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Category Archives: Ministry
Messing Up Important Words
A social media friend posted somewhat negatively on this article from last week’s OSV. Another friend, a lay colleague in liturgy, commented: It really is important that the priest gets the minimum words right! God’s mercy is not bound by … Continue reading
Posted in Ministry, Rite of Penance
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The Role of Women and the Tide
I saw a few posts in social media this week on the various local iterations of the universal synod. The topic was and is the role of women. Another lay person, a non-woman, wrote this: I will climb on this … Continue reading
Posted in Church News, Ministry, Politics, synodality
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On Vocations
I saw this piece skeptical of “vocational discernment” for the laity. I think Amy Welborn is picking at the peripherals on the topic. I think it needs more of a Vatican II attitude, if not spirit. But you readers would … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, Ministry, The Blogosphere
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After Hours, Open Door
I have few regrets in my current assignment. Certainly not being in a new parish. We’re still small compared to the surrounding suburban megachurches (Catholic and evangelical). That remains a big plus; we’re more nimble. We have fewer Issues. Newcomers … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, Ministry
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Beatitudes for Bishops VII
The last of the Beatitudes for Bishops: Blessed is the bishop who is not afraid to go against the tide for the sake of the Gospel, making his face “stern” like that of Christ on his way to Jerusalem, without … Continue reading
Posted in bishops, Ministry, spirituality
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Beatitudes for Bishops VI
Archbishop Domenico Battaglia’s Beatitudes for Bishops were adopted by the Holy Father, who shared them last month in a homily at an episcopal ordination. The original text is here, in Italian. I think they have applications outside of the office … Continue reading
Posted in bishops, Ministry, spirituality
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Beatitudes for Bishops V
The Beatitudes for Bishops’ original text is here, in Italian. Pope Francis seems to approve, making it a handout at a recent meeting of Italy’s national episcopal conference. Blessed is the bishop who banishes duplicity of heart, who avoids every … Continue reading
Posted in bishops, Ministry, spirituality
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Beatitudes for Bishops IV
Blessed is the bishop who has a heart for the misery of the world, who is not afraid to dirty his hands with the mud of the human soul in order to find God’s gold, who is not scandalized by … Continue reading
Posted in bishops, Ministry, spirituality
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Beatitudes for Bishops III
Bishop Beatitudes number 3: “Blessed is the bishop who does not shut himself up in the palaces of governance, who does not become a bureaucrat who is more attentive to statistics than to faces, to procedures than to stories, who … Continue reading
Posted in bishops, Ministry, spirituality
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Beatitudes for Bishops II
Beatitudes for Bishops by Archbishop Domenico Battaglia of Naples, passed along by Pope Francis. The original text is here, in Italian. I think they’re not just for bishops. Lots of church people lean to power over service. You don’t have … Continue reading
Posted in bishops, Ministry, spirituality
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Beatitudes for Bishops I
Beatitudes for Bishops are making the rounds in Catholic social media and some Catholic press outlets. These were composed by Naples Archbishop Domenico Battaglia, who delivered them last month in a homily at an episcopal ordination. The original text is … Continue reading
Posted in bishops, Ministry, spirituality
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Deathbed Sacraments And Other Honors
Paul Inwood at PrayTell asks how we understand ministry. He cites a possible problem with an ordination of a man on his deathbed. This doesn’t strike me as a hill I’d want to get injured on, let alone die. Bishops … Continue reading
Posted in Church News, Commentary, Ministry
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Counsel For Ministry
I was checking on reactions to the latest liturgical document, when I ran across this query: (O)ver the past year I feel myself falling into more and more. Interpersonal, quasi-political things bother me more deeply than ever, and my coping … Continue reading
Posted in Ministry
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Guilt Tripping? Must Do Better
I’ve noticed that Sunday obligations are popping back up around the US. Personally irrelevant because I’ve been one of those people providing livestreams, then limited worship, then gradual opening up over these past months. In my current parish, attendance has … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, Ministry
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Catholic Sensibility 
My Second Bishop
My sister told me the news Sunday night on my drive home that one of my favorite bishops has passed away. I overheard a few voices at the Newman Center the year he came to town. He was replacing a … Continue reading →