Paul Turner

Q: Thank you for your continued wisdom and knowledge. I have a question regarding the prayers after the Tantum Ergo. […]

Q: In my parish I have two boys, ages 12 and 10. The 10 year old has never been baptized.

Q: A recent case brought to mind something I did in the past. I brought a lady into the Church,

Q: I was having lunch with a fellow deacon today and the discussion turned to doing blessings.  He had been

Q: I’m about to have a lady enter the Church. She has been delayed due to COVID and waiting for

Q: Have you been involved with any hospitals? The hospitals here are significantly strengthening their infection control procedures and we

Q: Regarding your post on the initiation of adults before Vatican, II (see post below), the previously baptized, after a

Q: Thank you for being a marvelous resource for all things liturgical! I have a question for you: Is there

Q: A practical liturgical question: When incensing the altar/gifts during the Preparation of Gifts at Mass, is it permissible to

Q: We were married civilly a year ago and are planning to have a church wedding this summer. Are we

Q: I have finally had a chance to begin reading Ars Celebrandi. I have a comment and a question (so far). 

Q: Fr Paul, once again thank you for your wisdom and wise counsel on many Liturgical matters.  This blog is

Q: I have been asked to bless a bell by a parishioner. It’s not a church bell, just a regular

Q: Is there any reason we could NOT have First Communion on Divine Mercy Sunday? What are your thoughts –

Q: I am now involved in helping facilitate the final liturgy at one of our local parishes. In this case,

Q: I looked at your posting on this question ( https://paulturner.org/readings-for-christmas/ ) but am still confused. The Lectionary doesn’t say that

Q: I’m sure that the Gloria has been forbidden as an entrance hymn, but can’t remember where. == A: I don’t know of

Q: The General Roman Calendar in front of the missal lists all the days and months of the year and

Q: I pray that you are well. I need your help. We want to start the liturgy of the word

Q: I recently served as a deacon for Mass when the bishop was the celebrant. The emcee told me to

Q: We’ve been trying to resolve a liturgical question and I’ve been asking various monasteries for help. Another monk suggested

Q: I have a couple who wants to have a wedding on NEW YEAR’s EVE, which is Friday Dec. 31,

Q: Thanks for your past insights. A wedding that had been postponed due to the pandemic now is scheduled for

Q: Is it permitted to celebrate a baptism of an infant on a weekday? == A: Yes. The Order of

Q: At our parish, an adult altar server pours wine into the chalices, including the presider’s chalice during the preparation

Q: If I have a deacon assisting me at Mass, is it all right for me to add the water

Q: Can a priest where white vestments as an alternative color on any day of the year? == A: Only

Q: I know that the GIRM does not envision distribution of communion from the tabernacle.  Have you found any helpful

Q: May this find you well and good. I have a question with regards to hymns in public domain. I

B: Once again, I’m tapping into your expertise. When the bishop presides at Mass at our institution, it has become

Q: Our bishop has given permission to priest celebrants to use the Mass texts for the Preservation of Peace and

Q: I really enjoy this blog and the discussions. Are there any rubrics about holding an actual graduation ceremony inside

Q: Father, we are preparing to have a Corpus Christi procession on Sunday, June 6th and have questions about the

Q: We have been celebrating Sunday Vespers in my home parish since Divine Mercy Sunday, and it is a lovely

Q: I sometimes participate in Mass at a church where the priest often has a whole wall of candles and

Q: I enjoy your daily offerings.  A visiting priest commented that the altar candles remain unlit for a wedding ceremony

Q: Tell me about the podcast you did for the Kansas City Symphony. == A: You can find it here: https://www.kcsymphony.org/beethoven-walks-into-a-bar/.

Q: Is it within the Western Church’s liturgy to extinguish the flame of the Paschal Candle after the reading of

Q: I have never been in a parish or situation where Catechumens and Candidates are required to pay a fee,

Q: Our parish is inviting parishioners to pray the 9 day novena to the Holy Spirit starting after Ascension. As

Q: I have not followed you for a long time. Some years ago I read your book, The Hallelujah Highway

Q: May a layperson assist with the sprinkling rite at Mass; that is, also sprinkle a part of the assembly

Q: People seem to have lost a sense that death is a time to pray for the deceased, not to

Q: We are in the process of preparing the final Mass at a Catholic church that will be sold (and

Q: Would it be liturgically okay to celebrate the Rite of Crowning an Image of the Blessed Mary at Sunday

Q: Fr. Paul, maybe I am a bit too sensitive about the observance of secular holidays that fall on weekends.

