How can anyone believe that God made the visible universe in six days, that all the species were created at the same time, that light existed before the sun and moon, etc., etc? How can believers possibly square the naïve cosmology of Genesis with the textured and sophisticated theories of Newton, Darwin, Einstein and Stephen Hawking?
World Day of Day of Marriage (Feb. 13) and National Marriage Week (Feb. 7-14) provide us with an opportunity to celebrate, reflect and give thanks for the gift of marriage; also to realize the uniqueness of this call and its importance for the good of society.
The Catholic Spirit recently asked Father John Paul Erickson, director of the archdiocesan Office of Worship, to explain the church’s teaching regarding the elements of the Eucharist.
The Eucharist is one of the seven sacraments, and it stands above the others. While baptism is the gateway sacrament, the beginning of belief in Jesus as Lord, and incorporation into the Body of Christ, the church; it is the Eucharist that is the source and summit of the Christian life.
The New Testament describes the baptism of several individuals and some households. Other early church documents testify to the development of rites and celebrations surrounding the process of initiation in the early church.
The short answer is no — attending Mass on Christmas Day this year, which happens to be a Saturday, does not fulfill one’s obligation to attend Mass on Sunday, any more than attending a wedding on a Saturday afternoon fulfills one’s Sunday obligation. But the reason behind this answer requires some explanation.
Biblical characters that help us prepare for Christmas. Zechariah and Elizabeth are two key figures in the first chapter of Luke’s infancy narrative (Luke 1:5-2:52), and they play prominent roles in the Gospel readings for the weekday Masses immediately before Christmas. The Dec. 19 Gospel is the announcement by Gabriel to Zechariah of the birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:5-25), Dec. 21 is Mary’s Visitation to Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-45), Dec. 23 is the birth of the Baptist (Luke 1:57-66), and Dec. 24 is Zechariah’s canticle (Luke 1:67-79). The Visitation is also the Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Advent in Year C.