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You might say—many commentators have said—that with the quick Vatican smackdown of Cardinal Sarah's proposal for ad orientem worship, Rome has spoken and the case is closed. I disagree. On the contrary, Cardinal Sarah has reopened a much-needed discussion about how to increase reverence in the liturgy. His address to a conference in London caused what that city's Catholic Herald is describing in this week's cover headline as A liturgical earthquake. Ten days ago no one was talking about celebrating Mass ad orientem. Now that option is being widely discussed, even in secular media outlets. Cardinal Sarah was not issuing...

Translation of an interview with the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, published by the French magazine Famille Chretienne.Editor’s Note: The French magazine Famille Chretienne published an online interview with Cardinal Robert Sarah of Guinea on May 23. The following is a Register-commissioned translation from the original French. Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, calls us to a serious reflection on the Eucharist. He also invites priests and the faithful to turn and “orient” themselves towards the East, “the Orient” — that is, to Christ. Several weeks...

Cardinal Robert Sarah made the comments in an exclusive interview with Famille ChrétienneThe Vatican’s liturgy chief has called on priests to celebrate Mass facing east. In an interview with the French Catholic magazine Famille Chrétienne, Cardinal Robert Sarah said that the Second Vatican Council did not require priests to celebrate Mass facing the people. This way of celebrating Mass, he said, was “a possibility, but not an obligation”. Readers and listeners should face each other during the Liturgy of the Word, he said. “But as soon as we reach the moment when one addresses God – from the Offertory onwards...

I was raised in a non-liturgically based Christian denomination and have since spent the vast majority of my adult life in a Pentecostal/Charismatic context. Suffice it to say, I was not well-versed in church liturgy. At least not in the traditional sense of the word. However, my experience in more formal liturgically-based church gatherings have always caused me to be more thoughtfully engaged in the service. Not just intellectually, but in contemplative, reflective, and prayerful ways as well. And, you know what I’ve learned? Liturgical cues give me the space to pause and ponder. Liturgical cues give me the space...

It is important to recall that silence is a necessary condition for deep, contemplative prayer, and an important component of the liturgy. In an essay published in Italian in L'Osservatore Romano on January 30, 2016, Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, discusses the meaning of silence in the Roman liturgy. The following English translation was prepared from the original, unabridged French text. Many Catholics rightly complain about the absence of silence in some forms of the celebration of our Roman liturgy. It seemed to us important, therefore, in this short...

Liturgy is About God! A Soulful Reminder from Cardinal Sarah Msgr. Charles Pope • April 5, 2016 • Cardinal Sarah, in his book-length interview with Nicolas Diet, God or Nothing, has many good observations on the Sacred Liturgy. His remarks should cause all of us to think as well as to repent.His fundamental insights are that the Sacred Liturgy is about the adoration and worship of God, and that it is our hearts that God seeks.I will present a few quotes from the good Cardinal in bold, black italics while my meager commentary is in plain, blue text.Cardinal Sarah...

It appears that a children's book titled Dear Pope Francis is to be released on March 1. Rorate Caeli obtained and posted a section of the book that is not only disturbing, but provides a snapshot into the mind of Francis concerning the ancient Mass of the Church. This is the excerpt: "Dear Pope Francis, Were you ever near the pries as the altar boy? Greetings from Alessio (Italy, age 9)" "Dear Alessio, yes, I was an altar boy. And you? What part among the altar boys do you have? It's easier to do now, you know: You might know...

The Red and the Black (and a Brand New Word)! A Short Liturgical Meditation on a Teaching by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger Msgr. Charles Pope • December 10, 2015 • In recent years Fr. John Zuhlsdorf has made famous the liturgical instruction, "Say the black; do the red." In other words, say the prayers as written in black ink (with no embellishments or deletions) and follow the instructions printed in red ink. After too many decades of liturgical errors -- even outright disobedience -- this is a pithy and memorable way to encourage proper demeanor and invoke the obedience that is...

Students and faculty at the University of Notre Dame who go to the university’s chapel on Sundays may be hearing something different from the usual Mass opening of “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”“Blessed is the kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and always and forever and ever,” Father Khaled Anatolios recently chanted, as he made the sign of the cross with the book of the Gospels lifted high above the altar.He faced the altar, away from the congregation, and there were icons on either side. Those in the congregation sang...

Healing Medicine for Strident Times – A Reflection on a Teaching on the Liturgy from Joseph Ratzinger Msgr. Charles Pope • August 30, 2015 • One of the most concise and cogent descriptions of these often strident times came from Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger in 1986. It is contained in, of all places, his treatise on the theology of sacred music in a book called The Feast of Faith (Ignatius Press, 1986). His comments have recently been republished in a larger compendium of his works: Collected Works: Theology of the Liturgy (Ignatius Press, 2014, Vol 11).It hard to describe our times...

