Most people know the snippet of Flannery O’Connor’s defense of the Holy Eucharist, wherein she sat at a dinner party and said, “Well, if it’s a symbol, to hell with it.” The quote goes on further from ...

When a minister of the Church brings Communion, the sick or elderly person shares in the eucharistic meal of the community. This holy Communion manifests the support and concern of the community for ...

1.To unite us to Himself and to nourish our soul with His divine life. 2.To increase sanctifying grace and all virtues in our soul. 3.To lessen our evil inclinations. 4.To be a pledge of everlasting ...

Religious symbols are technologies of transformation. The images, stories, and rituals of religion meet us where we are and carry us to some new place, to some new us. They grab hold of us in Kansas, ...

U.S. Catholics lack a consensus on how to handle the reception of Holy Communion under the threat of the novel coronavirus. As the bad news worldwide about the novel coronavirus COVID-19 continues to ...

Editor’s note: This article is part of The Conversation with America Media, offering diverse perspectives on important and contested issues in the life of the church. Read another view on the ...