Topics

Whither the Roman Rite?

Paul Malocha

Arguing that the Novus Ordo Missae is substantively different from the old Mass is not easy, even as it is plain that something is very different between the new rite and the old.

Icons, Relics & Pilgrimages: A Secular Defense

GUEST COLUMN

Charles N. Bertolami

Even atheists understand the search for a lost wedding ring as a rational act that goes beyond strict economic value.

The Smoke in the Songs

BAD THEOLOGY SET TO MUSIC

Andrew M. Seddon

Hymnal and missal editors aren’t infallible or unswervingly orthodox, and just because a song is in a hymnal or missal doesn’t mean it is free from error.

Was Pope Benedict XVI Holding Back the Destroying Flood?

LITURGY & THE CHURCH'S DESTINY

Pieter Vree

Key to the great apostasy is the liturgy. “The way we treat the liturgy,” Benedict said, “determines the destiny of the faith and the Church.”

A “Cleansing of the Altar” Is Long Overdue

COUNTERING INCREASING IRREVERENCE & DISRESPECT

Gerard T. Mundy

A good start to restoring a climate of reverence would be liturgical instruction that prohibits non-liturgical related activity during the Holy Mass.

Candles & Candlemas

REMINDERS OF OUR LORD

John M. Grondelski

The humble candle is a sacramental of the Church; it reminds us of Our Lord and our call to illumine this world with His light, and it is an assurance of His protection.

Does Good Liturgy Beget Moral Virtue?

A BOOK CRITIC’S IMPRESSIONS OF A LIVING CLASSIC

Kenneth Colston

Good liturgy involves good taste, and, as Burke said, taste depends on rational judgment, emotional maturity, and education — that is to say, the virtues.

Liturgical Unity & the Crisis of Incongruity

OUT WITH THE OLD?

Paul Malocha

Contrary to Francis’s vision, cutting off the old liturgy does not promote unity in the Church. Vatican II did not envision excising the old branch from the tree.

A Failed Experiment

THE IMPACT LITURGICAL MUSIC HAS ON FAITH

Bob Sullivan

If liturgical music returns to praising and glorifying God, our focus has a better chance of returning to the Eucharist and the Word.

The Eucharist & Eulogies: Are They Connected?

GUEST COLUMN

John M. Grondelski

The evisceration of eucharistic theology leaves gaping holes in other parts of Catholic life and praxis.

The U.S. Bishops’ Holy Day Havoc

ANOTHER ECCLESIASTICAL INCOHERENCE

John M. Grondelski

The bishops feign “pastoral accommodation” for those Catholics about whom the dirty little secret is that they wouldn’t come to Mass anyway.

Better Is One Day in Your Courts

TRANSFIGURING THE WEEKEND

Kent J. Lasnoski

A renewal of the Lord’s Day would have us finding so many things worth doing for their own sake that we couldn’t be bothered to do ordinary, non-spiritual work.

Traditionis Custodes: Taking a Bulldozer to an Anthill

TRADITIONALISTS AND POPE FRANCIS

Pieter Vree

There are no protagonists in the latest liturgical drama, only antagonists. Nobody comes out clean, neither traditionalists nor Pope Francis.

Spiritus Domini: How the Exception Became the Rule

THE SIGNIFICANT CONSEQUENCES OF SMALL CHANGES

Gerard T. Mundy

The Pope's decision to allow women into two “minor orders” of the Church shows how significant change can be instituted incrementally.

What Makes the Catholic Mind Unique?

THE SCANDAL OF THE PARTICULAR

David Vincent Meconi

The Catholic world is an enchanted world, filled with theophanies of a God who longs to be our All in all.

Will the Coronavirus Lockdowns Usher in a Mustard-Seed Church?

NEW OXFORD NOTEBOOK

Pieter Vree

The willful suppression of the sacraments by Catholic leaders could portend the diminution of the Church in both numbers and influence.

Making Sense of Our Liturgical Morass

Thomas Storck

We need a clearer understanding of the Church’s relationship with her past and her tradition that will help guide us along the uncharted road ahead.

O Death, Where Is Thy…Tickle?

THE OLD REQUIEM MASS MADE US PONDER THE LAST THINGS

John A. Perricone

Everything in the old Requiem Mass forced us to consider death and God’s judgment, Christ’s mercy and our complacency.

On Lutefisk, Latin & Liturgy

GUEST COLUMN

Eric Jackson

There is something undeniably bittersweet about the sublimation of a distinct culture into the flat, American consumerist anti-culture touted as an improvement.

What & Where Is the Holy Grail?

