MSI Press Blog

  BODY OF CHRIST “The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” --I Corinthians 10: 16)   When I left the priesthood many years ago, I was disillusioned with the Catholic Church. I was looking to belong to a loving family. In my distressed state of mind, I experienced the Church as a dysfunctional family. For a few years I was estranged from the Church, and from all institutional religion. However, I felt something missing. So, I went to churches of various denominations, looking for a home. Eventually, I found a Catholic parish that filled that need. I discovered that being a Catholic since childhood was in my bones. It was a truth about myself I could not deny. After leaving the ministry, I became a psychologist. A life of service still motivated me. My passion was, and still is, to understand the dynamics of personal transformation and to accompany my patients on their journeys toward healing and growth. I have come to believe ther...

  HOSPITALITY “ I mean to stay at your house today.” --Luke 19: 5   How would you react if you received a personal call from some celebrity, such as the Pope or the President, asking you to have a private dinner with him at your home. Your initial reaction would likely be shock. “ Why me?” you would ask, thinking you are not worthy of such an honored guest. Then, panic, “ How can I prepare for such a guest?” As reality sets in, you begin scrambling to put your house in perfect order. All the clutter would be thrown out. You would clean until the place was spotless. You would likely obsess about what to serve for dinner, trying to guess what your guest would like most. You would set the table with your finest linen, plates, and silverware. And you would cook up a storm. How privileged you would feel to entertain such an important person. DIVINE HOST When people ask me what happens after we die, I answer, “ We return to where we were before we were born.” Ultimately,...

  And now begins the Triduum. Here is an excerpt about Maundy Thursday from Easter at the Mission .  What is Holy Thursday? Holy Thursday (or Holy Thursday) starts the Triduum (Latin for three days) with its evening Mass. The Triduum is a 3-day period at the end of Lent and includes Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Saturday vigil. Holy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper. That is when Jesus ate together for the last time with his 12 apostles (and during which Judas slipped out and betrayed him for 30 pieces of silver). Before eating supper with his apostles, Jesus washed their feet. The feet washing is also commemorated during the Holy Thursday Mass. Maundy , a term common to Protestant churches, is an old word used in England and France that meant “commandment” (Latin: mandatum ). It was called that because during the Last Supper, Jesus gave the apostles (us, too) a very important commandment: “A new commandant I give to you, that you love one another even as I have lo...