Q: Is the Gloria prayed during weekday masses in Eastertide? I note the Australian Ordo does not suggest so,  but

Q: I was struck by this post from March 5. I’m hoping it was sent by a priest because it made me

Q: I am looking for some direction regarding the acknowledgement of  parishioners’ birthdays and anniversaries.   Over the past 20 years,

Q: In Let Us Pray, you state that “There are three versions of this prayer in the Missal. The last is

Q: I read your response to the statue on the altar (and agree).  Exactly what is permitted and/or required on

Dear subscribers to my blog, thank you all for following me. This month I encountered problems with my web site,

Q: Happy Easter! I hope you are well.  You are always so good about answering my “tough” questions about the

Q: We are celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation on the Third Sunday of Easter so we’ll be using the readings

Q: Fr. Paul, I would be most grateful for clarification regarding incensation of the Blessed Sacrament during benediction. The rubric

Q: In “Ceremonies of the Modern Roman Rite”, Revised Edition, 1995, Bishop Peter Elliott has:  “203. A bow of the

Q: Would appreciate your take on the liturgical aspects of the below story which details a Catholic school Mass attended

Q: Fr. Paul, just a need for some clarification: In Ars Celebrandi, you say that a church may not be

Q: We are a catholic family.  My son however has not been to church for a few years.  He is

Q: Is adoration a liturgy? devotion? both? == A: Adoration may take place inside a liturgy or as an exercise

Q: I was studying our liturgy materials for class and the following lines from Eucharistic Prayer II jumped right off

Q: Why are there two options for the Collect for the 5th Friday in Lent? == A: The alternative collect

Q: How can St. Patrick be a saint if he was never canonized? == A: There were no canonizations at

Q: Do you have any knowledge of celebrating Saint Veronica on July 12th (along the lines of what’s permitted by

Q: Kindly clarify why it is best to refer to the Sacrament of Penance rather than the Sacrament of Reconciliation,

Q: Congratulations on your new book, Ars Celebrandi! I read it last week, and it’s so well written and practical. Now

Q: I would like to know what readings were read in the liturgy of the Eucharist on March 29, 1969

Q: I am pretty sure we are not to have anything on the altar of sacrifice except the Missal, Candles,

Q: Please also confirm the number of penitential ‘acts’ within the Mass. My understanding is that the Sign of Peace

Q: I am sharing the Pope’s visit to Iraq with my students. It’s pretty amazing that he went to Ur,

Q: First of all, thank you for such a helpful and informative blog. By explaining matters so that they make

Q: I’m concelebrating the confirmation Mass in our parish with the bishop. There will be a vested deacon assisting. May

Q: There is another practice by a priest in our community wherein he omits the final blessing for lauds for

Q: My novice master has instructed me to write to you in order to ask about a resource that contains

Q: What is the proper interpretation of rubric 38 for the Thursday of the Lord’s Supper at the Evening Mass

Q: As a result of a member engagement survey, our parish pastoral council is focusing on the following statement: “In

Q: Hi Father. Regardless of the pandemic, I’ve always wondered when is the best moment to distribute palms for the

Q: My question is pretty simple. I have two parishes. The habit seems to have been in the past that

Q: I am sacristan on Good Friday and my instructions say I must ask the communion ministers to consume all

Q: In the books of the Gospels for Holy week, during the reading of the Passion for Palm Sunday and

Q: Can you speak to the change from “rite” to “order”, as in the “Order of Baptism”? Why the change?

Q: I am a chaplain at a Catholic hospital.  Usually, one of the Catholic chaplains would attend the Chrism Mass

Q: Am I understanding this right? The GIRM says two candles are sufficient  for Mass but for Eucharistic Adoration 4-6

Q: Many thanks for your guidance and direction in all liturgical matters.  During the Lenten season the Paschal Candle has

Q: On Good Friday, the priest is instructed to have the humeral veil on as he brings out the blessed

Q: Does the current paschal candle get brought upfront near or on the altar on Palm Sunday? == A: No,

Q: If we were to limit the Old Testament readings to three, one of which would be the Exodus passage,

Q: Thank you for your blessed blog and wonderful insights. We’re shortening up our Easter Vigil this year for pandemic

Q: Some decades ago, at parishes, in religious communities and on retreats,  etc some  people used re-enact (?) a Sedar/Passover

Q: The paschal candle is incensed during the Easter Vigil. It has become customary in some places to incense it

Q: At the conclusion of the Good Friday Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion the deacon, or if there is no

Q: We have a 14 year old that was Baptized last year in another parish, but never received Confirmation or

Q: Can we “commemorate” during Lent (using the collect, as described in GIRM 355a) saints who are not on the

Q: If crosses are veiled on the Fifth Sunday of Lent, is the altar cross incensed during the entrance procession

Q: March sees 2 Solemnities, but not of precept. I understand that an anticipatory (or proper vigil) Mass is celebrated

Q: Since the Mandatum is suspended this year, should we reinsert the creed into Mass on Holy Thursday? == A:

Q: I hope you are well. I have another question.  I don’t know why I never noticed this before, but

Q: I am exploring ways to engage a permanent married deacon in the liturgical and pastoral life of the parish

Q: We are hoping to hold a prayer service to remember St. Oscar Romero on the anniversary of his death. 

Q: I have a question.  I think it was last fall around the time of the Season of Creation that