Author: Audrey Seah

  • This is the night!

    It is 10:00pm. Here in Kabuga, Rwanda, the Easter Vigil has ended. The people rise from their pews, gather their belongings and begin heading toward the exit. The retinue of liturgical ministers has disappeared into the sacristy. Suddenly, a man runs up the steps of the sanctuary and lights his taper candle with the Paschal…

  • Palm Sunday and the light of Christ

    The part of Rwanda I am currently in has a large population of Congolese immigrants. Several Rwandans have told me that their celebrations are quite different from the Rwandans’. They call the mass the “Congolese Mass,” which got me excited and prompted me to clarify if they meant the Congolese/Zaire Rite.

  • Filipinos for the beatification of a Japanese Samuari

    In a time of rising isolationism in many parts of the world, this celebration seems to stand boldly as a reminder of the boundedness that Christians of all nations share in our baptism and faith.

  • January 1st in the 17th century Chinese Liturgy

    In 1670, following approval received in 1615 from Pope Paul V, a translation of the Roman Missal was published in classical Chinese. In the Missal, the feast on January 1st contains all the same readings as the Latin Roman Missal but bears a different title. Instead of the feast of the “Circumcision of the Lord,”…

  • When a Stranger Offends the Liturgical Aesthetic

    “The service was over, but the ritual was not. Jim had unexpectedly entered the ritual space and interrupted the silence with his signs and voice. His soiled clothing was adding unwanted shades of grey to the color palate that was otherwise dominated by the hues of golden candlesticks, red marble pillars, velvety green banners, and…