AN ARTHURIAN LEGEND FIT FOR MODERN CATHOLICS

Charles A. Coulombe

Its contents were what made the Grail holy. In that sense, just as every confessional is Chapel Perilous, so too is every adoration chapel a Grail Chapel.

Off with His Head!

A writer wants Cardinal Sarah fired from his post as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship because he "does not speak for the mainstream of the church."

What If Pope Francis Were to Rescind Summorum Pontificum?

UPON THE DEATH OF BENEDICT XVI

W. Patrick Cunningham

What options does a parish that currently offers celebrations of the Mass in the extraordinary form have if it finds itself unable to continue doing so?

The Most Important Things in Life Are Obligatory

GUEST COLUMN

James F. O'Callaghan

Regarding religious observance, obligation is a large part of the act itself, and the benefit. Both having the obligation and meeting it form us.

The Latin Mass After a Year's Attendance

WHAT I'VE LEARNED

Richard Upsher Smith Jr.

The extraordinary form has a depth of imagery that the post-Vatican II revisers of the Mass simply eschewed, especially as regards the eucharistic sacrifice.

Invasion of the Empty Universals

TECHNOLOGY IN THE HOUSE OF GOD

Paul Malocha

The lack of a stable liturgical model from some golden age does not mean that the things of every culture and age are equally suitable for solemn liturgy.

A Dialogue of Forms

MUTUAL ENRICHMENT ?

W. Patrick Cunningham

The Extraordinary Form and Ordinary Form sat down to discuss the first eight years of their formal co-existence, and invited me to record and moderate the conversation.

The Beginning of the End?

A recently installed pastor's decision to allow only boys to serve at the altar has made headlines throughout the San Francisco area and across the nation. Salvatore Cordileone is his archbishop.

Hidden Treasures from the Middle Ages

Rosemary Lunardini

What was considered the best of various European missals came together in the Pontifical Romanum (1595), which became the norm for the Roman rite.

Deeper in History, Deeper in Prayer

TWO PERSPECTIVES ON THE THIRD MISSAL (Part II)

Rosemary Lunardini

In the long run, for my pastor, for me — for all of us — praying together at Mass in one voice of obedience and trust in the wisdom of the Church is the bottom line.

The Revolution That Wasn't

There is a group in the Church that has noticed your smooth transition to the new missal — and is still peeved about the whole thing.

Understanding the Biblical Basis of the Mass

Rosemary Lunardini

What could be more Bible-based than the Mass, already saturated with Scripture, following a liturgical year of readings that corresponds to the life of Jesus?

Undone by the "Permanent Workshop"

Philip Blosser

Waugh contended that the quiet and faithful "middle rank of the Church" are precisely those whose concerns were not being heeded by the Church or her Council.

Prayer Postures: What They Mean & Why They Matter

ISLAMIC SALAT & CATHOLIC ADORATION

Heather M. Erb

Why do Catholics (and Jews) reject prostration as a regular posture of liturgical worship, and why do Muslims use it as the signature posture of daily salat?

Altar Boys: The Problem or the Solution?

THE COST OF ECCLESIAL EQUALITY

Ken Skuba

We fixed what wasn't broken with a correction that wasn't necessary, and in the process created a real problem that seems impossible to repair.

At Mass, Actions Speak Louder Than Words

WHY LITURGICAL LESSONS AREN'T BEING LEARNED

Michael A. Beauregard

The rubrics, gestures, and symbols that are employed serve a fundamental and very useful purpose: they reveal and give witness to the faith we profess.

A Defining Step Toward Authentic Liturgical Reform

THE THIRD TYPICAL EDITION OF THE ROMAN MISSAL

Rosemary Lunardini

We ought to be thankful to Pope John Paul II, who set the stage for this momentous improvement of the Mass in the vernacular.

Whither Goeth the Reform of the Reform?

JUMP-STARTING THE RESTORATION OF THE SACRED LITURGY

Ken Skuba

What measures should be taken to fast-forward the reform of the reform; to stop the nonsense and increase the sense of the sacred at Mass?

The Case Against Liturgical Antiquarianism

A COURSE DEFTLY CHARTED

Harold B. McKale

We should expect liturgical rites wherein the priestly office is most clearly expressed as a living and continuous reality and not a static object in a museum display.

The Three Natural Laws of Catholic Church Architecture

DOMUS DEI ET PORTA CAELI

Michael S. Rose

If a Catholic church building doesn't reflect Catholic theology, the worshiper risks accepting a faith that is foreign to Catholicism.

The Charismatic Appetite

THE CULT OF EXPERIENCE

Heather M. Erb

The charismatic quest for paranormal experiences of God is also a contrived pseudo-communion of ecstatic emotional dissolution.

