Most popular stories and commentaries of 2023 on CatholicReview.org

Here are the most-read local stories and commentaries on CatholicReview.org for 2023:

Local Stories

1. Changes to confession and absolution coming this Lent (Feb. 22, 2023)

Changes are coming to a confessional near you, as new language for the Order of Penance will take effect during Lent.

As part of a multiyear project to better render the Mass and other liturgical rites into English from Latin, a slight change in the prayer of absolution will be made. The essential words of absolution – “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen,” have not changed, according to Monsignor Richard Hilgartner, pastor of St. Joseph in Cockeysville and former executive director of the Secretariat of Divine Worship for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. However, part of the rest of the prayer the priest says will change, slightly.

The revised rite also includes some new options for the Act of Contrition by the penitent, Monsignor Hilgartner said.

— Christopher Gunty

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2. Baltimore’s beloved Brooks Robinson, Catholic convert, dies at 86 (Sept. 27, 2023)

Brooks Robinson, the Hall of Fame third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles whose unmatched fielding prowess and dedication to his adopted hometown endeared him to generations of Baltimoreans, died Sept. 26. He was 86.
Robinson, a convert to Catholicism who often relied on his faith to see him through several major health challenges later in his life, was known as a player who freely devoted hours to signing autographs at Memorial Stadium – and seemingly everywhere else in his retirement. His generosity with fans was captured in a famous painting by Norman Rockwell that shows the player scribbling his signature on a ball for a grinning boy.

Born in Little Rock, Ark., Robinson was raised in the Methodist Church. He converted to Catholicism several years after his 1960 marriage to his Catholic wife, Connie. In a 2010 interview with the Catholic Review, Robinson remembered that with three sons and a daughter, he thought it was important for the entire family to attend church together.

— George P. Matysek Jr.

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3. St. Maria Goretti High School faces uncertain future after difficult decision by archdiocese (Sept. 21, 2023)

The Archdiocese of Baltimore announced Sept. 21 that it can no longer bridge the gap for operations and will cease providing funds to St. Maria Goretti Regional Catholic High School in Hagerstown at the end of the current academic year.

The archdiocese has provided Goretti with “substantial and unwavering support” of more than $8.5 million over the last five years, with the hope that the school would grow enrollment, increase donor revenue and balance the budget, according to a letter to families.

An independent exploratory committee comprised of Goretti alumni and school supporters is evaluating the possibility of transitioning the coeducational school to an independent Catholic school, with the intention to formulate and share plans before the end of the 2023-24 calendar year.

— Christopher Gunty

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4.Masses and sacramental ministry to end at St. Benedict Parish (Nov. 4, 2023)

Masses and sacramental ministry at St. Benedict Parish in Baltimore will end Nov. 15, according to a joint announcement Nov. 4 to the parish by the St. Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pa., and the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

No new pastor will be named for the parish, the announcement said, limiting the ministries that could continue in the future. “The difficult decision was made based on the limited number of clergy available for this ministry,” the announcement said.

St. Benedict Church is owned and operated by the St. Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pa.

The decision affects Masses, dispensation of the sacraments, sacramental preparation and worship services. 

The action was precipitated by the removal from ministry Oct. 15 of Benedictine Father Paschal Morlino, who had served the Southwest Baltimore parish for nearly 40 years, from July 1984 to October 2023. At the time of his removal from ministry, Father Morlino returned to his religious community in Pennsylvania. 

— Christopher Gunty

Read the full story here.

5. Papal honors call from Archbishop Lori leaves award winners ‘surprised’ and ‘in awe’ (Aug. 21, 2023)

At least two of the people who will receive papal honors in the Archdiocese of Baltimore were shocked when they got the call from Archbishop William E. Lori to tell them the news.

Kathleen Mahar, the former president and principal of Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn, is one of 10 who will receive the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (“for the church and the pontiff”), an honor conferred directly by the pope.

“I had no idea what the award was, and I had never heard of anyone who received it,” she said about the call she got from the archbishop telling her about the honor. “But I tell you, once I looked it up, I am filled with much humility and grace and don’t really understand why I deserved it.”

She said she hopes the award is an affirmation of the motto and mission of Spalding, where she served for 25 years – One in Christ. She said Catholic education has been a priority for her all her life, as a student and an educator, because “It works. Because of the marriage of faith and academics – faith comes first – it works,” she said.

