Christmas Octave

The Christmas season extends beyond December 25. The Church celebrates the octave of Christmas, eight days, although the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” has a longer time span. This week to still celebrate the astounding event of God becoming a human being to rescue us from sin and death, here is a prayer that […]

Happy Easter!

When I was a child, I loved Easter. For days Mom would be at the stove decorating Easter eggs by dipping a straight pin into melted beeswax and creating delicate designs. On Friday we tried not to talk from noon until 3:00 p.m. and went to church for stations. On Saturday we took a basket […]

What’s Up with the Ascension on Sunday?

We used to celebrate the Ascension exactly forty days after Easter on Thursday. On that day the Paschal, or Easter, Candle was extinguished after the Gospel as a sign that Jesus, the light of the world, had left for heaven. Nowadays we celebrate the Ascension on the Sunday after. Why? The Ascension, the mystery of […]

Why Penance? Why Friday? Why Fish?

I grew up near Lake Erie. Every so often our neighbor Joe brought my mother some fish he caught. She was grateful, except for the fact that she would have to clean and debone them. You might wonder why we Catholics eat fish on Lenten Fridays. It began when Christians gave up meat as a […]