Q: Can you help me with a critical commentary on the translation of the Glory to God (in the Introductory Rites of the Mass) from the Greek NT and the Latin in RM (2010). A colleague here is interested in the translation “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to people of good will” The late Rev. Dr Evan Burge (Trinity College, Univ. of Melbourne) apparently wrote a commentary as part of the ELLC Praying Together/Prayers we Have in Common which is one useful source. Are there any others that could shed light on the most …
RCIA – reconciliation before baptism?
Q: Can you please confirm or deny: an RCIA minister in our diocese wants to know if the rite recommends at any point for catechumens to receive the sacrament of reconciliation BEFORE they are baptized? I can’t find a reference to it, and it seems unlikely to me that people should avail themselves of this sacrament before they are received into the Church…but I’m not confident saying so definitively without a reference. Thank you for your time; I know you’re busy, and I appreciate your wisdom. A: The RCIA never recommends reconciliation before baptism. Baptism is the first of the …
Lately on the site
+ Confronting Extremist Violence, the Refugee Crisis, and Fear: Faith Responses + Workshops – Convocation of Priests for the St. Augustine Diocese + Homilies for Pentecost in English and Espanol
Act of Penitence on Holy Thursday
Q: Our worship committee has used several of your books for study including Understanding the Revised Mass Texts and Let Us Pray. I thought that you might be willing to address a liturgy question. We are having a discussion amongst our staff concerning the Holy Thursday Mass and whether there should be the act of penitence at the beginning. One of our associate priests decided that he wanted to include it in the Holy Thursday liturgy the past two years. The Roman Missal has no indication that it should be done. It is glaringly absent from the rite. Neither is it mentioned in any …
Communion minister for a special occasion
Q: May a person not commissioned in a parish or diocese to be a Special Minister of the Eucharist serve in this capacity one time at a wedding without being commissioned? A: A priest may commission a person to assist as a communion minister on any occasion “in cases of real necessity” with the permission of the diocesan bishop. The prayer is found in Appendix III of the Roman Missal, and it is for a person to distribute communion on a single occasion.
Holy Hour and Eucharistic Devotion
Q: Do you have an article that describes the correct way to conduct Holy Hour and/or Eucharistic Devotion? A: Here’s a bulletin insert I wrote a number of years ago: http://ihmgjt2.artyrox.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Adoration.pdf I contributed an introduction to this book, http://www.ltp.org/p-2780-guide-for-celebrating-worship-of-the-eucharist-outside-mass.aspx, which gives a more thorough treatment.
Blessing and sprinkling of water
Q: As I review the rubrics of the rite of blessing and sprinkling of water, why does the prayer over the salt follow the prayer over the water? In the earlier practice, exorcised salt was added to the water before the blessing. Now it appears that exorcised salt is added to blessed water. It occurs to me that one might interpret the pertinent rubric in such a way as to permit the blessing and pouring of salt into the water before rather than after the water’s blessing. Although the words for the blessing of salt appear after the words for …
Revised marriage rite
Q: The revised marriage rite is due out soon (and is to be use starting in Dec, I believe). I have a version from the UK or Australia. Do you know if that is what will be used in the USA? A: Most of what appears in the revised Order of Celebrating Matrimony will be the same in all English-speaking countries. However, there are some differences in spelling, content and layout. For example, the discussion on vestments in paragraph 34 includes the word “color” in the US, but “colour” in England and Wales and in Australia. The civil law in …
Confirmation sponsor
Q: I was under the impression that a Confirmation sponsor must be Catholic. I have a friend who was excited as she had been asked by a young girl to be her sponsor. This friend is not a Catholic. A: Canon 893 §1 says that a confirmation sponsor must fulfill the conditions of the baptismal sponsor (godparent) outlined in canon 874. Canon 874/3 says that a sponsor must be a Catholic who has been confirmed and received the Eucharist. Your friend, I’m sure, is a wonderful person and a model Christian. But she is ineligible to serve as a Catholic …
First blessing
Q: I am familiar with the tradition of members of the faithful lining up to receive a “first blessing” from a newly ordained Priest and I know an indulgence is attached to that. Does the same tradition for the asking and giving of “first blessing” exist for newly ordained Deacons (permanent or transitional)? I am aware that Canon 1169 §3 says “A deacon can impart only those blessings which are expressly permitted to him by law”. Is it appropriate for people to line up asking for a blessing from a newly ordained Deacon? If so, what words and gestures should …