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From Our Store: Essays in Apologetics, Volume I (eBook) What is finally emerging as the sticking point between the Vatican and the Society of Saint Pius X is the question of the assent owed to the Second Vatican Council. This is now the subject of an important essay in L’Osservatore Romano by one of the key negotiators for the Vatican, the vicar general of Opus Dei, Msgr. Fernando Ocariz. Note that there is a link to the full text at the end of our news story, which itself includes substantial quotations.I hate to say I told you so, but Msgr. Ocariz...

BBC: Second Vespers from the London Oratory for the Feast of St. Andrew by Shawn Tribe Readers will no doubt be interested to know that BBC Radio 3's Choral Evensong programme broadcast Second Vespers for the Feast of St Andrew today from the London Oratory. Here is the programme summary: Weds 30th Nov 2011 (rpt Sun 4th Dec 2011) London Oratory- Choral Vespers Organ Prelude: Intonazione octavo tono (Giovanni Gabrieli) Invitatory: Deus in adjutorium meum (Victoria) Antiphons & Psalms: 110, 113, 116, 126, 117 (Victoria) Hymn: Exsultet orbis gaudiis (Victoria) Antiphon: Cum pervenisset (Plainsong) Canticle: Magnificat primi toni (Victoria) Antiphon...

A Roman Missal. Credit: Mazur Denver, Colo., Nov 27, 2011 / 07:29 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- After the switch to a new Mass translation, old liturgical books should be respectfully buried, either intact or after being burned, according to the U.S. bishops. “Whether or not the Sacramentary has been blessed by an official rite, it is appropriate to treat it with care,” the bishops' Secretariat for Divine Worship said in a recent response to several queries from U.S. Catholics. “Its disposal should be handled with respect.” The bishops' liturgy office recommends “burying the Sacramentary in an appropriate location on church...

Third Edition of the Roman Missal - Credit: Mazur Rome, Italy, Nov 26, 2011 / 07:24 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- As English-speaking Catholic parishes begin using the new translation of the Mass on the first Sunday of Advent, leading members of the hierarchy are predicting great gains for the Church.“I have a feeling that this will be a great moment for deepening people’s liturgical piety and liturgical spirituality,” said Cardinal Raymond Burke, a member of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship, in comments to CNA.“The prayers are much more beautiful and they carry with them a staying power,” observed Cardinal...

New prayers for Advent season Published: 27 November 2011By: Elizabeth HarringtonTODAY, the first day of Advent, has been set as the date for the implementation of the entire third edition of the Roman Missal in Australia.Below are the new Collects for the four Sundays of Advent with the Opening Prayers of the 1973 Missal which they replace immediately below.These Advent texts typify the Mass prayers in the revised translation: loftier, more formal, more reverential ("Grant ... we pray ..."), and generally longer than those we have been using.FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENTNew Collect:Grant your faithful, we pray, almighty God,the resolve to...

Missal 3.0 – Part 5 November 24th, 2011 by Justin SoutarEditor’s Note: On Nov. 27, the first Sunday of Advent, the new English translation of the Roman Missal will be implemented in all Catholic parishes in the United States. Here we present the final part of a five-part series about the new translation–and the reasons behind it. You can read part 4 here. The Dawn of Real Liturgical RenewalA major priority of both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI has been correct implementation of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, especially the reform of the sacred liturgy....

Missal 3.0 – Part 4 November 17th, 2011 by Justin SoutarEditor’s Note: On Nov. 27, the first Sunday of Advent, the new English translation of the Roman Missal will be implemented in all Catholic parishes in the United States. Here we present part 4 of a five-part series about the new translation–and the reasons behind it. You can read part 3 here. Part 5 will appear next Thursday. Catechesis, Catechesis, CatechesisWidespread failure to correctly understand and implement the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council has produced a decades-long liturgical crisis in the Catholic Church, leaving the true aims of...

Missal 3.0 – Part 3 November 10th, 2011 by Justin SoutarEditor’s Note: On Nov. 27, the first Sunday of Advent, the new English translation of the Roman Missal will be implemented in all Catholic parishes in the United States. Here we present part 3 of a five-part series about the new translation–and the reasons behind it. You can read part 2 here. Part 4 will appear next Thursday. Roman Missal 3.0When many of us first heard that a new English translation of the liturgy was being prepared, the news brought some angst. We’re used to the way Mass has been...

Missal 3.0 – Part 2 November 3rd, 2011 by Justin SoutarEditor’s Note: On Nov. 27, the first Sunday of Advent, the new English translation of the Roman Missal will be implemented in all Catholic parishes in the United States. Here we present part 2 of a five-part series about the new translation–and the reasons behind it. You can read part 1 here. Part 3 will appear next Thursday. The Language of Catholic WorshipBut how did Latin come to be the official language of Catholic worship in the Roman Rite, and why does the Church give it so much importance? To...

