Q: I understand that whenever there’s some service, ritual or rite before the Mass, the Penitential rite is omitted, like on Easter Sunday when there is the Asperges or at Wedding Mass when the priest greets the bride at the door of the church. Could you please explain what is the theology or liturgical reasons behind this omission.
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A: The groups that prepared those liturgies wanted to keep the opening rites from becoming too cumbersome. They felt that some elements were expendable under certain circumstances. I summarized some of their discussions in my book At the Supper of the Lamb.