Topics

Whither the Roman Rite?

Paul Malocha

Arguing that the Novus Ordo Missae is substantively different from the old Mass is not easy, even as it is plain that something is very different between the new rite and the old.

Does Good Liturgy Beget Moral Virtue?

A BOOK CRITIC’S IMPRESSIONS OF A LIVING CLASSIC

Kenneth Colston

Good liturgy involves good taste, and, as Burke said, taste depends on rational judgment, emotional maturity, and education — that is to say, the virtues.

Liturgical Unity & the Crisis of Incongruity

OUT WITH THE OLD?

Paul Malocha

Contrary to Francis’s vision, cutting off the old liturgy does not promote unity in the Church. Vatican II did not envision excising the old branch from the tree.

Dystopia 101

A POST-'TRADITIONIS CUSTODES' SHORT STORY

John Cussen

An example of a powerful ruler who should be like a caring elder but seems more bent on crushing dissent comes from an unexpected source.

An Afflicter of the Comfortable & a Comforter of the Afflicted

PETER CAROTA’S RADICAL WITNESS

Alvaro Delgado

Father Peter left a profound and enduring legacy as a pastor who knew the “smell of the sheep,” working with zeal and love on behalf of the poor.

Tale of a Troubled Transition

Mary Brittnacher

The protagonist of Mitre & Crook, Bishop Edmund Forester, determines to take a stand and do what he can to reverse the changes in the Church.

Dying on the Wrong Hill

Thomas Storck

The totality of the atmosphere of the liturgy chiefly determines whether or not it will lift believers toward the mysteries of God and eternal life.

Traditionis Custodes: Taking a Bulldozer to an Anthill

TRADITIONALISTS AND POPE FRANCIS

Pieter Vree

There are no protagonists in the latest liturgical drama, only antagonists. Nobody comes out clean, neither traditionalists nor Pope Francis.

Making Sense of Our Liturgical Morass

Thomas Storck

We need a clearer understanding of the Church’s relationship with her past and her tradition that will help guide us along the uncharted road ahead.

O Death, Where Is Thy…Tickle?

THE OLD REQUIEM MASS MADE US PONDER THE LAST THINGS

John A. Perricone

Everything in the old Requiem Mass forced us to consider death and God’s judgment, Christ’s mercy and our complacency.

A First Step in the Recovery of a Catholic Vision of Reality

Thomas Storck

The old Mass cannot be revived successfully in isolation or simply as a juridical mandate or even a catechetical tool.

What If Pope Francis Were to Rescind Summorum Pontificum?

UPON THE DEATH OF BENEDICT XVI

W. Patrick Cunningham

What options does a parish that currently offers celebrations of the Mass in the extraordinary form have if it finds itself unable to continue doing so?

The Latin Mass After a Year's Attendance

WHAT I'VE LEARNED

Richard Upsher Smith Jr.

The extraordinary form has a depth of imagery that the post-Vatican II revisers of the Mass simply eschewed, especially as regards the eucharistic sacrifice.

A Dialogue of Forms

MUTUAL ENRICHMENT ?

W. Patrick Cunningham

The Extraordinary Form and Ordinary Form sat down to discuss the first eight years of their formal co-existence, and invited me to record and moderate the conversation.

Liturgy that Speaks to the Soul

Thomas Storck

An emphasis on the liturgy as something that creates a sacred atmosphere does not mean that Kwasniewski downplays actual instruction in Catholic doctrine.

Pope John XXIII through the Testimony of Silvio Cardinal Oddi

THE "JOHANNINE TURN" WAS CARRIED OUT BY OTHERS

Beniamino Di Martino (Translated by N. Michael Brennen)

In light of the canonization of Pope Roncalli, the contrarian opinions expressed by Cardinal Oddi about the personality and tendencies of John XXIII are of interest.

Out of the Liturgical Ghetto

While we wait for a revival of the Traditional Latin Mass, it's interesting to examine survey results from Europe which reveal pent up demand for the old rite.

