The Narthex
Lindsey Graham’s Funeral
It rightly included elements of recognition that man is under judgment
By John M. Grondelski | August 27th 2026 12:17 AMSouth Carolina senator Lindsey Graham was laid to rest with a funeral July 28 at the Washington National Cathedral. Recently, some Catholic bishops have issued new regulations for funerals in their dioceses. This post isn’t a critique of Graham's funeral. Rather, it affords some interesting insights into the theology of…
READ FULL BLOG POSTWhy Do We Still Baptize Outside of Mass?
Are mere utilitarian considerations short-circuiting good theology?
By John M. Grondelski | September 30th 2025 11:44 AMSixty years have passed since Vatican II. Sixty-one years have passed since Lumen gentium, which reminded us that the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life around which all the sacraments revolve (no. 11). Sixty-two years have passed since Sacrosanctum Concilium taught that "the liturgy is the…
READ FULL BLOG POSTTabernacles versus Tuppernacles
Utilitarianism has beset Eucharistic praxis for a long time
By John M. Grondelski | August 24th 2023 6:44 PMSeveral writers have already addressed the question of how the Eucharist was treated during the just-concluded World Youth Day in Lisbon. I want to focus on a particular attempt to justify the use of “Tuppernacles” and the way the Blessed Sacrament was mass-packaged in plastic containers (“Tuppernacles” is Peter Kwasniewski’s…
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