Before you schedule the “Ave Maria” or plan to pray the Hail Mary during Mass for the Solemnity of the Assumption (or any Marian feast day), read the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of Sacraments’ document called … Read More
If you ever feel that your parish Mass isn’t reverent enough, a good way to assess what’s wrong is to see if you’re observing the prescribed silences. The General Instruction on the Roman Missal, #45, says there should be silence: … Read More
A plea in light of Charlottesville, Virginia, and the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Dear bishops, priests, and deacons, and any who will be preaching this Sunday, I know you’ve worked hard already on your homily for … Read More
“When a number of penitents assemble at the same time to receive sacramental reconciliation, it is fitting that they be prepared for the sacrament by a celebration of the word of God. Those who will receive the sacrament at another … Read More
Here is one simple thing you can do to make your parish’s celebration of Mass even better: Share in Communion when the Assembly is sharing Communion. Long ago, when I was still a baby music minister, our choir would finish … Read More
Here is one simple thing you can do to make your parish’s celebration of Mass even better: Start the Communion song immediately. When I first became a music minister, our choir didn’t want to begin the Communion song until “after … Read More
From the beginning of our Church, bread and wine have been brought forward by the people for the celebration of the Eucharist. In apostolic times, these gatherings took place in homes and privately-owned meeting rooms, and this presentation of gifts … Read More
Every moment, joyful or painful, ordinary or amazing, is an opportunity for a blessing. To bless is to praise God always. To bless is to know that with God, “no thought of ours is left unguarded, no tear unheeded, no … Read More