Todays Parish

From Chaos to Cadence

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Faith formation produces “the habit” of living the gospel in daily life. The homily nurtures the habit of faithful living in the way that a child learns music.

“I watch my daughter play new songs,&...

Prayer Service on the Anniversary of September 11

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 05:00:00 GMT

All gather and sing an opening song, such as Amazing Grace. After the sign of the cross, the leader continues:

Leader:
We gather to remember September 11, 2001,
an...

A Prayer in Thanksgiving for Work

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Blessed are you, Lord God,
Creator of all that is good,
for in your mercy you give us work
that we may be co-creators with you.

With hands to fashion and form,
minds to imagine what h...

Music gives wings to the Word for New Roman Missal

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Want to know the secret to a successful parish implementation of the new Roman Missal? It’s no secret at all. A survey of Priests and Music Ministers across the United States reveals three factor...

New prayers, same Mass

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Changing the prayers of the Mass is not something Catholics take lightly. Parishes throughout the English-speaking world are now in the process of coming to grips with a new translation of those very prayers. In 2009, after se...

What’s new about the Eucharistic Prayers

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Roman Catholics in the United States will soon begin using the newly translated third edition of the Roman Missal. The implementation date is set for November 27, 2011—the First Sunday of Advent. While the structure of the Mass is not ch...

Encouraging today’s parishes to pray

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Just walk into your local Starbucks during the Christmas season and you’ll notice it. It’s a thoughtful, strategic system of getting people excited about the message of the season. You’ll find that it’s not ...

Soap operas to saints

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 05:00:00 GMT

It was my Irish grandmother’s favorite “soap.” Each weekday afternoon she would stop to rest, kick off her shoes, put up her feet on Pop’s big stool, and sit down to enjoy the next episode of “One ...

A special prayer for our animal friends

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Parishes often use the Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi (October 4) as a day to bless animals. The church says that “according to the providence of the Creator, many animals have a certain role to play in human existence by helping wi...

How the scrutinies teach

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 05:00:00 GMT

“Jerry, you’ve been parading these people around here for months and now you want to have us scrutinizing them? I don’t think so!” These words, spoken by my pastor in the earliest years of the implementation...

Get folks to sing!

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Forty years ago the Second Vatican Council opened many new windows, letting in the fresh air of new ideas. The biggest of these ideas was not new, but ancient. The Council called for the full, conscious, and active participation of the assembly. A...

Liturgy and justice: live your discipleship

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Last June, a casual passerby would have seen an unusual sight outside San José City Hall. Streams of people processing behind banners of Our Lady of Guadalupe and other parish banners converged before a monstrance on an altar sheltered...

Gathering right

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 05:00:00 GMT

I have a recurring nightmare. I dream I’m at Mass for the Umpteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, and the assembly is “Amening” in reply to the Opening Prayer. As the presider closes the book, he bends to whisper something...

Use liturgical celebrations to catechize your whole parish

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Formation methodologies for Catholics usually bypass one of our most important catechetical treasures. This treasure invites us to understand our traditions and doctrines and, more importantly, invites in-depth conversion of heart. What is this tr...

Use the liturgy to build faith now

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Just before the first chord sounds on the closing hymn, the presider turns to the assembly and says, "Let us continue what we have begun by convening over in the parish hall to unpack the mysteries we have just celebrated." Parishioners ...

Use liturgical catechesis to reinforce Catholic identity

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Parishes are experiencing a renewed interest in various models of faith formation of adults and children. One model of faith formation that receives a great deal of attention is liturgical catechesis. People sometimes equate liturgical catechesis ...

Celebrate salvation history — every Sunday

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 05:00:00 GMT

The General Directory for Catechesis reminds us that all catechesis should be modeled after the baptismal catechumenate (91). Thus, if we are going to catechize in any venue, we must have a working concept of the baptismal cat...