Despite widespread appearance to the contrary, receiving Holy Communion on the tongue while kneeling is still the universal norm for the Catholic Church.  True, most of us who grew up in the 70s or 80s were told otherwise, but since…

What does a man do after reading powerful, potentially life-changing words from a saint?
Hopefully he actually changes his life.  Additionally, he could slice and dice the words up, put them in a book, and try to get as many…

Pope Benedict XVI recently issued the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus in response to a large number of Anglicans having expressed the desire to be received into the Church.  Shortly thereafter, a reporter actually asked a Catholic bishop if the Pope’s…

One can walk into nearly any parish today and hear almost any type of music, from Gregorian chant to folk music to heavy metal.  While most parishes offer one type of music within a given Mass, some parishes even provide…

In recent years it has become commonplace to turn funerals into casual canonizations. “Bob is in a better place,” we’re told, which, if taken literally, can only mean Heaven, as neither Hell nor Purgatory are better places than earth. Never…

Leaving aside those who physically cannot genuflect, or cannot do so without great difficulty, we start here by addressing the spectacle of strange genuflections. Everyone has seen these strange genuflections (if we can even call them that) in church, such…

Contrary to Luther’s misconception (see Part 1 ), humility is in reality wise, while pride is foolish. St Alphonsus tells us that “no fool esteems himself foolish, but his folly consists in being a fool without knowing it.” Luther was…

Many people admire Martin Luther (1483-1546) for his defiance of Church authority in the name of religious freedom. The idea is that Luther stood up to overbearing Church leaders who were no more than pagans in disguise. Luther freed us…