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A Sobering Reminder on the Liturgy from the Book of Leviticus Msgr. Charles Pope • October 5, 2017 • There is a sobering passage in the Book of Leviticus that speaks to the need for priests to be faithful to the prescribed liturgical norms. While the offense described in this passage is complex, the main point is clear enough: The liturgy is revealed by God and is not the personal plaything of the priest or the congregation. Although some of the liturgical edicts of the Old Covenant have been fulfilled and are therefore no longer binding, only the Church,...

Strange Moments In Liturgical History – How a Paragon of Liturgical Tradition May Have Caused Unintended Effects Msgr. Charles Pope • September 12, 2017 • I have been asked by a number of people what I think of Pope Francis’ recent decision to remand a lot of the task of translating sacred texts to regional bishops’ conferences. To be honest, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I share many of the concerns about how the norms will be applied and how consistently accurate translations will be assured, but on the other, I do not know if it...

Pope Francis today issued new instructions for the approval of liturgical texts, rebalancing the relationship between the Vatican and local bishops’ conferences in favor of greater local control. The pope's order, issued in a motu propio titled “Magnum Principium,” reverses the trend in recent years toward greater Vatican control over the texts used in the Mass. “In order that the renewal of the whole liturgical life might continue,” Francis wrote, “it seemed opportune that some principles handed on since the time of the [Second Vatican] Council should be more clearly reaffirmed and put into practice.”Editor's note: This story is developing and will...

APOSTOLIC LETTER  ISSUED MOTU PROPRIO OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF FRANCIS MAGNUM PRINCIPIUM BY WHICH CAN. 838 OF THE CODE OF CANON LAW IS MODIFIED The great principle, established by the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, according to which liturgical prayer be accommodated to the comprehension of the people so that it might be understood, required the weighty task of introducing the vernacular language into the liturgy and of preparing and approving the versions of the liturgical books, a charge that was entrusted to the Bishops.

Mass Gestures? Q: I’ve read where outstretching our hands (like the priest at the altar) when responding in the Mass and when praying the Our Father are not acceptable acts. Are we to raise our hands at either of these times? Tricia, via emailMonsignor Charles E. Pope A: While the gestures of the priest at Mass are rather clearly prescribed throughout the liturgy, prescribed gestures for the faithful are minimal. There is an occasional directive to strike the breast at the Confiteor, or to bow at one point in the Creed. But there is no mention of particular gestures for...

Sources inside the Vatican suggest that Pope Francis aims to end Pope Benedict XVI’s universal permission for priests to say the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), also known as the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. While the course of action would be in tune with Pope Francis’ repeatedly expressed disdain for the TLM especially among young people, there has been no open discussion of it to date. Sources in Rome told LifeSite last week that liberal prelates inside the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith were overheard discussing a plan ascribed to the Pope to do away with Pope Benedict’s famous...

The Key Question of Every Liturgy Msgr. Charles Pope • May 4, 2017 • There is a legend that explains how the liturgy and the faith took hold in Rus (Russia):Prince Vladimir of Kiev, seeking a right worship for his people, sent representatives to look into various faiths as well as 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 Constantinople. They were sure that God dwelt there...

The Octave of Pentecost: Missing in Action or Still Available? Msgr. Charles Pope • June 8, 2017 • This week I have been celebrating votive Masses of the Holy Spirit. Why? It is my way of recovering the Octave of Pentecost, lost in 1970.There are certain feasts so important that the Church celebrates them with an Octave. Currently we only have two: Christmas and Easter. Strangely, in 1970, the Octave of Pentecost was dropped. Not only was it dropped, but the very way of enumerating the year was altered as well: the weeks were no longer expressed in relation...

On the Power of Liturgy and Prayer Msgr. Charles Pope • May 31, 2017 • There is a text from the Acts of the Apostles (read last week at Mass) that sets forth quite well some of the qualities of the Sacred Liturgy. Although the “liturgy” cited in this passage is not a Mass, the description should apply to all our liturgies; from the Liturgy of the Hours to baptism, from a penance service to a full sung Mass. Let’s look at the passage and learn from it the power of liturgy to deliver, instruct, and transform us and...