Deacon Siegfried Presbery, director of prison ministry for the archdiocese, said he was also surprised when he got a call from a phone number he didn’t recognize while he was in the supermarket. He let it go to voicemail.

When he listened to the message and then called back Archbishop Lori and heard he was to receive the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, he was “full of emotions” and “personally in awe.”

— Christopher Gunty

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6. Archbishop Lori’s mother passes away at 103 (Sept. 4, 2023)

Margaret Lori, mother of Archbishop William E. Lori, died Sept. 3 in New Albany, Ind. She was 103 years old.

Margaret (née Caradonna) married Francis Lori when he returned from serving on a U.S. Navy ship in World War II. The couple had celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary in January 2020 before Mr. Lori died a month later.

On the occasion of his installation as archbishop of Baltimore, Archbishop Lori said his parents fostered his vocation to the priesthood. “One of the first things I must have come to know was how seriously Mom and Dad took their faith. The rosary was very much a part of our life, as was Sunday Mass. When Mom and Dad could, they were daily communicants.”

In a homily in January 2020 for the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, and also to mark his mother’s 100th birthday and his parents’ wedding anniversary, Archbishop Lori said, “Your life and your marriage are a great blessing, certainly to us, your sons, whom you continue to love as only good parents can do, and indeed to all of us – because, in one way or another, we’ve been touched by your example of strong faith and enduring love.

“You have worked hard and you have faced challenges and hardships, but in the midst of it all, your love for each other and for us has only grown stronger,” the archbishop said. “I think of the loving care you gave to your eldest son, my brother Frankie; your ministry of visiting nursing homes, bringing the Eucharist and a word of cheer; your practice of praying the rosary every day; Sunday Mass without fail and daily Mass whenever possible; and the encouragement and love you continue to give your family and many others.”

— Christopher Gunty

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7. Archbishop Lori issues guidelines for pastoral accompaniment of LGBT Catholics (April 5July 20, 2023)

Ministry to LGBT Catholics and their families must balance a “life-giving” tension between showing love and a genuine sense of welcome to all while also faithfully teaching the truth about human sexuality revealed by God in creation, Scripture and tradition.

That is the core message that runs throughout Archbishop William E. Lori’s “Like Every Disciple,” a 14-page document released July 20 that offers guidelines for parish ministries involved in the pastoral accompaniment of LGBT parishioners and their families in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

“Persons who may identify as LGBT are daughters and sons of God, they are our brothers and sisters in Christ, they are members of the Body of Christ, they are our family members and friends,” Archbishop Lori wrote. “Like every human person, they were created with a desire for intimacy with Jesus Christ. Like every disciple, LGBT persons are called to a lifelong journey of turning toward the Lord, receiving his love, and, in turn, seeking to know and love him more and more deeply every day.”

The experience of LGBT persons means they approach the journey of discipleship within a particular context, Archbishop Lori said, yet the “deepest needs of their heart” are the same.

“The church, with a mother’s tenderness, never forsakes or abandons any of her children, but seeks to draw them close and lead them to Christ, who fulfills their heart’s desire,” he said.

— George P. Matysek Jr.

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8. Historic day: Archbishop Lori ordains largest class of priests in more than 40 years (June 26, 2023)

The June 24 priesthood ordinations at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland marked two happy occasions in the cathedral’s history.

Father Steven Roth, director of vocations for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, announced that the ordination of eight men was the largest single group “in well over 40 years in this archdiocese.” Last year there were five, for instance, and there was one in 2021. 

And with the use of a rented platform that allowed the archbishop to face the congregation during the consecration, the cathedral’s original high altar was used for the first time in decades to celebrate Mass. 

Ordained in the sometimes boisterous three-hour Mass, which also marked the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, before a congregation of more than 2,000, with their assignments beginning July 1, were:

• Father Daniel Acquard, to associate pastor, St. Margaret Parish, Bel Air;
• Father John Bilenki, to associate pastor (summer), Immaculate Conception Parish, Towson, before resuming advanced theological studies in Rome;
• Father Javier Fuentes, to associate pastor, Pastorate of St. John the Evangelist Parish, Frederick, and St. Joseph-on-Carrollton Manor Parish, Buckeystown;
• Father Paul Kongnyuy, to associate pastor, Pastorate of Resurrection and St. Paul Parishes, Ellicott City;
• Father  Luke Koski, to associate pastor, Pastorate of Christ the King Parish, Glen Burnie, and St. Bernadette Parish, Severn, and Chaplain, Archbishop Spalding High School, Severn;
• Father Felix Mmuoh, to associate pastor, St. Joseph Parish, Fullerton;
• Father Nicholas Mwai, to associate pastor, Immaculate Conception Parish, Towson; and
• Father Sampson Onwumere, to associate pastor, Pastorate of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Essex, and St. Clare Parish, Essex.