Men and the Liturgy – Thoughts on a Recent Survey Msgr. Charles Pope • August 18, 2015 • A recent study of more than 1400 Catholic men from over 1000 parishes indicates a substantial disconnect from the Church and a dissatisfaction with what the Church offers and how she ministers to men. The survey was conducted in the fall of 2014 and an analysis of the results was published by Matthew James Christoff, Director of The New Emangelization Project (Helping Priests Become More Effective in Evangelizing Men).It is clear that “men” are not monolithic; they have a range of views...

The Most Essential Question of Every Liturgy – A Meditation on a Teaching From Joseph Ratzinger Msgr. Charles Pope • July 5, 2015 • There is a legend of how the liturgy and the Faith took hold in Rus (Russia). Prince Vladimir of Kiev was seeking a right worship for his people and sent representatives to look into various faiths and also liturgies. When emissaries went south to observe the Greek Christian Liturgy, they returned saying that they were not sure if they had been in Heaven or on Earth, so beautiful was what they had seen in the Hagia Sophia in...

Necessity of Mass While the faithful are obligated to attend Mass, the compulsion to do so shouldn’t take away the joy Msgr. Charles Pope OSV Newsweekly5/20/2015 Question: I wonder if the blessing of attending Mass would be greater if we didn’t compel Catholics to attend. Further, keeping the Lord’s Day holy is about 24 hours, not just one hour.— William Bandle, Manchester, MissouriAnswer: I am not sure on what basis you say blessings would be greater. Perhaps you mean that someone who joyfully attends Mass enhances both the experience of the one who attends and the communal experience of...

I was sixteen years old when the concept of the Transubstantiation became clearer to me.  Until that time, I attended Mass with my parents half-heartedly and out of obligation.  It wasn’t until I left my Catholic elementary school only to enter the cesspool of public high school, riddled with all varieties of unbelievers and even some colorful Satanists, that I began to question what I believed and why in terms of religion.My parents reluctantly permitted me to attend a megachurch youth group with my closest friends from school, as long as I agreed to continue attending Mass on the weekends...

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the close of the Second Vatican Council. Pope Francis has decided to mark the occasion with the “Year of Mercy.” Despite much happy-talk and positive papal press, it is a time of foreboding in the Church. The anxiety over the coming Synod on the Family is substantial and growing, with the German bishops’ recent moves to formally ignore the Church’s teachings on sexual morality and the family. Their corruption, and the decayed state of the Church in Europe, is a source of much distress.The social and political situation in the United States is...

A Reflection on the “Prayer of the Faithful” at Mass and Why The Intentions Are So Often Disappointing By: Msgr. Charles PopeOne of the parts of the Ordinary Form of the Mass that was “restored” from antiquity is the “Prayer of the Faithful.” However, there is (in this author’s mind) a certain disappointing quality to the intentions as they are used today. They are either overly particular and ideological or, at the other end of the spectrum, perfunctory and flat. Peter Kwasniewski, writing at New Liturgical Movement, summarizes the problem very well: It is surely no exaggeration to say that throughout the world the...

Featured Term selected at random:LITURGICAL KISS Touching with the lips as a mark of reverence during ceremonies of public worship. The frequency of this gesture has been reduced since the Second Vatican Council, but it is still prescribed. The priest must kiss the altar as he begins and concludes the Mass, and he is to kiss the lectionary after reading the Gospel. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

The Heavenly Elements of the LiturgyBy: Msgr. Charles PopeIn November, Catholics are encouraged to meditate on the “Last Things.” As you know, I write quite often on Hell. But I have written on Heaven, too. In this post I propose simply to set forth how much of our liturgy is a kind of dress rehearsal for Heaven.Indeed, Catholics are often unaware just how biblical the Sacred Liturgy is. The design of our traditional churches; the use of candles, incense, and golden vessels; the postures of standing and kneeling; the altar; the singing of hymns; priests wearing albs and so forth are...

Lost Liturgies File and an Invitation: Solemn Sunday Vespers By: Msgr. Charles Pope One of the fixtures of larger parish churches prior to the last century was the singing of Vespers (evening prayer) on Sunday afternoons. Prior to the 1950s, Masses were not permitted to be celebrated after 12:00 noon and thus the concept of a Sunday (or Saturday) evening Mass was unknown. Some very beautiful music, indeed some of the greatest music of the Church, was composed for Sunday Vespers. Best known is the 1610 Vespers of Claudio Monteverdi (Vespro della Beata Vergine). Monteverdi (a Catholic priest and composer) also composed the...

Ad Orientem and why we should go back to it  Ad Orientem is a liturgical orientation done by the priest since the Early Christian Church. It has held a historical and traditional way in which priests would celebrate Mass in the Roman Rite. This liturgical position and action are still celebrated in the Tridentine Latin Mass (Extraordinary Form), as well as in the Dominican and Norbertine Rites, as well as several others. It has however sadly lost practice and has been abandoned in most of the Novus Ordo (Ordinary Form)This article will help explain the historical, and theological significance, its...