When a Priest Should Not Sing - A Reflection on an Often-Forgotten Rubric Msgr. Charles Pope • May 14, 2017 • I received a question last month in my Question and Answer Column at Our Sunday Visitor that I answered only briefly. I’d like to expand on it here.The new priest in our parish just stands there at the altar when we sing the acclamations such as the mystery of faith, the great Amen, Lamb of God, etc. The previous pastor sang loudly with us. Should he not participate more fervently in these acclamations? – Name withheldActually, his stance...

On #StarWarsDay, discover the original inspiration of "May the Force be with you." According to author Alan Arnold, in 1979 “Margaret Thatcher … won the election and became Britain’s first woman prime minister. To celebrate their victory her party took a half page of advertising space in the London Evening News. This message, referring to the day of victory, was ‘May the Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations.'”This resulted in a yearly fan tradition of calling May 4 “Star Wars Day” or “May the Fourth be With You Day,” in reference to the Jedi phrase used in the movies,...

Pondering Some of the Teachings of the Easter Vigil in its Afterglow Msgr. Charles Pope • April 18, 2017 • The Easter Vigil so recently celebrated provides a rich fare for reflection. Alas, its memories pass so quickly. The shadowy yet wonderful Easter Vigil is the greatest and most elaborate liturgy of the Church year.Due to its length and late hour, many Catholics have never rejoiced in the somber glow of its initial moments or in the blaze of glory and sacraments that follow. It features a presentation of the dramatic battle between darkness and light; the light wins,...

O Lord, I Have Loved the Beauty of Thy House” Beauty as an Essential Element of the Sacred Liturgy In Sacramentum Caritatis, Pope Benedict XVI writes, “Beauty…is not mere decoration but rather an essential element of the liturgical action, since it is an attribute of God himself and his revelation” (art. 35). Beauty, therefore, is not merely an external; rather, beauty is inseparable from the liturgy itself. To say this in the abstract is one thing, but to understand it in the concrete is much more difficult. To understand how beauty is an essential element of the liturgy, we...

Scenes from the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts in the Russian Orthodox Monastery of the Holy Trinity in rural upstate New York. The video is not that long.

Pope Francis has ordered a review of “Liturgiam Authenticam,” the controversial decree behind the most recent translations of liturgical texts from Latin into English and other languages. The commission, established by the pope just before Christmas, is also tasked with examining what level of decentralization is desirable in the church on matters such as this. The mixed commission includes bishops from all the continents. Significantly, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Arthur Roche, the secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, to be its president. The English-born archbishop is the number two official at the...

Next to Pascha, the Nativity of Christ is the most joyous festival, and may justly be called the "Winter Pascha." The celebration of the Nativity of Christ was established very early, possibly already in the first century. But until the end of the fourth century, the Nativity of Christ was celebrated with His Baptism on the 6th of January (the 19th according to the New Style) and was called Theophany. Beginning in the fourth century, the Nativity of Christ began to be celebrated on the 25th of December (on the day of the pagan festival in honor of the...

This past weekend the Most Reverend Robert Morlino, Bishop of the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin made an announcement of great liturgical importance. Going forward His Excellency will be offering all of his Masses at the Cathedral ad orientem. Make no mistake about it, this is a major development on the liturgical landscape of American Catholicism. While Bishop Morlino is a strong supporter of the Traditional Latin Mass, and has offered it publicly on numerous occasions, his recent announcement pertains to Masses offered in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. This is the positive manifestation of Robert Cardinal Sarah’s call...

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...

At the Last Supper, Jesus commanded the 12 Apostles to “do this in remembrance of me.”The “this” is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, also called the Divine Liturgy by Eastern Rite Catholics.When Christianity was new, misunderstood and outlawed, Saint Justin Martyr, one of the first Christian philosophers who understood Greek thought and Christian doctrine to be compatible, defended Christian doctrine and liturgical practices from secular political power, claiming Christians should not be persecuted. In his Apology, a detailed written defense of Christianity, one of the earliest descriptions of the Catholic Mass is found. “And this food is called among us...

Do you ever feel bored at Mass?Don’t worry, I’m not judging. When I first returned to Mass after a time away, I found the Mass boring. But Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist drew me in. And eventually, his presence in the Mass instructed me in the ways of heaven, helping me to develop a greater love for the Mass. I realized that the Mass was the most important prayer that I could pray in any day.As Blessed James Alberione once said, the Mass is “the daystar of prayer.” In other words, nothing else we do to get closer to...