— Kurt Jensen

Read the full story here.

9. Monsignor Burke leaves legacy of striving for social justice, devotion to city parish (March 6, 2023)

Monsignor William F. Burke’s easy-going style enabled him to lead a Northeast Baltimore parish for more than four decades while serving as the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s driving force for social justice, according to those beside whom he served and labored.

Monsignor Burke, a Baltimore native and mentor to dozens of the region’s priests, died March 3 of respiratory failure at Stella Maris. He was 89 and had served as a priest in the archdiocese for more than 63 years.

The native of Park Heights in Northwest Baltimore had been pastor of St. Francis Assisi in Mayfield from 1980 until his retirement in 2021. He guided a thriving school at St. Francis at a time when many city parish schools were closing.

From the basement of his parish on the border of Herring Run Park, he also directed Baltimore’s committee of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, working on social justice issues that spanned everything from housing, food deserts, literacy, employment, environmental concerns, racial disparities and homelessness. He served as the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s director of the anti-poverty and social justice arm of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for nearly five decades.

Monsignor Richard Bozzelli, pastor of St. Bernardine, said Monsignor Burke was an important personal mentor and called him the “conscience of the diocese” on matters of social justice.

Through his advocacy, the Baltimore committee annually brought in thousands of funds from the national CCHD office. He helped local advocacy groups such as Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD), Bridge Maryland, Beyond the Boundaries, United Workers, Immigration Outreach, Arundel House for the Homeless and Northeast Housing Initiative find their footing to fight impoverishment and other inequality issues in Maryland.

— Gerry Jackson

Read the full story here.

10. No place like Bill’s Place in Western Maryland (July 11, 2023)

A priest walking into a bar is no joke at Bill’s Place, a remote, log-cabin hangout right in the heart of Western Maryland’s 49,000-acre Green Ridge State Forest.

During a recent visit to the quirky dive bar in eastern Allegany County, Father John “Jack” Lombardi greeted patrons as he shook hands and moved easily from person to person.

When the pastor of St. Peter in Hancock and St. Patrick in Little Orleans discovered that Jack Schoenadel, the eatery’s owner and a St. Patrick parishioner, had just celebrated his 69th birthday, he prayed with him on the spot – raising hands in a blessing as others downed beers.

In August, when motorcyclists from near and far will converge on Little Or­leans for an annual rally, Father Lombardi plans to offer a blessing of the fleet outside a bar that features not one, but two well-worn outdoor statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary and a statue of St. Francis of Assisi.

“The bikers can get kind of rowdy,” admitted John Walker, a parishioner of St. Patrick and a regular at Bill’s Place. “(The priest) shows up and passes out rosaries and religious literature, and he has a calming effect on the crowd.”

The blending of the secular and the sacred seems natural at an establishment with deep roots in Western Maryland.

In the late 1960s, Bill Schoenadel, Jack Schoenadel’s father, purchased an old country store that had operated for many generations in Little Orleans. Bill Schoenadel added a restaurant to the store in 1972 and eventually renamed it Bill’s Place. Jack Schoenadel took over after his father’s 2013 death.

In addition to a bar and restaurant, Bill’s Place is a general store, a bait shop and all-around community hub. The original building was destroyed in a 2000 fire, with the new one built a year later.

— George P. Matysek Jr.

Read the full story here.

Commentaries

1. A miracle at a Sunday Mass in Connecticut (March 28, 2023)

You may have already heard about a possible miracle that happened on Sunday. At a Mass at a church in Connecticut, a Eucharistic minister was running low on hosts to distribute. Suddenly, the Eucharistic minister noticed that there were more than enough hosts to give to the people waiting in line to receive.

The Archdiocese of Hartford is researching the incident to confirm whether it was a miracle. But the priest at the Mass shared his thoughts on what had happened in a video. Listening to him, you can hear the faith, the awe, and the gratitude in his voice.

With deep respect for the official research, I don’t need an investigation to believe in a miracle. The fact that the hosts have become Jesus’ body through the consecration is its own miracle. This possible multiplication of the hosts feels like a miracle on top of a miracle—and it fills me with joy.

