The Narthex
On Ascension & Pentecost
God expects and commissions man to 'go and make disciples of all nations'
By John M. Grondelski | May 19th 2026 12:06 PMAs the Church prepares to close the 2026 Easter Season with Evening Prayer II next Sunday, I'll share some final reflections on this juncture in the liturgical year. Liturgical Anomaly The “pastoral” shift of the Solemnity of the Ascension from the 40th day after Easter (i.e., Ascension Thursday) to displacing…
READ FULL BLOG POSTA Line, Not a Cycle
Fall is a time of hope, rooted in responsibility to make good use of one's days
By John M. Grondelski | September 26th 2025 11:55 AMFall arrived this week, precisely on Monday at 2:19 p.m. Another year is slowly bending towards its end. I’ll admit fall is my favorite season. For me, the year goes downhill from May until about early October. (I used to say September in my native New Jersey, but I'm currently…
READ FULL BLOG POSTFull Disclosure
Advent Preface I reads, When the Lord comes again 'all is at last made manifest'
By John M. Grondelski | December 6th 2024 5:21 PMDuring Advent, the Church uses two different Prefaces at Mass: one for most of Advent, the other for Advent’s last nine days. We have two because their foci are different: Advent Preface I looks forward to Christ’s Second Coming at the end of history, while Advent Preface II shifts back,…
READ FULL BLOG POST