In Search of Liturgies Both Local and Universal, by Dominic V. Cassella

The “Catholic Church” is often preceded by an adjective, such as Roman, Byzantine, Ethiopian, and the like. Oddly, the adjective takes the word “catholic,” meaning universal, and qualifies it as something immanently particular. It’s similar to how “brown,” paired with “dog,” excludes all the black, white, and red dogs – while at the same time keeping the “brown dog” within the general category to which all dogs belong.

I recently gave a short lecture on the nature of prayer to my local parish. Afterward, one of the parishioners came up to me and asked me if I had ever given any thought to what American Christianity looked like. …

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