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The information in this section comes largely from The Urban Character of Christian Worship, by Rev. John Baldovin, S.J. Footnotes refer to the pages in his text where further information can be found.Station Churches 2012 Each year, the North American College follows the ancient tradition of the Roman stational liturgy. All are invited to join us for the celebration of Mass each day. Using the side bar on the left, you will find the schedule and listing of the churches. Each page contains a short description and history of each church. At the bottom of each page, you will find...

Q: My parish has a beautiful crucifix mounted on the wall behind the altar that has been a great aid in my prayer life. Unfortunately, I must pray without this aid during the seasons of Christmas and of Easter, as during these seasons the crucifix is completely covered. During Christmas, a star is placed above the crucifix with a tail that hangs down to completely cover it. Likewise, during Easter, a banner of the Risen Christ is hung over the crucifix so that it is hidden from view. I realize that "a cross, with the figure of Christ crucified upon...

 Revealing overlooked Roman Missal changes The new Roman Missal has dropped three eucharistic prayers and added one. Why? And an introduction By Barry Hudock - OSV Newsweekly, 12/11/2011 W.P. Wittman photo In all the hoopla leading up to the implementation of the new edition of the Roman Missal in the United States, most of the attention has focused on the new principles used to translate its contents from the original Latin to English. Though questions about “dynamic equivalence” or “formal equivalence” are important and interesting, other changes — arguably more important ones — have barely been mentioned. Here’s one: There’s a...

Why do words matter? (Hint: Because we use them in prayer and worship.) An excellent answer to that important question is given by Fr. Douglas Martis and Christopher Carstens in Mystical Body, Mystical Voice: Encountering Christ in the Words of the Mass (published by the Liturgical Institute at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake and Liturgy Training Publications), which is excerpted in the November 2011 edition of Adoremus Bulletin:Words are sacramental, which means they contain and convey the reality they speak. Homo sapiens is a talking animal, communicating with the senses, by word of mouth, pen and...

Featured Term (selected at random):MASS The Sacrifice of the Eucharist as the central act of worship of the Catholic Church. The "Mass" is a late form of missio (sending), from which the faithful are sent to put into practice what they have learned and use the graces they have received in the Eucharistic liturgy. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass, "The same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross, is present and offered in an unbloody manner." Consequently, the Mass is a truly propitiatory sacrifice,...

Missing the Missal’s Mass of Potential December 16th, 2011 by Louie VerrecchioAfter years of discussion, preparation and anticipation, the new English translation of the Roman Missal – Third Edition was officially implemented in the United States on November 27. The “reviews” are now starting to show up in newspapers, blogs, and other media. As I read them, it seems as though most of the “people in the pews” are either positive about the new text, or they are at the very least willing to approach the changes as an opportunity for spiritual growth.Some media outlets, however, are doing their level...

ROME, DEC. 13, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.Q: In the new translation of Mass according to the English-language Roman Missal, I find myself wondering about a certain lack of specificity in the Confiteor. The missal indicates that those reciting the prayer are to strike their breast at the point where they say, "through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault." I am old enough to remember the threefold striking of the breast in pre-Conciliar days, but wonder if this practice has been maintained elsewhere in the...

Fr. Raymond J. de Souza on the "real hero" behind the new missal translation Fr. Raymond J. de Souza writes in the Catholic Register (Canada) of how the new missal translation is a sign of hope for and confidence in the future:A Polish (John Paul II) and German (Benedict XVI) Pope, working together in Italian, were instrumental in bringing together the beauty that is seen in the new Roman Missal — though the true hero was Chilean Cardinal Jorge Medina Estevez, according to Fr. de Souza. CNS photo/Eliseo Fernandez, Reuters If you were to follow the secular press and, to...

Surpassing All Expectations . . . The New Missal Translation Is A Spectacular Success By JEFFREY TUCKERAs much time as I had spent reading the new translation of the missal, looking over the differences with the old translation, even saying the new prayers aloud and writing extensively about them, nothing could have prepared me for what I experienced on the First Sunday of Advent.The experience was beyond anything I believed would come in my lifetime. I found myself nearly overcome with a kind of controlled glee from the beginning of the Mass until the end.The changes are few compared with...

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...