The Narthex

The first Mass in English in the United States was celebrated on August 24, 1964, by Father Frederick R. McManus in St. Louis. A New York Times article, “Catholics Hear Mass in English Today for First Time in the U.S.” (Aug. 24, 1964), describes the translation as “hurried”; I am perplexed…

On a warm, sunny spring morning, I passed a rose bush blooming in its full glory. Remembering to take time to stop for the roses, I leaned over to smell its sweet, delicious bouquet. I often do this on my walks and have found that only one in ten rose…

This new blog series addresses certain liturgical changes in the Latin Rite Mass, from the vantage point of a half century after Vatican II. These changes notably began with Mass in the vernacular languages rather than solely in Latin. I begin by observing that I know of two instances in…

Typically our statues and paintings portray saints as individuals. And except for martyrs who are often canonized in groups, canonizations are of individual saints. Nonetheless, many non-martyred canonized saints have had deep relationships with their contemporaries who were also saints. A few are: Mary and Joseph; Sarah and Tobias; Ruth…

On the first warm day of spring, some vagrants came out of their nooks and hideaways to congregate in the local park for fellowship. Several men, old and young, sat together at a stone picnic table, chatting, eating, and drinking beer or cheap wine early in the day. During the…

Over twenty blog posts ago I noted that during the 40 years from 1978 to 2018, 1,419 individuals were canonized and 1,249 of these were martyrs. Of the remainder, about 15-20 were laypersons -- some of which are special cases: those to whom Our Lady appeared, two who took vows…

Several of my neighbors are overweight. One young woman can hardly squeeze into her shiny sports-car, which she pays others to keep spotlessly clean and mirror-waxed. Another family's grown kids are each well over 250 pounds. Though the parents seem in decent shape, their eldest son, in his forties and…

In order to learn how to recognize holiness in laypersons, we have looked at people by occupation. Let's finish with a few more: Artists Do you think any of the following Catholic artists were holy? Consider the painters Giotto (c. 1267-1337), Michelangelo (1475-1564), Raphael (1483-1520), Rubens (1577-1640), Jan van Eyck…

I arise each morning, stumble to the sink, wash my face, and then stare in horror at the sagging, wrinkled jowls in the mirror. What happened to your youth, old boy? Yet, I don’t feel old; I can still huff and puff up big hills. That face in the mirror…

Continuing our discussion of recognizing lay holiness, let us look at philanthropists. We could discuss the donors of large sums -- $10 million, $100 million -- to causes consistent with Catholic social teaching, including Catholic schools, hospitals, and more. Many such donors take advantage of “naming rights” -- for buildings,…

I stood with 50 other engineers the morning of September 11, 2001, staring at a widescreen TV. In shocked disbelief, we gawked at another Boeing 767 passenger plane colliding into the second WTC tower, and finally, both towers cascading into a smoky heap. I shook my head, thinking this will…

This has been a long and tumultuous year for the church-going faithful of California, particularly in San Francisco, where church doors have been shut, locked, and all but barricaded. Worshiping on devices, Bay Area Catholics endured months of separation from the true presence of our Lord. Easter and Christmas, the…

Would you say that any of the following Catholics, and their spouses, were holy? Writers The married couple Frank Sheed (1897-1982) and Maisie Ward (1889-1975) were writers and founders of a great Catholic publishing house, Sheed & Ward, in 1926. They had a son and a daughter. Other prominent lay…

Twenty years of clerical sex abuse scandals have rocked the Church. I heard that in 2002, after the Boston Globe reports, some clergy took to wearing civilian clothes in public to avoid heckling. A part of me was thankful that I had not become a brother or religious priest at…

How does it look when men and women strive for holiness at work? Let's take examples from various occupations: Entertainers/TV-Film Personalities Among prominent Catholic entertainers is convert Alec Guinness (1914-2000). (See Guinness’s first of three autobiographies, Blessings in Disguise, from 1986.) See also his portrayal as G.K. Chesterton’s Father Brown…