Holding the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance, Pope Francis stands before an empty St. Peter’s Square — and a large TV, radio and internet audience worldwide — as he blesses “the City (of Rome) and the World” (Urbi et Orbi) Friday.
Holding the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance, Pope Francis stands before an empty St. Peter’s Square — and a large TV, radio and internet audience worldwide — as he blesses “the City (of Rome) and the World” (Urbi et Orbi) Friday. (photo: (Vatican Media))

How Christ Makes Himself Present to the City and to the World

An interview with Chris Carstens


Communal prayer has taken a completely different form in the face of the reality of the novel coronavirus. We no longer can go to Mass. Many of us can’t even go into a church.  But still we pray. 
 
As I’ve participated in prayer through virtual reality — especially today, when I took part in the Pope’s profound Urbi et Orbi blessing from afar — many questions have come to my mind about the efficacy of what I’m doing, and of how I’m praying in this new reality.
 
Joining me to help answer my questions is my favorite liturgy expert, Christopher Carstens. Chris is Director of the Office for Sacred Worship in the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin. He’s also editor of the Adoremus Bulletin and author of A Devotional Journey into the Mass and A Devotional Journey into the Easter Mystery.
 

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne attends a German Synodal Way assembly on March 9, 2023.

Four German Bishops Resist Push to Install Permanent ‘Synodal Council’

Given the Vatican’s repeated interventions against the German process, the bishops said they would instead look to the Synod of Bishops in Rome. Meanwhile, on Monday, German diocesan bishops approved the statutes for a synodal committee; and there are reports that the synodal committee will meet again in June.

Palestinian Christians celebrate Easter Sunday Mass at Holy Family Church in Gaza City on March 31, amid the ongoing battles Israel and the Hamas militant group.

People Explain ‘Why I Go to Mass’

‘Why go to Mass on Sundays? It is not enough to answer that it is a precept of the Church. … We Christians need to participate in Sunday Mass because only with the grace of Jesus, with his living presence in us and among us, can we put into practice his commandment, and thus be his credible witnesses.’ —Pope Francis