As Franz Werfel writes in The Song of Bernadette, “For those who believe, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.”

Count me in as someone who needs no explanation. I believe we experience miracles all the time. And this one feels like a special gift, especially during our Lenten journey.

— Rita Buettner

Read the full story here.

2. Woman of the Eucharist (May 2, 2023)

The month of May is a time of special devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the meantime, the Church in the United States is engaged in a multiyear Eucharistic Revival, a project which aims to rekindle faith in the eucharistic mystery and increase participation in Sunday Mass.

Let me suggest that May devotions and the Eucharistic Revival are related. Mary, the “Woman of the Eucharist,” lived the eucharistic mystery in a singular way and shows us how to deepen our eucharistic faith.

The Acts of the Apostles relates that Mary joined the Apostles as they waited and prayed for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 1:14). A bit later, Acts describes the life of the newborn Church at Jerusalem. It says that the members of the earliest Christian community “devoted themselves to the teaching of the Apostles, and to the communal life, to the breaking of bread, and prayers” (Acts 2:42). Many infer from this passage that Mary herself took part in the earliest celebrations of the Eucharist, listening to her Son’s teachings and recognizing him in the Breaking of Bread.

In an even deeper sense, Mary’s whole life was “eucharistic.” As we know, Mary conceived Christ in the power of the Spirit. Thanks to Mary’s consent, Christ the Incarnate Son entered human history to redeem us. So too, at every Mass, Mother Church brings forth Christ anew, in the power of the Holy Spirit. In the celebration of the Eucharist, Christ remains with us, truly and substantially present – body, blood, soul and divinity.

— Archbishop William E. Lori

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3. Get to know St. Rita: A saint for impossible situations (May 21, 2023)

I don’t usually ask St. Rita to intercede for me on ordinary problems. But every now and then, I come up against a problem that simply can’t be solved. I look at it from every angle and see no way through. That’s when I know that it’s time to take it to prayer—and it might be time to ask my patron saint for help.

St. Rita happens to be the patron saint of the impossible. There are times when it feels like she might be just the right heavenly friend to ask for help. That’s when I bring a problem to her.

Saints are our friends and intercessors, and we can ask for their assistance whenever we want. But I like to reach out to St. Rita for specific reasons. She carried so much while on earth. She had a difficult marriage and two sons who wanted to avenge their father’s murder. After they died and she was left alone, she entered religious life. What a difficult life. What a holy life.

I feel like complicated messes are something St. Rita can understand. And she has been a faithful friend in precarious times.

During some of the most difficult days of the pandemic, I asked her to intercede on a specific issue—one that seemed to have no solution. And bit by bit, the waves parted, doors opened, dots connected, and there was the answer. It was so clear. It was so beautiful. It was so perfect. I was deeply grateful, and I knew St. Rita had been asking Jesus to do his best. And wow, he blew me away.

— Rita Buettner

Read the full story here.

4. A prayer for Father Joe Breighner (July 14, 2023)

Even though he officially stepped down from active ministry 10 years ago, Father Joseph Breighner never really quit working. That was obvious to me when I was assigned to write the story for the Catholic Review about Father Joe’s retirement in 2013.

I thought it would be easy to get an appointment with a man approaching his 70s who had already been retired for more than a month.

But Father Joe’s daily schedule remained so jammed-packed that he only had a 20-minute sliver of time to meet before he was off to minister somewhere else.

Back then, the much-loved columnist was still writing commentary for the Catholic Review every other week, providing pastoral counseling several times a week, leading spiritual retreats and celebrating Mass at Villa Assumpta, Notre Dame of Maryland University and Church of the Annunciation in Rosedale.

And that’s what he called his “reduced” workload.

During our conversation, Father Joe told me he viewed his life as a ministry.

“It’s a blessing,” he said.

I can think of no other columnist in the religious or secular press who has been writing a sustained column as long as Father Joe. His byline first appeared in the Catholic Review more than 50 years ago when he was still a seminarian.

How do you come up with thousands of column ideas over the course of half a century even as you are devoting your life to so many other ministries – including an immensely popular radio show that reached audiences across the country?

In his best-selling book, a compilation of his most-popular Catholic Review columns called “A Year of Wit, Wisdom & Warmth,” Father Joe explained that he truly thought it was through divine inspiration.

— George P. Matysek Jr.

Read the full story here.

