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Having grown up without any religion until attending a Lutheran high school, I had a secular view of the rhythm of the seasons. There was Christmas and New Year-hockey and basketball seasons. There was Easter-the start of baseball and track season. Summer was construction jobs, more baseball, beach, and beer. Fall was football. Interspaced through the seasons were family birthdays and national holidays, like the 4th of July and Thanksgiving. Even after becoming Lutheran, the rhythm of a religious life wasn’t always present. Only Christmas, a little Lent, Good Friday, Easter and Reformation Day were on my radar. But in...

The Role of the Angels in Every Liturgy Msgr. Charles Pope • February 5, 2019 • Ghent Altarpiece – Jan van Eyck (1429) This is the second in a series of five posts on the angels and their role in our lives. The content of these posts comes from a series I have been teaching at the Institute of Catholic Culture on the mission of the angels. Angels are ministering spirits mystically present and active throughout creation, in the events of Scripture, in the liturgy, and in our lives. The fundamental source for these reflections is Jean Cardinal Danielou’s book...

The Key Question of Every Liturgy Msgr. Charles Pope • January 28, 2019 • 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...

Pre-Lenten Season Theme: Babylonian Captivity, Man’s Fallen State Color: Violet Mood: Penance Symbols: chains, tears, Jeremias Length: Septuagesima Sunday to Shrove Tuesday Septuagesima and Lent are both times of penance, Septuagesima being a time of voluntary fasting in preparation for the obligatory Great Fast of Lent. The theme is the Babylonian exile, the “mortal coil” we must endure as we await the Heavenly Jerusalem... The Sundays of Septugesima are named for their distance away from Easter: * The first Sunday of Septuagesima gives its name to the entire season as it is known as “Septuagesima.” “Septuagesima” means “seventy,” and Septuagesima...

The song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is an English Christmas carol. From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of the Church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember. To fit the number scheme, when you reach number 9, representing the Fruits of the Holy Ghost, the originator combined...

The Sins of Priests Msgr. Charles Pope • November 12, 2018 • The Book of the Prophet Malachi is set forth as a kind “riv” (a Hebrew word for a lawsuit, indictment, or controversy) by God. The Lord presents a legal case of sorts, which convicts ancient Israel of numerous deficiencies and calls for their repentance. The case shows a body of evidence that is just as true today as it was then. God has plenty to say and we have much to hear, much of which to repent.As we consider the sins of the priests enumerated below, please...

DESTROYER: Pope to Celebrate New Rite of Mass at Youth Synod Closing For those just now connecting the dots…Pattern of Liturgical Deviance Plenty of controversy now surrounds Pope Francis: his seemingly invalid election, his long pattern of heterodox teaching, the Viganò report implicating him in cascading sex abuse crimes, the ongoing Amoris Laetitia debacle, the Vatican sell-out to Communist China, pick your disaster.As this Pope’s penchant for “making a mess” shows no sign of diminishing to the peril of countless souls, we agree with Chris Ferrara’s assessment over at The Remnant, and his call (like Bishop Gracida’s) for an imperfect synod to defend the Church from Francis:...

On the Length of the Homily Msgr. Charles Pope • September 17, 2018 • During a recent day trip to Sicily, Pope Francis said that homilies should not last more than 8 minutes and that the entire Mass should be completed within 40 (although he may have been exaggerating on this second point). He has said similar things before.He is entitled to his opinion, of course, but I disagree. No sweeping generalization about sermon length is necessary. There are cultural and even local differences that come into play. In my own parish I offer two rather brief masses, on...

In Loud and Strident Times, the Sacred Liturgy Can Restore Us to Balance Msgr. Charles Pope • August 8, 2018 • One of the most concise and cogent descriptions of these often-strident times came from Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger in 1986. It is contained in, of all places, his treatise on the theology of sacred music in a book called The Feast of Faith (Ignatius Press, 1986). His comments have recently been republished in a larger compendium of his works: Collected Works: Theology of the Liturgy (Ignatius Press, 2014, Vol 11).It hard to describe our times as anything but contentious....

The Call to Integrity in Worship Msgr. Charles Pope • July 16, 2018 • The first reading for Monday of the 15th week of the year is provocative, especially for those of us who hold the Liturgy in high esteem, as well we should. However, it is possible for us to distort even great things like the Mass and the sacraments.Let’s look at the reading and then draw a few teachings from it:Hear the word of the Lord, princes of Sodom! Listen to the instruction of our God, people of Gomorrah! What care I for the number of your...

At the name of Jesus Bowing at the mention of Jesus’ name is an old practice that has since fallen into wide disuse Msgr. Charles Pope June 10, 2018 Question: I was taught to nod my head when the name of Jesus was spoken. I see some priests and congregants do it, but not most. What is the current practice? — Diane Garrett, via email Answer: Liturgically it is not required. This is a pious custom that, while less common today, is still observed by many. This is not only in the liturgy, but at any time the name of...

Pope Francis Does the Holy Liturgy Pope Francis is to ordain 16 deacons to the priesthood on April 22 The Words of Consecration and the Pope (Rome) The Holy See yesterday published the texts and chants for the Pope's Mass on the 4th Sunday after Easter, which Pope Francis will celebrate on April 22 in St. Peter's Basilica. On this occasion, the head of the Church will consecrate several candidates to the priesthood.   The priestly ordinations Pope Francis will ordain sixteen deacons preparing for the priesthood as priests, sincethe 55th World Day of Prayer is celebrated  at the same...

Middle of Great Lent. Lord bless us. Lord have mercy. Such sublime sounds.

I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light... Do these words sound familiar? I hope they do. These words, which have been recited in liturgy, at church councils, in battles, and at dinner tables in hundreds of languages, echo to us today through nearly 17 centuries of continual use. This creed is what has united the church (except perhaps in 1054 when it...

Cardinal Raymond Burke is saying the Church owes no apology for its teaching on sexuality. In an interview published December 21 in O Clarim, the former prefect of the Apostolic Signatura rejected the idea that the Church has discriminated against homosexuals. "What I can say is that this year I turned 69, and I have spent my whole life in the Catholic Church," he said. "I have never encountered discrimination against people who suffer from the homosexual condition." He went on to explain that same-sex attraction is "an abnormal condition: God has not created us to have sexual relations with people...

The Biblical Roots of the Liturgy Msgr. Charles Pope • November 26, 2017 • Catholics are often unaware just how biblical the Sacred Liturgy is. The design of our traditional churches; the use of candles, incense, and golden vessels; the postures of standing and kneeling; the altar; the singing of hymns; priests wearing albs and so forth are all depicted in the Scriptures. Some of these details were features of the ancient Jewish Temple, but most are reiterated in the Book of Revelation, which describes the liturgy of Heaven.The liturgy here on earth is modeled after the liturgy in...

Cardinal Müller: Francis Destroys Catholic Unity Cardinal Gerhard Müller criticized Pope Francis for transferring the responsibility for liturgical translations to the bishops, “In case of doubt, the final authority cannot be with the bishops’ conferences. This would destroy the unity of the Church's faith, commitment and prayer.” Talking to the Passauer Neue Presse (November 9) Müller said that he has often seen the bishops' translators “watering down biblical or liturgical texts under the pretext of a better comprehensibility”.

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...