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Synodality at Work Synod from the Greek synodos meaning gathering or meeting. The Latin equivalent is consilium as in Second Vatican Council. From today until Sunday October 27, Pope Francis will be meeting in Rome for the Amazon Synod, a collegial gathering of the bishops of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Venezuela and Suriname. The priority topics for this gathering are: the environment, the plight of indigenous peoples, and the pastoral care of local churches of the region. Synodality is another word for collegiality, the governance of the church by the pope in collaboration with national bishops’ conferences. Collegiality [...]

Born to a family of five children, often moving around and parents sometimes at odds with each other, Father Carl Braschoss has dedicated his religious life to healing and reconciliation, not only himself, but others and helping people to find the tools within themselves to begin the process of coming together, and to find forgiveness within the Lord.  Father Carl gravitated to the Norbertine community about 21 years ago, but found his calling in religious life around 30 years ago. Prior to this, he moved around often in his young life, and wasn’t sure of his life’s path.. As a child, [...]

Stabat Mater Yesterday was the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the annual liturgical celebration of the finding of what is held to be the cross upon which Christ Jesus was crucified. Like other feasts of this season associated with the dedication of a church (the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15, and the celebration of her birth on September 8) the date, September 14, marks the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem where the cross was found by St. Helena in the fourth century. Cheek by jowl with this feast is [...]

Litany #1 Litany. Noun. A series of petitions for use in church services or processions, usually recited by the clergy and responded to in a recurring formula by the people. (from Google “what’s a litany?) Cradle Catholics are familiar with litanies: the Litany of Loretto (Blessed Virgin Mary), the Litany of the Sacred Heart, more recently the Litany to the Divine Mercy. More ancient and integral to the Church’s official public liturgy is the Litany of the Saints prayed over those to be baptized at the Easter Vigil, at the ordination of bishops, priests and deacons, and at the blessing of [...]