5. Hold the tuna casserole; pass the crab cake this Lent (March 15, 2023)

Lent has a strange way of testing the olfactory senses.

To this day, to twist a popular movie phrase, I can’t stand the smell of hot canned tuna fish in the morning – or any other time of day for that matter.

You see, back in the 1960s and 1970s, canned tuna was the go-to staple of Catholic mothers all across America trying to stretch the household budget during Fridays in Lent. Tuna casseroles of various varieties were as ubiquitous as Beatles albums and Volkswagen beetles. With nine of her own children plus other assorted neighborhood strays who found their way to our table, my mom had to resort to canned tuna.

Who knows, heated tuna might still be a popular menu item these days; just not in my household if I have anything to do with it.

I know, we Catholics are supposed to sacrifice for Lent, abstaining from meat on Fridays. However, the heated tuna smell is a little more than I can bear.

This all came to mind this past week when a story surfaced about people in the Midwest being able to partake of muskrat as a meatless option. One of our editors who spotted the story recalled that alligator also was considered a meatless choice in Louisiana.

I don’t know if I’d go for either of those options over tuna casserole, but fortunately here in Maryland we don’t even need to consider it.

In the Land of Pleasant Living, we are blessed with many pleasant meatless options. We live in one of the nation’s seafood capitals, thanks to our proximity to the Chesapeake Bay and other Atlantic fishing grounds.

— Gerry Jackson

Read the full story here.

6. Chance encounter showed Brooks Robinson’s Catholic spirit (Sept. 27, 2023)

It’s never easy seeing a cherished part of your childhood pass. 

For anyone who grew up in the Baltimore area in the 1960s and 1970s, Orioles third baseman and converted Catholic Brooks Robinson certainly was part of that childhood.

Robinson, one of the most revered athletes of his generation, passed away at the age of 86 Sept. 26, and no doubt had many Baby Boomers recalling the “good old days.” 

It was late St. Anthony of Gardenville parishioner Gordon Beard who summed up Baltimore and Brooks so beautifully when he wrote for Associated Press: “Brooks never asked anyone to name a candy bar after him; in Baltimore, people named their children after him.”

To this day, Brooks is a rather popular name in this town.

I don’t have any relatives named Brooks, but the sounds of summer always included my father’s booming voice exclaiming, “Way to go Brooksie!” as the hall of famer made another amazing play on the ball diamond.

In the Jackson household, we weren’t awed too often by star athletes since our father was a prominent local sportswriter. Ball games and practices often served as our babysitter with the nine of us often tagging along and getting a rare close-up glimpse of some of sports’ biggest stars.

There’s a photo somewhere in a family shoebox of my brother Jimmy sitting on a Memorial Stadium bench with NFL Hall of Fame offensive lineman Jimmy Parker. Two of my youngest brothers once played air hockey in the Memorial Stadium clubhouse with Baltimore Colts kicker Toni Linhart. My sister Bernadette got a hug from soccer super star Pelé at halftime of an exhibition match in Baltimore.

But none of that ever compared to meeting Brooks Robinson, which I had the pleasure to do several times in the early days of my writing and editing career.

— Gerry Jackson

Read the full story here.

