The Narthex
How the Church Used to Welcome People
The early Church confidently proclaimed its teaching and offered it to inquirers to take or leave
By John M. Grondelski | April 19th 2023 12:18 PMThe Octave Day of Easter—the Sunday following Easter—has gone by several names, including Divine Mercy Sunday and the Second Sunday of Easter. One of its oldest names is Dominica in albis, “Sunday in white,” because this was the day that those newly baptized at the Easter Vigil historically took off…
READ FULL BLOG POSTNo Great Expectations
Are bleeding wounds, not paying subway fares, and getting stoned before breakfast now normal?
By John M. Grondelski | April 13th 2023 12:10 PMThe Tuesday after Easter, preparing to exit the Washington Metro at my usual stop, I waited for the car doors to open. My eye caught something red on the edge of the door, which extended downwards, even to a blotch on the floor. I’m not a biologist, but I think…
READ FULL BLOG POST'Food for the Crows'
The measure of a society's humanity is what it does to its dead
By John M. Grondelski | April 11th 2023 12:43 PMThe U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine issued a document in the last days before Easter, “On the Proper Disposition of Bodily Remains.” Its topic was what a Catholic should do with the postmortem remains of a human being. It's timely in this Easter period. The document was…
READ FULL BLOG POSTHell Night
The night that launched Jesus’ Passion was like no other in the history of the universe
By John M. Grondelski | April 6th 2023 12:36 PM“Hell night” is what some New Jersey kids call October 30 because, from the 1950s forward, it became a “mischief night” wherein some people’s trees get draped with toilet paper or their windshields covered with shaving cream. Sometimes these pranks have degenerated into wanton acts of destruction. “Hell week” is…
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