Q: I see several references to the 2014 CARA study regarding RCIA. I however cannot find a copy of it on the CARA nor USCCB website.  Do you know where a copy can be acquired? Thank you for your time A: Thanks for your question about the CARA report. I’ve asked Rita Thiron of the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions. The FDLC, the USCCB Secretariat for Divine Worship, and the USCCB Secretariat for Evangelization and Catechesis all co-sponsored the study.  The date for the release of the full report is still unknown.  However, three commentaries are available to the public on …

Q:  I’ve been reading your excellent book, One Love, on the Order of Celebrating Matrimony. As always balanced, nuanced and helpful.    Although I’m disappointed that the Holy See seems to have downplayed the entrance of bride and groom together as the preferred entrance rite; I get it. The part that gets me though is your suggestion that other “customs” for the celebration such as the Unity Candle should not be dismissed. This goes against all of my liturgical formation. We were taught that a custom is not something that appeared in last year’s Bride magazine but should have been …

  Q:  I have a query regarding the Rite of Acceptance. Could you give a reason for why a parish would avoid doing the Rite of Acceptance during Advent and Lent. If it is done during these times, doesn’t that present a problem with the Introductory Rites? A:  In theory, the Rite of Acceptance can be done at any time, but RCIA 18 suggests two or even three times a year, so it would be logical to avoid seasons like Advent and Lent, which have much focus already. The RCIA designed the Rite of Acceptance first as a word service, …

Q:  What wording could be used for a “Profession of Faith” Certificate for children under the age of reason whose parents either become Catholic or are returning to the Catholic Church.   A:  The question concerns a child validly baptized as an infant in another Christian congregation, and whose parents (one or both of whom are Catholic) now wish him/her to be known as a Catholic. As I understand it, the child is not making a profession of faith, but the parents are declaring that they want their child to be received into the full communion of the Catholic Church. …

Q:  I understand that the permission to use a reading from the marriage lectionary applies not only to weddings celebrated at parish Sunday Masses in Ordinary Time and Christmastime but to the other days listed in 1-4 of the Table of Liturgical Days… yes? A:  No. Compare The Order of Celebrating Matrimony (OCM) paragraph 34 and OCM 56. The permission to substitute a reading from the marriage lectionary in OCM 34 applies only to the previous sentence, the one about celebrating a wedding during a parish Ordinary Time Sunday mass. OCM 34 was written in 1991, and it was carried …

Q:  I just finished reading your One Love: A Pastoral Guide to the Order of Celebrating Marriage – excellent! A question regarding OCM 130A (d)… You say that, whether communion is distributed or not, the prayer that normally concludes the intercessions is omitted (p. 54) and one proceeds directly to the Lord’s Prayer (no communion) or nuptial blessing (with communion).  The FDLC, in its presentations and publications, states that if communion is distributed the closing prayer IS used. I admit the rubric is poorly worded (what does “then” refer to?)…. A:  Thanks for your comments on my book. I’m sticking …

Q:  When is Mother Teresa’s feast day? Do you have a text of the Collect? A:  No official word yet that I know of, but probably September 5, probably the US bishops will request her on the liturgical calendar, probably ICEL will be asked to translate a collect.

Q:  What IS the preferred “cross” for Good Friday veneration?  A cross or crucifix ?  I see the pope uses a large crucifix.   Any thoughts ? A:  I’ve treated this in Glory in the Cross, but in short, you can make an argument for using either a cross or a crucifix. The rubrics all say “cross” on Good Friday, and I think that that is the better practice. We are not adoring an image of Christ, we are adoring the cross on which he died. “Behold the wood of the cross…”

Q:  When Holy Family falls on a weekday instead of a Sunday, as it will this year on Friday, December 30, does it become a holyday of obligation? A:  No. It’s just a feast day. Like St. Bartholomew on August 24.  

  Q:  Are funeral Masses considered to be a community Mass or a private Mass? The concern being whether Eucharistic Adoration in the chapel should stop while funeral Masses are occurring. A:  There’s no such thing as a private mass. Eucharistic adoration must cease whenever mass is taking place. Even a funeral mass.