7. What do 1,000 pictures say: A Tribute to Fr. Anthony Azzarto, S.J. (April 20, 2023)

My friend Andrew Cevasco wrote this beautiful tribute to Rev. Anthony Azzarto, S.J., who served at St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City, New Jersey, for 60 years. Andy is the director of undergraduate admission for Loyola University Maryland (where I also work), and he and his wife, Monique, are Loyola graduates who were married in Loyola’s Alumni Memorial Chapel. The Cevascos live in Baltimore with their two daughters. I thought this was a beautiful piece that shows the tremendous impact an incredibly pastoral priest had on so many lives. Thank you, Andy, for giving us a glimpse into who Fr. Anthony Azzarto was and for letting me share your words here.

~~~

“If pictures say a thousand words…then what do a thousand pictures say?”

If I close my eyes, I can still see the first time I walked through Mulry Hall. I was in 8th grade. The hallway was covered with 4×6 photographs that were stuffed into 2×6 plastic sheets (like a collection of baseball cards) and then thumbtacked and taped to every inch of the walls and ceiling. It looked like something out of Hogwarts.

My brother, who was giving me a behind-the-scenes tour of my future high school home, reached out his hand for a doorknob that just barely jutted its way through the collage, like a sapling fighting through the fallen leaves on a forest floor.

As the door swung open, there stood a man among a photo collection that covered every inch of his classroom—from the walls to the ceiling to the vinyl roller window shades. Pictures. Pictures, upon pictures, upon pictures.

He was grinning with a closed-lipped smile and had a hand already extended to shake my own.

I didn’t know it then, but that man would change the trajectory of my life, as he did for thousands of other students who were fortunate enough to pass through the halls at Grand & Warren.

Fr. Anthony Azzarto, S.J., passed away this past Saturday at the age of 84. He was a Jesuit for over 60 years and a stalwart at my high school, St. Peter’s Prep, for more than 30. It was Prep folklore that Fr. Azzarto could show up at multiple events (at the same time) on the same day—from a JV cross country race, to a varsity wrestling match, to a freshman basketball game, to a theater rehearsal.

— Rita Buettner

Read the full story here.

8. Guide to Jesus (May 4, 2023)

Over the years, I’ve often written about how I’ve felt comfort in the Blessed Virgin Mary. While Jesus is indeed love itself, his promise to return as judge scared me when I was growing up.

Was Christ’s love unconditional? Today I believe it is. Then, it often felt very conditional.

In this column, I’d like to repeat some themes I touched on in a 2014 Catholic Review reflection on Mary’s unconditional love.

The famous line in the famous prayer, the Memorare, has that wonderful reference to Mary’s love: “Never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection or sought thine intercession, was left unaided.”

Mary would always be there. Mary always was there.

Growing up in a home without a father, I think Mary’s maternal love connected with my own mother’s love. No doubt I projected the fact that, since my father left the family, maybe even God the Father would abandon me. So Mary has always been a safe person, a safe place for me.

I once wrote a meditation in which I picture Jesus speaking to us right after the Crucifixion, as his body was being placed in the tomb. In that mediation, Jesus assures us that you and I were worth living and dying for. In our darkest hour, remember that we were worth the life of God.

— Father Joseph Breighner

Read the full story here.

9. The Beauty of Mass in the Gym (May 28, 2023)

Our church is under renovation, so we will be celebrating Mass in other parish spaces for a while. Initially, I thought how sad that was—that weddings and funerals, especially, wouldn’t be able to be in our parish church. And there is some disappointment there.

What I’ve been surprised to discover, however, is how much beauty I find in the liturgies held in our temporary spaces. When we celebrate Sunday Mass in the school gym and daily Mass in the basement of the parish center, there’s a simplicity that seems to make the miracle on the altar that much more pronounced.

There’s also a beauty to the connection among the people in the congregation. I find myself connecting with parishioners I normally see from a distance. We are all walking in and out of the same doors, and so I’m smiling at familiar faces and new ones, falling into conversation with people I rarely had the chance to talk to.

Yes, there are basketball nets overhead and paper towel rolls near the kitchen where school lunches are made during the week. The school logo that’s painted on the gym floor certainly can’t compete with the stained-glass windows of our historic church.

But there’s a sacredness to this space, too. God is most definitely here. Of course, I miss the kneelers. The blue folding chairs are a meager replacement for the polished wooden pews. But I find myself completely absorbed by what is happening on the altar. And I do love the starkness of the experience.

— Rita Buettner

Read the full story here.

10. Part of God’s Plan: A Confirmation Story (April 19, 2023)

Back in the fall, I realized that our parish’s Confirmation Mass would be happening during our son’s band trip to Disney World. Our ninth grader went on the parish retreat and did the rest of the preparation with our parish, but he would need to go to another church to be confirmed.

That was fine, of course. We are one Catholic Church. So, we focused on the preparation and worried less about where it would happen. In the end, I was grateful that we had a little more time to talk and think and consider and pray.

But as he completed his preparation, I started wondering where we would finally be to see him receive the actual sacrament.

During Holy Week, our parish let us know the dates of two possible Confirmation Masses at churches not too far away—one on a Saturday that wouldn’t work for us at all, and one on a Monday evening at Our Lady of Grace in Parkton that was coming up quickly. The decision made itself.

I made sure my brother-in-law George, our son’s sponsor, could make it that night, and I said we’d be there.

A couple of days later, I realized I had forgotten to mention the date to my parents, so I called to make a quick phone invitation. “I wondered why you invited George and not us,” my mother said. “Then I remembered he was the sponsor.”

— Rita Buettner

Read the full story here.

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