Whereas the Son’s own surrender to the love of the Father, on the level of fallen creation, is consummated in his sharing of our death, our reunion in him, in this very death, consummates our ecstasy, our ravishment with the …
Category: Liturgy
Lay Eucharistic Ministers: A Communist Connection?
On June 29, 1972, on the occasion of the ninth anniversary of his coronation, Pope Paul VI declared to the world, “From some fissure the smoke of Satan entered into the temple of God.” The pope was referencing the diabolical …
Why the Prologue Makes a Good Epilogue
Those who attend the Traditional Mass regularly are deeply familiar with, and deeply appreciative of, the recitation of the Prologue of the Gospel of John at the very end of Mass. It has always struck me, and I have no …
Traffic Worth Getting Caught In: The Liturgy as the Place of our Personal Salvation
As a young boy, “It was a riveting adventure to move by degrees into the mysterious world of the liturgy which was being enacted before us and for us there on the altar. It was becoming more and more clear …
The Problem of Zombie-Robot Parishioners and ‘Active Participation’
Have you ever sat in Mass and felt like this?! I know I have. There have been many times where I have just zoned out. I realise the priest has got to the end of his sermon and I haven’t …
There is Nothing Controversial About Ad Orientem Worship
It is integral to human nature: our focus is principally determined by what we are looking at. When we speak to others, we make eye contact. When we move from place to place, we point ourselves in that direction. Pilots face forward. Drivers …
A Template Letter to Your Bishop Requesting Ad Orientem Liturgy
As most internet-connected Catholics are now aware, Cardinal Robert Sarah recently encouraged priets and bishops to begin celebrating Mass ad orientem. He also specifically suggested that they begin this Advent. This is an excellent proposal. And judging from the backlash …
Against Sacramental Transgenderism
Members of Women’s Ordination Worldwide — that’s the name of a group promoting the “ordination” of women — have been in Rome this week, where rather than being shunned, as is appropriate, they were granted an audience with an official from the Vatican …
Which is More Important: The Preaching, or the Mass?
Editor’s note: the following is a guest essay submitted by a reader who wishes to remain anonymous. We have agreed to publish it here in the hopes of generating a fruitful discussion. In my efforts to draw friends into my local …
Is “Contemporary” Church Music a Good Example of Inculturation?
In our year-long course on music at Wyoming Catholic College, students read and discuss a chapter from Joseph Ratzinger’s book A New Song for the Lord, “The Image of the World and of Human Beings in the Liturgy and Its …