An Interview With a Carmelite

A Carmelite monastery in Wyoming is an exciting new element in the Church in America, and has proven to be fecund ground for vocations to the consecrated life.

Beware the Sajdah

KNEEL: NO BUTTS ABOUT IT

Shannon M. Jones

As a practice of personal piety, the laity may use the posture of prostration as an expression of humility only in private.

Church, Women & Pants

BEAUTY & THE BEST

Gerrie Goguen

Difficulties arise when women wear tight or revealing pants to Church: Men start seeing them as a collection of titillating body parts.

The Love of God Is Like...

Heaven is often compared to a lavish banquet. But somehow we can't imagine that it involves toilet paper and balloons.

Outrage Over Liturgical Dance

SPIRITUAL & LITURGICAL TERRORISM

Alvaro Delgado

Liturgical dance has never been part of the liturgical tradition of the Latin Church, and never been deemed appropriate in the West.

Heaven Help Us With the Homily

BOBBING HEADS

Richard & Elizabeth Gerbracht

After attending various Masses and talking with parishioners, we came to the conclusion that parish success or decline depends on the homily of the pastor.

Black Is the Color

GUEST COLUMN

Joseph Klee

A black vestment helps induce a sense of penitential recollection -- remembering that "here we do not have a lasting city" (Heb. 13:14).

Please Don't Bless My Children

GUEST COLUMN

Larry A. Carstens

I respectfully request that Eucharistic ministers leave the public blessing of children during the Mass to those who have received the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

"On This Rock I Will Build My Celebration Center"

GUEST COLUMN

F. Douglas Kneibert

The word "church" has been replaced with less religious-sounding terms, like worship center, family center, family life center, praise center, or outreach center.

I, Liturgist

GUEST COLUMN

Jim Macri

To require episcopal permission for the ancient liturgy is to suggest that the "old" Mass is somehow disturbing, like an exorcism.

The Disappearing Sanctus Bells

LAME EXCUSES

Donald D. Hook

Bells are used to warn or to summon. Bells express just about every mood and exigency; they are joyful, somber, pragmatic, ceremonial.

Putting Catholic Men on Ritalin

SIT DOWN & SHUT UP

Dale Price

For men the atmosphere at Mass is reminiscent of being dragged out by the wife to see a musical or concert we really don't want to see.

A Schola Cantorum for Today's Liturgy

RETROSPECT & RATIONALE

Ted Ley

The Schola Cantorum of the Pacific is a living celebration of liturgy as community and music as its exalted language.

Ev'ry Knee Shall Lock

GUEST COLUMN

Lucy E. Carroll

Shall we correct "At thy great name exalted now, all knees must bend, all hearts must bow" to "At thy great name exalted now, all folks jump up, all in a row"?

'Friendly' Fire Does the Most Damage In the Catholic Civil War

STANDING UP FOR OUR CONVICTIONS BY KNEELING

Michael Forrest

The CDW cardinal's letter affirms that it is "completely appropriate" to kneel to receive Communion. Kneeling is not forbidden. No priest or bishop can force us to stand.

The Hidden Treasures of Byzantine Catholicism

"CELEBRANT-PROOF" LITURGY

Christopher Beiting

The heavenly aesthetic of the Byzantine Liturgy is "celebrant-proof." I have never seen it done badly. By contrast, I have seldom seen the Novus Ordo done well.

An Outsider's Impressions of the Modern Mass

UH, MAY I SAY SOMETHING ?

Todd Powell

It is a non-negotiable fact about me (and probably many others as well) that I do not sing where even friendly strangers can hear.

Bow Down & Worship Me!

It's all the rage now among liberal Catholics to say that Jesus is present in the congregation.

A Baptist Meets a Mutant Mass

GUEST COLUMN

Jeremy Lott

The way most Baptists (and evangelicals) normally celebrate Communion -- a practice that Christ commanded us to repeat to evoke His sacrifice -- is a scandal.

The Stage-Managed Emotionalism of Today's "Worship Experience"

OPTING FOR MAGIC OVER GRACE

Eric J. Scheske

Modern man wants a form of worship that is both understandable and predictable. And, because grace is the fruit of worship, this implies he wants his grace without mystery.

On Bending the Knee to Receive Holy Communion

TO KNEEL BEFORE THE HOLY IS NOT HOLIER-THAN-THOU

Regis Scanlon

The lowering of oneself in humility is a statement about the Blessed Sacrament, not about you.

The Liturgical Pogrom

PURGING HEBRAIC ELEMENTS FROM CATHOLIC WORSHIP

W. Patrick Cunningham

The Hebrew-ness of Catholicism is a critical element of it. When we excise Hebrew elements from our prayers, we sever roots that feed our religion.

