The Gift of Grieving as a Parish Community

Posted by Tom Eggleston on Nov 20, 2020 9:36:48 AM

In Catholic parishes, the sacraments give rhythm to our lives, along with the days, weeks, months, and years of the liturgical calendar. Yet, even as the liturgical calendar punctuates our daily lives, the forward movement of time can feel deeply impersonal. Parish life, however, offers ways of accompanying universal experiences—even ones as complicated as death and grief—with tender rituals and personal touches. Throughout the month of November, we focus on death and grief as common human experiences through which God and parish companion us. Ministers and fellow parishioners accompany each other through moments that matter, even when those moments are hard.

Read More

Topics: death, parish life, All Souls, ministry, coronavirus, bereavement ministry

Music for the Month of All Souls: The Requiem Mass

Posted by Carolyn Pirtle on Nov 2, 2020 3:17:19 PM

Today the Church observes the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, better known as All Souls’ Day. The entire month of November is dedicated to remembering, honoring, and praying for all who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith, entrusting them to God’s mercy and love.

Read More

Topics: liturgical music, All Souls, intercessory prayer, Mass for the Dead, Requiem Mass

Ben Howard's Beatific Vision

Posted by Francesca Patti on Nov 15, 2019 7:07:00 AM
Read More

Topics: Culture, death, All Souls, music, Ben Howard

Dignity, Defiance, and Mirth: A Plan for Dying Well

Posted by Rick Becker on Nov 13, 2019 7:03:00 AM

“Perhaps however joy is the outgrowth of suffering in a special way.”
Flannery O’Connor (The Habit of Being, 527)

Read More

Topics: death, human dignity, All Souls

Stories of Grace: More, Not Less

Posted by Colleen Moore on Nov 11, 2019 3:18:15 PM

I wanted to be common like bread:
so when the struggle came she wouldn’t find me missing.

These lines from Pablo Neruda’s poem “Nothing More” were etched on a plaque, as a tribute to my late father, Denny, by a close friend of his. It hung on the wall of their local watering hole where my dad had gathered often with friends, colleagues, and strangers to recount the day or sometimes to forget it. 

Read More

Topics: death, human dignity, stories of grace, All Souls

Living and Handing on the Faith

The McGrath Institute Blog helps Catholics live and hand on their faith in Jesus Christ, especially in the family, home and parish, and cultivates and inspires everyday leaders to live out the fullness and richness of their faith in the simple, little ways that make up Church life.

Connect with us!

Subscribe Here

Most Popular

Posts by Tag

See all