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[Catholic Caucus] 10 Great Quotes on the Holy MassFr. Stefano Manelli of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate (FFI) has received a great deal of attention in recent months. The co-founder and former Minister General of the FFI has seen the order placed under direct control of an assigned commissioner for the Vatican following allegations of internal dissension, as well as a “crypto-lefebvrian and definitely traditionalist drift in the community” (Rorate-Caeli, December 11, 2013). At this time the future of the order, as well as that of its aging founder, is uncertain.What is certain, however, is that Fr. Stefano Manelli...

QUAERITUR: I have observed several Priests of my acquaintance celebrating Mass in various private residences for different occasions, the latest of which was Mother’s Day (the strangest being Christmas Midnight Mass). Most if not all of these private Masses have taken place in non-consecrated space, i.e. in normal living rooms. Are Priests allowed to do this for their families and friends, particularly when there is a church available (though perhaps not with the same measure of “privacy”)? Canon 932 stipulates that Holy Mass should be offered in a sacred place, “unless in a particular case necessity requires otherwise, in such a case the celebration must be done in a decent...

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...

Lifesite is reporting that, "This weekend the Vatican formally hosted one of Britain’s most virulently pro-abortion and pro-homosexual writers, as well as the head of an American organization promoting female ordination, at an officially sanctioned event inside Vatican City walls. Organizers spoke to Vatican Radio as well as the secular press, praising the new atmosphere within the Church’s leadership that made the conference possible. As part of the Vatican’s official observance of International Women’s Day, this Sunday saw two events, one brought in from outside and the other organized by the Pontifical Council for Culture. The latter conference has come...

Hearts Aloft! A Reflection on our Mystical Transport to Heaven in Every Mass By: Msgr. Charles PopeBefore November ends and our consideration of the four last things (death, judgment, Heaven, and Hell) gives way to Advent preparations for the great Second Coming that ushers in those things definitively,  let us turn our attention to a short, often-overlooked summons to Heaven that takes place in every Mass. It takes place in a short dialogue just after the prayer over the gifts and before the singing of the Sanctus. It is called the “preface dialogue” and it is really quite remarkable...

The celebrant standing at the Chair greets the assembled people in one of the following ways: 1.  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.2.  The grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.3.  The Lord be with you. 4.  Peace be with you. (Only Bishops may use this greeting) In each case the people respond: “And also with you.”Here again, we hear it all so often we mis the point! But through his greeting the priest declares...

The Penitential Rite in general - Let us recall that we have just acknowledged and celebrated the presence of Christ among us. First we welcomed him as he walked the aisle of our Church, represented by the Priest Celebrant. The altar, another sign and symbol of Christ was then reverenced. Coming to the chair, a symbol of a share in the teaching and governing authority of Christ, the priest  then announced the presence of Christ among us in the liturgical greeting.  Now, in the Bible whenever there was a direct experience of God, there was almost always an experience of...

                        As the Entrance procession draws to its close something rather unusual happens! Upon entering the sanctuary, (the part of the Church where the Altar and Tabernacle are located) the priest and deacon enter the sanctuary and kiss the altar as a sign of reverence and veneration. Many of us who go to Mass all the time may hardly notice this gesture. But to someone observing Mass for the first time this gesture may seem quite unusual and raise questions. Why kiss an altar? Where did this gesture come from and what does it mean? The significance of this kiss...

Vatican City, Apr 15, 2012 / 04:12 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Holy Mass is more than a historical re-enactment, Pope Benedict XVI said on April 15, Divine Mercy Sunday. “Christian worship is not just a commemoration of past events, or even a particular mystical, interior experience, but essentially an encounter with the Risen Lord,” he told pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square prior to the midday recitation of the Regina Coeli prayer. For while Christ now “lives in the dimension of God, beyond space and time” he is still truly present in the midst of his creation as “he speaks to us...

Attendance at Mass 964. Why are Catholics compelled to go to Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation? Because they owe to God the definite, regular, and public acknowledgment of their indebtedness to Him by the practice of their religion, and because the Sacrifice of the Mass is the highest act of worship in their religion. You must remember that religion is a form of justice, by which we render to God what we owe to Him. Catholics are compelled to fulfill the duties of their religion just as honest people feel compelled to pay their just debts to...

Sure, there’s only one Roman Rite celebrated in two forms, Ordinary and Extraordinary, but let’s be honest; that’s just on paper. In the real world, the Ordinary Form comes in more flavors than Baskin Robbins. Here are just some of the choices at my disposal:

1962 Sunday Missal Mass Readings/Propers for the Sixth Sunday After Pentecost   Colors:  Green   INTROIT  Psalms 27: 8,9 The Lord is the strength of His people, and the protector of the salvation of His anointed: save, O Lord, Thy people, and bless Thine inheritance, and rule them for ever. -- (Ps. 27. 1). Unto Thee will I cry, O Lord: O my God, be not Thou silent to me, lest if Thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. V.: Glory to the Father . . . -- The Lord is...

Once again, protests have been proven effective. After receiving an avalanche of protest emails, petitions and calls eBay has changed its policy and will now refuse to sell consecrated Hosts and other sacred objects. In an email sent to protestors, Kaelee of eBay’s Community Watch Team writes: “we have concluded that sales of the Eucharist, and similar highly sacred items, are not appropriate on eBay. We have, therefore, broadened our policies and will remove those types of listings should they appear on the site in the future.” The controversy began in mid April, when someone seeking to capitalize on the...

Let us...come down to the level of liturgical reality in today's world. Here, the panorama is much more confused and disordered. A contemporary observer has described the present situation as one of "already and not yet," by which he does not mean the eschatological anticipation of Christ Who is to come in a world still marked by death and its difficulties. This author is simply saying that the "new" which is "already" there, is the reform of the liturgy - but the "old" (namely the "Tridentine" order) is in fact "not yet" overcome.3 And so the age-old question, "Whither shall...

This is a collection of links to articles written by Pope Benedict XVI (the former Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger) on the Sacred Liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church. Offered as a reference to all.

An explanation of the HOLY MASS in union with THE PASSION AND DEATH OF OUR DIVINE LORD AT MASS, THE PRIEST: JESUS: Enters the Sanctuary Enters Garden of Olives Begins prayers at the foot of the Altar Begins prayer in the garden Says the Confiteor Faints and falls down in agony Ascends steps and kisses the Altar Is betrayed by Judas with a kiss Goes to the book at Epistle side Is led prisoner to Annas Reads the Introit Is falsely accused by Annas Goes to middle, recites “Kyrie Eleison” Is brought to Caiphas; denied thrice by Peter Turns...

The Holy Sacrifice of the MassThere is probably no doctrine in the Catholic Faith that has been misunderstood more by Protestants than that of the Holy Mass. The Mass is the central act of Catholic worship: Christ's sacrifice on Calvary is perpetuated because the priest offers it anew to the Father. It is not a new sacrifice, but the same one that Jesus offered on the Cross 2,000 years ago, the difference being that in the Mass it is — in a sense — unbloody. Jesus does not die or suffer again at each Mass, but is simply re-presented, re-offered...