An All-New 'New Liturgical Movement'?

The Pope's vision of a "hybrid" Roman rite may be an altogether new Mass, a third form that blends the best of both the old Latin and new forms.

Universae Ecclesiae: A Blow Against Liturgical Absolutism

A new Vatican document makes it clear that the old Latin and new vernacular Masses are both valid, a distinct refusal of liturgical absolutism.

From Guiding Lines to Institutional Reality

In the case of both the Latin Mass and the ordi­nariates, Pope Benedict's response was to revolutionize a policy put in place by his predecessor.

Liturgical Reform Did Not Start with Vatican II

Arthur C. Sippo

The history of liturgical reform that led to the promulgation of the New Mass predated Vatican II by several decades.

At Mass, Actions Speak Louder Than Words

WHY LITURGICAL LESSONS AREN'T BEING LEARNED

Michael A. Beauregard

The rubrics, gestures, and symbols that are employed serve a fundamental and very useful purpose: they reveal and give witness to the faith we profess.

A Defining Step Toward Authentic Liturgical Reform

THE THIRD TYPICAL EDITION OF THE ROMAN MISSAL

Rosemary Lunardini

We ought to be thankful to Pope John Paul II, who set the stage for this momentous improvement of the Mass in the vernacular.

Whither Goeth the Reform of the Reform?

JUMP-STARTING THE RESTORATION OF THE SACRED LITURGY

Ken Skuba

What measures should be taken to fast-forward the reform of the reform; to stop the nonsense and increase the sense of the sacred at Mass?

The Case Against Liturgical Antiquarianism

A COURSE DEFTLY CHARTED

Harold B. McKale

We should expect liturgical rites wherein the priestly office is most clearly expressed as a living and continuous reality and not a static object in a museum display.

An Interview With a Carmelite

A Carmelite monastery in Wyoming is an exciting new element in the Church in America, and has proven to be fecund ground for vocations to the consecrated life.

Haste & Heroism

In his revision of the Good Friday prayer for the Jews, Pope Benedict didn't compromise the call to "preach the gospel to every creature."

For Fear of the Jews

Nobody would ever mistake the timid troupe that makes up the majority of Catholic bishops for radical imams who issue fatwas.

Understanding Divine Mercy Sunday

GUEST COLUMN

Robert R. Allard

Don't let any pastor say no to celebrating Divine Mercy Sunday at every Mass that day, just like any other feast day.

First Impressions Are Often Correct

What was it like for a self-proclaimed "progressive" priest to celebrate his first-ever old Latin Mass? Was it onerous? Was it tedious?

Reinforcements Are on the Way

The Vatican has decided to draft a new "instruction," necessitated by "confused reactions" to the Pope's universal indult.

'Rebellion Against the Pope'

A number of English bishops, including the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, is displeased with Summorum Pontificum.

The Future Has Arrived

The Tridentine Latin Mass is "catching on among young Catholics.... it is a hit with younger priests and their parishioners."

Msgr. Mannion Is Infatuated With the Modern World

Even after Pope Benedict XVI's explicit universal indult for the Traditional Latin Mass, Our Sunday Visitor is still dismissive of the old rite.

Pope Benedict XVI Is Ambivalent About the Second Vatican Council

The Pope says that he was "too timid" in the period immediately after Vatican II in challenging avant-garde theological positions.

Do Not Make Me a Gentile

The following blessing is recited every day by Jews: "Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d, King of the Universe, who did not make me a Gentile."

'Let Us All Practice Charity'

Fr. Thomas Reese, S.J., of Georgetown University says, "Where there are groups that want [the Tridentine Mass], it's going to be a real pain in the neck."

Ordinary & Extraordinary

The Tridentine Latin Mass is extraordinary, from another source, from the outside world -- it takes one Heavenward.

The 'Signs of the Times' Have Passed Them By

Traditional Catholics know which way the wind is blowing. How brutal for the Vatican II-niks! The "signs of the times" have passed them by.

