Q:  I recently attended a diocesan training where it was said twice that sin is not forgiven in the Mass. This is contrary to what I have been taught, that venial sin is forgiven in the Mass. So either my priest is wrong or the speaker was wrong. The speaker was unable to provide resources due to time constraints. As I’m in the midst of all things RCIA, and unable to follow up with either the priest or speaker, your name came to mind.  CCC 1416 Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ increases the communicant’s union with the Lord, forgives his venial …

Q: I have an Easter Vigil question, on nos. 49 & 55. We have a father & son (sophomore in our school) receiving the Sacraments of Initiation. I know two people isn’t a large number but how can we do the renunciation/promises once or combine these 2 parts, to avoid quasi-redundancy? Can we do this? And if so how? I ask since the abbot & I have early Masses on Sunday, I’m mindful of the hour! Yes it’s the Easter Vigil, but…  And after the assembly is sprinkled, the Confirmation occurs, followed by the prayer of the faithful? I’ve reviewed the rubrics …

Q. Are infant baptisms allowed during Lent? A. Yes. Some parishes discourage them, but a child should be baptized within a few weeks after birth if possible. The only days we are not allowed to baptize are the weekdays of Holy Week.

Q. Candles are not supposed to be carried in the gospel procession for the Easter Vigil.  Does that apply to Easter Sunday and the Easter season as well? A. No. Candles in the gospel procession are never obligatory.  They are always optional, except on Palm Sunday and Good Friday when the Passion is read, and at the Easter Vigil when the paschal candle has been set into place.  

Q:  I just returned from the Holy Land–it was a wonderful trip, very enlightening.  Now that I am more aware of the topography of the land and the distance between the various towns, villages and cities, I have a question that concerns today’s Feast of the Presentation. The gospel says, now that they have completed the days of purification, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to Jerusalem to the temple……. First, going back to his birth we know he was born in Bethlehem. Second, we are told that the angel appeared to Joseph and then they fled Bethlehem and went to …

Q:  When the Scrutinies are celebrated in Years B and C, do all the Cycle A readings need to be used or only the Gospel?  The Missal and Lectionary mention only the gospel, but I was taught that the readings were to be used as a group. A:  Only the Gospel. That’s how I interpret the missal. Q:  I received this opposite answer from another liturgist, based on RCIA #146: “the readings with their chants are those given for the three Sundays in the Lectionary for Mass, Year A” as well as LM #745, 746, 747:  “The readings and chants are always taken” …

Q:  As I think ahead to next week and the Memorial of Sts. Timothy and Titus, I’m wondering about the history of the proper first reading for this day. This happens on other days as well (Mary Magdalene, Our Mother of Sorrows).  What’s up? THIS 1) To ensure that even if the other readings of the day are used, we hear a scriptural narrative relative to the day being celebrated (like in the case of Sorrows) or something written by them (Timothy and Titus) OR 2) Because these feasts had a higher rank in the old calendar, and now that they’re not “feasts”, they still need …

Q:  I have a question regarding the Kyrie—should it be done even with a sprinkling rite?  I know the sprinkling rite replaces the Penitential Act, but, in GIRM 52, it says “After the Act of Penitence, the Kyrie is always begun unless it has already ….”   Can you clarify? A:  The USCCB gave a L – O – N – G answer to this question starting on page 8 here:  http://www.usccb.org/about/divine-worship/newsletter/upload/newsletter-2014-02-and-03.pdf.   The short answer is no, don’t include the Kyrie when you sprinkle.

Q:  if an assembly stands during the entire Eucharistic Prayer and bows during the two times that the presider does within the prayer, after the elevation of the Body of Christ, and Blood of Christ … are people to strike the breast as they did a while back, after “do this in memory of me”?  I sometimes see people doing both, striking the breast and making a profound bow…isn’t bowing enough?  Could you share any history on this? A:   There has never been a rubric for people striking their breast during the elevation, nor for them to lower their heads. The rubrics are quite scant when it comes to …

Q:  During Eucharistic Prayer I, when the sign of the cross is made by the presider, is it intended for the entire assembly to do so as well?  Is there any history that you could share about this? A:   The rubric in Prayer I says that the presider “signs himself with the Sign of the Cross.”  I know of no history where the assembly does this as well.