Above painting: St Catherine before the Pope at Avignon by Giovanni di Paolo (1403–1482), Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid. In chapter thirteen of his Gospel, St. Matthew recounts a famous parable of the Lord: The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a …
Category: Sacraments
The Removal of Tabernacles and the Desacrificialization of the Mass
Photo: Saint-François de Molitor, Paris, France. Why was the tabernacle removed from the high altar or kept away from the center of so many churches during the past fifty years? There are many reasons one could give for this decentering …
The Annunciation and the Subtle Use of Gospels in the Old Roman Rite
Painting: Maurice Denis, “Le mystère catholique,” (1889) After a number of years experiencing the annual cycle of readings in the traditional Latin Mass, I grew aware of the manner in which it approaches Gospels in general, which is freer and …
Trads: We Need the Irish Fighting Spirit!
To Catholics in the Anglosphere – especially in Ireland and the United States – today’s feast day is something of a mark of the faith. As a Michigander I’m blessed to see the grocery stores in my area start selling …
Christian Militancy in the Prayer of the Church
The following talk was given at a Call to Holiness event at Assumption Grotto in Detroit on Sunday, March 6, 2022. Please note that the sound quality in the video improves at the 2’15” mark, at which time the lapel …
The Sacrificial Nature of the Mass in the Usus Antiquior
The claim is often made that the traditional Roman Rite brings out more clearly than the Novus Ordo does that the Mass is a true and proper sacrifice—the unbloody re-presentation of the bloody sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. As …
Should We “Despise Earthly Goods and Love Heavenly Ones”? A Liturgical Lesson for Lent
With a majority of German bishops now on record as voting for official permission for contraception and the legitimization of sodomy, it seems time to reexamine the irreconcilable contrast between two views of reality. The Church in her traditional Roman …
How Traditional are Betrothals?
In response to a recent article about the return of nuptial care cloths, one reader commented: It’s a beautiful, ancient custom. However, it was never part of the American ritual books (as far as I can tell.) Use it in …
Ordained, Assistants, and Faithful: On Hierarchical Participation in Three Spheres
Owing to its density and complexity, the traditional Roman liturgy—and the same, of course, would be true of any traditional liturgy—gives rise to multiple “hierarchies” of participation, which I will call here “ecclesiastical, sanctuarial, and congregational.” What I have noticed …
Litany of Saints Killed While Offering or Assisting at the Sacred Liturgy
I always think about the days right after Christmas: the feast of the first martyr, St. Stephen, stoned to death by the Jews; the feast of St. John the Apostle, who, though he did not die a martyr, was submerged …