Q: Greetings from Australia! I hope you don’t mind me contacting you with a thorny pastoral issue. I’m seeing two parents who have requested baptism for their daughter – 2 years. Neither are Roman Catholic and after a great conversation and listening to their story – which involves serious illness for her a few years back which resulted in a move toward thinking about becoming an Roman Catholic – and he is supportive and has Roman Catholic grandparents – they’ve been coming to Mass for several months. Both have expressed a desire to become Roman Catholics and we’ve been discussing how best …
New on the site
The following have been added during the past week to www.paulturner.org. A blog post on Deacon responsibilities The homilies for a Quinceañera as well as for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, in both English and Español
Receiving a person in danger of death
Q: We have a little “debate” going on — friendly — about whether a deacon can receive a person into the Church in danger of death. I don’t see this possibility mentioned anywhere in the ritual books. I also consulted your book,Celebrating Initiation: A Guide for Priests. Granted it is a guide for priests, but you don’t mention deacons — and you don’t have a chapter regarding the reception of a person in danger of death. I think that canon 844 would take care of this — if a priest were present. I don’t see a deacon having this faculty …
Updates to the site
The following have been added to www.paulturner.org. Three blog posts A Workshop for the Christian Initiation Gathering, St. Julie Billiart, Tinley Park, IL The homilies for a wedding and for the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, in both English and Español: http://paulturner.org/homilies-year-b-2015/ Scores for the Royals’ pre-game activities: http://paulturner.org/pre-game-grades/
Lighting Dedication Candles
Q: When a church is dedicated, candles are lighted near the places where the walls were anointed. If these candles are fixed in the walls, on what other occasions should they be lighted? The anniversary of the dedication? Every day throughout the year? A: I see no norms pertaining to the lighting of the dedication candles. During the dedication, they are lit at the time that the altar candles are lighted because of the “festive” nature of the celebration. The most logical use for these is that they are lighted for festive celebrations to enhance the lights on the altar. I …
FDLC on RCIA
Q: Did anything come out of the FDLC meeting on the RCIA last fall? Anything us “little people” should expect to see or change? A: Here’s a link to the talk I gave: http://paulturner.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/MyRCIA-web-site.pdf
Deacons and baptism
Q: Our parish has once again decided to celebrate baptisms during Sunday mass. We have 10 deacons here and at times, families will request that the deacons baptize. I’ve always wondered… 1. Is this kosher? 2. Are there parts reserved for the priest: i.e. Anointing following baptism, final blessing, etc. A: This question comes up about weddings too. I’ve consulted Frank Agnoli on this point in the past, and he says that there is no clear legislation on the matter. The closest we get is in the Book of Blessings, which states that a deacon may give blessings, “But whenever a priest …
Last week on the site
Last week the following was added to www.paulturner.org Two new blog posts including a recent update on the Deacon Postures post. The homilies for Most Holy Trinity in both English and Español: http://paulturner.org/homilies-year-b-2015/ Scores for the Royals’ pre-game activities: http://paulturner.org/pre-game-grades/
Deacon postures
Q: When there are more than two deacons at a Mass at the cathedral, what postures do they take during the eucharistic prayer? The two deacons at the altar kneel from the epiclesis to the memorial acclamation, but what about the others? Do they kneel from the Sanctus to the Amen as the people do? A: There is no legislation on this. Some dioceses have expressed a preference. Others have not. Personally, I think it’s better for deacons in pews away from the sanctuary to assume the postures of the rest of the assembly. GIRM 43 refers to what postures …
RCIA recording requirements
Q: For the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) there are three books/registers that our diocese requires parishes to maintain: the Register of Catechumens, the Book of the Elect, and a book for recording the names of baptized Christians who have been received into full communion in the Catholic Church. Our question is, is it just the name and date in each separate book? A: This is a canonical question, not a liturgical one, so my expertise is limited. I don’t see much legislation pertaining to the specifics of what should be recorded. You could consult Canon 877 §1 …