Time-honored ritual; a space often ornate, if not opulent, used almost exclusively for this purpose; seating by hierarchy; candles; a prayer, perhaps in Latin, perhaps in English; ceremonial robes; a bevy of trained servers; wine; elegant, … [Read more...]
Life-Giving Funerals
The Importance of Skill in Music Ministry
January 12, 2015 by Angela Biggs
It is exceedingly difficult to stand before mourners assembled for a funeral Mass, look them in the eye one at a time, and sing—with them, to them, and sometimes for them—of truth, love, and life. Still, this is a duty that must not be neg … [Read more...]
Recognizing a Link in the Hermeneutic of Continuity
A Brief Look at Blessed Pope Paul VI
November 14, 2014 by Fr. Matthew J. Albright
The ranks of those declared blessed and saint by the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit constitute the great array of our brothers and sisters who have been lifted up as models of holiness and powerful intercessors. While … [Read more...]
Fall Reading for October 2014
October 29, 2014 by Book Reviews
History of the Catholic Church: From the Apostolic Age to the Third Millennium. James F. Hitchcock (Ignatius Press: San Francisco, 2012) 584 pages. (Reviewed by Fr. Brian Van Hove, SJ) The Word Made Love: The Dialogical Theology of … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
July 2014
July 10, 2014 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Is socialized medicine ethical? When the Pope recently washed the feet of women on Holy Thursday, does that mean that the liturgical law is changed which prescribes that only men should have their feet washed? Question: Is so … [Read more...]
The Church’s Year of Grace: History, Traditions, Beauty
August 1, 2012 by Sister Joan L Roccasalvo, CSJ
Christian discipleship is fundamentally a dynamic movement from self to the beauty of Christ. In the absence of this dynamic movement, faith remains woefully incomplete. ...The essential characteristic of beauty then is to be transported … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
March 2011
March 1, 2011 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Priest altering the text of the Mass Question: I am a priest and very troubled by some of the mistranslations in the English edition of the Sacramentary, for example, “When he humbled himself to come among us as a man” in Advent Preface I. … [Read more...]
The St. Noël Chabanel Responsorial Psalm Project
The St. Noël Chabanel Responsorial Psalm Project exists as a remedy for the problematic musical settings that often destroy a prayerful mood at Mass.
January 1, 2010 by Jeff Ostrowski
“The Chabanel Psalms are not only great music; they use a revolutionary form of distribution, both in terms of zero price and universal availability. In fact, the day the site went live, I knew I was looking at the future of sacred m … [Read more...]
Reform Moved Too Quickly
THE ORGANIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE LITURGY, by Alcuin Reid, OSB, London, England: Saint Michael’s Abbey Press, 2004, 333 pages, $38.95 (US).
April 9, 2009 by Book Reviews
This book traces the history of the Roman Liturgy, with emphasis on the Mass, from the beginning of Catholicism to the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). The history is divided into three phases: from the beginning up to 1900; 1900–1948; 1 … [Read more...]
A New View of Sacrifice
THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS. A Search for an Acceptable Notion of Sacrifice. By Michael McGuckian, S.J. (Liturgy Training Publications/Hillenbrand Books, 1800 North Hermitage Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60622, 2005), x + 134 pp. PB $12.95.
April 1, 2009 by Book Reviews
According to the New Testament, especially in Ephesians and Hebrews, the death of Jesus on the Cross on Calvary was a sacrifice to God the Father made by Jesus Christ, the God-Man, in reparation for sin and the salvation of those who would … [Read more...]
The Bible and the Mass
WORTHY IS THE LAMB: THE BIBLICAL ROOTS OF THE MASS. By Thomas J. Nash (Ignatius Press, P.O. Box 1339, Ft. Collins, Colo. 80522, 2004), 248 pp. PB $15.95.
April 1, 2009 by Book Reviews
The post-conciliar liturgical reform introduced a new Lectionary with a three-year cycle of Sunday readings, so as to open up the riches of Sacred Scripture to the average Catholic. It also recommended that the homily at Sunday Mass should … [Read more...]
The Mystery of the Eucharist
WEDDING FEAST OF THE LAMB. Eucharistic Theology from a Historical, Biblical, and Systematic Perspective. By Roch A. Kereszty (Liturgy Training Publications, 1800 North Hermitage Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60622, 2004), 270 pp. HB $35.00.
April 1, 2009 by Book Reviews
Since Pope John Paul II has declared 2005 to be the year of the Holy Eucharist, this new book by Fr. Kereszty will help its readers to enter into the spirit of the celebration and also to understand better the theology and liturgy of the … [Read more...]
Face-to-Face or Facing East
TURNING TOWARDS THE LORD. Orientation in Liturgical Prayer. By U. M. Lang (Ignatius Press, P.O. Box 1339, Ft. Collins, Colo. 80522, 2004), 156 pp. PB $12.95.
April 1, 2009 by Book Reviews
The debate about the position of the priest at Mass, whether facing the people or facing ad orientem (east) is not going to go away. The essence of the Mass is that it is a sacramental sacrifice directed to the heavenly Father through … [Read more...]
The Disintegration of the Primitive Rite
Christian Initiation: Baptism in the Medieval West. By J.D.C. Fisher (Hillenbrand Books, 1000 E. Maple, Mundelein IL 60060, 2004; 1-847-837-4542), xvi +220 pp. PB. $24.
April 1, 2009 by Book Reviews
A reprint of a 1965 edition first published in London, this work is sub-titled “A Study in the Disintegration of the Primitive Rite of Initiation.” This primitive rite integrated baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist into one ritual as the Ea … [Read more...]
The Debate about Liturgy Continues
THE HISTORY AND THE FUTURE OF THE ROMAN LITURGY. By Denis Crouan, (Ignatius Press, P.O. Box 1339, Ft. Collins, Colo. 80522, 2005), 324 pp. PB $19.95.
April 1, 2009 by Book Reviews
Debates continue about the present state of the liturgy in the Catholic Church and its future. Denis Crouan is President of Pro Liturgia, an organization interested in an authentic reform of the liturgy based upon the documents of the … [Read more...]
Recent Comments