All posts tagged: Eucharist

Pope Leo tells secular Spain not to leave Catholic faith in the ‘museum of the past’

Pope Leo tells secular Spain not to leave Catholic faith in the ‘museum of the past’

Published by Sam Flores

MADRID (RNS) – Over 1.2 million people gathered at Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid on Sunday (June 7) to catch a glimpse of Pope Leo XIV celebrating Mass and leading the Corpus Christi procession, a major celebration where the Eucharist is paraded through the streets. During his homily, Leo urged Catholics to “remember” and “return” to their faith, using the procession as an opportunity to renew Catholic beliefs in a secularized Spain. “The task of Spain,” Leo said, is “to ensure that the religiosity which has shaped and defined this country for centuries is not a museum of the past to be visited, but a school of faith from which to draw even today.” Embracing faith means drawing away from “our selfishness and indifference, of a comfortable, private faith,” he continued. Only this way can Catholics become “builders of a new world,” he said. The event occurred on the second day of the pope’s week-long trip to Spain, the first major European destination of his pontificate. While the majority of Spaniards still identify as Catholic, …

Is church unity worth a Latin Mass?

Is church unity worth a Latin Mass?

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — “Paris is well worth a Mass” was reportedly the attitude of King Henry IV when he was trying to secure the French throne. As a result, he converted from Protestantism to Catholicism in 1593.  Today, the Eucharist, which is supposed to be the sacrament of unity, is too often a battlefield between Catholics who support the Traditional Latin Mass and those who want to see it disappear. Both sides need to ask themselves whether the fight is worth something more important than Paris: the unity of the church. You must be my age to remember before the Second Vatican Council, when the liturgy was entirely in Latin in Catholic churches, except in those using Eastern Rite liturgies, where it was often in Greek. In Rome, it had been changed from Greek into Latin in the third and fourth centuries so the common people could understand it — a pragmatic decision, not a theological one. When I was young, we took it for granted that the Mass was in Latin. It was something that …

How to be an extraordinary Christian during Ordinary Time

How to be an extraordinary Christian during Ordinary Time

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — With Christmas season over, Christians move into what the church refers to as “Ordinary Time.” This is the time outside of Christmas season, Lent and Easter season. “Ordinary” in English means “routine, usual, common.” In other words, nothing special. But the name “Ordinary Time” originally comes from the fact that the weeks are numbered using ordinal numbers — like first, second or third. For example, last Sunday was the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. This year, there are six Ordinary Sundays before we reach Lent. We then do not return to Ordinary Time until after Pentecost; Ordinary Time then continues until Advent, for a total of 34 weeks in Ordinary Time this year. But there is no reason that Ordinary Time must be ordinary. It can be special if we use it to deepen our experience of the Scriptures and prayer. Catholics should be embarrassed by how little they read the Scriptures. According to Pew Research Center, only 12% of Catholics read the Scriptures at least once a week, compared with 52% of evangelical …