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Liturgical VestmentsFr. William Saunders The liturgical vestments worn at Mass have evolved over time. Nevertheless, since the earliest days of the Church, liturgical vestments have been worn by priests for the celebration of the Mass. Even though priests of the Old Testament wore vestments in their liturgical rites, the “Christian” vestments are not really adaptations of them.Rather, the vestments of the Christians developed from the dress of the Graeco-Roman world, including the religious culture.Nevertheless, the Old Testament idea of wearing a special kind of clothing in the performance of liturgical rites did influence the Church. St. Jerome asserted, “The Divine...

The Liturgical Year   Unlike pagan religions which see time as an endless cycle, Christians see time as being linear; it has a beginning and will have an end. Within Christianity's linear, "big picture" sense of time, though, the passing of hours is experienced as cycles of meditations on holy things. Think of a spiral -- of a circle of time moving ever forward toward His Coming -- and you will have a sense of "Catholic time." The Catholic year (the "liturgical year") is made special by cycles of celebrations commemorating the lives of Jesus and His mother, the angels, and...

The way the Holy Father celebrated Mass when he was here in the UK in September astonished many who have been led into accepting other approaches to the way we conduct our divine praises. Are there any lessons to be learned from the guidance of our Good Shepherd? I received this eight-point wish-list from a young Catholic student which seems as clear-headed, moderate and sensible as anything else I’ve seen recently. What is it about the young that they “get” Benedict, when all we see with some of their elders is truculent annoyance?Liturgical Reforms wish-list1. Instrumentation. Explicit rules about exactly what is...

Some things about the Eucharistic worship of the Ordinariates are already clear. Since Ordinariate clergy will be part of the Roman Rite, they will be able lawfully to use the Ordinary Form in a translation which will have received the recognitio of the Holy See – and I am of course thinking of the new ICEL translation of the Roman Rite. Doubtless many will use this rite, since (particularly in England) very many Anglican Catholic clergy have in the past used the OF. Those who adhered to more ‘Anglican’ forms – the Alternative Service Book or Common Worship – commonly...

Blue Liturgical Vestments And on Paschal Candles ROME, MAY 11, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.Q1: During his visit to Austria in 2007, Pope Benedict XVI wore a blue chasuble and stole as well as a blue miter. Does this mean that blue vestments may now be used for feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary? -- C.J., Anaheim, California Q2: Attending Mass at our parish church on the feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, I saw that our parish priest was proudly wearing his new...

This alone might put an end to liturgical dancing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxwV08YsKCg&feature=player_embedded

Featured Term (selected at random):LITURGIAE INSTAURATIONES Instruction of the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship, calling attention to the Church's liturgical norms and warning against abuses since the Second Vatican Council. Its most explicit directive states that "the liturgical texts composed by the Church . . . deserve the greatest respect. No one on his own authority may make changes, substitutions, additions, or deletions in them" (September 5, 1970). All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Br. Hyacinth Marie Cordell, OP  Other Articles by Br. Hyacinth Marie Cordell, OPPrinter Friendly Version   Why “Gaudete?” December 13, 2007 Violet is the liturgical color of Lent and Advent. Yet, in both holy seasons, over half way through, we discover the bright color of rose in the liturgy... but only for one Sunday.[i] The Sunday in Lent is called Laetare Sunday, in Advent Gaudete Sunday. Both these Latin words (Gaudete and Laetare, from the Entrance Antiphons at Mass) are translated, "Rejoice!" But why the color rose, and why "rejoice"?  The Meaning of RoseTo understand the meaning of rose,...

 

That incredible shrinking Advent-Christmas season Twenty-one years in Washington, D.C., should have rendered me impervious to the bizarre. But I confess to having been taken aback in mid-October when, inside a grocery where I was vainly searching for some decent Peccorino Romano, I saw an enormous Christmas display with ersatz snow and all the trimmings. It was bad enough when stores started putting out the Christmas decorations (or, as they now say, “holiday decorations”) a nanosecond after sweeping their shelves of leftover candy corn and other Halloween goodies beloved of dentists with medical school bills to pay. But Santa and...

Pope's brother slams Cardinal Danneels The "theologians", Eugen Drewermann and Hans Küng And post-conciliar liturgical reform But spares Cardinals Lehmann and Kasper Translation of an interview which appeared in Junge Freiheit. The Belgian press is in uproar over the criticisms of Cardinal Danneels – highlights to follow- saying that he is infected with the "Cardinal Joos syndrome". "My brother and my Pope" Georg Ratzinger on Pope Benedict XVI, the crisis of Faith and the false direction of "modernisation" of the Church.

