Paul Turner

Q: Someone is arguing with me that when I’m the presider for Mass, my priestly duties include proclaiming the first […]

Q: Please advise if the presider joins in parts of the Mass that he introduces or intoned. For example,  does

Q: Hi Father Turner, thank you so much for all the guidance you provide. I’ve done some research on this

If we celebrate Tết on a Sunday in Ordinary Time, may we use a special Mass for the lunar New Year or

Q: Dear Paul, I always gain a lot of insights from your blog. The entrance ceremony at a Catholic school

Q: A colleague wrote to me last night asking if we are obligated to use the translation of Tantum ergo published by

Q: In the Order of Baptism for Children, 2020 edition, chapter 1 is about Order of Baptism for Several Children

Q: The GIRM makes no mention of recessional or exit song. However, there is, in many places, the custom of

Q: I totally agree with you about using incense throughout the funeral Mass  https://paulturner.org/incense-at-burial-masses/.  It always seemed anomalous to me

Q: I have not been to LA Congress in a decade, but I have attended many of your workshops there.In

Q: Paragraph 61 of the GIRM–are we not allowed to do slight paraphrased metrical settings of the lectionary psalms for

Q: Recently, in response to a class discussion about the nature of private revelation, a parishioner asked why it is

Q: Our parish Feast day on February 11th. Is it permissible to celebrate the Mass on the weekend before or

Q: If incense is to be used for the gospel, when does the alleluia begin? Before the incense is prepared

Q: I received the new ritual for the Anointing of the Sick yesterday, so I thought I’d run a couple

Q: I visited my former parish where I was pastor, and I was surprised that the big cross at the

Q: My main question is whether baptisms are permitted/encouraged outdoors in nature? I’m exploring outdoor creation centred liturgies and Eucharist

Q: Hi Paul from Down-under –  and Christmas Time (Tide?) and Epiphany Time blessings (I’ve not heard of Epiphany Time

Q: Can women be formally admitted to Acolytes and Lectors? == A: Pope Francis approved this:  https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/motu_proprio/documents/papa-francesco-motu-proprio-20210110_spiritus-domini.html View All Blog

Q: Thank you for sharing your calm, reasonable, thoughtful approach to liturgy.   I was taught as a priest to make

Q: Does the GIRM anywhere require them to purify their fingers after distributing Communion?  If it does not, then is this practice

Q: When I (fairly frequently) see the pall “pre-arranged,” covering about 90% of the casket, with the presider then just pulling down

Q: I’m of the school that says ‘all or nothing.’  In other words, if it is used, then go all the way –

Q: When you do that, do you greet the body with the ritual text before the eulogy time space, or after…how do

Q: In the following post, you wrote: “However, GILH 261 presumes that a priest is present when incense is used

Q: Thanks, Father, for everything! Can a bishop change the liturgy as he deems fit for the diocese? For example,

Q: Good evening, Reverend Father. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I recently came across your blog and I

Q: I noticed in a previous response that the advent wreath should not obscure the altar or ambo but what

Q: In the Octave of Christmas we celebrate three feasts—St. Stephen, St. John, Holy Innocents.  How did this happen?    In

Q: Recently there was a sad situation involving a child who died in utero in a surrogate pregnancy.  The parents

Q: When clearing up after Mass, some sacristans pile up the ciborium and purificators on top of the chalice. Can

Q; Hello. What do you think of parishes including what normally would be a separated worship aid but using the

Q: Hi, Father Paul-I was recently out of State and attended mass in the local parish.When it came time for

Q: There was a major eruption in our OCIA advisory group the other night when we were talking about Catholics

Q: In the third edition of the Missal, there are parts of the Order of the Mass that can be

Q: I just wanted to ask if you you were aware of any additional developments on this topic either here

Q: Hi Father, Is it possible to have a Baptism within a Nuptial Mass? Context: The father of a couple

Q: I guess my question is trifold. Can incense be used at Compline? Can lay people burn incense as a

Q: We have hereabouts more and more, I am sorry to relate, younger clergy  “implementing” their own rubrics for the

Q: This may be in Ars Celebrandi, but I am nevertheless posing the questions in form of a few “observations”.

Q: I am happy with your books “Let Us Pray” and “Ars Celebrandi” which I wish every priest must have

Q: Hello! As always, thank you for your insights, wisdom and examples. On the question of facing the liturgical procession, 

Q: After a requiem mass in my part of the U.K. we are attending more services in crematoria and the

Q: In my personal experience, research, and formation on the subject, I have seen many liturgical, symbolic, and historical reasons

Q: I was wondering if you could offer your guidance on a matter that we are struggling to find clarity

Q: Thank you for your insightful answers. GIRM 69 seems rather clear. Visiting various churches, many tend to ignore the

Q: I have recently moved to a new Parish. The former Pastor  had six candles on the altar. I prefer

Q: There is a member of the congregation who always turns to the back of the Chapel at the opening

Q: I see here in my country that in many parishes, during this season of Advent, the musical instruments are

Q: Whenever the bishop is present at a Mass where the people are gathered, “it is most fitting that he

Q:  Is it liturgically correct to put the Advent wreath on the sanctuary? == A: The Book of Blessings says,

Q: Thank you, Father, for all you do! I’m celebrating a wedding Mass on Friday, December 12. What Mass formulary

Q: Worship Council business–many of our Eucharistic Ministers need updated training. We have a minister who is blessing each person

Q: My community is building a new monastery that includes a chapel. We are looking at options for the readings

Q: Our Archdiocesan Music Committee was discussing the upcoming new translation of the Lectionary, and, of course, the psalms.  As

Q: I am failing to understand why the second edition of the Order of Celebrating Matrimony  states clearly  that the

Q: If a bishop presides at morning or evening prayer when incense is not in use, does he hold the

Q: Our Titular Solemnity (St. John Before the Latin Gate – May 6) lacks proper texts in the Roman Missal.

Q:  May I know if there Is a new law for the master of ceremonies. After his visit to Rome, he

Q: During the Mass of ordination or perpetual profession, there is always the singing of the litany of saints. Usually the