Restoring the Beauty of the Liturgy
The Church cannot continue to transform and humanize the world if she dispenses with the beauty of the liturgy.
Censoring the Word of God
Since 1970 certain controversial passages of the Bible have been removed or made optional in Catholic liturgical settings. Why was this done? What has been the impact?
Why We Go
At Mass we are swept utterly away from the workaday world we know, summoned across the threshold of time and space, in order that we may be ushered into the very presence of God Himself.
The Crown and Empty Churches
Should the Church “modernize” by becoming more like everyone else? Or, should she hold fast to her ancient, otherworldly beliefs, morals, and rituals?
Are Sunday Masses Too Long Or Are They Too Banal?
Cardinal Dolan recently wrote an article asking if Sunday Masses were too long. While taking a potshot against more traditional features of the liturgy, he also seems to completely miss the essence of what makes the Mass different than any other human activity.
Alarms About the St. Michael Prayer
The idea that it is wrong to pray the St. Michael Prayer after Mass is only something that could be believed by a rubricist out of touch with reality.
Toward a Liberal Traditionalism
“Active participation” in the liturgy has caused endless controversy in the West. Perhaps it’s time to look to the Christian East for a way forward.
The Philosophy Behind True “Active Participation”
If the Church desires active participation, then self-examination is in order.
Our Holy Innocents Today
The Feast of the Holy Innocents should remind us of the abortion holocaust, not immigration debates. The Church’s vestments are red because the children bled and were dead, not because the Holy Family fled.
How Many Roman Rites? (Guest: Peter Kwasniewski)
A recent series of articles by three respected Catholic scholars argued for the superiority of the new rite of the Mass over the old. We’ll talk to a liturgical expert about the two rites, their relationship, their development, and how they compare.
Tridentine and Proud
Criticism of “Tridentine Catholicism” by modernists and even some defenders of the ancient Roman liturgy leads me to think the term should be embraced as a badge of honor.
People, Look East
The venerable tradition of celebrating the liturgy toward the east (ad orientem) is symbolically and theologically more in keeping with the nature of the liturgy as a cosmic and eschatological sacrifice of Christ the high priest.
The Magic of the Altar Rail
To look at our diocese, you might assume it’s on the liberal side. Located in Northern Virginia and established in 1974, most of the newer churches (and there are many of them) are “in the round.” You know the ones—they look like spaceships. Needless to say, these triumphs of modern ecclesial architecture generally exclude altar … Read more
The Model Priest for a Church in Crisis
In his spiritual autobiography, Apologia pro Vita Sua, Blessed John Henry Newman informs us: “When I was fifteen (in the autumn of 1816), a great change of thought took place in me. I fell under the influences of a definite Creed, and received into my intellect impressions of dogma, which, through God’s mercy, have never … Read more
Will Catholic Charismatics Embrace the Latin Mass?
I have recently seen a handful of stories about clergy and religious with a strong background in the charismatic movement coming to embrace the Tridentine Mass without abandoning their charismatic orientation. This includes an article published by Catholic Herald about the charismatic Franciscans of the Holy Spirit learning the old liturgy and a personal account … Read more
The Excellence of the Mass
I found the many comments on my recent essay “What Is Sacred Music?” extremely interesting, and am grateful to the commenters who contributed such divers points of view on what for all Catholics is a vital subject. Unfortunately, among those I found most striking is exactly the one I’m now unable to find. Among the … Read more
What Is Sacred Music?
I have sung regularly every Sunday at Mass for nearly thirty years now, two years more than I’ve lived as a baptized and confirmed Catholic. As I’m not much use serving on councils or committees (although I did teach CCD for several years after being received into the Church), I decided at the start of … Read more
First Reactions of Teenage Boys to the Traditional Latin Mass
The first Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum of Pope Benedict XVI was promulgated when I was a friar in religious formation. As young friars, we wanted to take advantage of the opportunity the pope was extending to experience the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), and we quickly fell in love with everything about it. Learning and celebrating … Read more
A Crisis of Faith Cannot Be Met by Liturgical Protocols
The unprecedented message of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI regarding the crisis of the clergy contained a surprising illumination that is so incisive it will probably be ignored for years: All problems connected to Holy Orders are related in some way to the Eucharist. Benedict wrote: Our handling of the Eucharist can only arouse concern… What … Read more
The Disposable Modern Hymn
The outcry against bad liturgical music has been growing in volume and numbers. Crisis author and professor Anthony Esolen has provided deeply insightful explanations of why many modern hymns are aesthetically and theologically shoddy compared to older, more traditional ones. Podcasts such as “The Catholic Talk Show” devote episodes to mocking the worst church music … Read more