I love to read Msgr. Pope’s columns. They are always so liturgically rich and lucid, full of wisdom, analogical fulfillment, and moral application. He writes here today of the two feasts: The Purification and the Presentation. And the Lord, whom … Continue reading
Category: Mass and the Liturgy
Merry Childermas!
Today is the feast of the Holy Innocents, once known in the Anglophone world as Childermas. This curious word is an elision of “Mass of the Children,” that is, the liturgical commemoration of those little boys of Bethlehem who were … Continue reading
Blessing of the Home on the Feast of the Epiphany
Priest: Peace be to this house. All: And to all who dwell herein Priest: From the east came the Magi to Bethlehem to adore the Lord; and opening their treasures they offered precious gifts: gold for the great King, incense … Continue reading
German Priest: Traditional Mass is the ‘Mass of Tomorrow’
(kreuz.net / trans., The Eponymous Flower) Excerpt… Fr. [Hendrick] Jolie [of the German “Priest Network”] was asked how he priestly soul can be relighted. His answer: “Priesthood and the offering of Sacrifice go together.” The obedience of the priest is shown above … Continue reading
Blessing for a Golden Wedding Anniversary: Traditional Rite
In late November, we were privileged to have in our chapel a High Mass for a couple’s fiftieth anniversary of marriage. It was a most edifying occasion, during which those gathered from near and far heard a beautiful sermon on … Continue reading
Christmas Letter, 2010
To our Tertiaries, Benefactors, and Friends, On a recent trip to Rome, where I was privileged to be present at the canonization of my patron, Saint André Bessette, the brothers took a tour of St. Clement’s Church, a truly ancient … Continue reading
Maria’s Advent
There is a distinctive Marian character to Advent. The stational church for the First Sunday of Advent is Rome’s (and Christendom’s) principal Marian shrine, Santa Maria Maggiore. In the Litany of Loreto, Our Lady is called the “Morning Star,” after … Continue reading
Get into the Advent Spirit!
Advent is not what most people think it is. Advent is not the shopping season before Christmas. It is not a time to have Christmas parties. It is not a time to sing Christmas carols. What is it, then? It’s … Continue reading
In This Case New Is Better Because It’s Really Old: Vetus Melius Est
The 1973 ICEL so-called “translations” of liturgical Latin, for Mass and the Hours, are gone. Deo Gratias. The work of the late Father Frederick McManus, founding member of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy, is now buried. What … Continue reading
Liturgical Shoes
Whatever you think of Msgr. Charles Pope’s defense of the new Mass, one thing jumps off the monitor. It used to be the Traditional Mass that needed so much defending, since many rank-and-file Catholics questioned its worth. Now that serious … Continue reading
Archbishop Burke Clarifies: Eucharistic Ministers, Altar Girls Have No ‘Right’ to These Positions
The head of the Supreme Apostolic Signatura, the Church’s highest court, has clarified certain liturgical questions in light of Canon Law. His comments were made in the preface to a book celebrating the third anniversary of Summorum Pontificum. Excerpts from … Continue reading
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
“O God, I give Thee thanks that I am not as the rest of men…” What’s the problem? Have you ever stopped to consider what it is that was really wrong with the prayer of the Pharisee? After all, it … Continue reading
The Mass and Confession Explained to Protestants
[The following is from Questions Asked by Protestants briefly answered by Father M. Philipps, Rector of St. Joseph’s Church, Buffalo, NY. Cabinet of Catholic Information, 1903 Imprimatur: Archbishop John Farley] The Mass What do Catholics mean by a sacrifice? A … Continue reading
Glory to God in the Highest
The Gloria is the most ancient of the Church’s liturgical hymns. As with the Angelic Salutation, it was intoned first by the voice of an angel, or the choirs thereof. Saint Elizabeth added the second part of the Ave Maria … Continue reading