Ever since the new rite of Mass was introduced in 1969, battles over liturgy have ensued. But something has changed: we have reached a critical moment in Church history, namely, the widespread recognition that simply because a pope says or …
Tag: liturgy

Spiritual Works of Mercy: A Contemporary Retelling of Matthew 25:31–46
The twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew is surely one of the most rousing of all chapters in the New Testament. It has shocked into spiritual wakefulness unnumbered Christians down through the centuries; it has inspired the art of church doors and …

Time to Let Go of Vatican II
Several months back Father Hugh Somerville-Knapman, OSB wrote a must read article over at his blog, Dominus mihi adjutor. For those not familiar with Fr. Hugh, a Benedictine monk and priest of Douai Abbey in Berkshire, U.K., he is no liturgical bomb …

Latin: The Sacramental Language
There is a hierarchy of language. This is true for secular politics and cultural commerce, as well as in terms of religion. In this hierarchy, some languages are higher than others. JRR Tolkien, a philologist at Oxford, was quite aware …

The Old Evangelization: 5 Steps to Renew a Parish
Last week I wrote an article criticizing the Protestant character of some “New Evangelization” programs. I gave a few brief suggestions for true Catholic evangelization, and a number of people contacted me subsequently requesting more practical suggestions. In terms of …

Bold and Terrible Commerce: The Mass, and Those Privileged to Pray It
Editor’s note: This article is Part II of a series. For Part I, click here. The traditional Mass can be compared to a tournament. At the beginning of a High Mass, the priest (knight) processes in with the deacon and …

Bold and Terrible Commerce: A Meditation on Why to Become a Priest
Photo credit: Paweł Kula Editor’s note: This article is Part I of a two-part series. For Part II, click here. Author’s note: This article dwells particularly on the vocation to the priestly life. For the most part, the things said about …

Fidelity to Liturgical Law and the Rights of the Faithful
I was recently asked by a number of people: “When ought one to point out liturgical abuses and endeavor to correct them?” My interlocutors had been confused by a number of partial truths. Let us, then, exclude several erroneous answers. …

Catholicism’s Narrative of the World, and How to Rebuild It
(Image courtesy of John Cosmas, Charlotte Latin Mass Community) In a 2015 interview with the noted atheist Sam Harris, Mark Riebling, another atheist and the author of Church of Spies: The Pope’s Secret War Against Hitler, makes a fascinating connection …