In one of my weaker moments, I did something rather foolish, born from curiosity. That is, I read Pope Francis’ new motu proprio: Spiritus Domini. It was not so much what the document promulgated that interested me – that women shall be made official acolytes and lectors of the Church – but rather in how…
Editor’s Note: In light of the news that Pope Francis has changed canon law to accommodate official women “lectors” and “acolytes,” we are re-publishing this article, which originally appeared here on July 17, 2015. In many contemporary debates concerning the priesthood, one rarely hears a genuinely theological account of what makes a priest a priest.…
Back around the turn of the millennium, I was invited one day to sing for the first time the Mass of the Dedication of a Church (Introit: Terribilis est locus iste), at a solemn Mass on the anniversary of a parish run by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. It was the first time I…
When my alarm went off at 3:15 on a Saturday morning, I briefly questioned my own sanity. I had promised my seven youngest children, ages 14 years to 7 months, that I would bring them to a pre-dawn Rorate Caeli Mass – a sung Latin Mass that takes place during Advent and honors Our Lady. …
Much has been said of a United States Catholic Bishop committee releasing a guide titled Catholic Hymnody at the Service of the Church. The guide has received cautious praise from Catholics, for it tackles many of the problems with post-Vatican II hymns (finally, we can at least agree that heresy in a hymn is indeed…
Truth is the first casualty of war—so goes an old saying. We see it verified again in the so-called “liturgy wars,” where, at least on the progressive side, no lie is too big or too bald, if only it can be repeated often enough to convince most people. If one can add a certain sacrilegious…
by Victor Fuentes “And he said to them: Go ye into the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15, DRV For any student, the college years are a time of growth. For most, this is the first time they leave home, independent of parental influence. Many flock to a variety of…
When the feast of St. Martin of Tours comes around each year—that’s November 11th, a day he shares on the Roman calendar with St. Mennas, a great soldier, desert solitary, and martyr in Egypt—I always think about food. The reason has nothing to do with Armistice Day. Rather, it’s because of the almost eight years…
We’ve probably all had this conversation. Your friend, who has become more conservative over the years, but still hasn’t crossed the Adige (that’s the river that runs through Trent), says in the midst of an amicable dispute: “I know there were problems with the liturgical reform… but you have to admit that adding so much…
Editor’s note: this was first published on March 20, 2015, under the pen name Benedict Constable, and is republished today under its author’s name. Doing violence to one’s family heritage is always bad, it can never be good. No less is this true of the Church, the Family of God, on her pilgrimage through history.…
By an Anonymous Protestant Convert Struggling to hang in there… At one point in my youth, I gave up on Christianity altogether. It happened after I walked away from a Protestant Church that had become cult-like in its adherence to its pastor. I went looking for answers, and sought solace in things like the turgid…
