U.S. Catholic

May 2007
Volume 72; Number 5

cover story
Not just lip service: Why the Creed matters
Admit it: When you recite the Creed at Mass, you tune out at about “seen and unseen” and re-enter consciousness at “the life of the world to come.” It’s OK—we all do. But Father Robert Barron offers some good reasons why our profession of faith needs our complete attention.


expert witness
What a difference a Mass makes
Are you any different for having made it to Mass on Sunday? That’s a question worth asking, says liturgy professor Father Keith Pecklers, S.J. in this interview. Making the connection between liturgy and life is at the heart of a meaningful celebration of Mass.


features
How quickly we forget
Immigration in our church and our country is nothing new, Brett Hoover points out. Indeed, we do a disservice to our ancestors and new immigrants in faith when we allow their memories to fade.

Into Africa
When most college students are still switching majors, Leila de Bruyne had already found her life’s work, aiding orphans in Africa. Tara K. Dix describes the lessons de Bruyne has learned in In Person.


sounding board
Don’t hijack the homily!
The promise of a captive audience can be a temptation to pilfer the pulpit for important news from the chancery, but we shouldn’t give in, says Father James Field. Nothing can replace reflecting on God’s Word at Mass. Field gets amens aplenty in Feedback.


essays/opinion
Pilgrim’s prognosis
Jim Forest learned that an illness that seemed to tie him down actually signaled the beginning of a new journey of faith.

St. Januarius, save me!
Joseph Ritz discovered that it’s best not to invoke an obscure saint’s name unless you know where you can find him. Luckily even the lesser-known of the holy ones eventually show up.

All the news that’s fit to pray
Sometimes reading about the news of the world can be discouraging, says Renée M. LaReau in Practicing Catholic. Putting them into words an assembly can offer in the prayers of the faithful, though, is just plain hard.

departments
Editors’ Note
You May Be Right—Letters
Signs of the Times—News
Catholic Tastes
Glad You Asked—What is a "defrocked" priest?
Under Review
Spirituality Café
Eye of the Beholder —Jerry Bleem, O.F.M.


columns
Odds & Ends—Peter Gilmour
A Mormon for president ?

Margin Notes—Kevin Clarke
Be our guest?

Testaments—Alice Camille
My skeleton crew

Culture in Context—Patrick McCormick
Film schooll

The Examined Life—Bryan Cones
Anglican idol