Surprised by Tradition

GUEST COLUMN

George D. LeMaitre

When the Church stripped the liturgy of its grandeur, she cheapened the meaning of priesthood and is now reaping a predictably poor harvest.

On the Power, Misuse & Neglect of Liturgical Symbolism

"THIS IS MY BODY" OR "HAVE A NICE DAY"?

Noel J. Augustyn

To all the people not theologically schooled, a definite message has been communicated about the meaning (or lack thereof) of the Eucharist.

The Liturgy as Catechism

LAUDABLE LATIN -- OR UNSPECTACULAR VERNACULAR?

Jude A. Huntz

Our major training in the Faith still comes principally from what we see and hear at church on Sunday.

A Real Folk Mass

GUEST COLUMN

Paul C. Fox

The Western Church surrendered its own true folk Mass — the traditional sung Mass — in favor of contrived and artificial ones.

Emotionalism or Ritualism - Or the Best of Both?

GUEST COLUMN

David Mills

The liturgy does not try to create or evoke emotions but expects them to grow from our recognizing and feeling the truths the ritual expresses.

Liturgical Theology & Priestly Identity

John-Peter Pham

Just settling the question of “presider” or “priest” could spark resolution of a host of issues — authority, salvation, and more.

The Dubious Pedigree of Touchie-Feelie Catholicism

GUEST COLUMN

Joanne Sadler Butler

Modern Catholic liturgists have tried to graft the “fellowship experience” onto the Mass, but it hasn’t worked.

Turning Catholics Into a Stiff-Kneed People

THE VIEW FROM WAY DOWN IN THE PEW

J. A. Gray

Kneeling had always meant self-abnegation. To kneel in church was to blend in utterly, to be one more duck in a pond of ducks. Now I felt as if I were showing off.

Making the Holy Mass a Generic Worship Service In a Generic Worship Space?

WHY THE "DETAILS" OF THE LITURGY MATTER

Donald Dwight Hook

We should take the Catholic adage ‘what you pray is what you believe’ as an urgent warning.

God Be in My Hand -- or on My Tongue?

SACRED SPECIES VS. CASUAL COMMUNION

David Watt

In Church law, the communicant has the right to receive on the tongue or in the hand, and the further right to receive standing or kneeling.

The Language of the Body & the Mass

AT THE NAME OF JESUS, LET EVERY KNEE REMAIN UNBENT?

W. Patrick Cunningham

We may stand for someone we decidedly do not revere. Kneeling, however, is a clear signal of reverence and even worship.

Post-Vatican II 'la la la' Music: Unworthy of the Catholic Church

GUEST COLUMN

William J. Abbott

The Church seems to choose to appear as in decline artistically, liturgically, and inspirationally.

Rebuilding Our Liturgy & Civilization

LEARNING FROM ST. GREGORY THE GREAT

Peter M. J. Stravinskas

Pope Gregory’s program was really quite simple: To return to the people of Rome a sense of sin and a sense of the sacred.

The Suppression of Popular Devotions In Today's Catholic Church

MUCH LOST, NOTHING GAINED

Noel J. Augustyn

Leadership in a revival of Catholic devotions might be an appropriate role for those who are not priests but who are ordained: deacons.

Lessons to Be Learned From the Ecclesiastical Battle Over "Inclusive Language"

THE CAMEL'S NOSE

Peter M.J. Stravinskas

On Altar Servers & Serverettes

SAUL ALINSKY IN THE SACRISTY

Basil Cole

Discovering the Catholic Church's Eastern Rite

A BIG BLAST OF 'SMELLS & BELLS'

Patrick Madrid

The Ministry of the Laity

WHAT IT'S REALLY ALL ABOUT

Mary F. Rousseau

Our baptismal grace calls us to evangelize, and our distinctively lay task is to restore to people their lost human dignity and hope by bringing Christ to them.

“Do This In Memory of Me”

Elaine Hallett

Composure (being "really present -- with body, mind, and soul, with attention, reverence and love") must be willed and practiced. It is "attitude necessary" at Mass.

Beauty for Worship's Sake

GUEST COLUMN

Christopher W. Decker

A Time to Fold the Wings of Intellect & Bow Before the Mysterious

BOTH TRADITIONAL & CHARISMATIC

Giles Dimock OP

My charismatic experience, rather than making me less traditional, made me far more traditional, helping me to rediscover Catholicism in a deeper and richer way.

A Bold Venture in Liturgy

GUEST COLUMN

Mary Alma Parker

Now in our time an edition of the BCP has appeared under the auspices of the Roman Catho­lic Church, which does what none of its predeces­sors did or could do.