How did Jesus’ table become an altar and how do we understand it today? Introduction I wasn’t entirely surprised by the nature of the encounter I once had with an elderly laywoman in a Catholic parish that had sought my assistance with its church renovation project. Our exchange occurred one morning while I was collecting […]
Eucharistic Liturgy
Eucharistic Liturgy · July / August 2021
Going to Mass Backwards: Eucharist, Mission and Parish
What do we need to remember when we “come back” to Mass? Introduction: “The Mass is Never Ended!” I don’t know if they still do it, but several years ago when I attended Mass at Holy Family Parish in Inverness, Illinois, there was a marvelous moment at the end of the celebration. After communion, the […]
Eucharistic Liturgy · May / June 2021
The Domestic Table and the Lord’s Table: Rehearsing the Habits of a Eucharistic People
What does the Eucharist teach us about how we share meals and what do our family meals contribute to our understanding of the Eucharist? “[T]the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.” Isaiah 25:6 Early Experiences of Eucharist and […]
Eucharistic Liturgy · March / April 2021
Understanding Intercession to the Saints at Mass
We often pray for the intercession of the saints during Mass and our church sanctuaries are filled with images of saints. How can we deepen our understanding of our relationship to the saints? Intercessory prayer has a complex history in the Church. The post-Vatican II era has seen an effort to recapture a more biblical […]
Eucharistic Liturgy · January / February 2021
Preserving the Place and Practice of Eucharistic Prayer: An Ecumenical Survey of Christian Pastors
What values do pastors of differing Christian traditions share when celebrating Eucharist in sacred spaces? Introduction: Current Challenges to Eucharistic Place and Piety For some thirty-five years I have served Roman Catholic parish communities throughout the United States as a liturgical educator, designer and consultant, a tripartite lay ministry, as I see it, inseparable from […]
Eucharistic Liturgy · November / December 2020
Chalkware Catholicism: The Aims and Art of Catholic Statuary Reconsidered
What does a sacramental imagination make of the religiously mundane? Sleeping Among the Saints “Chalkware Catholicism” is a phrase I coined some time ago in my writing on sacred art and architecture to describe an approach to the faith, once widespread among the faithful, that relied heavily on the plaster statuary — or “chalkware” — […]
Eucharistic Liturgy · November / December 2020
Ongoing Renewal of the Eucharistic Liturgy
What remains to be realized in the liturgical vison of the Mass implemented by the Second Vatican Council? Some Catholics speak of their regret at not having a sense of God’s presence when they enter a modern Catholic church. There are churches in recent years that have been restored to recapture this feeling which Catholics […]
Eucharistic Liturgy · September / October 2020
What Have We Learned from the Eucharistic Fast?
As we were quickly thrust into a “eucharistic fast” it is important to reflect upon what transpired and why. What did we learn? The source and summit of the life of the Church is most fully realized when the community gathers around the altar and makes real again the sacrifice of Christ. The priest in […]
Eucharistic Liturgy · September / October 2020
Of What Use are Church Buildings in Times of Calamity?
Church Buildings have historically been considered as sanctuaries in difficult times. What meaning do they have when people are barred from entering them? Those Emmanuel readers with a special interest in Italy, even before the tragic turn COVID-19 recently took through that overwhelmingly Catholic country, may have known it as a place where devotion to […]
Eucharistic Liturgy · July / August 2020
Advice to Pastors on Preserving a Legacy of Artistic Expression
How do pastors convey the rich meanings of Catholic sacred art to a congregation naïve of religious visual language? Our Secularized Scene Not long ago, while wending my way through the collection of paintings from medieval Europe at a major metropolitan museum, I came upon a conversation between a boy and his parents that struck […]