McGrath Institute Blog

The degree to which Catholics love the Mass has never been more evident than in Catholic Twitter’s reaction to liturgical adjustments made because of the Coronavirus outbreak. The cancellation of the Eucharist in Rome has led many to wonder how the faithful can survive without regular celebration of the Mass in their presence, the reception of Holy Communion as a way of receiving grace in these trying times. Our longing to receive the Eucharist during this time, to hear the Holy Scriptures, and spend time with one another in Christian community is a sign that our identity as Catholics is closely tied to the Eucharist. 

Editorial Note: This post is an excerpt from the essay “New Orleans and the Catholic Imagination,” originally published at Church Life Journal on February 28, 2017.

As I woke up this morning in northern Indiana, I felt deeply sad. Some might assume that it is the perma-cloud that has reasserted its wintry authority over South Bend. Some would tell me that it's the pile of papers that must be graded over the next three days.

Both are wrong. It's because today is Mardi Gras, and I'm not in New Orleans.

Each year, colleges throughout the United States mark Valentine’s Day with the commemoration of Sex Week. Sex Week is a carnivalesque educational event, combining a how-to-guide to sexual pleasure with events celebrating sexual liberation. Sex Week functions as a kind of secularized liturgy, in which each year we both remember and celebrate the gift of sexual liberation—the freedom to do what and who we want with our bodies.

In The Spirit of the Liturgy, Romano Guardini describes the link between culture and the liturgy. Without the liturgy, culture turns in upon itself, becoming the religion of the aesthete. Without culture, liturgy desiccates, unable to lift the human spirit to adore the living God.