Whose Rite? A Response to E. Tyler Graham

Recently, E. Tyler Graham wrote an article for this publication[1. E. Tyler Graham, “Shepherding the Flock Out of the 1962 Missal,” Homiletic and Pastoral Review, November 2021, www … [Read more...]

Liturgical Lessons for Social Media from Medieval Hermits

In the face of stay-at-home orders and church closures put in place throughout the world to keep people safe from the coronavirus, Catholic priests have exhibited remarkable pastoral creativity. One has only to browse social media to see … [Read more...]

Say What You Mean; Mean What You Pray

In one of his characteristically rich catechetical addresses at a general audience in September 2012, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the rule of Saint Benedict in respect of the psalms.[1. Benedict XVI, general audience, September 26 2012 … [Read more...]

Book Reviews – June 2020

At Mass with Jesus on Calvary: Reflections on the Prayers of the Mass and the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist By Fr. Gene Martens, SJ. Reviewed by Fr. James Swetnam, SJ. (skip to review) Hope to Die: The Christian Meaning of … [Read more...]

Mass in Time of Pandemic

What Is the Celebrant Supposed to Do?

The suspension of the public celebration of Mass in large parts of the country due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus has left many priests with a dilemma. How does one celebrate Mass according to the Novus ordo with no one present? For … [Read more...]

Mass ad Digitalem

Among the livelier discussions in which our seminary community engaged this year was one initiated by the seminarians themselves and focused on the practice and pastoral concerns associated with celebrating Mass ad orientem. Literally … [Read more...]

Mass, Interrupted

Longing for the Eucharist in a Time of Exile

When the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was pronounced a pandemic in March 2020, bishops around the world began to suspend the public celebration of Mass. Soon after, secular media mistakenly reported that “Mass is suspended” and even that “Ea … [Read more...]

​Epidemic and the Liturgical Reform

The Church reformed the liturgy at a moment of great optimism. The developed world was enjoying the long post-war boom. Seminaries were full. And new-fangled antibiotics and vaccination programs were sweeping away one major disease after … [Read more...]

The Form of the Liturgy

It is to be regretted that the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite, the form of the Latin Mass promulgated after the Second Vatican Council in 1970, has become a symbol of near-complete rejection of the Latin Catholic liturgical tradition. This … [Read more...]

The Novus Ordo at 50: Loss or Gain?

A Reply to Prof. Mary Healy

The recent half-century of Pope Paul VI’s reformed (“Ordinary Form,” or OF) Mass, which came shortly after the twelfth anniversary of the liberalization of the previous (“Extraordinary Form,” or EF) form of Mass, should stimulate us to engag … [Read more...]

Questions Answered for December 2019

What Are Cardinals? Question: There has been a lot of controversy in the Church in the last year about how Theodore McCarrick could have risen to the rank of cardinal. What is the function of the College of Cardinals? Answer: Though … [Read more...]

Eight Ways to Love the Sacred Liturgy

I think it is true that there is no single experience in the life of the human person that has a more profound impact upon one’s faith than the Eucharistic liturgy. The realization of what is being accomplished there cannot be u … [Read more...]

“Woman of the Eucharist”

Our Lady and the Mass

Our Lady of Knock During his visit to Ireland in August 2018, the Holy Father visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock, Queen of Ireland. The apparition at the origin of this place of pilgrimage speaks of Mary as “Woman of the E … [Read more...]

Questions Answered

Question: Jesus says: “Judge not.” (Mt. 7:1) When are we allowed to judge? Answer: The issue of judgement is an important moral problem. Judgement is an act of the virtue of justice. Since justice involves establishing equity between one … [Read more...]

Kazakhstan Bishop Schneider Broadcasts Seeds of Faith Around the World

His Excellency Bishop Athanasius Schneider, O.R.C, has been referred to in the National Catholic Register as “one of the leading voices of fidelity, continuity, and tradition in the Church today.”[1. Pentin, Edward. “How Bishop Athanasius Sc … [Read more...]