Where Has All the Latin Gone?

THE LANGUAGE THAT BUILT THE CHURCH

Mark Cole

Latin was the true language of the Church and could always be relied upon to convey precise information because its meanings were fixed.

Opportunity & Crisis

EDITORIAL

Pieter Vree

Does He Know the Mind of Satan?

George Kendall says some Traditionalists become so obsessed with restoring the old Mass that it becomes a kind of idol.

Divisive or Diversity?

Fr. Richard McBrien has always claimed to be in favor of "diversity," but when it comes to the subject of the Old Mass, not so.

'The Reform of the Reform' Is Going Nowhere -- At Least Not Yet

Does the Pope's universal idult for the Traditional Latin Mass necessarily mean that Fr. Fessio's "reform of the reform" is dead?

The New Mass Just Can't Be Fixed

Wishy-washy Our Sunday Visitor is not known for taking strong stands; so, why is it so opposed to the Traditional Mass?

The Anglican Use in the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church

GUEST COLUMN

James S. Blankenship

Many Anglo-Catholics who convert to the Roman Catholic Church are disappointed with what they find in the average Roman Catholic parish.

The Gnostic Traditionalist

PUFFED UP

Thaddeus Kozinski

The smoke of Satan is in both lungs of the post-conciliar Church, both the traditional lung and the non-traditional one, but it has a different form and different effects in each.

From Protestantism to Catholicism, From the Novus Ordo Mass to the Tridentine Latin Mass

WAKING UP CATHOLIC

Michael Larson

We step outside the world by way of something that stands apart from it. The Church ought to be that timeless and lucid entity by which we can see.

Our Churches Will Be Empty -- Part II

"It is our duty to be vigilant... Because, in the end, the people will assist at the Tridentine Mass and our churches will empty."

Our Churches Will Be Empty

A Vatican official makes a prediction: "In the end, the people will assist at the Tridentine Mass and our churches will empty."

Will the Church Ever Be Loved & Trusted Again?

WHAT WE HAVE LOST - PART 1

Archie Salerno

In the early part of the 20th century, the average Catholic was secure in his knowledge that he had arrived at the Truth and was striving to live it.

A First Reckoning With the Latin Mass

SO MUCH LIFE PACKED WITH SO MUCH QUIET

Joseph O'Brien

The Latin Mass is an immersion in mystery and an intricate recognition of my own subordination as simple creature before simple Creator.

Refugees From the Vernacular Mass

LAST THINGS

Tom Bethell

At our nearby Tridentine Mass, some men attend even without their wives. I tell you, this is a church that men don’t hate going to.

Can the Pope Overrule A Vatican II Document?

When it comes to liturgy, Gabe Huck would get the Most Despised Man in America Award.

Why I Attend the Traditional Latin Mass

A HARVARD STUDENT SPEAKS OUT

Francis X. Altiere IV

St. Thomas writes, "It is absurd, and a detestable shame, that we should suffer those traditions to be changed which we have received from the fathers of old."

A Tale of Two Classics

GUEST COLUMN

Michael D. Rains

During the 20th century two of the world’s largest multinationals dominated their competition with “classics” recognized even in the remote recesses of the earth.

The Liturgy as Catechism

LAUDABLE LATIN -- OR UNSPECTACULAR VERNACULAR?

Jude A. Huntz

Our major training in the Faith still comes principally from what we see and hear at church on Sunday.

Conversational Latin for Today. Really!

BEYOND LITURGICAL LATIN

Thomas Storck

Latin is an entirely suitable means for discussing all contemporary subjects, for bantering, arguing, playing games, and singing.

The King James Bible & the Latin Mass

NO MORE MISSALETTES FOR CHRISTIANETTES!

Peter Kreeft

We have dozens of versions of the Bible and numerous canons of the Mass, and people know and love them less than when there was only one version.

The Archbishop Strikes Again

EDITORIAL

Dale Vree