this just liberation which is bound up with evangelization and which endeavors to secure structures … Continue reading
Posted in Evangelii Nuntiandi, evangelization
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Busy Weeks Ahead
Posting may be light for a few days. Or maybe a week. I was very busy today, my usual day off. The fire in the balcony over the narthex at my church has caused quite a bit more damage than … Continue reading
Posted in Parish Life
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Built of Living Stones 82: The Altar of Reposition
Holy Thursday makes two important demands on the church: foot washing and the altar of reposition. The former doesn’t really make many demands on the space, but the place of reservation is very important, especially for a church that doesn’t … Continue reading
Posted in Built of Living Stones, USCCB documents
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Evangelii Nuntiandi 38: A Brighter Diagnosis on Liberation
The pope strikes a positive note as he reached the end of his section on liberation. He seems confident the arc of the Church in the 1970’s was a good one, becoming more associated with the thrust of Catholic social teaching rather … Continue reading
Posted in Evangelii Nuntiandi, evangelization
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Pennsylvania Pushback
Mark Silk at RNS looks at the Catholic vote in the Keystone State. Citing a five percent Catholic swing toward the president from 2008 to a recent poll, the columnist takes aim at the new archbishop and his religious freedom … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
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Built of Living Stones 81: Holy Week and the Paschal Triduum
We’ll take four sections to discuss the most important week of the Christian year before returning to various secondary appointments in a church. § 81 § Passion (Palm) Sunday marks the final movement of the Lenten season toward the Triduum. … Continue reading
Posted in Built of Living Stones, USCCB documents
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Sunday In Exile
Building inspectors have advised us not to hold Sunday worship in the church this weekend. I’ve been busy exploring alternate venues that accommodate our many students who do not have access to transportation to get them very far off campus … Continue reading
Posted in Parish Life
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Evangelii Nuntiandi 37: Violence Rejected
A careful aside in Paul VI’s narrative, which seems to go without saying: 37. The Church cannot accept violence, especially the force of arms- which is uncontrollable once it is let loose- and indiscriminate death as the path to liberation, … Continue reading
Posted in Evangelii Nuntiandi, evangelization
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Smoke Damage Day
While I was getting ready for bed, my phone fielded a v-mail about a small fire in the upper walkway at my parish. Building closed all day. The fire was quite limited, and nobody was harmed or injured. There seems … Continue reading
Posted in Parish Life
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Built of Living Stones 79-80: The Tabernacle in the Sanctuary
Housing the tabernacle in the sanctuary is a viable option, and many bishops prescribe it regardless of the size of the church. § 79 § A special area can be designed within the sanctuary. Careful planning is needed so that … Continue reading
Posted in Built of Living Stones, USCCB documents
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All Are Welcome, But Who Is Saved?
A few times in the past few weeks, I’ve noticed a few internet essays about how many people will be saved. Hell has to be real, according to some, or nothing eschatological has real meaning. I suppose I can relate: … Continue reading
Posted in evangelization, Ministry
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Evangelii Nuntiandi 33-34: All Human Concerns
Two closely related sections that spell out succinctly the Church’s approach to the intersection of liberation and evangelization: 33. With regard to the liberation which evangelization proclaims and strives to put into practice one should rather say this: – it cannot … Continue reading
Posted in Evangelii Nuntiandi, evangelization
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The Armchair Liturgist Ponders the Gloria at Wedding Masses
By now, many clergy and wedding musicians are familiar with the expanded prescriptions of the Gloria, including its provision in ritual Masses, including weddings, and even on a Lent or Advent weekday. I had a wedding Mass this past weekend … Continue reading
Posted in The Armchair Liturgist
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Catholic Sensibility 