March 17 is the feast day of St. Patrick, the missionary who brought Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century and who is the Patron Saint of Ireland, as well as the Archdiocese of New York. Observance of the day, whether in Ireland or among the Irish diaspora, has been hybrid in nature: religious but … Read more
“I have come that you may have life and have it to the fullest.” (John 10:10) “The glory of God is man fully alive.” ∼ St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies The Church tells us that we exist for the purpose of giving glory to God. We see that happening most directly in the liturgy of the … Read more
January 1, 2018, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, falls on a Monday. Because it falls on a Monday it ceases, according to norms the American bishops adopted in 1992, to be a holy day of obligation. The Code of Canon Law contains ten holydays of obligation but allows local conferences of bishops to … Read more
With Ascension and Pentecost looming, and with their passage an end to the Paschal season, it’s time to reconsider and abolish Ordinary Time. As dramatically drastic as this may sound, it would not be a move without precedent. For centuries, for most of Church history in fact, there was no Ordinary Time on the Catholic … Read more
With the approach of the Solemn Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, American Catholics can breathe a sigh of relief thanks to the work of the USCCB. For this year, the Assumption, a holy day of obligation, falls on a Saturday. Ordinarily, this would mean—horrors!—that the faithful must attend Mass on the … Read more