But what does it mean?Folks, Pope Benedict XVI was solemnly installed today in an impressive Divine Liturgy celebrated today at St. Peter's Square. Symbolism and substance took precedence today as Pope Benedict received a "pallium" of the kind that were in use earlier in Rome, which differs somewhat from the modern version (pictured left). Pope John Paul the Great was invested with the "modern" pallium more than 25 years ago.Check out this picture of the same moment at Pope John Paul the Great's installation back in October, 1978. According to the article in the Catholic Encyclopedia, "There are many different...

Seattle Catholic(www.seattlecatholic.com / seattlecatholic@hotmail.com) January 18, 2005 Tilting at Liturgical Abuses by Peter W. Miller "Our liturgies are completely faithful to the reforms of Vatican II," was one of the more concise responses from my pastor years ago. It was only some time later that I would realize how right he was. Initially, his brevity was somewhat disappointing given the work put into the case I presented to him. For I had become a self-taught scholar of "liturgical abuse" and arming myself with Inaestimabile Donum, other documents from the Congregation for Divine Worship (CDW) and selected Q&A responses from...

The bishops have apparently now voted Bishop Trautman as head of the Bishops Committee on the Liturgy. This is horrible, horrible news for those of us who are more traditional on matters liturgical. In this America article, Bishop Trautman expresses his views about the wretched oppression Rome is visiting upon the Church with its attempts to reform the liturgy.

The Order of Our Lady of Ransom was founded in the Thirteenth Century by St. Peter Nolasco (Jan. 31) and St. Raymond of Pennafort (Jan. 23), aided by King James of Aragon. The object of the Order was to redeem Christians held in slavery by the Mohammedans. Pope Gregory IX instituted the feast of Our Lady of Ransom and afterwards it was extended by Pope Innocent XII to the Universal Church. COLLECT Dominus vobiscum. R. Et cum spiritu tuo. Oremus. Deus, qui per gloriosíssimam Fílii tui Matrem, ad liberándos Christi fidéles a potestáte paganórum, nova Ecclésiam tuam prole amplificáre dignátus...

I think it is true to say, for many of us, that we do not fully appreciate our parents until after they have gone. When they are with us we take them for granted because they have always been there, reli­able and seemingly with an air of surety and perma­nence. But when they have gone we are left with a huge hole in our lives that for the rest of our days is never adequately filled. A direct correlation can be drawn with the old rite of Mass. For the great majority of Catholics until 1970, the Mass had always...

Why do priests use incense at Mass? — A reader in AlexandriaIncense is an aromatic substance which is the resin from certain trees. When burned over charcoal, the incense produces a sweet smelling aroma. To make the smoke thicker and to enhance the fragrance, sometimes other perfumes are blended with the incense.The use of incense in the ancient world was common, especially in religious rites where it was used to keep demons away. Herodotus, the Greek historian, recorded that it was popular among the Assyrians, Babylonians and Egyptians. In Judaism, incense was included in the thanksgiving offerings of oil, grain,...

What is the link between Our Lady of Fatima and Our Lady of the Mount Carmel, since she appeared wearing the Carmelite habit in one of the apparitions? You know that at the Fatima apparitions Our Lady normally wore a white habit with a gold trim and a blue belt at her waist. But during an apparition to the children when the miracle of the sun occurred, she appeared wearing the Carmelite habit representing the glorious mysteries of the Rosary. Our Lady does not do anything by chance, so the first question leads to another: What is the relation among...

Today is the Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It was six months ago today that the New Year began with the Feast of the Circumcision, the first time in which the Most Precious Blood of Jesus was shed on this earth. We thus begin the second half of Anno Domini 2004 by commemorating liturgically the Blood whose shedding made possible our regeneration in the baptisal font and the Blood whose merits are poured out on us as a laver of redemption every time we avail ourselves of the Sacrament of Penance. The...

What unfolded in Bern, Switzerland, during John Paul II’s June 5-6 visit looked very much like a politics of identity for the Catholic church. In that sense, the pope’s 103rd foreign trip, and his first in seven months, reflects the epochal transition now underway in much of Western Europe, where Catholicism is moving from being a culture-shaping majority to being an embattled minority. Switzerland is a microcosm of the “ecclesiastical winter” besetting much of Europe. The country has a rich Catholic past, centered especially on famous monastic foundations such as the Abbey of St. Gall and Einsiedeln. Despite the impact...