Welcome to Liturgy and Life!

I’m thrilled to write the first post of this long-dreamed-of blog, Liturgy and Life. I hope and pray it will lend needed insight to both Church and world and foster fruitful dialogue. So what will this blog be about? That question reminds me of another question I find it difficult to answer quickly: “what do you do?” Well, I do a lot of things, and at first glance they may not all seem related. I teach catechetical courses for my Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus, Ohio and for the University of Dayton’s Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation. I teach first-year nursing students at Mt. Carmel College of Nursing how to be culturally competent in caring for patients of diverse religious backgrounds. I serve my parish, Immaculate Conception in Columbus, as a pastoral musician. I write about liturgy. And I speak, write and talk (especially on podcasts such as Mugglenet Academia and Reading, Writing, Rowling) about the symbolism in Harry Potter, Star Wars and other fictional works. Hence the title of the blog: Liturgy and Life. There is so much to say about the current state of liturgical practice here in the United States more than 50 years after the changes of Vatican Council II. I plan to use this space to reflect on liturgical theology and practice, emphasizing the Paschal Mystery of Christ –  the life, death and resurrection to which we are all called as members of his Body, and into which we ourselves enter boldly whenever we gather to celebrate the Eucharist – as central to any experience of Catholic worship. And I hope this blog can be a space where we recognize our liturgical experience of the Paschal Mystery more broadly – not just in liturgy, but in life. Because the Paschal Mystery can be found not just in stories from the Scriptures, but in those which entertain us and in the everyday experiences of human life. In this thorough-going approach to the Paschal Mystery, we lend its privileged expression in the liturgy more power, more meaning, and we find ourselves, as the Mystical Body of Christ, better equipped to live the liturgy we celebrate, “that we may draw from so great a mystery, the fullness of charity and of life.” (Roman Missal, Third Edition, Collect of Holy Thursday)