After nearly two months of not hearing church choirs singing hymns due to Covid-19 restrictions, Samoans piled into church buildings Sunday morning in unusually large numbers. The streets were again whitewashed with flashy Sunday best attire. Inside one church in Apia, there was initial trepidation as parishioners looked around to see who would be the Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Mass’
I am a scientist, we should cancel all Masses
Monday, March 16th, 2020
As is already clear from the sudden rash of closings, cancellations and diagnoses of prominent people, the coronavirus outbreak is spreading rapidly. In response, many bishops around the world have taken the difficult but prudent step of dispensing the faithful from their Sunday Mass obligation. Those decisions are to be commended for the sake of Read more
Giving up Mass for Lent
Thursday, March 12th, 2020
It is the spring sumo season in Japan, one of the six two-week periods of the year when the national sport is played out before huge crowds. But not this year. The media are showing the wrestling tournament taking place in an empty venue. Spectators are banned from the arena. In various parts of the Read more
Crying: What my young daughter gets out of Mass
Thursday, May 9th, 2019
“Baby girl, no!” My 14-month-old daughter’s hand briefly paused in the air, dripping water back into the dog’s drinking bowl. Her hand went to her head, to her chest and completed a toddler’s awkward sign of the cross. My husband and I were horrified by the slobbery dog-water blessing. But we were also awestruck: We Read more
Swedish Lutheran cathedral hosting Mass
Monday, April 9th, 2018A Swedish Lutheran cathedral is about to host a Catholic Mass for the first time since the Reformation. The Lutheran Church of Sweden has offered the cathedral as a temporary place of worship to the Catholic parish of St Thomas. St Thomas’s will be closed for major renovation for several months. Read more
The pedestrian who died after being hit by a car a daily Mass attender
Thursday, April 5th, 2018Vainemoeroa Titaenua from Mangere died after being hit by a car last week. Titaenua was hit about 7 am on Idlewild Ave, Mangere, last Thursday. She died in hospital at 8.30pm on Friday. Titaenua went to her Catholic church every day. Read more “
Forgiveness, hope as Mass celebrated in the streets amidst violence
Monday, July 17th, 2017
In the middle of the current wave of political unrest, hunger and death, Venezuelan people are finding forgiveness is possible and there is hope for a better future. Violent demonstrations and attacks since the end of March have seen 92 people killed and over 1,500 injured. The new change in Venezuelan people’s attitudes began with Read more
Bishop Drennan’s Chrism Mass homily
Thursday, April 20th, 2017
The greatest pastoral challenge facing New Zealand today is to keep the distinction between what is essential and what is secondary. We risk substituting God with good things… Faith continually evolves. How we understand aspects of our faith today is different from a year ago or five or ten. We grow in insight (cf. Dei Read more
Find Mass boring? Good!
Monday, March 20th, 2017
Praying through the tedium at Mass can be a more authentic way of sharing the divine life. As citizens of late modern life, we seek to avoid boredom. We alleviate the stillness of a quiet moment by turning to our smartphones. We delight in the arrival of new emails, fresh stories and notifications from social Read more
Mass for scientists
Tuesday, November 15th, 2016A Mass for scientists will be celebrated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) chapel today. It is the first time such a Mass has been celebrated. The Society of Catholic Scientists is a recently formed group of American Catholic scientists as well as undergraduate, graduate or postdoctoral students pursuing research in a natural science. Read more