Missal 3.0 – Part 1 October 27th, 2011 by Justin SoutarEditor’s Note: On Nov. 27, the first Sunday of Advent, the new English translation of the Roman Missal will be implemented in all Catholic parishes in the United States. Here we present part 1 of a five-part series about the new translation–and the reasons behind it. Part 2 will appear next Thursday. November 27, 2011 will be a historic day for the Roman Catholic Church across the English-speaking world. On that day the United States will join other English-speaking countries in implementing a new translation of the Third Typical Edition...

Term (selected at random):SOLEMN MASS The Eucharistic liturgy in which the priest celebrant is assisted by a deacon and/or acolyte. Before the revision of the liturgy, a Solemn Mass was celebrated by a priest, assisted by a deacon and subdeacon; with special music, incense, and ceremonies. The practice went back to the early Church when a Solemn Mass was the typical Mass, whose liturgical texts were divided among several books to suit the convenience of those who employed them. The term Solemn Mass was also formerly applied to the liturgy celebrated by the Pope or a bishop, when assisted by...

Such a small but highly significant thing, the chin paten. Its use is to catch a host that might drop or a particle from a host. As such it is another reminder of the real, true and substantial presence of Christ in even the smallest particle of the host. The chin paten helps ensure that not even a small particle drop.Today the communion, or “chin” paten is also symbolic. When one sees them today it is a pretty clear signal that “this is a more traditional parish.” Their use had declined, especially when communion in the hand became widespread, during...

Thursday, November 10, 2011 "The Roman Catholic Mass is undergoing a major overhaul." [Note: I started this post five days ago, then decided to let it go. But I've decided to post it because I'm curious—see the end of this post—for reader's reactions to the approaching changes to the Missal that will take effect at the start of Advent.] Is it? Really? I guess it depends somewhat on one's perspective. Here is a longer quote from the post titled, "Big changes to Catholic Mass spur confusion in the pews", on the CNN blog:The Roman Catholic Mass is undergoing a...

 The long-awaited introduction of the new translation of the Roman Missal on November 27, the First Sunday of Advent, offers the Church in the Anglophere an opportunity to reflect on the riches of the liturgy, its biblical vocabulary, and its virtually inexhaustible storehouse of images. Much of that vocabulary, and a great many of those images, were lost under the “dynamic equivalence” theory of translation; they have now been restored under the “formal equivalence” method of translating. Over the next years and decades, the Catholic Church will be reminded of just what a treasure-house of wonders the liturgy is.At the...

Featured Term (selected at random):CHURCHING A liturgical ceremony of thanksgiving by which mothers thank God for the blessing of motherhood. More appropriately the ritual is called "the blessing of a woman after childbirth," the mother incurred a legal defilement, as in ancient Judaism. The ceremony may begin at the door of a church, although it has become customary to perform the rite near the altar. Taking hold of the priest's stole, the mother is symbolically led into the church to express her gratitude. the prayer of the priest concludes with the petition that "she and her offspring may deserve...

Featured Term (selected at random):EUCHARISTIC INTERCESSION Prayers of the priest at Mass, after the Consecration, which profess the belief that the Eucharist is celebrated in union with the whole Church in heaven and on earth, and that the sacrament is offered for her and all her members living and dead. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

The Diocese of Phoenix has announced that it will issue norms specifying the conditions under which Holy Communion may be distributed under both species. “The new norms will promote unity in the celebration of the Eucharist all around the world, and come from the revised General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 3rd Edition, together with the final edition of The Norms for the Distribution and Reception of Holy Communion Under Both Kinds for the Dioceses of the United States of America,” the diocese stated in a press release. “In the Roman Missal (1975), 14 instances were provided when the chalice...

Featured Term (selected at random):STANDING A posture for various parts of the Eucharistic liturgy and the Divine Office. Since different countries have different customs, the episcopal conferences have given corresponding directives to the people. From time immemorial, however, standing has been customary during the reading of the Gospel and the recitation or singing of the Creed, the Preface, and Sanctus. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Featured Term (selected at random):READER The ministry to which a person is specially appointed by the Church, of reading the Word of God in liturgical assemblies. He is to read the lessons form Scripture, except for the Gospel, in the Mass and other sacred functions. He is to recite the psalms between the rreadings when there is no psalmist. He is to present the intentions for the general intercessions in the absence of a deacon or cantor. He is to direct the singing and the participation by the faithful. He is to intruct the faithful for the worthy reception of...

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- When the third edition of the English-language version of the Roman Missal is implemented at Advent, it will mark the continuing evolution of the eucharistic liturgy that began in the earliest days of the church. The most recent changes -- which more closely reflect "Liturgiam Authenticam" ("The Authentic Liturgy"), the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments' 2001 document on liturgical translations -- are unlikely to be the last, liturgists agree. From Aramaic to Greek to Latin to vernacular language after the Second Vatican Council, the Mass has evolved over 2,000 years in an effort to help...